Merida Brass Monkeys

miss notax

fridgeboy wrote:

Thanks for the encouragement folks. I do have a couple of more specific newbie questions that you might be able to help me with:-

1. is there anywhere to leave a 2nd water bottle and some food near the end of the lap, or do you really need to carry everything you need with you? (I'll be on my tod - the missus won't come and hand me my musette)
2. do people normally carry spare tube and pump or do most people call it a day if they puncture? (BTW - love how easy it is to get an MTB tyre off the rim! Some of those road Contis are as tight as rat's *rse)
3. can anyone offer any advice on a sensible tyre pressure for the terrain? My road bike norm is around 110 psi but I think my MTB tyres only have about 40 psi in at the moment. That seems low to me.
4. is it feasible to do a whole practice lap before the start, or would I be crackers to attempt that?

1 - Probably, but I just carry everything with me (I wear a camelbak and take gels etc)
2 - Yep, I carry a pump and a spare tube (in the camelbak with all the other stuff)
3 - I run mine at about 35 psi, so they don't sound low to me! If the course is rooty / muddy I wouldn't want my tyres too hard.....
4 - You're doing the 4 hour event, yes? Not sure I would personally do a whole extra lap, as anything I would gain from learning the route I would lose in being worn-out more quickly. You are probably way fitter than me though so it might work. I don't know the format or area well enough to know if it's feasible - i'm sure one of the guys will answer that

Sarpullido

Hi

1.- There's normally a feeding area where riders leave some stuff.

2.- I carry an spare inner tube, puncture repair kit and a pump + energy bars and gels. Some riders attch the pump and inner tube to the frame or under the seat with duck tape ir similar

3.- I'm very light so I can ride with lower pressure. It also depends on the terrain (rocky more pressure). At the moment, as my foot pump is broken down I don't really know but rear tyre should have slightly more pressure than front.

4.- Practice lap does help a lot, indeed, but if the course is longish (6-7 miles) and doing 4 hour race I'd just ride for a couple of miles to check the grip and pressure of tyres is ok. Did a lap with VW on the last race and got late to the start!! :roll:

JasonRwmb

In the feedzone you can leave whatever you want. If I was racing I would stick all my spare bottles and gels in a plastic box so they are easy to find and pick up. For a long race I would take a fold up table too, it saves having to bend down to pick up a new bottle, for 4 hours I probably wouldn't bother with the table.

If you want to do a pre-ride then allow over an hour to get around. Maybe do half a lap and then try and find a shortcut back to the start. The course will loop around Tunnel Hill a fair bit, so I doubt you will ever be too far from the start - although it might feel like it!

I ride around Tunnel Hill a lot and generally run under 30psi in UST tyres, I don't pay too much attention to it, just top them up when they start getting a bit soft. With tubes I would probably be just over 30psi to prevent snakebites.

agg25

Hey Jason, would you go for mud tyres tomorrow or would Nobby Nics be ok?

JasonRwmb

Nobby Nics will be ideal. If I was racing I would be using Rocket Rons, but they may be a bit slippy in places. There is no sticky mud around there, so no need for mud tyres. Plus I find mud tyres can be a bit of a handful on wet roots.

agg25

OK thanks bud, will keep the Nics on ;-) I found I was slipping all over the place on wet roots when I had a Ron on the front and a Ralph at the back as the bike came with.

njee20

George Budd rode round on Nics earlier and said they were good, he recommended Rons, so either will be fine!

andi1363

see you all in the morning!

Sarpullido

I can't find my number. Ouch!! :oops:

See you tomorrow!

njee20

Why would you have needed your number?! As you've presumably discovered you get a new one each round.

Great fun I thought, excellent course, not too muddy! Chuffing cold though, and I swear it got colder halfway through!

andi1363

Second attempt to post! :? Found today hardervthan round 1 but did try harder . Improved from 32nd last time to 13th 8) . Top 10 next time :?:

Pics!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 940&type=1

miss notax

Good fun course - and congrats to my mate Michelle who got 3rd in the ladies vet class

I only managed 2 laps again as delayed masisvely right at the start. Some poor chap came off literally 30 seconds into the race, on the first climb, another bloke (in front of me) piled into him, I just about stopped in time but then couldn't get around them to start off again as everyone was whooshing around me! Ho hum

Really enjoyed it though, and am determined to get three bloody laps in on the 3rd and final race!

Nice to meet Lou also - I now want a Whippet

gazhurst

I found the course easier than round 1 but I finished lower in the category. 44th in round 1, 46th today. Still consistant I suppose.

