First MTB Race this weekend?
Discussion
OK. So it's the first round of the Merida Brass Monkey series on Sunday.
I've never raced before. Not road, not MTB, not nothing. I've been procrastinating over doing it for so long, but never get around to it. My wife is on the warpath, insisting I enter (she's bored of me going on about it), and my coach (MadDad
) seems to think I'm ready for it. I have no excuse about getting to the event - it's a ten minute ride away from my house.
There are two options for my age group (Male, 40 to 49) and they are 2 Hours or 4 Hours. I'm more than capable of riding for 4 hours, but racing for 4 hours means more admin to think about. Things like extra fluids, food, and energy management to make sure I get to the end, all of which suggests that the 2 hour option would be better for my first race. But the 2 hour option feels like a bit of a cop-out, to be honest. I feel that, if I'm entering to test myself, I should go for the 4 hour race to make it a proper test.
Oh, and I need to decide and enter by midnight tonight (Mr Last-Minute, here
).
Any advice from others on here who've raced Enduro/XC mountain bike events before?
I've never raced before. Not road, not MTB, not nothing. I've been procrastinating over doing it for so long, but never get around to it. My wife is on the warpath, insisting I enter (she's bored of me going on about it), and my coach (MadDad
) seems to think I'm ready for it. I have no excuse about getting to the event - it's a ten minute ride away from my house.There are two options for my age group (Male, 40 to 49) and they are 2 Hours or 4 Hours. I'm more than capable of riding for 4 hours, but racing for 4 hours means more admin to think about. Things like extra fluids, food, and energy management to make sure I get to the end, all of which suggests that the 2 hour option would be better for my first race. But the 2 hour option feels like a bit of a cop-out, to be honest. I feel that, if I'm entering to test myself, I should go for the 4 hour race to make it a proper test.
Oh, and I need to decide and enter by midnight tonight (Mr Last-Minute, here
).Any advice from others on here who've raced Enduro/XC mountain bike events before?
Riding a bike but going nowhere? Not for me, I'm afraid...Well. I've created myself an account on 'xcracer.com' and signed up to Paypal as well (at long last). My entry has been successful, or so the site says.
So I'll be racing for the first time ever on Sunday morning. Hopefully my new cassette and chain will arrive from Wiggle in time to be fitted for the race, or I'll be short a few usable gears. It's 'skipping' on the smallest three rings at the back since I fitted a new chain, so I've ordered a new cassette and another chain (just in case). Hopefully my car oil filter wrench will double as a chain whip to get the buggering thing off, though, as I've now realised that I've not got a dedicated chain whip of my own.
So the obvious next question is...
"what kit do I need, and is there any special admin/prep I ought to do to prepare myself for Sunday?"
...as I've said, I'm more than capable of riding for four or even more hours, but that's usually with stops for food and to top up bottles etc. For this race I'm going to have to carry everything with me, and I only have one cage in which to carry a bottle. Camelbak is a non starter (I can't find the bladder), and I'm going to have to consider whether to take cereal bars or other food, and if so, how much? I've never really used gels at all, so I don't think they are a good idea. Or will I even need any of that malarkey for just two hours? I might just lob a couple of bottles of Lucozade Sport and a Snickers into my pockets...
Any advice, especially from those PHers with XC/Enduro racing experience would be gratefully recieved. All I really need to do now is to make sure I get out of bed in good time on Sunday, and check the bike over on Saturday. I intend to just get around to finish the two hours for the first time out. My 'normal' pace plus a bit more effort, then cross my fingers and hope I'm not last! Anything else will be a bonus, I reckon.
So I'll be racing for the first time ever on Sunday morning. Hopefully my new cassette and chain will arrive from Wiggle in time to be fitted for the race, or I'll be short a few usable gears. It's 'skipping' on the smallest three rings at the back since I fitted a new chain, so I've ordered a new cassette and another chain (just in case). Hopefully my car oil filter wrench will double as a chain whip to get the buggering thing off, though, as I've now realised that I've not got a dedicated chain whip of my own.
So the obvious next question is...
"what kit do I need, and is there any special admin/prep I ought to do to prepare myself for Sunday?"
...as I've said, I'm more than capable of riding for four or even more hours, but that's usually with stops for food and to top up bottles etc. For this race I'm going to have to carry everything with me, and I only have one cage in which to carry a bottle. Camelbak is a non starter (I can't find the bladder), and I'm going to have to consider whether to take cereal bars or other food, and if so, how much? I've never really used gels at all, so I don't think they are a good idea. Or will I even need any of that malarkey for just two hours? I might just lob a couple of bottles of Lucozade Sport and a Snickers into my pockets...
Any advice, especially from those PHers with XC/Enduro racing experience would be gratefully recieved. All I really need to do now is to make sure I get out of bed in good time on Sunday, and check the bike over on Saturday. I intend to just get around to finish the two hours for the first time out. My 'normal' pace plus a bit more effort, then cross my fingers and hope I'm not last! Anything else will be a bonus, I reckon.
