Oktoberfest

Mr Agreeable – Member
I’m in a 4 with the Wideopenmag crew. Not so much a serious team, more of a downhiller outreach programme – introducing them to the joys of riding uphill, pedalling for more than 30 seconds at a time, that sort of thing. We won’t be taking it terribly seriously (I hope).

I can’t imagine it will be taken that seriously – got to remember the megaphone…

Running 33:19 on my 29er (don’t ask, I seem to have a very random selection of cogs and chainrings).

I think the course will be slightly longer than last year as I imagine Paul will have the changeover at the (or somewhere near) official start of the trail, plus all those new twists and turns will also add length.

It does seem to me that the times will be a bit longer this time round – the extra bit at the top of new barn wood will add a minute or so. be interesting to see how overtaking works as well – the new trails definitely only have one line in a lot of places.

I didn’t see you in solo Paddy?

Nope, joined team Wideopenmag this time round – had my fill of solo I reckon – a non-competitive 4 has to be more relaxing…

There is 8 in solo SS so far this year, should be good.

You need to shoot for a podium spot then KT. I’ll make sure you don’t stop for too long…

The competition is stiff, but yes you are right NO STOPPING!

I’m entered for 8h solo and feeling very under prepared!!! Still there are only 5 of us in the category currently so I’m aiming for a top 10 finish 😆

pjt201 – Member
Nope, joined team Wideopenmag this time round – had my fill of solo I reckon – a non-competitive 4 has to be more relaxing…

Unless we all mysteriously disappear at 5 minutes to 9…

Yep a what tyres question.

I have a Rocket Ron on the back and a 2.0 Mudx on front.
Is it worth changing to a sb8 on front or stay with the Mudx.

Normaly at Ashton court I would keep the mudx but now its a bmx track….
What do you think?

8 hour solo.

I have a Rocket Ron on the back and a 2.0 Mudx on front.
Is it worth changing to a sb8 on front or stay with the Mudx.

Hmm.. I’m going rocket ron on front, racing ralph on rear (of it’s dry)

Otherwise i’m going to whack on some super narrow cx tyres (1.35)

Semi slicks or low profile knobblies will be perfect, I’ll be running WTB Nanoraptor f&R, I’d slap a vulpine on the back but I can’t be arsed.

umm so mudx will hinder me for 8 hours. might have to do a swap around then. sb8 on the rear, and RR up front.

umm so mudx will hinder me for 8 hours. might have to do a swap around then. sb8 on the rear, and RR up front.

Alhough not ideal Mud X will be fine, I was solo last year in the bone dry and I had Mud X F&R, for a mud tyre they roll very well.

Weather update? How’s it looking?

My team mate (well pairs partner) has told me he’s running 36×16!

18 degrees and sunny for Saturday! So weather looking good fingers crossed! I’m in 8 hour pairs … only 4 entrants so want a podium place 😉

4 entrants? is there a list of entrants somewhere?

I might whack some gears on my bike if there’s only 4

If you are downloading the current entries list from the website it’s borked, there are loads of names missing.

8hr SS team.

I’m running 2:1, but only because it’s all I have. I think you can get away with a bigger gear.

tyres – crossmarks, but only because they are tubeless, and I can’t be arsed to swap to something even more low profile. Anything with small knobbles would be good I think (smallblock 8’s, larsen TT’s etc)

and HT all the way if there’s a HT FS decision to be made. There aren’t any bumps on the course, so it’s mostly just excess weight. I’ve been riding the whole thing with my forks locked out, setup so I get about an inch of travel It’s perfect!

Looking forward to the sun that is forecast for Saturday. It’s going to be filthy rain for the guys on Sunday though, according to the BBC.

I spoke to Paul on Sunday, and he said it was full.

Anyone thinking of entering on the line – I’d phone up and check first!

Mr Agreeable

Unless we all mysteriously disappear at 5 minutes to 9…

If we all disappear then no one will race, shirely?

Leon – Member
I spoke to Paul on Sunday, and he said it was full.

Anyone thinking of entering on the line – I’d phone up and check first!

Some one said this in the pub last night too – something to do with not enough parking available at Ashton Court. He was going to talk to the Council and see if he could get any more space though.

