Gosh Iv’e never managed crossing East Twin, only tried it twice full-on – the first time I fell down the stream bed and hurt my arm. The second time I smashed my right knee into the stem. Both injuries took a boring amount of time to heal, so I always push that bit. “Well done” to everyone who can ride it.

The mildy rooty left corner by the fence-line is a larf because the trail steepens just before it and if you stay off the brakes you hit it at mental speed. I tend to approach right-ish, brake late, turn, then aim to hit the root bundle in the middle nice and square with a light front wheel. The immediate right is where you maintain speed and it’s slightly banked/rutted which you can use. It is a bit blind and occasionally used by walkers! It’s a nice bit tho.

Wish I’d done the event now. Maybe next year I’ll find some other xcjeys to join.

Sharki this is my bike:

No joy here then, i’d of remembered a purdy looking bike like that…..

I guess around that time i was trying to kick a wheel straight :wink:…errrrm pushing a bike back down the course after it and rider got intimate with me in the blue bells..

My next photo session was interrupted by me not stopping to take any pics as i was caught up in the naughtiness/excitement of riding off road for the first time in 8 or 9 weeks..

In 2005 and 2006 I could cross East Twin Brook at will. These days its 50/50 at best.

Penalty for failure is rather high.

Either the stream crossing has got worse, or I have…

I was beaten by the weather. Went to bed after 8 laps, there are only so many times that you can get soaked through and freezing cold before deciding that it’s no fun any more. Got up and headed out again just after 6am, freezing torrential rain and gales started again about 3/4 of the way around the lap. Went and hid in a tent for 90 mins. Put full winter kit on and headed out again. Punctured on first descent, took ages to mend it as my hands didn’t work, finished lap and called it a day. Bah. Still, I raised over £800 so not all bad.

The event itself was properly ace. Really chilled out. Fantastic course that was still 100% rideable despite the conditions (and the cheeky bluebell singletrack was fantastic for the first couple of laps until the heavens opened again), live music, good food, lovely beer and no cocks barging past people on the course unlike at most of the other 24H events 🙂

I see Terrahawk managed a fantastic 20 laps. That nearly didn’t happen as he came very close to riding head on into a moving car near the end of his 5th lap. Muppet 🙂

Good work Simon, however I wish you hadn’t mentioned sleep when I met you on our eighth lap, needed sleep….

Hey Sharki, you can’t have kicked that wheel too hard! A happy bike mech’ in Johns Bikes said he’d be able to sort it out for a few quid! Not sure if I’ll trust it, we’ll see.

I see Terrahawk managed a fantastic 20 laps. That nearly didn’t happen as he came very close to riding head on into a moving car near the end of his 5th lap. Muppet

Ha!
He didn’t mention THAT bit when I spoke to him! I’m sure he said he nearly fell asleep on the bike while riding along that road last time…

looked like your nipples pulled through your rim…….so either your holes are made bigger or your nipple were too soft….

simon, you saved my life. you’re a lovely lovely man…

😉

steve when u say you didnt have any pictures taken was that because you actually didnt ride? i wondered why you didnt complain enough about riding with slick tyres on your bike…

in other news although my uphill skills arent upto much the speed or lack of on the downhills that i saw out there was just shocking! get a cyclocross bike people this isnt road riding!!

im no dh racer but come on people wheres your skills!

(puts flame suit on)

Lights match.

It was for charity, therefore for fun, so alot of riders weren’t experienced, some i chatted to had never been off road before.

Given the amount of entrants who didn’t turn up, some i guess are experiened riders, these slower riders put those others to shame..

Less criticism and more encouragement.

All events have such a great range in abilities and i for one enjoy seeing people of all abilities just out there, having fun, riding bikes.

Unlike the miserable sod who bitched and moaned at me, for making sure he was ok, after he rode head first into THAT tree….

I stopped on a lap and helped 2 ladies who were stuck with no pump (although they had a spare tube) and had a puncture.

So many people just rode past without asking if they needed help.

I swapped the tube and used one of my co2 cartridges and fixed it for them in about 2 mins. Made their day and I rode off feeling good for helping them. People forget it is for charity and charity is helping those in need!

