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The competition is stiff, but yes you are right NO STOPPING!
I'm entered for 8h solo and feeling very under prepared!!! Still there are only 5 of us in the category currently so I'm aiming for a top 10 finish 😆
pjt201 - Member
Nope, joined team Wideopenmag this time round - had my fill of solo I reckon - a non-competitive 4 has to be more relaxing...
Unless we all mysteriously disappear at 5 minutes to 9...
Yep a what tyres question.
I have a Rocket Ron on the back and a 2.0 Mudx on front.
Is it worth changing to a sb8 on front or stay with the Mudx.
Normaly at Ashton court I would keep the mudx but now its a bmx track....
What do you think?
8 hour solo.
I have a Rocket Ron on the back and a 2.0 Mudx on front.
Is it worth changing to a sb8 on front or stay with the Mudx.
Hmm.. I'm going rocket ron on front, racing ralph on rear (of it's dry)
Otherwise i'm going to whack on some super narrow cx tyres (1.35)
Semi slicks or low profile knobblies will be perfect, I'll be running WTB Nanoraptor f&R, I'd slap a vulpine on the back but I can't be arsed.
umm so mudx will hinder me for 8 hours. might have to do a swap around then. sb8 on the rear, and RR up front.
umm so mudx will hinder me for 8 hours. might have to do a swap around then. sb8 on the rear, and RR up front.
Alhough not ideal Mud X will be fine, I was solo last year in the bone dry and I had Mud X F&R, for a mud tyre they roll very well.
Weather update? How's it looking?
My team mate (well pairs partner) has told me he's running 36x16!
18 degrees and sunny for Saturday! So weather looking good fingers crossed! I'm in 8 hour pairs ... only 4 entrants so want a podium place 😉
4 entrants? is there a list of entrants somewhere?
I might whack some gears on my bike if there's only 4
If you are downloading the current entries list from the website it's borked, there are loads of names missing.
8hr SS team.
I'm running 2:1, but only because it's all I have. I think you can get away with a bigger gear.
tyres - crossmarks, but only because they are tubeless, and I can't be arsed to swap to something even more low profile. Anything with small knobbles would be good I think (smallblock 8's, larsen TT's etc)
and HT all the way if there's a HT FS decision to be made. There aren't any bumps on the course, so it's mostly just excess weight. I've been riding the whole thing with my forks locked out, setup so I get about an inch of travel It's perfect!
Looking forward to the sun that is forecast for Saturday. It's going to be filthy rain for the guys on Sunday though, according to the BBC.
I spoke to Paul on Sunday, and he said it was full.
Anyone thinking of entering on the line - I'd phone up and check first!
Mr AgreeableUnless we all mysteriously disappear at 5 minutes to 9...
If we all disappear then no one will race, shirely?
Leon - Member
I spoke to Paul on Sunday, and he said it was full.Anyone thinking of entering on the line - I'd phone up and check first!
Some one said this in the pub last night too - something to do with not enough parking available at Ashton Court. He was going to talk to the Council and see if he could get any more space though.
Me i will just be using
Tyres Black
Gears Just one thanks
oh and i may even turn up 😀
ssjeff.. come and race in our team 🙂
I will be there camping on the Saturday so should be okay! It said the entries on line were being shut on Tuesday (yesterday) i guess it gives them time to process it all!
Can't wait for the Le Mans style sprint! NOT ..darn it why did I pick the short straw for that.
Run Forest Run!!!
Anyone got a space? Looking for morning 4 hour, or possibly 8. SS rider, if it matters.
If we all disappear then no one will race, shirely?
I was thinking of the old "You take the first lap, we'll hold your bike for you" ruse.
I'll be riding the morning 4 hour solo with my mate.
Hoping the start will be less chaotic than the bikefest although it always amuses me seeing spectators panic as loads of bike go charging towards them.
The competition is stiff...
