Sussex-MTB

It was billed as a post Christmas Indulgence tonic, and was just what I needed after a few too many calories and just a splash or two of fine wine. I only decided to enter a few days before, so there was very little time for preparation, just a run on the Saturday and a brief 25 min blast on my gorgeous new road bike to stretch the legs on Sunday.

I’m well known for not getting on with Enduro events, having a reliable tendency to go too fast and blow up after a couple of hours, so I entered the 2 hour category – hardly really an enduro, but a good challenge for me with a really wide age cat of 16 – 40 that would test these creaky 35 year old legs.

Chilly start

The morning dawned really chilly, a heavy frost on the ground and a beautiful clear blue sky above, perfect race conditions. The original Ash Ranges course was billed as 8 miles, but was shortened to around 6 due to foresting. This meant that I reckoned I should get onto a 5th lap before the 2 hr cut off.

I lined up about 4 rows back from the front of a massive field (109), ready to have fun, and without great expectations of a top result – top 20 would be great considering the field size and age!

Start line

After shivering on the line for a few minutes, the hooter went and we set off up the start hill, jostling for position. The course quickly headed up a really steep section which had most off the bike, although I just about managed to find a clear line and made it up. The course proved to be pretty good, nice singletrack sections, with plenty of open tracks giving passing room. There were also quite a few short sharp climbs and descents to test the skill (and cause a few slow processions!). My first lap went well; I was enjoying myself, warmed up nicely and found a good flow. I completed it in a tad under 27 mins, getting great support from my usual support crew as I crossed the line and set off on lap 2. I’d made a pact with myself to keep on top of my energy levels so downed a gel and cracked on.

Race time

There’s a slightly crazy element in me that has to clean climbs, the steeper the better, and that was the challenge for lap 2 – complete them all with no dabs, which I managed to achieve. There were two large water splash puddles per lap and by the time I’d done them on the second lap my feet were numb cold, although most of the rest of the lap was mud free – frozen! The last section of the lap wound around a couple of the rifle ranges, and care was needed as several times the course popped out of the trees onto the frosty grassed edges, each time into a tight bend – I saw 4 people go down on the slippery grass, and heeded the warning to go careful!

The course was pretty congested through the first 4 laps – the 4 hour guys had started 15 mins ahead, so very quickly there were around 250 riders on the 6 mile course, although it was encouraging to be passing people all the time, and I was able to use the fact that I had to follow some guys to keep a check on my speed and stay in control of my heart rate.

Race time

All this meant that I found myself crossing the line to start my 5th lap with 10mins to go before the cut off, so knowing that lap 5 would be my finale, I was keen to buck my usual trend and finish fast. I was feeling good and strong, and really up for a good last lap, having absolutely no idea how I was doing in relation to anyone else. I managed to clean all the climbs again, which I was chuffed with, got through the watersplash, with a huge wobble – only sheer will power kept me out of the freezing muddy water – and on, up over the heathland on top of the ranges, passing other riders frequently.

I managed to complete the race with a flourish as I raced a rider down the last singletrack descent, passing him at the bottom and heading on to the finish line, completing the race in 5th place, which was a real bonus surprise. Might well be up for the final round after this…

Big Daddy

All last week I’d been thinking about what to do Sunday, I had a ‘day pass’ and originally I was going to ride with Deadly and the Brighton MTB crew as well. I noticed that round one of the “Merida Brass Monkeys Enduro” was on and was pondering entering, but when I went and looked it said entries were full. A chance glance at the web site on Friday morning revealed they’d released another 100 places and I had till 12:00 to enter, a stroke of good luck, so I signed myself up for 2 hours 40+.

It’s fair to say in the last five or so years I’ve largely ignored traditional XC events in favour of the longer enduro style ones. Doing 24 hour team, 12, 8, 6 and 4 hour solo events too. I figured 2 hours would be a good test to see if I still had any XC legs left.

Not a good start

The weather was rubbish when I got up and I loaded the car in pouring rain, driving through some fairly biblical weather to Rushmoor Arena, near Aldershot. I don’t know about you but I hate getting to an event in the wet, then having to sart in the rain too, a little dry wouldn’t go amiss!

The promise of dry weather?

As I said above the event was full and the registration process meant the start got held up, I think quite a few changed category to the 2 hour option. In the end we started half an hour late at 10:30, with the 4 hour races starting behind us a bit later. For once the start was not too frantic as the start straight was totally waterlogged and muddy. Pulling out of the arena and onto the course proper I was pleased to find I could maintain a decent pace and I was steadily overtaking people.

The course was a decent mix of singletrack and fire roads, with a few nice technical bits too, yet again though I was amazed by some of the other competitors, you’d think some people just don’t ride in the winter. There was a lot of slipping and sliding going on. Once the faster 4 lap riders started coming through on my third lap I was reminded that I could go a bit quicker so I spent that lap catching peoples wheels wherever possible when they overtook and hanging on for as long as I could.

By this time though both my brakes were down to the backing plates and half way round I’d pretty much hit the wall, I was happy to see PlusOne (hats off to you for completing 5 laps in those conditions BTW) when he passed and I begged him for food! I’ve never been so pleased to see a Clif Bar, it tasted good as well. Amazingly I bounced back after that pretty quickly and was able to put some effort in for the remainder of the lap.

Shattered but happy (yes, really!)

So in the end I managed to put 3 laps in, in about 2 1/2 hours and I ended up 17th out of 67 in the 2 hour 40+ category. I’m really chuffed with that result as I’ve not done anything like that for a while. The bug has bitten again so I’ll be doing some XC stuff over the coming months.

