Got my **** handed to me today...MTB racing
Discussion
So me and a couple of pals did this today
http://www.nutcrackermtb.co.uk/round2.html
f
king hell. I thought I was fairly fit, I'm not 
We entered the masters male class and out of 36 finishers I came 33rd which for an occasional XC rider (ie once a week) isn't too bad I suppose. Like anything in life, there's always someone that can do it better than you can
It was good fun though and it showed up how much better my new bike is than me
Bought this very bike last week
http://www.drakescycles.co.uk/m1b0s356p3028/SCOTT_...
Compared to some of the metal it was up against today mine was a cheap one!!
Anyway, big respect to the chaps that were leading the field in these races today, to cover that sort of terrain, that quickly, is really quite skillful.
http://www.nutcrackermtb.co.uk/round2.html
f
king hell. I thought I was fairly fit, I'm not We entered the masters male class and out of 36 finishers I came 33rd which for an occasional XC rider (ie once a week) isn't too bad I suppose. Like anything in life, there's always someone that can do it better than you can It was good fun though and it showed up how much better my new bike is than me
Bought this very bike last week
http://www.drakescycles.co.uk/m1b0s356p3028/SCOTT_...
Compared to some of the metal it was up against today mine was a cheap one!!
Anyway, big respect to the chaps that were leading the field in these races today, to cover that sort of terrain, that quickly, is really quite skillful.
Edited by Bill on Monday 22 April 17:08
Vladimir said:
...
Was it a good course?
Got nothing to compare it to really so I'll say no Was it a good course?
It's run in the tank training base up at catterick so the terrain is interesting.
It was hilly as fook, with a mix of gravel/stone roads, single track, fieldy bits, rocky descents etc; some stretches requiring you to get off and push it up....not for the good guys though, hence the respect, cycling up that s
t is epic! Proper windy too in parts so made it extra tough. It was either up or down really so not much chance to catch a breather.A couple of really hairy steep drops into rocky streams and stuff like that, a tad unnerving at first but got it after a lap...again the good guys somehow cycle through the stream bed (not over it, down it for 200yds), I jogged and carried the bike, thank god for waterproof boots!
I think the course was maybe 4.5-5miles long. The top dudes managed 5 laps, the winners in our class did 4; I got 3 in which is what a lot of others managed. Seemed a very high level of competitor entry anyway judging by some of them being sponsored and what not.
It was very tough but a good experience, I'd recommend it.
Edited by dave_s13 on Sunday 21st April 22:36
good effort, its obvious but its worth remembering that those other riders in the "masters" category may well have spent all their life racing, just moving categories as they get older so its hard to compare yourself against them and I'd not worry about results.
mountain biking is quite social and most rides include natural recovery breaks (end of singletrack/descents etc) so racing is a totally different experience and requires a different physical effort.
mountain biking is quite social and most rides include natural recovery breaks (end of singletrack/descents etc) so racing is a totally different experience and requires a different physical effort.
pablo said:
good effort, its obvious but its worth remembering that those other riders in the "masters" category may well have spent all their life racing, just moving categories as they get older so its hard to compare yourself against them and I'd not worry about results.
mountain biking is quite social and most rides include natural recovery breaks (end of singletrack/descents etc) so racing is a totally different experience and requires a different physical effort.
It's so obvious I never thought of it! mountain biking is quite social and most rides include natural recovery breaks (end of singletrack/descents etc) so racing is a totally different experience and requires a different physical effort.
I suppose it could be analogous to a sunday league footballer getting a spot on the conference league first team and wondering why he got smashed to bits!
Looks a fun course from the video, there's a Southern XC series similar that comes very local to me so I am going to have a bash at a race, My age puts my in the Veterans class, looked at last years times and some are mad fast 
I'm going to enter the Open Race, 3 laps and a more varied entry.
I do a fair chunk of road riding too, yesterday went to my local 5 mile trail after a warm up on some hills in the Forest and had a crack at 3 fast laps, it's knackering for sure but managed 3 similar timed fairly quick laps - 3 mins slower than the fastest chap on Strava but he is a champion of one of the XC series.
Looking forward to it, done timed events but not races before.
I'm going to enter the Open Race, 3 laps and a more varied entry.I do a fair chunk of road riding too, yesterday went to my local 5 mile trail after a warm up on some hills in the Forest and had a crack at 3 fast laps, it's knackering for sure but managed 3 similar timed fairly quick laps - 3 mins slower than the fastest chap on Strava but he is a champion of one of the XC series.
Looking forward to it, done timed events but not races before.
pablo said:
mountain biking is quite social and most rides include natural recovery breaks (end of singletrack/descents etc)
Compeltely agree with this - a friend of mine is a keen MTBer and has a road bike in his garage which he has hardly ever used.I took him out on a lap of the triathlon course I was training for and he was dropping back and calling for us to stop and wait for him after every 20 minutes, he couldn't handle the non-stop exertion and stay with us.
He's since got the road bug and has done Land's End to John O'Groats and would whip me in any fitness test now so I don't say too much about it
AS for masters competitions in any sport, you will be up against seriously experienced guys, so you ought to be pleased you did well enough not to come last! And next time you'll do even better!
prand said:
Compeltely agree with this - a friend of mine is a keen MTBer and has a road bike in his garage which he has hardly ever used.
I took him out on a lap of the triathlon course I was training for and he was dropping back and calling for us to stop and wait for him after every 20 minutes, he couldn't handle the non-stop exertion and stay with us.
He's since got the road bug and has done Land's End to John O'Groats and would whip me in any fitness test now so I don't say too much about it
AS for masters competitions in any sport, you will be up against seriously experienced guys, so you ought to be pleased you did well enough not to come last! And next time you'll do even better!
Conversely I rode with a mate a while back - he's done Mt Ventoux and loads of the Alps, races a fair bit, etc. I just (by a whisker) beat him in the tri I did on the bike bit (my first race on a road bike) but it was very close. Yet on a couple of MTB rides he was miles behind.I took him out on a lap of the triathlon course I was training for and he was dropping back and calling for us to stop and wait for him after every 20 minutes, he couldn't handle the non-stop exertion and stay with us.
He's since got the road bug and has done Land's End to John O'Groats and would whip me in any fitness test now so I don't say too much about it
AS for masters competitions in any sport, you will be up against seriously experienced guys, so you ought to be pleased you did well enough not to come last! And next time you'll do even better!
I still can't quite work out if good MTBers make good roadies or the other way around.
My road bike gets almost no use (used it for two tris, that's about it) but hope to dust it down when the sun starts drying things out a bit. My MTB isn't used enough but with the beach two mins walk away (since October) and stunning paths to run on, I find myself surfing and running instead of riding a lot of the time. I suffer constant "non cycle guilt" but still really enjoy the odd blast at my trail centre. My cycle fitness has definitely dropped (surf paddling and running fitness are both pretty good) though but you can't have it all!
Beyond Rational said:
Although I haven't looked hard, that is the first bike I've seen with an 11-36 cassette and a triple chainset.
Its quite common now with the 3 x 10 config as the granny ring is now 24 not 22 teeth so 24:36 = 22:34.Meanwhile, OP - well done on having the guts to get stuck in.
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