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Just leaving the workshop see you all there Loco BM racing will be trackside, pop in for a beer if your passing 😀
MTG - you're back! 🙂
I'm not racing but I was out this morning and it's all riding beautifully - bone dry so for the tyre fetishists, I'd suggest something semislick but still reasonably grippy at the back (for all the berms) and a low profile knobbly at the front for point and shoot fun on the twistys.
Good luck all but especially GO VEGAS!
I was out last evening and would second something with a bit of grip on the back (rather than a semi-slick) as even my crossmark was losing traction when really pushing it on the berms. Going down zig-zag is fairly sketchy to :p
Wasn't sure of the start section though, it looks on the map like it doubles-back on itself and joins the start of the wall trail, is that right? I hope so as going straight on through the start there's a horrible claggy mud section...
Yeah, compared to the 2010 course, you turn left after the main event area rather than right so that you go all the way to the start of teh BBL trail. That first corner was carnage on the first lap this year at the bikefest - suspect it'll be even funnier this time on damp grass 🙂
So..any team spaces?
I'm in a team of 4, 8hr old gits. We won the Bikefest Old Gits Team, so hoping for a repeat performance 🙂
The new course is definitely slower in terms of lap times. About 3-4 mins I reckon. I did a flat out lap in the dry last week for comparison and managed 29 mins compared to 25 mins on the old course in June. The new pumpy bit after the quarry climb is where the extra time comes from. It's a tough lap for sure, especailly if you try and hit all the jumps 😉
so, how was it? I heard that my teammates won the SS team but no other news.
and I'd love to know if anyone saw Peaty ride the Singletrack - would love to have watched that!
Yup, LVIS singlespeed superstars continued their unbeaten winning streak. Team Wideopen won the who can heckle the loudest prize (i think the megaphone helped). Apparently Peaty only did one lap and they were only in the afternoon 4hr (it was quite considerable the number of people who'd entered that, the course really filled up from 1pm). I think the wideopen mag videographer got some footage of Peaty on the course, they should have a video up in a couple of days. Paul reckoned that there more people racing Oktoberfest than Bikefest this year.
11 laps for solo SS for me would have been 13 which I would have been very chuffed with, but a face / ground interface during the 11th lap put paid to that..
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I'm just chuffed I got back on the bike and finished, got a few stitches but nothing major.
Graham top result for you, you did well to beat Mike Wilken, I guess Chris Noble was the chap on he niner in the Morvelo kit he was just so consistently silly fast.
One lesson from yesterday, I [s]want[/s] need a 29er.
Great weather, good course and a much bigger event than last year. 10 laps 8h solo putting me in 5th (I think), my first solo and the furthest I've ever ridden in 1 day, I'm feeling it this morning!
I have one complaint about the whole event, the overtaking etiquette was the worst I've ever seen. I got clipped so many times and nearly run off the track once (thankfully my foul language stopped him before he succeeded!). I got wiped out at the start of my 3rd lap so had the rest of the day with a swollen knee and ankle and a bruised hand. The top guys were as polite, skilled and safe as ever, it's the "I'm going past even though there isn't room and I've not got the skills to do it right, oh and I'm also not going to tell you I'm here" gang that were the worst. It's a narrow course and sometimes you just have to wait a few more metres.
From my limited experience as a solo rider I find it easier to shout people through before they ask if I hear them on my rear wheel, although doing that was the result of the above although it was no fault of the passing rider.
Yes I shouted people through and moved over where ever I could and for most people it worked fine (they either asked or were called through as soon as possible). The problem was the people who tried to come through where there wasn't space, didn't ask/tell you/get called through and tried to force you off the track. 2 people even did that after I said no not here, I'll go left on the next straight etc, no need.
I think the new trails don't really help with the passing situation, there's no overrun just very loose earth/rocks at each side. I always asked people if i can get through and normally they let me, although there was one bloke who i'd been behind for a while who when i tried to overtake in one of the few places where there were two lines actually accelerated to cut me off before slowing down again. thanks for that.
