Riding bikes is something that I do for fun and mental health. Trying to beast myself on a predefined route with a bazillion other people around me is pretty much the antithesis of that.
Used to do events in the 90s and 00s but quickly realised that the only ones I enjoyed were those that involved a weekend in a nice place with a beer tent and some music and not actually having to ride at top speed or on the same bit of path at the same time as a bunch of other people.
I race cyclocross a bit - started in mid-50s. Hadn't raced anything before that (well, one kids' road crit that I hated)
I'm not interested in beating others (don't even sprint for the line) but I'm lazy too and need to be "made" to work hard now & then to keep fitness up. Races do that for me as there's always somebody to chase when you're a mid-pack duffer.
I also enjoy the atmosphere at the events (it's a big league, so lots of people around)
If I had the time to travel for mtb racing, i'd still use it better by "just" riding as I don't get to decent terrain very often.
1. I had enough of the effort of (being at the top of) competitive sport when I was on sailing youth squad.
2. It is more fun to ride for fun.
3. Cost.
4. Big gatherings based around a thumping sound system, commentators, comparing yourself to everyone else, cheap food, plastic tents and lines of VW vans leaves me cold. It is a very specific culture IM(limited)E.
5. I am an antisocial git these days.
Well you’re actually supporting the race organisers, which is massively important as with racing numbers declining in certain fields, they’ll end up folding without the support of the also-rans ? If only 3 people are racing, the events won’t be going ahead.
If only 3 people want to race then yes either prices go up or races fold.
But unless the organisers are selling something I want (unusual trails, places I wouldn’t see otherwise, local knowledge) then I’m unlikely to buy.
I do the odd sportive for exactly that reason - I’m paying someone to think about how to connect the roads / trails in an entertaining way.
Equally my wife seems to have entered me for the Ard Rock Sunday cruise “to keep our son company”.
He’s a much better rider than me at 17 and I’m somewhat nervous.
It's expensive and generally pointless as you hardly do any actual riding.
I'm never going to win, I'm not fast or commited enough. I'd rather have fun and ride what I want, when I want.
Racing is not about winning for me (although lord I’ve tried) but I really like having the structure of preparing for a race. Training is fascinating, do these horrid efforts to this pattern and feel awful but then find a few weeks later that you are suddenly up a level in fitness.
Then I went self-employed and haven’t been able to get back into the routine and I can’t fix on a goal. Oh dear. I miss it.
I suppose the few things I do enter I would like to chart some progress in, the trouble is that as I get older that increasingly means I should be training, and that's not something I've ever really done. I'll turn up have a go and if my fitness lets me down that's it, I don't really have the time/family setup to dedicate to a proper training/dietary regime, but can't quite shake the idea that if I did the physical prep when I came to race I'd actually do better. "The mind is willing but the body is weak" and all that...
That's a question, who actually "trains" I mean has a structured plan that they adhere to, with the goal of improving in whatever flavour of racing they might do? Especially as you get older and/or race less?
I did a bit in my early twenties but was crap. Ignored it until my early forties when i took up 'cross & was a regular last place finisher in the Yorks Series. 5 years later I'm training properly and a regular mid-place finisher. For me the impetus to improve my race results has massively improved the enjoyment I get from general riding. The notion that I'm actually getting better as I get older is massively alluring.
I did get lapped at a Yorks summer series race a few years ago by a chap called John Ginley, the then over 70's world CX champ, which was a huge motivation to get better. By my reckoning I've got 25yrs to get fit enough to win a world championship, doesn't sound too hard when you look at it like that.
Racing is my personal barometer of how I'm improving, but I can see that its not for everyone.
When I get to the point that the ability to improve at things that matter to me is no longer possible, I want to be able to say that I gave it my best shot (that also applies to family life & my work as well).
Bike racing - I do SSUK because it's fun, there's the odd bit of mid-pack overtaking but mainly it's a weekend away.
Boat racing - Despite an elitist reputation sailing is far better VFM. 3 days racing is frequently <£60 including camping.
More regularly though there's "They're not races honest." club runs, reliability rides, chain gangs and audaxes for the road cycling, and Strava for the downhill.
Well you’re actually supporting the race organisers, which is massively important as with racing numbers declining in certain fields, they’ll end up folding without the support of the also-rans ? If only 3 people are racing, the events won’t be going ahead.
