[Closed] Brighton Big Dog

[i]course doesn't exactly look like the most interesting or technical[/i]

It's probably one of the more technical xc race courses - lots of climbing, lots of rooty singletrack. Especially if it's wet - the course will be about 90% wet roots and mud.

I didn't realise there were any places left, tbh, but if you have one then I'd do it.

Every year I move my holiday to avoid the date and every year they move the event to be whilst I'm on holiday...

I did the really wet one a couple of years ago. The mud there is even stickier than Mayhem mud. Even pushing the bike I was having to stop every 20 paces to pull handfulls of mud off the bike to allow the wheels to turn. Would be a good course in the dry but either way, hard work on a singlespeed due to some sharp climbs.

Ok good, so it is a decent course. Any idea how long is a lap and how much climbing per lap?

Last year it was around 7 miles. It's probably 50:50 in terms of climbing and descending but it's feels much worse than that.
I really enjoyed it last year and have entered again this year.

Awesome in the dry, downright nasty in the wet. Last year's course was 7 miles a lap with 850ft of climbing.

I did the course last year, it was still marked out the week after, it was bone dry and very fast, steep, rooty, and tight tree-lined singletrack, almost clipped my 710 bars, much fun.

Completely biased as I'm a local but I find it a [b]really[/b] hard course - just no rest at all...Perhaps for that reason I think it's one of the best courses I've ridden.

It's the only race that i make a point of doing every year & I'll be back again this time only in the Solo category.

The course is fantastic & if you know it and/or are brave you can really make up some places on the singletrack.

As above if its muddy it can be hell, oh & make sure you get a B&B for the Saturday night as you don't want to miss out on the ofter race party 😛

It's quite a popular event so can't be bad! I started the same topic ages ago - [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/brighton-big-dog-4 ]Big Dawg[/url].

I'm going to have a go this year. Should be fun

It's probably 50:50 in terms of climbing and descending

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It's probably one of the more technical xc race courses - lots of climbing, lots of rooty singletrack. Especially if it's wet - the course will be about 90% wet roots and mud.

Its more technical than some endurance courses, but not technical as XC races go. Great fun though! How can an event where the profits go behind the bar at a local pub be bad?!

[i] It's probably 50:50 in terms of climbing and descending

- is that per lap? [/i]

They get all the climbing in on the first couple of laps and then it's downhill from there 😉

Bloody brilliant event, great course! We travelled down from Lincs to do pairs last year, this year its solo's....think i will actually die if it's as hot as last year!!

though i hope the post race pub is more accomodating this year, they didnt want to let us in last year as there were 8 of us....no chance of a second drink too! this year there's 10 or 12 haha

- is that per lap?

No, half the laps are uphil, the other half downhill

Rode some of the course at the weekend and hope it dries out. It's that annoying type of mud that sticks to everything like poo to a blanket. Had to keep stopping to remove mud off the frame, mind you 2.35 Hans Damp tyres are not what I'd normally race on.

riding some of it tonight. Not entirely sure it's a good idea, tbh.

I'm going to do it for the first time this year, but I've ridden sections of it and I reckon it'll be great even if it's wet - Stanmer is one of those places (for me, anyway) where even the 'dull' bits require a bit of thinking and skill, so iI'm looking forward to it, even if I know I'll get pounded by the more serious riders.

Give it a go.

I find too much of Stanmer Park is too tight and twisty. Maybe not for the race but in general I think it could do with having more flow to the trails, well the ones that I know of anyway. Some good parts but a lot of the time I find myself almost clipping the ends of the bars and have collided with many a tree down there.

I read a few months back that there are plans to build properly sanctioned trails plus a visitor centre etc etc. Due by 2015 but not seen or heard anything since.

[i]a lot of the time I find myself almost clipping the ends of the bars[/i]

see that's what I really like about the singletrack at Stanmer 🙂

in general I think it could do with having more flow to the trails

that's always such a poor excuse

🙂

but yeah, the BigDog is a great course, constant up-and-down, no rest, lots of singletrack, nice relaxed friendly atmosphere, and beer

see that's what I really like about the singletrack at Stanmer

I wasn't liking it when I broke a bone in my shoulder from hitting a tree! My new 720mm bars were not helping at the weekend either, all good fun though. Been almost knocked out when didn't remember to duck under a thick, low slung branch as well. This was a few weeks after the same one had cracked a mates lid into 4 pieces.

Binners: Nice!

Painey - I understand but you hitting stuff doesn't make it the stuffs fault?

and I'm not sure that asking for the trail to be widened to accomodate an unsuitable choice of bars is really going to be taken onboard either 😉

The better I ride, the more it flows!

Well said chief.

It's all about the rider on the trails, not the trails surrounding the rider. If you are good, go fast, if you aren't slow down!

Simples.

Tim

The crash that resulted in the shoulder injury was when it was really overgrown last september and I caught the left end of the bars on some brambles or something, over corrected and clipped a pretty solid tree. My fault but it is bloody tight in places.

