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Thanks again for all the feedback.
some really interesting points, re categories, we have some scope for flexibility but are largely guided by BC, would you be happy to share the course and start at the same time (if BC allow) so you had a closer race, albeit with a rider from a different cat?
The marathon event; I was thinking of a marathon round, with a fixed time/distance based on category with it's own date and venue or would you rather see it on the same date and venue as a 'normal' xc round?
Keep it coming...
Family life allows me a race once a month. I'll travel up to a couple of hours for a 6hr race and I'll do local XC (Banjo Rampage is 10minutes away). That means I'd do the Southern XC at Checkendon but I doubt I'll do the others whatever you do.
Would love a marathon round
Its a shame you cant change Cats because of BC. I think if you just join cats together on the track it would just cause confusion to who you are actually racing against. If there was a cat system in place it would provide close racing for a win and real interest series points and progressing up the scale
The more positive spin might be to ask why did/ do people attend the existing XC races, be it SXC/ Gorrick/ whatever?
To a large extent you won't be able to control people's other commitments, illness or inclination to ride a short time for a long journey or whatever the general comments are.
What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?
Really fair point DanW, I've not intended to be anything but positive however your post is exactly what I was trying to ask.
What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?
why did/ do people attend the existing XC races
For me, I love the buzz of racing, a chance to push myself harder than I would just riding along, and at higher intensity than I would in a endurance race.
And as I've been racing a while, I've got to know enough of the other racers to make it pretty sociable too.
Also, entering an event is a good motivator for getting out and riding when you might otherwise decide not to bother - this particularly applies to races outside of summer when the weather isn't great.
To some extent SXC races suffer a bit as they are largely in the good weather months (to the extent that exists in the UK!) - the temptation is just to go for an all-day ride instead. For the Gorrick Spring Series, if the weather is rubbish then I'll be satisfied with blasting round for 90 minutes then getting back inside.
What excites/ motivates/ rewards people attending a certain race or series?
The motivation to ride the a Southern series as opposed to any Gorrick races is mainly due to them not being Gorrick races!
I know that many people like and enjoy the Gorrick events but I really don't enjoy them. The Southerns on the other hand I find to be more enjoyable courses at more interesting venues and better organised.
Really fair point DanW, I've not intended to be anything but positive however your post is exactly what I was trying to ask.
Same thing but maybe a way to get some different input towards the same goal 😀
To be honest, what motivates me is feeling I've achieved something, having a great ride (good trails), being sociable and not feeling like a burden on the family. Actually, not that easy to pin down how to improve any of those areas from an event organiser point of view!
If you can reward mid pack mediocrity, put together a great course, force some of my lazy friends to also come and situate it all near a big John Lewis then I think I'd (and the family would) be happy 😀
In all honesty it is no small task to organise an XC series and every idea I've typed I end up deleting as I can see it wouldn't work for many people and ends up looking silly 😕 It is easy to criticize but hard to be constructive and specific in the improvements. Wishing you all the best for the project
Hoping to get along this year. Boys are now old enough to race and be left alone with a bottle of pop whilst I 'race' so it's on the cards - lack of time prevented me till now.
There have been a few mentions or kids racing, the current standard is really good but some of the other regions offer go ride coaching from BC for the children while the adults races are on - this maybe helps in a couple of areas as the children will hopefully learn new skills and be occupied while parents ride
What do you think?
Re. why do you race: its a good challenge, decent bit of adrenaline, good and sociable scene, the chance to go full blat round decent trails without worying about surprise walkers/dos as much.
I don't have kids but can imagine a linked go-ride would be a great idea.
Another ting is if possible to make the courses more spectator friendly, passing through the arena a couple of times during the lap. Clearly this isn't possible all the time.
Adam - we (Pedal 2 Pedal) are a kids club with a BC coach. I'll send an email, although our coach may have been in touch already.
Adam - your email bounced. Pls email me - in profile. Cheers
Hi Yak,
If just updated it, I hoped I'd get there before you. I'll email you now
Cheers
Adam
thanks. re-sent
Just on the subject of categories, as a casual racer I find it quite confusing when races offer age cats [i]and [/i]ability ones.
In contrast to the poster above, I don't need to feel like I could win - just that I'm in a clearly defined grouping and I'll get some decent racing. I'm capable of adjusting my expectations when I see who else is on the start line and how skinny they are.