Hummerlicious

August 15th sees the return of the fantastic singletrack trails of Stanmer Park in the shape of a fresh and new 6 hour enduro for solos and teams: It’s called: “The Brighton Big Dog.”

It's a big dog

Feedback from the G2 Revolver “Long Good Saturday” event at Stanmer last year was massively positive. As such local riders have bowed to the groundswell of opinion and come together to put on a rider organised, not for profit, summer classic at the venue. We’ve taken a course described by many as the best of 2008 and added our own Big Dog flavour. Our dedicated team have been meticulously combing the park in order to unhearth new and hidden gems and we can proudly say that the natural flowing singletrack has been enhanced.

Whilst riders are railing the course those in the venue can enjoy music from our resident Brighton DJ’s, excellent food, retro bike parade, fresh from the barrel Harvey’s ale, a host of tea and cakes and most importantly a general top ranking vibe.

We reckon that for most riders a great ride just isn’t complete without a great night out and what better place than Brighton! Luckily The Big Dog ends not at the finish line but at closing time with any profits from the day going behind the bar at the post race party venue to make sure that you are rehydrated: “old style.”

We have called up all of our friends and also some of the coolest names in the industry to help make the event a reality with contributions and prizes. As such the fund is strong and includes goodies from brands such as Cannondale, Exposure Lights, Independent Fabrication, Gary Fisher, Skins, Apple and Morvelo.

The event offers some further twists with a dedicated pre-95 retro-category and the unique “Onederdog” cat. The “Onederdog” enables anyone; passer by, supporter or those who just want a quick burn to check out the singletrack for one lap at any time. For your £6 you’ll get free tea and cake and also leaderboard status if you so wish.

Aware of spiraling bike costs we’ve tried to keep entry fees reasonably tight – and remember the more entries we get the bigger the bar tab so enter as soon as you can!

Local rider and singlespeed maestro Oli Pepper has put together a stellar website with all the information you could hope for – check it out at Brighton Big Dog

We’ll also follow this up with updates on twitter and rider favourite websites.. next up live helmetcam footage!

Let’s make “The Big Dog” one big memorable day.

PRESS RELEASE

JANUARY 2009
ORIGINAL SOURCE MOUNTAIN MAYHEM CALLS ALL WEEKEND WARRIORS

The UK’s toughest 24-hour mountain bike endurance event will return to Herefordshire for its twelfth year this June, to challenge the country’s most fearless riders.

Not for the faint-hearted, Original Source Mountain Mayhem will take over the stunning grounds of Eastnor Castle, Deer Park in Ledbury, where 2,500 thrill-seeking mountain bikers will compete in an intense nine-mile circuit over 24 hours.

Riders of all capabilities, from daring non-riders right through to national champions and Olympians, are invited to participate either as a solo-rider or as part of a four, five or ten-man team. A crowd of 15,000 spectators is also expected to turn out to watch the muddy mayhem.

The 24-hour race is part of a weekend of events that takes place from 19^th-21^st June 2009, kicking off with the Dirt Demo, the largest mountain bike demo in the country, which gives visitors the chance to test ride the latest equipment from top biking manufacturers.

The main arena includes a vast trade village full of fun free activities for all the family, including the Mini Mayhem children’s bike skills course.

Visitors will also be treated to a whole host of other Original Source Mountain Mayhem activities at the festival-style weekend.

Philippa Heywood, Senior Brand Manager at Original Source, said: “Original Source Mountain Mayhem is one of the muddiest and most intense events in the UK and it’s the perfect event for Original Source washing products to be involved with – we can provide some light relief to our saddle-weary warriors!”

Patrick Adams of Pacific Edge Events, owners and organisers of Mountain Mayhem, added: “Since its beginning back in 1998, the event has grown and developed over the years to become the biggest 24-hour mountain bike endurance event worldwide. This year expect surprises, excitement and one of the best Mountain Mayhems to date.”

Entry forms for the event can be downloaded from www.osmountainmayhem.co.uk from midnight on 28th February.

Entry costs £200 for teams of four-five riders, £265 for teams of 10 or £65 for soloist entry, which also includes a goody bag of freebies on the day and a medal for finishing. Camping and spectator entry at the event is free.

Sussex-MTB Note:

Well we’ll be there yet again, lining ourselves up for another bike destroying pain fest

Nope it’s not some sort of kinky past time of ours, but in fact it’s a night time enduro held at the end of September every year. Competitors ride the South Downs Way from Eastbourne to Queen Elizabeth country park in Petersfield. It’s around 75 miles and as anyone who has done a large chunk of the SDW will tell you, it’s far from flat!

There are a series of checkpoints and electronic timing chips on all riders. We help the guys from Quest Adventure run the checkpoint each year and have a little party at the same time. The last two times global warming has ensured decent weather and the riders have been treated to unusually calm evenings.

We set up at 20:00 and the first few riders started coming through about 21:30 ish, with Rob Lee setting a blistering pace, man he’s quick! It was good to see Charlie “Blue steel” Eustace (where did he get that nickname from?) doing well too.

Here’s a few pictures from the night…….

I’ve been meaning to post this up for a couple of weeks, it was taken at the Bontrager 24/12. Note the pained expression on our faces and the underlying feeling that sitting on a saddle again is not a priority! (Clicky make biggy)

Jimbo and Slim at the Bontrager 24/12 finish

Thanks to Chris at www.crankphoto.co.uk for the image.