Gorrick 100 – Is it a toughie?

Morning All
Does anyone know much about the Gorrick 100 course this year? I’m tempted to go for the 5 lapper but wondered whether it’s a tough 10 mile lap or a fairly gentle one. By way of context I’m mid-training for Bontrager 24/12 and long-ride wise, I can do c100 miles on the road around the Mendips (c2,100 mtrs of climbing) without feeling like I want to die and, offroad wise, last week did W2 plus another loop of White’s Level without my legs giving out (I appreciate that is far less than 50 off-road miles but it does involve a fair bit of climbing). If the Gorrick lap involves mahoosive amounts of climbing / leg-sapping bone jarring sections I might rethink my weekend strategy.

On the other hand I see that pre-entry has closed. If on the day spaces fill this might all be academic. In which case, apologies for wasting your time in reading this!

Cheers

M

I’ve entered the 7 lap one and also don’t know the course. Description on the website says short sharp climbs but quite fast.

I’m doing the 7 lapper.

I have not trained enough.

It will hurt.

Depends if they are going to make us of Concrete Hill over at Porridge Pot

I went a rode the venue last night – there are some new bits of trail that are very fresh and quite bumpy – there will probably be a lot less fire road and smooth trails than there were at Swinley. I think it is going to be a lot harder and a lot slower than it was at Swinley for this reason. It’s bone dry at the moment and very dusty. There are no ‘ginger trails’ at porridge pot – so again this will make it slower and more tiring to ride on. The hills are very short and sharp compared to Swinley.

My guess would be 6.5hrs for 7 laps as opposed to 5.5hrs when it was at Swinley.

Cheers gee

thanks Gee, sounds like it’ll be a tougher warm-up to UK12 than I hoped!

I’m toying with it too. Would be first ‘competition’ though I do things like BORS etc.

Is it permissable to enter the 70m and go slow or is that going to get in the way and piss people off? How technical/bumpy is the course?

Also how early to get there to get an entry?

Doubt whether entry for the 7 hour will overfill, I’m not even sure there’s a limit (within reason). Only challenge is to get there early enough so you’re not still queuing when the race starts.

There’s plenty who enter the 70m as a challenge, just aiming to get round. The course will be big enough, and if I know the gorrick / ACU boys, well enough laid ou, that there’ll be plenty places for the fast boys to get past without you needing to worry about being in the way. Good luck!!

As gee says, it will definitely be tougher than the equivalent distance at Swinley.

Good luck to all, gutted I can’t make this one.

Well this is good news now that I’ve already entered and will be on a rigid bike

For anyone heading there via Pirbright, I *think* I saw a notice that Gapemouth Road is closed this weekend. Unfortunately the sign is in small print so I didn’t get a proper look, but maybe some other locals can confirm.

Is there camping onsite?

First big event we did.

While ‘estimated’ at 10 miles, it was actually +12 miles a lap. Lap 4 was HARD.

Well that was tough! Limited fire road and loads of loose, rooty and bumpy singletrack made for a hard course.

I pre rode the lap a couple of times yesterday and it was really dry, dusty and bumpy. The Spearfish was definitely the bike of choice! From the start I rode quickly to try to drop everyone else – this seemed to work, although Ant White stayed a bit to close for comfort for a couple of laps. I hoped I wouldn’t pay later for the early speed, but I kept munching on bars, gels and jelly snakes and all was well. It was hard to eat on the first 7 miles, so it was a case of down the drink and food on the road section and fire road towards the end of each lap.

The race itself was quite uneventful as I rode it all on my own. Thankfully just as I was getting bored I rode through the start just as the 3 lap race was starting and so hung onto the leaders of that for my last 2 laps, which made them go a bit more quickly.

I have wanted to win this event since I first did it in about 2006. With a new job next year I probably won’t be quite as competitive and so wanted to give it everything to win this year. In the end I was about 12 mins up on Ant in 2nd and 20mins up on 3rd.

Sometimes all the training, early nights and not drinking feels like it’s all worthwhile.

Oh and it wasn’t 12 miles a lap – 7 laps 71 miles.

