Brighton Big Dog

Brass Monkeys 2

Ian

Well done to those who tackled a demanding Brass Monkeys course on Sunday. Unlike the mini heat wave at the first round, this time the puddles remained frozen for most of the morning. It was certainly a tough work out with lots of climbing linked together with technical trails, leaving both legs and arms burning!

My race was blighted by the remnants of a cold, a detour and a puncture. Punctures were quite common with Steve suffering the same fate. So well done to Ian who completed 6 laps (the best part of 50 miles) finishing an excellent 8^th and John who completed 5 laps for 23^rd.

John

Just to get an idea of how steep these courses are.

Cycling Explained

Danny Hart winning World Champs

Still tickets available for the Clubs first social.

Hold the Date - For one night only, no bike required!

Christmas Cranked Up - featuring live band Fixed Wheel

Date    15th December

Venue  Storrington Social Club

Time    Doors open at 7.30pm until late

Food    served from 9pm until 9.30pm

Tickets for this event are limited so first come first served.  Tickets will be £15 until the 31st October and £17.50 thereafter and available from the shop.  We will not be able to offer tickets on the door so pre-booking will be essential.  This will be a great night out so don't miss out.

Brass Monkeys Rd 1 - Porridgepot Hill

Last year saw a frozen course and blue skies, same again this year?  Blue skies yeah but 20 degrees warmer than last year and once again a tough hilly course. As usual the event was a sell out and both formats were full of some of the best riders in the south east. 1030 and the 4hr riders were off with elite rider Tim Dunford leading from start to finish. Ben was in the mix for first half of the race, completing 6 laps to finish an excellent 15th. Alex Davey was also at the sharp end but a problem with his cassette on lap 2 put paid to his race a lot earlier than he hoped, better luck next round.

Ben Connor

Myself and Damian rode in the 4hr vets cat, in which the seasoned endurance rider Ant White took the honours with 6 laps, lapping me just before the finish. With the unfortunate Damian riding with a cold deciding enough was enough after 3 laps.
Fay Cripps was our only competitor in the 2hr format, she decided to ride a gentle lap after not recovering from a bad fall at the Autumn Classic. 
Well done to all see you at the next round at Tunnel Hill, Mychett on 17th December, make sure you sign up early.

The Welsh Wobble

If anyone is interested in a beer festival masquerading as a mountain bike ride, then go to Llanwrtyd Wells next year, as you've just missed this year's. Long fire road uphills with mucky twisty downhills in the countryside over the far side of Brecon. It's the village that holds the Man v Horse, bogsnorkelling, etc, championships. I joined a group of Welsh friends and you basically ride as far as you want on saturday and sunday with real ale checkpoints to keep you fortified. Saturday night in the marquee there are 40 types of beer available. Chili plum ale and winter spice and many others were knew to me. One was even 10o alcohol! Needless to say, some folks didn't ride as far on Sunday.

Good end-of-season fun in a well organised and relaxed manner.

Cheers,

Stephen.

Alex Daveys Autumn

Hi All

A quick update to tell you what I,ve been up to since getting a 4th in the maxx Exposure night race on 24th Sep
Autumn Gorrick 1 on the 16th of Oct was well documented by our friend Ben Conner on the blog but it was not a good one for me. Racing in the open category I got off to a slow start held back in the early single-track but pulled up to 3rd or 4th overtaking on the fire road section. Just after the Steep bomb hole half way through the 1st lap my back brake failed and was soon forced to retire,gutted as I felt an opportunity go.
 After the D.N.F that we all hate I needed to find another race to attend that came in the shape of "Night of the Knobbly tires" held at Black Park near slough on 16th Oct,this sounded great 5 laps of flat and fast single-track probably only lasting just over the hour mark. Kindly picked up by Beyond rider Jon Pierce who lives close by we were soon under the Exposure tent start line for a dry and dusty battle,for which i chose the carbon epic. After 4 laps Jon was in 4th position in the vets and me in 3rd in the masters... was this to be a result to overshadow the brake failed at the gorrick!!!......... sadly no as i went to overtake Jon on the last 50yds we tangled bars and he sustained a nasty fall,as he did,nt move from the bike on the floor with racers bearing down a finish was not possible for either of us,only a 3hr A&E visit.
Autumn Gorrick 2 on the 13th Nov needed to be a finish and after a good start held on to 3rd till a dropped chain put me back into the main pack in lap 2. Feeling good I managed to take 5 riders or so to come in 5th in the open, pleased to have finished!!!
Next Brass Monkeys.

