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Cheers Tim. Great photos. Shame you couldn't ride though.

Thanks to all those who entered. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the course and the first proper day of spring!

So it was you lying down and hiding on various parts of the course!

It did indeed finally feel like spring is upon us. Good fun!

Hmmmph

Oldgit – did you make it?

Did I ****. All that cross under my belt, the training, the last minute reliability Trial and I get 'man flu'
I was actually meant to be racing my first road event of 2010 that was a no go, so hoped this would take it's place.
I've asked before, but is this a series?

Just a bit miffed the only rider in my class that I know was a DNF and I could get a lap on him in cross, so I was hoping I could have used him as a guide.

Sadly not a series 🙁 Its hard enough getting Black Park to let us have the space for the morning (we're meant to finished by 1pm) and with all the organisation, St John's ambulance etc etc its just too much work to do more frequently. If we were near to Gorrick numbers each time and could count on that many people it would be more of a possibility.

It wont help, but if you had been doing cross you would have liked the course. Fast and furious for 1hr 15 to 1hr 45mins. So a bit longer than cross but still loads of fun.

Darn.
Going to have to find some racing for April as I only have one race that month, and my colds going to my chest so march looks ruined.
But from early May I can race every week either road or XC, then it's straight into the cross season….. and so on.

Southern XC at Crow Hill on 11 April?

If you fancy something longer we are organising the Bucks Offroad Sportive on May 16. 35km, 80km, 100km and 121km routes. http://www.bucksoffroadsportive.co.uk – we are expecting around 600 riders.

I rode the 121km route last year and the extra 21km loop was a killer. The event is modelled on HONC but IMO is better sign posted and more suited to XC bikes than crossers. Good training for 24hr solos too as you are guaranteed 6+ hours in the saddle.

I've penciled the Bucks Off Road Sportive in, I did the 100K a few years back and really enjoyed it.
No more 24 or 12 solos for me thankyou, did near on ten years worth and everyone was poor.
Looking up Crow Hill now thanks.

Here is the link for your file, which will be available for 7 Days or 100 downloads.
https://www.yousendit.com/download/THE0blR1K3hwaFFLSkE9PQ

It's a 40mb file, but it contains the "best of" for people to enjoy.

Great ride yesterday, thanks to all who worked so hard to make it good. Great venue, chaps.

Thanks too, Tim!

were you the photographer Ti29er?
apparently your use of head-on flash was a little excessive* to those without welding masks on 🙂

*the lad who was racing may have used more colourful language to describe his temporary blindness

Excessive?

It's the very same kit as used by all the mnt bike photographers you'll come across on your travels for this sort of trail.

In this case, SB800's and Wizards set at 1/4 and 1/2 power typically, anything else and it's overexposed.
If you view the images, they're correctly exposed.

Odd, but that's the very first whinge I've ever had from a rider in all the thousands of pictures I've taken over the years of photographing these sort of events, be it Sleeples, Mayhem, KonaMashUp, Meridas, etc etc.

One thing you need to be cautions about as a photographer (and yes, I have 3x types of insurance before you ask) is not placing the flash in a position where it could physically endanger someone on a decent (typically) and not "blind" them before a black section or a tight turn in the trail.

The more events you ride like this, the more you'll appreciate what I say is the norm when photographers cover mtn bike events. Just be thankful I didn't wheel out the portable BOWENS studio flash heads and soft boxes!

If you raced the Whyte's Enduro at Donington Park in the summer, that was a one box / one Traveller set up I used there on the slow sandy corner. A wonderful softness to the light, with an even spread, no hot-spots, quick re-cycling times, heaps of power for f8 and a natrual quality that can't really be matched by £350 hotshoe flash units as I used yesterday.

What he might have been referring to is that on the front-on light I tend to apply a home made snoot to cowel the light to more of a focussed light source, as opposed to a omni bounce attachment which gives a less direct light.

