The Racing Thread..
Discussion
Seeing as we have the wattage thread for all things power-based, figured it would be a good idea to have a race report thread for those who are thinking of starting to to some racing, be it track / mtb or road?
Ideal for people who are thinking about racing in the future / want to share some experiences or such?
I'll start : 4th race this year was Sat afternoon, 4ths @ cyclopark: every race thus far i've been caught up behind an accident of some description (and this was no different, although this time I managed to get around it quickly and back onto the main pack at the front).
Tried to do minimal work where possible (although fond myself on the front for a little bit) and hoped that it would all come together at the end: which is exactly how things panned out..
Start of the last lap was prob running in 20th ish, so had a bit of work to do: made my way up, and after the last proper bend found myself just outside the top 10 : as the pace started to increase I found myself going past people, and the legs still felt ok, so was a case of giving it everything I could and see how things go.. Sprint went ok, and ended up 4th: very happy! Just need to get entering some more now before the end of the summer!
Ideal for people who are thinking about racing in the future / want to share some experiences or such?
I'll start : 4th race this year was Sat afternoon, 4ths @ cyclopark: every race thus far i've been caught up behind an accident of some description (and this was no different, although this time I managed to get around it quickly and back onto the main pack at the front).
Tried to do minimal work where possible (although fond myself on the front for a little bit) and hoped that it would all come together at the end: which is exactly how things panned out..
Start of the last lap was prob running in 20th ish, so had a bit of work to do: made my way up, and after the last proper bend found myself just outside the top 10 : as the pace started to increase I found myself going past people, and the legs still felt ok, so was a case of giving it everything I could and see how things go.. Sprint went ok, and ended up 4th: very happy! Just need to get entering some more now before the end of the summer!
Done a few races/crits this year, less than last year due to various things, mostly cancellations or mechanicals to be honest, quite an irritating season in road race.
Its looking like I may even drop down to 2nd cat as I think I've only scored about 50 points this year, which is quite poor, and just got another cancellation email for another race, so will have to pull my finger out if I decide I'm bothered about staying 1st category.
Its looking like I may even drop down to 2nd cat as I think I've only scored about 50 points this year, which is quite poor, and just got another cancellation email for another race, so will have to pull my finger out if I decide I'm bothered about staying 1st category.
Rolls said:
I'll start : 4th race this year was Sat afternoon, 4ths @ cyclopark:
Congratulations on the result. I was in this race too. It was my 2nd race altogether, and in my first I just punctured so didnt really experience much of the race. I enjoyed the race although half way through I really felt like I was struggled and wouldnt make it. I seemed to get a 2nd wind near the end though.I think the home straight was my worst section of track, so tried to not go too early in the final run for the line. My sprint timing was ok and I was absolutely flying towards people closing in on the finish and managed to get 8th over the line which I am happy with. In hindsight I think I could have a couple more places from going earlier, and being slightly nearer the front on the last lap.
Pretty pleased with how it went overall.
PulsatingStar said:
Congratulations on the result. I was in this race too. It was my 2nd race altogether, and in my first I just punctured so didnt really experience much of the race. I enjoyed the race although half way through I really felt like I was struggled and wouldnt make it. I seemed to get a 2nd wind near the end though.
I think the home straight was my worst section of track, so tried to not go too early in the final run for the line. My sprint timing was ok and I was absolutely flying towards people closing in on the finish and managed to get 8th over the line which I am happy with. In hindsight I think I could have a couple more places from going earlier, and being slightly nearer the front on the last lap.
Pretty pleased with how it went overall.
Nice one! Means there were 3 ph'ers at least in the race then!I think the home straight was my worst section of track, so tried to not go too early in the final run for the line. My sprint timing was ok and I was absolutely flying towards people closing in on the finish and managed to get 8th over the line which I am happy with. In hindsight I think I could have a couple more places from going earlier, and being slightly nearer the front on the last lap.
Pretty pleased with how it went overall.
okgo said:
Done a few races/crits this year, less than last year due to various things, mostly cancellations or mechanicals to be honest, quite an irritating season in road race.
Its looking like I may even drop down to 2nd cat as I think I've only scored about 50 points this year, which is quite poor, and just got another cancellation email for another race, so will have to pull my finger out if I decide I'm bothered about staying 1st category.
Gasp! Don't tell me life is getting in the way surely?Its looking like I may even drop down to 2nd cat as I think I've only scored about 50 points this year, which is quite poor, and just got another cancellation email for another race, so will have to pull my finger out if I decide I'm bothered about staying 1st category.
I race downhill mtb, mostly just the local series (PORC in kent) but have raced at FoD, Rogate, Aston Hill, Innerleithen and the megavalanche.
I'm not very good at it, only had one podium result in the last few years, but it's good fun and people from other disciplines seem to hold DH in fairly high regard as being a bit nuts.