Grrr!Long range weather forecast had been predicting "cloudy, but dry" for the Sunday, and mostly dry leading up to it. Now the BBC Weather site is suggesting plenty of rain in the preceding days, with rain on the Sunday morning, just varying in it's intensity.
I've got my fingers crossed that the forecast will look better as it gets closer and more accurate. The chap I met out in the woods who was in the process of building the course (plenty of brand new sections to "add interest") seemed to think the weekend's weather was going to be good.
Now here's the question. If it's wet, do I dress for wet weather (as I would on a 'leisure ride') or do I not bother with a rain jacket, accept that I'm going to get wet, and dress for the temperature?
option 1 - compression base layer with short sleeve summer jersey over. lightweight windproof jacket in pocket
option 2 - compression base layer with long sleeve (PH) winter jersey over. lightweight windproof jacket in pocket
option 3 - look like a complete newbie, and turn up in a fluorescent yellow rain jacket
I also haven't decided between bib longs or 'normal' riding shorts with a pair of Ron Hill running tights over them, but I intend to go for 'legs covered' whatever the weather. Or I could bin off the PH decent jerseys and wear a fluoro orange Sports Direct 'el cheapo' jersey and jogging bottoms. It could lull the opposition into a false sense of security?
I'm seriously overthinking all this, aren't I?
daddy cool said:
...Food - just have a decent hearty breakfast 2-3 hours before the start of the race...
...Drink - start drinking pints of water/juice at breakfast. Try to ensure your widdle is a clear as an alpine stream by the race start (thats my indication im "hydrated"). Obviously try to time it so you wont need a slash halfway through the race. During race, as its 2 hours, a 600-750ml bottle will be fine, but have plenty ready post-race...
- Kit - bare-minimum, small saddle bag with spare innertube, levers, and either a C02 or standard mini-pump. Please tell me you replaced those ancient innertubes that have been patched a thousand times? Getting a puncture will be pretty much game-over.
- Race - mine was bedlam at the start, with everyone diving for a tight and steep uphill left bend. Hold back, let them all get it over with, and build your pace and (hopefully) start overtaking people when you feel good for it.
Otherwise, just enjoy it. You wont be first, but you also probably wont be last, and as other groups start behind you, or pro's start lapping, you will lose sense of your individual race, and just consider it more like you against the clock. Hope it goes well - not sure if i'll be able to, but if i have time i might pop down to watch.
Breakfast 2 to 3 hours before the start? WTF? Start time is 0930hrs! Trying to shift me out of bed at 0630hrs is like trying to shift Stonehenge....Drink - start drinking pints of water/juice at breakfast. Try to ensure your widdle is a clear as an alpine stream by the race start (thats my indication im "hydrated"). Obviously try to time it so you wont need a slash halfway through the race. During race, as its 2 hours, a 600-750ml bottle will be fine, but have plenty ready post-race...
- Kit - bare-minimum, small saddle bag with spare innertube, levers, and either a C02 or standard mini-pump. Please tell me you replaced those ancient innertubes that have been patched a thousand times? Getting a puncture will be pretty much game-over.
- Race - mine was bedlam at the start, with everyone diving for a tight and steep uphill left bend. Hold back, let them all get it over with, and build your pace and (hopefully) start overtaking people when you feel good for it.
Otherwise, just enjoy it. You wont be first, but you also probably wont be last, and as other groups start behind you, or pro's start lapping, you will lose sense of your individual race, and just consider it more like you against the clock. Hope it goes well - not sure if i'll be able to, but if i have time i might pop down to watch.
Hydration is a concern. I'm good at keeping 'topped up' throughout the average day, but I need to discipline myself to drink from an earlier point in the ride when I'm on the bike. More important still if I do try to push a little harder.
Kit? Following other recommendations I'm probably going to wear my decent road bibshorts, with a compression long sleeve top, and a short sleeve PH jersey over it. I'll bung my Sportful 'Hotpack' jacket into a pocket. Regular trainers is all I have, on flat pedals. I'll have a tube/pump/chain tool with spare links/puncture patches as for a normal ride, but I may well swap that stuff into a smaller sadddle pack to look a bit more 'pro'
And no. Those multi-patched tubes are still hanging in there. 24 patches between the two now, I think. Sharp stuff will either get through the tyres or it won't. I'm not sure new tubes will make much difference to the outcome.
I fully intend to 'have some fun' out there. I know full well that I'm not likely to trouble the leaders, so the plan is to go out hard, but fairly steady at the same time. I did three repeats of the Army XC champs lap in the same woods, and got quicker with each repeat, so I know that there's room to push a bit harder. And yes, I've watched a couple of races, and the sense of riders racing each other directly does get a bit lost, so I intend to treat it a bit like an off road time trial. Me against the clock more than fighting for track position. If I enjoy this one, I can think about race tactics and targeted training in a few races time.
ccr32 said:
...Other than that, just ride the bike! Oh, and have some fun too!
Shame that pre-entry has now closed as I would have probably entered this too on an impulsive whim..!
While I am all for keeping faff to a minimum, I think that unless you are contending for the win and nothing else matters, then defo take a tube and CO2 - if you puncture half way round the course, it'll in all likelihood take longer to walk the bike back than it would to repair and ride it!
