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beer fest eye candy for boys

So I can’t believe it’s gone so quickly but I’ve only got a few weeks left here now.

I finally had a bit more luck with the races, winning a short dh in my home town here (ok, so there was only one other girl competing and she walked down most of the course..!) and came second in a government organised xc race. That was a bit like hard work as I was told it was just a 6km course so put everything into my first lap. Then when I finished it, they told me to go round again. And then again, and then again..! It turned out it was Big Dog style – as many laps as you could do in 2 hours (about 7 in the end I think as it was a pretty fast course) so with zero preparation I was a mess by the end of it!

Heilongjiang forests

The government races turn out to be well worth it though as I won 50 quid for my 2nd place, which more than made up for the confusion!

Other than that I’ve been doing a bit of travelling up north where the temperature’s nice and cool – saw some Siberian tigers in a reserve there, huge things. You could buy live animals to throw to them, ranging from a chicken to a live cow!

Also went to a beer festival in Qingdao (of Tsingtao beer fame), chinese beer festivals are very amusing, but rather a few too many big sweaty beer bellies display..!

I’ve attached a few photos of an english friend who got a deep gash on his forearm this weekend. We spent the morning getting him patched up, the chinese doctors are far from gentle and were pulling it open to clean it up, it was right to the bone. He had about 7 stitches and the doctor looked like he was stitching leather, he was so heavy handed! All without any anaesthetic or painkiller, poor guy.

IV time

ow

]]> http://brightonmtb.org/2010/09/03/from-gill-our-china-correspondent/feed/ 0 mtbnomad beer fest eye candy for boys http://brightonmtb.org/2010/08/31/rides/ http://brightonmtb.org/2010/08/31/rides/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:54:38 +0000 mtbnomad http://brightonmtb.org/?p=2688 ]]> Two rides this weekend

1) A tour of the Peak District – please check your emails. This is under discussion as at Wednesday.

This has now been postponed. It may be re-arranged for later in the year.

2) Sunday Stanmer ride with mates from Tunnel Hill Trolls. This is definitely on.

KMC x9L gold

Suffering rain and mud and stones and dust and logs and then have to jump happily at the touch of a button; it’s a hard life being a chain. Expected to bounce faultlessly over the rocks and then withstand huge tension from my third of a horsepower, well maybe a quarter, we only complain about chains when they let us down.

After trying lots of different chains at different price points from different manufacturers I tried KMC for the first time last year. More expensive, even with a discount, I hoped it would last more than my average three months to justify the extra cost and a year on it still runs perfectly.

My chain checker shows that it has not stretched out to the 0.75 mark and only some of the gold plating has worn away. Used with Rock and Roll Gold it has been completely ignored except for an odd clean and lube as it has been perfect.

Not everyone likes the titanium nitride colour, as has been pointed out to me on numerous occasions, or has the right bike colour but just for you there is another option, something dull… to match your bike.

It is quite light, equivalent to Sram high end chain weight, it sheds mud easily but needs the open inner plate clean when re-lubing, it accepts chain cleaner thrashing without complaint and the link can be re-used.

I used to prefer Sram chains (link) but found more recent Shimano sets grumbled less with a Shimano chain and changed smoother under load. I have not tried it with a Sram set up of cassette and rear mech but it seems better in changing and reduced noise compared to the Shimano chain.

It is not the lube, which I like very much, (dry, mud free, see other article) just the chain.

Recommended? – yes, marks – 10, buy another? – waiting in a little box on the side already.

As I was lying on the road looking at my very broken leg my first thought was “I guess I won’t make Stanmer tonight” and then the pain hit and my thoughts turned to concentrating on little fluffy clouds in the beautiful blue sky until the ambulance turned up.

One can of gas and an ambulance ride later I was delivered to the Royal Sussex.

Because I’d achieved a bone sticking out of leg standard of injury, I got the full trauma team treatment, pumped full of Morphine, and rushed into surgery. Here they they removed my kneebone and put a Titanium pin all the way down my Fibula and put my kneebone back. My Tibia was broken too, but they decided to leave that to heal on its own – cutbacks I guess.

I had the joy of being in hospital for four days and I’m now on week 2 of recuperation. Because of the metal pin I’ve been able to put all my weight on it from day one, but I’ve got really bad muscle and tendon damage from the surgeons trying to get my leg straight in surgery.

My 4 month old Lapierre is written off and I’m now thinking about what new bike I’ll treat myself to. A minor silver lining is that I’ll now swerve a £250 bill following that new guidance on the Ride to Work scheme as the bike is a write off and will have a resale value of £0.

So, my game plan is to get on an exercise bike and build up my fitness so I can start doing a gentle Devils Dyke climb from my house in a few weeks time which will hopefully get me back to Stanmer just before 2011 rolls in.

Anyway, suffice to say I’m looking forwards to seeing you all again on the trails.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer.

Carl

First of all we did a few areas where the Big Dog ran on the 14th Aug, we were all asked for our opinions on each section as the guys in charge were keen to get our feedback. This covered a range of open, close, up and downhill sections which I really enjoyed, at one point I got a little over confident and nearly came a cropper, (new tyres on order). When there was any small incident(no one got hurt) everyone stopped and made sure all was well before moving on.

Second half we went though Stanmer village and straight up to the top of the Park(phew). After all had met at the top and a short break, we started taking in some trickier paths and the light started to fade quickly, bright lights were the order of the day and a necessity(also on order). Ronnie was also keen to keep the newbie’s together so not to be caught by unexpected obstacles and trickier parts.

