This was a race of two halves...
There was an off on the start line, a couple of places in front of me, which I managed to dodge. The start was interesting
in that it had a shortish gravelly climb to a 90deg left hand bend
which was pretty sketchy, then not much further on the course narrowed
into a single-file ditch crossing! Fun with a few hundred riders
hitting it at once!
I did 6 laps, the rain came about 1/2 way round
lap 5 and in an instant the grass and dirt sections changed from fast
and grippy to slippery and unpredictable!
That's two races in a row I've finished 25th... At least I'm consistent...
Got
home and discovered that the claggy, clay-like mess wouldn't shift!
Even with Fenwicks' finest and with the hose on full power!
Finally got through it though and then off to the pub for a few recovery drinks...
Monday, 8 August 2011
Monday, 25 July 2011
Monday, 6 June 2011
Mud, Sweat & Gears 2011 Round 3 – Tunstall Forest
Technically this isn't my write up (I didn't do one for this event), I've copied it from the TROG website.
---
On Sunday 5th June 2011, MSG in partnership with TROG hosted the third round of the Mud, Sweat and Gears mountain bike racing series, and what a fantastic days racing it was.
Anyone who has ever raced knows that you turn up at the event, pedal as fast as you can around a marked out course, try to stay on the bike and then go home with tired legs and a good sense of achievement. To make this happen there is a lot of work that goes on beforehand.
Preparation
Tunstall is a public forest managed by the Forestry Commission. Whilst the FC supports TROG, to run a race we still have to get permission and the race loop approved.
The TROG chairman, Mike Moore, and club member / MTB stalwart Graham Elliott (G) planned out a prospective course, unduly complicated by the fact that the harvesters were due back in the forest so all the harvesting areas had to be avoided. The initial plan was to run last year’s course backwards but “you may have a course come race day, or you may not” from Nigel @ the FC re harvesting put paid to that.
Thanks to half term Mike was able to spend somewhere in the region of 20 hours riding the forest over and over again, looking for lines, pits and some elevation. He eventually pulled together the course as it was raced and put it to Nigel to approve. Some nail biting four days later they came back and said Simon (the head of the FC) wasn’t happy about it running through some sensitive bird nesting areas. However he was willing to let it go as ‘they were in use by walkers and riders already’. Thank God, we finally had a course!
Once the loop was approved by the FC, the strimming, raking, digging and general bracken bashing began. This was no small task as part of the loop and two of the bomb holes were not normally ridden and were under six feet of bracken and nettles. Over a number of weeks and dedicated weekends, TROG members got stuck in to ensure that the loop and arena area was ready for race day, with a special mention to G for giving up huge swathes of his own time and money to strim almost the entire course.
The day before the race arrived and a number of TROG members turned up to help set up the arena and get the course marked out with the help of Mike & Debbie from Thetford MTB - we started at 11am and finished marking it out at around 7pm. Another challenge was then thrown in as a local farmer had put a whacking great irrigation pipe across the course and so a ramp was built to get over it – an interesting TTF.
Race Day
7am start, putting signs up so everyone knew where to go, then on arriving on site we were told there was a lady somewhere on the course pulling down tape and poles saying that “We couldn’t close the forest; you’re not allowed to advertise”. Mike headed off on a pre-ride to try and find her but thankfully she seemed to have disappeared and everything else seemed to be running ok.
To perform car parking and marshalling duties, the Air Cadets came to help and along with some dedicated TROGs did a fantastic job.
The Race!!
IT DIDN’T RAIN!!!!!
Proof that it didn’t rain
The TROG presence in the race was unrivalled, with 21 racers across the different categories – everywhere you looked there was a TROG.
The course held up really well and had a good mix of tough climbs, technical singletrack and fun bomb holes. It was a bit sandy, but that just adds to the fun, and to the face war paint!
To cheer on the racers, the TROG support team was out in force and could be heard across the forest.
The TROG Support Team
All in all, TROG had 7 racers in the top 10 and 3 podiums.
