Oh Crap!

[gairym]

.....am about to head-off for the afternoon start of a 3 day/4 stage mtb race (my first real race ever)!

i went to register this morning and i've never seen such a lycra-clad bunch of xc-whippets in my entire life.

these frenchies don't mess about it would seem.

think i'll be the only one there on a steel 29er in a pair of baggies.

there's no shame in coming last is there....?

will let you know how day/stage 1 went tonight (assuming i make it!).

gairy.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Good luck ... don't worry too much about the lycra, they might be all short course xc whippets and blow up after the first day*

*Or they may not.

[royAB]

They don't like going downhill fast is my experience... except on the Megavalanche

[Ray Young]

They don't like going downhill fast

Yep, you can always tell a roadie in an MTB race!

Good luck and enjoy.

[gairym]

i survived!

did the 24km course in just under 2 hours which i'm happy enough with considering it had 1000m of alt gain and was really technical.

Good luck ... don't worry too much about the lycra, they might be all short course xc whippets and blow up after the first day*

*Or they may not.

hopefully they are (and hopefully i haven't done the same myself).

They don't like going downhill fast is my experience... except on the Megavalanche

yeah, i was overtaking full-sus riders on the downhills all the way through. they don't love the technical bits either (which is helpful).

the big problem is tomorrow.

2 races (1 at 08:30 and another starting at 15:00).

a grand total of 47 miles and 2000m of alt gain (and the temperature is supposed to be nudging towards the 30 mark) should mean that i'll be well and truly pooped by tomorrow evening.

amazing new trails though (am recording them all on my gps for the future) - brilliant.

fun, fun, fun!

[d45yth]

Good luck! It's a shame there isn't more of those kind of races over here.

[pedalhead]

Good luck matey! Show those skinny Euros who's boss :D

[gairym]

Good luck! It's a shame there isn't more of those kind of races over here.

thanks, yeah it's a good little format.

Good luck matey! Show those skinny Euros who's boss :D

i attempted to but it would appear that they are!

so.....day two (stages 2 and 3) complete.

i'm absolutely knackered!

the first race was at 08:30 this morning (meant a 06:00 wake-up call) and was a little over 30 miles/49km with 5000ft/1600m of alt gain (again, really technical trails) and was a killer in the heat (came in midfield at 4.5 hours)!

then we had lunch.

a 3 course affair with roast beef and lentil stew as the main course (those Frenchies know how to eat)!

i declined the complimentary glass of wine with lunch (though most people went for it) - crazy!!!

then, the 2nd race of the day was a 16 mile descent which was absolute mayhem.

the French apparently have a much etiquette and manners in mountain bike racing as they do in general and so it was an elbow-filled free-for-all of pushing, cutting corners, nudging and general carnage.

i managed the 16 miles in 1 hour 20 mins which involved the last 7km of printing in a pack which is something i've never done before.

anyways, i'll not bore you too much.

tomorrow morning sees the final stage and i'm just hoping that my legs (damn knee again) and back (it's buggered!) hold up.

think i'll treat myself to a beer or 8 after i finish!

gairy.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Get some Star bars down yer ... you'll be right

[gairym]

Get some Star bars down yer ... you'll be right

we've got some mates out here at the minute and one of the payments for picking them up from the train station was a selection of uk chocolate bars (of which the Starbar featured heavily) but unfortunately i've eaten my quota already - maybe i can beg a sympathy Starbar form the wife???

[Ray Young]

then we had lunch.

a 3 course affair with roast beef

The French............doing roast beef!!!, they slag us off for doing that the cheeky buggers, damn foreigners, can't trust em you know.

[gairym]

The French............doing roast beef!!!, they slag us off for doing that the cheeky buggers, damn foreigners, can't trust em you know.

exactly - bloody hypocrites!

well.....it's done.

stage 4 happened this morning and i eventually made it through and over the line with about 10 minutes riding-energy left in me.

it was an insanely technical course with a final stupidly dodgy descent (with accompanying crowd to watch everyone fall off) which only me and about 2 other riders (that i saw) cleared - really really nice.

it's been a great few days and i've learned that i definitely don't want to really bother doing any racing (which is what i've always suspected) other than maybe the odd little event here and there.

in two weeks today i set-off on my big trip and this race at least has me assured that my piss-poor efforts at training haven't been for nothing.

cheers, gairy.

[pedalhead]

Good for you, well done!

[Ray Young]

Well done matey, bet you can't wait for your trip, hope it all goes well. :D

[gairym]

cheers fellas!