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Ah so it's YOU the commentator was shouting "eat meat you'll go quicker" love it!!! 😉
Well done Graham, you were storming around! I followed you through the brambles, I lost a good 10 minutes on my first lap - I went around the marker too, as I remembered Paul stating that if you rode along the grass you'd be disqualified - that cost us at least one place, disappointing and I'm sure it affected lots of people, not just me.
I'd recommend some taping off of the grass next year to make it a fully fair race.
But still hats off the you Graham, we all commented on how much stonger you look on the bike.
Graham you must have smashed the rest of the course then i rode the big hill every lap! training on hills helps, so does being 71kg 😉 thats a hell of alot of calories as well i did 3000 according to garmin!
If that 87 in your user name means what I think it means, you're 25 years younger than me too. 😛
ha yes it might mean that, even more respect then 🙂
Over taking should be done safely and respectfully, Ashton court is always going to be a struggle to over take due to its obviously huge amount of single track.
The race can be won and lost on the first lap as the top riders are only minutes apart at the finish even over 8-12hr plus races.
Starting before the 10 sec countdown was CHEATING, cutting the corner up the hill was CHEATING and seemed to put a huge amount of average riders quite far into the course in front of faster more competitive riders and therefore may of encouraged more aggressive passing moves? I think you could write a book on peoples complaints of bad passing moves at Ashton court and I'm sure we have all been a victim of one and i'm sure will have done them ourselves but after all it is a race and not a fun ride. JUST GET USED TO IT
Well done Team Emptybeers, I lost out our final lap dual by 2". Arses
Thank you! Yes my team mate put his fastest lap of the day in as the last one. His rather tall SS gearing just about paid off for the run in the finish.
Ref overtaking I found everyone very polite. the only issue I had was with a youngster who was pretty quick but just shouted 'rider' when he got near to people and then nearly pushed me into another rider when he overtook on the bit next to the park entrance.
Overall I agree with Lee Roy though 8)
I'm very new to not only racing (this was my first race) but also to bike riding in general(started riding xc this year).Going in to this race I was very aware of being a much slower and less technical rider. I made every effort to get out of peoples way and when I was aware of any riders not asking to get past I would shout back asking if they were wanting to get by.
Over all I found riders to be good at picking safe lines to pass and calling out before passing. I found this very helpful In making the race safer for me and In turn for them,who want's to scare the crap out of the rider in front and possible making both rider crash.
There will always be riders who don't callout and take a line in there eyes to be safe and that's part of racing I guess. over all I never found it as bad as I thought going into this race and can't wait to do it again next year!
As to that young rider who tried to pass me and 3 others through the last bit of single track/rock garden. Shouting rider when clearly having no room to get past was the only **** I encountered and I just put that down to his pre-pubescent hormones getting the better of him!
I fell on my first lap and found it good to have several riders shouting out if I was o.k.
Over all I loved this race so keep it up!
Oh I did have to give some sod a telling off after mowing down some 12 year old kid out on course. Shouting "watch out" while doing over 20mph in downhill singletrack is likely to make them panic and stop in the trail, not make them actually move. It was very poor form!
Well at best, maybe next year people will be more aware about the tight overtaking and maybe think a little more about their approach.
As I recall in the early days of bikefest there was lots of argy bargy about overtaking I remember one team sponsored by a very popular energy supplement company even had to be pulled to one side about their behaviour on the course, things improved over the years as people became more familiar with the course, hopefully the same will happen with the new layout.
MTG I struggled to get passed you on the big climb, this was on my second lap, when I put in a 29min lap. You were out of the saddle cranking it with 7 hours still to go - Massive Respect!
I've done endurance races before where the soloists get an "S" to hang under their saddle, so everyone knows instantly why they're going so slow and (hopefully) affords them a bit more respect instead of just forcing them off the track.
I think a lot of the aggro on the day was caused by people just not calling it when they overtook, or wanted to overtake. If you're quite new to XC racing (as a lot of Oktoberfest participants are) you probably don;t realise how important it is.
I've done endurance races before where the soloists get an "S" to hang under their saddle, so everyone knows instantly why they're going so slow and (hopefully) affords them a bit more respect instead of just forcing them off the track.
Me too 🙂
I've done endurance races before where the soloists get an "S" to hang under their saddle,
This should be the norm in all endurance races IMO.