Mike’s Race Report (11th Place Senior Racer):
I wasn’t sure I was going to be any good during the race because of all the hours I’d put in the day before, so I started reasonably steady and found myself keeping pace with Paul Thomas and Andy Sampson. After crashing in Junk Pit due to letting the wheel drift (which I’m now paying for!), I got back on and decided to push a bit harder. I overtook Paul Thomas and started working my way up through the ranks. A bit of back and forth with a guy from Chelmer Cycles and a rider from Pedal Revolution and towards the end of the race I found I’d shaken them off. I picked off Callum Riley (KTM) towards the end too (hurray!). My thighs started twanging on the 7th time up Token Hill, but I managed to keep going til the end where I found out I’d finished in 11th place. What a result!
Mike coming out of the sandy “Junk Pit”.
Jodie’s Race Report (3rd Place Female Racer)
Lap one and 2 where tough, it took me ages to settle into a rhythm on this race. Although from the outset it seemed like fairly easy terrain, it was, for me anyway, quite a physically demanding course - the two hills, one after the other was the worst, however the long great bit of single track at the end of the circuit more than made up for it!
As ever the support from the side lines was amazing and it was great that a few people ventured out along the course to cheer in the places you'd least expect - just what you need when you're feeling really tired!
I managed to complete all 6 laps but it felt that I hadn't performed at my best on this race - so to find out later that I had a podium position was brilliant - and great for the TROG's as a whole too.
Some much need fluid courtesy of “The Claw”!
The big clear up
Whilst the rest of the racers headed for home, a number of TROGs were left to clear the site and pick up all those lovely sticky gel packs that had been thrown around the course. Lots of weary faces, but an excellent team effort was put in to get it all done as quickly as possible.
Thanks Role Call
Mike, Lizzie, G, Libtech, Blondie, Horndogrob, Geordie, Human, Kim, JoJo, Jodie, Andrew, Ady, Geordie, Andy, Martha Lampkin, Wingnut, Troy, Ecnarfi, Screwy and Mrs Screwy, JohnE and Mrs E, JohnnyD, Smithy, Mark A, vumad, Julian, Lewis, Leanlanky, Ecnarfi, Big Chris, Mark, IanW, Mike & Debbie Mallett and the cadets.
Video of the day - Provided by John E
---
On Sunday 5th June 2011, MSG in partnership with TROG hosted the third round of the Mud, Sweat and Gears mountain bike racing series, and what a fantastic days racing it was.
Anyone who has ever raced knows that you turn up at the event, pedal as fast as you can around a marked out course, try to stay on the bike and then go home with tired legs and a good sense of achievement. To make this happen there is a lot of work that goes on beforehand.
Preparation
Tunstall is a public forest managed by the Forestry Commission. Whilst the FC supports TROG, to run a race we still have to get permission and the race loop approved.
The TROG chairman, Mike Moore, and club member / MTB stalwart Graham Elliott (G) planned out a prospective course, unduly complicated by the fact that the harvesters were due back in the forest so all the harvesting areas had to be avoided. The initial plan was to run last year’s course backwards but “you may have a course come race day, or you may not” from Nigel @ the FC re harvesting put paid to that.
Thanks to half term Mike was able to spend somewhere in the region of 20 hours riding the forest over and over again, looking for lines, pits and some elevation. He eventually pulled together the course as it was raced and put it to Nigel to approve. Some nail biting four days later they came back and said Simon (the head of the FC) wasn’t happy about it running through some sensitive bird nesting areas. However he was willing to let it go as ‘they were in use by walkers and riders already’. Thank God, we finally had a course!
Once the loop was approved by the FC, the strimming, raking, digging and general bracken bashing began. This was no small task as part of the loop and two of the bomb holes were not normally ridden and were under six feet of bracken and nettles. Over a number of weeks and dedicated weekends, TROG members got stuck in to ensure that the loop and arena area was ready for race day, with a special mention to G for giving up huge swathes of his own time and money to strim almost the entire course.