Cheers

Alex D

Southern XC Dates

 Southern XC 2012

• Rd1 - 18th Mar - Checkendon
• Rd2 - 15th Apr - Pippingford
• Rd3 - 13th May - Wasing(Southern Champs)
• Rd4 - 3rd June - Crow Hill
• Rd5 - 1st July - Perham Down

Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series Races

Date	Event Information	Venue / Map
05 Feb 12	2012 Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series 1	Tunnel Hill - West » Mytchett, Mytchett Place Road, Surrey
26 Feb 12	2012 Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series 2	Tunnel Hill - East » Mytchett, Mytchett Place Road, Surrey
11 Mar 12	2012 Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series 3	Crowthorne Wood » Bracknell Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire
01 Apr 12	2012 Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series 4	Frith Hill » Deepcut Bridge Road, Deepcut, Surrey
22 Apr 12	2012 Saddle Skedaddle Spring Series 5	Windmill Hill, Deepcut Sports Ground » Cyprus Road, Deepcut, Surre

2012 Mountain Bike Events

Thanks for the many comments on Facebook on which events to ride in 2012. I've broken the events down into XC and enduro categories.

XC Events
Gorrick XC's
Southern XC's
Whiteways mid week XC's if they happen
Nat XC Champs (Good luck Steve!)

Comments:

Business as usual with the addition of the Whiteways XC's if they happen

We intend to ride at most or all of the above events in 2012 as they're all fairly local

Enduro Events
May. Gorrick 100 (Bracknell), Erlstoke 12 (Salisbuty), National 12 & 24 hour champs (Newcastleton, Scotland)

June. Bristol Bike Fest

July. Are You Tough Enough? (Aldershot), 24/12, Black Mtn 3 day (Wales)

Aug. Brighton Big Dog, Torq 12:12 (near Fleet)

Sept. Maxx Enduro, K100 (Kielder Forest - Borders)

Oct. D2D (Thetford)

Comments:

Nobody voted for Mountain Mayhem or SITS

We did have a few request to ride a 24 hour event

24/12 did come up and there's the 12 option too. Therefore I suggest that we make an effort to ride at 24/12 in 2012. It has by far the best circuit of the 24 hour races as it's held at the old Plymout World Cup circuit

A few takers for the K100. Start training for that one around now..

Can I have names for the enduros please? Especially the team or distant events. Those are:

Bristol Bikefest teams & riders
24/12 Teams & riders
K100 riders
D2D teams & riders

I'd like to start putting teams together for these so we can sort out transport to the events. Let me know if I've forgotton any events. I can answer questions over event formats, etc.


Regards,

James

Gorrick Autumn Classic - Tunnel Hill

Are you Chicken?

The car temperature gauge read a chilly 3 degrees as I rolled up for the first Gorrick Autumn Classic. I set off for the warm-up lap wrapped up like it was winter. As usual for Gorrick there was lots of rooty singletrack, dry and dusty after the recent warm, sunny weather. There were a couple of steep little climbs and a bomb hole…

I stopped and looked into the bomb hole. The entrance was loose and almost vertical. I couldn’t even see the bottom and the other side looked like a ski jump. I decided to take the longer chicken run.

The sun was starting to warm the fingers as the race got underway. The front three soon disappeared but I grabbed the back wheel of the second group as we picked our way through the Super Vets on the first lap.

I realised that the rider in front looked familiar. It was a guy called Matt who had just piped me to the win at my last race. Battled resumed!!

I’d jumped ahead of Matt as we approached the bomb hole- two conflicting thoughts raged in my brain – “He who dares wins,” but, “Discretion is the better part of valour”. I’d lost my chance to beat Matt at the last race when I ended up laying on my back in the dirt, so I dived down the safety of the chicken run. As we streamed out of the singletrack on the other side Matt was about 10-15 meters ahead. Over the rest of the lap I pulled him back and passed him again on the same hill just before the dreaded bomb hole. Same dilemma but this time I had a slightly bigger lead on him. However, as I came out of the Chicken run he swept pass my front wheel and took the hard earned place back.

I passed him on the next hill but on every technical section I could hear the tell tale sound of chain slap and squealing disc brakes that let me know he wasn’t far behind.

Final lap and the course was so full on I still had a full water bottle; there was no time for drinking. We approached the bomb hole a final time and I glanced over my shoulder. There he was just 2 or 3 meters back, did I let him through and hope I could chase him down again? No way!

My stomach went weightless as I tried to get my weight as far back as possible. Tyres just skimming the surface as we plummeted. Then the G force as the bike reached the bottom and swept me up over the other side. I’d survived!

