It’s TickerTape this Sunday.
We’re riding Spoons.
The course has been modified (for this month only) to add a little spice, and mix things up a bit.
The changes add speed (to the fastest trail we’ve got) so lycra and bullet helmets may be an advantage.
I’m joking of course, bullet helmets help no-one. ever.
Timing starts at 11 and will run until 3.
As always, there’s plenty to play for so bring some beans* and your shouting voice too.
Members only, full face helmet and a working bike needed to take part.
Oh and some beans, don’t forget the beans!

*Beans have been proven to be far more effective than Gnar, Shred, Rip and even Gunning It.

Sunday 25th of July will see the second Dinner ’til Dusk event at The Allotment. Utilising much of the same course as the last time (but with an all new, much less brutal, main climb) the event will run from 14:00 until 17:00 with the course open for practice from 13:00.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event it is a mini- enduro. Each solo rider or team aims to do as many laps of the course as they can in the three hours with prizes awarded for the riders who have given the most ‘beans’ during the event, whether through determination, enthusiasm or by helping to generate a great atmosphere.

While it is helpful to know in advance who is and isn’t coming (to build the essential culture of teasing and abuse) it is fine to come along on the day with no warning and no teammates!

The event is suitable for anyone: downhillers, social XC riders, stag dos, corporate team building groups, nuns, pirates…….

This is fast becoming a classic and we can’t wait for this years event!

Check out our write up from last year here

Tired of waiting all year round for set2rise? Keen to prove that the only reason you’re at the back on night rides is because you don’t know where you are going? Wish you owned a full face so that you could get your (non)competitive fix at the allotment?

Cross country riders – be sad no more! From Sunday the 25^th of April 2010, you too will have your own non-competitive (yeah right!) event at which you can spend the afternoon at the Allotment whizzing around adapted versions of the Allotment’s trails.

The event in question is “Dinner ’til Dusk” a three hour mini enduro where solo racers and teams lap the Allotment and surrounding area on a twenty minute circuit containing singletrack, fast descents, badger attacks and less climbing than descending*.

The event is open to all, but as all cross country riders know, downhill riders are too chicken and too lazy to compete. Ideally the teams will either be solo riders or pairs, but if people want to take part as a bigger team please get in touch.

The event will start at 13:00 and will finish at 16:00 giving plenty of opportunity to change into dinner jackets and ball gowns for the evening’s AGM.

Hope to see you there.

*not true.

Two months is a long time, especially when it’s practically three! It feels like ages since we last rode between the tapes so it was great to see BBMS lined in red and white and the usual hustle and bustle of TickerTape.

Ben Lovell, Bob Darvill and Jack Howe took the beans awards after an awesome day. Ben clocked up almost non stop runs getting better every time. Bob put in a really great effort for his first TickerTape, riding a different bike each run but giving it his all. Jack (the scruffy looking one in the middle) only managed a couple of runs but schooled most of us with his distinct riding style as he silently pumped his way down the tree lined course.

A special mention should go to Ben Batt (triple crown champion) , who always rides as if his life depends on it, putting in some blisteringly fast times, one of which was with a blow out only 2/3 of the way into the run!!!

Southerndownhill.com sorted us out with some great prizes and even brought along a back up pit tent in case it rained! Their new race bikes were rarely given a rest as everyone had a go at testing them out , so thanks to Neil and Rob for being so generous.

After the event had finished a few of us sessioned onefourthree then ’spork’ before calling it a day and going home.

Over 20 people made it out in the end, a great total considering that we had some notable absentees, next TickerTape should be even better thanks to the days being longer and warmer too so check out the club calendar for details!

For more pictures from the event check out the BCC flickr pool here

Last night a group of 8 of us huddled around a table at the Horse and Groom to thrash out some ideas of how we can all get to Alpe d’Huez to race “The Mega”.

For those of you who didn’t manage to get there, or are still waiting to be convinced that it’s a good idea, this is a summary of our estimated costs and arrangements thanks largely to the past experience of 4 time Mega veteran, Simon ‘Big Burd’ Truelove:

Transport

£75-100 per person

We’re planning to take a number of cars and vans over the channel and drive the 787 miles from Somerset to Alpe d’Huez. This will cost approximately £300-400 per car (including fuel, tolls and ferry/tunnel),vans may cost a bit more, but the total travel costs will to be shared between everyone. Flying was considered but this is typically far more expensive (~£200 per person) and would also include the faff of organising transfers, hire cars and a sedative laced burger to get Ben Irons onto a plane.