Fun is (hopefully) what this is about. I've no illusions about winning, I'll be happy just to finish.Shame that pre-entry has now closed as I would have probably entered this too on an impulsive whim..!
While I am all for keeping faff to a minimum, I think that unless you are contending for the win and nothing else matters, then defo take a tube and CO2 - if you puncture half way round the course, it'll in all likelihood take longer to walk the bike back than it would to repair and ride it!
I am now wishing that I'd mentioned this earlier, as a couple of people have expressed interest. For those considering it, rounds 2 and 3 are fairly local too (out Deepcut way). Round 2 at Tunnel Hill is on the 14th Dec (entries close 09th Dec) and Round 3 at Windmill Hill is on the 04th Jan (entries close 30th Dec)... http://meridabrassmonkeys.com/ then follow the links to the individual rounds.
As I've said, I've got to ride there and back, so all normal tools and spares are going with me round the course, so I'll deffo be repairing any punctures on the spot, even if it means rolling in last.
Enricogto said:
Also VERY IMPORTANT!!!
If you are swapping cassette and chain before the race, have a thorough test of the fitting by riding the bike and putting the chain under stress. An off-saddle sprint on a short steep climb is ideal, but if you don't have one available, try pedalling while braking the front wheel. And try all the sensible chain crossings. A decade XC racing has taught me that....
Thanks for that advice, Enrico. I've never had an issue after a cassette swap, but I'll certainly be making sure it's riding 'right' before I put the bike away Saturday night. That's if the cassette gets here in time. The front rings should be fine, as they were only recently swapped. The last set had 4,000 plus miles through them before they needed changing.If you are swapping cassette and chain before the race, have a thorough test of the fitting by riding the bike and putting the chain under stress. An off-saddle sprint on a short steep climb is ideal, but if you don't have one available, try pedalling while braking the front wheel. And try all the sensible chain crossings. A decade XC racing has taught me that....
Thanks, everyone who has contributed advice. It's all very helpful, and has given me a few things to consider before the race, but on the whole, I think I'll wear and carry all the things I normally do, add a little extra fluid, and just ride as best and as fast as I can, then see how things pan out at the end. Anyone who's coming down for a look, see you there, and give the sweaty lump in a PH jersey a wave as he passes...
I just need to relax a bit now, and stop overthinking things
Edited by yellowjack on Wednesday 19th November 16:35
Well. I've officially given up watching the weather forecast. It started out (long range) as a dry weekend. It got steadily worse, to the point where it was forecasting heavy rain all Sunday morning. Now it's eased to a combo of thick cloud and light rain. As it stands, I've paid to enter, there's no hope of a refund, so I'm riding come what may.
The cassette is on it's way too. Tracking update this morning?
The cassette is on it's way too. Tracking update this morning?
Royal Mail said:
Status: It's on its way.
We received item JL4838****2GB at Farnborough DO on the 2014-11-20.
The item is now ready for delivery.
Last update: 20 November 2014, 05:45am
So hopefully that'll be on the bike by this afternoon and I'll have plenty of time to shake it down before the weekend.We received item JL4838****2GB at Farnborough DO on the 2014-11-20.
The item is now ready for delivery.
Last update: 20 November 2014, 05:45am
Another pre-race update...
After a s
tty week, with very little riding, and nothing but niggly problems with the bike, all seems to have come together on the eve of the race.
New cassette fitted and tested, kit dragged out of the box so I'm ready in the morning, and today I managed to get a few hours riding in, including a complete lap of the freshly marked course, so there'll be no surprises in the morning. The course was in good condition when I left, so hopefully it'll hold up under the heavy rain forecast all night and all through tomorrow.
For anyone who knows Minley, this course is very fresh, and full of surprises. As much as half of it is new, or at least sections that have been disused for several years. A lot of the existing sections are being used differently too, often in the opposite direction. This means a couple of nasty 'hits' into gulleys and ditches which are normally ridden in the other direction. It's a great lap, that packs an awful lot in, in what is a fairly compact area. If it isn't raining, pop down to have a gawp at the poor muddy idiots zooming about in the woods...
After a mass start, this is the route out of the arena onto the course. Very happy to see the ABF as a supported charity.
Looks confusing, but really isn't. The course is very well marked, no excuse for straying off the lap
ETA: It's a 7.5 mile lap, and I went round earlier in 1hr 07min 16sec. I fear I've got to pull my finger out if I want to get more than two laps completed in the two hour category I've entered.
After a s
tty week, with very little riding, and nothing but niggly problems with the bike, all seems to have come together on the eve of the race.New cassette fitted and tested, kit dragged out of the box so I'm ready in the morning, and today I managed to get a few hours riding in, including a complete lap of the freshly marked course, so there'll be no surprises in the morning. The course was in good condition when I left, so hopefully it'll hold up under the heavy rain forecast all night and all through tomorrow.
