Mountain Biking – Page 32

January 18, 2010January 19, 2010

Event Report – 2010 Strathpuffer 24hr Winter Enduro

The Strathpuffer 2010 24 hour mountain bike enduro race is branded as the worlds toughest. Taking place in the depths of Scotlands winter it brings extreme weather conditions and lots and lots of night riding. The event is based in the forested hills above Contin approx 25 miles north of Inverness and this year with the long spell of sub zero temperatures and heavy snow fall running up to the race there was a question as to would it take place. The organisers pulled out the stops in the week before the event however digging out the 10km loop of fireroads and singletracks and the internet forums were buzzing with discussions on tyre choice…..

Originally entering as a quad (4 riders taking in turns for the 24 hours) Alan and myself eventually ended up as a pair. This saw us piling 4 bikes, camping equipment, toolboxes and bags and bags of clothes and food into a focus estate on Friday lunchtime in Shap before driving the 300 miles up to the event. After a quick stop for Haggis and Chips in Aviemore we arrived to a very frosty, snowy campsite (well side of a forest road really) and made our base about 200 metres from the start / changover.

The first thing we learnt about the Puffer was the infastructure some of the teams bring. We took a while to get used to the constant hummmmmm of many generators powering the old caravans, gas blower heated easyups, covered service areas, braziers and general scottish banter about tyre choice, mudguards 29ers and singlespeeds (especially at 3 in the morning).

Saturday morning brought a final bike fettle, porridge spilt on the floor and decisions on what to wear before all too quickly it was 10am and time for the Le Mans style run from the start to the bikes (only at Le Mans they dont tend to have ice on the road).

Riding first I intended to do two laps so Alan could support SportIdent’s Martin Stone on the timing system as the first riders came through. I deliberatley held back on the run but soon found myself slicing through the field on the first fire road climb, even though I was keeping my heart rate in check . Then on to the first of the single tracks where immediatley we were off and running with the bikes in the sugary slush, it must have been carnage further back in the feild.

I nearly came off three times on that first lap, hitting unexpected ice under the snow but I managed to recover it somehow, but others were not so lucky (including the presenter of the Scottish Adventure show, who ended up in hospital). Down into the finish for the first time and then back up the fireroad after punching in to record the lap whilst eating an Eat Natural bar was something to do again and again and again, the laps taking about 1 hour.

The second lap was much quicker, with less traffic, the course starting to cut up and the worst of the snow and ice starting to clear off the racing line.

Alans lap-times were faster again for his two, and by the time I completed my 4th the course was completely ridable for the brave, though I chose to run one rocky section throughout as it was quicker overall than messing about trying to ride it on a rigid bike.

The course has some very technical sections, and with the added complications of snow and ice it was very challenging. Towards the end of my second stint (doing 3 laps ) I started to get tired, and on top of this my rear brake failed completly. As darkness fell I struggled down the icy, treachourous descents into the finish with copious amounts of scootering and handed over to Alan for his 3 lap stint. I was not in a great state. Looking back it was lack of food and proper rest. Alan did not fare any better and our brake pad situation became critical, even though we had 6 pairs with us. Alan ended up using his spare bike to complete his 5th lap whilst I ate and bike mended and unfortunatley punctured as well. I headed out onto another 3 lap stint whilst Alan retreated to the tent to warm up. I backed off a bit up the climbs and felt much better, the proper food inside me and the drying conditions making the laps quite fun. At 10 o’clock there was a huge bang which nearly made me fall off as a firework signalled the half way point. There are several marshalling points around the course and the music blaring, braziers blazing and shouts of encouragment were most welcome and thanks to all those manning them, particularly the last one before the short steep climb that never beat me beacuse of the shouts and whoops everytime I came at it.

Unfortunatley, Alan at this point was at a low point both in food and bike maintenance and we decided that, although we were running in a battle for 3rd place, a sleep was sensible and we accepted that we could not keep up that sort of pace and look after ourselves. Though sleep was interrupted and uncomfortable, it was the right decision to make.

Alan started a lap at 5.30am and then I went out for two glorious laps and saw the dawn rise over a fantastic snowy landscape. At 8.30am I’d had enough and let Alan do the last two laps, which he really enjoyed with full daylight and the course in its best condition, feeling better after a tasty quiche for breakfast !

We ended up 11th out of about 40 teams which we were quite pleased with considering of our 18 laps only 5 were done in the second 12 hours. In fact my 10 laps would have placed me 18th on Solo!

