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Got back last night from the Kielder Avalanche Enduro, nursing a very stiff neck/shoulder but I had a great time. Nice weather, great atmosphere and banter with lots of random people. Never done a competitive event before but it was great fun.
It's an excellent format imo because it involved too much pedalling/uphill for pure downhillers/dh bikes, but possibly too much gnar for your super lightweight jeyboy xc racer - so you got a really nice mix of people who just like riding bikes and were up for some fun.
I was a bit gutted to get a puncture on the seeding run, but managed to fix it pretty quick and still didn't quite finish last. Got a big gash through the tyre which I had to patch up cos I didn't have a spare tyre, and thankfully it held up all day - even after I noticed the patch/inner tube bulging out of the hole! Had a good off on a tiny jump on the last run, landed on my head and got some nice whiplash - my Giro Hex did its job well though cos my head doesn't hurt at all!
Special mentions should go to the guy who took part who had never been on a mountain bike trail before (though he did have some nasty looking injuries to show for it!), and the guy who managed to rip off his rear mech and break his chain on the first climb, so did the rest of the course running and free-wheeling!
Anyone know where all the photographers there will be putting up their pics?
I got some photos of riders between 50 and 150 (thats where my mates placed, was running to the next stage at any other time), ill be putting them up later in the week when i have time. Good event to watch, shame the track surface looks as crap as ever (i thought there had been some work done on it recently?)
top-tip, if you raced strip/clean/rebuild your bike or the sand will destroy it.
Well I made the stunning position of 251 from the seeding run after getting a puncture and just generally being a bit rubbish.
Yeah the surface was very rough in places, got more cut up towards the end of the day as well with some big braking bumps. With it being quite dry and dusty it was much looser and bumpier than when I went on it a couple of months ago. Not sure if they have done any work on those trails or just on making new ones.
Grumm, were you the chap I was chatting to at the top of section 7/prologue, who had ridden with a Scottish guy most of the day? I was on the green Titus wearing a red and white jersey.
It was indeed a fantastic event. Most sociable and fun I've ever been to. I was riding by myself although most others seemed to have come with groups or at least one mate, but everyone was so friendly I never felt out of place or awkward. Really good mix of people from top pros (Tacey Moseley, Remi Absalom etc) to total have a go heroes like the guy mentioned above, whose mates dropped out so he stepped in, in spite of not being an mtber, and lost most of the skin off his arms in the process. Highly recommended!! Hope Saab don't pull the plug on the sponsorship for the Avalanche Cup as has been rumoured.
Yes it was a fantastic weekend, my first race and thoroughly enjoyed it. Finished 186th but pleased with that for an old bloke!
Respect to the guy 2 in fron tof me on the Balfa who did the whole thing chainless after ripping his mech off on the first link stage. He didn't come last either.
jojoA1 think that was me - I was on a brown Pitch Pro. The scottish lad I met on the prologue when he had a flat like me, but put a spoke through and the new tube he put in went straight down again. He was a good lad, caught me a few times though, the swine.
Are the results up online yet? I didn't stick around to get them. Hope I wasn't last!
Not seen any results up yet. I was chuffed to get 7th lady amongst some full time riders 🙂
Awesome weekend, thanks to all up there!
Hello to all those around me on the day in the 240's, I was 247 on the blue intense, and spent much time fixing punctures on my mate's hardtail!
LCJ, were you the Sam Hill 'Monster' boys?
😆 Yea, afraid so! Hope we didn't cause any offence!? Who were you? Congratulations on the result!
Was up there spectating on the sunday. Good event with a nice relaxed atmosphere. Well done to everyone i know who took part especially flyan Ryan who came 46th (he's only 15 as well!!!). Shame about the new lonesome pine red trail i rode afterwards though. Very dull.
How did anyone from SingletrAction do? We had a pretty big team.
Hi everyone, was a great weekend did anyone else camp? How cold was it!!!
I too would like to say hello to everyone around the 150-160's i was rider 156 on the Yeti ASX. are the any results or photo's up yet?