For anyone who knows Minley, this course is very fresh, and full of surprises. As much as half of it is new, or at least sections that have been disused for several years. A lot of the existing sections are being used differently too, often in the opposite direction. This means a couple of nasty 'hits' into gulleys and ditches which are normally ridden in the other direction. It's a great lap, that packs an awful lot in, in what is a fairly compact area. If it isn't raining, pop down to have a gawp at the poor muddy idiots zooming about in the woods...
After a mass start, this is the route out of the arena onto the course. Very happy to see the ABF as a supported charity.
Looks confusing, but really isn't. The course is very well marked, no excuse for straying off the lap
ETA: It's a 7.5 mile lap, and I went round earlier in 1hr 07min 16sec. I fear I've got to pull my finger out if I want to get more than two laps completed in the two hour category I've entered.
Edited by yellowjack on Saturday 22 November 20:18
I (and the organisers) might need some luck tomorrow...
BBC Weather website said:
Met Office Warnings Issued For: Hampshire
Yellow warning of rain
From: 0300 on Sun 23 November
To: 2100 on Sun 23 November
Updated 1 hour ago
Rain will be persistent and locally heavy through much of Sunday. Falling on saturated ground, it is likely to cause flooding in places before clearing eastwards. The public should be aware of this hazard.
...Grrrr! Sunny all day Monday too, according to the forecast. Yellow warning of rain
From: 0300 on Sun 23 November
To: 2100 on Sun 23 November
Updated 1 hour ago
Rain will be persistent and locally heavy through much of Sunday. Falling on saturated ground, it is likely to cause flooding in places before clearing eastwards. The public should be aware of this hazard.
As a starter for ten, how about a blog post from one of the winners... http://www.xcracer.com/having-a-little-word-with-y...
Reet, petals...
My update time.
I did it. I actually got up with time to spare, got my st together and made it to the start line. And boy, was that a mistake....
0700hrs. Up and at 'em soldier. Hands off cocks, and on with socks, and all those old favourite cliches from recruit training. A coffee. A 'power' breakfast - 6 weetabix - another coffee.
0730hrs. Dressed. (To kill - I looked awesome ). Decent bib shorts and compression long sleeve. PH short sleeve jersey, baggy shorts, 'Wales' socks and trainers, with an Aldi packable lightweight waterproof (it wasn't!) over the top.
0745hrs. Out to the bike. Ooh! What's that? Something shiny hanging out of my saddle bag. That'll be the new chain tool sticking out of the hole where the bag has split No problem, switch the tube, tools, etc into that crappy spare saddle bag and the job is, quite literally, a fish
0805hrs. Last minute decision to add a second cage. Not going well, to be fair. Can't find the decent Allen keys. No matter, I get it done. I'm ready, just stuff those bottles into the...
...maybe not. I'm suddenly reminded of the reason why I only have one cage fitted. Two bottles won't fit. the first one always prevents the second one from mounting securely in the cage. Whip that off, then it's all systems go! One bottle in the cage, one in a jersey pocket. So dump the camera - it'll only get wet anyway. Pump? Check. Phone? Check. Cash? £15 ought to be plenty. Two cereal bars, and two Tunnock's caramel wafers? Sounds good to me!
0820hrs. Where has the time gone? I was "ready to go, just jump on the bike" last night. Now time is flying by and I'm at risk of not making it to the start. And it's now 'nervous poo time' as I don't fancy de-rigging my bib shorts in a portaloo. Back upstairs, with the wife's "what are you still doing here?" ringing in my ears.
Not until 0835hrs did I eventually get under way. So I got there at about 0900hrs with time to spare. I was already wet by the time I got to the marquee, got straight in there, signed in, fitted my race number, and grabbed my freebie Mule bar. Then I hung around a bit, chatted to some other wet looking folk who were also hanging about, and then I went off to the start line.
I'd been fine up until then, and even when I pulled up to the rear of the group waiting for the start, things were calm in my head. There weren't that many people, and most of them were in front of me. Cool, I wasn't going to be fighting the whippets for position into the first left hander. Then they came. Seemingly from out of nowhere, oodles of riders. Some tried to get toward the front to the left of the start, making the field look like a big wedge. It didn't look like they'd get through the start gate in any sort of good order, so now I was glad I was nearer the front, and off to the right. The rest of them just filled in at the back, and I was thinking that I'd get steamrollered if I wasn't careful.
A bit of a briefing through a loudhailer, and off we went. The start loop went off without too much of a hitch until we headed up to the copse and around the arena. A tight taped funnel at the top of the hill caused a major log jam, and despite staying on the bike till the 90 degree corner, I had to admit defeat and get off. We weren't even on the first lap 'proper' yet, and I was on foot.