I'm not very good at it, only had one podium result in the last few years, but it's good fun and people from other disciplines seem to hold DH in fairly high regard as being a bit nuts.
Rolls said:
PulsatingStar said:
Congratulations on the result. I was in this race too. It was my 2nd race altogether, and in my first I just punctured so didnt really experience much of the race. I enjoyed the race although half way through I really felt like I was struggled and wouldnt make it. I seemed to get a 2nd wind near the end though.
I think the home straight was my worst section of track, so tried to not go too early in the final run for the line. My sprint timing was ok and I was absolutely flying towards people closing in on the finish and managed to get 8th over the line which I am happy with. In hindsight I think I could have a couple more places from going earlier, and being slightly nearer the front on the last lap.
Pretty pleased with how it went overall.
Nice one! Means there were 3 ph'ers at least in the race then!I think the home straight was my worst section of track, so tried to not go too early in the final run for the line. My sprint timing was ok and I was absolutely flying towards people closing in on the finish and managed to get 8th over the line which I am happy with. In hindsight I think I could have a couple more places from going earlier, and being slightly nearer the front on the last lap.
Pretty pleased with how it went overall.
Got a busy few weeks coming up. Cyclopark (3/4) on Thursday, Lea Valley (4th) Saturday then a 3/4 road race next weekend.
Had I got to CycloPark earlier on Sat, would’ve cheered you on! We hired the track from about 3p.m. onwards for Club Race Training. It was pretty windy down the back straight, but nicely on your back up to the finishline. How fast did the race run? Still aiming to race at least once this year; but think I’m down on power for the sprint.
Had a decent winter training this year and some good results in some winter series races I did at Hog Hill and Velopark but after getting caught up crash (caused by a proper whopper/chopper) since February I have only managed to race once with a combination of injury and illness.
Was lucky to get enough points to retain my 2nd Cat though so don't have to rush to get race fit and points chase.
Currently feeling very unfit trying to get back into some regular training my CTL went down from 125ish in Feb to around 50sih which is where it is now.
Was lucky to get enough points to retain my 2nd Cat though so don't have to rush to get race fit and points chase.
Currently feeling very unfit trying to get back into some regular training my CTL went down from 125ish in Feb to around 50sih which is where it is now.
SystemParanoia said:
going to be doing my first sportive 20th sept in stafford.
93 miles in total, and im flipping terrified as ive never ridden that distance in one sitting before!
go big or go home eh?!
Sportives aren't races. When I entered my first one, I was expecting it to get a bit competitive towards the end and there would be a group sprint or similar. If there was, it wasn't near me 93 miles in total, and im flipping terrified as ive never ridden that distance in one sitting before!
go big or go home eh?!
Edit: I will keep an eye on this thread though. I'd like to race one day
I took the plunge this year, after boring the world with my dithering for years. Driven partly by the wife, who was heartily fed up with my procrastination over a first race entry, I signed up for the first round of the 'Merida Brass Monkeys' "Winter Enduro Series".
Sun 23rd Nov 2014, Round 1, Minley Manor - I set out from home that morning in atrocious weather, after a really nice preceding Saturday. It was hell. Mud up to the hubs in places, and constant rain the whole way around. The course was shortened due to parts of it being unrideable, and more features were dropped during the race, particularly one "drop in/climb out" crossing a sunken lane, as not even the 'big boys' could maintain enough momentum, nor get enough traction to clear it. I got home suffering with the early stages of hypothermia (not kidding, either) and took about 4 hours of warming through in the bath to even begin to feel human again. But I loved it! Only managed 61/76 in the 2 hour vets category, but my goal had been simply to finish. Not coming last was a big bonus...
That first race out of the way, and having recovered reasonably well, I gave thought to a second round. There's a thread on here somewhere about all this, as the actual details are a bit fuzzy now, regarding the decision process about signing up, at least. Time, and a dodgy memory may have corrupted some of my recollections of the events, but the hard facts remain accurate.
Sun 14th Dec 2014, Round 2, Tunnel Hill - As it was an entirely local race series, I rode to the event once more, serving as my 'warm up'. It was cold, as I recall. Frost on the ground, ice in the few puddles that there were, but mostly a dry circuit. It was bliss, compared to round one, and I met up with another PHer (daddy cool) just before the race. I can't recall much about the actual racing, so presume it was relatively uneventful. Result? 47/60, 2 hour vets. I'd upped my 'goal' to "not finishing last" this time, and achieved it with relative ease...