I was in the red and white spotted Minx jersey and on the green Titus. Told you about the geezer at the World Cup who overdosed on caffeine drink. Fab day and you got to ride amongst the chicks 😉
Yes yes, I remember! Did you say you had you come down from Inverness?
A cracking day out, and a pleasure to ride with the chicks - as we said, it was all in the tactics 😉
Unfortunately the caffeine drinks continued for the way home too!
Did the seeding run time count for the overall time does anyone know?
Did the seeding run time count for the overall time does anyone know?
We were told by the starter at the top of the prologue that it didn't count. But this is avalanche organisation so who knows....!
jojoA1 was it you I was chatting to you about Time clipless pedals, and funnels? 🙂
Quite liked being at the back with the ladies too.
it was the most enjoyable race i have ever been to . a big shout out to all the boys around the 190 - 210 area especially Jerome for his superb help with the overtaking and the otley boys for their banter and Jelly babies.
if i could possibly swing it with the missus to be at the next round without her leaving i would. i would recommend this to any normal rider. great atmosphere, chilled out people, no race heads or ego's and plenty of encouragement (heckling!)
the highlight for me was the start of the prologue watching people go off the start drop. jump, wobble, slide, he's got it, no he hasn't, yes he has........crash! normally accompained by lots of ooooooohhhhhhhhhh. yaaaaayyyyys from the crowd. top stuff.
The prolouge time [b]IS [/b]included in the final overall time, however they do give you individual stage times and a total for the Sunday, so you can still argue with your mates who was fastest :0)
It was a great weekend of racing/riding. I was number 47. I finished 75th I think. Must do some more training mileage next year! 🙂
A feature about the Avalanche will be in issue 50 of SIngletrack.
Great event, really enjoyed it. I just need to get over my fear of rock drops and steps.
I was No. 204. I think I eventually finished in 197th place, one place ahead of Sim.
Stumpyjumper, what were you riding?
are the results online yet?
Great day, thanks to all those around the 100 mark on there plates for dragging me up the climbs, (i was 101) :O)
Just got back having stayed the extra night for a few beers.
Definately the best race format I've ever done. Very laid back, great riding, good variety of terrain and some fantastic descents (SS 1 and 3/6 especially). The number of photographers down stage 3 made you feel like a pro too 🙂
No egos, just friendly banter from everyone I met. Anyone round the 70-90 group? I was the guy on the Whyte E120; the one panicking just before the prologue with his forks in bits in the car park!!
Really want to see the results dammit (or maybe not).
Yeah stage 3/6 was awesome - racing down there with loads of flashes going off did indeed make you feel quite the pro. Can't wait to see the pics of my 2mm of air.
Can't wait to see the pics of my 2mm of air.
Yeah - it'd be great if I could find a decent picture of me riding but they never seem to quite capture the [i]Huge[/i] air I get of those drops 😉
There are some prologue pics on a site by Oliver Coates. Very nice too! 🙂 I think he was there all weekend, so there will probably be other ones loaded over the next few days.
Oh, and yes lcj, we came down from the Moray Firth Coast. Not quite as far West as Inverness, but it is the one place most people have heard of 🙂
Grumm, I can't remember funnels, but tyres and time pedals, yes.
simon i was on a black trek fuel. were you on the intense?
i have found some pics on total photo website, they had 1 of the remote flashes going off. i had an amazing time yesterday but must admit i couldnt sleep last night. whenever i tried i kept dreaming about riding an kept waking myself up!!
I was on a white Prophet, and my mate from Otley was on a black Bullet.
Have you got a link to the total photo site?
ahh your mate was 195 he had the jelly babies! its on my work pc il send it over to you tomorrow. is your mail in your profile?
Yep Chilly was 195, and my email is in my profile, cheers.
Simon - rider 206 here. Had the Giant Reign with white bars and generally random bits on. Chatted with you a bit in the queue. Good to see the 200s well represented here!
Would re-iterate everything said on the thread. Great event, loved the relaxed nature of the racing, the banter, the course.
Memories that stand out:
-Rider 210 running up to the start of 5, and smiling every time I saw him, despite lack of chain and mech.
-Having a couple of pints in the local pub, next to some absolutely battered locals. At 8pm... the guy throwing and missing the dartboard completely was top entertainment.