Hope you heal soon Mike. Was quite a sight to see you come in covered in that much blood. Looked like you were doing really well too, glad i didn't do solo now as you would have put me to shame!
Great course, really nice & flowing, but there was very little room to overtake & IME the alternate lines were very rarely faster. Interesting to see that the start of the 2nd 4hr was moved to the bottom of the gravel climb - so many people cut the corner at the start of the 1st it made the 1st lap & a half really hard work.
Brilliant event though, with a fantastic atmosphere - thanks to Paul & Mike & the gang for putting it on.
Thanks Paddy, Jon R and Nouv took some pics of may face after the accident, I'm looking forward to seeing them...
Results are up on Timelaps.co.uk
Bad luck on the fall KINGTUT. There were a few bad ones with paramedics at one point.
I was running RoRon on the rear and SB8 on the front. Never leaned in to corners like it. Unlimited grip!
I did 12 Laps and came 12th on the 8 hour solo. Pretty chuffed with that but feel like I started racing the 4 hour. With a HR at 188 for the first 3.5 hours I burned out at 6 hours. I should of slowed down and grinded the laps out. - Oh and eat more.
Results: http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/uploads/EVENTREPORT.aspx?eventid=186AshtonCourt15/10/2011#Top
Now the negatives:
WASPS!! ****ers. Stung 3 times on my lower leg.
Slow riders that wouldn’t allow faster people to overtake. Worst excuse I heard was "Its a race - Overtake when you can!, Don’t ask to be in front!" LMAO you said what?
The course - 12 laps nearly made me sleep - got very bored. Berm,Roller,Berm,roller,Berm,Corner,corner,Berm,Corner,Finish,Start,Berm,Roller - you get the point.
But atleast it was a fun event and the first 4 hours the trail was great.
@KINGTUT hope you recover quick, I was the chap on the Niner 😉 and well done to Graham I didn't realise how close you was to catching me! the course was fun but overtaking was a struggle, i didn't like to stray to far off the course edge because of the hidden boulders under the leafs! but most people were very kind at letting people through
I throughly enjoyed it. Took me a a lap or 2 to get my eye in but after that the course felt increcibly quick. Been doing so much road miles recently it was great to ride the trail at race pace.
Came 9th in the pairs male (both riding singlespeed) with 8 laps each. Echo what everyone else said.. sometimes it just wasn't possible to pass. Especially with 6 riders in front of you on the swoopy sections
That big climb hurt on my last lap
Awesome day, that course was like a giant pump track, so unforgiving! IF I'd known it was like that I'd have taken the full sus, HT and my back is a bit achey/sore this morning, and to top it all off we came 2nd in the girlie pairs 8 hour!! Fantastic result, as my team mate gave birth 8 months ago so limited riding time, and she got a puncture so she discovered she had a 29er tube..without having a 29er bike! DOH wonder if that 3mins 45 seconds to 1st could've been done!? Who cares we came 2nd and got a giant pretzel for the pleasure!
I do agree with Becca there were some right knobs out there, one bloke even buzzed my rear tyre, if I could see it was straight and over taking space then I would should "overtake on my right" otherwise if you are good enough and quick enough, you'll let me know your there, tell me which side you are overtaking on and I'll do my best! Otherwise you'll get a handlebar in the ribs!!! Great day though.
I was fairly gutted at having to pull out with a mechanical failure on my third lap - and had driven all the way from Kent! In hindsight though it probably helped, as I've had treatment recently and am feeling it today. Had an amazing time on a course that worked well for both geared/SS. I agree to a certain extent about the overtaking issues, but the vast majority of folk were good mannered. By the gods the Vegan can fly! Great work by Paul and the rest of the workers; I'll definitely be back for other events at Ashton Court.
Wow that's a lot of categories 🙂
Well done to all!