It's on Sunday 25th October 11:30AM start at Llandegla. If you're booked on you'll have had a confirmation email already.
Did you do it last year?
What bike are you riding?
How heavy is the bike?
What tyres are you using?
What age category are you in?
Normal riding style if not XC?
Any warm up tips?
Yes.
Orange Five 2013.
Low 13kg range.
Magic Mary / Minion DHR II.
Masters.
Trail / AM / Enduro / DH.
I don't own an XC bike.
I need a good 10 minute climb before I get going so I am planning to do a practice lap before the start. Partly so I know what's coming and I can pick some lines and partly to warm up. Good or bad idea? I don't know. Last year I messed about checking out a few bits of the course but not the whole thing.
Do we know if it's the same route this year or not? I enjoyed the course last year.
I remember the start was brutal. All I kept thinking / hoping was that if I went at my own steady pace without blowing up at the beginning they'd hopefully come back to me. Some did. Some I never saw again but I could see some of them at the top of the climb when I was at the bottom on the following laps. Full respect to those guys and gals.
I made it onto the last lap so I was very happy for my first ever race to make it to the finish.
I've been racing Enduros since and dabbling in DH so I'd like to find out if I'm any fitter this year or not. It was great fun last year and I like supporting the event and the charity so I'm looking forward to it.
Anyone else?
Is it around the red blue or black? I was planning ridding there Sunday but I may avoid if it's going to be crazy busy!!
It sounds excellent, sadly I live too far away, for now.
Good luck
Don't not go to Llandegla! The race isn't on any of the normal tracks. Llandegla is open as normal. You won't even notice there's a race going on and it only happens for an hour or two.
The racers will be located in the furthest carpark away from the cafe.
Last year the only bit of track we shared was the exposed climb and only from half way up to Offa's Way. The rest was off through the trees and that's what appeals to me the most about it.
I think there may be a sign to ask non racers to ride on the left hand side of the climb so that we can pass you on the right.
Ive done it on a Santacruz Heckler, a Nomad, Orange 5 and a Scott G zero great fun.
cannot make it but sounds like a hoot
I did it on a cx bike once.....because awesomeness 8) (full disclosure...I retired coughing up blood).
@Jeffus nice range of bikes 🙂 Was the race route different each year? Which of those great bikes did you have the most fun on? Not necessarily at the XC!
@Rorschach sounds very nasty. Hope you were okay afterwards.
Everyone else, thanks for the replies. Anyone entered this year? See OP, what are you riding, etc?
Not done it for a couple years as clashed with my shifts but it is good fun riding fresh new trails up there. I'm going up tomorrow morning to help mark out the course so I'll try post a bit of the route....on Sat night so it doesn't get hammered on Saturday.
I'm in vets, riding either High Latitude or Transition Smuggler. Riding style erratic, on high rollers.
Did you do it last year?
What bike are you riding?
How heavy is the bike?
What tyres are you using?
What age category are you in?
Normal riding style if not XC?
Any warm up tips?
No - not done it for 3 years due to work.
Merida Big Nine
10kg
Rocket Ron 2.2 front, Racing Ralph 2.2 rear
Vets
XC
Do a sighting lap first!
It was fairly moist there last night - if it rains again before Sunday, I can see the off piste stuff getting cut up pretty sharpish!
Did you do it last year?
What bike are you riding?
How heavy is the bike?
What tyres are you using?
What age category are you in?
Normal riding style if not XC?
Any warm up tips?
No
canyon 29er
Not sure
Black round ones
Vets
XC
will probably do a quick sighting lap as it doesn't start till 11:30 ish
As said above was well 'moist' up there last night and I've seen a fair bit of the wet stuff forecast before Sunday so the off piste will be cutting up quickly.
The Transition Smuggler looks like a very fun bike @mccett. Have fun setting the course. What a brilliant part to be involved in. I wouldn't want to influence the course design at all *but* as much off piste natural stuff as possible please and multiple lines on the downs to allow safe overtaking where possible.
Llandegla has so much potential for new tracks.
A sighting lap sounds like a plan.
Just checked back, cheers gelert much appreciated...I will proceed as planned.
No problem nwill1, have a great ride.
gelert Nomad (31lb) was the best totaly over biked but it was fast and great fun,serious racers have the usual carbon bling 15lb 29er and are back showered and watching me come in, course was slightly different each time mainly amongst the trees , sneeky trails.
@jeffus the Nomad climbed really well at a demo. Are you racing tomorrow?
The rain looks to have set in today but the forecast is fine for Sunday.
Looking forward to it now. Good luck everyone who's racing.
Not racing this time, shame because I have a good bike for it now Alpine 160 nice light XC bike 😀 also just built a Turner Czar 29er which flies at Degla, all my bikes slowed down by me mincing along and Im a bit fat at the mo... 😳
@Jeffus nice XC bike 8) My Enduro/DH bike is an Alpine 160 too and I absolutely love it. I would be racing mine tomorrow had I not picked up an old 5 cheap this summer as a winter bike. There's barely any difference weight wise but I think I have the edge with the 5 for XC/Degla and I've stolen the wheels off the Alpine. It won't work! I'll enjoy waving goodbye to everyone on the first climb and begin looking forward to my soup at the end 😀
My ears on the ground say it is a new course this year or at least a variation on last year's. Very similar climb to last year. Similar overall distance too. Course is open for practice from 10AM tomorrow. It also rained hard at times today so it might/will be sloppy in places.