The learning curve with this event is enourmous, and really it is obvious now that to compete at the sort of level we were trying to, you need a support team to keep your bike working and to feed you to enable you to just concentrate on recovery.

Three memories stand out for me: riding fantastically difficult icy conditions with practically no brakes (character building!), the clear frosty, star-filled skies of 11pm as I really enjoyed a couple of laps, and, finally, changing brake pads with a torch between my knees and a cheese roll balanced on the seat in the dark at -2 centigrade.

Oh and I rode the whole thing on my Hutchinson Pythons, phaaa who needs ice tyres…..

Results available at
http://lappedenduro.sportident.co.uk/home/event/publicresults.html?&eventid=906b739d-b5c2-4b38-a255-3373ba5f2567

Lots of Photos available below by Jon Brooke who braved the cold :
www.rightplacerighttime.co.uk

January 13, 2010January 14, 2010

Preview – Strathpuffer 24

In a moment of madness a few months ago I agreed to ride in a Team of 4 at the Strathpuffer 24 hour MTB race near Inverness. Unfortunatley for various reasons this is now a team of 2, Alan Hartley and Myself riding as ‘bmbo.org.uk’ (British Mountain Bike Orienteering

Held just outside of Contin about 25 miles north of Inverness the Strathpuffer 24 is known as the most challenging 24 hour enduro race in the UK, as being in January there is often snow and because of the latitude not much daylight so lots of night riding. The big question over the weekend was ‘is it still on’ but the organisers have had teams out clearing the snow from the single-tracks and it is, as long as we can get there.
So Alan and I are currently getting our kit together and talking about the relative merits of spending £80 each on ice tyres (we aren’t and will just wing it but to be honest we cant find any in the UK anyway)
Our current plan is for me to start and do 2 or 3 laps and then settle in to 3 to 4 lap stints depending on the laptimes. As you tuck yourself into bed on Saturday night, please spare a thought for us camping in the snow !

Throughout the event Sportident UK will be displaying live results at
http://lappedenduro.sportident.co.uk/home/event/publicresults.html?&eventid=906b739d-b5c2-4b38-a255-3373ba5f2567

so you can see how we are doing……..

December 19, 2009December 19, 2009

Race report -Military Challenge

The Military Challenge is an annual event using training areas closed for the Christmas stand down. This years was back in the Aldershot area after a couple of years further south. The event allows mountain biking or running or if you are completely bonkers both in the same day. I was worried the event might be canceled due to the weather but the website assured me this morning that it was on and the morning dawned with clear blue skies over the frosty ground, in fact it was -8 as I defrosted the car to head south. The access road up into the event was very slippery and as I parked I wondered how on earth we would get any traction on the 40km course.

At registration I was given a GPS tracking unit to try and after picking up my hire E Card I had a look at the 10 yes 10 maps that would take us on our journey ! I had a late start which didn’t particularly help much as there were lots of other MTB tracks around. I fluffed #2 losing a couple on minutes, confused by the transition into the OS portion of the map taking a wrong track but talking to others there is something not right with the north lines mapping in this area, perhaps the OS being stretched to fit the O map?
On to the more urban part of the course and the conditions were treacherous with ice covered roads making this a Military skating challenge. Scared off by the slippery roads I took a bad decision on #4 and took the path option which had countless gates, boardwalks and doggy walkers to contend with. To top it I cocked up coming out of #4 getting stuck the wrong side of a one way street and lost a few more minutes. Onto map 3 and I passed a very sore Jon Marsden who called out that he had tumbled 4 times already on the ice. Through maps 4 and on to 5 and I was flying, confidence building in the bike and keeping the nav together. On the way to #12 I took my only tumble, a spectacular over the handle bars dive as I broke to avoid missing a track junction on ice. I had a very near off as I turned an icy corner near #14, but mostly if you were careful you could keep going fairly quickly on the edges of the roads. I lost a bit of time on map 7 taking a safe option round a round about and over a bridge to avoid a level crossing which I was stopped at for 5 mins a few years ago but was still riding well through map 8.
Looking back I think I was tiring at this point probably needing some food, I then made two stupid mistakes, a 180 coming out of #19 and a rubbish route choice along a fence after #21 giving me a huge rollercoaster climb rather than a simple singletrack around the top, which probably lost me the race, they certainly lost me 2nd place. On to map 10 then and the last few controls. The route to the last control was down a snowy land rover track, the difference between the ‘season mountain bikers’ and those not so used to it the very obvious as I and several others screamed past a few riders picking their way gingerly down the hill. Unfortunately due to my lack of granny ring I had to run up to the finish. Results and GPS tracking are not out yet but I was 4th when I left, having compared splits, burger in hand on patio chairs in the snow with Alan (2nd place he beat me by 26 secs). The event was not as good as previous years with probably too much road and not enough controls in the technical areas but I enjoyed it all the same. Andy Conn was 6 mins clear of three of us all within 30 seconds showing my mistakes were costly. Looking at the Splitsbrowser graph I probably could have just won, but its a good result at this point in the season which I am pleased with.
stats – 40km course – 52.8km riding, 600m climb – 2 hours 46 mins
results here