My point though is that although the "trails" in Stanmer Park are tolerated, I can't help thinking they'd be better and more importantly safer for cyclist/dog walkers if some more thought was put into them. They're still great fun but I've had a couple of close calls on blind corners.

My point though is that although the "trails" in Stanmer Park are tolerated, I can't help thinking they'd be better and more importantly safer for cyclist/dog walkers if some more thought was put into them. They're still great fun but I've had a couple of close calls on blind corners.

let's think about this for a while shall we, with particular reference to 'tolerated' and 'dog walkers' and 'not a trail centre'?

whatever they do at Stanmer they'll never be able to segregate different users.

Sometimes a bit more trail maintenance might help but I'm not able/prepared to do it and the guys that do put enough in already so I'm not going to complain.

In the end it's about riding within your own limits for the trail you;re riding. Mostly we push ourselves a bit too hard and come a cropper - I've got an ongoing wrist injury from an over the bars on 'the long one' but despite it beign the 'fault' of the trail I'm taking responsibility for putting myself there.

My biggest fear for certain trails at Stanmer being adopted as 'official' is that the vast majority are suddenly out of bounds and mtb's are restricted to a 2km loop that's unrideable for half the year due to over use or sanitised so much to make it rideable all year roudn that it's lost its charm..

They're still great fun but I've had a couple of close calls on blind corners.

Go slower then... 🙄

let's think about this for a while shall we, with particular reference to 'tolerated' and 'dog walkers' and 'not a trail centre'?

This

Maybe we should get the council out to do a Helath and Safety exercise on the park and sanitise it a bit more. For our own safety like!

[i]For our own safety like! [/i]

that or make it a Strava blackspot - chasing segments is a bit addictive even though I do pick quiet times to do it.

Strava blackspot? What are you talking about man? I'm a simple Dorset boy in a foreign county so speak english, speak slowly and speak up a bit :O)

Segements? As in Orange? (fruit, not bike)

In simple terms;

Virtual bike racing using gps recording and upload.

Like scalextric over the Internet 😉

Done the big Dog twice, first was in the wet a few years ago, that was challenging and last year the Stanmer Tree of Doom (c) got me and I was out of commission for 7 months.

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It is very tight and twisty with lots of climbing. Narrower bars and looking ahead help!

GPS's aren't good enough in the trees of the park are they? I'd guess that everything was too close to get a good reading on precise location of the trails as well. I'm probably wrong though as my last GPS was an early doors model that took ages to get a signal and then decided I was 5 miles away from where I was.

Funnily enough, our general chat about Stanmer whilst there on Saturday (with a lot of other people out on bikes, most I've ever seen there) was that if/when they do build official trails that would it mean an overall reduction in what was available? I thought it probably would and that's not a good thing.

Blind corners can cause problems at any speed, you think I'll go flying round them and risk taking somebody out? No. You just can't safely go tearing it round somewhere like that and I never do. Being a busy place means a lot of other people use the park so in places it would be better for you to see them and vice versa.

My point though is that although the "trails" in Stanmer Park are tolerated, I can't help thinking they'd be better and more importantly safer for cyclist/dog walkers if some more thought was put into them. They're still great fun but I've had a couple of close calls on blind corners.

Learn to ride within your skill or accept the consequences then.

If you don't like the way the trails are then build your own, just don't go playing around with the ones that those of us who currently take time & effort to build have made because they have been built the way they have for a reason, namely to make them fun, challenging & once you've got the hand of them fairly quick. The other thing that the newer ones have been built with in mind is that they are not attractive for walkers & horse riders to use which is why some of them have low slung branches and log rolls in them. If we can keep MTB's away from the great unwashed then they is less likely to be issues with other users.

Yes there are plans for officially sanction trails as i understand it along with a trail centre in the village itself but don't expect black & red runs. It's more likely to be family orientated trails that stick to fire roads.

Tim - they're pretty good now, even in trees and usually have a better idea where I am than I do.

Painey - I agree it's about being sensible and accepting a compromise.

Holy crap! I can't believe we're criticising the trails some nice people built as best they could with limited means and in their own time...Personally, I reckon I owe those Stanmer trail pixies a pretty massive beer!

I'm at a certain forum member's wedding that weekend - if I'm fe next year I'll definitely be giving it a punt! Looks brill, and chatting to local riders, stamner is a pretty tight but fun course.....

DrP

I'm not criticising Stanmer, it's a great little spot, tight, nadgery and a great fitness test. If I thought Mrs Ming would let me I'd be Big Dogging this year.

My accident was totally down to me, tired, end of a fast lap for me (would have been sub 40 without tree.....) and poor judgement/looking ahead.

love the big dog. been there fore the last 2 on totally unsuitable bikes for XC racing. killer on the ups but good on hte descents though!

i`ve noticed the straightlining devils have been out this winter making all the trails that bit lamer. shame on you corner cutters. dunno if its just me but it seems worse this year since strava/mega wide bars have become more popular.

i like the tight twistyness. its a challenge to ride fast.