[Closed] Tweedlove Vallelujah Stages

isn't the forest closed this weekend for the rally? I thought there was a tweedlove message urging people not to get cheeky practices in this weekend as it would be very dangerous

Is it? better check that out then. Thought that was early March

Regardless I can probably go Thursday or Friday if required

This will be interesting, a bit like getting blood from a stone, my precious.

Sounded to me like all stages were in Yair, then a road ride back to Selkirk.
You definitely can't ride this weekend due to the rally!

Edit: "[i]Event start in Selkirk, you will need to ride to the start
of Stage 1 from the event village at Selkirk Swimming
Pool. All four stages will be within Yair Forest and
some transitions will be on open roads[/i]"

Hmmm....interesting !

OH and I are down for Vallelujah and we're heading down there tomorrow to try to get a feel for the place. We've never been there before so finding the car park is the first challenge. Finding the actual trails is going to be a mystery tour I think!

[i]This will be interesting, a bit like getting blood from a stone, my precious. [/i]

and would have to leave the country or face imminent death with a blunt instrument

[i]OH and I are down for Vallelujah and we're heading down there tomorrow to try to get a feel for the place. We've never been there before so finding the car park is the first challenge. Finding the actual trails is going to be a mystery tour I think! [/i]

Nearest place to park would be Yair Bridge - and follow the SUW to the top of 3B as a starter.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ @55.582943,-2.859021,3a,75y,208.95h,76.49t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sNX_Gf90uuj7rj2JBRt08iQ!2e0?hl=en

Rode there on Sunday, nice trails. Was bloody muddy mind you! Know idea if what I rode will be in the race, will find out next week. Some big climbs involved though.

Confirmation email said 1100m which is decent but doesn't seem that big? Same as King & Queen of the Hill last year. I'm expecting that main thing is that we'll either be trudging up fire roads or on gloopy singletrack rather than the nice meandering climbs up Glentress?

Based on the notes last night I am however glad I ordered a Chunky Monkey for the front, though now wondering whether I should have gone for a full on mud tyre!

Taz - Member

Any knowledge (or random speculation) on the routes being used? I can guess at a couple on the Yair side but was wondering what folks think the most likely route back into Selkirk will be?

The route back to Selkirk is along the road for "several km"

Pretty certain one of the climbs will be right up to the Three Brethren, and it's a bloody long, horrible, steep, quad track type thing. I'll be trying to remind myself that real men don't use range-extenders 🙁

I have a pair of unused 26" mud tyres if anyone wants them for a tenner 🙂

tempted to put my granny ring back on just for emergencies lol I've got a baron up front but my mountain king mk2 at the rear is not good in mud

Thanks guys

Guess this weekend is out then 🙂

Sounds like the race will be at least partially blind for me then.

Done that climb to the 3B a few times (in Merida Marathons as they were then). Was tough enough in a granny ring on an XC bike. Maybe Saturday as a rest day will be no bad thing :-).

I've got a baron up front but my mountain king mk2 at the rear is not good in mud

Standard Butcher and Purgatory combo for me. Do have Storms but accidentally ordered S-works ones, then rode them anyway, then tore the sidewall in one last week.... probably wouldn't have been the best race choice.

I liked the "what tyre for" advice in the notes 😆 Mine already has a Shorty and a Butcher on so I guess I'll use that. Quite a lot of climbing... But not I think as nasty climbing as the usual inners straight-up-the-hill ride-up-the-pushup malarky.

Yeah I liked the what tyre bit too. I have a WTB vigilante upfront already but a HR2 on the back. Curent dilemma is what I should stick in the back (HR2 is almost past it anyway). I've got a hand Dampf in the garage so thought about that but it's a shot in the dark without knowing what I'll be riding. Dunno what worries me more ....the massive climbs (steepness of them rather than the kms) or the steepness of the descents.

[i]I liked the "what tyre for" advice in the notes[/i]

Yair is tough for this. You want loads of grip, but there is also loads of climbing, so you need/want it to roll.

[i]Quite a lot of climbing... But not I think as nasty climbing as the usual inners straight-up-the-hill ride-up-the-pushup malarky. [/i]

Yep, nothing that can't be ridden - although if one-by, an extender will be very useful along with a >=32T front ring.

Thanks guys this is helpful. I have 1x11 which I'll run with a 30t upfront. OH runs a 32t, I can see him buying a 30t too.

Still need to work in tyres so any advice very welcome.