've done endurance races before where the soloists get an "S" to hang under their saddle, so everyone knows instantly why they're going so slow and (hopefully) affords them a bit more respect instead of just forcing them off the track.
This is great at mountain mayhem. I always made sure I gave words of encouragement solo riders when passing
Talking of the start and the bottle necks. I've often wondered whether doing the run in the same place as the afternoon starters might help? It'll stop the corner cutting and going straight into a climb should think the pack out a bit. Hell, why not go down to the deer park and make everyone haul it up the road and round? Can still go straight into the event village and start a lap proper – someone then tapes the course off again before the first team riders get a chance to come round...
I'd like an 'R' to hang behind my saddle all the time. For Rubbish.
+1 Gary
A good climb would thin the pack out, I much prefer rolling starts for that, as it does settle people out better than a run.
I totally understand for Paul though, trying to get 1000 people off the line and into speed order is not going to be the easist thing to sort out.
Thing is the run is too short, despite most people (including me) absolutely hating the run, in SitS in 2003 the run was nearer 800metres. It strung the pack out hugely and works way better, it's now too short a start.
A longer run for sure - way too short...
But are the strong riders necessarily going to be strong runners?
Yes for the top athletes, but it could still leave a lot of fast bike riders with a load of fast runners but slow riders to get past?
Since this is a bike race I'd have thought a long uphill ride would be better to string out the fast from the slow. Perhaps starting right down by the exit from the first singletrack* and possibly even taking a long way round the field with a couple of hills?
*Is this where the 4hr pm race started from?
Yup I suppose a longer uphill could be the way Roger! the less running the better when I get spammed with it 😉 But remember we did cheat according to some on here.
All this talk of aggressive overtaking saddens me. These are my local trails and I ride them week in, week out, and I'd love to enter either Bikefest or Oktoberfest, but seriously - I worry so much about holding someone up that I just don't bother taking part.
Wallop - Don't not enter because some people are inconsiderate because of inexperience. Bikefest is a race, but it's also great fun - for all levels of the sport.
A 12 hour solo at Bikefest can be a real achievement, and you don't need to be jostling for first place for that to be the case.
Give it a go next year, 99% of riders are courteous, if they're any good they be able to get past you without you having to move anywhere, just a little word to say what they're doing and they'll be gone 🙂
wallop: tbh it's largely not that bad. I soloed and was subjected to only one really dire overtake. I also had a few that were ok just a little surprising – I shouted [i]'call it better next time'[/i] and got a pretty sincere sorry from each.
wallop, it probably better than your average local XC race, despite having a much bigger field on a short circuit with a larger percentage of singletrack than most. I made an effort as the passer and the passed, if I heard someone coming up behind I'd look ahead and give them a shout where I intended to pull over before they'd even asked, and always gave a hearty thank you and as much room as possible to those I passed. It is a race so some people are going to get adrenaline fueled and aggressive but the enduro nature of it means there's as much cameraderie as competition (even more evident in the 12hr and 24hr races).
Though if it was my local I'd ride it when it was relatively empty and gloat, I got chatting to a female racer (possibly soloist) from Bristol Uni whilst in a s/track queue and she said she night rides there all the time. Tres envious!
Came 5th in 8hr old gits Team and was happy with that. Skillfully came off in the first lap trying to overtake on the perimeter trail. Doh!!!!
As these are my local trails, I was v conscious to be polite, there's always little red mist out there unfortunately. Especially annoying was being overtaken when 10 or more riders ahead in a train. What's the point?
Also the "bmx" section could benefit with some overtaking slots. The red downhill was always bunched because of that IMHO
Overall a very well managed event with a nice "nerdy" event feel ( according to my wife!)
I was leading Bikefest 12hr Solo this year, when I was given clearance to overtake a rider (who I asked politely to overtake, like I do all riders).
Unfortunately a very impatient rider decided to overtake myself and the other person, forcing the rider I was overtaking into my line and ultimately me into a tree.
The culprit didn't stop despite the shouting from other guys behind us who saw the incident.
I ended up with a broken wheel, broken helmet, damaged rib and shoulder and had to retire from the race. Wrecked my season, just as I was hitting some top form.
Last week I spoke to a British Cycling representative who said Ashton Court is not designed for racing, I happen to agree.
I worry so much about holding someone up
I was going to feign complete ignorance and ride AC in the wrong direction. 😉
"There's a race on?"