Well done gee, I saw you flying past at the bottom of concrete hill 🙂

What time Gee? I did 4 laps which is a stretch for me in a bit under 5 hours, I know your first couple were sub 50 mins so I’m guessing your 6.5 hour estimate was underambitious, how you can do that pace AND sustain it – I find it amazing. Particularly as I’m in tatters now.

+1 Congrats

5hrs 40mins. I think all laps were 47-50 mins. I felt great today – only fail was forgetting to apply minty arse lard – thinking maybe the local curry buffet isn’t the best plan but that is the usual celebratory dinner… That was paced of sorts – full on XC pace would have been 44/45mins but I could only have done 2/3 laps at that speed. There’s quite a difference between 44 and 48mins laps in terms of heart rate and amount of attacking. It’s also easier to ride quickly when there are two of you (or more). Last year Ben and I were ripping each other apart for 6 laps then I died a death. This year I was on my own so it was harder to keep pushing on.

GB

Top result GB, well done.

How did you get on Nick?

Epic ride from Gee! only time i saw him was just of the start, disappearing rapidly! happy with 8th in 7 lapper with a few issues,not sure i had any laps under 50minutes! probably where the 40min gap came from 😳

Absolutely Crap! Dropped my chain twice in the first 2 mins, so was right at the back, then took a wrong turn, and rejoined the course on a bit I’d already done! Good fun though, possibly squeaked inside the top 20.

That sucks. Get yourself a nice MRP 1X seat tube mount… Let me know and I’ll speak to Ison.

GB

I think I may have to – will check which one i need, the swing arm and shock get in the way.

I think you need this one http://www.ison-distribution.com/english/product.php?part=CHMRUX5K

GB

Yes it was hard – especially as my first ever XC comp.

3 laps in about 3h15, great fun but utterly shagged.

Results are up on Timelaps

njee is your kit mainly yellow? I was behind you when you took the wrong turn and I shouted but you were powering away.Oh well, you seemed to get back on the course pretty quickly and it gave me an easy place 😀

13th, 7 lap.

4 laps for me – 46th!

saw gee once (recognised the bike from pics on here) – without trying to sound too weird, spearfish and rider were poetry in motion………… (b@stard……..)

great course though

P.S Really well done George. I follow you on Strava so know what you put yourself through and your enthusiasm for our sport is infectious. Glad you won it, you deserve to. The Gorrick 100 has a certain ring to it too, it’s a good one to win.

P.P.S. I needed a wee on lap one but was damned if I was stopping. 6.5hrs later and 4 litres of drink I still didn’t feel a presssing need to stop.
Love this sport, it’s just great. 😀 So much more interesting than normal life.

I know it sounds typical from a sponsored rider but that Spearfish was amazing. I’d love an SWorks Epic 29 really – 4lbs lighter but ££££….

I had a wee on the road section – no need to stop! Freewheel at speed, hoik up shorts and try not to piss on your own shoes.

Thanks for all the congrats.

GB

njee is your kit mainly yellow? I was behind you when you took the wrong turn and I shouted but you were powering away

Indeed it is! Thanks for trying anyway, so stupid of me!

Lou here (I am hacking Jason’s account!).
Great course today, feel battered now and I only rode 3 laps. Really enjoyed our little blast at the end Nick, but judging by your cramp attack you probably didn’t feel the same way. It’s been a long time since I managed to get a man on his back that quickly! Hope you are feeling better now!

Haha! Yes it was just that last corner that did me, could feel it was going, but that finished me off!

Thank you again for stretching me out, I think I’d still be there astride my bike otherwise!

My first event on a single speed, 31st in the 7 lappers. Nice ride on a punishing course, Lord knows how the guys on rigid bikes are feeling, I hurt!

I went down there Saturday afternoon having not really noticed that the gorrick was going to be there the next day.

Forgot the bar mount for my GPS so started trying to remember where I had to go, then noticed the red/white tape and followed that, and had conversations with the guys putting the tape out.

Had input to the course marking at one bit near the canal where you came up out of a dip and it was ambiguous which way to go as you were unsighted, so advised as I rode it a few times – just before that little log jump!

Turner guy,

went back through there on sat on way back from Swinley to Woking, mate and i bumped into a gorrick chap taping..

he asked where we had been.. when we said Swinley he went into a full on moan about the changes..

quite funny really.