Because the weather is looking awesome, hot & sunny!
Or so the met office website says... Don't hold me accountable if it ends up with cold, wet and blowing a gale though!
Me. All on my lonesome.
Couple of days rain forecast between now and then and sun predicted for the weekend. I'll believe it when i see it.
The email this morning hinted the trail is pretty muddy in places.
I'm going. Please post pic so we can blame you when they change the forecast 😉
what is it?
edit: thought it meant Big Ben
Just look for the red P7 singlespeed!
I rode the track a couple of weeks ago and there were some small boggy bits but nothing too bad, it was riding well for the most part.
This will be the first 10 Under the Ben that I've missed.
The unexpectedly hot and sunny weather for the last two years has resulted in me getting pretty badly dehydrated (despite taking on a decent amount of water and food) and puking, so I've been put off it as an event a tad. 🙁
We will be there with a few teams(two soloists and a trio), Im riding in a mixed trio for a change.
Gordymac
[url= http://www.fyrishbikes.com ]Fyrishbikes.com[/url]
I'll be there (on an On-One ti 29er singlespeed)
I'm going. Entered as a pair again. Hope it isn't quite as hot as last year, sunny and warm will do nicely 8)
I'm in a trio this year. My partner for pairs is injured and I didn't feel up to soloing. Looking forward to it as it's always a blast 🙂
jojo you look after jayne now ! ....i took her out yesterday and she may have a slightly sore finger now after a wee over the bars incident :s
ill be there solo , not decided gears(red merida) or SS.(gf rig 29er with pannier rack ) Last time i SSed it i did quite well , cant decide whether id be any quicker on gears or not !
I shall be there solo. It seemed a good idea in the post christmas haze.
I take it when you say muddy you mean in a trail centre muddy sort of way rather than a Mayhem/SITS/Somme sort of way?
they mean a slight spattering of mud , your tires may get a slight damp patch
nothing like mayhem trust me.
I will be going up as a pair .Going to struggle as I am not in as nearly good nick as last year
I will look after my teamie, TR. Don't you worry. Just don't flippin break her before she gets there!!! 🙄
Yep. Solo. Again.
Hopefully on a Blue Rush with Lefty ("hopefully" because currently certain crucial bits are in the postal system. Eeeek.)
Metcheck looks just about perfect. If we all believe _really_ hard then should be OK. Last year was hotter than the West Highlands has any right to be so hoping for a bit cooler than that.
Mr Stru - yep, pretty much muddy as in "trail centre muddy". Almost all of the course holds up really well in anything, they usually chuck in a few short natural bits to keep the spice levels up and they get a bit gooey if it rains (which it hasn't done since 10UTB 2006 I don't think) but we're not looking at Catton Park or Malverns Muck.
I'll be there - can't decide between the P7 One (in tasty black) or On One Ti 29er (singlespeed), but since both have been mentioned I now have to consider going with the rather too beautiful Singular Swift - hmmmm. Luckily I'm in a trio so I get some rests 😀
Meeeeeeeeeee!
Gordy - Going soft eh?
I guess I have to wait a few more weeks for the annual bike pushing ritual then.
Even the met office site is predicting sunshine and it tends to be a lot more pessimistic than the rose tinted model metcheck uses.
Vet Pairs for me (Dunracin')
Yellow and blue Dunfermline CC shirt, red Kinesis, old, slow, huffing and puffing like Stevenson's Rocket.
Soloist here too. Flying the flag for Squarewheels/Fyrishbikes.com
See you all there. (hopefully with sunnies!!)
Another solo rider joining in the fun.
Weather looks great so here's hoping the sun keeps those bloody midgees away.
oldmanbreezer - forecast looks like there'll be a bit of a breeze which is more likely to keep the midges down.
In a trio (probably just as well). None so unprepared. Oh dear.
Going as part of a trio.
In a pair. Aiming to cramp up less than last year and finish each lap with a grin on me face 😀
Is this a pretty fair reflection of the elevation profile?
Looks like a lot of climbing!
Well, do say hello if you pass me. I'll be in my Mlehboro fag packet top or my Minx Girl top on a Kona HeiHei and laughing like a loon or gurning like a maniac. 🙂
Who is all at the 10 campsite ?
Me.
I'll be the sad fat bloke camped by himself
BB I am sure you could join up for a friday night pre race beer.
Won't you all be 'up the top' at the registration bit til the bar closes on Friday night?
I'm going as a pair, missed the last two years so looking forward to doing the race again.
Jojo I think you can register on Sat morn , after the amount of time I was up top and pitched my tent last year I was thinking not bothering going up top if I didn't need to.
