Brass Monkeys - Round 2

As expected at Caesars Camp, the course had several taxing climbs. The main hill was seemingly endless, repeatedly kicking up again and again. However, it will be the loose, rocky vertical incline later in the lap that will be forever etched in the memories of the riders.

Over-heating was my initial problem. I was one of a minority of riders who’d opted for overshoes and arm warmers. Chasing around the dry trails in relatively mild temperatures, this looked to be a big mistake.

Then the wind picked up and it started to rain. The trails became increasingly treacherous and slippery. Finally my overshoes were invaluable as I plunged on through the seven mile mudfest. To give an idea of how bad conditions became, my first lap was 37minutes, but by the end I was sliding around in 48 minutes.

Lots of muddy SDB jerseys out on the course!

3rd Ian Petherbridge  3hr Grand Vet
35th John Reay 3hr Grand Vet
15th Ben Connor 4hr
38th Andrew Jarman 4hr Vets
21st Oli Fenton 2hr
40th Peter Wilsdon 2hr
13th Olive O'Leary 2hr
29th Andy Goodyer 2hr Vets
44th Damian Redman 2hr Vets

Brass Monkeys - Round 1

The Army Cycling Union created a cracking 7 mile course at Minley Manor, with miles of fast singletrack flowing smoothly through the woods of the estate. 

It was the type of course that rewarded you for your efforts without ever being intimidating! Never too technical, the trail wove through the trees, swinging left and right, allowing you to carry your momentum into every turn. There were a few climbs, most notably, one short, steep ramp near the beginning of the lap, but nothing to fill the heart with dread as you came round for your final lap.

Great turn out from the club!

• Ian took a brilliant 3rd in the new 3hr Grand Vets category.
• Will was 14th and I was 18th in a strong 4hr field after 7 laps.
• Andy was 45th and Kevin was 50th in the 4hr Vets after 5 laps.
• Oli was 15th in the 2hr race after 4 laps.
• Postie was 33rd in the 2hr Vets.
• Olive did 3 laps finishing 9th in the 2hr womens race.

Torq 12/6hr Enduro - 25th August 2013

Minley Manor is a brutal course rooty, testing climbs and sapping grassy sections this year Gorrick added a new 6hr Solo format just up our street.

We showed up at 1pm and were told we were lucky to get our numbers as we were meant to sign up by 11am for a 3pm start!!! Kevin,Martin,Ollie and Will were already under way in the 12hr pairs and the atmosphere around the arena was pretty good. The course has some interestingly named sections with  Banksey,Minley Maze and Crusty Sponge Bob standing out as the gnarlier bits and with 1 nasty drop-off 7 miles into the lap which got more interesting as the day wore on.

 
After the initial slow start the field spread out there were hardly any hold ups which was a nice surprise as we had feared the worse starting 3 hrs in to the main event. It was pretty warm and although it had rain the day before the course was holding up well. This was a tough one on the legs, but also a tough one on the brain. Sometimes the head gives up before the body and both were on their limit. 4hrs in and we were all facing our own demons if it was counting down to a section you didn't like or forcing down a mixture of gels and bars the fun was ebbing. Then as it got dark the fun returned with a DJ under the Bridge to Nowhere and some glow sticks on certain uphill sections of the course, the atmosphere ramped up and made the last 3 laps bearable. If you got to the start/finish line by 9pm you could do another lap which I and John Reay managed both completing 8 laps the 2 Andy's managed 7. Our 2 teams in the pairs performed really well Will and Ollie coming 5th with 17 laps and Martin and Kevin 23rd with 14 laps.

Well done to all as this course beats you up big time, 4 man teams next year?

Vets 6hr Solo
John Davies    - 3rd
John Reay      -  7th
Andy Goodyer - 11th
Andy Jarman   - 12h

12hr Pairs
Defcon Brown        - 5th
Sprocket Rockets  - 23rd

Probably the one and only time on the podium.

Torq in your Sleep 12/6 hr Enduro Photo's - 25th August 2013

Kevin Moore 23rd 12hr Pairs

Will Taylor 5th 12hr Pairs

John Reay 7th 6hr Vet

Andy Goodyer 11th 6hr Vet

Andy Jarman 12th 6hr Vet

John Davies 3rd 6hr Vet

Martin Taylor 23rd 12hr Pairs

Ollie Fenton 5th 12hr Pairs

Chilterns 100 Enduro - 17th August 2013

 

Starting from Woodcote, north of Reading this testing route took us from the excellent Thames Path tracking along the northern bank of the Thames climbing and swooping along a series of exhilarating twist and turns with the infamous Whitchurch steps replaced by a steep straight dive followed by a quick climb. The western edge of the route took us to where the Chilterns drop away to the plains, we traversed up and down with long-legged swoops and climbs off and on the dramatic hills. With plenty of flint around we had the usual spate of punctures, 5 in all which slowed us up a bit and with finished in just over 7hrs. As usual the route signs were a little hard to follow and we did a few bonus miles but on the whole the route was pretty good.  The only thing missing was the sunshine,and the previous days rainfall had left the trails pretty sticky in places. A cup of tea and some cake and we were on our way home a long day but well worth it.

Brighton Big Dog - 10th August 2013

The event, now its fifth year, is becoming a bit of a classic with its festival atmosphere and fantastic trails. The course was tougher than last year, riding it clockwise and taking in some steeper climbs, just over 800' of climbing per lap with some fast flowing descents. The weather which had been looking a bit dodgy all week stayed away and the course was in great condition for some fast times. Fay Cripps fastest ladies lap 32 minutes!!!!

