Now announced with an additional South East set of venues / league namely SEXC, MSG Eastern series starts again early March. A full set of BC accredited categories are available for one of the best organise regional series you could hope for. Dates and some venues some still TBA are:
Sunday 6th March – TBC
Sunday 27th March – South East – TBC
Sunday 17th April – TBC
Sunday 8th May – TBC
Sunday 22nd May – South East – TBC
Sunday 5th June – Hadleigh Park, Essex – Combined East and South East Regional Champs
Sunday 3rd July – Carver Barracks, Essex
Sunday 31st July – Ickworth House, Suffolk
Sunday 21st August – Radical Bikes, Essex
Sunday 4th September – South East – TBC
Sunday 25th September – Langdon Hills, Essex
Online entry available from 1st January 2016
Entries open via BC on 1st January, keep an eye on http://www.mudsweatgears.co.uk
Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
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Steve Hanks
- Posts: 2735
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:34 pm
- Mobile phone: 07421002430
- summary email: yes
- Location: Enfield
-
Steve Hanks
- Posts: 2735
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:34 pm
- Mobile phone: 07421002430
- summary email: yes
- Location: Enfield
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
So the new series has updates, and entries to both the Eastern & Southern series are available from Jan 1 with an Early Bird offer: Notes from MSG as follows:
Entry for 2016 goes live on January 1st. We have tried really hard to keep prices as low as we can although we have had to bring in some increase. This is mainly due to rising costs for renting land, where we are constantly being squeezed. To put that in perspective what we used to pay as a maximum is now very much the norm, and we are having to pay more in many cases. Sadly there is nothing we can do about that.
We've had to change the early bird offer slightly to a 20% discount rather than the old 8:4:6, but it still represents fantastic value, and we are hoping to have a bonus element to the early season entry later on. Don't worry you will still get it even if you have already entered, so no need to hang back.
Enter the full series by Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 11:59pm and get 20% off the total bill!
To enter the entire series and take advantage of the 20% off offer please use the blue entry button above/below, continue to enter round 1 as per usual, when you come to select the rider you will be given the option to enter the entire series at the reduced 20% price. Select this option and continue to payment. You will have now entered the entire series for 2016.
This offer only includes the 8 Eastern events that make up part of the MSG series. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE the two South East MSG events, special offer to pre-season entrants coming!
The entries are non-transferrable and can only be used by the person registering.
Refunds on series entries are only available up to Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 11:59pm.
MSG 2016 Dates and Venues - CHANGES
1) We have decided not to return to Thetford in 2016, simply due to the level of harvesting and the resultant over use of the remaining trail network.
2) Something similar has happened at Shouldham.
3) Several months of negotiation and investigation with the National Trust coming to nowt.
4) Hadleigh Park have been awarded a UCI Junior World Cup Round, which we are seriously excited about. Unfortunately it was on one of our agreed dates so that led to a complete rejig and several renegotiations so we could move things about to fit it all in.
5) Having relinquished the promotion of a National round to allow us to concentrate on the South East in 2016 it would appear that we now have a the much bigger task of potentially assisting with the Junior World Cup round.
We are very pleased to be starting the season at a brand new venue on the outskirts of Ipswich, (not least because it means we won't be sleeping in a tent in early March!) This is a venue on a farm, and we are very keen to make a good impression and therefore build an ongoing relationship for the future.
We've also managed to get Langdon Hills back into the calendar after losing it to local authority cuts last year. We think it’s going to be a lot more work than usual, but we're really glad to be book ending the season with one brand new venue and one perennial favourite.
We still have one venue that's in negotiation, but we are hoping to be breaking new ground with it and hopefully will be in a position to announce something on that soon.
That apart we've pushed both Carver Barrack and Ickworth further back in the calendar so hopefully we get to see them in a better light. Also very pleased to be going back to Henham, Radical and Hadleigh (just the once this year). We are very conscious that this year’s series is taking on a distinctly South Western aspect in the region. So to our Naaarthen friends we can only apologise. It is far from deliberate, but circumstances have just led us along this path. We haven't fallen out with anyone and we continue to seek suitable venues in the North East of the region. At least one will be back with us in 2017 for sure.
