That’s the new name for a Longleat Litter-pick XC ride. It’s what we do with binbags, rucksacks and bikes in the Longleat forest sometimes. You ride off in pairs to a designated corner of the forest with a binbag lining the largest rucksack you can find, and then each fills the other’s rucksack with loadsalitter. A simple idea which marries a social XC ride with some seriously good PR and a healthy dose of that greater-good inner glow we all crave.
We had a great turn-out of riders, but the odd number of 13 meant that someone either went solo (which doesn’t really work) or joined a pair. So that’s what happened: a threesome disappeared off towards Sheppards Woods and some daisy-chain sack-filling took place. It was a beautiful thing.
In a little over two hours we pooled our findings in Longleat’s main car park, there to meet with Longleat staff who’d take it off our hands and dispose of it. To our surprise we’d collected well over 25 binbags full of rubbish, almost filling Andrew’s van, and too much for the Longleat staff to fit in the truck they’d brought to take it away. And what a variety of detritus: a door, a car shock-absorber, an oil drum, a hoover, a cistern… not to mention the usual array of Monster cans, KFC wrappers and lucozade bottles.
Especial thanks must to Gordon, Clare and young Dylan who made a bee-line for the Crockerton area (a litter hot-spot) and collected so much rubbish they couldn’t fit it in Gordon’s MPV (Longleat staff went back to collect the overflow). Sterling work from those three.
It was also good to see such a cross-section of club members out together for the one cause. Truly inspiring.
Hopefully most of you know who I am now, I’ve started a blog about my racing & riding which will cover next years events, but to start off i’ve covered what i’ve been upto this year.
CLIC24, Cheddar, Somerset 14/05/11
First 12hr of the year was CLIC24 a charity “ride”, originally a 24hr only but this year it had a 12 and 6hr category, the course was 10miles of mainly bridleway, double track and a small amount of tarmac. Thought I’d start the race on my singlespeed 29er as I found it feels much less effort compared to my 26er. The start felt relaxed after 3 xc races and I happily cleared the 24hr racer traffic and rolled through the start top 10. I kept a steady pace all day, feeling settled and comfortable, in the end I finished first in the 12hr solo by 2 laps, beat the 12hr teams and was leading the 24hr solo field. It felt a good start after the winter.
Erlestoke 12, Erlestoke, Wiltshire 28/05/11
2 weeks after CLIC was Erlestoke 12, originally a 6pm-6am race, now a more social 12pm-12am, the course was a mixture of fast flowing singletrack, spikey climbs and longer tarmac climbs. Felt quite a bit of pressure after a good ride at CLIC and hoping to perform well in the singlespeed category. Got another good start and stayed near the front, conscious not to race to hard from the start.
With lots of support from the Black Canon guys and great pit work from my dad the hours ticked through, the small amount of raining making little difference to the course. As the day drew on I still felt good, but as the lights went on I had a very grotty lap, getting back into the pits I had a bottle of water, getting back out on the next lap I felt much better. By then my 12hours were up, turned out i’d lead the SS class since the start, had won by 2 clear laps and came 5th overall. Some nice prizes from Charge bikes and a sit by the BCC fire helped me forget my tired legs and sore hands.
Erlestoke 12 Finish
Are You Tough Enough, Deepcut Barracks, Surrey 3/07/11
After a nice break I found a Gorrick Based 4hr Enduro lap race with a singlespeed class to enter. During my warm up I noticed quite a few big names from the enduro world were there, including Anthony White of Cannondale/MT Zoom racing. Got another flying start, leading the whole field down into the first singletrack, which came out onto a road section, legs span like crazy so I lost touch with the leaders until we got back into the singletrack. The course was tough! Very little chance to rest and very technical in places, I was glad it was only a 4hr races. Half way through the first lap I manage to wash the front wheel out on a loose corner, as I collected myself up the then second placed singlespeeder went through, and that’s how the race ended, as hard as I pushed I could not bridge the gap to him. Great respect to him, Mr White only beat me by 15minutes or so and my time would have placed me 5th in the Open class.