I had a sneeky look at it today and its not too bad, not much mud,mainly roots and pine needles , roots are slippy, wish I was racing 😀 I was on my 29er was fine, I guess the tracks will cut up pretty bad after a few people have gone through, but was ok in the parts I had a look at today.
Some fun techy bits in the trees , have fun 🙂
Went up yesterday morning to help tape out the track. Some sections have been used before but basically you will go from the top car park on a rolling start on first lap and cut across to the marked climb. Then on the rest of your laps you will cut back and forth between the fire road and the main climb on singletrack sections.
Climb as far as Offas Dyke path then head down through the trees. There's a couple new sections in the trees with some fast downhills (loamy and rooty) and some short sharp climbs. Singletrack by the reservoir and some rooty sections on the way back then drop onto the last section of the blue route to complete lap by the top car park.
It should make for a fun little loop. A few off-roadies knocking about yesterday trying to ride the loop as we taped it out, presume those boys will come sailing past me on my third lap. Or second lap.
Good luck to all racers.
Thanks for the update. Sounds great. Good luck all. See you at the start.
That was an brilliant route. I enjoyed every minute in the woods. Climbing not so much!
My tyres were amazing (Mary/DHR2). Clearing mud really really well and giving me loads of traction on any muddy bits and loads of control in the loamy sections to let off the brakes. Bit draggy on the climb after the rain yesterday but I expected that.
Managed to come 4th in Masters (up from 8th last year) and only 3 mins down on a podium! Better get an XC bike for next year Lol! My tank-like Five did me proud.
Met some great people. Old and new friends.
It was a pretty brutal race from the off. The really good guys were gone off like shots. 1h41 for me (I think I saw that on the sheet). Longest race I've ever done by far. The last lap was really painful.
Top day out. No rain. Good weather. Not too cold either.
Really really well organised. Thanks to all involved for putting on a top event. Never seen Llandegla so busy. People were parking right up the fire roads.
Why put it on a Sunday at a busy trail centre when most FF's work shifts?
The race was fully booked so the FF charity has done ok.
The TC was extra busy because it rained yesterday?
Being busy didn't make any difference except more people got to see some racing and might want to have a go themselves and were cheering racers on.
It was on Saturday last year. Maybe they alternate it so different shifts get to go?
gelert - glad you enjoyed it. Most feedback seems to be that it was a good course and we were lucky with the weather so the singletrack held up well. It was certainly a more techy affair than a lot of the riders were expecting from an XC race at Llandegla. One rider came to the drop off from the fire road and was overheard to say 'f... that'. Saw plenty of offs but no injuries to any riders.
Enjoyed it but 2 hrs at 100% was harder than 24hrs at 80%.
Apologies to the guy who thought I was having a heart attack in the last Xmas tree section before the finish line on my last lap when my legs locked out with cramp so all I could do was fall over sideways.
As for having it on a weekend - its open to anyone and less than 30% of entries were fire service members.
See if you can spot yourselves!
mccett - when I finished last year and said to the organisers "That was more Enduro than Enduro" they replied back... welcome to old school XC and I was like "Wow! Respect".
The XC guys at the front had no issues with the course.
Shame you cramped up right at the end, hope you made it over the line in the end?
The last lap was super tough. I came to the carpark bit at the bottom and I didn't know how I was going to get up to the finish line - a hill finish is pretty mean! My legs were gone and I had nothing left. I was just looking over my shoulder waiting for the pack of climbers I'd gapped in the downs to come and destroy me but somehow they didn't.
I'd argue the tree trunk "jump" on the downhill was the toughest skill test but still safe because anyone who couldn't bunny hop it had the option to get off. Knowing it was there from practice was essential.
The stumps section at Offa's Way was a lot easier to ride this year.
That rollable drop was in the race last year and it was much wetter and slicker there last year.
Great course, great event. Hopefully I'll have forgotten how much pain I'm in today by next year and enter again!!
Was a great event , surprising how much hand cut trails they had managed to make without going near any of the main trails.
I'd agree I was surprised how techie a couple of places were for an XC race but was great fun and the hardest I've ever ridden for 1hr 40mins
Results are out: [url= http://www.oneplanetadventure.com/2015/10/27/trailblazers-battle-it-out-in-the-annual-fire-service-race/ ]Race Results 2015[/url]
I was in 6th in Vets and 9th overall til my pedal (and seatclamp...) broke.
Bum!
Oh well!
Really liked the course, would have been even better in the dry though I reckon.
Not sure about the double black arrow signage in the middle - to my mind the sloppy drop and the tree trunk bit were more of a potential issue!
I saw that too! Was the double black arrow in the DH section after the policeman marshal meant to be a warning? Of what?
That's a real shame about your DNF when you were in such a great position. You were putting down too much power, obviously!
I've put a really really quick edit of my practice lap on YouTube. It's absolutely vomit inducing at full screen. It's no where near as bad to watch on a mobile phone screen though. As usual with videos it flattens everything.
Those two roots at 3.06 👿 - I've never been able to do them without dabbing!
Good vid. I put the double arrow in there as that was thought to be the steepest part of the course. Also, if riders had taken the left hand side of the sign the trail dropped away a bit steeper. I'm not sure if anyone apart from me did though, tunnel vision seems to kick in when people follow in xc races even though we taped the course for more than one line to be used.
Thanks for the feedback though, I'll pass it on to the organiser.