It's a circular argument though. If you're not at the sharp end, why does it matter if the race goes ahead, you're just doing it to ........
Big gatherings based around a thumping sound system, commentators, comparing yourself to everyone else, cheap food, plastic tents and lines of VW vans leaves me cold
+1
When people say why I should go to ArdRock, I just hear a list of reasons that I don't want to.
I'd rather go to a proper festival and get on one like BITD.
I do - I do it because I like it. I like the style of riding (I like pushing myself and seeing how fast I can go), I like the social element of the bigger races, I like that it makes me fit and I like to see what I'm capable of.
I race almost entirely XC, and most of that is endurance stuff. I don't like structured training, but I absolutely bloody love riding my bike so I ride a lot. Apparently just enough to put me at the pointy end of a race - I've won a few and it's rare I've been out of the top ten. I got a bit complacent after my old racing partner was killed in 2012 and got up to 14st and wasn't enjoying day to day riding as much because I wasn't fit enough - getting back to fitness because I started racing again means I like riding my bike more. It's also entirely different to the riding I do day to day (other than the beasting yourself bit). It also means I'm fit enough to do other interesting challenges (West Highland Way in a day, Great North Trail from Yorkshire to Edinburgh in two, big 100km exploratory mountain bike rides). Crucially, though, I don't let it rule my life - I get the result I get, and I only do two or three a year.
I've race a few enduros. I like them but find it hard to justify them. I doubt I'd be like this anymore, but the pressure of beating my mates always meant I would do fine in practice then crash out in the race itself. But the races near my are on the trails I ride anyway, and for a lot of money - why would I spend £75 to ride in the Tweed Valley on my usual trails? I'm quick downhill but I'm never going to win an enduro, and I know which of my mates are faster than me down those trails.
Yeah, did race a bit in my 20s and 30s. Wasn't very good, but enjoyed it. Often singlespeed too, but not exclusively. Team 24hrs were fun, social events too, but that ended when 24:12 ended. Not motivated, nor have the time to race anything now. Tbh I don't ride that regularly now either, so when I do go out it's purely for fun. No training or anything like that. I did have a thought to do some enduro racing a while ago so did a mash-up. Trails were fun, but there was a lot of queueing. A big single-loop/ big day out enduro does quite appeal though so maybe I will do one of those one day.
I used to race Gorrick and Southern XC but packed it in a few years ago for a couple of reasons.
It seemed that the guys I was racing against starting taking it more and more seriously, something I just didn't have the time or interest in doing.
Entry fees started getting pretty steep for the races.
The Southern XC organisers handed over to some other guys and it just didn't seem to run as well after that, the same went for 24/12 as well.
I've thought about entering a couple of races again but really can't be arsed anymore.
I've tried a bit of CX in the past any enjoyed it so I'll probably aim to enter a couple of local league races this winter.
It’s a circular argument though. If you’re not at the sharp end, why does it matter if the race goes ahead, you’re just doing it to ……..
Yeah, I think if you just want an "Event" rather than a "Proper Race" to participate in, perhaps with a bit of a challenge to yourself (in terms of time or endurance) then Sportives/Gran-Fondos/Audax (both on and off-road) start to make some sense.
not paying to ride trails I can ride for free. money can be spent on other things.
who actually “trains” I mean has a structured plan that they adhere to, with the goal of improving in whatever flavour of racing they might do?
Me, at the moment - and for the first time ever.
Tried it a few times and never really enjoyed it. The day is fun, but 'cos of my asthma* I can only ever push to the limit of that and not to the limit of my riding, so there's just no real fun in it. I know I can do bits faster and I know I've got the ultimate capacity to do a lot better than I have done, but I physically can't because I'll keel over if I try, so it's simply an excercise in frustration.
*it's weird in that the blue inhalers do absolutely nothing for me, but seems to be that the instant I push above a certain threshold I just blow up completely, can't recover and have to stop, or have to really ride within myself or take loads of breaks. This is mostly fine on the very short tracks at home or just bimbling around, but absolutely no use in a race setting.
Well you’re actually supporting the race organisers, which is massively important as with racing numbers declining in certain fields, they’ll end up folding without the support of the also-rans ? If only 3 people are racing, the events won’t be going ahead.
True. But should we support 'because'?
There has been a huge decline in dinghy sailing over the years since I first sailed as a 14 year old. Clubs and races are just dying. Boats left abandoned, few new people coming in.