Me i will just be using

Tyres Black
Gears Just one thanks

oh and i may even turn up 😀

ssjeff.. come and race in our team 🙂

I will be there camping on the Saturday so should be okay! It said the entries on line were being shut on Tuesday (yesterday) i guess it gives them time to process it all!
Can’t wait for the Le Mans style sprint! NOT ..darn it why did I pick the short straw for that.

Run Forest Run!!!

Anyone got a space? Looking for morning 4 hour, or possibly 8. SS rider, if it matters.

If we all disappear then no one will race, shirely?

I was thinking of the old “You take the first lap, we’ll hold your bike for you” ruse.

I’ll be riding the morning 4 hour solo with my mate.
Hoping the start will be less chaotic than the bikefest although it always amuses me seeing spectators panic as loads of bike go charging towards them.

The competition is stiff…

Just leaving the workshop see you all there Loco BM racing will be trackside, pop in for a beer if your passing 😀

MTG – you’re back! 🙂

I’m not racing but I was out this morning and it’s all riding beautifully – bone dry so for the tyre fetishists, I’d suggest something semislick but still reasonably grippy at the back (for all the berms) and a low profile knobbly at the front for point and shoot fun on the twistys.

Good luck all but especially GO VEGAS!

I was out last evening and would second something with a bit of grip on the back (rather than a semi-slick) as even my crossmark was losing traction when really pushing it on the berms. Going down zig-zag is fairly sketchy to :p

Wasn’t sure of the start section though, it looks on the map like it doubles-back on itself and joins the start of the wall trail, is that right? I hope so as going straight on through the start there’s a horrible claggy mud section…

Yeah, compared to the 2010 course, you turn left after the main event area rather than right so that you go all the way to the start of teh BBL trail. That first corner was carnage on the first lap this year at the bikefest – suspect it’ll be even funnier this time on damp grass 🙂

So..any team spaces?

I’m in a team of 4, 8hr old gits. We won the Bikefest Old Gits Team, so hoping for a repeat performance 🙂

The new course is definitely slower in terms of lap times. About 3-4 mins I reckon. I did a flat out lap in the dry last week for comparison and managed 29 mins compared to 25 mins on the old course in June. The new pumpy bit after the quarry climb is where the extra time comes from. It’s a tough lap for sure, especailly if you try and hit all the jumps 😉

so, how was it? I heard that my teammates won the SS team but no other news.

and I’d love to know if anyone saw Peaty ride the Singletrack – would love to have watched that!

Yup, LVIS singlespeed superstars continued their unbeaten winning streak. Team Wideopen won the who can heckle the loudest prize (i think the megaphone helped). Apparently Peaty only did one lap and they were only in the afternoon 4hr (it was quite considerable the number of people who’d entered that, the course really filled up from 1pm). I think the wideopen mag videographer got some footage of Peaty on the course, they should have a video up in a couple of days. Paul reckoned that there more people racing Oktoberfest than Bikefest this year.

11 laps for solo SS for me would have been 13 which I would have been very chuffed with, but a face / ground interface during the 11th lap put paid to that..

I’m just chuffed I got back on the bike and finished, got a few stitches but nothing major.

Graham top result for you, you did well to beat Mike Wilken, I guess Chris Noble was the chap on he niner in the Morvelo kit he was just so consistently silly fast.

One lesson from yesterday, I want need a 29er.

Great weather, good course and a much bigger event than last year. 10 laps 8h solo putting me in 5th (I think), my first solo and the furthest I’ve ever ridden in 1 day, I’m feeling it this morning!

I have one complaint about the whole event, the overtaking etiquette was the worst I’ve ever seen. I got clipped so many times and nearly run off the track once (thankfully my foul language stopped him before he succeeded!). I got wiped out at the start of my 3rd lap so had the rest of the day with a swollen knee and ankle and a bruised hand. The top guys were as polite, skilled and safe as ever, it’s the “I’m going past even though there isn’t room and I’ve not got the skills to do it right, oh and I’m also not going to tell you I’m here” gang that were the worst. It’s a narrow course and sometimes you just have to wait a few more metres.

From my limited experience as a solo rider I find it easier to shout people through before they ask if I hear them on my rear wheel, although doing that was the result of the above although it was no fault of the passing rider.

Yes I shouted people through and moved over where ever I could and for most people it worked fine (they either asked or were called through as soon as possible). The problem was the people who tried to come through where there wasn’t space, didn’t ask/tell you/get called through and tried to force you off the track. 2 people even did that after I said no not here, I’ll go left on the next straight etc, no need.