The day before the race arrived and a number of TROG members turned up to help set up the arena and get the course marked out with the help of Mike & Debbie from Thetford MTB - we started at 11am and finished marking it out at around 7pm. Another challenge was then thrown in as a local farmer had put a whacking great irrigation pipe across the course and so a ramp was built to get over it – an interesting TTF.
Race Day
7am start, putting signs up so everyone knew where to go, then on arriving on site we were told there was a lady somewhere on the course pulling down tape and poles saying that “We couldn’t close the forest; you’re not allowed to advertise”. Mike headed off on a pre-ride to try and find her but thankfully she seemed to have disappeared and everything else seemed to be running ok.
To perform car parking and marshalling duties, the Air Cadets came to help and along with some dedicated TROGs did a fantastic job.
The Race!!
IT DIDN’T RAIN!!!!!
Proof that it didn’t rain
The TROG presence in the race was unrivalled, with 21 racers across the different categories – everywhere you looked there was a TROG.
 |
 |
 |
 |
The course held up really well and had a good mix of tough climbs, technical singletrack and fun bomb holes. It was a bit sandy, but that just adds to the fun, and to the face war paint!
To cheer on the racers, the TROG support team was out in force and could be heard across the forest.
The TROG Support Team
All in all, TROG had 7 racers in the top 10 and 3 podiums.
Mike’s Race Report (11th Place Senior Racer):
I wasn’t sure I was going to be any good during the race because of all the hours I’d put in the day before, so I started reasonably steady and found myself keeping pace with Paul Thomas and Andy Sampson. After crashing in Junk Pit due to letting the wheel drift (which I’m now paying for!), I got back on and decided to push a bit harder. I overtook Paul Thomas and started working my way up through the ranks. A bit of back and forth with a guy from Chelmer Cycles and a rider from Pedal Revolution and towards the end of the race I found I’d shaken them off. I picked off Callum Riley (KTM) towards the end too (hurray!). My thighs started twanging on the 7th time up Token Hill, but I managed to keep going til the end where I found out I’d finished in 11th place. What a result!
Mike coming out of the sandy “Junk Pit”.
Jodie’s Race Report (3rd Place Female Racer)
Lap one and 2 where tough, it took me ages to settle into a rhythm on this race. Although from the outset it seemed like fairly easy terrain, it was, for me anyway, quite a physically demanding course - the two hills, one after the other was the worst, however the long great bit of single track at the end of the circuit more than made up for it!
As ever the support from the side lines was amazing and it was great that a few people ventured out along the course to cheer in the places you'd least expect - just what you need when you're feeling really tired!
I managed to complete all 6 laps but it felt that I hadn't performed at my best on this race - so to find out later that I had a podium position was brilliant - and great for the TROG's as a whole too.
Some much need fluid courtesy of “The Claw”!
The big clear up
Whilst the rest of the racers headed for home, a number of TROGs were left to clear the site and pick up all those lovely sticky gel packs that had been thrown around the course. Lots of weary faces, but an excellent team effort was put in to get it all done as quickly as possible.
Thanks Role Call
Mike, Lizzie, G, Libtech, Blondie, Horndogrob, Geordie, Human, Kim, JoJo, Jodie, Andrew, Ady, Geordie, Andy, Martha Lampkin, Wingnut, Troy, Ecnarfi, Screwy and Mrs Screwy, JohnE and Mrs E, JohnnyD, Smithy, Mark A, vumad, Julian, Lewis, Leanlanky, Ecnarfi, Big Chris, Mark, IanW, Mike & Debbie Mallett and the cadets.
Video of the day - Provided by John E
Monday, 28 February 2011
Thetford Winter Series 2010/11 Round 4
I did the final round of the Thetford Winter Series, my first taster of this stalwart of the local MTB calendar.