Miss notax, check out the On One website...they're knocking out Whippet decal free frames only for £299.

gazhurst

Actually scrap that...I was 49th out of 119 finishers (or those who completed at least 1 lap) in race 1 and 46th out of 100 today. My misses said there were loads and loads of non-finishers though so I'm actually fairly happy with that.

Sarpullido

Awesome course! Hats off to organizers again.
I also found less hard (less climb) than round 1. I did a very good start but fell over the bars in a downhill section after passing under the railway but fortunately I landed on bushes. However, laps 3 and 4 had cramps but sorted out for the last lap, finishing strong!? It was my fault I wasn't taking enough food and water. Did it much better than round 1, where I was 57 out of 97 and today 34 out of 85. Still 15 minutes late for another 6th lap.

I love racing in this area

gazhurst

Sarpullido, you werent the guy I was chatting with on that stretch along side the railway were you?

Sarpullido

Not sure. I don't know you I had an action head cam on top of my helmet, skulls maillot, goatee, ponytail...

Sarpullido

Some pics my friend took from the race.
Merida Brass Monkey Series 2011 round 2

gazhurst

Nah wasnt you then...I was in Kingston Wheelers kit in the 2 hour

Link won't show the photos

JasonRwmb

miss notax wrote:

Nice to meet Lou also - I now want a Whippet

Lou said she saw you at the end. I had headed home by then as the kids were getting cold and grumpy. We don't live far from Tunnel Hill, so she didn't have far to ride home. So far she has been very pleased with the Whippet. There are lighter carbon frames about, but for the money I don't think you can go wrong. The only downside is the clearance around the BB is fairly limited if you run a triple set up, Lou has been running a 3x9 drivetrain since the start of the year and it has actually been fine. She is switching to 2x10 from the start of next year so that will improve the clearance.

I did a lap of the course early on Sunday morning, it seemed very good and fast - it was frozen solid then. Everyone I spoke to seem to find it harder than Rd1, I guess the course had thawed out and was getting more and more draggy as the race went on.

njee20

Yes I thought it was harder, just no real let up! I think all those little short climbs are harder than longer ones where you can just settle into a rhythm. Great fun though, considering how wet it could've been it was in great condition too.

Despite feeling better and being the same distance behind 1st I also finished 4 places lower than R1, obviously more people who were just slightly faster than me!

Edit: and weirdly I'd have been 5th in Vets as opposed to 10th in R1, obviously more quick people in the 2 hour race, but fewer in the Vets race!

agg25

Great course, I found this one easier than the first with less killer climbs (reading about Round 3 almost brought a tear to the eye). Managed my goal of 5 laps, and went from 72nd to 42nd in the placings which was 1 better than midpack so I'm now in the best 50% woot!
One incident involving a tree branch and my handlebar which put me on the floor, and started cramping on the fifth lap so I think I did all I could, finishing in 4hr 30min. Feel like I've done a few rounds with Tyson today!

njee20

A few drops of Elete water in whatever you're drinking helps cramp - sorted me out a treat.

fridgeboy

Wow - that was a real baptism of fire - but possibly one of the most memorable cycle rides of my life!

Firstly a quick thank you to those that offered advice on this thread last week. Wise words indeed - as I learnt yesterday. I arrived early, and having registered and scoffed a quick bacon sandwich, I started to assemble my gear. I must admit I waited in my car for a good 20 minutes until a few others disappeared in the direction of the start, before venturing out. I adopted my best "I've done this a million times before" nonchalant look and passed under the Start banner for my practice half lap. Until yesterday, my idea of something technical would have been bunny-hopping on and off a kerb, or track standing at traffic lights. I can laugh long and loud about that now. After 400 metres of delightfully uncomplicated forest road, the course veered off to the right down a forest ride, before cutting sharp left up a gully. A little later it turned down the side of a felled area, before a bit more track back towards the start. There was then a tricky (for me) section through some trees before another small path across an open area right by the car park. To my utter dismay, I managed to part company with my bike on a slight downhill bend, in full view of the car park! Wounded pride spurred me back on and I sped off out of sight as fast as I could. Another quarter mile further on, I hit a section consisting of steep drops into and out of a gully. Another heavy fall followed, and a very painful knee. I persisted for about another mile before spotting a convenient and mercifully flat forest road back to the start, and quickly returned, utterly shell-shocked to my car. I quickly resolved to start at the back - the thought of making a complete prat of myself and holding others up was too much to contemplate.