This was the story of the early part of lap 1 - folk getting off, falling off, or simply too many riders trying to squeeze through narrow turns, and there was bike pushing aplenty. But it eased off, and I started to ride. Only that was easier said than done. The "totally rideable" course of yesterday had been virtually destroyed by the heavy overnight rain, and with every rider across it, it was getting worse. My first 'off' was to follow in short order, at the bottom of "Vicars and Tarts". The chap ahead of me slid off spectacularly in a straight descent, ending up in a heap at the bottom. Right on my chosen line. So I took avoiding action, and promptly 'stalled' on the up slope, and was hit from behind, ending up in a heap with the guy who hit me, which took some time to disentangle. Ouch. Including claret! (mine)
That set the tone, really. I'm not going to give a corner-by-corner commentary, but suffice to say, I stopped counting the 'offs' at five. There were definitely more than six, though, as the conditions got worse and worse. Some of the higher parts of the course remained fairly rideable, but lots of it turned to what can best be compared with slurry. Where it wasn't thick liquid mud, it looked like a ploughing match, and in some spots the mud was right up to the hubs, and that's not an exaggeration. Any foolish notion about even having the opportunity to stay out for a third lap was well and truly fading now, and the faint flame of hope was finally extinguished when I crossed the finish gantry well on the way to a 1 hour 10 minute lap. From there it just got worse. Lap two was like some kind of hell. By half way around I had given up worrying about my race position (I was passed repeatedly, but seldom overtook anyone else) and was battling on to avoid the shame of a DNF first time out. I kept looking down at the Garmin, and my heart rate was reasonably low, but I just had nothing left in my legs. No power, no energy, no rhythm in my pedaling. The course resembled No Man's Land, and the thick, gloopy mud was just absorbing all my effort, leaving me with little spare to actually move forward. But I stuck it out. I had to, you lot would have mocked me mercilessly if I'd bailed out. And I've never bailed at any physical or sporting challenge, so I wasn't going to start now.
By the time I got to the last section, around the outside of the arena, I managed to find some semblance of rhythm and then I saw the "2 hour riders - stop now" board, and one of the marshals directing me off. I managed a joke, and to look disappointed at not being allowed another lap, but I'd never been so pleased for anything to end. I'd have gladly endured another fortnight of nightly rocket attacks in Iraq in preference to another lap in that forest.
My legs were spent, but I managed to remain upright, found my way into the marquee, tried to warm up in the hot air from the heater, and in short order, the 2 hour race podium places were announced, and prizes were presented. Then, in desperation, I parted with £4.50 for a polystyrene tray of chilli and chips. I haven't seen the full results, but as far as I could tell I came 60th out of 76 finishers in the 2 hour male 'veterans' category. Not last (which was the primary goal), but very close to it. I'd been running 67th at the end of the first lap (if I heard the announcer correctly). But hey. I don't actually care, because that was an awful experience for a first race. I loved the timekeeper/announcer's comment as I started my second lap... "it's really dusty out there today. It's just that the dust is a bit damp".
There were several people in quite a worrying state. One chap finished the over 50's 3 hour race and couldn't get his tea to his mouth, he was shaking so badly. Borderline hypothermic, I tried to persuade him to visit the medics on site, but he was having none of it, but he couldn't even unclip his Camelbak strap at one point. There was a wee Scottish girl too, shivering uncontrollably until a couple of us put her in front of the heater. I stayed on as long as I could, trying to join in, but to be honest, the weather meant few riders were in the mood to hang around the marquee. I was wet through, and caked in mud, and could feel myself beginning to suffer with symptoms of exposure, so I bailed out and rode home. The wind was up by this time, so I took that slow to keep the chill factor down.
Back home, I was absolutely gibbering. I'd started to get the shakes, so I just lobbed the bike into the garage to deal with tomorrow. Then the wife bade me undress (outer layer, at least) outside. In the middle of which a courier arrived with a parcel for her. He looked properly puzzled by what was going on, to be fair. Then I shuffled upstairs, washed the worst of the dirt off in the shower, then got into the bath to soak and warm up. That didn't go well. Half a bath filled before the hot water ran out!!!! So 'er indoors was up and down the stairs with kettles to keep me from the cold, and within twenty minutes the boiler had produced enough hot water to fill the bath. Warmed through on the outside, I was summoned downstairs with a cheery "dinner's ready!" Wow! More Chilli!!!! But her's was way better than the stuff at the race, and after that, and some Bakewell tart'n'custard, I settled under the duvet with a hot water bottle and some recorded shows on the telly.
I'm feeling a whole lot better than I did after the race, although my ribs hurt, my lower back is hurting, and both legs are scratched and bruised. The bike sounds like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer, mainly the brakes I think, because the slop came up to the hubs in places and there's grit on the pads. The chain kept getting picked up by the granny ring, it happened about 4 time, always on an uphill bit, bringing me to a grinding halt to backpedal to release it. Aside from that, it kept working and got me to the end, which was more than some of the (far more) expensive steeds did for their riders. One young lad snapped his rear mech (snapped the side plate) and was in the marquee at the end, taking links out to shorten the chain enough to run without the mech to get home. I think he was the same one who had the goggles with the F1 style tear-off strips on them. And both of those tear-offs ended up on the floor less than 500 yards into lap one.