The team and club had a great turnout and great results with many getting on the podium.
Ladies Pairs     -  Fay Cripps /Emily Iredale 1st                       
Ladies Team    -   Julia Hammond/Cliodhna Duggan/Olive O'Leary 1st
Ladies Solo     -   Emma Craddock 2nd
Male Solo 40+ -  Steve Calland 2nd
Ladies Team    -   Lorna Dennison-Wilkins/Karen Dixon 3rd
Male Team      -   Mark Clothier/Simon McNamara/Roger Smith 3rd

Slide-show of Big Dog

Great blog on Mountain Trax riders Val Hazleton and Clive Ely riding the Great Divide.

The start in Skagway,Alaska 14th May

                                

 

In Breckenridge,Co August 17th

Blog

Eastern Series Rd 6 & LVRC Portsdown Hill

Mud Sweat & Gears Rd 6 Hitchingbroke Park 4/8 My third Eastern Series Race of the year on the flatest MTB course I've ever seen. I makes Thetford look hilly!Having sid that the organisers laid out a really good course with a mixture of fire roads and mega twisty singletrack. One fly in the ointment for the competitors was a massive lack of parking. Hopefully they will sort that out for 2014. With Amanda left trying to find a parking space I managed to sign on and do half a lap's warm up. There were people signing on rigt up to the start time, so it was tight for a lot of folks. Got a good start, but lost a few places catching some slower vets into the first singletrack and spent the rest of the race trying and failing to catch Jack Peterson and Rob Jackson. Happy with 3rd as those two were definitely quicker in the singletrack. Something to work on for next year. It is a good series, several of the Beyond MTB guys ride there. Also carries BCF points like the souther XC. I will be back next year to do as many of the 8 rounds as I can. LVRC Road Race Portsdown Hill 17/8 The Vets road race league races are pretty spread out, but there are a few in the south east and cate for 40 year plus riders, in 5 year age bands. They use the Perfs circuit for this race which meant 8 laps up the hill for my age category. Just missed the split with the lead "A" riders, but finished wiht the next group to get 3rd in the B category race. Must do some more of these. The races are much more positive than the 3rd cat Surrey League races I've done. Lots of attacks and splits etc and rather less dangerous riding. I will be a "C" category next year. Apparantly we get a toilet stop every 2nd lap...

Hadleigh Farm - National XC

The discussion in the hotel room over breakfast was if we were heading to the race course or A&E. After a fall during practice on Saturday I had suffered an uncomfortable night propped up on one side, largely unable to move. A trial run in the car park proved I could at least get onto the bike - so Hadleigh Farm it was!

Like thousands of others my application for tickets to see the 2012 London Olympic mountain bike race was unsuccessful. However, when the venues were announced for this years British National Cross Country Series, the Olympic venue at Hadleigh Farm is Essex was the location for the final round. My entry booked way back in February; I have been eagerly looking forward to this weekend all year.

The weather was kind and the sun shone as those riders that has survived the practice sessions were corralled into their categories for the start. Riders nervously discussed different possible lines through the technical sections as we were moved to the grid. A deep breath and we were off!

The start climbed directly to the top of the hill and I found myself near the front as we hit the first rock garden. I turned into the less technical 'B' run as the rider in front plunged directly across the rocks. With a crash he was down, the 'A' route was blocked but I rode safely on. At the next steep decent a rider was already lying contorted on the rocks below, so again I followed the riders ahead down the 'Chicken Run'! 

To my surprise everyone was taking the safe option. Where I had expected to lose time, I found the majority of riders taking the slower but safer routes around the obstacles. Despite this there were many fallers. As we entered the switchback climb I looked back down the hill and there was nobody insight behind. An accident had clearly held up the rest of the field.

Climbing was extremely uncomfortable; deep breaths putting pressure on my bruised and battered ribs. Every breath caused a sharp jolt of pain. Once over the worst climb there was a long flowing decent with a couple of foot high rock steps taken at full speed. Hitting these caused me to wince and almost lose control of the bike. 

I crossed the line to complete the first lap; checking the clock we'd been racing 20 minutes. I rode up the next climb, chest heaving and then struggled again to control the bike down the other side. I began to realise I had been running on adrenaline, the pain killers were wearing off and I wasn't going to be able to keep this up for 2 hours. At the next marshall point I pulled to the side of the course and stopped.

It was a tough decision. I had been training for this event for 8 months. It had been my primary target when I had planned my race schedule long ago on a dark winters night. It was difficult to accept it was over.

Now back home I am still disappointed. My training had gone well and I had been riding strongly in the weeks leading up to the race. However, I can now consider myself lucky. 13 riders didn't even complete the first lap of my race. Some of those will have found themselves in an ambulance on the way to Basildon General. Unbelievably riding just one lap of six was enough to earn me 29th in a National XC race.

What have I learnt:
1/ The Olympic athletes of 2012  should really be admired for making such a tough course look almost tame. Although speaking to one of the organisers he did point out that many of the countries spent the entire week prior to the race training and practising. I have no doubt that with training I could ride all the sections, although admittedly probably slower!
2/ Secondly the course was too hard for a national event. When less than half the field complete the race you know something isn't right.
3/ Thirdly, I expect I've cracked a rib or two.

SuperTour 2013 - Northern Sierra's, California

John D's little adventure stateside

 

                                    http://northernsierras2013.blogspot.co.uk/