PLEASE NOTE that our first event on in the South East will run on the Saturday 26th March of Easter weekend.As our TBC venues become confirmed our FB and Twitter page along with the website and newsletter will be updated so make sure you follow us to keep up to date with all the MSG news!
Sunday 6th March – Eastern - TBC
Saturday 26th March – South East – TBC
Sunday 17th April – Henham Park, Suffolk
Sunday 8th May – Eastern - TBC
Sunday 22nd May – South East – TBC
Sunday 5th June – Hadleigh Park, Essex – Combined East and South East Regional Champs
Sunday 3rd July – Carver Barracks, Essex
Sunday 21st August – Radical Bikes, Essex
Sunday 4th September – Ickworth House, Suffolk
Sunday 25th September – Langdon Hills, Essex
Newbie Doobie Doo
Last year we ran our first newbie event at Hadleigh Park. Over the years we've figured out that it’s actually quite daunting to make that first move into racing. You roll up knowing nothing probably totally unprepared physically, or mentally, and the learning commences once that whistle goes. Which if you think about it is utterly daft. So MSG Coaching team decided that we'd like to try to ease that process.
So with that in mind it was a cold and dismal February day which 25 shiny new prospective racers showed up to neither they, nor to be fair we, really had any idea what was going to happen. We had planned, and basically had created the day around what might happen on race day. So we registered the event with British Cycling, so the first challenge was online entry. Then on the day the riders rolled up for registration and picking up their number, just like for real. We then had a commissaire come and speak about who and what the comms team are what they do, and gave a basic understanding of the rules. Once that was done, we had a bike work shop where everyone's bikes were checked over and minor adjustments and repairs were carried out. We also issued a few advisories on things that needed doing before racing for real.
Then a series of coaching sessions on various aspects of what they need to do, including warm ups and practice (which doesn't incidentally involve setting a PB on the course). Then as the day drew to a close we had a short race just to get the juices flowing.
With new friends made, we waved goodbye and settled down to see what might happen. Well frankly we couldn't believe it. Virtually all of the Newbie's rocked up and tried their hand at, at least one race. More than half have carried on a turned into MSG regulars. One even got themselves into the Eastern region Youth team for the Inter Regional champs.
Thats all for now, hope to see plenty of the LP MTB'ers representing the club in this one!
Steve
Entry for 2016 goes live on January 1st. We have tried really hard to keep prices as low as we can although we have had to bring in some increase. This is mainly due to rising costs for renting land, where we are constantly being squeezed. To put that in perspective what we used to pay as a maximum is now very much the norm, and we are having to pay more in many cases. Sadly there is nothing we can do about that.
We've had to change the early bird offer slightly to a 20% discount rather than the old 8:4:6, but it still represents fantastic value, and we are hoping to have a bonus element to the early season entry later on. Don't worry you will still get it even if you have already entered, so no need to hang back.
Enter the full series by Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 11:59pm and get 20% off the total bill!
To enter the entire series and take advantage of the 20% off offer please use the blue entry button above/below, continue to enter round 1 as per usual, when you come to select the rider you will be given the option to enter the entire series at the reduced 20% price. Select this option and continue to payment. You will have now entered the entire series for 2016.
This offer only includes the 8 Eastern events that make up part of the MSG series. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE the two South East MSG events, special offer to pre-season entrants coming!
The entries are non-transferrable and can only be used by the person registering.
Refunds on series entries are only available up to Tuesday 1st March 2016 at 11:59pm.
MSG 2016 Dates and Venues - CHANGES
1) We have decided not to return to Thetford in 2016, simply due to the level of harvesting and the resultant over use of the remaining trail network.
2) Something similar has happened at Shouldham.
3) Several months of negotiation and investigation with the National Trust coming to nowt.
4) Hadleigh Park have been awarded a UCI Junior World Cup Round, which we are seriously excited about. Unfortunately it was on one of our agreed dates so that led to a complete rejig and several renegotiations so we could move things about to fit it all in.
5) Having relinquished the promotion of a National round to allow us to concentrate on the South East in 2016 it would appear that we now have a the much bigger task of potentially assisting with the Junior World Cup round.
We are very pleased to be starting the season at a brand new venue on the outskirts of Ipswich, (not least because it means we won't be sleeping in a tent in early March!) This is a venue on a farm, and we are very keen to make a good impression and therefore build an ongoing relationship for the future.