It is expensive in cost and time. It is exclusive. It requires car travel all the time. It is a massive jump from most of the fleet to front of the fleet. Weather massively affects it. It usually happens in rural areas away from population.
It has some parallels with MTB and MTB racing in my view.
Too much waiting around. Not enough riding. I dont like over exerting myself.
I'll go the the southern enduro open days at milland for a chilled ride around for some different trails to ride. Thats about it.
Edit. b1ke - Spend many hours at tidworth for £12 or so, less as I'm a full member.
Race - spend £40 plus for a few minutes of riding over the same time period.
Yeah, I think if you just want an “Event” rather than a “Proper Race” to participate in, perhaps with a bit of a challenge to yourself (in terms of time or endurance) then Sportives/Gran-Fondos/Audax (both on and off-road) start to make some sense.
I can see the appeal in XC, because there's always going to be someone you can play cat and mouse with or stick your elbows out to keep someone behind on the singletrack.
Even road TT's allow you to compare your own progress against a fairly consistent course.
Downhill/enduro though, you might see some progress against someone else if they're going the whole series, but with so many variables would you know if it was your training plan, their training plan, tyre choice, did they get a puncture, just got over a week of flu? There's an argument in there that the strava leaderboard at your local trail is actually a better measure even if it is +/- seconds rather than thousandths.
I could not think of anything more boring, I can't even watch mtb racing which I find just as boring.
I do a time trial every week. No idea why because they are misery and I’m pretty useless. On occasion I do win it’s because the fast guys haven’t turned up
im due to ride ten under Ben at the weekend, a rare off road race for me. Sounded like a good idea at the time of entry but if I’m honest I’m dreading it. Luckily my team are full of fast folks so we should do well in spite of my attendance
Riding bikes is something that I do for fun and mental health. Trying to beast myself on a predefined route with a bazillion other people around me is pretty much the antithesis of that.
Used to do events in the 90s and 00s but quickly realised that the only ones I enjoyed were those that involved a weekend in a nice place with a beer tent and some music and not actually having to ride at top speed or on the same bit of path at the same time as a bunch of other people.
This. Its all about the ride, maaaaannnn.
Best one for me was the Minehead Mondraker Gravity rally in 2014. We all took our families and kids, and it was full of people doing the same, and riding the course on whatever they had.
The event has moved to a slightly different nearby venue and has morphed into one of the Southern Enduro series races. It full of po-faced blokes in all the gear trying to be fast, look cool and taking themselves too seriously.
Thats fine but its not for me.
Not only but also, a friend who raced it last year reported that the trails weren't even that interesting so they could be made to run faster.
Did a few DH races waaaay back about 20 years ago - was involved in the Project Leeds stuff and they arranged a few races at Hamsterley back in the day.
Then did a few of the ST Classic Weekenders inbetween which were really good fun. Loved the format of those - a DH, some trialsy stuff and a XC race in the same weekend on the same bikes...
Then ended up doing some enduro stuff - Ard Rock a few years running, various PMBAs and Boltby Bash last year.
Can't seriously see myself doing anymore TBH. Its not a cheap thing and I'm pretty anti social... love riding with my mates but traipsing around the same trails as hundreds/thousands of other riders at the same time etc. Nah, not really for me anymore.
I like to race - do cross and TTs most weeks in season, odd XC and enduro race for fun. Would love to try road circuit racing at some point but prob missed the boat on that one - nearly 50 and don't think I could tolerate the crash risks.
Like people have said, it's a different dynamic, you make some strong connections with other competitors, gitting gud is awesome but comes with its own challenges. You have to accept that there's a limit to how much you can improve and the best amateur racers are strong AF in context, so finding progression is not always straightforward - varies a lot between disciplines.
Training can be frustrating - the turning the pedals part is the easy, rewarding bit. But anyone who's never done sport at a high level (most of us) probably doesn't have a great training constitution. I find it hard to sustain week in week out without getting derailed in some small way. The wheels never completely come off, though, so I manage enough to enjoy the racing I do.