We have 2 vans lined up for sure (taking up to 5 people and ~10/12 bikes), but we’ll obviously need some cars too. Driving will be shared so that no one person is left having to do a non stop death-grip challenge the whole way.

Accommodation

£15-20 per night

Based upon 4 sharing a small self catering apartment. Some may prefer to stay in slightly more swanky surroundings, and this will certainly be possible, but the std accommodation need not be very expensive. Once we’ve got a firm idea of numbers, and lengths of stay, we’ll be able to book this up (April ish).

The event

During “Mega week” there are actually 3 events:

1. Avalanche Enduro Vaujany (event similar to the Afan Mash Up or the event held at Kielder forest last year – a circuit ride where you only get time on the downhills)
2. Avalanche Cup Oz en Oisans (a full-on, super steep, super tech downhill race)
3. The Megavalanche (mass start downhill race starting on the glacier (pic blanc) and descending for 1 hour +)

The program for the week is as follows:

Monday July 5

Avalanche Enduro Vaujany (Seeding run)

Tuesday July 6

Avalanche Enduro Vaujany (Race)
Avalanche Cup Oz en Oisans (Practice)

Wednesday July 7

Avalanche Cup Oz en Oisans (Race)

Thursday July 8

‘Bike Speed’ (we don’t know what that is either, but it sounds very french!)
Megavalanche (Free practice)

Friday July 9

Megavalanche (Qualifying races)

Saturday July 10

Megavalanche (Mega Ladies – Mega Challengers – Mega Amateurs – Mega Affinity)

Sunday July 11

Megavalanche (Mega Affinity)

Some people are keen to take part in the full weeks program of events while others are more focused on the Mega but are keen to go and have a taste of the Les Gets and Morzine trails too. So, we may go out in two groups, some going from Saturday 3rd July to Monday 12th July and others going from Wednesday 7th July to Wednesday 14th July (including travel).

Cost of entry/Lift pass

£64-119

This is obviously dependant on how many of the events you choose to enter (prices converted from Euro’s and are subject to currency fluctuation).

Other costs & considerations

Safety wear

More info

And finally…

We’ll add to this as and when we get any more information, but the Mega discussion will be on the club forum here: http://www.southerndownhill.com/forum/index.php/topic,201995.0.html so do check it out if you want to get involved.

I have heard it said that the reason downhill is such a great sport is because it’s social and friendly – you’re only racing against the clock. This cannot be said of today’s Tickertape:

Firstly we were all battling against the rain, sloppy mud, and mechanicals. Bird was against Jim, Neil against Denham, Denham against a tree, Dave against himself, our shoes against traction, Sam (Wells) refusing to compete against anyone.

Sam and James were competing – to be muddier or crash better than the other while Will & Ben Batt were against full runs, preferring not to not finish each run rather than go any less than 168%.

Highlights of the day included very vocal support (or abuse), shouts of “PEDAL” to those with no chain, Ben’s MC Hammer trousers, everybody going on everyone else’s bikes, Will “sending” the biggest of the Spork drops and finally the Cobble Wobble King surprising himself by enjoying the wet – and snatching the fastest time of the day right at the death.

Now I might have left this a bit too late, but… I hope to put together a 2010 Black Canon Collective Calendar which will be ready in time for Christmas! The calendar will be sold for a reasonable sum to raise funds for some of the projects which we are working on (skills area and Groovy Blue trail). Now we are dealing with a very short time scale and I need pictures FAST! I want the calendar to show all the different aspects of bike riding (XC, DH, Velodrome, cobble wobble) digging, racing or general ride related faffing that BCC members get themselves into. The only rule is that the photo must be of a BCC member and it must be of sufficient quality to be printed on A5, but the rest is up to you. To have any hope of this project working, I need YOU to get all your best photos and upload them onto the Black Canon Collective Flickr account before Sunday 15th November.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/blackcanoncollective/pool/

A select panel of judges will then select the finest 12 photos for the Calendar.

If you have any questions please e mail me on simon.truelove@blackcanoncollective.co.uk

Ta

Simon

We’ll be publishing the results with category breakdown over the weekend.

Prizes will be awarded on Saturday 26/09/09 to the King of the Cobbles, and the winner and runner up in each class.

Red cells mean that we have no category info for that rider, so if your category info is missing, send us an e-mail by Friday 25th and we’ll update the results.