We've also managed to get Langdon Hills back into the calendar after losing it to local authority cuts last year. We think it’s going to be a lot more work than usual, but we're really glad to be book ending the season with one brand new venue and one perennial favourite.
We still have one venue that's in negotiation, but we are hoping to be breaking new ground with it and hopefully will be in a position to announce something on that soon.
That apart we've pushed both Carver Barrack and Ickworth further back in the calendar so hopefully we get to see them in a better light. Also very pleased to be going back to Henham, Radical and Hadleigh (just the once this year). We are very conscious that this year’s series is taking on a distinctly South Western aspect in the region. So to our Naaarthen friends we can only apologise. It is far from deliberate, but circumstances have just led us along this path. We haven't fallen out with anyone and we continue to seek suitable venues in the North East of the region. At least one will be back with us in 2017 for sure.
PLEASE NOTE that our first event on in the South East will run on the Saturday 26th March of Easter weekend.As our TBC venues become confirmed our FB and Twitter page along with the website and newsletter will be updated so make sure you follow us to keep up to date with all the MSG news!
Sunday 6th March – Eastern - TBC
Saturday 26th March – South East – TBC
Sunday 17th April – Henham Park, Suffolk
Sunday 8th May – Eastern - TBC
Sunday 22nd May – South East – TBC
Sunday 5th June – Hadleigh Park, Essex – Combined East and South East Regional Champs
Sunday 3rd July – Carver Barracks, Essex
Sunday 21st August – Radical Bikes, Essex
Sunday 4th September – Ickworth House, Suffolk
Sunday 25th September – Langdon Hills, Essex
Newbie Doobie Doo
Last year we ran our first newbie event at Hadleigh Park. Over the years we've figured out that it’s actually quite daunting to make that first move into racing. You roll up knowing nothing probably totally unprepared physically, or mentally, and the learning commences once that whistle goes. Which if you think about it is utterly daft. So MSG Coaching team decided that we'd like to try to ease that process.
So with that in mind it was a cold and dismal February day which 25 shiny new prospective racers showed up to neither they, nor to be fair we, really had any idea what was going to happen. We had planned, and basically had created the day around what might happen on race day. So we registered the event with British Cycling, so the first challenge was online entry. Then on the day the riders rolled up for registration and picking up their number, just like for real. We then had a commissaire come and speak about who and what the comms team are what they do, and gave a basic understanding of the rules. Once that was done, we had a bike work shop where everyone's bikes were checked over and minor adjustments and repairs were carried out. We also issued a few advisories on things that needed doing before racing for real.
Then a series of coaching sessions on various aspects of what they need to do, including warm ups and practice (which doesn't incidentally involve setting a PB on the course). Then as the day drew to a close we had a short race just to get the juices flowing.
With new friends made, we waved goodbye and settled down to see what might happen. Well frankly we couldn't believe it. Virtually all of the Newbie's rocked up and tried their hand at, at least one race. More than half have carried on a turned into MSG regulars. One even got themselves into the Eastern region Youth team for the Inter Regional champs.
Thats all for now, hope to see plenty of the LP MTB'ers representing the club in this one!
Steve
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Steve Hanks
- Posts: 2735
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:34 pm
- Mobile phone: 07421002430
- summary email: yes
- Location: Enfield
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
So this Sunday 22nd sees a return to Lee Valley or the original "Beastway" site. For a one off MSG special. There's some videos of the new trails MSG are carving out for Lee Valley in an agreement to improve the site and leave it as such after the race.
Early FB videos looks flat, with some of the racing going right up to the barriers on the A roads before descending back down onto then site. Should be fun.
Early FB videos looks flat, with some of the racing going right up to the barriers on the A roads before descending back down onto then site. Should be fun.
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JackCurzon
- MTB Secretary
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- Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:53 pm
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- summary email: yes
- Location: Romford, Essex
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
I've entered this purely on the basis of seeing how they've managed it. Better fit my road bike stem!
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
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Chris Clague
- Posts: 2111
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
...and bars if you want to pass anyone
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Steve Hanks
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- Location: Enfield
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Yup, looks like the sprint off the line will be key...
