[Closed] Erlestoke twelve?

My fav cource ever lots of single track and enough open bits to overtake.
Normaly has a big climb on Tarmac but course does get changed each time I've done it

Only thing that's a slight shame for me is the event used to be 6pm to 6am
Which I loved. But that's only a minor thing

Stumbled across this myself just the other day... Doesnt seem to be much info on it out there.

I think it uses the same course as the old Set2Rise event, so hilly but not techy.

First time for me .....12hr solo SS ......will I die ?

Am not a racer, but took part on someone's behalf last year.

I found a uper fun course , (was on a rigid singlespeed) and a cool atmosphere 🙂

I may even return intentionally this year!

Goodluck!

Cheers,

J

Hi mate. I've done this as a solo12 for the last 2years.its a really well run event with a great course. More technical than most endurance type courses and good fun. There's a nice relaxed feel about the whole thing as well. I'd definitely recommend it.

came 3rd in 2011 - solo male 12 hr,

great event, great atmosphere, last year was too hot for me (mega cramps) and they added a bit more singletrack, which for me caused more holds up than necessary so called it a day after 5 hrs, I should probably have hung around as it gets better after 6hrs when the 6hr boys go home,

worth doing if you haven't ridden it before,

cheers folks looks like a goer, if anyone fancies teaming up as a pair let me know, email in profile, otherwise i will go it alone.

Great event; might have to miss it as family want to go to the beach that weekend. Am only relenting as it's been a while since I've had a surf.

Great course; hope the weather is good 🙂

Doing 6hr solo if it's not horrid weather.

GB

done it as a pair in 12;s.
Great course with some normally inaccessable ( army range / training area ) singletrack.
good atmosphere especially after 6pm, and again after 9pm when the lights go on. I think we managed a respectable 14 / 40 IIRC.
Give it a go , I dont think you will regret it, up there with the best 6 / 12 hour courses imo.

orangeboy - Member

My fav course ever

Mine too I think. Didn't do it last year or this year as it clashed with wee boy's birthday. No showers and portaloos only as site doesn't have running water supply, and much smaller than most enduros but this is Definitely A Good Thing, really nice vibe and great course. Only thing that would make it better would be the dawn lap: it used to be 6pm till 6am and that was just fabulous. (I can understand why it is easier to arrange and more attractive to more riders in its current format, can't grumble too much.)

Do it! 😀

its an ace race, but then i am biased as its just down the road 😀 won the SS 12hr race the last 2 years but might stray onto gears this year, depends if i feel fast as last weeks UK12! George i think you will get on very well there!

[url= http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk ]http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk
[/url]

Thanks for all the positive comments! Last year was just superb, if not too a bit too hot! The overnight format was great, but numbers low hence having to change - we did 2 Set2Rise and this is now the 4th Erlestoke12; it's great that Set2Rise is still fondly remembered. We did discuss an 18hr format; with a bit more planning we might get that off the ground for next year.
Charge Bikes are still the major sponsor, so expect plenty of prizes again!

I've been given a pass so will be doing the 6hr solo. Is it rooty/rough enough that an unskilled and uncompetitive crock would want the comfort of short travel fs?

Depends on what you're used to riding for that length of time. It is a good hardtail course - that's what I'd use (especially if damp)

last year was the first visit for me - Brilliant event and really nice venue for camping on that beautiful Montana style prairie too. Completely blew up in the heat last year but will be back to face my demons next week.

Course was excellent last year, one of the best I've done, I think - plenty of singletrack but not too techy for a long race. I liked that road climb, it let the brain relax for a bit....

Hi Jim, am i right in thinking you gave some good feedback last year? You'll be pleased to know we're using the favourite tried & tested MTB timing outfit 'Timelaps' this year; hopefully race info should be easier to look at this year.

I've done it the last 2 years, and bloody excellent it was too. Last year was after the only dry bit of the spring / summer I remember. Hot dusty trails and a brilliant swoopy and singletrack course through the woods, still enough places to get an overtake in on the climbs and the open bits. Sadly lacking in utter racer cocks, with no barging and shouting that I saw. The year before it started raining part way through, but was still dry and fast through the trees, just wet legs / shoes across the grass sections.
Way out of shape this year so I'm not doing it. Shame really!
Mind you, I'm not sure I'll miss that road climb

Sadly lacking in utter racer cocks, with no barging and shouting that I saw.

it's a pretty good course for overtaking, so racer cocks don't get annoyed, far far far better than bikefest which ruined my short lived racing career a week later in 2011 when the fitness from 3rd at Erlestoke put me in the lead at Bikefest, only to be pushed off into a tree, cracked rib, damaged ligaments on shoulder, broken wheel, broken helmet,

Fuzzyfelt: Yes, that was me - Wife was battling for 3rd in 12hr solo and wanted frequent updates from the supporters. That's good to hear about Timelaps, thanks.