From then on, I pushed hard and managed to maintain a small gap, actually passing another rider just before the line to finish 6^th.

A few other South Downs representatives today. Well done Fay for winning the ladies masters and Ian 6^th in Grand Vets. Although I missed them Damien and Mark were also out representing the club.

Ben

2012 MTB Program

Hi all,

I'm working on our 2012 MTB race program at the moment. I saw John had posted a similar topic recently also. We need your feedback as to which races the team should support in 2012. The Gorricks and Southern XC's are a given as is the new Whiteways series if that comes off. I'm looking at events further away, such as 12/24 hour events and enduros. I think we may focus on some new and different events to mix things up a bit. If we coordinate our thoughts now, we should be able to help with travel arrangements, sue of the van, etc to keep our travel costs down. So far I have:

SPAM Winter challenge
Gorrick 100
Are you tough enough?
Enduro 6
National Marathon Champs (if they happen in 2012)
Bristol Bikefest
Mountain Mayem
SITS
24/12
BB Dog
Isle of Man enduro
Kielder 100
Maxx Enduro
D2D

Let me know what you think please.

Squirrels on the road

Beware of these the lady involved in this incident spent a week in hospital the squirrel wasn't so lucky.

Racing update from Ian

Well this has been an odd season with far too many punctures and retirements. The MTB race season goes a bit quite midsummer so I’ve enjoyed a couple of family holidays and a short cycling break to the Alps with French Dave.

The autumn season is now upon us.

Brighton Big dog 6 hour - 20th August

I’ve not ridden the Brighton Big Dog before but I remember the venue from the 90s when both the NPS and Southern Area Mountainbike Series (SAMS) raced there. I also remember it’s great if it’s dry – horrible if it’s wet. Luckily the race day was dry, the course was excellent and the marshalling the best I’ve ever known. Full marks to the event organizers.
I had entered as a solo and apart from a small mechanical issue on the first climb of the first lap (a broken cassette with 2 lost ratios) and a quite bit of cramp I really enjoyed the event and rolled in a very pleasing 8th in the vets class (40+) AND NO PUNCTURES.

Gorrick Torq In Your Sleep 12 hour – 28th August

The Gorrick team always put on a great event and the Torq In Your Sleep is very popular with Solo, Pairs and Team classes. Last year I entered as a pair with the Postie. This year I entered as a pair (all one age group) with French Dave. Pairs racing is probably the hardest discipline as the laps are 40 to 50 minutes long and it’s a sprint with a short time to recover, eat, drink, get cold, and off again at full speed. With sun, rain and wind it was very changeable. All went well for the whole race apart from one puncture, which I couldn’t fix apart from having a foam canister, 2 air cartridges and 2 tubes, so a bit of running was involved, this made Dave laugh as I ran into the arena waving a tube. A spare tire had me ready for Dave’s return 40 odd minutes later.
We hadn’t been paying much attention the our position but after about 7 hours we realized we were 5th and decided to get a move on and at one point working our way up to 3rd, slipping to 4th at the end. 15 laps in total, more than many teams of 4 riders. Two tired old men – combined age 107!

XTM MTB Enduro 4 hour - 8th October

This is a new event for me; I thought I’d see what the weather was like before committing, so I entered on the day.
The race is 4 hours, not 4 hour + the lap your on.
The race route was a 10K lap with no real technical challenges; it was marked out with 1k boards so you always knew where you were. There were only 4 categories male, female, mail pairs, and female pairs so I had to race against the youngsters.
I lined up on the start line and we were off. As many or you know I often have trouble with cramp and not wanting to risk dehydration and mineral deficiency I planned to change my drink bottle every 2 laps. This worked well and every 2 laps (about 59 minutes) I refueled.
I was quite enjoying this event and with nobody passing me I knew I was near the front, I had a plan to try for 8 laps. I was just keeping under the 30minute / lap + refueling and entered the last lap with 30 minutes to go, I gave it my all but with tired legs came in just over 1 minute past the 4 hour shut off time. So I completed 8 laps and 80K in 4 hours and 1 minute. 6th place in male (I actually came in 5th but the positions roll back to the lap you finished before the 4 hour deadline), and beating all the pairs teams except 2!
Both bike and rider worked perfectly.