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Steve Hanks
- Posts: 2735
- Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:34 pm
- Mobile phone: 07421002430
- summary email: yes
- Location: Enfield
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Well, Rd 4 at the old/new Eastway circuit happened today. It was warm, dry and very gravel-y. People have complained that the new MTB trails there are tame, they might be, but not at race speed and not with a soft conditions tyre up front...
I attended today with Jack Curzon. After nervously leading Beastway Vets off the line last week after a great sprint then blowing up, I thought Id try to calm my starting sprint in favour of more energy later - WRONG! I started beside Jack and as we turned left on the tarmac got slammed into to a barrier by the rear of the pack losing most of my momentum and losing places as a result. Because of the narrow single track where passing was difficult and the importance of taking places at the start, I then had to make an extra effort to gain 4 places back, filing onto the singletrack 3 places begin Jack. After about 3 laps I lost more time (30 secs per lap) taking a B line after mentally bottling the A line in practise aargh! I could still see Jack but saved myself until lap 5 (of 7) whereby I though " right, now I've so space lets get going". That was all fine until my front wheel washed out unexpectedly on lap 6 and down I went - hard. Gravel rash all up my l/h leg elbow and hip (luckily the bike and my shorts are fine) and it really hurt - its going to be stiff and bruised for a few days.
I counted 6 riders go past me whilst i was pulling myself out of the rocks, so had to make a fair effort to take 2 back before the finish, 25th for me of only 31 Vets and behind two people I lead in MSG and Beastway usually. Ah well, thats racing I s'pose.
I now have a beer in hand to calm the stinging mess of my knee, and the cricket ball sized protrusion which has appeared on my thigh.
It could be worse!
I attended today with Jack Curzon. After nervously leading Beastway Vets off the line last week after a great sprint then blowing up, I thought Id try to calm my starting sprint in favour of more energy later - WRONG! I started beside Jack and as we turned left on the tarmac got slammed into to a barrier by the rear of the pack losing most of my momentum and losing places as a result. Because of the narrow single track where passing was difficult and the importance of taking places at the start, I then had to make an extra effort to gain 4 places back, filing onto the singletrack 3 places begin Jack. After about 3 laps I lost more time (30 secs per lap) taking a B line after mentally bottling the A line in practise aargh! I could still see Jack but saved myself until lap 5 (of 7) whereby I though " right, now I've so space lets get going". That was all fine until my front wheel washed out unexpectedly on lap 6 and down I went - hard. Gravel rash all up my l/h leg elbow and hip (luckily the bike and my shorts are fine) and it really hurt - its going to be stiff and bruised for a few days.
I counted 6 riders go past me whilst i was pulling myself out of the rocks, so had to make a fair effort to take 2 back before the finish, 25th for me of only 31 Vets and behind two people I lead in MSG and Beastway usually. Ah well, thats racing I s'pose.
I now have a beer in hand to calm the stinging mess of my knee, and the cricket ball sized protrusion which has appeared on my thigh.
It could be worse!-
JackCurzon
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
A surprisingly good course I thought. A long and wide start chute (at least 400m) meant the initial crush in to the single track wasn't anywhere near as bad as I feared and having got an OK start didn't get caught behind any particularly slow riders. Having not done any racing or intervals since February I had no idea how I'd go so I was pleased to be able to sustain my effort over the 7 laps (which was helped by the lack of gradient). My back is aching like anything today but thoroughly enjoyed participating. Hopefully Beastway Wednesday.
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238
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JackCurzon
- MTB Secretary
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
MSG
Did the Mud Sweat and Gears round 7(?) at Radical Cycles, Blackmore yesterday. I feared a windy muddy day but fortunately only got the former. The course was 10% flat grass track running beside fields (with a hefty headwind) and then 90% flat single track in a wood. This would have been 'extremely tedious' had it not been for a few nice steep drops so only turned out to be 'somewhat tedious'.
Anyway started on the last row of the grid and finished the event mid pack. I had one arse over tit moment on the second lap when my front wheel washed out on a very innocuous looking loamy flat corner. Will definitely be replacing the Specialized Ground Control front tire. It really has no cornering bite on any surface imo. Although annoyed and slightly concussed, got up and persevered. By lap four I was, well, pretty bored and seriously questioning why I was doing this (hangover probably not helping motivation). Fortunately, I found a quicker wheel to chase and stuck with it till end. Race over, back aches, suppose I'll be doing it again on the 4th Sept. Hopefully something with even a moderate elevation change to make it more interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did the Mud Sweat and Gears round 7(?) at Radical Cycles, Blackmore yesterday. I feared a windy muddy day but fortunately only got the former. The course was 10% flat grass track running beside fields (with a hefty headwind) and then 90% flat single track in a wood. This would have been 'extremely tedious' had it not been for a few nice steep drops so only turned out to be 'somewhat tedious'.