Me and my mate managed 10 laps each but I’m sooo full of respect for the people who were riding round in trainers and bikes that most of us on here wouldn’t look twice at.

I managed to miss most of the bad weather apart from the rain/hail stuff that drowned me from 7 o’clock on Sunday although thankfully I was hiding back in the tent when it properly came down about 9.

Anyone know the guy with the Rolhoff that I think was on a green bike. He was seriously fast downhill.

Another thank you to Neil for organising something that must have been pretty difficult for him too. Cheers fella.

edd – Member
Jason – how many laps did Chris do?

Hi Edd, Chris done 21 laps, you can check out what his comment on the BC forum http://www.bikecity.biz/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1238

Cheer Jas

sharki yes good point my bad. i did have a great laugh though and its nice chatting to loads of people as you ride around. lots of ladies too. not that i noticed

Hi Edd, Chris done 21 laps, you can check out what his comment on the BC forum

Aye, they missed one of mine too, we had to pop into the tent and ask them kindly to sort it 🙂

Name and shame! Judging by how clean he is, this looks like first lap as well… 😉

Where did that pic come from Gary?

Cant be his first lap, Thats one of my bike city team mates in the red and he was our 3 man out.

I’m only teasing btw – I walked up it on one of my night laps lol – no one was looking and I was shagged 😀

Also, when I ride it solo next year, permission granted to mock me for walking that bit…

I really hate pushing so made myself ride up that bit every lap. I did have to resort to granny ring after about lap 7 though – and that was for the whole climb, not just the steeper bit at the end which made for a very long/slow climb!

Thats not me, its Kingtut of this shire. I grannied it each lap, along with the steep bit at the beginning of the climb.

That’s one of the photo’s taken by the better half who was out snapping most of Saturday – she reckon’s she was around the top of that lungturner about 4:30pm. Must’ve been a slow first lap 😉

Kudos for remaining so clean! 😀

Although to be fair it still looks pretty clean and my first non parade lap would have been around 5pm and it was a total sheet fest by then after the apoco-rain

I’m only teasing btw – I walked up it on one of my night laps lol – no one was looking and I was shagged

Gary, that was probably the difference between 25 and 26 laps 😉
Although I doubt my virtual trackstands up the first and last sections of the climb every lap helped either. I’ve no idea how the singlespeeders did it for 24hrs, 1×9 was hard enough!

Name and shame!Judging by how clean he is, this looks like first lap as well…

That was probably my 5th lap as a solo rider, I trained hard for that race but the day before I came down with a cold, which I’m still suffering with, I woke up Saturday morning feeling bad and I knew it wasn’t going to go well but carried on without pit support completely on my own, by 11PM (ish) I was suffering, shivering etc, so I went to sleep in my car covered in spare clothes as I had no preparation for sleeping.

I woke in the morning feeling like shit with the prospect of soaking wet shoes to climb into, that was it for me, end of race.

Name and shame – sure It’s me KINGTUT.

Poor Mike 🙂 I don’t think you have to justify yourself as a solo rider in those conditions.

Thanks Clubber 🙂 seriously though I had the fitness to do far better than that, I am really quite pissed about it.

Expect a lot of macho gnashing of teeth at the 12, I have something to prove. (to myself if no one else).

I look forward to seeing your power mince gurn at the 12 🙂

I look forward to seeing your power mince gurn at the 12

I’ve been practising 8)

The evenings must just fly by 😉

🙂

Well done mate! You can destroy me in two weeks at the Bristol 12 as I’ll be doing my first big solo then…

I’ll be chuffed if I actually finish. 🙂

mattstreet could I have a copy of CLIC24_2009-05-16_136.

Thanks.

I love it when you get all defensive Mike. 😉

I think if you’re soloing you can do it two ways. You can go for the glory and mash up all the climbs, then blow up after 4 laps, or you can be canny, conserve your energy and do well just by staying out for the duration. I’ve seen some really good 24 hour racers pushing up climbs but come the descents they are off the brakes and eking out every bit of momentum from the course.

You can join the CLIC24 2009 sour grapes club with me Mike 🙂

I pushed up that climb a couple of times. Nowt wrong with getting off and stretching the muscles out once in a while.