Would a hans dampf be a good option or should I look at something completely different. OH has magic Mary / hans dampf combo....any thoughts?

I'll post back up when we've been down tomorrow on current conditions.

I was riding trails there in the autumn which I've no clue are part of this race or not, but was the kind of mud that doesn't really make much difference what tyres you use, think we all had a little lie down at some point that day.

[i]Still need to work in tyres so any advice very welcome. [/i]

Retro wheels and lots of = loads of tyre options 🙂

Julzm - I think a Magic Mary or a Han Dampf (not Pace Star compound) will be fine up front based on other nearby venues. Good all rounder's with a nod towards the wetter end of the spectrum will probably be better than full on mud tyres

I may bump into you tomorrow if I can juggle some work stuff after that I may offer different advice 🙂

I run 1 x 11. May look out that 30T as well!!

Taz we'll definitely be down tomorrow. Feel free to mail me if you're about, address in profile.

Mud tyres? it was a wee bit muddy on Sunday but nothing a bald DHfs and a bling bling on the back couldn't handle. Bear in mind the trails there require very little braking.

RIP Yair :'(

Interesting this hasn't had the same reaction as Muckmedden re. trail damage 😀

mtbel - Member
Mud tyres? it was a wee bit muddy on Sunday

mtbel - Strava
Yair was pretty mingin but good fun for it. Double decker was ****ed though.. it just ran too sloooow in the squidge

Make your mind up, wee bit muddy or mingin? 😉

Thanks Julzm I will play it by ear tomorrow. See how much I can juggle work around

mingin means splashy Son.

Can't expect you to understand from the splashguarded safety of your GCN turbo suite 😉

Xx

yeah but I soon get to upgrade to my mtbel approved turb-zebo! 8)

[i]mtbel - Strava
Yair was pretty mingin but good fun for it. Double decker was **** though.. it just ran too sloooow in the squidge[/i]

DD has taken a beating over winter, especially as we've had a 'problem' with MXers. Also shows the issue with natural trails - a trail on the other side has not been the same since a wet Marathon went down it (plus all the 29ers/fast folk cut a load of the corners)...

In 20 years racing I don't think I've ever been sent a pre-race weather warning......until last night! How's the weather looking down that way?

A bit of snow on the hills this morning but it should be gone by this afternoon.

I'd expect it to be a bit muddy come Sunday though

In 20 years racing I don't think I've ever been sent a pre-race weather warning......until last night!

Lovely...

http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/selkirk

Woke up to snow this morning.

Each of the valleys though around here can easily have totally different weather forecasts (and actual conditions) on the same day 🙂

In 20 years racing I don't think I've ever been sent a pre-race weather warning......until last night!

TBF 400 complete fairies racing minatureDH Sportives under the blanket disclaimer of "a day out with your mates" it is a fairly recent phenomenon..

Hahahahahahahahahaha!!! You coming down to be my pit bitch, erm, biatch, my bike will need washed 😛

It's gonna be muddy. Should be interesting.

wish I could.

micro-me would love it, mini-me not so much 😕

if you are thinking of entering another of these Sportives and happen to notice a HT cat. Do let me know.. quite fancy a bit of third party insurance covered mincer-skittles 😉

It's gonna be muddy. Should be interesting.

are tantrums as frequent in Enduro as DH?

I had a tantrum on the last one due to all the complete ****tards standing on the course during practice, you would have loved it. Think of the worst mincer packed uplift you've ever done and double the retard level.

ha ha... Ace!! 😀 kinda gutted I've never seen this spectacle yet for myself.

trolls be trolling hard today

was mostly pretty dry at yair last weekend anyway, double decker was pretty sloppy at the top but dry lower down. have fun y'all

Awfully sensitive aren't they!

@mtbel I've been kicking myself every since about that!

Looking forward to lots of "well that was shit, who's idea was it to stage an Enduro in March" and "400 mincers just wrecked the trails I didn't help to create" comments next week.

mtbel - Member

if you are thinking of entering another of these Sportives and happen to notice a HT cat. Do let me know.. quite fancy a bit of third party insurance covered mincer-skittles

There's a hardtail cat for the scottish series. I think most enduros have one tbh. UKGE doesn't- well, they said they did but when we got there, they hadn't bothered.

Yeah, for the love of god enter it so we can all marvel at your superhuman speed.