Anyway started on the last row of the grid and finished the event mid pack. I had one arse over tit moment on the second lap when my front wheel washed out on a very innocuous looking loamy flat corner. Will definitely be replacing the Specialized Ground Control front tire. It really has no cornering bite on any surface imo. Although annoyed and slightly concussed, got up and persevered. By lap four I was, well, pretty bored and seriously questioning why I was doing this (hangover probably not helping motivation). Fortunately, I found a quicker wheel to chase and stuck with it till end. Race over, back aches, suppose I'll be doing it again on the 4th Sept. Hopefully something with even a moderate elevation change to make it more interesting.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238
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JackCurzon
- MTB Secretary
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- Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:53 pm
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- Location: Romford, Essex
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
...and a bit less canopy cover!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238
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JackCurzon
- MTB Secretary
- Posts: 906
- Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:53 pm
- Mobile phone: 07811409238
- summary email: yes
- Location: Romford, Essex
Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Two weeks ago I rode round 8 of the Mud Sweat and Gears mtb series at Ickworth house in Suffolk with Stan. Didn’t get a chance to post this then as I was going on holiday. So here we go…
This is an untechnical gently undulating woodland course with one short sharp grass climb after the start and a few damp draggy bits mid circuit to really suck the will out of your legs. Pleasingly, unlike the previous round, there was plenty of space to pass riders making moving up after the start only a question of motivation and fitness.
I arrived late so only got time to briefly warm up and ride the two very easy A lines at the end of the lap. Stan reassured me there was nothing technically challenging elsewhere. Legs felt a bit wooden but this is usually how they feel so I just hoped the adrenaline would get me going (it did). Not being gridded meant it was the usual handlebar and elbows fight at the start. Narrowly avoided an off when Stan, whom I was following, was t-boned in a most unnecessary manner and ground to a halt. From then on it was hold on and dig deep, which I managed for about three laps. At this point I realised I wasn't reeling in the wheel ahead and lacked the oomph to keep pushing on at 95%+ HR, so set about managing my own effort and trying to hold the gap. This seems to have been the right choice as I found my laps times didn't drop off (much) for the remaining duration of the race. Finished 11th.
Still losing time and momentum in anything vaguely twisty or sticky. Fork lockout really makes the bike feel quicker on the flats and ups. Very happy with its new bar mounted lever as it gave my left hand something to do. Last round this Sunday at Langdon Hills.
This is an untechnical gently undulating woodland course with one short sharp grass climb after the start and a few damp draggy bits mid circuit to really suck the will out of your legs. Pleasingly, unlike the previous round, there was plenty of space to pass riders making moving up after the start only a question of motivation and fitness.
I arrived late so only got time to briefly warm up and ride the two very easy A lines at the end of the lap. Stan reassured me there was nothing technically challenging elsewhere. Legs felt a bit wooden but this is usually how they feel so I just hoped the adrenaline would get me going (it did). Not being gridded meant it was the usual handlebar and elbows fight at the start. Narrowly avoided an off when Stan, whom I was following, was t-boned in a most unnecessary manner and ground to a halt. From then on it was hold on and dig deep, which I managed for about three laps. At this point I realised I wasn't reeling in the wheel ahead and lacked the oomph to keep pushing on at 95%+ HR, so set about managing my own effort and trying to hold the gap. This seems to have been the right choice as I found my laps times didn't drop off (much) for the remaining duration of the race. Finished 11th.
Still losing time and momentum in anything vaguely twisty or sticky. Fork lockout really makes the bike feel quicker on the flats and ups. Very happy with its new bar mounted lever as it gave my left hand something to do. Last round this Sunday at Langdon Hills.
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238
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Steve Hanks
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Still losing time and momentum in anything vaguely twisty or sticky.
Oh dear, you could be in for a shock, twisty rooty and very technical this weekend. At least rain is forecast to make the roots lethal... Oh wait......Langdon Hills.