Next events:

Gorrick Autumn Classic XC 1 - 16th October
WDMBC – Black Park night race - 22nd October
Gorrick Autumn Classic XC 2 - 13th November
Gorrick Brass Monkey 1 – 27th November
Gorrick Brass Monkey 2 – 18th December

Following on from John below; Ben Conner and I (+ a couple of others) maybe having a MTB holiday somewhere warm in the spring, maybe taking in an enduro event, there’s an event in Gran Canaria in March we are considering, otherwise it maybe Spain – I will keep you posted.

2012 Events

We are thinking of trying some new events next year mixed in with some social weekends away. Afan, Forest of Dean,Coed Yr Brenin are a few great off-road venues, perhaps even a trip to sunnier climes for some warm weather training on the road or even off-road?

Race wise we are trying to mix it up a bit and try some different venues. Perhaps Sleepless in the Saddle, Bonty 24/12, Black Mountains 3 Day or anything else that brings some new challenges.

Any ideas welcome.

Italy trip 2011

Heaven, mountains and sheep what else could a Welshman ask for?

And we thought our roads were bad?

Passo Stelvio (north side)

Passo Stelvio (south side)

Exposure Lights

Any for sale?

Brass Monkeys Returns for 3rd Year

Rd 1 - 27th November 2011 - Porridgepot Hill, Pirbright
The series starts at Porridge Pot Hill at Pirbright again this for this years Round 1 as it was so popular last year. We are pleased to say that we will have full use of the venue area again, including the canal side whoops and drops, collective bomb holes and single track much enjoyed at the summer Army mountain bike event held there. We will also have the benefit of the massive arena area at Deepcut Green, with plenty of space for parking and the full arena. This area also gives us ample opportunity to spread riders out before arriving at the delightful flowing single track and twisty drops and climbs which always richly reward the effort of any climb with a scintillating decent. You can expect a full Enduro length lap similar to Are You Tough Enough which can be ridden regardless of the weather conditions.

Rd 2 - 18th December 2011 - Ash Ranges, Ash
Back to Ash Ranges again this year with a tweaked course from last year as the revamped course was so well received. Ash was introduced as a brand new venue to Enduro racing in the area last series on what is normally a live military firing range, except for a short period over Christmas when there is totally open access. So if you wish to ride here in future just a word of caution - don't enter the Ranges when the RED FLAGS are flying or you'll get shot! Our thanks go to the Army for giving us exclusive access.

Rd 3 - 22nd January  2012  - Hungry Hill, Aldershot
The series finishes off with a slightly changed arena and start point to use different areas and trails on Caeser's Camp. The 7-8 mile lap will again nearly 1000ft of total ascent encouraging 'granny ring racing' but it will all be worth it for the great flowing descents to follow.

Maxx Enduro Report

The Maxx is a unique point to point night time enduro. It starts at dusk at Beachy Head and ends 80 miles later at QE Park, near Petersfeld. It’s a pretty tough event in terms of distance and the night time factor. However the course is simple, just follow the South Downs Way!





I’ve managed to ride this event every other year since its inception in 2005. Work commitments have kept me away too many times, but needs must. Last time I rode in 2009 the weather was perfect and I had a good ride, although the badger I hit en route might not agree. This year things looked promising weather wise and I’d sent an advanced warning to the badger population to stay off the course. As usual at the start there was a mixture of full on 24 hour and endure racers, trail riders and weekend warriors. Alex Davey was there along with two previous winners, Rob Dean and Charlie Esutace. There were a few other handy looking riders including team riders from OnOne and Wiggle, so I knew the pace from the start was going to be fast. Actually it was similar to the start of an XC race, so we were down from 80 starters to a group of four within a few miles. By the first check point, it was down to Charlie and me, with some chasers a minute back. That was the last time I actually rode with anyone. I dropped Charlie on the tough hill directly over the A27 from CP1 at Falmer. After that, all I could see were lights in the distance behind me form chasing riders. Knowing how quickly my luck could change, I didn’t let up and gradually pulled time out on the chasers. Luckily they’d splintered into single riders so there was no organised chase group. I kept with my tactic of super careful descending to avoid flint punctures, which seemed to pay off. It also kept me from hitting any of the roaming wildlife. At some points the visibility was about 30ft. I nearly hit a sleeping cow at some speed in a fog bank, but saw it just in time. It was great to meet Tim, Martin, Andy et al at CP3 at Springhead. By then I had a reasonable lead, so all I had to do was ride safely into my home patch at Cocking and then onto the finish. In the end it took 6’28”. The next rider in, James Braid from Wiggle, came in 17 minutes after me. Alex finished a strong 4th, so a good night all round for the team.