Sun 04th Jan 2015, Round 3, Windmill Hill - By now I was hooked. "Lots of fun, and weirdly addictive" was how I described it at the time. I contributed little in the way of a write-up for this one, but I remember meeting 'daddy cool' again before the race, and taking a half decent photo of 'Badger Benji' on the start/finish straight - he was still hammering around his 4 hour race on a single speed bike, while I'd finished my 2 hour race. I recall it being a bit muddy. More than round 2, but way less muddy than round 1. It was also to be as close as I got to qualifying for that elusive extra lap. I was 1min 28sec behind the cut-off, and I'd wasted about that much time fiddling about wiping my glasses clean at the top of a climb My result for this round? 65/77 in the 2 hour vets category. Sadly, I was no-where near my new goal, of "just a single point would be nice". I'd have needed 40th for that, and to knock about 14 minutes per lap off my times 
Still. I'd done it. I'd signed up for my first taste of amateur MTB racing and survived. Not only that, but I'd signed in for the whole series, completed the full 2 hour race time at all three rounds, and not come last even once! Skills! It's a definite eye-opener, though. I had a sneaky hope that, with all the rounds being local, I'd have some advantage and possibly even score some points. Turns out that there are plenty of really fast riders from outside the local area who are more than capable of blitzing me on my own turf
I've not raced since. The spring series was too soon, and too expensive (entry fees alone would have been near the £100 mark). By May, and the one-off Kawasaki G100 enduro event, I'd broken my MTB, and it remains broken even now, so I've switched to the road for the time being, and ditched the racing for this season. I recommend having a crack at some racing to anyone, though! It's amazing. Fun and torture in just about equal measure, and it teaches you a lot about yourself, as well as giving you plenty of opportunity to observe, and learn from, better riders than you.
Racing? Give it a go!
Round 1 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Round 2 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Round 3 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Sun 23rd Nov 2014, Round 1, Minley Manor - I set out from home that morning in atrocious weather, after a really nice preceding Saturday. It was hell. Mud up to the hubs in places, and constant rain the whole way around. The course was shortened due to parts of it being unrideable, and more features were dropped during the race, particularly one "drop in/climb out" crossing a sunken lane, as not even the 'big boys' could maintain enough momentum, nor get enough traction to clear it. I got home suffering with the early stages of hypothermia (not kidding, either) and took about 4 hours of warming through in the bath to even begin to feel human again. But I loved it! Only managed 61/76 in the 2 hour vets category, but my goal had been simply to finish. Not coming last was a big bonus...
That first race out of the way, and having recovered reasonably well, I gave thought to a second round. There's a thread on here somewhere about all this, as the actual details are a bit fuzzy now, regarding the decision process about signing up, at least. Time, and a dodgy memory may have corrupted some of my recollections of the events, but the hard facts remain accurate.
Sun 14th Dec 2014, Round 2, Tunnel Hill - As it was an entirely local race series, I rode to the event once more, serving as my 'warm up'. It was cold, as I recall. Frost on the ground, ice in the few puddles that there were, but mostly a dry circuit. It was bliss, compared to round one, and I met up with another PHer (daddy cool) just before the race. I can't recall much about the actual racing, so presume it was relatively uneventful. Result? 47/60, 2 hour vets. I'd upped my 'goal' to "not finishing last" this time, and achieved it with relative ease...
Sun 04th Jan 2015, Round 3, Windmill Hill - By now I was hooked. "Lots of fun, and weirdly addictive" was how I described it at the time. I contributed little in the way of a write-up for this one, but I remember meeting 'daddy cool' again before the race, and taking a half decent photo of 'Badger Benji' on the start/finish straight - he was still hammering around his 4 hour race on a single speed bike, while I'd finished my 2 hour race. I recall it being a bit muddy. More than round 2, but way less muddy than round 1. It was also to be as close as I got to qualifying for that elusive extra lap. I was 1min 28sec behind the cut-off, and I'd wasted about that much time fiddling about wiping my glasses clean at the top of a climb
My result for this round? 65/77 in the 2 hour vets category. Sadly, I was no-where near my new goal, of "just a single point would be nice". I'd have needed 40th for that, and to knock about 14 minutes per lap off my times Still. I'd done it. I'd signed up for my first taste of amateur MTB racing and survived. Not only that, but I'd signed in for the whole series, completed the full 2 hour race time at all three rounds, and not come last even once! Skills! It's a definite eye-opener, though. I had a sneaky hope that, with all the rounds being local, I'd have some advantage and possibly even score some points. Turns out that there are plenty of really fast riders from outside the local area who are more than capable of blitzing me on my own turf
I've not raced since. The spring series was too soon, and too expensive (entry fees alone would have been near the £100 mark). By May, and the one-off Kawasaki G100 enduro event, I'd broken my MTB, and it remains broken even now, so I've switched to the road for the time being, and ditched the racing for this season. I recommend having a crack at some racing to anyone, though! It's amazing. Fun and torture in just about equal measure, and it teaches you a lot about yourself, as well as giving you plenty of opportunity to observe, and learn from, better riders than you. Racing? Give it a go!
Round 1 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Round 2 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Round 3 original thread: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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