Are you gonna get an extra digit for the big clock? (or you could just cap the race at 9:59:59..? ha ha:D )

I'm just kidding, a whole bunch of us went last year and we all had a great time, you guys did a grand job 🙂

Just ridden there at Midday. It's a tiny bit slippy in a couple of places only but if its dry this week it should be great.

I've signed up for 6 hours from 12pm - going out the night before for a few ales, (not very sensible) looks like fewer now, as it will take a good 2 hours to get there . . .

but caution to the wind.... frankly i'm looking forward to it. 😀

Just signed up for the 12-6 race. See you all there!

GB

anyone wants to hook up for a few beers and whisky on Saturday evening i''l have some in tow ...

mail in profile gets you the secret password 🙂

back from marking the course, pretty much dry, most summer tyres will work well IMO. fast flowing course, lots of singletrack as promised, few climbs, usual long tarmac climb. all good.

[url= http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk ]http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk[/url]

Well that was an excellent day out - I won the 6hr solo. Really fun course, proper trails and some really good hills. Dry and sunny to cap it all off. Not a world cup win like Kenta Gallagher but a win never the less! Beat all the teams and pairs too. Thanks to Mule Bar and Repack for the new kit and track pump pit stop 3hrs in! The Spearfish was fantastic again - that bike is perfect for races like this.

Well done Gee! Glad you enjoyed the race!

Well done with that George, you are seriously fast! Keep it up! 🙂
Thanks SPAM for a great course, really varied and fun, specially for the first few laps while I still felt strong. Hope you can manage such good weather again next year! 😉
Pity about the mix-up with the timing, some of those results are still wrong by the way, for example Matt Porter-Bryant really did 7 laps but you've got his 2nd and 3rd laps combined. Some others further down look a bit suspect too...
One thing I must ask about / criticise... why would you start a race early? Some people aren't quite there 10 minutes before the scheduled time and I think that is a bit unfair, after people have trained for months with your race in mind.
Anyway, really great course, looking forward to next year.

George passed me looking pretty collected. It was a great day.

They've missed a lap from me my first 4 are combined and given as 3 🙁 I hope that's sorted.

Anyways 7 laps 5.45 not bad for my 2nd ever event.

Course was brilliant! I did 12hr solo ss and managed to sneak 2nd. 😀

Early start was bizarre. Briefing finished we went to get our bikes with 15 mins to spare, turn around a few minutes later and race has started!

loved it, 6 laps solo from 12-6...

loved the Red Bull challenge section too.

Well done to everyone involved, great course, friendly folk...

i'll be back.

the briefing was late starting, probably nearer quarter to, i think by the time it finished there was only about 5 mins if that before start time

it was epic again! such a fun course, plenty off place to recover and eat. happy i managed 3rd, and happy Al Singular had his own category as he kicked my ass really! class from Gee as ever

Absolutely loved it as always!

Only 5 people in my race (6 hour evening solo) because most people don't seem to even know about the 6pm race, but still had a good battle for the win (which I lost!).

Some of my favourite singletrack on any XC race course, super-friendly atmosphere, bats swooping along the fireroad in the woods by the pond. But best of all was around 9:45pm, coming out of the woods onto the open grass plateau at the top of the course, to find a spectacular red moon rising on the horizon. Absolutely stunning!

Good point about the early start - we went off all of a sudden at 11.53.

No warning, no start gun, just chaos. We weren't even ready. Given the total cock up with the timing chips though perhaps not a surprise...

I really hope the event runs next year - the venue is fantastic. Just a few little niggles need sorting out.

GB

But best of all was around 9:45pm, coming out of the woods onto the open grass plateau at the top of the course, to find a spectacular red moon rising on the horizon. Absolutely stunning!

Unbelievable wasn't it? 🙂

What was the deal with the chips? It was a great event but it's a bit of a pisser to have laps docked and places all wrong.

Great event, easily the most fun 6/12 hour course I've ridden.

Shame about the problems with the timing as it's nice to be able to know what position you're competing for and the early start was a bit strange but I hope the problems don't put them off running it again next year.

Pretty fed up ref the timing problems, apologies. Last yr we used a different crew and had some issue - thought using Timelaps all would be good again......

To be fair the timing chips do have 'attach to helmet' printed on every single one, yet they were stuck to number boards by staff at sign on... They even have the direction arrow printed on them I think?

Still, please do the event next year - the venue is fantastic and deserves a race like that.

GB

+1

yes, i only just found this event,...it will go from strength to strength, with the issues sorted.