Thanks to Tim for driving me to the start and then cheering Alex and I on at intervals all the way to CP3. Also thanks to everyone at CP3 for staying up all night and some of the morning. It’s a great lift to all the riders to see cheerful faces and get encouragement. I finished before 1 AM. I think CP3 was manned until 4AM!








James D'Arcy

The Bear 100 August 23, 2011 Utah to Idaho. USA

THE BEAR 100
A Cool, Autumn Loop Through the Pines, Golden Aspen

 and Red Maples of the Wasatch/Bear River Range 

100 Miles • 21,986' of climb • Maximum Elevation 9060'

Minimum Elevation 4860'• Average Elevation 7350'

 

The Bear has sunk in its claws.  I suppose I need to answer a common question I've received:  "So you couldn't find a nice, flat 100-miler for your first?"  I've had guarded interest in racing longer than 50 miles, and had never experienced a run longer than nine hours.  Descriptions of this epic course with its beautiful  fall colors which I heard from Errol "Rocket" Jones and others, along with an urge for a new challenge, sucked me in.  The Bear is remote and rugged, is the only race to start in one state (Utah) and finish in another (Idaho), and has a very intimidating elevation profile with 22,000 feet of climbing over  11 successive mountain passes. 

I knew well to expect something totally unlike the 50 milers which are still relatively new to me.  Many experienced ultrarunner friends of mine offered great advice and knew that it would be inevitable I would attempt to carry over the speed I have in shorter distances.  "This is not a race of the fittest, but a race of adapting the best to the conditions" someone would tell me.

The biggest preoccupation leading up to the race was determining what to bring - what items I'd need in drop bags, logistics of where and when I'd need them, and how to fit all that crap in to two small carry-on bags.  In retrospect, it was better to worry about these things than to focus too much on the horror stories of the Mile 70 breakdowns of runners more talented than me. 

My initial plan for a race pace was to settle in to a comfortable heart rate of 155 (out of 206 for this hummingbird heart of mine).   As fate would have it, the first ten or so runners would hit the initial 3300 ft monster climb faster than expected.  Damned if I would let the mountain goat with hiking poles in front of me disappear up the mountain.  So I gave it a little bit of gas and passed through the mile 20 aid station in first place with eventual winner Nick Pedatella hot on my heels.  Nick, from Boulder, Colorado, is a super talent and was four weeks earlier one of the top finishers in the grueling Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race in the French Alps.  Nick is a space physicist and looks more that part than the beast of an endurance athlete that he is.

As in any ultramarathon distance, you eventually settle in to your all day pace.  It may have taken me a little too long to get there, but I was  thankfully joined at mile 40 by Ben Lewis, another  100 mile rookie, but very solid competitor at shorter distances.  Nick was gone, but Ben and I became inseparable partners, sharing 2nd place for the next 43 miles.  We settled in to a comfortable effort and the time passed quickly, a lot of it with frequent reports from me on our current altitude, number of miles to the next aid station, predicted pace, etc.  Ben is a resident medical doctor in psychiatry, but politely made no attempts at analyzing any psychosis I might have.

The Bear has only recently exploded in popularity and still retains its low-key atmosphere.  The organization  is first-rate, but the one old-school element which I would like to see evolve is the course marking.  Fortunately, I had rounded up enough Garmin gps wrist watches to last the whole race and loaded the course map on to each.  This saved me on more than one occasion where flagging was missing or difficult to locate.  The majority of finishers found their way, but many made wrong turns, and some were too far astray to finish within the 36 hour limit.

Mile 70 came and progress to that point was terrific.  The sun was just about to set and a sub-20 hour finish was a yawning 6-1/2 hours away - no worries.  After all, how long could it possibly take to run, or just  jog and hike, 30 miles?  My good friend Mike Topper, a successful veteran of many ultramarathon races, came out to crew for me and pace from Mile 76.  Mike's company for the last 24 miles proved to be invaluable.  I had been carefully eating and drinking all day and consumed all the special snacks I had sent ahead.  The sun went down, and soon thereafter the fire in my engine room was flickering.  The key to a good split time for the end of a 100 mile race seems to be  the ability to run the runnable sections of trail and to spend a minimal amount of time at the last 4 to 5 aid stations.  This is baffingly easier in concept than practice.  At first, complacency took over.   Then fatigue crept in to my legs to the point where inflammation prevented me from running down hill at all.  Then adrenaline masked the need for caffeine which ultimately led  to a very slow and somewhat scary shuffle for over a mile to the Mile 92 aid station.  Somehow things turn around after  these rough patches and it took some long stops at aid stations to be revived. 