December 18, 2009December 18, 2009

German Bling

Alan Hartley (author of the Sportident timing software AutoDownload) and I go back a few years, first meeting in the Pludds village hall when I was 10 at a South West Junior Orienteering squad training weekend. Since we shared a house together as students in Cardiff we have often ridden together (with me chasing his tail technically) and watched each other fall off many times over the years – well mainly Alan watching me, ask him about Bedwas! For the last few years we have both been riding Giant XTCs and for various reasons we have both ended up with new race bikes at the same time. And both German.
Alan has a Cube Reaction XT and I have the Corratec Bow. The spec of them is very similar, XT groupset, Elixer CR brakes and alloy frame. The standard wheels on the Cube are slightly better and it comes with a Fox fork as opposed to the Bow’s Reba.
What both bikes also have in common is the style-thing that European bikes tend to have: bling frame graphics.
Both of us like our new bikes and will be racing them on Saturday down at the Military Challenge in Aldershot. Achtung everybody, the Germans are coming !

December 17, 2009December 18, 2009

New Race Bike – Corratec Bow XT World Cup !!!!

Last Friday and a knock at the door brought a big brown box with Corratec on the side. Mmmmmm…. I wonder what that is.
I’ve ridden it a few times and have now put my race wheels and saddle on it. Initially feeling much shorter than I am used to, a few tweaks to the shock rebound, tyre pressures and I am now completely amazed and besotted by the bike. It just simply is so much better to ride than the old 2005 XTC. It is so stiff at the rear end that it climbs really well, the turn in is very confidence inspiring, so much so that where I was struggling just to turn round on a fire road on the XTC the Bow just tracks perfectly. I am also going quicker through the single-tracks, the shorter setup suiting my riding technique better it seems. So out with the old school long setup and in with the new, mind you those wider bars do take some getting used to on the narrow trails !
Thanks to Corratec and the UK importer Raleigh for supporting me with a generous discount on the bike and watch out for me in a Corratec race shirt from time to time this year !
Corratec Bow XT World Cup

November 26, 2009

Bike Testing

I have been thinking of changing my race bike for a while, not because I don’t like it, just that the frame is now 5 years old and I can get a whole bike for not much more than a new frame and bits. Carbon frames are now the norm but I would like to stay with Aluminium (had too many gates close on the bike on MTBOs in the past) So what to buy…….
A fellow GB team member, now Corratec Product Manager for the UK distributor Raleigh, indicated a deal could be done on a Corratec Bow, but to make sure I like the bike I have just picked up a demo model to try for the weekend.
The demo model is a 2009 Equipe which is of a similar spec to the 2010 XT World Cup model I have as an option.
The Bow is unique in its design, having a top tube that divides and then runs all the way to the rear becoming the seat stays. This is suppose to produce a very rigid design giving it very good climbing characteristics. An initial look over the bike seems promising with a full XT groupset and Avid Juicy 7 brakes, but the own brand wheels are a tad heavy. The bike is a little ‘shorter’ than i’m used to but friends who have ridden my XTC have always commented on how ‘long’ it feels so perhaps it is no bad thing.
A quick lunchtime blast without touching the setup has shown the bike to be less twitchy than the XTC and the wide handle bars require more input to get it to turn, however this may be due to the aggressive tyres on the test machine.
This is not a bad thing and perhaps may suit my riding style more, I certainly was not hanging about on it.

