Macavalache, whos coming and advice

I’ve managed to snatch one of the push up entries for next Saturdays MacAvalanche, and I’ve got a couple of questions.

1. Who else is coming?
2. What bike you bringing?
3. What tires for MacAvalanche? 😉 (It wouldn’t be stw otherwise would it?)

4. It’s a canny shank – what big tacky boots for pushing up?

Push up entries now – you guys must be subbing the fuel price hike since this was announced…

😉

Five Tens surely?

Chopper is only £7800,00 😯

Racing on a HT
No idea on tyres yet, checking the webcams dont look like much snow.

>Chopper is only £7800,00<

Aye well they should have heli’d everyone then…

Suppose I should have answered my own questions 😳

1. Me
2. Swithering between a Wolf Ridge with Van 36’s or a Trek Session 10. Don’t know how “DH” it’ll be?
3. Maxxis 2.5s probably, not sure which flavour yet. Forecast looks good though.
4. FiveTens 😉

HB thats the fixed price for 70 riders, i take it your not racing then.
Given the choice of a cheaper push up or heli i would have pushed the little bit up from the last ski lift 😀

1. Me
2. Atomlab Pimp2
3. Continental 2.5 undecided Rainkings or Kaisers
4. ummm trainers dont own five tens 🙂
5. Hipflask as i am singlespeeding and thats the done thing (or so i gather from on here, maybe some cheese)

I’ve only just discovered that the race doesn’t go down the DH track. I had been watching video footage of the 2009 Scottish Champs and crapping myself…

Alpine 160, high rollers or wet screams depending on the weather.

Nicolai Helius AM 😀
SPD pedals 😕
Conti Rubber Queens 😕
Stitches in my ball sack 😯

2009 was that the wet muddy big rocks of doom race 😮

messiah, stitches and ball bags made my eyes water a bit, bike related incident ? or maybe i really dont want to know.

Stitches in your ball sack?

Surely not a preventative measure, and if so I admire your preparation and dedication!

Makes me wince at the thought, two other things to think about now on the way down 😉

I’ll be there. Don’t know if I should stay true to my beloved Sovereign or bite the bullet and borrow a Cube Fritzz.

Really don’t know what to expect. I’m prepared for radness, but expecting to get my arse well and truly kicked by the course and the competition…

messiah, stitches and ball bags made my eyes water a bit, bike related incident ? or maybe i really dont want to know.

Bad timing for the snip.

ouch.
I will look for the Nicolai with very soft suspension set up and a cushion taped to the saddle.

I was expecting the “caught ball sack in linkage” or “squashed between the tyre and saddle at full compression”

See you on Saturday 🙂

Pack the sunblock… it’s going to be a scorcher 🙂

What in Scotland in April 8) what about the midges ?

The plan so far, drive up while the royal wedding is on so the roads will be quiet.
Maybe try and have a look around, or just vist the Fort and have a pop at the witches trail then back to Glencoe and doss in the car in the car park.
It says on the resort site that the cafe opens at 9am, so sign on and go for a fry up as us downhillers are ment to be lardarses that cant ride up hills 😆
As long as the mountain dosent beat me up or break my bike, and i dont get to partyed out, i am tempted to play on the BDS track on Sunday and head home sunday night/late afternoon, its a long way to go might as well make the most of it as i am up there.
Looks like the BDS track will be open for use, but Fort Williams DH tracks dont open for another week.
I was going to head back after the race but would be daft not to grab the extra playtime.
Anyone else going for extra time or straight back to the real world ?

Hmmm, suspect the roads will not be quiet for the royal wedding, this is Scotland after all where it’s not quite so popular.

It’s a quick up and down for me unfortunately, as I can’t leave till after 3 and need to be back for Sunday.

Got the bike back, forks serviced, big tires on, can’t wait now. Weather is looking distinctly un Scottish too.

Should be excellent 😀

Had a look on the webcams earlier, some clearer shots today of the not so snowy summit.
Settled on RainKings as they have a bit more chunky tread on them for all the pointy rocks that arent under six feet of snow.

There also some rather large drop offs so wont be taking any short cuts.
I reckon a lot will be turtle heading on the start line 😆 i might be as well, hope theres a toilet up there 😆

Say hello, i will packing a hipflask, you wont miss me one of the very few hardtails there so easy to spot.

I have opted for a minion F on the front and a Highroller on the back, both supertacky and both DH dual ply, also for pointy rock reasons.

Like the idea of a hipflask, might help with the turtle heading 😯

I’ve no time to make any changes… bike is as usual.

That was fun.

1. didnt die.
2. bagged a Munro.
3. a bit too xc for me, flat bits and pedaling where a shock 😆
4. didnt come last.
5. did overtake several people.
6. didnt break the bike (just as well its a loaner)
7. Stunning views and sunshine.
8. Quite liked being able to talk in the helicopter, very civilised.
9. Cafe does a fantastic fry up.
10. Lots of nice DH enduro nut bars there.

Yep it was pricey, but i enjoyed it a lot. I passed a chap who had a crank arm in each hand, he still got down and was smiling.

So next year then, dropper seatpost, gears would have helped a lot and practice riding in snow if we get any again next winter as i had to lie down a lot in the snow, and the slime covered rocks in the boggy bits.