You guys have probably already seen, but there's some changes tomorrow because of the weather- registration starts later, at 9.30am, and stage 1 is closed tomorrow and might be cut from the race entirely because of a high risk of wind damage. I'll be making a late start anyway but thought some folks might be planning to get down early

I'm guessing s1 would be the descent from the three brethren?

S1 isn't off the top of 3B.

I think S1 is the descent from Craig hill down to the other wee car park (the one across the bridge furthest away from Selkirk) New trail cut in there very recently, pretty steep and techy in places. Would seem the place that was most likely to suffer wind blow.

Nope

Loving this:

[img] ?oh=74f88285c950ad95b7c2a6f107ced140&oe=55AA5314[/img]

Anyone rode this today and is the rock rideable?

Had to commit but it was no issue.
The final stage however had several issues of different kinds!

Scary rock was fine, I didn't have the pace to drop it comfortably (slippery run in) but it rolls over the top pretty easily. What was the other one, "crazy fallen tree feature" or something?

Turned out to be an absolutely top race, losing one stage made the day more pleasant so you could give it more on the remaining stages.
Think many people found it challenging but everyone I saw at the end had big smiles.

Also, I liked the sign at the bottom of st2 that said "This was bone dry last week!"

losing one stage made the day more pleasant so you could give it more on the remaining stages

Meh, don't agree with that at all, day felt far too short, didn't feel like a grand day out like the last one.

Top day and loved the stages despite the mud, muddy transitions less good. Too short, which was a shame but not really fault of the organisers.

Great event, Injured my self in practice so only managed stage 1 today and had to retire. Thought the courses were good and the end of stage 4 was mental.

I didn't mind the lack of stage one. I was pretty destroyed by the end of stage four (which was ace).

I think the mud pushups/climbs combined with being chronically unfit just killed me.

I also enjoyed the lack of stage one because it made things less rushed. Sometimes I like the physical challenge of a big day out, but yesterday was one of the most enjoyable days I've had as I was fresh throughout and had plenty of time to chat to mates and join the crowd at S4 spectating. If time limit was tighter then we would not have had that chance, I'm not a fan of the tight time limits like last year's K&Q, especially when there are queues.

Atmosphere was great, good chat with the marshals, spectators and competitors and really good stages. Brilliant day out!

On the flip side I was dissapointed they didn't reduce time limit to reflect the shorter course. Part of the challenge to me is having the fitness to complete the course within the limit, not just bimble aimlessly between stages and still make it.

Though I agree a time limit and excessive queuing is a pain, but if that's taken account of in the limit that's fine.
Plus if you're time limit is back to somewhere that isn't the bottom of a stage, like yesterday, it can detract from the atmosphere a bit as folk don't have to rush off. Yesterday was good at last stage as people had time, you could achieve the same thing by having the time limit stopped at end of the stage rather than 5 miles away in town

Yes I guess that the time limit just to the last stage end would at least allow for viewing, I really enjoyed that!

A lot of terrified looking people on their arse at the last couple of corners!

Great day out and I think the shorter day made it more relaxed and enjoyable

Enjoyed yesterday despite really not having my 'race mojo' on. A calf injury prevented me running across the traverse section of stage 4 after I span out which cost me a chunk of time. Riding like a numb nut on stage 3 cost me more though 🙂

Bit of a shame they had to drop a stage but safety has to come first

As always for Tweed love organization was exceptional

Great to see the results up in the evening. I wonder how much 'fuss' it was to do that?

I have this awkward desire to race way moar ENDURO despite being shit at it...anyone else? They need to make the stages at least 10 minutes long though, preferably with a cheeky short sharp climb in the middle 😛

The next Glentress one should defo have the Gypsy Glen descent in it 🙂

Great to see the results up in the evening. I wonder how much 'fuss' it was to do that?

Results could actually be live if reliable internet could be found at the timing tent, however the best description of mobile data at the weekend was somewhere between nae chance and mibbies if the sun, clouds, and rain aligned (or in other words, in a hole that only has 2G with **** all bandwidth).

I'm hoping for a video compilation of those crashes with a Yakety Sax soundtrack

I was one of those making hard work of the bottom of 4 ! Had a great weekend and in light of the conditions wasn't bothered about missing out stage 1 . All credit to tweedlove for putting on a such a fun event . Looking forward to king of the hill now

this was my favourite part of the event.. 🙂

[img] ?oh=5193cace6e208f41c81811fef022a668&oe=55BC6925[/img]

Except during practice. Where the signs just got my hope up only to be utterly crushed 😛