Bontrager TwentyFour 12, Plymouth, Devon 23/07/11
After another little break of reduced riding I managed to get a later entry for Twentyfour 12 after writing it off for the year. Having raced Newnham Park years ago and briefly this spring I had a fair idea of the terrain, but after listening to report from people had pre-ridden the course it sounded tough, lots of climbing but a rewarding course. Having not done the race before I was caught off guard by how early people queued up at start! So I snuck in near the middle, from the off the course climbed straight up a grassy slope where I weaved through the hoards of gear’d riders who are incapable of riding quickly up hills!
As I had no pit crew I had little idea of my race position, but luckily 4hrs in I overheard the race commentator mention I was leading 12hr solo male, so I pushed on, after about 7hrs I had my usual feeling of feeling sick and getting slight cramps, luckily this eased as darkness well but I had lost first and was down to 4th, luckily some friends popped by to check my progress, I put them to use sorting my lights and lubing my bike whilst I ate. After that I put in two strong laps which bumped me back to 3rd, I rolled back in hoping for it to be passed 12am and leave me in third, unfortunately it wasn’t but I had called and end to my day, I went to bed thinking I’d been passed by 4th and 5th but luckily they had stopped before 12, leaving me in 3rd, I was very pleased as I had gone hoping to get some endurance back and came away with a podium and prize money.
Bontrager 24:12 third
Brighton Big Dog 6hr, Brighton, East Sussex 20/08/11
I had been looking forward to the Big Dog all year as I used to live in Brighton and knew the trails well. I went down the day before to practice the course with an old friend, the course suited me well, not too rough and manageable climbs. The day of the race was very warm, riding around before the start I noticed a few familiar faces from the racing world, including defending solo champion Ian Leitch on his factory Cannondale Flash 29er.
I had a mediocre start so was pleased when the first climb appeared and I could pass people. I rolled through the start/finish line to be told I was “atleast top 20” I was happy with this an continued to push hard up all the hills and enjoyed the fast singletrack. I began to struggle with heat after a few hours and wasn’t drinking enough, but I was in a solid 7th place so needed to keep my head. I managed to keep pushing and kept consistent lap times and had a great last two laps. After finishing I checked the lap board to see I’d came in 6th, was pleased with that as it was a shorter race to what I’m used to, so I was surprised during the podium presentation that I was called up for 5th place! A collection of nice prizes helped ease my headache and the drive home the next day. Definitely going back next year to push top 3.
Big Dog Podium, even for 5th!
Kielder 100Miles, Scottish Boarders 3/09/11
A race only in its 3rdyear but widely renowned as an epic, which meant I had to give it a try. So on the Friday we drove the 300miles in lovely sunshine to the Campsite, checked in and stuck my tent in the only dry patch of ground I could find! We went and signed on, where I was forced to buy a survival blanket and whistle, what had I let myself into….
As the race is such a long way and they want everyone to get in before its dark the race starts at 6.30am! So I get up at 5am to discover it had been raining all night and was still raining, undeterred I dressed to suit and hoped the rain would stop. We assembled at the start, around mid pack, and followed the lead quad bike for about half and hour, luckily no one seemed keen in racing so I could make my way through the pack quite easily.
So the race got going well, I had made my way forward and the pace was good, the rain was still falling but I felt good, then disaster my brake pad wore out after only 25miles! I only had one spare set so I knew I need to save these for the rear, so I plodded on, taking it steady down the descents and pushing hard up the hills, then after another 15miles my rear brake was totally shot, stuck in the new pads and proceeded to pass all the riders I had just passed =( I reached the 50mile point and felt so cold as I was soaked through, I put on another layer and pressed on.
I reached the 65mile point and was relieved to find a tech station where I could get new brake pads for the front brake. I crossed the boarder back into the UK feeling better but still very cold, reaching the final feed station at 78miles I was ready to finish but I knew I had to keep going! 10miles from the end and I was knackered, I had been riding with another chap and we kept each other going, he left me as his brakes were working better than mine, 2miles from the finish and my front brake wore out again! So the last descent, which should have been really fun was taken with extreme care as to not crash!
I crossed the finish line in 10hrs 53 minutes, 44th place out of 600 starters! and the 4th singlespeed rider. As the afternoon wore on the riders slowly came in, in the end 177 finished, less than 1/3!
Singlespeed UK Championship, Pippingford, East Sussex 17/09/11
My first SSUK Champs and I had been advised not to take it too seriously! Undeterred I headed out on a practice lap to check the course, it then started raining heavily and I could tell the course was going to be tough in wet conditions.