Loved it...it was great ....not bothered about the timing problems as I wasn't about to be in contention for anything ....but could we have a Fatbike category next year ... 🙄

Age groups, male/female, team/pair/solo, for the Fatbike cat?

Superb event folks, one of my favourite race courses ever. Anyone find my Maxx D yet? 🙁

Fatbike solo ..Fatbike team . That'd be enough .. 😀

Yes the timing was out and the race started a little early but thats the 1st time in 13 years of racing thats ever happened to me.

With such a fun/dry course I cant complain I had a great time.

Absolutely love this event & will continue to look forward to it every year.

Great work guys .

Baggy . Mule Bar

That was a great race - thanks for all your hard work and please do it again next year! Fantastic course and nice vibe. That red moon was an amazing sight wasn't it? Be good if the start could be a bit clearer and at the advertised time next year though - I very nearly didn't make it and some of my pals missed the start!

An absolutely cracking event run on a superb course. But boy was it exhausting. Was it just me or did there seem to be a lot of sharp knackering climbs with little chance to rest on the stuff that pointed down? Thanks to the organisers for all their work; epitomised by their skilful choice of what will be the best weekend of the year weather wise. Excellent foresight!

My 2nd and 3rd laps were combined on the Timelaps results unfortunately (ref Scawen's post above). Very frustrating but even if corrected I'm not going to be troubling those on the podium 🙂

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinsheldrake/sets/72157633734979889/

Some free photos from the event courtesy of Kevin Sheldrake

On another note ....to all the guys and gals who were racing for top positions ..........they were very patient and polite while waiting to pass .......quite refreshing I think .....must be the relaxed atmosphere

Erlestoke really bit me. combination of pain from an earlier injury and stomach "issues" meant I had to pull out 7 hrs into the 12hr solo and I was really enjoying the lap, the atmosphere and the great weather. I'll be back next year but this time I'll bring a team!

Thanks, jonny360, for the link to Kevin Sheldrake's very good motion photos!

What an awesome weekend! I finished 10th in male solo 12-6 with 8 laps - how you fit another 2 laps in there I have no idea! Course was absolutely blinding, atmosphere was very friendly and it's a lovely place to camp.

Bah! about the timing and the early start (Caught me completely off guard so started late and from the very back on the first lap, though it made little difference to my finishing position I think). However, I would hate to think that you guys wouldn't run it again ...it really is one of the best events of the year for my money.

Impeccable course manners amongst all the racers too, really nice to see. Congrats to everyone who pushed themselves and hope you all had a great race.

I have a question for you front folks, if you don't mind?...I can ride for 6 hours no problem but after a lap or two of hard efforts I start to get a bit tired, use easier gears, less standing on the climbs and my lap times start to drop. Besides the speed, you guys seem to be able to hold very consistent times lap after lap - are you riding more aerobically so are able to keep it consistent that way? or are doing enough interval type training stuff to be able to keep putting in those very hard efforts lap after lap? (ie: you're recovering better from the hard efforts?) Cheers for any advice!

Again, Brilliant weekend, thanks a lot to all the Spam biking folks and I really hope there's an Erlstoke 12 in 2014 🙂

Hi

Agreed on hoping it's back (and sunny!) in 2014.

As for the speed - the pace is lower than what I'd ride in an XC race. I estimate 5% slower lap times based on other events I've done. That means it can be maintained for longer without getting too tired. In an XC race you are licking the stem for 1.5hrs... I felt it on my last lap though!

As for training - yes, intervals and long rides. I do one 7-8hr ride every week in the winter and try to fit one in when not racing in the summer. I know I can ride for longer than the race lasts for so I feel I can push on a bit plus the intervals help recovery eg after the tarmac climb. Also, in a 6hr race like that I'm not attacking every fire road and climb like I would in an XC race.

GB

24hr solo again after that impressive win George? 😉

Cracking ride GB. 🙂

Jimification,

I've done about 7 12hr solos with Erlestoke the only one I've not completed. I don't do as much XC racing as Gee but like him I do a mixture of long rides(4-6hr) during the winter and shorter, focused interval sessions from Jan to beginning of the season.

Over the years I've worked out what works for me, what heart rate I can sustain for 12hrs and what I need to feed that engine. as an example if I'm racing XC or TT(up to 1 1/2-2hr duration) my heart rate will be 170+ for 12hr stuff it's around 155.

After that it's all in the head. keeping focused and enjoying it. One of the reasons I quit on Sat was that I stopped enjoying myself, despite the great course and great weather.

hope to see you soloing 12 next year, I'll be back with Mrs XC as a mixed pair!

Rob
RNRMCA

A question - there was a left turn off a gravel road down a bank onto a grass descent into the woods with an immediate sharp rise. As you headed into the woods there was a slightly off camber left curve . Could that be taken flat out. I had this feeling I could have had a big one there.