Did a few, (Cannock Chase, some bizarre hill climb challenge near Middlesbrough) in my 20s but nothing since then (30years...). Life took over. I had contemplated doing the Boltby Bash this year but circumstances prevailed so it didn't happen. I think I was intending to do it, "just to see", but I also struggle to see the value of something like Ardrock, which is knocking on the door of £100 just to enter. I struggle to justify that, and the rest of the costs that would come with it, just on a whim and for the bantz, when you could go somewhere like oldskool MTB in Wales, get plush digs, fed and watered and ride to your heart's content and have as much craic as you need for probably the same overall costs*. The Dyfi thing on 1st June looks tempting, decent miles/£, but still 256 out of 300 places left?
Fair do's to the OP, following that tribulations thread he must have spent over £20K on his project to get his lad where he is, but that it simply not in any sort of contemplation or financial means for me, but I get that he has a bigger picture in mind so thems the choices. It's clearly not a cheap game racing regularly so with that, and maybe analysing how much riding time you get, it's just not worth it, or not worth the sacrifice for the majority if it's going to be mid-table mediocrity?
*I still do fancy a crack at an Enduro though, I have the odd decent strava result on a lot of local gnarly descents in Calderdale so I need to plan when I burst on to the Enduro scene for maximum impact.
I do (only Ard Rock/Boltby so far). I have no chance of winning but enjoy the weekends spent with a few hundred like minded people and the general good vibes.
I like to try and beat myself and over the last 8 years have gone from beating 13% in my class to 67% if I keep going i'll make a podium! (well I would if I wasn't nearly 53 🙂 )
Also - it gives me a reason to try and stay in some sort of shape..
For me, it’s a bit of a battle with myself to get better, to push harder
Theres your problem, right there. I'm with Homer on this one...
I race Xc every once in a while maybe 2 times a year..kind of enjoy it but I can't be arsed with training so I am never going to be any good
god no, might actual have to talk another rider and possibly a british one at that 🙁
I used to race in the Thetford MTB series, and a few other places, but then they stopped, and I never really got back into it and now I have other things going on.
Used to enjoy some racing when younger.
But now im nearly 50, more important things in life to do, I’ve got a knackered hip, and im never going to be the best so imo no point.
Prefer to just ride when I can
I think if you're in the right mindset then xc racing can take you to places mentally and physically that you couldn't go alone.
Cx bikes are way more fun when amongst a mass of other cx bikes fighting their way around a muddy course. Fact!
Do I still race? No, not really. Not prepared to train hard enough to be at the pointy end anymore and It's just too darn expensive these days. I can get my kicks for free by running at either a club track session or a parkrun.
That said I'll hopefully be bothered to race some cx again this season. It is really good fun.
I can't usually keep up very well with my mates, never mind a bunch of faster strangers.
Nah, it's interesting. I used to only be able to exercise with a bit of friendly competitive angle, things like squash. Never to a high level, I just liked to have a challenging game of something athletic. On the bike I've almost no interest in competing against others, I'm idly interested sometimes in pacing myself against my own PR but that's about it. And the idea of having to wait around a long time to only have a relatively short ride doesn't really appeal. That Ard Rock looks like it might be pretty good fun if I ever managed to get there, so maybe I'm not as completely against the idea as I think.
Not enough time. Nowhere near enough money. And probably nowhere enough talent/fitness either but it's the first two that precludes it for me.
I compete (pointlessly) in another team sport. Our team is never going to win much - we're solidly on the 4th division nationally and at the last big tournament we were the lowest ranked team but somehow still finished ahead of where we started. The difference is that our team generally play to stay (not very) fit, the leading teams get (ridiculously) fit to play.
Bike racing has never appealed though - I'm not averse to trying to ride stuff faster, or to tackle things outside my comfort zone but I prefer to choose when I do that rather than being compelled to perform on a given day.
Very rarely - generally only if it means its the only way to ride those trails.
I'm overly competitive. Unless you're on the top step of the podium, you're just another failure and I don't need another stick to beat myself with that I'm fat/lazy/stupid/shit/delete as appropriate. Add a load of stress to that and its just a nice day out ruined by riding yer bike.
I generally ride to get away from people. Queuing up to ride a trail one at a time, or having the good bits blocked by some divot in front who can't ride is the anithesis of that. With very few exceptions there's little of interest in the trade areas, I'm not interested in eating overpriced crap and the music/festival/whatever scene can do one.
You don't get much actual riding done. First time I went to the Golfy I managed to pick a race weekend. So entered. Rode 5 trails, twice across the 2 days. If I go solo, I do 10 or more different ones a day. Or Steelcity - 2 practice runs, 2 race runs. Less than 6 minutes riding across a whole day. I'd rather marshal and at least add value.