As is customary at SSUK races you leave your bike and walk to the start line, in the meantime your bike is “arranged” mainly into piles of colours or brands. After the Le Mans style running start I quickly found my bike and got going, unfortunately I took a tumble and damaged my rear brake lever, at this point I thought it was race over, but I managed to get them working again I contuined racing.
Eventually I crossed the line in joint 4th officially, the organisers only count the first 3, or 9th unofficially, and happy enough to be top ten, but wondered how well it could have gone. Always another year.
Had been looking forward to this race, partly because it was the last long race of the year, and because it had a singlespeed category. The format was 9am-5pm which meant an early start but less time for me to stand around fretting! Being a local race there was a few familiar faces to catch up with before the start, the start was a Le mans style running start, with such a big field it meant finding my bike and getting going quite frustrating, eventually I was going and trying to get through the field! The course was very fast and flowing man made singletrack, with a few long climbs but nothing too testing, i was expecting to struggle on the rougher sections but the 29er made light work of most of it, only struggling with a section of rock garden.
Due to my poor start i found myself in 4th, the second and third laps went much better with consistent 28/29minute laps, this put me upto 2nd, where i was informed the leader was “2 minutes” in front, it took me another 2 laps to catch him, when i did overtake him he was looking spent, but I continued lapping at a consistant 30minutes, ensuring no one could catch me. As the day drew on i felt good and was enjoying flying through singletrack, trying my best to pass back markers in a polite manner, due to the amount of singletrack this proved difficult at times!
I finished with 25minutes till the end, knowing i couldn’t squeeze in another lap, to my surprise I was only clear by 5minutes! I was happy to end the season with a win, gives me motivation to work hard over the winter.
swooopppy
Thanks for your time, and thanks for the support over this year.
It’s amazing what you can do when you work together…
On Sunday we destroyed the existing and very tired ‘Slam Berm’ on Spoons and went about rebuilding it from scratch with some proper materials…
After hours of midge flapping, post bashing, rock gathering and mattock wielding we built ”el twato” (don’t get me started) a beautifully cribbed berm that is as good to ride as it is to look at.
With so much more speed available out of the corner we decided to open up an additional line , so set about excavating even more soil and building a new feature (a pump-able kicker called ‘Rolo’) into the same landing as used by the double after the slam berm. After a bit of wheelbarrow rodeo (video to follow) and countless calls of “just 10 -15 more…!” we called it a day, packed up and went home. Well, not before a few people sessioned the new features in their wellies of course…
Next time we’ll complete the section (it needs an additional small berm to be built) before we continue with the rest of the TO DO list. Remember, the more people we get along to Dig Days the more we can get done. Thanks to all those who helped out, you did an awesome job!
Sunday’s race was a bit special, firstly it was themed a Retro Race, and secondly it was the last in the winter series, meaning that final standings and pride were at stake. The track was different from anything else we’ve raced so far, although it shared about 40meters of BBMS the two couldn’t be further appart in terms of flow or feel. Based on MCC (the Dinner ’til Dusk descent) the track was marked wide to encourage line choice, and drawn out to make pedalling a necessity. With no real features to speak of we were pleased to be able to allow riders with open face helmets meaning that the event was accessible to many who otherwise wouldn’t have take part. A featureless track may sound a bit tedious, especially one with no bermed corners on a track that consisted of a wide loamy channel, but I can honestly say that it generated some of the most fun riding and close racing we’ve had all series.
Now, as for the theme and dress code, well, lets just say that some people got more than a bit scared of lycra, peakless helmets and generally not looking super cool. It’s funny but this race also showed just how many riders we have who consider a non carbon v10 to be retro and their oldest kit is newer than any of mine!
Thankfully the vast majority got into the spirit of things and took off their peaks and donned the funkiest looking riding gear they could find. Worthy of a special mention are Chris smith who was sporting the saggiest lycra bibs I think I’ve ever seen, (if he’d have worn his Rock Shox beanie I would have wee’d a bit) Dan Irons who looked like a pro GT rider from the 90’s thanks in no small part to the best looking bullet helmet ever made, the giro madmax, and Garry Newton who managed to make us laugh even more than normal by riding in both retro lycra and on a pair or Red Ritchy Zmax tyres that made him look like he was riding in different (far wetter) conditions to the rest of us. Hero.