Would I do it again? Immediate afterwards, I'd have said "no way". After a couple of hours and some wifely TLC, I'm seriously thinking about the next round in the series. Am I a mentalist? I've no idea. I wouldn't want to do it in those conditions again, but I'm willing to give it a go. Kit wise, I got it pretty much right, long sleeve base, short sleeve jersey, and shorts. I just need a waterproof jacket that's actually a bit waterproof. And a bike that's about 5kg lighter
Photos? As I said further up, I dumped the camera in favour of extra fluids. There won't be many pictures, I don't think. Even the professional photographer down in "Sponge Bob" wasn't taking much in the way of pictures the twice I passed him, so you'll have to make do with the only two I'm aware of with me in them from today. Taken by the wife when I got home...
Cheap Aldi jacket in "not actually waterproof" shocker! But it kept the PH jersey clean, at least.
I you look closely, you can see the puddle in the bottom of the rear pocket of the jacket.
Cheers for all the interest in this thread, and all the encouragement, chaps.
It really did motivate me to both sign up, and to actually drag myself round the course. I just wish the weather had been kinder is all. See you all on the start line for the next round on 14th December? Entries close on the 9th, so don't delay,enter today!!!
Reet, petals...
My update time.
I did it. I actually got up with time to spare, got my s
t together and made it to the start line. And boy, was that a mistake....0700hrs. Up and at 'em soldier. Hands off cocks, and on with socks, and all those old favourite cliches from recruit training. A coffee. A 'power' breakfast - 6 weetabix - another coffee.
0730hrs. Dressed. (To kill - I looked awesome
). Decent bib shorts and compression long sleeve. PH short sleeve jersey, baggy shorts, 'Wales' socks and trainers, with an Aldi packable lightweight waterproof (it wasn't!) over the top.0745hrs. Out to the bike. Ooh! What's that? Something shiny hanging out of my saddle bag. That'll be the new chain tool sticking out of the hole where the bag has split
No problem, switch the tube, tools, etc into that crappy spare saddle bag and the job is, quite literally, a fish 0805hrs. Last minute decision to add a second cage. Not going well, to be fair. Can't find the decent Allen keys. No matter, I get it done. I'm ready, just stuff those bottles into the...
...maybe not. I'm suddenly reminded of the reason why I only have one cage fitted. Two bottles won't fit. the first one always prevents the second one from mounting securely in the cage. Whip that off, then it's all systems go! One bottle in the cage, one in a jersey pocket. So dump the camera - it'll only get wet anyway. Pump? Check. Phone? Check. Cash? £15 ought to be plenty. Two cereal bars, and two Tunnock's caramel wafers? Sounds good to me!
0820hrs. Where has the time gone? I was "ready to go, just jump on the bike" last night. Now time is flying by and I'm at risk of not making it to the start. And it's now 'nervous poo time' as I don't fancy de-rigging my bib shorts in a portaloo. Back upstairs, with the wife's "what are you still doing here?" ringing in my ears.
Not until 0835hrs did I eventually get under way. So I got there at about 0900hrs with time to spare. I was already wet by the time I got to the marquee, got straight in there, signed in, fitted my race number, and grabbed my freebie Mule bar. Then I hung around a bit, chatted to some other wet looking folk who were also hanging about, and then I went off to the start line.
I'd been fine up until then, and even when I pulled up to the rear of the group waiting for the start, things were calm in my head. There weren't that many people, and most of them were in front of me. Cool, I wasn't going to be fighting the whippets for position into the first left hander. Then they came. Seemingly from out of nowhere, oodles of riders. Some tried to get toward the front to the left of the start, making the field look like a big wedge. It didn't look like they'd get through the start gate in any sort of good order, so now I was glad I was nearer the front, and off to the right. The rest of them just filled in at the back, and I was thinking that I'd get steamrollered if I wasn't careful.
A bit of a briefing through a loudhailer, and off we went. The start loop went off without too much of a hitch until we headed up to the copse and around the arena. A tight taped funnel at the top of the hill caused a major log jam, and despite staying on the bike till the 90 degree corner, I had to admit defeat and get off. We weren't even on the first lap 'proper' yet, and I was on foot.
This was the story of the early part of lap 1 - folk getting off, falling off, or simply too many riders trying to squeeze through narrow turns, and there was bike pushing aplenty. But it eased off, and I started to ride. Only that was easier said than done. The "totally rideable" course of yesterday had been virtually destroyed by the heavy overnight rain, and with every rider across it, it was getting worse. My first 'off' was to follow in short order, at the bottom of "Vicars and Tarts". The chap ahead of me slid off spectacularly in a straight descent, ending up in a heap at the bottom. Right on my chosen line. So I took avoiding action, and promptly 'stalled' on the up slope, and was hit from behind, ending up in a heap with the guy who hit me, which took some time to disentangle. Ouch. Including claret! (mine)
That set the tone, really. I'm not going to give a corner-by-corner commentary, but suffice to say, I stopped counting the 'offs' at five. There were definitely more than six, though, as the conditions got worse and worse. Some of the higher parts of the course remained fairly rideable, but lots of it turned to what can best be compared with slurry. Where it wasn't thick liquid mud, it looked like a ploughing match, and in some spots the mud was right up to the hubs, and that's not an exaggeration. Any foolish notion about even having the opportunity to stay out for a third lap was well and truly fading now, and the faint flame of hope was finally extinguished when I crossed the finish gantry well on the way to a 1 hour 10 minute lap. From there it just got worse. Lap two was like some kind of hell. By half way around I had given up worrying about my race position (I was passed repeatedly, but seldom overtook anyone else) and was battling on to avoid the shame of a DNF first time out. I kept looking down at the Garmin, and my heart rate was reasonably low, but I just had nothing left in my legs. No power, no energy, no rhythm in my pedaling. The course resembled No Man's Land, and the thick, gloopy mud was just absorbing all my effort, leaving me with little spare to actually move forward. But I stuck it out. I had to, you lot would have mocked me mercilessly if I'd bailed out. And I've never bailed at any physical or sporting challenge, so I wasn't going to start now.