Fortunately, my feet were in good shape, my digestion was working well, and the clear night sky was incredible.  Unfortunately, there was a maddeningly steep and rough, 7 mile descent from mile 93 to the finish.  The ibuprofen I took was no match for the soreness in my right leg, so it was a very long walk off the mountain.  The city lights of Fish Haven Idaho, population 201, were over 3000 feet below and drew closer at an alarmingly slow rate.  I had parted ways with Ben at mile 83, and from mile 91 on, I watched one runner after another sail by.  Miraculously, I slipped only to 7th place, having taken just under 5 hours to cover the last 15 miles with a finish time of 22:46.  The last runner to pass me by was Nikki Kimball.  Getting beat by a champion of her stature is okay by me.

Ben Lewis unknowingly took the lead at mile 85 when Nick Pedatella went off course for a solid hour!  Nick put his UTMB legs to good use by retaking the lead at mile 92 and flew to the finish, while Ben finished with a comfortable cushion for second place.

Along with 18 others, my sub-24 hour time earned the coveted wolverine belt buckle.  The wolverine is a powerful predator in the weasel family, but looks like a bear - something else I've learned from running 100 miles.

The memories will last for a long time.  The spirit of community amongst the participants, volunteers, and crews is truly unique and will inevitably draw me back to this distance again.

Equipment used:

Inov-8 X-Talon 212 (8 oz) shoes

Go-Lite double bottle waist pack

Fenix LD20 handheld light and Petzl headlamp for backup

Garmin Forerunner 305

Honey Stinger gels and waffles

Nuun electrolyte

Good old cheese sandwiches and salty V-8 juice

by Gary Gellin

Beijing World Triathlon Age Group race

D Day, my biggest race for 2011 was to represent Great Britain in the age group (35-39) Triathlon at the World Championships in Beijing. There were around 2200 athletes from 16 - 80 years, both men and women, abled and various degrees of disabilities. (To watch the Paratriathetes in their wheelchairs was amazing to see, and also the speed those guys get. I thought my TT bikes was fairly bling but in a practise session I was behind a guy doing around 27mph on the flat, he had dual Zipp Sub 9 disc wheels, and a sweet looking custom carbon wheel chair. VERY nice to see. Later that day, a friend and I cycled (sneaked in) with the pros as the police had closed off the roads just for them to check the course out, so that was fun (lots of people taking pics of us thinking we were pros ha ha).

The event was constructed for the 2008 Olympics thus the Chinese had not been tight in building a first class course, the road was like a race track and super smooth (however even though the 10km loop had barriers all the way around it still did

not stop stray dogs running out onto the course as a top under 23 woman who was leading her race, hit a dog and went flying....).

The event started with an opening ceremony 2 days before the race which was cool.

My race started at 6:50am in rainy, 10'C, 10mph winds and dam was it cold hanging around in our tri suits waiting for our wave to start (It was typical British April weather which the Ausi's and Brazilians did not like..). I made an amateur error and did not fix my google correct, thus after 2 swim strokes they filled up with water which is not good, thus I had to stop twice to clear the lenses and resulted in my worst timed swim all year. I looked forward to the TT part as it my stronger point and managed to over take a few guys (working off the anger of my poor swim). Going around the corners was super scary due to the slick surface and especially over the white lines in the road (a few twitchy moments). Some people were not so lucky and kissed the ground....

The run went well and as such posted my best run time ever, with no one over taking me. I finished 5th in my age group (around 35 starters from 8 different nations). Next year is New Zealand which would be cool, but as you need to self fund it yourself (although a lot of athletes were sponsored) I may give it a swerve and wait for London the year after.... I was very happy with my result and feel with a normal swim there was even a good chance to grab Bronze (but as with all races there is always the "could, would, should" debate after).

After the race, the pros showed us how to race. Their race is a little different in that the bike section is draft legal, thus they race like the guys on the Tour D' France i.e in a pack.. Ours we are not allowed to draft thus have TT bikes. GBR pros did well (best season ever) and as it was the final race in the Triathlon series, the GBR men were crowned overall 1 & 2 (Brownlee brothers) and the GBR woman (Helen Jenkins) crowned number 1. What put the cherry in my cake, was after the pro awards, World No2 walked towards me and I asked for a pic and he was joking that the award & bottle of Champagne was too heavy, so I offered to hold it. I nearly dropped his trophy, thus in the pic he looks worried...

Overall a great experience, but I am sure looking forward to ending this years race season after a little half Ironman next weekend, then hit the beers and come out on more shop Wednesday MTB rides!

