Beastway 2016

[JackCurzon]

Nice one Stan. Clearly your sprint power is on the up! I'm afraid I wasn't up for getting covered in mud and then spending forty minutes cleaning my bike in the dark...well not n a week night anyway. I'd pre-entered as well. Oh well.

[Steve Hanks]

Maybe all the Turbo work was worth it! Mind you, if I'd have got more long rides in over winter I might be able to carry on at the front for longer...

[Steve Hanks]

Good night last night with a dry Hog Hill and a more "swooping" course leading to some fast paced riding throughout. I felt flattered that a couple of the established Eastern Vets came and chatted to me and congratulated me on my recent good starts.

Little did I know this now meant I was a marked man off the start. Standing on the first row the entire front row jumped in front of me pre-whistle. I got an OK start, planning to go outside/inside and did so taking back several places to end up about 7/8th behind Jack, only to get bullied against the tape by those very same Vets to be pushed backwards again hmmm...

From then on it was a case of riding to the next target and picking them off. Unfortunately Jack had a mechanical, but then for me it was just a very enjoyable albeit hard ride to the finish, finally ending in a victorious (for 10th) sprint to the line.

Might have to miss next week but now it's off to Wales for some social riding and a couple of beers.

[Steve Hanks]

Well, its the Beastway finale on Saturday with Regional A level MTB racing starting at 2pm (U12/U9) and 4.30pm (Elite/sport/Vet etc). Its promised to be a big event with BBQ's, Beer tent and entertainment so feel fee to come along to Hog Hill and have a go , or just bring the kids/family for a laugh and a few burgers/beers to see what its all about.

A big theme is "reunion" of old to new, and although theres no pressure to race the beer may flow until late, Stuart I'm looking at you to represent 'Phoenix here as I'm also racing the next day so can't partake in beverages of an alcoholic nature

[NealMackintosh]

Went up to Beastway for this with my lad Fred. Not sure if we'd make it on time we were underprepared and had 15 mins to sign on for the 4:30 race. Working bikes were my rigid 29er ss and fred's steely 26. Being steel and Fred having grown about a foot since the last time i looked, we discovered at t-10 that the seat post had stuck...hasty negotiations with the centre's bike hire followed, very kindly we hired one for a discount so we'd still have cake money in change from a tenner.

We signed on in record time thanks to Mr and Mrs Bruce and pedalled off to the start where Fred lined up with the experts and juniors in front of the vets group i was in.
The start was a tarmac sprint up the hill from half way up the berg, I watched as fred headed up with his group, disappeared round a tree and then didn't emerge with the rest from the other side. My group went off and my ss seemed to be geared ok for mid pack speed. I spotted Fred with a chain off at the side of the track and wheeled round to help him out, that done we rode the first lap together to start with till he struggled with gears and climbing and i set off in pursuit of, well everyone.

The ss was great to ride and the gearing was only a bit over on the climbs. Control was hard when I almost stalled on a corner then had an up bit on the exit and it was an all out physical effort to get up the climb parallel to the hog on the far side of the course but i was gaining on other riders and didn't put a foot down for the first 2 or 3 laps. I could see Jack and Stan up ahead riding together and seemed to be holding the gap to them...then the sky darkened and a mighty storm smote the proceedings. Vision, breathing, cycling and orientation became problematic/laughable as rain coursed down my muddy shades and turned the top inch of dry clay to slippery slurry.
The bike was sliding everywhere and the tight single track stuff started to defeat me, my shoes were falling apart, my hands were hurting from gripping the juddering bars and i was wondering how Fred was coping. I saw an LP shirted rider with an upside down bike next to the downhill single track through the trees but couldn't see who.
As the storm passed and the steam was rising from the drenched track, I passed Fred who was struggling up the last bit before the cafe, I assumed he was done in and said he should get into the warm.
Everything was aching and what had been rideable was now getting harder with tiredness, lack of control and confidence, that inner voice berating my efforts...I was going to pack when the bell rung for the final lap and it would have been wrong to give up then. I struggled round and finished to see that Fred had just finished too, top effort riding through that in soggy trainers, with one glove and a blister on his hand, he said he'd enjoyed it and had thought of giving up until he'd realised that everyone was finding it hard and stopped overtaking him. Proud of him!
After demudding in the shower and faffing around, watching the podium ceremony, chatting to Russ, Jack and Stan we were pretty much last to leave. Bruce was pulling in the course markers having put in a serious shift prepping and running the day, truly top effort, chapeau.
Really good fun, going to get some better gloves/bar grips and give it another go at some point...

[Steve Hanks]

That was me, suffering three punctures and a loose tubeless valve ended my race series with a DNF.

Good writeup Neal, I often think the roadies imagine XC racing to be a bit of fun in the woods, but I think you've ex-communicated that myth rather well.

[JackCurzon]

Yep I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. My head (and legs?) weren't in the game but I had a new bike which had to be ridden! For me the XCO format (i.e. 1.5hrs) meant I was very concerned about pacing myself and really I wasn't in it to win it (or place) so going just under full gas was ok with me.

Sprint start up the hill, let a couple riders through who I knew to be faster and then decided to sit on Stan's wheel. However, he was being held up by the person ahead so after a lap or so punched pass before the 'new' twisty bits at the top end of the course.

From therein it was the usual riding in a bubble, passing and being passed until the mother of all deluges of rain decided to fall midway through. At one point it was totally impossible to see through my specs so they got pocketed. This helped with my bearings but not getting through the now super slippery sections of single track. Hard to get a rhythm through in the dry, in the wet a total nightmare. I think I fell of two or three times as my front wheel drifted into muddy oblivions. In hindsight perhaps stopping to drop some tire pressure may have helped. Saw Neil a few times as we went round - no idea he was on single speed but was concerned he'd catch me, which since he stopped to help Fred he probably would've done (no shame to be caught by Neil though!)

Lessons/thoughts:
Loved my SID's lock out which I used regaularly on the long up hill round the back of the course. It felt so much faster out the saddle that I've bought a remote lockout upgrade.

The Vet winner finished 13ish minutes ahead. I'm unfit, rusty skilled but even with training...13 minutes???

Hard tails aren't as unforgiving as I thought. Definitely race weapon of choice for 90 minute events.

Avg bpm for the race 169 (92% max) when I was pacing myself. Crazy. Nothing motivates me to do those sort of efforts outside of racing.

Really hope I can do the series competitively next year.


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