By the time I got to the last section, around the outside of the arena, I managed to find some semblance of rhythm and then I saw the "2 hour riders - stop now" board, and one of the marshals directing me off. I managed a joke, and to look disappointed at not being allowed another lap, but I'd never been so pleased for anything to end. I'd have gladly endured another fortnight of nightly rocket attacks in Iraq in preference to another lap in that forest.
My legs were spent, but I managed to remain upright, found my way into the marquee, tried to warm up in the hot air from the heater, and in short order, the 2 hour race podium places were announced, and prizes were presented. Then, in desperation, I parted with £4.50 for a polystyrene tray of chilli and chips. I haven't seen the full results, but as far as I could tell I came 60th out of 76 finishers in the 2 hour male 'veterans' category. Not last (which was the primary goal), but very close to it. I'd been running 67th at the end of the first lap (if I heard the announcer correctly). But hey. I don't actually care, because that was an awful experience for a first race. I loved the timekeeper/announcer's comment as I started my second lap... "it's really dusty out there today. It's just that the dust is a bit damp".
There were several people in quite a worrying state. One chap finished the over 50's 3 hour race and couldn't get his tea to his mouth, he was shaking so badly. Borderline hypothermic, I tried to persuade him to visit the medics on site, but he was having none of it, but he couldn't even unclip his Camelbak strap at one point. There was a wee Scottish girl too, shivering uncontrollably until a couple of us put her in front of the heater. I stayed on as long as I could, trying to join in, but to be honest, the weather meant few riders were in the mood to hang around the marquee. I was wet through, and caked in mud, and could feel myself beginning to suffer with symptoms of exposure, so I bailed out and rode home. The wind was up by this time, so I took that slow to keep the chill factor down.
Back home, I was absolutely gibbering. I'd started to get the shakes, so I just lobbed the bike into the garage to deal with tomorrow. Then the wife bade me undress (outer layer, at least) outside. In the middle of which a courier arrived with a parcel for her. He looked properly puzzled by what was going on, to be fair. Then I shuffled upstairs, washed the worst of the dirt off in the shower, then got into the bath to soak and warm up. That didn't go well. Half a bath filled before the hot water ran out!!!! So 'er indoors was up and down the stairs with kettles to keep me from the cold, and within twenty minutes the boiler had produced enough hot water to fill the bath. Warmed through on the outside, I was summoned downstairs with a cheery "dinner's ready!" Wow! More Chilli!!!! But her's was way better than the stuff at the race, and after that, and some Bakewell tart'n'custard, I settled under the duvet with a hot water bottle and some recorded shows on the telly.
I'm feeling a whole lot better than I did after the race, although my ribs hurt, my lower back is hurting, and both legs are scratched and bruised. The bike sounds like a bag of spanners in a tumble dryer, mainly the brakes I think, because the slop came up to the hubs in places and there's grit on the pads. The chain kept getting picked up by the granny ring, it happened about 4 time, always on an uphill bit, bringing me to a grinding halt to backpedal to release it. Aside from that, it kept working and got me to the end, which was more than some of the (far more) expensive steeds did for their riders. One young lad snapped his rear mech (snapped the side plate) and was in the marquee at the end, taking links out to shorten the chain enough to run without the mech to get home. I think he was the same one who had the goggles with the F1 style tear-off strips on them. And both of those tear-offs ended up on the floor less than 500 yards into lap one.
Would I do it again? Immediate afterwards, I'd have said "no way". After a couple of hours and some wifely TLC, I'm seriously thinking about the next round in the series. Am I a mentalist? I've no idea. I wouldn't want to do it in those conditions again, but I'm willing to give it a go. Kit wise, I got it pretty much right, long sleeve base, short sleeve jersey, and shorts. I just need a waterproof jacket that's actually a bit waterproof. And a bike that's about 5kg lighter
Photos? As I said further up, I dumped the camera in favour of extra fluids. There won't be many pictures, I don't think. Even the professional photographer down in "Sponge Bob" wasn't taking much in the way of pictures the twice I passed him, so you'll have to make do with the only two I'm aware of with me in them from today. Taken by the wife when I got home...
Cheap Aldi jacket in "not actually waterproof" shocker! But it kept the PH jersey clean, at least.
I you look closely, you can see the puddle in the bottom of the rear pocket of the jacket.