Rd 5 Southern XC

Alex Taylor completed the 5th and final round of the series Sunday at Pippingford Park with his best result of the series coming 4th and rounded of a great 6th 0verall.

What a great result coming 7th in every other round apart from the first which he missed.
Podium next year Alex, must be most improved rider this season.

Tour du Sella Ronda

If anyone desires great riding, superb scenery, breathtaking mountains, fantastic Italian food and thirst-quenching radler (local beer with bitter lemon) then check out the 58k Tour du Sella Ronda. A week ago I took my wife on a last minute holiday to the village of Selva, the cleanest, prettiest, smartest resort I've ever been to, in Val Gardena in the Dolomites. The objective was to hike in the mountains but at booking time I'd forgotten (ahem) it was also the start of the Sella Ronda.

 

 

 

 

In wintertime it is a ski tour. In summer, it is one of the classic bike routes. Several options are open: a road bike tour...they close the roads on specific days (just like in England, not), or mountain biking eg

- join a group with a guide coordinated by the Selva Tourist Office (Eur25), take the uphills via chairlift/cable car and zoom the descents. Takes about 8 hours including a lazy lunch stop. I joined about 30 mainly Germans and were split into three groups with a guide each. (Necessary to route find and also for accident cover)

- ride the ascents as well as the descents - very tough

- go race the course....the sellarondahero event is in July.

 

The course is very technical with loose conditions undertyre everywhere. Even the few 100 metres of jeep tracks are covered in marbles. I rode on a sunny, dry day and it was tough. I would have been less keen in the wet. Rougher than Les Gets or Morzine and most wore knee pads. 

 

 

 

Squeasyjet took us to Verona, then a two hour transfer, so not a short journey, but well worth it. It's in the Sudtirol, so you get the benefit of German efficiency with the bonus of Italian style and food.

 

I'd recommend it for a family holiday with a sneaky day off biking, or a dedicated bike holiday. Oh, did I say, it's also the Scott European test centre. Rock up and borrow a bike. Alternately, hire a Scott Genius 50 for the day for Eur30. Beware - the brake levers are the reverse of what you find in the UK. Well, I needed an excuse for my tumble over the bars.

 

Stephen Turner

Christmas Cranked Up

Hold the Date - For one night only, no bike required!

Christmas Cranked Up - featuring live band Fixed Wheel

Date    15th December

Venue  Storrington Social Club

Time    Doors open at 7.30pm until late

Food    served from 9pm until 9.30pm

Tickets for this event are limited so first come first served.  Tickets will be £15 until the 31st October and £17.50 thereafter and available from the shop.  We will not be able to offer tickets on the door so pre-booking will be essential.  This will be a great night out so don't miss out.

Torq in your sleep 28/08/11

Ian and Dave Cleale aka French Dave put in a terrific performance yesterday coming 4th in the male pairs completing 15 laps in twelve hours and only missing out on 3rd by 5 minutes ! this highlights Dave's potential that we all know he has ! and remember this is a category where they would have competing against people half their ages , hopefully when they have had a well earned rest a few words of their own will follow :-) Also i didn't realise Steve & Simon were in a mixed club male team and came in an impressive 6th , shows how out of touch i'am at the moment :-(

This is awesome.

Val Di Sole World Cup Downhill.

Parham Kermesse 2011

Steve Calland wins 2nd cat race for 2nd year whilst young gun James Bailey finishes 2nd in 2nd/3rd cat race.

Marshalls Required for Parham Kermesse

We are looking for Marshalls for this club sponsored race if interested in giving up a morning, afternoon or both let Tim or Martin know.

BIG DOG Results

Steve and Mark came 4th in really tough Male Pairs and Emma and Simon 6th in a competitive Mixed Pairs cat. Steve Turner and Matt rode in the Male Team cat but I don't know their result.

Ian Pethebridge and James D'Arcy also rode in the Male Solo Vet, Ian coming in 8th with a few minor mechanicals and James only rode 2 laps so I think he may have had a problem somewhere but well done to all on a great days racing.

 
Stephen Turner's pairs partner for the Big Dog has fallen ill, so he is looking for someone to fill the spot on Saturday. Any takers?
We have also got 2 6hr entries going as well.

Fittleworth Flyer 5 Mile Road Race

             Stephen Turner is organising this event on 4th September all welcome.

Check realtime weather

Slightly geeky ! But my weather station located between the 2 SDBikes shops, in Angmering Park Estate reports live weather conditions should you want to check before you ride out.

http://www.weatherlink.com/user/chrislamb/

There is also an iPhone Davis Weather app you can add this to as well as antoher station located in Sullington even closer to Storrington.

