Anyone else apart from me and Yak playing this weekend ?

Don’t know the course as i’ve never been there and a bit worried about racing with the Elites out with me and destroying me, but should be a fun day out anyway and some good training

I’ll be on the Blue T-130 with blue Hopes if you’re there and spot me.

Minley is great, lots of natural singletrack makes it just good fun to ride round even if you aren’t at the pointy end of racing, and with the weather dry and potentially even crisp underfoot as well….. it’ll be like summer but with a coat on.

Racing with Elites in the mix is fabulous, you can play at trying to match them on the downhill sections and singletrack and wonder just how they manage to be so much faster (the uphill bits, i think we already know the answer). And much better at passing that the wannabe’s who charge up behind you and then demand to be let past…… you sort of sense their presence, tell them you’ll move over when you can, they say not to worry, and then with a quick ‘on your left’ they pass as if they were made of smoke and reappear 5 bike lengths in front of you before you even realise.

LOL i forsee quite a lot of that. Will try and use the Garmin to save me wasting a 1/2 lap at the end etc as it’s only completed laps that count in the results. I was lapped/caught by the Elites (including Njee) back many years ago as they set off after our Cat.

including Njee

I think you’ll be alright this year… 😉

i bet i wouldnt be if he turned up!

I’m in too, although I’ve gone for the 2 hour version. No less pain, just shorter lived! Really looking forward to it – I love Minley, and Gorrick races generally, they’re always awesome fun! Devinci Atlas for me, decked out in new Redhill CC kit, feel free to wave as you pass…

Looking forward to, the trails were prime last round and weather has been reasonable. one of the fluro boompods

I’m in for the 2 🙂 I’ll battle you for last. If i pass you, youre in trouble

Are Gorrick having a problem with access to other venues? All of the Brass Monkeys are at Minley………..

I’m tempted. Would be coming by train from London. Does arriving around 9.20am leave enough time to sign on? (early trains aren’t convenient on Sundays..)

twowheels – I don’t think there’s entry on the day, so you’ll need to pre-enter. Therefore, you should have enough time (assuming you mean arriving at the venue at 9:20), although I’ve no idea how far from the station it is!

Weeksy – you’re on!

do I need sign on by today? or is it tomorrow?

Cheers bigdaddy. Yep, I meant turning up at the venue and already noticed entries close tomorrow noon.

I’m in for the 4 hours if my legs last that long! A few days ill over Christmas and then a terrible job of trying to make up lost mileage has left me a bit fatigued.

I think just going out steady and getting steadier is going to be the best tactic!

nearest station / easiest access would be Fleet, up Minley Road and then right onto the area just after Blackbushes Road, 0807 gets in 0904 and easily to the venue for starts around 10-ish

I now have the dilemma of racing with my 29 HT, the brakes have both developed the need for a bleed over xmas (respond to pumping thankfully) – or take the plus bike. Which has brakes. But will be slower.

Is Minley dry at the minute?!

I guess it doesn’t matter too much. I am only trying to race myself fit rather than get anywhere near a podium.

Is Minley dry at the minute?!

Minley’s pretty well always dry, unless it’s been monsoon. Haven’t been there myself for a few months but as a local, I’ve been on Ash, Tunnel and Porridge Pot over Christmas which are same terrain / soil and only 3 miles distant give or take, I’d suggest it’ll be brilliant… and if it frosts as well between now and then i refer to my earlier comment – it’ll be like summer but with a coat on.

torq in your sleep was held in heavy rain last year and even then the course held up really well, its a great all weather venue, might try make the final round

Thanks theotherjonv, this is the train I was planning but only to Farnborough as I didn’t know if there was access from the east (better option).

I just RWGPS’ed it and it’s 3km from Fleet and about 6.5km from Farnborough, plus the Fleet roads are much quieter

Thanks! (Sorry I meant west as you suggested looked the better option- tail end of a cold means I’m not thinking straight :))

Minley’s pretty well always dry, unless it’s been monsoon.

I raced it (at the tail end of 2014, I think) in a monsoon. Lap3 was definitely not fun. there was an area that had turned into a swamp. I still have nightmares to this day.

yep…that was the caveat I was referring to 😉

It was proper wet that day!

I almost clicked enter today for Sunday but didn’t. The only racing I’ve ever done has been Brighton Big Dog, 3 times. Out of interest how do they compare.
Sorry OP for slight hijack of thread.

quite similar in feel, wrt types of riders, food tent and so on.

Not as tough (climbs not as severe / long)…. point noted that it is racing however so you just hit the climbs faster and make is as hard anyway

Roots and well draining loam instead of roots and chalk/claggy mud

If you enjoyed Big Dog then do it, you won’t regret it.

No apologies necessary

just been for a lap, definitely risk of dust.

I’ll be there, 4 hours again, hopefully it’ll be better than the last round. That won’t be hard tbf, and I’ll be onto the quick bike this time which should make it a bit less difficult.

I’ll be watching at some point. As deanbfm has mentioned it’s certainly very dry at the moment and assuming I followed the right tracks it’s a good course.

Ok I am sold- just entered 2hr race. Will be riding a ghetto DIY repaired Chinese carbon 29er with cable-tied/taped rear brake hose and probably wear my yellow fluorescent commuter jacket 🙂 Also I will shoot off fast then blow up and finish last.

@theotherjonv – do you mean something like this after Blackbushes Road? (Not marked as bridleway or anything and I’m not familiar with that area)

Looking forward to it. Just need to recover from cold. My bike could use some TLC so I hope it survives!

Lol talk about a battle for last!

Two, you wanna use my large parkwood?

Haha yeah weeksy we should be more optimistic but somehow talking myself down gets me in the mood for having fun more 😀

Cheers for offering your Parkwood, very kind but I’d feel really bad if I crash and break something. Also I have morbid curiosity about pushing the Chiner.

pretty much yes, not even as far as you have drawn….. the usual event area is in the open area where your map has ‘managed access’ written. The road access for the event is from the north directly off the roundabout A327/B3013, straight down that access road.

There are roads (some tarmac, some gravel) all over the area, so just after BB Road turn on to the area and go NE, don’t follow the bridleway but if you do you’ll just end up the other side of the fields anyway

Thanks, sounds easy enough.

The usual Brass Monkeys car park/start is in the white area to the right of West Minley Fàrm, the Managed Access area is the camping area for Torq in Your Sleep.
Access for road traffic is on that short orange path right at the top.

but I’d feel really bad if I crash and break something

LOL it’s a Parkwood, not a Yeti SB95 🙂

Who’s tapering/changing riding etc then ? any point doing that at my level ? I’ve been changing my Zwifting in the past week, longer and easier rides being the key, rather than flat out intensity riding. I’m wondering if i should take today off though as i have an outdoor 3 hour ride planned Fri evening, i’ll then not ride on Sat… But not sure at my level it actually makes any real difference anyway

My ‘taper’ involves not riding on Saturday as I would usually do! I’ll probably do a parkrun instead – my racing involves getting the body to the end in whatever condition it is in at the time!

Sweet, i think we’re of the same logic. 🙂

Do shout hello on the day if you see me there guys.. I’ll be more than up for a coffee and dirty hot-dog after 🙂

I’m in for 4 more hours of fun!
Not really tapering to any great extent as it is as much to add interest to winter training rather than purely to race.
As such did a high intensity session on Zwift last racing up the Alp, but probably will take it easy on the after work rides tonight and tomorrow.