I remember the fast grassy descent into the woods and up the sharp rise ........yep flat out ....but the left off camber bit ?? Was that in the woods ? With the jump out into the open where you had to be on your toes to stop you going further out ...and then grass track leading to the horrible climb

Not a chance of another 24 solo Matt - 6hrs is my limit before I get sooooo bored of riding in circles. I like riding fast not plodding round for 24hrs!!

GB

And yes that turn, grassy downhill and sharp ride was taken without brakes. The compression as you shot up the rise was fantastic!

The compression as you shot up the rise was fantastic!

Sadly I couldn't make it this year but rode the course yesterday; looked good although in the wet some sections weren't walkable let alone rideable! The weather gods smiled on you that weekend. 🙂

Gee: Thanks for the advice, that's useful stuff and congrats on your win. At least it's reassuring to hear that it hurt 😀

XCWanabe: Sounds like you've got your racing pretty dialed! Thanks for the tips and for the encouragement. I'll probably stick to 6's, though - I find them short enough that I can still go for it a bit on the climbs. I imagine that at my pace, a 12 would feel like I was "just riding" if you see what I mean. My wife did the 12 at Erlstoke but then she has a different (more determined) mindset to me. Good luck in the mixed pairs next year! Will keep an eye out for you on the podium 😀

Agreed on the compression section - you really felt like you'd been catapulted up that hill! One of my favourite bits on a superb course.

I entered the race as a team of 4 for the 6 hour, my first 'competitive' MTB event, so I was unsure what to expect. Unfortunately we had 2 drop outs, so whilst we were signed as a team of 4, we ran as pairs.

I've no doubt as to my slowness, I guess being a downhiller mainly has it's disadvantages, not cracked the sitting and pedaling up hills, so I found the (seemingly endless) climbs hard.

Great event overall though, apart from the start, we were still over by our car putting our helmet/gloves on! Everyone was very friendly and polite.

I'll definitely be entering again next year, with a lot more XC based training before hand.

PS, thanks for the link above to the pictures, there one of me in there 8)

Echo thoughts from above, 3rd year I've done it with the charge guys and the laid back vibe is a big factor in the enjoyment for me! Really hope it's on again next year, I think it would be just as popular with a few fewer categories too, simlpify things a bit. Great ride GB, was loving ripping along with you and Jon on lap 1 until the lack of warm up caught up with me and me asthma! Took a couple more laps to get up to speed!

Chuffed to nab the Red Bull Beyond the Line [s]uphill[/s] downhill TT 🙂

Oh, and to the cheating rider at 11.15pm that I caught cheating (and pointed it out to you) I know your number!

Chuffed to nab the Red Bull Beyond the Line uphill downhill TT

Congrats, I came 45th in that, and I thought i was going fast!!! 🙂

Congrats, I came 45th in that, and I thought i was going fast!!!

Are the times for that actually published yet?

Not that I'm going to be inside the top 100!

What ofb's said.

Also anyone got pics of the prize-giving?

Clink, I have one of you, from your earlier post I saw you were on the 12hr SS podium. Drop me an email and I will send it over.

Loved the whole experience, it was my first race and to finish on the podium was a great feeling. (2nd 6hr team). I found the course tough going but rewarding. I've got no races to compare it to, but if they're all like that then I'll definitely be doing more. I take my hat off to all the solo riders, 1 lap and I needed a rest!

My one gripe other than the already mentioned timings was the music. I brought my family with me to cheer me on and by enlarge we all had a terrific day, however, having tunes like Puddle of Mudd - She F*****g Hates me at 3 in the afternoon isn't on. It's not a big grumble really, the missus just took my girls for a walk when we realized it wasn't the radio edit. A bit more consideration needed is all.

Can't believe I'm moaning about music, next year it'll probably be too loud for me, God I'm getting old 🙁

Clink, I have one of you, from your earlier post I saw you were on the 12hr SS podium. Drop me an email and I will send it over

Took a day or two but here's [url= http://www.xcracer.com/viewblogpost.php?blog_id=525 ]My Blog [/url]on the event.

Well I was mistaken the rider I thought had cheated was in fact genuinely suffering from exertional fatigue and had taken a wrong turn! I have apologised to said rider and my faith in humanity is restored! 😳

Quick question about the Pairs category. Are these ridden together? Or alternate laps?

regular endurance xc race format, one member of the team racing at a time

Teams and pairs in endurance events always ride in relay with only one on the course at a time.
Generally, there's a rule that every team member must do at least one lap, but other than that, it's up to you how you work it.
Alternate laps is the obvious and most common way, but if one rider is fitter than the other, you can split it 2 laps to 1, or any other arrangement that suits you.