-Generally having a top time, with no egos on display and plenty of laughs.
Ha oops must have been someone else I was talking to on one of the climbs, thought you were the same person.
What is this total photo site then? Found the Oliver Coates one - http://www.olivercoats.co.uk/index.php?option=com_g2bridge&view=gallery&Itemid=66
Results up anywhere yet?
Got my photos sorted, tho by the numbers mentioned so far i dont think i got any of you, have a look anyway, comments welcome (sorted by race number)
Click image for link...
Also, i managed to get photos of the results sheets so if you dont know your position have a look here...
Thanks,
Rich.
Some nice pics there Rich - especially the results list.
You did catch me on one of the runs - unfortunately a bit dark, although not seeing my face is probably a bonus 🙂
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/fresherjohn/sets/72157617313579647/ ]Flickr[/url]Ok, here's the full story.
I was supposed to be riding in the race but unfortunatley got the top of the prologue wrong and cartwheeled down the drop in front of 100 spectators. (I was no. 71). I managed to ride to the bottom on adrenalin, but once it wore off and the swelling started I realised my race was over.
Luckily I had taken my camera gear, so had an oportunity to spend the race day snapping riders.
I included most of the photos in the set, as people may have different tastes. They are also in a totally random order as I havent done this sort of thing before. flickr.
Apologies if I missed you, I was only playing and not doing it as a job.
Also sorry if I blinded you, one of my mates crashed and blamed me. He was the only one out of 250 people though so I assumed it was an excuse.
Someone pointed out I might be able to make my entrance fee back by selling the images, so, if you would like a copy of the full image (without the watermark) send me £2.50 through paypal to johnalexander82@gmail.com and include the image name in the description and I'll email it over.
cheers.
[MODS: I hope this is ok and doesnt break the forum rules? Let me know if it does.]
Class photos Rich
I see Adrian Carter from Pace was racing.
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Cheers toons, im only getting into photography, its quite addictive. That was the man from pace was it, suppose i shouldnt point out that his bike sounded like a bag of spanners then 🙄
Nice photos STATO, shame there's none of the losers at the back.
Nice set of pics, just amazed nobody had a go at you for using flash on a drop like that-I know I wouldn't have been too happy if I was riding!
Results up now...
[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/04/saab-salomon-avalanche-trophy-kielder-results/ ]http://www.singletrackworld.com/2009/04/saab-salomon-avalanche-trophy-kielder-results/[/url]
Sweet fifth from last! Considering I got a puncture on the prologue (which it seems did count to the overall time?) and crashed pretty badly on the last stage I am happy with that.
Wonder where the guy who had never been mountain biking before placed?
just amazed nobody had a go at you for using flash on a drop like that-I know I wouldn't have been too happy if I was riding!
Doesn't really matter where someone is using a flash as long as they are using it sensibly.
looks good, I reckon I will make the effort to go up there next year for that, even though its a long way from Bristol.
There is some serious shopping trolley style on some of pictures of the drops.
Was there anything very big on the course? as it looks like a HT would be the best choice from the pictures
Was there anything very big on the course? as it looks like a HT would be the best choice from the pictures
There are no enormous drops or mega-rocky sections, but the general surface is pretty rough. There is one section with a few reasonable drops/jumps that a few of the hardtail riders seemed to get punctures on, but the landing were fairly smooth so I guess if you are a smooth rider it should be ok.
Quite a few of the other people at the back with me who had also got punctures on the prologue/seeding run were on hardtails.
Having said all that a hardtail would def have helped on some of the more pedally sections.
All of the top pros who won were on 5-6" full suss all mountain type bikes I think.
just amazed nobody had a go at you for using flash on a drop like that-I know I wouldn't have been too happy if I was riding!
thats a tiny drop ;0)
only kidding, i use a remote flash (well, its on a wire anyway, i cant afford a wireless one) so it can be placed out of the line of sight of the riders and allow me to get photos from wherever i want without being a distraction to them. If you do any races youll soon see you hardly notice flashes going off, even when they are infront of you (as long as your focused on riding not twiddling along looking at the photographer)