Ha ha!
I always find that any enduro event settles down after the first couple of hours, possibly due to a lot of the adrenaline coming from people trying to put in a fast first lap. Obviously with teams it takes a while for everyone to do a first lap.
I had a "difference of opinion" with one ignorant **** on the lower quarry trail who tried to push past me with no warning even though there was about 8 riders in a line and he nearly had us both off. I don't have a problem with close racing but I really don't like ignorance.
As has been said before the proper fast guys will either be patient and wait or be good enough to pass anyway. IMHO it's the people who think they're proper fast that cause the problem.
Great event as always anyway. Congratulations to Paul and his team.
PSA: Photos are now available on www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk
Can't see any.
video from Big foot 😀
Seem to remember alot more people taking Photo's
are there anymore anywhere else?
Really enjoyed the event, with the exceptions of the first lap cheating by so many and the event timing going a bit wrong. The Bristol guys always put on a great event and I thought the new course was great. Its obviously not 'designed' for racing, but with the exception of the Dalby WC course and the Olympic venue, are there any 'man-made' trials designed for racing? It works, it was fun 🙂
Unfortunately, Timelaps cocked up the results in the Solo male race which meant all the frantic racing in the dying hours was against incorrect information. I finished second which I'm chuffed with, but after 'leading' for over 4 hours and not being passed it was all a bit confusing at the end to find I'd actually finished second. If its not technically possible to credit a rider with a missed lap, mid-race, the best thing to do would be to pull the live display.
Bit of a blog if anyone is interested [URL= http://enduranceracing.co.uk/?p=943 ]here[/URL]
Agree with you there Rich, we had a similar issue - not for podium, but 4th and 5th. We were in 4th from a good way in, chasing the Charge team after an incredibly poor start from me, dropping about 10 minutes from the grass cutting and not being able to recover the time on that lap.
Unfortunetly, we were actually in 5th for most of the race and lost out by 4 minutes - which I think we could have reeled back in my last few laps, or just put in a double.
It's always going to be a bit of an issue when the laps are recorded by sight, and to be fair to timelaps they seem to get it right 99% of the time and are a really cool bunch of chaps. RFID chips would be a great addition, to give some extra coverage - but I'd assume that would increase the cost to Timelaps, and therefore entry costs would increase; the chips themselves are pretty damn cheap when I was working with them (circa £1 each), but it would be development costs and the readers that would cost.
That all said, I'll still be back in June and October again, as it's my favourite event 🙂
PS. More loos for the men would be awesome.
Ah you got stung aswell. I counted 4 stings on my right leg - ouch!
4! jesus. I only managed one. Spoke to a chap who had 3.
I've been stug before, but that felt like someone had put a staple through my achilles!
Yep, when I was racing forgot about them. Altough itching now still.
RichH - Once again sorry (don't know why it wasn't my fault) for the missed lap. If it's any consolation I didn't have any feedback on my position until 2 laps from the end until somebody told me I was in 6th. My head fell off at this point, although I still ploughed round, and it was only when I finished that somebody noticed I was down as having done a 54 minute lap at some point in the race.
Thanks for being so gracious about it all. Don't think I would've done the same.
Rob
Oh and I didn't cut any corners and made sure I was extra polite to everyone, just to keep the rest of you happy.
Had great fun in the pairs!
Tried my very best to be one of the 'polite' overtakers and all seemed to go OK. Said and got thanks as went passed. (Also got scalped by a few lycra clad 29ers too!)
I do remember following a guy down beggar bush who was pretty quick but then silent when he came up behind slower people - had to shout for both of us! Surprised that someone who could obviously ride then kept quiet and sat a mm from the person in front's back tyre. Wierd.
All in all, great day out.
Are there any more photos? The guys at Rightplace have lots of lovely action shots of my team mate but none of me. Ego me up!
moonboy: I know I did that a few times but I was soloing and going quick when it was easy to do so but not necessarily having the energy or motivation to ask for the pass and then wind it back up to speed again...
Quite often it was easier to wait a bit for a known passing spot rather than going charging off round the outside off piste and burn another match.
Gary, thats totally fair doos...
but this guy was so close to the point of sometimes actually overlapping front wheel along side the back of the rider in front and at other times being a few mm's away, all without saying a thing.
Not much fun for either rider really.