Mud Sweat & Gears 20....13!!!

evo3ben

Crap result at Codham for me. Not been too happy about it but to be honest its mostly my fault. Started on the front of the grid and shot off into 2nd place. Had a youth rider crash in front of me in the woods which put me back to 6th and near lost sight of 5th place. Gears started skipping on every hill and by the 3rd lap i was making 3 clicks on the shifter to get one gear change and then 5 min later it shifts on its own. Nothing like pushing up a hill and the gears decide to change to a harder gear with a big crunch. Guess my race wheels should be used more often other than racing to check gearing is ok :roll:
I gave up smoking last year but started having a few here and there a month or so ago and then a stag weekend got me back on them. Stupid i know and no lectures please but this seriously affected my fitness. I was so shocked how much it affected me and have not touched a fag since the race on sunday and hopefully never will again. Was a big kick up the backside of which i proberbly needed. So, finished 21st which in comparison to the last rounds result of 4th isnt too good for me personally. Hopefully me and the bike will be in better shape for Thetford and i can put a line through Codham.

As for the course itself, it was a great set up, extremely fun but super tough. Think that is the hardest MSG course i have raced on yet taking away my stupid skipping gear problem. Roll on Thetford!

WindyG

Was looking out for you Ben, didn't see you anywhere, I did notice your result & didn't think you'd be happy after the decent finish at Tunstall, there were a few others who finished a lot lower than I think they thought they would.

stylish

I did try and take some shots of riders on the berms in the morning race, but the sun was in the wrong place, you got a lot of glare on the picture, so i went back into the sand pit.

Dad will be back behind the lens for Thetford, so look out for a lens sticking out from underneath a hat, and smile as you go past.

evo3ben

WindyG wrote:

Was looking out for you Ben, didn't see you anywhere, I did notice your result & didn't think you'd be happy after the decent finish at Tunstall, there were a few others who finished a lot lower than I think they thought they would.

Couldnt see you anywhere either. Was fairly busy near the start though. Dissapointed in myself is the best way to discribe it. Alot of hard work and training and i go and fook it up with a few fags. Not going to happen again :x

How did the race go for you?

WindyG

evo3ben wrote:

Couldnt see you anywhere either. Was fairly busy near the start though. Dissapointed in myself is the best way to discribe it. Alot of hard work and training and i go and fook it up with a few fags. Not going to happen again :x

How did the race go for you?

Not bad for me came 43rd which for only my 6th race I was happy with, tried to get as far up as I could at the start, had a good couple of battles on the 2nd and 3rd laps, started to gain on a couple of riders near the end but my bike wasn't feeling right, thought it was the wrong tyre pressure, found out that my spokes were coming loose on my rear wheel! Was a tough race and I don't have age on my side either :-)

bigdawg

just a question for anyone that knows the answer - is it still 'illegal' to ride the Langdon Hills course - I know MTBs were pretty much banned from the forest and relagated to the bridleway, but that was a fair few years back, just wondered if anythings changed at all... A friend wants me toshow him round the course after I mentioned the two steep hills on the course..

stylish

Proud dad moment today, just seen on farcebook and Chainreactionhub one of the best pictures of a mountain bike racer in action, Team CCN rider Andy manning railing the big berm at Codham, taken by my 12 year old lad jack...

That is all...

bigdawg

how does a 12 year old get a shot like that and all the 'pro' shooters miss them!?

stylish

No idea, he was just in te right place at the right time, my dad has got some too, you will never find him on a fire road that's for sure!

bigdawg

haven't got a link to the picture have you??

WindyG

Here you go, it's a great picture.
http://www.chainreactionhub.com/mtb/802-team-ccn-at-round-two-of-mud-sweat-and-gears-xc-series

bigdawg

that is a really good shot - well done to the little guy..

IhateDNS

well done

CUBEical

bigdawg wrote:

here we go..


Sunday 19th May, Thetford Forest, Norfolk
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how much is it to enter this race ?

VWsurfbum

15 in advance 25 on the day

WindyG

Pre entry closes on Midnight Tues 14th

CUBEical

VWsurfbum wrote:

15 in advance 25 on the day

thats not bad i would love to do it just wont have my bike rebuilt by then will look out for more in the next few months

paulbingham

Well i've signed up for Thetford, and will probably sign up for Ickworth as well as both local to me. Does anyone know if Thetfords route is teh same as The one used in the Theford winter series races?
And whats Ickworths course like?

bigdawg

gonna skip thetford, purely because of the weather - but whipstakes starts the week after and beastway not long after that...