Next job is a quick service, to sort out the front shock pressures, and play with the stem and seat position before heading out on Friday to give it a proper test on Follow the Dog with the Berkswich Primary School Dads ride.
Ill then put my race wheels and map board on it to give it a final test on Sunday but I think I may have found my new steed !

http://www.corratec.com/en/bikes2010/mtb/superbow/superbow_wc_xt.php

November 22, 2009November 22, 2009

Event Report – D&W 2 – Birchover

Saturday night saw me driving to Yougreave Youth Hostel for the Annual General Meeting of the Trail Cyclist Association (Governing body of MTBO and Trailquests in the UK – see separate post to come later in the week). Several faces were missing, being stuck in Cumbria by the flooding. I believe evryone is OK, thank goodness. The Peak District had not escaped the heavy rains and the rivers were swollen and the tracks very muddy as 200 riders set out on Sunday morning on Dark and White’s Winter series round 2, this time from Birchover Campsite, near Matlock. I have competed from Birchover twice before and I have either been too early or very very late, such is the terrain in the area you are always faced with a huge uphill finish as the campsite enjoys fine views over the surrounding countryside in all directions.
Unfortunately I’d managed to leave the waterproof cover to my mapboard at home (Id taken it off to wash it!) so I phaffed the start losing about a minute to elastic bands and cold fingers and struggled for the next three hours with a ballooning plastic bag whenever I went over about 5 mph. Id decided after being horrendously late at Birchover in the past that I would cross the Derwent Valley early on and then approach the finish from the SW so I did not face a hideous climb when tired. After grabbing #1 and #4 I rode very strongly up onto Darley Moor and was really pleased with the way my climbing has improved in the past 6 months. The weather deteriorated as I splashed though some axle deep puddles on the way to #19 but it never got too bad, just enough to you generally wet and cold when not climbing. I was still riding strongly for #22 and #21 covering familiar ground so navigation was easy, but due to my ballooning map I had no real plan for what to do next. Riding up the B5056 I still did not have a plan and after #9 I got sucked into a route with no getouts via #13 and #12. The climb upto 12 lost me too much time and I knew I would be late…..very, very late.
I crawled up the final climb back to the finish and punched 20.07 mins late. Penalties for lateness are ramped on Trailquests and, unfortunately, after 15 minutes you hemorrhage points. I score 235 points today but lost 110 of them in penalties. Perhaps I should have gone out for an hour and spent the rest of the time in the pub: I would have got a better result (but the extra riding has done me far more good that a few pints of real ale & a packet of pork scratchings)!

November 8, 2009November 8, 2009

Event Report – D&W #1 – Hayfield

Up until Friday afternoon I was still unsure as whether to ride or not in this the first of the Dark and White Winter series. Following the discovery of my large bruise I have been struggling with knee pain, particularly where I had Osgood-Schlatter disease as a teenager. I think all the problems I have had, including the ripped muscle have been caused by the impact injury I sustained a month ago whilst running which perhaps I should have rested more before recommencing riding.
Anyway back to the event. Hayfield is one of those villages in The Peaks where the mountains rise on all sides, steeply to open moorland. Starts were early because of Remembrance Parades and we arrived in plenty of time. After chatting to a few people I realised that a good league score was not on the cards as local and national legend Nick Craig had decided to ride. I have only ridden the area around New Mills and Hayfeild once several years ago, but the riding is stunning and several tracks brought a smile to my face (well the ones that used gravity to my advantage did). I started off scrappily picking up the two controls to the east, but this was a mistake as it involved a lot of climb for so few points. I then didn’t spot a high pass near #5 which would have saved me another climb. My route to the 25 pointer #8 was a lucky pick though as the decent to #10 was a foul muddy track where I passed lots of people struggling upwards. The rest of the ride was fairly straight forward but towards the end I decided not to push my luck, particularly as I was tiring and didn’t want to get another niggly injury. Rather that coming in via #4 and perhaps being a couple of mins late I opted for the fast route down the main road. The decent was amazing, with the GPS showing I hit 41 mph at one point. I think the sporty Volvo hatchback that exiting the junction at the top of the pass in front of me had a shock through the bends with chasing him down in his rear mirror !

Another great event from Dark and White ( I only needed to get the descriptions out once) which I thoroughly enjoyed. Although I only got 11th which would normally be disappointing, the quality of the field was very high and with the injury niggles I have had over the last month I feel quite pleased.

Results available here http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/results/D&W%20Winter%20League%200910%20-%20Round%201%20-%20short.html