Master classes at no costs! 😉

What you said, do they do all that for one of these?

As you said Tim…no more (or less) blinding than any other photographer.

As a note of style – everyone should look at njee for style points. You can tell he's a harden racer. In every photo he is throwing out a knee or cheesing up his position for the camera. Very MBR. Very PRO. Chapeau 😛

Nick thinks he's Valentino Rossi, although I have a sneeking suspicion he was wearing red lacy undies and was giving me a flash in return! 😳

Who's who in those pics?
I was told that I stuck out a knee becuase of riding round the council estate one way all day instead of going to school.
Oh and a word of warning to avoid a WTF situation, I'll sometimes throw out a leg when cornering on loose stuff in a Gary Fisher stylee 8)

I was in Spain with some of the MBR boys for a race last year. They told me about the 'ham & cheese cannon'. Basically, the ability to ham (and cheese) up your riding position so as to look like you are going really fast even when you aren't. The cannon bit is to be able to do at will – like firing a cannon. Made me laugh. Andy McCandlish can take some great photos. http://www.andymccandlish.com/fig-bike/bike-portfolio-fig.htm

oldgit – Nick is wearing the yellow and black Beyond kit. What makes him stick out is the bright green Oakley Radars 🙂 There's only one of me (#366)…wearing the marshalls vest and marshalling (read:shepherding) the U10's race.

Tim – I think we spoke. I was on the GF Rig 29er.

Yes, it looks very "fit for purpose"

I've bought a rigid 29 SS, a Karate Monkey (I had bid on a few Rigs but never won them), but can't get to SW Wales to collect it this side of the w/end, so he's going to re-list it.
Damn!
If anyone knows anyone in that region, do let me know as he says he can drop it off up to / inc' the Cardiff region but I just can't make the trip due to work load.

Brilliant race, thanks to all. Nick is basically a tart, let's face it!

LOL. It looks like a gate with two wheels but its quite fun to ride – although 32:17 was a bit low for BP. Its mostly built from second hand parts and bits lying around. The frame was £50 a couple of years ago on Ebay.

I'm not going to say too much about Nick (well more than I have already) – people in glass houses and all that 😉

He loves it!

bust my chain tensioner after 50m in the SS cat, after 4 more chain off's and saying hi again as people overtook me again, i realised the spring was **** and bolted it down fixed which seemed to work for the remainder of the race.
almost quit due to frustration but glad i didnt as really enjoyed it, so much so i through in an extra lap…
oh and that water dip was good, hit it fast on 2nd lap and almost went over bars 🙂 glad they ditched it.
there were some fast lads in the SS cat though..

I rode the 121km route last year and the extra 21km loop was a killer

A friend was trying to rope me into to do the 121km, so I downloaded the 2009 route. Jesus, that extra bit around Wendover… He doesn't know the area, but I do.

Long way for me to travel for the event, but I enjoyed it.
Had a few "issues" with other park users, but other than that it was good.

No problems with photographers either 😉

Well I'm glad my style is met with approval!

I'm number 10, there do seem to be quite a few of me, I'm just so photogenic! 😉

The Elite did ride most laps!
There were others too but mostly sequential shots, so I selected those that looked the best otherwise it looks rather "top heavy".

It's a shame the juniors don't ride more laps as it's them, more than the vets, masters and elite etc that in many ways I would rather provide images for – I imagine most experienced racers have pictures galore from every race meet, so it's a littlel "same-same" after a while.

Next year (if I'm asked to do the photography)I will perhaps start the coverage in a slightly different place.
Remember I was down to race in the Vets class but with my R knee out of action I made the trip anyway & brought the cameras along just in case.

Interestingly, the first order is one of he unorthodox images, one of a rider (part of) on the bridge with his relection in the water.
Cool!

(and yes, the camera and strap did keep getting wet!)

The juniors race as much (if not more) than any others. The beginners/fun riders are more likely to buy photos IMO.