OK Folks… about a week and a half to go and there’s no trail updates? What’s going on?

Anyway… I’m signed up for pairs and have spent most of December riding around my local Innerleithen trails in the snow to get prepared… just in time for it to start melting.

How icy is it up there?

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/strathpuffer-icy-today-29-dec

is the latest information from the very helpful local riders.

After some major bad luck my quad is but a pair! The wife is noth that impressed but hey, we’re there for the fun of it not a podium place.

im solo – ive spent most of the time since august running rather than riding as ive been away from the bike …..

could make 24 hrs fun !

There is however a forum member that rode Laggan yesterday and did a nice write up. iirc he mentioned he was riding the ‘Puffer route today so there may well be an update following that ride.

Yeah – I saw his Laggan post and hoped he’d respond here with his Puffer findings 🙂

Suffering a cold at the moment! perfect timing.

Training had been decent up till then but cest la vie.

Permafrost was on its way out on the 2nd making the course a little draggy but more frost last night and snow forecast so who knows what we’ll get. I’m looking forward to the challenge no matter……..

so alek – i need to get the snow bike up and running , stick the ice spikes on my merida and put muds on my 29er ? – fit crampons to my spd shoes and bobs a good un for all the conditions 😉

I was round the ‘Puffer at midday.

The ice has gone. Still some very small pockets where it could return if the temps drop.

It started to snow when I got to Loch Na Crann but it stopped so there was only a light dusting which obscured some places where there may have been ice (but probably wasn’t). View Rock descent was safe. A very small bit of ice. I rode over it deliberately and it crunched, so it won’t be there long now.

Basically the track is in much the same condition as a damp summer. That’s today of course. It is the ‘Puffer so tomorrow will be different. 🙂

I was hoping for similar conditions as last year. That was great!
My preparation hasn’t really gone to plan. Off the bike for last 3 months and far too much festive feasting has me slightly concerned 😮 all the more now that there’s only 1/2 of the original team going 🙁

What’s a bike?

i want grim baby GRIM GRIM GRIM !

the ice of 3 years ago for me please – coupled with heavy snow perhaps !

got ice spikes for tires AND spikes for my shoes !

Bring on the mud and pad destroying grinding paste…

Gloop is the new snow…..

The worse the conditions the better the race…

Snowing today.

(BTW Where have all the other posts gone?)

Brian I left a message on the other thread about your hub – is it 36 hole and for sale or you got plans for it ? Crc are knocking them out at sensible prices ATM anyway.

Was your plan some threaded bar with 10 mm flats filed on at the drop outs ? Would be good to get my sandman running !

The mandatory equipment list has now been updated.

We had a look round yesterday and all looked perfect.

Very little ice, other than on the trail just after you pop through the high fence. And that was just bit of ice on the corners. You grip again after a few inches of slippage.

Where it would normally get muddy, the deep frost had kept it firm but not solid and rutty.

We had a light dusting of snow up top, whilst we were up there.
View from the top as per below photo.

If it’s snowed more today, it will of obviously changed a bit again.

trail_rat – Member
Brian I left a message on the other thread about your hub – is it 36 hole and for sale or you got plans for it ? Crc are knocking them out at sensible prices ATM anyway.

I’ve got plans for it 🙂 Can’t remember how many holes – it’s in the shed, I’m in bare feet, and there’s 2″ of snow (I’ve gone soft) – so I’ll check in the am.

Not really for sale, but if you need one right away grab mine and replace it when the one from CRC arrives. I’m not going to be needing it until well after the ‘Puffer.

BTW if there’s 2″ of snow at my place there’s probably 4″ on the ‘Puffer – I’ll take the Pug round tomorrow.

I’ll be there. Probably the slowest soloist. I hear it’s snowing quite a lot that way. Metcheck says snow and -2 to -10. Ho hum, glad I’ve grown a beard for it!

Beware just after the fork on the fireroad that splits off to the right heading towards the puffer course as its sheet ice (after the climb from the loch)
3 fell last night and luckily nobody was hurt.It looked fine with the dusting of snow but there must have been about 100ft of ice.Take it easy!

Picture of the course looks good. luring me into a false sense of security. I sure there will be 5ft drifts come next weekend!

Was snowing last night. Probably about 2 inches on the ground. Some ice underneath as martin says – the rocky bit after the skeleton was mince-tastic for me.
This is my first event, but I’ll be within the comforting blanket of a quad (I’m not that daft).

If the conditions are like they are in that pic, come race day(s), it’ll be awesome 🙂

(Not that I didn’t enjoy last year’s snow-fest, it’d just be nice to go ‘fast’, rather than ‘sideways’…)

Right now there’s been a heap of snow dumped in this area. Sorry 🙂

Went round this afternoon.

There’s about 1″ – 2″ of snow on top of a compacted layer. Most places are ok, but
Martinxyz’s warning is bang on. I expected ice at Icy Corner, was riding slowly and nearly came off 3 times despite having studded tyres. There’s also a thin layer of snow over polished ice on the top part of the fireroad. Trying to ride on clean snow there wasn’t any grippier – I was sliding with studs.

Just after the deer fence – icy

Click on photos to see the full set.

Long slab – icy

Photo from same spot as Sharki’s

Pah, it’ll be fine. Conditions will be completely different by next weekend!

hmmm cheers brian – ordered the hub from CRC – likely have it before id got yours 😉

that aint snow 😉 – only issue i have is my ice spikers are baby wheel sized !

trail_rat – Member
…that aint snow – only issue i have is my ice spikers are baby wheel sized !

This is snow, and this is real baby wheels 🙂

So if the forecasts are to be believed it is going to be snow free and very wet :-/

yep,a mudfest by the looks of it.

rain coming in from the west/southwest on wed,thurs and fri with temps from thursday through to sat eve around 5c.a good selection of clothes will be on the cards then.

ugh.

Yeah, think it’s going to be a wet and muddy one… any snow/slush left on the trails will be gone leaving a sea of brown after the first lap.

Still, 5c should feel positively balmy after the last 6 weeks!

Was pretty icy on Sunday, but there should have been a lot of melting by now.

If the Beeb are to be believed, it’s going to be ruddy boiling hot and wet!

Shorts and t-shirt weather, almost 🙂

think ill take the sandman and the spikes on the other bike ….

i dont believe the bbc !

that should ensure its deep mud and rain 🙂

think ill take the sandman and the spikes on the other bike ….

i dont believe the bbc !

that should ensure its deep mud and rain 🙂

Apologies for this “what pads for the puffer” type question, but how long should sintered brake pads last in the mud, bearing in mind that I’ll only be going round 1 in 4 laps?

was getting 4 laps to a set last year on xts

hope i do better than that this year – i only had 3 sets !

Roger, Take a couple of spare pairs, per end with you. Done it the past few years as part of a quad and gone through 4 pairs each time. Make sure they are bedded in prior to use though!

I’d agree with trail_rat – about 4 laps to a set is a good guide. Laps took me around an hour.

If your team is fast, you could be on for 2-3 sets of pads then.

Cheers all, I’d best wander off to the shops then 🙂