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Well after specing the last two years musing over it ( 🙄 ) I have decided to enter my first MTB race.
Thought I would go with a nice easy one so am one of four riders in a team for MM in June 😆
Now .... I have never taken part in a race and to be honest the only person I will be racing is me.
I am now looking to use the next 12 weeks or so to get myself better equipped.
I have a fairly decent level of fitness, but my diet pre/during/post ride have always been my achilles heel.
This is not to say that more riding wont be necessary!
Regarding bikes ... As the team will be a retrobike team I will be on fully rigid bike but will be taking a modern bike as well.
So I will open it up.
All advice very welcome.
Any Suffolk based riders that ride out of Brandon that would welcome an addition - please get in touch 🙂
Cheers,
MArk
Well Mountain Mayhem is quite different from a normal race, although I do agree it probably best to approach the laps as 6 small races. Ie dont take too much kit out with you, no need to a jacket even if poring down.
The good thing about MM is you can normally do a lap in an hour so you dont need to think too hard about getting energy in while racing. But you DO need to think about this inbetween racing particularly at night.
I'd say eat constantly but once or twice I've eat too much at MM and felt pretty bloated/heavy when I've got onto the bike. Also you end up spending alot of time in the portaloos then.
I have a fairly decent level of fitness, but my diet pre/during/post ride have always been my achilles heel.
Most of the guys I race with tend to use energy gels/carbohydrate mixes. Personally they dont tend to agree with me. So would be best to check what your body likes long before the races.
My preparation is lots of complex carbohydrates, such brown rice/wholemeal bread/wholemeal pasta. Then I tend to eat nutty type things on the day. With the occasional sugary/chocolaty thing while racing, but generally I try to stay away from the sugary food as it tends to make me feel more tired in the long run.
*Pulls up chair*
Ive just entered my first race for this summer too. Entered the Gisburn dirty dozen in june as a pair so hopefully can take some stock from whats said here.
I too am entering my first race this year, the Fort Williams Endurance downhill. I have feeling I may regret it...
for mm i took a massive amount of cooked pasta to eat after every lap.
also dont get tempted to do two laps in a row for more sleep overnight, it slows the pace massivly.
Dont forget its fun, whiping and tweaking of the jumps and general fun and showing off activly encouraged 😛 and it annoys the carbon hardtail, matching lycra brigade!
titusrider - Memberit annoys the carbon hardtail, matching lycra brigade!
I think my early 90's color scheme might also do this - even in the dark!
How much kit do folk bring for the event?
I take a variety of food with me as there are times when you really can't face pasta/gels etc. It's quite important to eat and drink regularly.
Working out a lap time is difficult for the first time - most people reckon on an hour, but conditions and the course can make a big difference - also one persons idea of fitness can be rather different to someone else.
Training is easy - just ride as much as you can. It'll hurt no matter how much you do , you'll just be faster and do more laps - the pain is the same. It's good to ride with the other people in the team beforehand to understand your relative fitness\ability etc. Makes lap timing a bit easier so you're not hanging around for ages waiting for a handover.
Kit wise it's nice to have dry, clean kit for each lap but it's not essential - I'd say a comfy chair is.
Basically take everything you own and prepare for baking hot weather and a mud bath.
It's only 9 miles a lap, rest for 3 hrs then do it again - how hard can it be? 🙂
Rice pudding!