The start itself turned out to be quite a muted affair - I resisted the urge to sprint off up the forest road and found myself going very slowly in a large queue as soon as we turned off the road. I guess this is pretty normal on the first lap. Fortunately I managed to stay upright for the first part of the lap - my practice effort put to good use - but as the lap continued and the field gradually spread out, I encountered an innumerable collection of terrifying "features", varying from a seemingly never-ending narrow gully, an incredibly steep downhill track, another snaking gully whose final exit was protected by a fiendish array of apparently vertical tree roots and near the end, an enormous drop into and out of what must be an old bomb crater. Needless to say, these were way beyond my technical ability, as were many of the narrow twisting paths through the trees. I spent a fair amount of time picking myself up off the floor, or letting other riders past me. It was quite a relief to arrive back at the start/finish area, but that quickly turned to blind panic as I could see the 2 hour speedsters pawing at the ground ready to start. I eventually heard the hooter go about 5 minutes into my 2nd lap, and pretty soon there were lots of shouts behind me of "coming past right or left" as seemingly hundreds of riders came past. That all made the rest of lap 2 quite difficult for me - there is nothing quite like the sound of other riders approaching fast from the rear to put off your average beginner - any acquired technical skills were quickly abandoned for a simple "get out of the way quickly" technique.

Laps 3 and 4 were a bit quieter with less traffic around, and after receiving advice from a spectator who had watched me crash at the fiendish tree root exit on all of my first 3 laps, I actually took it closer to the tree on lap 4, as he had suggested, and made it out in on two wheels. Boy was I pleased with that. Towards the end of lap 4, I was tiring a bit - mainly mentally - and was hoping to see a board out saying it was OK to get off, but when I arrived at the finish there was no board, and not knowing any better I assumed it was de rigeur to continue on to a 5th lap. After about 10 minutes when only two people had passed me, I came to the conclusion that it was more likely that I was the only person still out on the course rather than due to me keeping pace with the rest of the field. And so it turned out. A third person caught me up half way round and it transpired that it was the dreaded broom-wagon, in the form of a guy on a monkey bike. He asked me my number and told me he would radio the finish to let them know I would be finishing eventually. I persevered through to the finish, and arrived just in time to hear the very end of the prize-giving ceremony. I was very glad to climb off my bike, feeling as though I had spent the day in a slowly revolving tumble dryer, but nevertheless still quite proud to have got round 5 laps in just over 5 hours.

Having now had a little time to reflect on the day, I thing I can summarise things as follows:-

Seemingly a very well organised event, well supported by various trade sponsors (much better than most road event trade sponsors).

Fellow riders were a very friendly and forgiving bunch - nearly all who passed said "thank you" if I had stopped off to one side, and even the ones I became entangled with remained cool about it.

It really is like comparing "chalk and cheese" when evaluating this kind of cycling with any form of road cycling. The basic fitness translates pretty well, but the technical side is hugely different. For most of the event I felt like a novice skier who has just learnt a snow-plough turn, going down a steep narrow gully as expert skiers fly past on left and right.

I do have one question that maybe someone can help me with - unless you live close to an area like this, what is the best way of doing technique training for this type of event? Or is it just a case of competing in events to improve your technique? I just want to do a lot better in Round 3 in January.

njee20

The terrain there wasn't really any different to anything you'd find in any reasonable mountain biking area. I don't know where you live, but there will almost certainly be some local riding you can practice on.

You can do skills courses, which will teach you the techniques and may well help. Otherwise yes, practice makes perfect! No real need for it to be in events specifically - like I say, that was fairly 'normal' terrain.

Glad you enjoyed it though.

JasonRwmb

Well done in finishing. Certainly a challenging event for your first mtb race.

See if you can find a local group of mountain bikers, that is probably the best way to find local trails, and riding with others will show you how they ride technical sections. Our local group often get new riders who do very quickly improve their technical riding with a bit of practice - fitness is the area most people struggle with.

Sarpullido

gazhurst wrote:

Nah wasnt you then...I was in Kingston Wheelers kit in the 2 hour

Link won't show the photos

I think know it works, right?

Also a clip of the event my friend did
http://youtu.be/jNgu_tJM2xk

Sarpullido

Well done, especially for fridgeboy.
A way to improve technique is riding off road as much as you can. Better with hard tail than full. And if there's a section that you think you can't do it stop, turn back and try it again until you get it done. Next time you hit the same point it'll be much easier.
Where are you based?

VWsurfbum

Cracking video that Javi, did you record it on your head cam as well?

Fridgeboy, cracking write up and well done for finishing!

fridgeboy

I'm in Winchester and have only been out (twice) along some of the bridlepaths around here. I don't know if there is anything like yesterday's terrain around here. I did hear there was something over at Stoke Park Wood at Bishopstoke which is not too far away. Anyone know what's there or if there is somewhere better in the area?