Im going along, entered as a pair and first time of doing this course so should be interesting (7 weeks with minimal biking after a back injury hasnt been the best prep but hopefully it will be fun).
[i]was thinking not bothering going up top if I didn't need to.[/i]
well worth it for the views and nice cold pint on the verandah IMHO*. 🙂
* if it's as nice a night as last year.
Jojo I think you can register on Sat morn , after the amount of time I was up top and pitched my tent last year I was thinking not bothering going up top if I didn't need to.
Is it a hassle to register up top?
I'm leaving Glasgow about 9am on Friday morning so I should be up at FW for 1pm-ish giving me plenty of time to get the tent pitched.
was a bit of a queue at sign on when i hit it last year. the queue went past the bar...
I did not arrive till about 7pm last year and after going up to register I started putting my tent up at 9pm,
Jeebus 😆
It was a wee bit of a faff, but I think they've got some things streamlined for this year. I'd prefer to register the night before as I detest getting up early for anything. What's nice is for everyone to be sociable and in the same more confined vicinity rather than spread out over the campsite socialising in their own wee groups and wandering up to the sign on in dribs and drabs.
we shall be up on friday night jo. We (me jayne and char) have a bnb booked in spean bridge.
you guys riding on sunday ? we are staying roy bridge hostel and plan to hit up laggan on sunday.
jojoA1 - Member............... and laughing like a loon or gurning like a maniac.
Wot no swearing?
Me! In a pair.
Oh and a warning for those that don't know, FC Scotland in their infinite wisdom have demolished the wall. It looks like this now:
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Great I hated that bit last year I just could not get the bike going over that
That was kinda the point... Maybe you'd like some tarmac on top as well 🙄
wasnt hard either just took a wee bit of concentration and some speed ..
could get a wheel chair up that now !
Sad to see another slightly challenging bit of trail gone. It won't be long untill all trail centres are just gravel paths in the woods 😕
Good shout Stu
almost certain im gonna make my legs explode ... 32:16 on the 29er ran 32:18 last time i did it no worries so thought i might as well up the gearing a wee bit ...
I'm ready to burst. Eating my own body weight in pasta today and my Outlook calendar is set to remind me every 15 minutes to drink water!
Man, that sucks that the wall is gone. Full-sus had a nice advantage there - I remember riding SXC over the wall with hardtail riders falling off either side and the full-sus just soaking the lot up 🙂
See you up there troops
If anyone fancies a beer, 07834 186 140
Managed 5 laps solo. Heat FAIL.
Hot and sunny. Still, good event despite start line congestion and the dubious dancing from the band's lead singer. Big up to the Manchester Company Of Extreme Largeness and his mad thong-clad pyromania.
Pretty good course though not quite as good as in previous years I don't think. Felt like a lot more climbing but GPS says last year was 350m per lap and this year 360m so basically the same. Never quite felt like we got the value back on descents so maybe that was it? Sad to see the demise of The Wall as well, loved that bit of trail in both directions.
Good banter on the course as ever and absolutely no issues with passing or being passed. Usual excellent No Fuss Swan Style organisation and big thanks to all the helpers and marshalls. Top event - bring on Kirroughtree!
ps trail_rat - your lighting board isn't working properly - check the earth!
my lighting board isnt working right cause it has the wrong bulb in one side as i live in a town where its impossible to get anything you want!
food on friday night was a bit lack lustre , i know frazers hands are tied with the gondola company but after the food at kirroughtree and moray being so excellent , perhaps we have been spoilt !
9 laps in solo , heat fail ... 3 laps in i was mega cramping..... i drank 25 litres of torq and nuun over the course of the day ! did one piss and it was lumo orange.
disapointed in the number of tubes left at the side of the trail and the young ones trail manners .... (most folk were curteous but these 3 guys on treks were rude to me and barged the woman infront of me off ....i was sat behind her to let her get to a safe place to stop you knobs ! )
Great weekend , and appologies if you spoke to me during event i was in a world of hurt and probably wasnt cohearant in the slightest !
Managed 7 laps which I was pretty pleased about.
I liked the course. Nice fun descents which were technical enough to make a difference which is always good. Was really quite warm though.
25 litres of liquid is an astonishing amount. I thought I was drinking a lot and only went through about 10.
I collapsed after the first lap due to heat exhaustion/ sun stroke. No amount of training could prepare you for that despite making sure I was mega hydrated beforehand. That means I only managed a grand total of 19 miles according to my computer. Temps reached 95 deg. 🙁
I finished the lap, went to get some more water but I was all over the place. I didn't feel tired but all of a sudden I was delerious, feeling sick, switching between roasting hot and ice cold. A slight stomach bug in the week leading up to it didn't help. I managed to make it back to the camp area then collapsed. Probably should have went to the first aid tent but there was no way I was making it.