I started to gain confidence with a few obstacles which to be honest I would normally have the bottled  in daylight, but seeing other riders easily tackle them  I had a go and appeared undamaged, alive and still on the bike on the other side!

By the end it was very dark and entertaining winding our ways through narrow forest trails, a little like the Blare Witch Project on fast forward.

In all I had a fantastic time and would recommend anyone who enjoys off roading to attend as its one of the best and exhilarating things I’ve ever done(till next time)

I’ll be back on the 26^th Aug, see you then.

Steve Higgs (Newbie)

Off Camber-tastic

The second Brighton Big Dog took place on 14th August. Following the scorching weather of the 2008 G2 and 2009 Big Dog event we were due some rain and 2010 delivered in bucket loads.  

The two weeks prior to the event witnessed frenzied activity in Stanmer Park as the route was planned, amended and finally decided. Overhangs were removed and the trail was raked ready for the big day. Sponsorship deals and prizes were organized and mugs and shirts collected from the printers.  

The first event of the day was a childrens mtb event organized by Brighton Excelsior Cycling Club. As this was in full swing the stall holders and shops were putting up their stalls, the organizers were sorting out a multitude of last-minute hassles and the Course Planner and marshals were putting up the final tape and arrow markings for the main event. Susie the event Dr and keen local mtb’er had a guided lap of the course with particular attention to the well-known trouble spots while the commissar made last-minute recommendations for signage. Ominous dark clouds gathered overhead.  

The riders on the first lap set off in dry conditions. The fastest lap time of just under 32 minutes was posted on the first lap and the first leg team riders hooned around. The second lap began to get interesting as the rain came down hard. The course was rapidly turning to mud and the sections of off camber rooty delight soon became a nightmare for anyone not familiar with riding across muddy wet roots – lots of muddy wet roots. Team riders who did the second lap were easily spotted in the change-over area as two white eyes poking out from a suit of mud. The third lap was no better and the inexperienced riders could now be seen walking their bikes along the many technical sections. A brief respite from the weather and the course immediately began to dry out however the two most technical descents were now witnessing many spills and tumbles as back wheels were locked up and skidding doesn’t enable very much control. 

By now everyone knew what to expect and began treating the singletrack with  respect as marshals shouted warnings and worked to prevent pile-ups on the steepest sections – the chicken runs became increasingly popular. All bikes were covered in mud and riders were stopping on the fire-roads to de-mud with suitable twigs and sticks. The solo race leader commented that his bike now weighed more than him! So it continued as teams and solo riders kept going around battling both the conditions and their desire to give-up. 

The day continued with showers and sunshine until just after 6pm when the last rider crossed the line. It was over all-bar the shouting of the prize giving ceremony. Everyone clapped and cheered as the podium was occupied by the top level althetes and in the background the more human competitors were assessing their placings and wondering if they could do better next year.

The site emptied as competitors left for a clean-up and then on to the after event Party on Brighton seafront. The organising team stayed to clean-up the site and gather the tape and arrows from the course – top marks for marshals Graham and Neil who returned from the course bulging with tape and signs from every pocket and hidy hole on their clothes and bags. It was 8-30pm when the organisers left the site.

Despite the conditions everyone had big smiles as they milled around the prize giving, those who left early will be talking about Brighton Big Dog 2010 for a while yet so the event definately made a mark on everyone who took part. Brighton Big Dog will be back in 2011 and will be as singletrack tastic as ever.

Brighton Big Dog is a non-profit making event, everyone who is involved both behind the scenes and up front is a volunteer – including Freedom Bikes from Brighton who closed their shop for the day in order to privide mechanical support. Many thanks to the sponsors and companies who provided prizes and help; however both Morvelo and USE deserve a special mention, without their hard work the event would not be able to take place.

Riding a bike off road in Britain – how can anyone avoid mud!

Results

Alec with Abbie. She is the one in the hat.

I used to ride a lot of downhill and did some dirt jumping too, but those years are quite far past me now, and I hadn’t properly set foot on a bike for some time.  With this in mind I was naturally slightly apprehensive when I turned up at the university carpark to see about 20 riders who looked like seasoned professionals with their bikes upside down and having a good tinker with chains and forks etc!
However I got chatting with a couple of people who seemed like good sorts and before long we were off on our way.  Being a rider who used to be quite fit but whos stamina has certainly diminished somewhat I found the pace fairly easy going for the first hour or so.  In this time we covered some really nice technical woodland trails at a slow-ish speed with some interesting obstacles on the way.  We crossed a set of logs and all was going well until my bike suddenly decided to dive between my legs – sorry to whoever was behind me!
The second half of the ride was more flowing with some really exciting singletrack.  I found the pace here really comfortable but quite exhilarating at the same time – those trees really come up quick at this time in the evening!  At this point it was becoming dark in the woods which did nothing but add to the fun in my opinion!
Being sort of unfit I was huffing and puffing towards the end, but I just about managed to hold it together!

To sum up the experience of my first outing with Brighton mtb, everyone was friendly, the pace was quick enough to be exciting but not too quick so as to finish you off.  The difficulty of the trails was to a level where you certainly needed some experience but there was nothing that really made your jaw drop when you had a glance at it!

So thank you all for letting me come along, I had a great time, it was really nice to get back in the saddle and I’ll see you all soon.