---
I opted for fully geared in the end, and I'm glad I did! The fourth climb up the double-shocker was a proper thigh-burner! I'm reasonably pleased with 37th (of 131) but now realise I needed to make more of an effort to get past people on the opening fire-road section. The long crawl around the single-track on the 1st lap was pretty frustrating; the 2nd lap was great through, plenty of passing and could flow nicely around the course.
That's my 1st (non-D2D) Thetford race and I thought they'd made a great course. The rain had only mullered one or two sections of single-track and Howes Pit, other than that I thought it was running well.
Found a few pics of some of us;
Screwy;
---
I opted for fully geared in the end, and I'm glad I did! The fourth climb up the double-shocker was a proper thigh-burner! I'm reasonably pleased with 37th (of 131) but now realise I needed to make more of an effort to get past people on the opening fire-road section. The long crawl around the single-track on the 1st lap was pretty frustrating; the 2nd lap was great through, plenty of passing and could flow nicely around the course.
That's my 1st (non-D2D) Thetford race and I thought they'd made a great course. The rain had only mullered one or two sections of single-track and Howes Pit, other than that I thought it was running well.
Found a few pics of some of us;
Screwy;
Monday, 4 October 2010
Thetford Dusk Til Dawn 2010
It seems that my bike is made by Delorean, not only is it made of steel
but it appears to be able to travel back in time to 2008...
A few of us pre-rode the course in the afternoon, the ground was firm but had clearly soaked up a lot of water in the previous few days and it wasn't going to take much for it to fall apart. The pre-ride went well, I had opted to go single-speed (34:16) and with it I was comfortably able to ride all the course including the bomb-holes.
This was the 1st time I'd started a D2D, always leaving it to a team-mate in the past.
My opening lap went well, while there were some queues in the single-track and at the bomb-holes they weren't too big. The rain had started and was only light but the course was starting to get sludgy although at this point it wasn't too bad.
When Chris came in from his first lap he said it was starting to get very messy out so I abandoned my plan to do 2 laps on the trot and decided to stick to 1 for my second outing. Sure enough, the ground was a mess but I was able to find grip on most of the trails. One of the reasons I'd opted for the single-speed was that in 2008 my bike suffered badly from chain-suck and poor shifting so I just wanted to take that out of the equation and I think it was definitely the right thing to do. I passed numerous people who appeared to be suffering from gear issues.
Unfortunately I fell into the Elveden Pit (nothing damaged despite the crunch/snap sound I heard - presumably a root of the tree I hit) which shook my confidence for the other pits, as such I opted for climbing/sliding into and out of the others.
The section after the beast involved a gentle-ish climb up a fire-road then further climbing into the single-track. Here I started to wish I'd opted for an easier gear ratio, but non-the-less I managed to ride it all, despite the pain
I reached the change-over absolutely sodden and blathered with mud. I got cleaned up and into some fresh riding gear, fully intending to go back out. However while at the tent my enthusiasm disappeared. By the time Chris got back we were half-way through the night, the rain hadn't shown signs of letting up, the ground was even more churned up and reports were coming in of people having to walk most of the course. My fall in the pit made me concerned that I'd do myself an injury, my bike sounded like it was wearing away and I wasn't enjoying it. I know that that's a long list of whiny excuses, but ultimately if you're not enjoying something it's pointless to carry on. I checked whether my team-mate felt the same, he did, so we agreed to call it a night.
Around 6am it had been dry for 2 or 3 hours, I'd had a bit of shut eye, 2 of the worst bomb-holes had been closed and I started toying with going out again, but ultimately I opted to stay clean, dry and warm. I now wish I'd forced myself to do that lap but it's not the end of the world.
TROG Yorkshire Faction (team no 275) ended up 53rd of 74.
Ho hum...
A few of us pre-rode the course in the afternoon, the ground was firm but had clearly soaked up a lot of water in the previous few days and it wasn't going to take much for it to fall apart. The pre-ride went well, I had opted to go single-speed (34:16) and with it I was comfortably able to ride all the course including the bomb-holes.
