[Closed] Ard moors prep

Hi mate

i done it in September for the first time.

Mom not that good on a bike but can manage red and black trails ok and I managed it fine just not that fast but I finished 😀.

There isn’t many rocks that I can remember apart from stage 5 but still not that many.

I think general trail centre riding will put you in good form.

I cant jump but all the jumps I went over were rollable.

I was a bit nervous at the top of stage one though but it was ok once a went down.

I would practice walking up steps and steep hills lol

i got a shock with the climb out of stage 5 and actually slipped backwards down the hill till I hit another bike when I slipped 😩

i didn’t manage to get tickets this year though 😂

If it's like it was in 2017 nothing can prepare you, luckily it was much better this year and hopefully 2019 will be a good year too. I hear tales of the first ard moors in 2016 been a dry and dusty event!

I did it this year, brilliant fun , stage one it was really windy and increased the nerves..

a good practise run would be Boltby bash tickets out tonight and ardrock.

fitness is key, it’s got tough transitions especially the push up to stage 4, the rest is rideable depending on bike and fitness,

Elbows wise you’ll be fine with gform, very few rocks compared to ardrock, I had a real soft landing on braken in practise :0)

ive actually decided to do a few coaching sessions to stop my bad habits & lack of skills and ride properly. Already I feel more confident and stable in the bike, definately money well spent, I think MTBing is one of the few sports that people don’t practise and just get on and ride as fast as they can .. Gareth @ ALine Sheffield is brilliant

My practise regime is a trail centre a month minimum, I prefer quiet bridleways/singletrack/footpaths of the peaks and Pennines, open moorland etc and so hitting features such as jumps and berms are few and far between.. My quickest stage was 3 exactly that..

been hitting the bmx track for pumping and jumping the jump line at Leeds bike park, already feeling far better for next years enduros

just need to improve the manual now

Be as fit as you can, tiredness leads to mistakes.

Do some intervals that are about the same time as the stages are, that'll get yer legs and upper body used to hammering it out of corners, out the saddle.

Don't practice the same trails all the time, all you do is become better at them, and shit yourself on new stuff.

There's no way you can memorize trails after 1 practice run, as long as you know there's no massive drops or anything that are beyond you, then you'll be fine. I prefer to race fresh rather than have a massive e practice day the day before.

Get a front tyre you trust on muddy flat corners.

Check everything in queues on stages, shock not locked out, helmet tight, goggles etc, amazing how often folks, me included, set off forgetting yo do something!

Enjoy!

@nobeerinfridge yep the intervals and standing pedaling got me this year, that training is going on for me too. Fitness is a definate you could see people getting slower throughout the day , I was up to 3,500 metres of climbing that week of ardmoors..

i was planning a checklist on the bars, bag fastened, knee pads up, suspension open, mid range gear , a few press-ups on the bars to remind the brain you can go to chin touching stem cap

I find running is brilliant prep for pedalling out the saddle, bootcamp style, or circuit style training would probably be really good for it too. A wee checklist is a winner, something like the schoolkids M check to keep in your head.

I did Ard Rock for the first time this year and despite a big push on training from April to August still found my fitness lacking for the length of the stages and the cumulative effect of the transitions through the day.  My biking skills (or lack of) are enough of a handicap without my fitness letting me down too.

I am doing both Ard Rock and Ard Moors in 2019 and will be doing many more longer days in the saddle in preparation together with more running and more WattBike sessions.

Asides from that, the terrain at Ard Rock was nothing like what I had ridden before but I am not sure there are many places you would find similar terrain to train on?  It certainly wasn't much like my staple venues at Aston Hill, Chicksands, Swinley and the Surrey Hills!

Asides from that, the terrain at Ard Rock was nothing like what I had ridden before but I am not sure there are many places you would find similar terrain to train on? It certainly wasn’t much like my staple venues at Aston Hill, Chicksands, Swinley and the Surrey Hills!

That's more of a location issue really, if you're used to riding the Lakes or some of our rocky stuff north of the wall, then Ard rock is a breeze tech-wise.

Think it's Ben Cathro that has...

S(eat down)

S(uspension open)

G(ears - the right one)

G(oggles on)

I'm generally ok with seat down so I'm changing the first S to Straps, ie hydration bag straps done up tight, the number of times I've had to cinch the straps up after dropping in on a stage!

Suspension

Helmet tight

Ayewear

Gears

That's more memorable 🙂

Thanks for the replies all.

I think I’ll be ridin* blind as not sure I can make the practice

So in summary:

Fitness is probably more important than riding the trails

Light weight pads are fine

Fuelling is important

Oh and SHAG of course...