Then add in entry fees and all the travel and the camping and the crap that goes with it. When I've got great trails on the doorstep...
My Megavalanche experience sums it quite neatly. I didn't do it 3 times. First year I broke my wrist. Got some more riding done in the cast but had to retire from the quali. Second year I'd trained my arse off before hand - got knocked down a crevasse a minute into the quali and totalled my rear mech - scooted down. Did a timed run after the main mens race (Mega Affinity?) and was 11th fastest. 3rd year, pinchflatted in quali (on fireroad!!); fixed it and rode myself inside out only to finish 2 places short of getting into the slowcoach mass start. Each time I was out there for a week and did some great riding in an amazing location, but each time I couldn't see the week as anything but an expensive failure as I'd not achieved the basic target of getting into the main mass start race.
I ride because it's fun. I've done a few events (Polaris, Strathpuffer x 6, other stuff) but I don't really enjoy racing as there's no fun in it for me. I do enjoy watching it though.
Never tried it and have no real interest. Not competitive in that way and prefer riding alone or in a small group for fun.
I don't race because it's not why I ride a bike
I used to, a lot. Was never really good but I had some amazing times, EWS rounds and kinlochleven madness and just good times travelling around and riding stuff I'd have never done. Enduro was basically right for me at the right time, it also shaped my riding tons and was generally good for me.
Now, I think I don't. Entered the Dunkeld enduro, had to drop out fairly early with an old injury but tbh I wasn't that bummed, it was already seeming like a lot of money to ride stuff in a way I wouldn't have normally, and I wasn't feeling the benefits really. But at the same time I felt sort of constrained, in a way that definitely wasn't actually true- what I should have done was just said nah, I'm not racing, I'm just going to ride and have fun but I felt like I had a number board on so I HAD to race as hard as I could, and I wouldn't have enjoyed anything else- which is stupid but, there you go, brains are weird.
Same person, same trails, but just time has passed and my head's not where it was. I couldn't say why, it's probably a lot of things.
I'll still do occasional mates stuff- I can see me doing the glentress seven again if/when it returns, just because it's a good time (and we usually blag a free entry anyway).
This. Its all about the ride, maaaaannnn.
✌️
Do you race ? If so… why ? If not… why not ?
No.
Mainly because I played cricket to a decent level and grew very jaded with actually playing - for many reasons, but including the fact that I started to find it embarrassing what people would condone in the name of 'competition'. Personal abuse, cheating, going on and on at people with the aim of putting them off their game.
As I was falling out of love with cricket I was really starting to enjoy riding - I didn’t want to bring any element of competition into it. Now, it is not so much an aversion to 'competition' as acknowledging that there is no need to court it.
Raced Mtb as a teenager in the 90s. Generally a bit shit compared to the quick kids but enjoyed the challenge of new courses and variety. Even dabbled in a bit of trailquest with my dad despite never owning a Marin full sus. Eventually beer and clubbing took over and racing took a back seat despite never stopping cycling as a hobby.
After a long hiatus I had a couple of years dabbling in triathlon around 2015 as a challenge to myself to get fitter and do something new. Didn’t factor in how shit at swimming or running I am but it was fun and bike splits were ok.
Family commitments made that more difficult so didn’t race again till after the covid years when I thought I’d try and do a season of CX. Now firmly a back of the lack bimbler but enjoyed something different and being humbled but much better riders.
I could add a bit of Zwift racing in there somewhere.
Basically a lifetime of giving it a good try because I love the feeling of racing and it pushes me harder than I’d otherwise ride, but never being that good.
I did a bunch of DH back in the RAV4, early SDA era & was pretty mid-pack at nationals. Then I moved to the Midlands for a decade & went car racing. Back surrounded by mountains again, no race car, and I've done the puffer a couple of times, the GT7 & other bits & bobs.
I need to do the puffer solo again as I know I'm capable of more. It's not racing other people that interests me now, it's racing the track/stopwatch & bettering myself.
There is a strange attraction though to slogging up a fire road at 4am, on sheet ice being deafened by hardhouse & blinded by strobe lights 😂
I think most successful MTBers (& any other sport) come from areas good for training, if you're not, the time & financial commitment is a significant disadvantage.