This was the 1st time I'd started a D2D, always leaving it to a team-mate in the past.
My opening lap went well, while there were some queues in the single-track and at the bomb-holes they weren't too big. The rain had started and was only light but the course was starting to get sludgy although at this point it wasn't too bad.
When Chris came in from his first lap he said it was starting to get very messy out so I abandoned my plan to do 2 laps on the trot and decided to stick to 1 for my second outing. Sure enough, the ground was a mess but I was able to find grip on most of the trails. One of the reasons I'd opted for the single-speed was that in 2008 my bike suffered badly from chain-suck and poor shifting so I just wanted to take that out of the equation and I think it was definitely the right thing to do. I passed numerous people who appeared to be suffering from gear issues.
Unfortunately I fell into the Elveden Pit (nothing damaged despite the crunch/snap sound I heard - presumably a root of the tree I hit) which shook my confidence for the other pits, as such I opted for climbing/sliding into and out of the others.
The section after the beast involved a gentle-ish climb up a fire-road then further climbing into the single-track. Here I started to wish I'd opted for an easier gear ratio, but non-the-less I managed to ride it all, despite the pain
I reached the change-over absolutely sodden and blathered with mud. I got cleaned up and into some fresh riding gear, fully intending to go back out. However while at the tent my enthusiasm disappeared. By the time Chris got back we were half-way through the night, the rain hadn't shown signs of letting up, the ground was even more churned up and reports were coming in of people having to walk most of the course. My fall in the pit made me concerned that I'd do myself an injury, my bike sounded like it was wearing away and I wasn't enjoying it. I know that that's a long list of whiny excuses, but ultimately if you're not enjoying something it's pointless to carry on. I checked whether my team-mate felt the same, he did, so we agreed to call it a night.
Around 6am it had been dry for 2 or 3 hours, I'd had a bit of shut eye, 2 of the worst bomb-holes had been closed and I started toying with going out again, but ultimately I opted to stay clean, dry and warm. I now wish I'd forced myself to do that lap but it's not the end of the world.
TROG Yorkshire Faction (team no 275) ended up 53rd of 74.
Ho hum...
Monday, 20 September 2010
Mud Sweat & Gears 2010 Round 5
So... They call that Langdon Hills for a reason then!
The course had a grassy climb to begin with, followed by a rooty section of single-track with a drop-off, then a short gentle climb followed by another section of single-track (my favourite bit). There was then a long, gentle but seemingly unending climb followed by a long fast fire-road descent with a sketchy gravelly 90degree bend into a field. I found the next climb to be the toughest of the course and after the first 2 laps I was making full use of small chain-ring and big cassette-ring here! There was then a nice, fast, flat section to recover on, with another flowing section of single-track at the end of it. Finally there was another fire-road with a short steep climb taking us back to the start.
My first lap went well, but I struggled on my second (repeatedly getting stuck behind the same single-track dawdler who would speed up every time I passed him on a fire-road, then slow down again in the single-track
).
On my 3rd I settled into a nice rhythm and managed some fairly
consistent times over my 6 laps. The dawdler passed me again on the 4th
lap but I managed to catch him and leave him on the 5th never to be
seen again 
Many thanks to the cheerleaders for their unending support, it really does help to push you on
I've posted a brief write up in the News section and included the team photo taken by Phil
Roll on D2D and MSG @ Hylands Park!
I came 24th of ??
The course had a grassy climb to begin with, followed by a rooty section of single-track with a drop-off, then a short gentle climb followed by another section of single-track (my favourite bit). There was then a long, gentle but seemingly unending climb followed by a long fast fire-road descent with a sketchy gravelly 90degree bend into a field. I found the next climb to be the toughest of the course and after the first 2 laps I was making full use of small chain-ring and big cassette-ring here! There was then a nice, fast, flat section to recover on, with another flowing section of single-track at the end of it. Finally there was another fire-road with a short steep climb taking us back to the start.
