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Not long now! hoping the weather stays kind, but expecting it to be changeable. Does anyone have any insider knowledge of Wasing? I know there has been racing there for years but never endurance races, only details I know are the laps are short....Entry numbers are a little low, but enough of the fast guys to make it hurt!
[url= http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.com/ ]http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.com/[/url]
I will be there, plodding around in the 24hr race. The forecast seems to have changed a bit, so am currently rethinking my tyre plans.
I raced at Wasing last year in theSouthern XC, that was dry and the course was running pretty quickly. No idea how bad it will be if it is really wet. Some sections appeared to be well draining forests, while other bits of the course were around the edge of fields, which I guess will get muddy if used.
If it does turn out to be a 6 mile lap I can see the challenge will be staying motivated for the 24hrs.
no thanks no hills
Heading down tomorrow as I'm there as a dogsbody no idea of what it's like as never been. Might as well add on here as I did the Facebook page, give me tunes for a playlist and I'll see what I can do.
me and the wife will be there in the 12 hour vets race. we'll both be near the back of the field. The ground is rock hard at the moment. The forecast for the next few days is rain but not a great deal so im hopeful that there won't be much mud. looking at the quality of the field I feel a bit out of my depth.
Pete no need to feel out of depth, ride and enjoy the atmosphere that's what 90% of it is about.
We'll be there with Huw (2012 champ) 24hr Gareth (3rd 2012) and Jonnie , who had better have his bike sorted out 😉
I'll be there plodding around somewhere near the back 🙂
Seems there's going to be a few at the back.
I'll race anyone for last place, it's possibly the only race I'll ever win!
Cut through Wasing on a ride tonight, looks like the course has just been marked out. Some sections from last years xc races and some new tracks have been marked out. The stuff from last year is running fast and dry, the new trails are unused, so soft and in places difficult to see ruts through the longer vegitation, could do with bedding in, maybe they'll be doing that later in the week??
Riding down south does not exactly float my boat and I hear the venue is as flat as a witches tit!
Enjoy
Very flat, nothing technical but a wierd sort of soft surface which makes it surprisingly hard work so can be physically tough. It can be fun in the dry as it's pretty fast then but is horrible in the wet.
should still be a good atmosphere though, looking forward to it in an odd sort of way, always a good laugh.
heading down friday to see what's what and go for a practice lap or two. Entered the full 24...
Bed it in? That'll be done as it's ridden. I'm heading down this am once I've done the school run.
Well it rained last night so the dust should be dampened down! Hope there's not too much more. It's ok Drac, I'm not worried about it, I shall just ride round at my own pace and enjoy myself.
Fortunately my waterproof shorts arrived this morning
Well it rained last night so the dust should be dampened down!
Has it damped down enough to go for a paddle? Newcastleton was pretty weather-proof but Wasing isn't!
Loco Simon
We'll be there with Huw (2012 champ) 24hr Gareth (3rd 2012) and Jonnie , who had better have his bike sorted out
I was going to leave it for you to do on the Friday night / Sat morning!
Am seriously thinking about taking two wheelsets, one with dry tyres with other with Mud-Xs.
Don't know what your local area is like wonny j, but I'm only 15 minutes from wasing and even after last nights rain its still pretty dry about. Not much rain forecast for the next few days either. Depends how wet Saturday is though. At the moment am doing local rides on Maxxis aspens, which are pretty slick, with no problems.
Wonny J, don't make me come West and stand over you while you clean and sort that bike 😈
OK boss!!
😛
Just been out to bed it in, still good ground the odd patch of mud. That's all your getting as the boss is sitting next to me.
I'll be joining the congestion plodding around towards the back of the 12hr Vets class
Mulling over tyre choice having never ever ridden Wasing ...
Nics?
Rocket Rons?
Fast Freds?
Mulling over tyre choice having never ever ridden Wasing ...
Nics?
Rocket Rons?
Fast Freds?
With the rain we've had over the past couple of days and with the rain forecast for today and tomorrow I'd be leaning towards something that works well in mud!
From speaking to people who've raced there in the past, it gets incredibly muddy after a bit of rain.
I had that plan too, but i hate mud tyres and used ralph's all winter so i'm hoping i'll be ok, plus its only been light rain mainly, and windy, so not despairing quite yet 😀 looking forward to it, just need to keep warm and smiley
I'm thinking along the lines of mud tyres on one bike and something like Ralph's on the other then I've got all the options covered.
The way the wind's been I'm starting to wonder whether my gazebo will last the length of the race, nevermind me 😀
We had a little rain through the night but not much, it's windy so with that and the ground being so hard it's currently ok.
cheers for the updates Drac. I was I Basingstoke yesterday morning and it absolutely hammered it down. Then drove through Aldermaston and was happy to see that it was completely dry there. So far today just a few light showers.
Yeah not bad today and getting rather nice now.
Good, cheers Drac. I'm about to leave the office and hope to get a lap or two in later. Wet here in Swansea.
The entry list looks pretty damn quick to me.
The entry list looks pretty damn quick to me.
Nope. I'm on there 😕
Well how did everyone get on?
the fat bike rocked.
I saw you come off it a couple of times on the first couple of laps but I guess you got the hang of it pretty soon after that. Great result.
Bonkers fast on the Fatbike, great result!
wonny j - Member
Well how did everyone get on?
Well, if you really want to know http://andrewhowett.blogspot.co.uk/
Some great rides, Craig Bowles, nice and controlled, quick without overdoing it, our friend Terrahawk who is still fast even on a fatty, and Iwona Szmyd, a rookie and a winner all at the same time.
I think the best ride though was the bloke who rode a lap, passed out, got pulled off by the medics and then returned some time later to carry on! No idea who it was but well done. Anyone on here?
Was all going very nicely in the 12hr until the rain. Only picked up a shell on the way through the pits & got soooooo cold on the next lap - couldn't feel anything. Took a good hour to stop shaking & get the Pot Noodle anywhere near my mouth! Really annoyed with myself for not thinking straight.
got pulled off by the medics
Result.
I was 77th out of 88 apparently. Pottered around with consistent (slow) laps, but got caught out in the torrential rain & hail ...
... escaped back to digs after raiding the catering tent 😐
'kin freezing (4C when I left)
*impressive efforts by all that continued in to the night. Another great event from the SIP Team btw
Terrahawk you were flying on the fatty was great to see, hope you all enjoyed it.
After plodding around for 23 and a bit hours pleased to finish 4th. Overall I didn't find it too tough, very glad I put a waterproof on when I did, although the zip failed after a while... A check on the Garmin data shows the temperature dropped from 10 degrees to about 2 within about 30mins when the heavy rain started.
My wife has written a blog from the pits up : http://www.xcracer.com/viewblogpost.php?blog_id=513. If I get chance later I might add a few of my thoughts onto there too.
Andrew the first picture in your blog was one of the ones my wife took for her blog, didn't realise it had appeared in another blog too. No problem with you using it, let me know if you want the original.