I think i've just convinced myself to go this year. Minor (!) issue is i have very little spare £££ right now. So i'm hoping, ultimately, to do it on the very cheap.
What's it going to be like camping around there late February? Is that sensibly possible? Can't be that bad can it for one night? Or should I be looking at close by alternatives?
There isn't much detail released if any at all about what to expect, I worried that I might not be fit enough, but i have no clue how far were talking, apart from it's 4 stages or red/black stuff.
Anyone else travelling from Edinburgh, need a lift?!
My friend is going up and camping - I'll direct him to this thread. I'm going to observe/help but I'm booked in a hotel :D. I'd hazzard a guess on about 50k for the course in total.
The only chat I've seen about the stages is that there's new stuff being built, and forestry work being done to reopen old stuff. Which I'm taking to mean, fit the Barons, there will be slop. But absolutely no clue on distance- it's a no fuss/innerleithen mtb racing collaboration so I'm kind of assuming it'll be similiar to their previous enduros, which tends to mean a big day out but doable for a reasonably fit rider.
Would I **** camp up there at this time of year for a race! If you've got the right kit it'll be perfectly comfortable, if you don't you may just die 😉 But I want full on creature comforts, soft bed, hot shower, in case of a hard day's practice. FW's usually not expensive for accomodation, Spean Bridge can be good too and is actually closer to nevis range than most of the fw hotels.
I might be able to sort you a lift but I've no idea what my plans are for the weekend so I don't want to promise and let you down...
Im going up and will be passing through edinburgh on my way. Was going to camp but have been looking at fairly cheap one night stay in a hotel. Happy to car share to split the fuel.
We booked into a hostel for 17 quid a night. Get cold and wet then going in a tent sounds super rubbish. No way I would do that!!
Ok cool I was thinking between 50-70k, I haven't done that in a while, but there shouldn't be too much stopping me.
I have a car, and i'll be heading that way anyway, so I was more offering a lift to people, don't worry about ferrying me 😀
Hmmmm.... I will price up creature comforts then, i'll see what other friends who may or may not even be coming think about camping. I have the kit to do so. Haven't been to Fort Bill since 2008 and camped in December then, that was full on hilariously horrifically cold, but we survived pretty well, and had fun 🙂
What are the conditions like up there course wise? Am i better taking my ski's?! Heard about record levels of snow fall over the 3 peaks, and wondering how sensibly ridable an enduro may even be?
TBH, Ft.Bill in February does seem a bit nuts to me, 50km loop even more so assuming there are only the usual handful of marshalls across the event.
If the weather's good I might enter last minute, the snow line is a long way down the hill at the moment though
Having bigger second thoughts now, may seriously just take my skis instead!
The mountains have had a lot of snow but it's been falling as rain below 3-400m. The mountain forecast shows the frezzing level to be sitting around 6-700m so can't see the staying much below that.
The race is 3 weeks away anyway so the weather could do anything by that time.
It is sort of mad. But then again they've run 2 massively succesful enduros in kinlochleven in november, they were mad too. But I trust the organisers...
What kit are you taking with you Northwind? What's on your bike etc..? I really wanna try all Scottish Enduro Series rounds this year, which means i should really do this one :p
Ach, don't take me as any sort of expert, I've done a load but I usually come in bang in the middle of these things 😆 Just making up the numbers and having a laugh, enduro racing is ace. Hoping they don't go all UKGE-serious and ruin it for all us tossers.
But I will be using a possibly-cracked Cotic Hemlock with coil lyriks and Conti Barons. I'm not qualified to talk about going fast but the Barons are just [i]the[/i] winter enduro tyre, black magic, only reason I don't crash 50 times a stage.
Travelodge - £34
Bank St Lodge - £17 (in a dorm) , £25 single room
Camping - bollocks to that!
Or for something a little closer to the venue, Inverlochy Castle Hotel - £320 and upwards
I noticed Achnabobane Farmhouse still have cheap rooms, they're really close to Nevis Range. Quite old-fashioned and fairly small rooms but lovely people and breakfasts that could kill a man.
Course will be 25k according to the No Fuss newsletter
25km straight up 😆
Too slow - post on SES facebook page just now says 25km.
mmmm I can do 25km. I have a hardtail with 160mm revs. I have a tent and nothing else doing that weekend. This sounds like a go er. Entry fee of 50quid and same again for fuel doesn't sound too much. I might be there...well, somewhere pootling along behind everyone else.
Having never ridden any of the stuff up at fort william, will this be enjoyable on a hardtail? or is there too much DH bias and I'll die.
You've got a seperate hardtail category so you could place better than a full field 🙂 I wouldn't say it'd be enjoyable on one, but definitely do-able and a challenge. Go for it.
I don't know what they're doing for stages but I've done the world cup route on a hardtail without too much fuss (well, one ridiculous crash but only because I'm a div). And I'm no richmtbguru.
TBF I find the slop and roots that scottish enduro races love much harder! I've done a couple of enduros on a hardtail and had a great laugh, in some ways it's a superb excuse, every person I passed got a surprise and nobody could be smug for passing me 😆
at a guess....... start from the road crossing, down past the big wall ride, keep going until the start of the motorway but head left along the flat trail, then join the old DH route and bottom of the Red to the finish. Would be a short(ish) but fun stage that!