CUBEical

i will put this in this thread as it sounds like its the perfect place . i have only just got into mtb now aged 25. i am 14stone at 5 ft 10 so needing to get fit and just waiting to finish rebuilding my bike would it be good advice to get out there this year and just get used to it before i enter a race or is there going to be allot at Thetford , and any that i would fit into category wise ? thanks guys

CUBEical

i will put this in this thread as it sounds like its the perfect place . i have only just got into mtb now aged 25. i am 14stone at 5 ft 10 so needing to get fit and just waiting to finish rebuilding my bike would it be good advice to get out there this year and just get used to it before i enter a race or is there going to be allot at Thetford , and any that i would fit into category wise ? thanks guys

evo3ben

paulbingham wrote:

Well i've signed up for Thetford, and will probably sign up for Ickworth as well as both local to me. Does anyone know if Thetfords route is teh same as The one used in the Theford winter series races?
And whats Ickworths course like?

The main difference between the winter series and MSG is lap length. I think the same guys that help set up the winter series course are also helping Matt and G. So, yes i think the course will be more or less the same just shorter.
The good thing about Thetford is that it drains well so even though the weather doesnt look too good, the course should be ok.

evo3ben

CUBEical wrote:

i will put this in this thread as it sounds like its the perfect place . i have only just got into mtb now aged 25. i am 14stone at 5 ft 10 so needing to get fit and just waiting to finish rebuilding my bike would it be good advice to get out there this year and just get used to it before i enter a race or is there going to be allot at Thetford , and any that i would fit into category wise ? thanks guys

The category most suited to you would be the 'Open' category which is a 1hr race. If you intend on racing in MSG this is the category to start in. I must say though, it is still a very competitive category.
The best advice i can give is just go for it! You will learn so much from your first race with how it all works, your bike, your kit and yourself. If after your first race you feel that you need to get fitter before your next one then so be it. But racing is a great insentive and when you start getting better results from all the hard work you have put in in training, diet etc the satisfaction is great

WindyG

CUBEical everything is exactly as evo3ben says, I only started racing last year and my aim when I started was to finish and hope to not come last, I didn't and ever since I have been working on getting better results bear in mind I am lot old than you. Just go for it, if your really unsure just come down and watch, there are plenty of friendly riders around.

CUBEical

evo3ben wrote:

CUBEical wrote:

i will put this in this thread as it sounds like its the perfect place . i have only just got into mtb now aged 25. i am 14stone at 5 ft 10 so needing to get fit and just waiting to finish rebuilding my bike would it be good advice to get out there this year and just get used to it before i enter a race or is there going to be allot at Thetford , and any that i would fit into category wise ? thanks guys

The category most suited to you would be the 'Open' category which is a 1hr race. If you intend on racing in MSG this is the category to start in. I must say though, it is still a very competitive category.
The best advice i can give is just go for it! You will learn so much from your first race with how it all works, your bike, your kit and yourself. If after your first race you feel that you need to get fitter before your next one then so be it. But racing is a great incentive and when you start getting better results from all the hard work you have put in in training, diet etc the satisfaction is great

thanks ben means allot. just worried as the bike i have bruaght second hand has a 22inch frame so bit on the large side i am looking for a smaller one to transfer all the bits across but until i get money together this will have to do .just need to get out there and see get a bit fitter and then yeah ill enter one. is there seasons? or they all year round ? also i am a good photographer any one know who i would need to speak to about taking pictures at the events ? would be good to get the fill of it all to and also if im entered in one category can cover the others....

VWsurfbum

Enter the hour race, take pictures of the kiddies races and the 2hr race and sell on, pays for new frame!

you can thank me later.

CUBEical

Would I need to speak to organisers of the events ? Or could I just turn up?is there going to be more in thetford as thats the closest place to me .?

bigdawg

you can just turn up and race providing the open class isn't fully sold out - which as far as Im aware it never has been

They'll be literally 100s of people there for the various races the morning crowd will generally be a friendly go easy bunch, the afternoon crowd will be evil focused don't speak to anyone till im racing crowd (only kidding..!)

VWsurfbum

CUBEical wrote:

is there going to be more in thetford as thats the closest place to me .?

Only this one in this series, but there is other races there throughout the year.

CUBEical

bigdawg wrote:

you can just turn up and race providing the open class isn't fully sold out - which as far as Im aware it never has been

i meant to take pictures lol . would I need to speak to organisers if I want to take good quality pics ? of all the action