Will I live, or do I just go small wheels, gears and survive?

Should be setting off now but family night in prevents drunken pre ride camping episode, and requires very early start tomorrow.
Suppose small wheels and gears mean I can have a shave on the plus side.

If you're used to rideing rigid 29er ss then no reason not to. Wouldn't recommend if it's the first time on the bike though 😀

The first Luddite was only 13 minutes behind winner Nick Craig last year!

Go on take the 29er SS you know you want to.

there will be plenty of attention whores on ss bikes with big wheels

Gave up on it and rode small wheeled hardtail with gears. Probably the right choice as every bit of me aches. That was hard and then some.

Chapeau to the singlespeeders who survived (large and small wheeled varieties).

There was a chap who finished fourth on a rigid/ss/29er today. 😮

Doesn't make any sense to me but he dropped me good and proper at the 90min mark. 🙄

There were 5 or 6 'attention seekers' in the top 50-I thought he came 3rd behind Nick Craig not 4th.I think i was 2nd ss muppet back in 22nd.My back wheel resembles a 50p now tho (cracked 2/3rds of the way across) after doing the first big gap jump on the 'world cup dh' bit! 😯

"World Cup Descent" was awesome, worth the extra mileage, but jesus, I'm tired now. Does anyone know where and when the times will be posted (recall previous years' pulling of teeth to get the times out)? Also, how many photographers were there on the trails, yet no links to their sites in the "goody" bag at the end. Any sites to the photographers' piccies? I'm quite vain y'see.

Rorschach – Member

There were 5 or 6 'attention seekers' in the top 50-I thought he came 3rd behind Nick Craig not 4th.I think i was 2nd ss muppet back in 22nd.My back wheel resembles a 50p now tho (cracked 2/3rds of the way across) after doing the first big gap jump on the 'world cup dh' bit!

Good ride sir – I was the bloke on the maxlight in the ergon top who you whipped into 24th…! 🙂

I think my comment of "there's a man who has truly blown up" as you span for britain was on the money!!Should'a got the XXL elbows out!!!I'm proper fekked now………. 😯

Rorschach – Member

I think my comment of "there's a man who has truly blown up" as you span for britain was on the money!!Should'a got the XXL elbows out!!!I'm proper fekked now……….

As I told ya – too many miles in the legs…! (excuses excuses!) 😆

There would have been one less of you if me and Davy hadn't have stopped and helped out on the climb out of town at the begining

Seemed to be more endless hill climbs this year and some well dodgy descents 32:17 and using proper wheels I,m feeling it today!
Got told I was 4th SS through @ a checkpoint but think he has messed up his sums, 74th @ the finish, no flats(tubeless,rigid) and saved a couple of peoples races by handing out my tubes and pump which I will never see again! 😕

I'm gonna get shouted down for this,and it could just be that I saw my arse quite a lot yesterday but……realy did'nt rate the course at all.Certainly would'nt bother doing it next year-although maybe on a 'real' bike it'd be different.
HUGE props to the scottish lad on the cyclocross bike….ffs mental!
Anyone know anywhere with stans arch 29ers in stock?Gotta build new back wheel now 😐

Well done to Alex in 6th place – next years winner for sure!!!

that was an epic ride! loved the descents soooo much 😀
and the HUGE puddles…didnt enjoy hamstring cramps tho, thats never happened before!

yeah so anyone no when/where we can see times and photos?
how come you all know what position you finished, i wasnt told?

good day

Rorschach…not shouting you down.. but what was up with the course?..loved it myself 😆 best one yet…huge respect to the lads on the c,dale tandem…great fun following them on a couple of decents 😆 think I was about an hour quicker than last year so chuffed with that!

ps…right time right place for pics usually?

pps times &places …sometime before next years event 😯

Course was awesome. I enjoyed it so much more this year as I was carrying more fitness on the ups and confidence and skills on the downs. Loved flying past mincers on the downs. World Cup Descent was brilliant and I was lucky to have a fairly clear run on it. I hear there were a lot of walkers on it though.

Ref what place you got – There was a marshall shouting out what place you were in at one point. Not sure how long he carried on doing it though..!

Did the Scottish guy ride it on the cross bike? I thought you had to ride an Mtb (though I probably ought to read the rules re this one).

I was on my limit with gears and 130 mm revelations up front. Legs and shoulders still aching today.

The scottish lad did ride it on a cross bike-although scottish he's local and got permission.I did't catch him until about 40k and we rode together till the 10k to go banner.He must have ended up in the top 50!
whytetrash-I dunno why really I just was'nt feeling it at all-nearly pulled out a couple of times!!I was deathly bored tbh.Thought the Builth Crc and the Mary Townley I did last month were both much harder/better.

In that case I am very impressed with the cross bike riding dude. I frequently felt close to death on some of the descents.

Seemed to be a matter of climbing a long way up on fire trails then finding the steepest most direct route back to the bottom and start climbing again.

Picto- we are out tomorrow night if you've got anything left in your legs 😉

Taz pm'ed you. Struggle with Tuesdays, as I take number 1 daughter to footie training. Will be out Thursday hopefully if you on the Chase.