Thanks for looking!

Podium places at Are You Tough Enough

 Ben 2nd and Alex 3rd

Emma 2nd

Kielder 100

Article below from XCracer.com The question is, can you go under 8 hours......

In just three years the Montane Kielder 100 has become one of the most iconic British mountain bike races, capturing the imagination of hundreds of riders willing to push themselves to new limits in this unique event.
Each year more and more riders attempt the grueling 100 mile lap starting from Kielder Castle in England, crossing over the border into Scotland using the Newcastleton 7Stanes trails before heading back to England. Those that do manage to complete the lap will be in for a treat this year with Forestry Commission England working hard throughout the summer to finish off the last few miles of trails making it a descent you’ll want to go back and ride again!

Over 700 riders have already signed up, with many of them just hoping to get through each of the checkpoints within the allotted time and finish the course, but the talented few will be hoping to join the exclusive sub-9 hour club, currently consisting of only 20 riders. With the course record set last year at just under 8 hours it will take something very special to go sub-7 hours and win the £1,000 prize money on offer for the first rider to do so.

James on the podium where he belongs

Sorry James mislaid your image briefly :-)

Mountain Mayhem 2011

 

I’ll admit to being nervous in the week leading up to the Mountain Mayhem 24hr race. However, this wasn’t because of the racing, it was the weather! After months of dry, dusty trails the forecast was for wind and rain.

I drove down with Ian on Friday afternoon and the first thing to hit me (after the drizzle) was just how big this event is – it’s HUGE! We drove past tent after tent before Ian identified the biggest marquee of all as the hub of the South Downs Bikes tented village.

Tim provided a warm welcome and Jayne a slap up pasta dinner. As the rain fell outside the mood was dampened further by news that Roger had fallen on a reconnaissance lap and broken his collar bone. This did mean slight reshuffling of the teams but we went to bed with full stomachs and eager to get started.

The race started at Midday with a 2.5km run which it seemed everyone was keen to avoid! Alex ran for our Vets team – mainly on the basis that he had trainers! Anyway he made a cracking start and we were soon up and running. The run gave us an opportunity to see the huge entry this race attracts from the Olympic athletes at the sharp end through to the guys dressed in Sumo outfits!

Showers came and went through the afternoon with the course changing dramatically every lap. Slippery decents, the blue-tac mud in the woods and the never ending slimey grass climb improved and then worsened again with every lap. Soon we headed into darkness but by then the rain had largely stopped. The handover area was filled with shouting as riders tried to identify their team mate in the dark. My fourth lap started at 3.30am so I raced into the hills to the sound of the dawn chorus and the welcome sunrise to warm the limbs as well as the spirits. The trails also began to dry and were almost bone dry by the end of the race.

In order to complete 6 laps each or 24 laps total we needed to keep lapping under the hour. We’d slipped during the night to almost half an hour outside this. However, in the morning lap times improved and Gary (Doddy) put in a brilliant lap that got us back within a minute or two of the hour. I knew then we had a chance and I gave everything on my next lap thinking it might be my last. When I crossed the line we were back under the hour by less than 60 seconds and I handed over to Alex with suitable incoherent screaming and encouragement!

I then had to sit in the marquee to see if I would have a chance to ride again. It seemed at this point that every returning rider from the other teams was getting back with an injury or story of a narrow escape. The mixed team unfortunately lost their lead but Alex and Ian (fuelled on fresh coffee and 2 caffeine gels) had kept us within reach of the  24th lap. I went down to the bike corral uncertain if I would ride again. The lurkers had massed along the sides of the trail waiting for the 24 hours to elapse before crossing the line when suddenly I heard Ian scream “Get ready Ben, he’s coming!” and sure enough Gary was pounding through the arena with the crowd cheering him on! I was the last rider to start a lap and our last minute push had brought us up to third overall!

The grassy climb was agony, the slippery singletrack had been a nightmare not to mention the lack of sleep, but the podium finish made it all worthwhile. It was a proper team effort and I’d like to thank Alex, Ian and Gary for the team spirit that pulled us through with no major incidents - well apart from Gary’s early morning slide in the arena!

The Mixed team missed out on the victory but a third podium in three years is a superb result.

Massive thanks to Tim and Jayne for providing such an excellent support service all weekend. Also I’d like to thank the entire team for pulling together and making the event so enjoyable. I for one am already looking forward to next year.

 Ben