My first lap went well, but I struggled on my second (repeatedly getting stuck behind the same single-track dawdler who would speed up every time I passed him on a fire-road, then slow down again in the single-track
).
On my 3rd I settled into a nice rhythm and managed some fairly
consistent times over my 6 laps. The dawdler passed me again on the 4th
lap but I managed to catch him and leave him on the 5th never to be
seen again Many thanks to the cheerleaders for their unending support, it really does help to push you on
I've posted a brief write up in the News section and included the team photo taken by Phil Roll on D2D and MSG @ Hylands Park!
I came 24th of ??
Monday, 16 August 2010
Mud Sweat & Gears 2010 Round 4
This race was at Codham Park.
My race went like this;
Lap 1: I'm still not used to group starts, so didn't fight too hard and let people swarm past me. It took pretty much the whole of the lap for my body to wake up.
Lap 2: Saw Andy and Jules weren't too far behind me at the start of the lap; I set myself a target to keep them behind me as long as possible. Andy passed me about 0.5miles from the end of the lap.
Lap 3: Jules passed me at around the point where I spotted him on the 2nd lap but I managed to keep pace with him throughout this lap and for most of the next. At the end of lap 3 I was looking for Phil near the start line so I could lob my empty bottle at him. While doing this I wasn't paying too much attention to my surroundings and was oblivious to the (eventual) womens sport winner shouting that she wanted to get by as I weaved around in front of her
Lap 4: After quickly stopping to grab a fresh bottle, I caught back up with Jules and stayed with him for around half the lap and then I got too big for my boots and passed him then fought my way round to the end.
Lap 5: At the start of this lap I knew I still had 2 to go so I used the last of my gels and found a steady pace to see me through to the end, all the while expecting Dan or Mike to lap me, which fortunately they didn't do
As I reached the end of the Lap, Alistair stood in the middle of the track and told me that as the elite guys were nearly finished they were cutting it short so I didn't have to go out again. I was still buzzing from gels and adrenaline and it took me 10mins or so to settle down again
This is the exact opposite of Tunny, where I'd come in for what I
thought was my final lap, having used all my energy, only to be told to
go out again!
In short, I'm glad I pre-rode the course, it was a tough one and knowing what to expect meant I had greater confidence from the off. Cheers for the support of everyone who was there, it was a cracking afternoon.
I came 31st of ??
My race went like this;
Lap 1: I'm still not used to group starts, so didn't fight too hard and let people swarm past me. It took pretty much the whole of the lap for my body to wake up.
Lap 2: Saw Andy and Jules weren't too far behind me at the start of the lap; I set myself a target to keep them behind me as long as possible. Andy passed me about 0.5miles from the end of the lap.
Lap 3: Jules passed me at around the point where I spotted him on the 2nd lap but I managed to keep pace with him throughout this lap and for most of the next. At the end of lap 3 I was looking for Phil near the start line so I could lob my empty bottle at him. While doing this I wasn't paying too much attention to my surroundings and was oblivious to the (eventual) womens sport winner shouting that she wanted to get by as I weaved around in front of her
Lap 4: After quickly stopping to grab a fresh bottle, I caught back up with Jules and stayed with him for around half the lap and then I got too big for my boots and passed him then fought my way round to the end.
Lap 5: At the start of this lap I knew I still had 2 to go so I used the last of my gels and found a steady pace to see me through to the end, all the while expecting Dan or Mike to lap me, which fortunately they didn't do
As I reached the end of the Lap, Alistair stood in the middle of the track and told me that as the elite guys were nearly finished they were cutting it short so I didn't have to go out again. I was still buzzing from gels and adrenaline and it took me 10mins or so to settle down again
This is the exact opposite of Tunny, where I'd come in for what I
thought was my final lap, having used all my energy, only to be told to
go out again!In short, I'm glad I pre-rode the course, it was a tough one and knowing what to expect meant I had greater confidence from the off. Cheers for the support of everyone who was there, it was a cracking afternoon.
I came 31st of ??
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