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JackCurzon
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Sigh. Muddy tire purchase required perhaps?
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238
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Steve Hanks
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Phew. I'm glad thats over. The final round today was a Langdon hills - the clue being in the name. As soon as I rode the practise lap with Jack I knew this would be a bogey round for me - a 3.5 mile consisting of climb after climb after climb, ending the lap with - guess what - a bigger climb! Ok there was some pretty sweet single track going down between the climbs but is seems to be over in a flash. So, not being strong at hills was to be a disadvantage.
The start was a grassy ramp to flat, around a bend and up a - you guessed it - steep climb, around another corner and up another climb, then into an A line descent with some pretty tasty steps to jump off. I didn't get my desired starting position as I was ordered by a Comm to start on the "outside" and I want to be inside, then again I messed up by not clipping in, "sprinting" the first ramp up off the start as a single leg drill, before getting onto the flat and clipped in for a second bite at the cherry. Jack got that inside line on the second climb and consequently made places.
Then, its was suffering until then end, with the final climb of the final lap pretty much at walking pace I was glad to see the chequered flag TBH. I did have a dice with Dave Green of Haleigh MTB - we've been swapping places all year but he lost his get up an go on lap 4, as guess he was suffering the hills worse than me. But we both lost a place to Mike May-Gillings, whose always shown strength on hills but a low pace on the flat and usually behind me at Beastway - unfortunately there was little flat to reel him in.
Anyway., its been a fantastic mostly-dry series, just need better legs for next year. I'm off to blow the dust of my bike, which as I discovered when I got home the rear wheel wasn't tightened up, thank god for through-axles.
The start was a grassy ramp to flat, around a bend and up a - you guessed it - steep climb, around another corner and up another climb, then into an A line descent with some pretty tasty steps to jump off. I didn't get my desired starting position as I was ordered by a Comm to start on the "outside" and I want to be inside, then again I messed up by not clipping in, "sprinting" the first ramp up off the start as a single leg drill, before getting onto the flat and clipped in for a second bite at the cherry. Jack got that inside line on the second climb and consequently made places.
Then, its was suffering until then end, with the final climb of the final lap pretty much at walking pace I was glad to see the chequered flag TBH. I did have a dice with Dave Green of Haleigh MTB - we've been swapping places all year but he lost his get up an go on lap 4, as guess he was suffering the hills worse than me. But we both lost a place to Mike May-Gillings, whose always shown strength on hills but a low pace on the flat and usually behind me at Beastway - unfortunately there was little flat to reel him in.
Anyway., its been a fantastic mostly-dry series, just need better legs for next year. I'm off to blow the dust of my bike, which as I discovered when I got home the rear wheel wasn't tightened up, thank god for through-axles.
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JackCurzon
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Re: Mud Sweat and Gears 2016
Today was the last round of the 2016 Mud Sweat and Gears mountain bike series hosted at Langdon Hills and oh what a BEAST it was! With ~160m climbing a lap it just felt like all up with a little down before going up again. Compared the previous rounds I'd competed in this was a rude awakening - a proper XC mtb course.
I set about the task with vigour moving up quickly on the first lap but for whatever reason I just couldn't find the motivation to suffer and the climbs were really getting the better of me. Halfway through lap two I was seriously questioning whether or not I had the will to finish - which I did in 16th; solid mid pack. Most frustrating was the time I saw myself loosing on the first two laps in the technical sections. I slowed down and road smoother and I improved as the race progressed.
Lots to work on over winter. Stamina to go harder for longer, strength to go up faster and bike handling to stop losing time. Gardening is looking like a very appealing new hobby...
I set about the task with vigour moving up quickly on the first lap but for whatever reason I just couldn't find the motivation to suffer and the climbs were really getting the better of me. Halfway through lap two I was seriously questioning whether or not I had the will to finish - which I did in 16th; solid mid pack. Most frustrating was the time I saw myself loosing on the first two laps in the technical sections. I slowed down and road smoother and I improved as the race progressed.
Lots to work on over winter. Stamina to go harder for longer, strength to go up faster and bike handling to stop losing time. Gardening is looking like a very appealing new hobby...
"Great minds think alike, idiots seldom differ"
Mobs: 07811 409238
Mobs: 07811 409238