Now for the racing.
Sam Chedgy managed to put in an good early time that meant he was fastest for the first quarter of an hour, but it wasn’t long before some more riders started penning up their times and the board started to fill up… Curtis Saunders struggled to get to grips with the idea of non-bermed corners as he managed to come off his bike on almost every run due to his kamikaze like corner commitment. Ben Irons suffered a mechanical right at the start meaning that he was reliant upon the generosity all day so had his work cut out. Chris Smith put in some fast times right from the start, but then decided to play cat and mouse rather than over exert himself, something he may now be regretting. Liam Arkell was, as has come to be expected, flying up the leader board with his Pocket Rocket style and ability to chip away every run. I was off the pace except for one flying run, only to find out that the watch hadn’t recorded a time, gutted, Steve Corner impressed on his first ever TickerTape, looking to improve and learning fast. Andrew Armstrong also managed to put in a great performance in his first TickerTape taking 15 seconds off his time and giving his son a run for his money too. Chris Marsland put in some fast runs and looked suitably retro (as always) before racing Simon Truelove in a pump race in tribute to Chris’ home from home, Bath BMX . Ric Mclaughlin chickened out of wearing the MBUK skin suit but seemed to be having a great time racing his test Moerwood. Ric’s done two TickerTape special events now (Triple Crown and Retro) so he was familiar with the set-up and soon managed to take over 7 seconds off of his time. With over 30 riders competing the board managed to fill up pretty quick and has become an almost unreadable mess (hence the lack of results spreadsheet from me so far), thankfully Calum’s groupies didn’t want to race or else we would have needed to use the blackboard too.
As for the results, well…
Chris Smith was pipped to the win by Curtis who has owned every race he entered this series and Liam wasn’t far behind in 3rd. Steve Corner was awarded the King of the Hill T shirt for an awesome first attempt, and Curtis was awarded the Rose Bikes RAD award for his all out committed style over the day.
As for best dressed, well I awarded that to myself for being more french that almost anyone could deal with.
Thanks to everyone who helped set up and pack away, to Shimano for the race tape and Rose Bikes for the prizes.
The Series round up and overall results will be published shortly…
Check out the ace photos taken by Dan Irons of Facade Photography there’s also an awesome video by Liam Arkell showing the track in full, and some footage of lycra clad messing about taken after the race.
Due to the Dig Day shuffle and the incredible turn out for Saturday’s bike track building extravaganza in Corsley I expected to spend Sunday as a Lonely Tony, raking each course into a groomed and buff state before being stalked and ultimately eaten by a herd of deer.
The reality however was a turnout that amazed me with some people even coming out for their second day of digging, eager to add a new entrance to East 17, begging to improve the Puppets drainage, petitioning to add a new section in the top woods and desperate to clear the meadow section, all tasks that I was very happy to accommodate (after bribes, threats and favours).
Eight hours, 16 people (I think) and one completed checklist later – having navigated leaves, pink wafer biscuits, logs, badgers, soggy mud, orientation accusations and a boy racer visit – it was home time and time for a very well earned sleep.
Thanks to everyone for your help, see you next month.
Just before Christmas I popped in to show our 2011 calendar to the Cadence bike shop guys in Bath. They were kind enough to put some on their counter throughout December and when I returned in the new year they greeted me with a £40 donation to the clubs trail building funds which was a wonderful surprise. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Jonny from Cadence for his support and kind donation.
So if your in Bath and want to see a beautiful range of bikes and accessories just pop in and say Hi!
The first ever Frome Fling went down a treat with tickets sold out and over 240 people crammed into the Cheese & Grain for an evening of lush food, great music and ceilidh dancing (oh…and a couple of drinks).
With so many people to feed (and a broken rice heater) the Balmoral Catering Co did a great job making sure that no-one went hungry. VJ Ultra did a great job too, complementing the Ceilidh with a visual treat of tartan and MTB riding to keep all the riders happy.