The course was great though. A few boring fire road climbs and some really tricky descents. I'll be back next year!
Thats never good bob. Hope you are feeling better now !
the cackle never gets boring !
who all took the technical(as the marshalled called it) drop instead of the board walk before the last natural section pre wall ... mashed my knuts off the back of my saddle at least twice trying to get back off the rear of an arse up head down XC bike !
Nope still feeling ill. Vomited all day/ night yesterday. Tried to eat something earlier and spewed instantly.
Despite caking myself in factor 50 all weekend and drinking 4 litres of water on Friday and 2 before the race.
were you just using water ? may have diluted your salt levels with that much water
trail_rat: I went down that a few times. The drop half way down was a bit of a surprise the first time round.
well done trailrat and mr_stru on the laps, very impressive. I ran out of fluid on the big climb on lap 2 - 1 hour of riding with no liquid going in pretty much did me in for the day. Should have checked how much was left after prologue + lap one, easy to say that now though.
Didn't do the drop. Didn't realise it was an option until several laps in then didn't seem the time to be giving new stuff a go when I didn't have to. Proudest moment was riding the tricky corner right at the end of the final lap (coming off the Berminator) 🙂
Bob hard luck, I feel your pain. Too much water can be a bad thing. Electrolyte energy drink or Nuun tablets are the way to go.
stu , i lost a bottle on my 4th lap (was running 2 bottles and 1 camelback) somewhere between transition and the back corner up the steep climb. which left me fluidless for half a lap till helen from EUCC and Andy Barlow(on a non racing practice lap) donated some water to my empty water bottle and parched mouth ....i was waiting for the stream at the rocks to fill up at if i didnt see anyone i knew to mooch from !
were you just using water ? may have diluted your salt levels with that much water
Nah I was taking on salts too.
some photos ... not mine
chap msged me to say he selling hi res for a 5er and has more to go up. I like mine so may take him up on that offer !
btw kudos to the guys I saw doing it on full DH rigs 😯
When do results usually go up?
Excellent event. I did that first lap way to quick considering the heat. Got in about 15mins before a pal who is usually quicker than me. I paid for it on my next lap because the heat caused me to feel a little unwell.
Anyhow, we werent in it for racing but we all did our target in the team and one of our team did amazingly. She only really rides a little, possible a lap of mabie once a month etc. We expected her to do a lap every 2 hrs and maybe even just the one lap. We were still having a pasta meal when she came in on her second lap about 30mins quicker. She was buzzing from the atmosphere and full of stories of people she had chatted to and it must have helped.
I enjoyed the course and did my fastest lap at the end of the day when i was able to hide from the sun. Two of us out of our trio rode it so we could try to help each other along 🙂
Oh and how long has that first lap been clocked at
It looks like a great event. Will be doing it next year solo I think.
First lap was 27.15km according to my GPS. (16.9 miles in old money)
Main lap was 18.01km - more like "11.2 Under the Ben"
boxelder, results usually take a couple of days - if they aren't up by tomorrow evening I'd be very surprised.
Hobo - My Edge made first lap 27.4km and a "normal" lap 18.4km with 360m of ascent. Pretty much the same as Stuartie then.
err...I'm in a pretty bad way here. It's like someones replaced my sphincter with a tap. Been to the toilet about 15 times in the last two hours. Feeling seriously dehydrated and drinking water is making me nauseous and making me vomit.
A&E or sleep it off? 😥
[i]who all took the technical(as the marshalled called it) drop instead of the board walk before the last natural section pre wall ..[/i]
terry, didn't on first two laps, Stewart persuaded me on the third, was a bit of a woosh down but 'fine' I thought. More tired on the fourth and final so I didn't.
Had more water and electrolyte than ever before, seemed to work, last lap time was about as near as dammit as the previous two. Some nice natural sections, would not have enjoyed in the wet though !!
Results are up...........
Looks like I was far from the only HEAT FAIL. 75 out of 176 solos, and 41 out of 88 senior men. Solid top half performance (big up to me!).
alek were you the dude in the lumo top that i spoke to on me last lap ?
was it any of you lot that had the karaoke in the campsite on Saturday night? 😆
Terry that sounds like it would have been Colin Olden, he is from our neck of the woods too. Alek was wearing a brown Fyrish top all day.
Gordymac
ah makes sense ... he finished right behind me....wasnt letting him take my 7th place away from me.
Good to meet you too gordy for some reason i expected someone alot older.....