I also passed that guy with his cranks in one hand while trying to steer, poor sod.

Overall a great event, with a great atmostphere and the weather couldn’t have been better. However I was also surprised at how “plain” the course was, it wasn’t a DH event, but there wasn’t much pedalling either. Kind of made me wish I’d brought the DH bike after all as there was nothing to make a DH bike rider suffer.

Still, theres always next year.

That was rad. After the course walk, I was properly podding myself at the prospect of riding it on a hardtail, but it turned out to be pretty doable. Will be back next year.

Well i would have been happy with your time of 16.04 and 45th 8)

I had a lie down in the snow and only got 81st in 22.03 i reckon with gears and staying upright i could knock 5 mins off, around the 17 min mark.

Loved the event..

wish I had checked the bike more thoroughly..
Replaced the chain and casette and took the bike for a wee spin the day before seemed ok.

found once I got hard on the pedals that the chainring was worn and it jumped about a lot.

still overtook people on their DH bikes on the steeper stuff on my 5.. just wish I could have pedalled

Truly top event. Having walked the course I was bricking it! 😯 but the heli ride was great. During the pre-flight briefing the guy next to me asked the ground crew if he could have a sick bag. The guy pointed to his full face helmet and said “your holding it” 😆 my start was awful but I was looking to stay out of trouble so I was behind mostly everyone. Once I was going things went ok apart from a big comedy OTB moment and a few CX stylee sections I safely minced my way down. The atmosphere was amazing nd I got to meet some great folk. An instant classic event!

I was grinning like a loon all day. I’ve got nothing but praise for all those involved, it was an epic day out. Considering my *cough* handicap I am well chuffed with my final position. I wish I had made a better start, but getting my tender bits snagged on the saddle in the snow had me on the floor… I had to make up time on the rest of the course. Epic day out, the chopper ride was ace, and the race was even better. Cheers to no-fuss… it was brilliant.

Chopper flight eight had three stw forum dwellers out of five passengers… what were the chances?

I could reel out all my excuses but truth be told I’m well chuffed with my final position… which matches my age 🙂

The day was fantastic, blue skies and chilly winds when we took the chairlift up to the bowl, and then rode round to the cliff-hanger chair where we had to hold the bikes up to the dismount point, and then get off carrying the bike. We then pushed and carried the bikes up to just below the ridgeline which took about 30 mins of steep hiking. It was worth the extra little hike to get to the very top and look down on the rest of Scotland. It was so clear we could see Ben Nevis and even make out Ben Macdui in the far distance. With the bikes dumped on a snowy ridge it was time to scope out the course. At this point I was still a bit fearful of how I would be able to ride and rather than scope lines I kind of wandered down the hill with the Nicolai owners club. With hindsight I should have stayed on the hill scoping out cheeky lines just away from the markers safe in the knowledge that I would not be penalised for such activities… despite what we were told at the pre race briefing! Some of the bikers only just made it off the hill for the briefing, and with our chopper times booked it was time to get some food in and relax for an hour or so.

Soon enough it was chopper o-clock and the awesome day got better. Flying up the hill in a five seater was an immense experience with outstanding views over Rannoch and the Mountains, and being landed just below the ridge was an awesome piece of flying. Then walk down and move the bike to a better position for the Le-mans style running start, and a seat in the rocks out of the wind to stay warm for an hour. Soon enough we were gathered for the start and those with high hopes jostled for position as I and the also-rans stood at the back. With the chopper back up with us with a film crew the air horn was blown and we were off running up hill to the bikes. Grab your bike and hit the snow running. The usual snow technique of hanging back off the saddle was not much use to a man with very delicate plooms, so after a couple of painful experiences I ended up running much of the snow section and losing loads of ground. Once off the snow and back on the bike the tables turned and it was time for me to pick off loads of riders and storm through the field… well… that’s what it felt like anyway. Before long the rocky steep bit was over as we rode past the Cliff-hanger chair and into a flattish section before the next stupid steep run down to the Poma lifts and a little bus-stop feature, then fireroad to the main chair and join the Doonhall track for wee way before peeling off and diving down a steep grassy/rocky/rough/muddy chute to the tree line, and finally along a boggy and rocky flat to the final finish slope under the chair. By sticking to the route I kept seeming to pass the same group of about 6 riders… and I eventually realised they were massively cutting corners… it seems that cheeky lines were the norm. Just before the flat bit at the bottom I made an epic manoeuvre and ended up with only one rider in front of me, but I blew it on a poor line and rather than risk bashing the plooms with a large ditch jump I ended up with a dismount and hence a back of the group finish.

A hell of a day for only 15 mins of riding. F*&* knows how the winner got down in under 11 mins… truly mental 😯

PS – it was definetly a race for the fit and the brave… an epic mixture of pedal-pedal-pedal and hang-on-for-grim-death-bounce-over-the-rough-stuff. No Doonhall fatty stormtroopers were ever going to do well, and AM type bikes at about 30lb were definetly the correct choice of bike (IMHO).

Edit – huge thanks to No-Fuss for doing this event… you dudes are nuts!!!

And the videos are leaking out now… some on you tube, STW have theres up, some more still to come and a wagner score over the footage as well.
Think i will email and hassle Frazer about next time (put me down for it.