Thanks all, duly converted to metric and slightly surprised the numbers are smaller than expected. Still one of my hardest days out though! Sounds like dknwhy took a cheeky shortcut...
Ha ha. Yeah, racing lines....
My Garmin is set to auto pause so think I lost a bit on the hike-a-bike.
Only slight disappointment (which I do understand) was just how sparse the expo field was by the time we got back after Sunday’s Sport ride.
I was happy to get a chicken gyros, they were 👌. My minor gripe is that there's been no follow up vid for the sport, there's vids for the practice day and the full enduro but not the sport. We had tougher conditions, we deserve a compilation vid!! 🤣
If we're doing grumbles, mines the shit bit between stages 2-3. It's slow in the dry as people can't/won't pedal along it, in the wet it's pure misery! I'm sure there's no way around it but I can still moan about it!
And where were you hike-a-biking??
Aye agree it was a shame things were being packed up. Shouldnt be allowed to until Sunday night?
yea the sport isnt really suitable for a vid though as its just going to be people carrying their bike and complaining about transitions 🙂
I carried up that steep bit between 4/5. Was fed up pushing the bike by that stage.
Agree about the transition between 2-3. It was wet and miserable on Saturday when I went through so can only imagine how rough it was on Sunday. Shame as it seems like it would be nice in the dry.
That transition is lovely in the other direction for about 3 weeks of the year when there’s no nettles and it’s dry! Sunday it was less than optimum (although it makes me feel a better rider seeing that other people fall off or pause on it not just me 😂😂)
Did the Sunday Sport with MrsReady, who only did 3 stages. Really good weekend on the bike, but my Suffolk legs really didn't know what had hit them by the time I got to Stage 4! Started the day with Stage 6 because the Marshall told us it could be a long wait while the 2 Mountain Rescue helicopters picked up a couple of casualties - hope they're OK!
Oh, and stage 2 really was absolutely horrendous!
24 miles and 4200' - finished 68/308 for my group, but I know (or think?) I can do better - next year maybe?!?
@v7fmp ardmoors is great, smaller scale, and the campsite/base is in a windbowl 200m above the flat vales of york, so is proper windy, last year we stopped at a local YHA or B&B osmotherly, loads of riders their, 2 years previous we got hardly any sleep and tents rattling..
for those who dont like the transitions at ardrock you'll love ardmoors, far tougher, i much prefer the riding too
the transition from the end of s1 back up the road and hill climb pretty much to level with s1 start and then a lovely moorland transition of 3-5 miles to s2, the one upto s4 is hell on earth, although last year i saw a few ebike cheaters headed back to base and up the easy route, rather than hike a bike on the shoulders for 150m up vertical steps/rock, and the end of s7 back to base is truely horrendous especially when wet [ardmoors 1369m and 36km]
final stats ardrock 1490m 40.69km 4hr20 moving time, 6hr total, set off 8am wave, sunday sport
ps. really enjoyed the stage2 transition, reminded me of crappy local winter rides in the pennines, but warm. i'd gone low pressure on a new assegai and DHR2 at 19/22 psi grip was pretty good for the pedal.
There was a Sunday vid last year. Agree the event pack up makes you feel a bit second class, one of the reasons Friday is the new Sunday.
Did the Sunday Intro, done it a few times and it's just long enough for me. Seemed to be more people out of their depth this year than previous years.
After stage 4 reopened once the incident was sorted the Marshal sent about 90 riders down in quick succession. It caused havoc and I'm surprised it didn't cause further incidents.
Overall another good weekend, did the demo loop a few times on ebikes which kept me off the beer a bit longer.
Rode the Sunday Sport, a memorable and wonderful day. The rain through Saturday night and Sunday morning didn't inspire much confidence but both body and bike managed to survive the challenge. Enjoyed stage 1, some hairy moments but managed to stay on the bike and moving most of the time, bar a few holdups to let some riders move out of the way. Stage 2 quite the opposite, front wheel slide & crashed into rocks about a 1/3 of the way down. Made a decision to wear elbow pads that morning and so glad I did as I took a hit to the forearm with the pads soaking up the majority of the impact. The mud was horrendous, definitely need to ride more through winter slop to improve skills. Stages 3 and 4 were excellent, as were stages 5 and 6 but I was flagging quite a bit by then. Stage 7 was also brilliant, hit the final drop and finished in the top half.
This is the fourth time I've been and ridden and I've never seen as many people pushing up transitions as I did this year, many at least half my age! And those were the road climbs & gravel road sections, not just the steep push up to 2 and also out of 4.
It is deflating getting back to a half empty field, thankfully there were some pizzas left and the beer cans stall hadn't packed up and gone. I really could have done with a shower though. Stayed another night and woke up to glorious dry weather on Monday morning. Food queues are shocking. That is something that needs sorting as it appears to have outgrown the allowed resources. A 2 hour wait for a shoddy burger or pizza on the Saturday night with hungry kids in tow is definitely not one of the highlights. Allow more catering to sort the food and drink queues please!
Problems aside it's still a great weekend. The camping & spectating with friends and family, riding those trails, seeing old and new faces, all adds together to make it a brilliant weekend!
I can highly recommend the gyros stall, fast service every time I've used it 👌
@richardkennerley unless your in the Que for 20 minutes and then they say its now cash only...
I can highly recommend the gyros stall, fast service every time I’ve used it 👌
They were £5 when we had them at the café (very nice too), pretty sure they were £10 on the stand but I had consumed a few recovery beers and they may have been bigger.
Some good pics and commentary on https://www.pinkbike.com/news/race-report-ard-rock-enduro-2022.html
Photos are uploaded and tagged.
Also putting a few of the many on Instagram.
First time doing ardrock, Sunday Sport for me, weird/nightmare cramp like never before on the transitions but won the grand vet male. Chuffed with that.
Oh and missed the podium due to bike wash queue!
Bummer. I don’t like seeing empty podiums. Understandable if you’re driving home 200 miles but a real shame if you’re doing ‘admin’. Lots of my mates cramping despite not normally getting it.
Edit and congratulations on the win! Tough day.
@leesaunders good effort mate you was 1minute faster than me and I was 3rd. I had a mare on 5 which is probably the easiest stage lol
I also missed the podium and wondered if you got a chairing trophy?
I should chase it up really.
‘Let’s have a look what you could have won’
My mate winning Bully’s Special (second) Prize from Sunday Grand Vets last year. He did Saturday this year but relishing the glory of the podium so he may be back to Sunday next year. Watch out!!
Hello to anyone who we might have met during Ard Rock 2022. I think we can all agree it was an amazing event! We're already planning for next year 😀 Not sure if we spoke to many STW readers, but we put together the following video from the event with a couple of bike checks in there. Let us know if you see yourself !
Sorry, yes I got a chain ring medal- it was in the fake podium picture I tried to post🙄
My bike is in that Hunt video (I’m not…), behind the first Coal, in the Bespoked tent 😊