Cheers for all the interest in this thread, and all the encouragement, chaps.
It really did motivate me to both sign up, and to actually drag myself round the course. I just wish the weather had been kinder is all. See you all on the start line for the next round on 14th December? Entries close on the 9th, so don't delay,enter today!!!
As an aside, the course was re-marked from the previous day - a significant section was dropped. Then, during the race, after lap 1, another section was re-routed to avoid a bad patch across a gulley, which no-one seemed to be able to get up the other side of. There were a couple of other big slopes that were causing most people trouble, but they weren't easily by-passed and had to stay in.
And my favourite quote from that George Budd blog...
And my favourite quote from that George Budd blog...
George Budd winner of the four hour race said:
...I felt terrible at the start; partly due to wrong bike position - saddle too high and too far back (like I said, first race), partly because I did my waterproof shorts up too tightly and cut off the blood supply to my legs but mainly, if I'm honest, because things I enjoy more than riding around in rain and heavy, sloggy mud include setting fire to myself...
...so I don't feel too bad about my dislike of the conditions out there, if even the overall winner would rather set fire to himself than ride in that quagmire.uncinquesei said:
Good write up, sounds like one of those experiences that will only improve in the memory the further in the past it is...
Down to earth with a bump, today though. Bike cleaning, then checking it over to see if the brake pads still exist, and the drive train hasn't been ground to a paste.
The results are up, and I can confirm that I finished 60/76 in my category. I wouldn't say I'm 'happy' with the result, as I feel I should have done better (it was raced on "my patch" after all). But after a s
tty week of bike niggles leading up to the race, and a heavy cold for two weeks before that, maybe I shouldn't have expected too much, first time out. That, added to the atrocious conditions meant that I was well down on my segment times for the bits I ride regularly, although everyone was riding in the same gloop, so that's no real excuse. Hopefully I'll get some more regular riding in over the next couple of weeks, before I decide whether or not to give Round 2 a crack. I'll keep this thread going if I decide to ride another round of the series, to see if there are any improvements in my fitness or the great British weather...
One thing I didn't mention was my watch.
Not an expensive watch, but allegedly Water Resistant to 50 metres...
It completely shut down sometime during the race yesterday. It's come back to life again, albeit it had reset to midnight on the first of the first. Must have been tough out there, to kill a 'sports' watch, eh?
Not an expensive watch, but allegedly Water Resistant to 50 metres...
It completely shut down sometime during the race yesterday. It's come back to life again, albeit it had reset to midnight on the first of the first. Must have been tough out there, to kill a 'sports' watch, eh?
daddy cool said:
You need a g-shock.
I had a G-shock (pressie from the mess on leaving a posting). And other slightly more expensive 'sports' watches. None of them stood up to life in the field, long term. I killed them all.Hence why I won't be too devastated if this 'Next' thing actually gives up the ghost. It was £12.50 in the sale about three years ago. I've had my money's worth out of it, and for that kind of cash it's pretty much disposable.
CoinSl0t said:
Good read, thanks for putting me off my local Hill-a-Saurus, I fancied a go next year, but based on your post, fk that!
Ahhh! It wasn't meant to put anyone off. I described how it was for me on the day. The memory is already a good one, and if that was as bad as it gets, "things can only get better", no? From what I can gather from the Strava feeds of the many others who rode it, the conditions were truly extreme, and certainly the exception to the rule. k that!Give the Hill-a-Saurus a go! As daddy cool said earlier...
daddy cool said:
...next race then? I'm planning on it - it can't keep raining, can it??
Although, to be fair, if there had been any chance of a refund, I might not have left the house on Sunday. As it was, with £22 about to go down the Swanny if I didn't ride, I couldn't afford not to make the start ecsrobin said:
But you haven't had the mighty wokka G-Shock 
http://www.g-shock.co.uk/mightywokka/
You lot, and your bloody racket at all hours of the day and night! Can't you learn to read a map, instead of just following the M3 home (right over my bloody house!) night after night? http://www.g-shock.co.uk/mightywokka/As much as I respect and appreciate the job the Chinook force does (and I've been thankful for one a couple of times), and notwithstanding the well deserved "Legendary" status of BN (Four!!! DFCs earned in that cockpit?
)......with all due respect, there's no way I could ever countenance wearing a wristwatch with an 'RAF' logo anywhere on it. Sorry.
Former member of the Corps of Royal Engineers. (British military aviation pioneers.
)A bit of a giggle for anyone interested...
http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#222530929,oYA...
...play the 'Benny Hill' theme in your head while it runs
Bear in mind also that less than half of the GPS/Strava equipped riders are on that playback (if you want to tick them all, crack on ), so add at least as many again riding without GPS, and you get some idea of just how busy Minley Woods was last Sunday morning.
http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#222530929,oYA...
...play the 'Benny Hill' theme in your head while it runs
Bear in mind also that less than half of the GPS/Strava equipped riders are on that playback (if you want to tick them all, crack on
), so add at least as many again riding without GPS, and you get some idea of just how busy Minley Woods was last Sunday morning.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff