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I'm planning to do this. But what category to enter?
I've done a little xc racing, but not done a Gorrick xc. I've done plenty of their enduros though.
At the banjo xc rampage on sunday I came mid-pack in the sport race, but sport was the lowest category. Should I enter open or sport for this one?
How do the xc rampage and Gorrick categories compare?
Crosshair was in your race on Sun too, he finished about 13th out of 30.
At Gorrick last year he got top 25% just in Open.
Open it is then!
thanks
Unless you want do more laps - sport is 4 whilst open is 3.
Yeah - thinking about that. Also the earlier start time that may be better for me. I'd likely finish bottom half, but an extra lap is tempting given that I tend to start slow then get quicker.
4 is exceptionally hard... 3 is a killer though. LOL.
Fun class was more my limits.
I did 3 on one race and actually was astounded I didn't die.
I did the Brass Monkeys a couple of years ago and enjoyed it, defo made me raise my game a bit compared to my usual Sunday bimble around Holmbury Hill.
Re the Autumn Classics: what's the race format? (For the 'Monkey's I did 'finish the lap you're on at 2 hours')
set number of laps.
ah OK I see the lap count as part of the categories ... so a 3 lap race will be of the order of 90 mins for a mid-paced rider?
(that means a lot more time driving than riding unfortunately)
Yeah give or take 5 mins either way per lap matey.
Yep, Weeksy's got it, the XC races are done on ability, and the higher ability cats are also further - so you can choose beginner/fun/open/sport/elite for 1/2/3/4/5 laps respectively.
I'm in! First Gorrick in a while actually, should be fun. 5 laps though... Eek.
Could I just barge in and ask whether these events are suitable for chaps of a single speed persuasion? Anyone racing these venues ss. Not particularly interested in placing, just a change from cx racing. Ta
Absolutely, a good number of SS riders, including some very fast ones.
i first started xc racing on SS, the first one i did on big earls on 32:16 on a rigid steel pipedream, OMG it was a grind and i was in pain, i remember my lower back hurt like hell. simply not strong enough at that time.
anyway revised tyres and gear choice and moved up the field fast over the season.
You get used to the hills and genrally make up time on the hills and get overtaken again on the flats.
all good fun and something really liberating about SS in a race, you just dont have to think about anything other than blitzing the next guy ahead on the hill 🙂
I may just enter this now but on 1x9, but hungry hill? wtf..
Just done my entry, doing the fun race, although with a 9am start on a Sunday I question 'fun' 🙂
If you see a portly chap on a whyte 529 looking very out of breath and being very slow that'll be me 🙂
With the whole raft of categories now it means I'm eligible for 6 different ones!! I was weighing up Master v Open but decided to stick to Open. It depends on whether you want to pick your fight by age or ability I suppose. It also all depends what everyone else decides I guess- hard for the organisers to do much to prevent persistent offenders though??
I'm adamant I'm not going to sandbag so if I podium in Open then I will enter Sport for rd 2. Unfortunately, my fitness isn't as good as last year so I reckon it's Open for the foreseeable future 😀
I love the Gorricks and find them slightly less intense than XCRampage- the longer course seems to calm things down a bit.
With the whole raft of categories now it means I'm eligible for 6 different ones!!
Everyone over 30 is, been that way for years, perhaps excessive!
hard for the organisers to do much to prevent persistent offenders though??
Offenders of what? As in pot hunters? Open is a misnomer, it used to be called Novice, it changed, but folk still moan if someone really fast enters it, so it's not really open at all!
Yeah that- I guess the shame of entering it is enough then njee20 😀
I'll be riding this bike and wearing this kit if anyone wants to say hi:
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Hopefully I'll have less knackered tubes around my neck 😀
Cheers for the reply, for these venues what ss gear would anyone recommend? Currently set up 36x18, is that too high?
That's gonna depend rather a lot on your fitness...
Just seen on Facebook that Isaac Pucci is racing expert, so I'm getting a massive thrashing. Arse.
I''m talking solid 3rd/4th cat mid pack roadie fodder
I could do this but it's off plan. 8) I'll save myself for later.
Entered. I've gone for open for this one. See you there. I'll be on a red mamasita.
As we're turning this into a meet and greet I'm in black/yellow on a black/green Superfly hardtail.
I won a masters last autumn on a rigid, SS, 26'er so don't be worrying about your bike.
Got to miss this one as am committed to marshaling a road race, but will be dusting down the SS for Rd2. Am a vet now, but will race Vet+ and get my arse kicked as usual by the 'plussers'.
Aye, vets is quicker than masters at the moment, masters is very cyclical!
Vets + is great fun, but hurts quite a lot!
Enjoy your bonus lap Nick 🙂 I would worry about being lapped by Isaac if I was doing Expert 🙁
I do worry about that!
He'll be styling it up as he flies past 😉
That's my concern! Still, as the autumn ones tend to have very few riders at least that's an incentive to go flat out, try and hold him off!
You've also got the baying hordes of Sport, Masters Plus and Vets Plus snapping at your heels.
No pressure 😉
I'm distinctly slow and have 'raced' ss at Gorricks before. OK, i rode round with a number on.
Best bit is the long opening straight. To give the field time to spread out. On a ss with gearing to enable me to ride up hills, that usually puts me dead last into the first singletrack, and after that it's making up places all the way. Which to me is far better than being 'first' into the s/t and being passed all the way round instead.
Cycleology, i call it.
You've also got the baying hordes of Sport, Masters Plus and Vets Plus snapping at your heels.No pressure
There will be no snapping, I'll be out the back of all of them after a lap!
I am doing a hill climb on Saturday, just to get the excuses in early...
Lovely conditions today - I managed 4th in fun men. Didn't have a good enough start position to do much better but it was my first xc so quite content.
Aye, great fun! I got a great start in the Experts then went backwards, as expected, to finish a solid 6th... Out of 6. Enjoyed my day out though, and I think I managed some good consistent lap times. They were shit. But they were consistent!
Nice one njee, better than sandbagging it. Shame I missed it today, still I got to anger motorists with a red flag, so a morning well spent.
Well done Nick! No idea if I caught you, doubt it as I was also mainly watching people overtake me.
Great course, but how can it be too hot to race by 10:30 at the end of September - mental!
I was second to last in fun male, but I am counting that as a plus, as I was expecting to come dead last. 🙂 Even as several juniors came speeding past me, I just reminded myself that it was a lovely day, and being out on the bike beats the crap out of being at work 🙂
I will be back for crowthorne and will continue my cunning plan of making everyone else look a little bit better on the results sheet!
...that was fun. I think I managed 12th in sport. That'll do me.
Fun little course and the weather was/still is amazing. The sandy bits made for some 'interesting' moments, especially just before the finishing line corner 🙂
Managed 18th out of 24 in the male vets, which I'm really pleased with. My son had a great time, despite getting lost in his race and finishing last!
Jesus, just looked at my heart rate analysis on Strava - 97% in the red. No wonder I felt like throwing up most of the way round 😯
Tsk. If it's not over 100% you weren't trying hard enough. C-
I'm happy with a C-, cheers. As you know, I'm not one of life's over-ambitious types 😉
I think we had a chat local, it was me with the two small ones on bikes parked next to you.
As I said in the car park , he didn't take a wrong turn, he decided the course wasn't epic enough and added some extra epic ness 🙂