SSUK24

@pictonroad it might not end up that colour as the frame is an XL, and the plan is to make a SS for the wife.

The guys at Surly have been really good about letting her change to an M, but the colour might end up different. We’ll know in a few weeks (we gave the frame back on Sunday). She’s probably going to end up with the best bike of all of us!

Also chatted to Tim, and a swig of whisky was indeed just the thing to calm pre-race nerves. No idea why I was bothered, but its always been a thing. I just want to crack on with it.

I only fell off twice: Once on lap 2, on the 2nd really big drop off in the woods (on laps 3 and 4 I seemed to bypass it) and once really annoyingly on the grass down-hill on the my last lap. I came through the gate, turned right and I think hit a clump of earth that had been churned up. Next thing I was on the ground with my a*** hurting. Had to take 2 penalty beers to sort myself out 😉

What a fantastic event and participants. Even though I didn’t get to race I did several laps running the course cheering and heckling people.

It’s funny to put STW names to beards/bikes 🙂

Already keen to be there for 2025!

Where is the next one?

I haven’t been since postierich hosted in the lake district.

Next year is Hampshire – QE country park if I heard correctly

@DrP, so you were Britney Spears! I was the bloke on the blue Stooge out with you on the first lap, and then spectacularly blowing up just in time for the beer tent on lap 5!

Ah. Hampshire ks a little to far to patch the race after one lap due to hangover.

Ah. Hampshire ks a little to far to patch the race after one lap due to hangover

Don’t worry about that there will be Beer, Heckling and Bike perving to keep you busy!

@pictonroad If he was talking about the hill in QE park I think he was, then, bloody hell.

’tis but a mere pimple in the South

DrP AKA Titney Gears

? I was enjoying your duet with Elvis sometime around the Diggers on lap 3*.

*you were probably on  a higher number

I’m looking forward to it already.

I’ve done some climbing-v-distance analysis difficulty analysis of previous events – ranked hardest to easiest:

1. 2024   Quantocks

2. 2022  Llandegla

3. 2021  Yorkshire

4. 2017  Lake District

5. 2023  Llandegla

6. 2018 Isle of Wight

7. 2016 Coventry

2025 currently sits mid range….but will it stay there?

For those wanting to relive the descent! Was my second lap, sow was tired and a bit lost at the bottom and missed the ‘step up’ corner!!!

DrP

Great job everyone.

I made mistakes, apparently still carrying a bit of man flu, 33:17 not the magic number, suspension fork would of been nicer and don’t stupidly blow yourself up on the practice lap.
Enough excuses, still a great weekend, looking forward to QECP next year.

Practise lap?!? Things have changed.

33:17

Blimey… I was running 32:22 on a 29+ and didn’t feel under geared!

Practise lap?!? Things have changed.

More like a sociable bimble lap with a drink.

I’ve done some climbing-v-distance analysis difficulty analysis of previous events – ranked hardest to easiest:

1. 2024   Quantocks

2. 2022  Llandegla

3. 2021  Yorkshire

4. 2017  Lake District

5. 2023  Llandegla

6. 2018 Isle of Wight

7. 2016 Coventry

How is the IOW not last? There can barely have been 5m between the bottom corner and the top of the loose sand, even with it being a short lap?

’22 Llandega felt worse than it was because it was in multiple big hills (and no nice descents)

’21 Yorkshire felt worse than it was because a lot of the climb was on that off camber in the long grass!

’19 Comrie I feel like it might have had more climbing because there was no flat?  But maybe it was just less steep and therefore felt like more climbing done on the bike?

But yea, this year was brutal, even with a few flat fields to link the beer stop back to the campsite it didn’t feel like there was any respite between brutally steep climbing, the steep singletrack, the flat out bit through the meadow and then back up again.

2025 currently sits mid range….but will it stay there?

Do you have any info on the course, because QECP has some impressive contour lines ……….

How is the IOW not last? There can barely have been 5m between the bottom corner and the top of the loose sand, even with it being a short lap?

Must of included the ride out to the beer stop on top of the hill before heading back down to the beach.

It was an epic spot for a beer stop! Plus the trip to the pub the night before. IoW and the Lake District were definitely the best SSUK I’ve been to for the social riding.

[edit – I meant harder than the numbers suggested, I’m not suggesting they were harder than last weekend!]

Loved Keith’s IOW Seaside special

Haha, I’d bike packed there on something silly like 32-14 which turned out to be great for the racing as I could fly down the hardpacked sand with the tailwind and get round the marker but 2.1″ were far too skinny for the top half of the course.

Ranking purely based on climbing-v-distance, for the events I have GPS track for – did make it to Comrie, hence being missing.

How is the IOW not last? There can barely have been 5m between the bottom corner and the top of the loose sand, even with it being a short lap?

IoW included the beer stop ride.

Do you have any info on the course, because QECP has some impressive contour lines ……….

Where’s the fun in giving that away?

IoW and the Lake District were definitely the best SSUK I’ve been to for the social riding.

Don’t forget the 2013 Lost in Dorset edition…

That was 2 days of beer and social riding + a random hill climb race. So. Much. Beer.

I was still in my singlespeeding infancy at that point and wasn’t aware that there were more than a few wierdos doing it!  I think I may have been aware that SSUK/SSEC/SSWC were a thing, but assumed they were a race rather than a rolling pub crawl

Not on here much but thanks for coming to 2024 everyone! Sorry (not sorry) for the climb. I was going to cut it short but wanted to include those top switchbacks!

@DrP – is there any chance of the original res of your video, so I can include it in the highlights video please? Ideally to singlespeedmtb.uk@gmail.com

See you all in Hampshire in 2025!

Photo for attention. Cheers, John

John.. will email the file across in the morning chap… It’s on the other device!

DrP

@littlerob I think I may have your son’s 2016 T-shirt after it was discarded for the frame swim…

@oxym0r0n he’s denying any knowledge of that, and says he has all of his clothes (He’d have only been 16 in 2016!).

@littlerob my mistake! 😆 I’m not sure whose that is then! Only bit of lost property apart from a bottle, so did pretty well…