The evening was an excuse for a party but also an opportunity to raise some funds for the Black Canon Collective, and our chosen charity re-cycle who provide refurbished bikes to people in africa. The following people/organisations made donations to the raffle…
Sainsburys – Chocolates Homebase – Crackers Marks and Spencers – Christmas cake Millers – Voucher Longleat – One adult pass to the grounds Colin Nisbet – Bottle of malt whisky Abernathy’s – 6 x £5 vouchers Simply Pearls – Necklace Herbs on the Hill – Soap collection Amica – Body wash & lotion AVC – £45 bike service, and a £15 voucher Halfords – £10 voucher Marjory Hatvany – Bicycle horn, basket & some groceries. Black Canon Collective – 2 x BCC T shirts Cobble Wobble – 2010 Cobble Wobble Ltd edition poster and T shirt
…which sold out a book of 1000 tickets (at £1 for strip of 5 tickets) raising £200 for re-cycle!
Thanks to Colin Nisbet (the brother of organiser Marjory Hatvany) who did the “MC” stuff for the evening, he looked very nice in his full dress kilt but I heard that he had it on back to front all evening!
Also, thanks to Marjory’s niece Lindsey and Colin’s wife Hilary Nisbet who did loads of the flower arranging. Poor Lindsey had torn ligaments on Thurs by standing on a hockey ball and was stuck with crutches and sitting down all night – poor girl.
The Little Biggar Band were without a doubt the highlight of the evening, having travelled down especially to treat us all to their authentic Ceilidh music. Most of the band drove back up to Scotland on Sunday morning and beat the snow, but Linda (the bass player) didn’t get home until Monday night; Edinburgh airport was closed on Sunday, so she ended up hiring a car and having to drive up and through a blizzard on Monday!!
Big thanks to Rachael Campbell Smith for designing the poster, to Poppy Waterhouse and Leah Hamilton who sold raffle tickets, to Live2ride and the Cheese & grain for selling tickets and to all those who helped set up and pack away.
Most of all though a massive thank you to marjory Hatvany who lovingly organised the whole thing and did a brilliant job!
Thanks finally to everyone who came and took part, with the first event being such a success we’re keen to hold the Frome Fling every year so look out for details of the 2011 event around November time…
TickerTape is always fast, hell that’s kind of the point…but today was particularly fast because Spoons had seen some tweaks that increased speed through some of the fastest sections of trail we’ve got at the Allotment.
Ben and Ben (Batt and Irons) were on the pace from the off-set with both taking great pride unveiling their current fastest time with as much fanfare and suspense as is possible with a raised eyebrow, a whiteboard and a squeaky pen.
Charles Mountford managed to brain himself on a tree then punch the ground (screwing his wrist up) within 10 meters of the start line. Yep, that straight bit. Between the trees. With no corners or features. Yep, right there.
Ever keen to showcase my incredible triangular bandage skills I saved the day (by putting a tube sleeve bandage on and accidentally wrenching his bad shoulder whilst laughing at something Simon said when I should have been paying attention). Still, he took it like a man. Grrrr.
Jamie Friel was ripping all day on a multitude of different bikes. Having his bike stolen last week was crap but on the plus side he must have ridden about £14,000 worth of bikes over the course of the day!
Simon (Big Burd) managed to get worse as the day went on despite looking smoother than all but Ben (Irons), I reckon he was missing the usual banter from Stace, Jim and Robin or was in need of some alpine air to bring out the best in him. Robin did make it in the end, but we reckon he should’ve spent the afternoon trying to get that Duran Duran style bleached quiff sorted instead.
Other than plenty of all round Gunning It there were some that stood out above than the rest…. Jamie McDougall managed to look much faster and smoother than anyone had ever seen, even after destroying his big toenail by kicking the ground then ripping it off with a set of pliers and a tyre lever he continued to impress and was the worthy winner of the Beans award. Ben Irons was the other Beans victor, setting the pace and riding with more grace than a hardtail should allow. Something’s happened to Ben recently – he’s stopped looking like a gypsy and has bought a bike that actually works and as a result he’s killing it and is only getting quicker…
So there we go that was this months TickerTape – riding bikes fast between trees with mates.
Thanks to everyone for setting up and packing away, to Tom Rickhuss for the photos, Shimano for the race tape and Schwalbe and Monster for the prizes.
p.s. Oh…and…Ben Batt was the fastest (at the expense of his brothers bike) and the most visually impressive too (even though I’ve realised he looks like he’s doing a gorilla impression when he rides)! Oh yeah, and what’s with that eye of his….?