My 2p's worth
I've ridden a few of the Gorricks and always do the Thetford winter series. Also a few nationals and quite a few MSG's as well. The long running issue I had with the Gorrick and Thetford races was that they didn't allow you to score any BC points which for me at the time was a biggy - I was trying to move up a category and therefore a whole day out, combined with the expense and normally the damage to your bike (Tunstall forest in the rain anyone?) meant that it wasn't worth the effort compared with say a few hours decent training on the road bike ready for either MSG or the Nats.
I also like the courses technical (not to say I'm some sort of hero on the technical stuff) as especially in the lower category it levels the field a bit. Expert and Elite are all fast regardless of the terrain, but in Sport you find a lot of roadies coming in who just bury people on the non-technical bits then sit up on the tight stuff. More tech means they have to try harder which in turn gives me (sometimes) a chance to catch up and stop breathing out my arse.
Problem is, you can't please all of the people all of the time. What suits me wouldn't suit someone else. However there are some really good tracks out there (one of the MSG's held at a farm that has the BMX track in the middle?) that are suitable for both beginners and the other end of the spectrum. I've always liked the Gorrick courses, its just a shame they're not BC affiliated.
I think that BC were right when they ditched masters. Now it is just ability orientated from 18-40. The only confusion is that you get people who could happily race sport racing fun/open with the thought of a podium.
Some vets are frighteningly fast though, so I guess you could argue the vet cat could be removed too, but i guess splitting up the fields mean less congestion on the course at the start.
its just a shame they're not BC affiliated.
+1
I'm not sure it is a shame that Gorrick aren't BC-affiliated, there are pros and cons. I suspect non-affiliation allows Gorrick to make their events more attractive to the casual rider, which is why attendances are high but a bit light at the top ability categories.
Although I wouldn't presume to speak for Gorrick.
All this is a bit irrelevant to Southern XC though, as they are part of the regional BC structure. Unless Adam is considering de-affiliating?
I'd hope there is room for both affiliated and non-affiliated series to be healthy.
There have been a few mentions or kids racing, the current standard is really good but some of the other regions offer go ride coaching from BC for the children while the adults races are on - this maybe helps in a couple of areas as the children will hopefully learn new skills and be occupied while parents rideWhat do you think?
I think that's a great idea. Mrs B is done with racing (so she says....) so I'd like to make it a proper day off for her - but 3 boys 5-9 need supervision of some sort if I'm off for an hour or so.
Not looking for babysitting, but if there is something going on they can get into it could work. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Hi Adam, have raced Southern XC for the last couple of years after 11 years off short course racing doing longer events or not racing at all.
I was attracted back by the prospect of more competitive racing but even better, I found was that the courses have been the real hook that keep bringing me back. Add me to the list of people chuffed to come back and clear that gap jump at Wasing this year. The ability to ride tech features where pure roadies cannot is a differentiator for mountain biking!
Pushing yourself against a decent sized field of competitive but good spirited riders, on a technically challenging but enjoyable course, going balls out for 1.5 hours is pretty addictive.
From what I've seen, the range of venues provides variation between truly short flat sprint courses, technical venues and big old climby courses. I think this is essential to mix it up for everyones' strengths and weaknesses.
I come to an XC race for the format, so I'm not particularly interested in a marathon type race; there's already lots about. I think all the focus should be on making the short course races as good as they can possibly be.
Apart from the race itself, things that make a difference to my enjoyment are:
Race timetable - my wife races before me and we have little kids, so I have to be sure she'll finish her race before I start mine! This works whilst we're not in back to back races.
Logistics - the courses can't be too far away; I'm pretty lucky that all the venues are within 2 hours from Swindon.
Ease of parking etc - This generally isn't an issue unless the weather is bad but being parked in a long grassed boggy field, far from the race start is a challenge when you're there all day for multiple races, especially with children. Amazing how easy Bordon was for example, despite the weather.
Kids racing - My kids are really young (just turned 3) but already want to race. Just a little skills session for the really young ones would be a nice touch. Challenge is if you're in the last race, it's a long day if you have to get there so early for the kids.
Great news that the series will live on, will do my best to support the series wherever possible. Each round is now a fixture in our family calendar.