Sensible girl

In full swing

Last month I decided to enter a DH race as well as a suitable bike I also needed some protective gear.

The local Specialized guys kindly let me use a 140mm travel Pitch for the weekend. It was a relief not to have to do it on my trusty Giant Yukon, I think it would’ve fallen apart after about 10 seconds!  I did actually buy some fake protective gear stuff – well since it’s only plastic I decided it doesn’t really matter if it’s not the genuine article. And it looks pretty realistic for the price, I got knee & shin pads, Fox-branded body armour jacket and dh gloves for a combined total of about 30 quid – not bad! It was really hot and stuffy during the race weekend though so rather than wearing the jacket I just borrowed some elbow/forearm pads instead – which turned out to be a bad decision..!
 

Oh dear!

The course was around a 2 minuter, with long sweaty push up (groan) through thick forest to the start, then pretty constant steep gradient most of the way down, except for a couple of spots where you suddenly realised the need to pedal but had forgotten how. There had been some heavy rain the previous days and it had exposed some ‘interesting’ long rock garden sections. I managed a couple of fairly ok runs and was pleased to be able to ride it all, but that didn’t last long. The course included two biggish (well in my terms, but they wouldn’t count for much on a World Cup course!) jumps, but they were more like drops to flat really, I guess each was around 5 foot vertical. On my 3rd practise run I was really trying to go for it and took the first drop far too fast and on a bad line that acted like a take-off ramp. I subsequently didn’t manage to get myself in position for the flat landing so bottomed out the front forks and ended up hitting the dirt and using my right shoulder as extra suspension. D’oh! So yes, the result was I had to test out the Chinese hospital system. It turns out to be pretty cheap (7 quid for an x-ray, not bad) but not very organised, or sanitary! Actually I’m considering going back and getting the whole body x-rayed for future reference at that price! Luckily the shoulder’s not broken and they gave me a herbal spray for it. Yes, a herbal spray will fix everything… I sent the x-ray back to a UK doctor (not that I don’t trust the chinese!) and gather it’s ligament damage so just needs lots of rest.”

So end of story is that I’ve been off the bike for this month, but actually it hasn’t been too difficult as I’ve been away in SE China and Malaysia in any case. One-shouldered backpacking can be a bit tricky at times, but thankfully it was just about strong enough for some scuba diving off the Tioman islands in Malaysia. Saw a huge shark, it was terrifying! Then had a very drunken week in Singapore, supposedly for a conference but hangovers made it difficult to pay much attention! I got back to the office here in China yesterday feeling very unfit. First outing back on the bike is this sunday but going to take it pretty easy. Hope the bbq went well? Glad you remember the chocolate brownies! I must make some more of those when I’m back and have a proper kitchen again.
Right, well I should prob try look like I’m working!

Site statistics give us information on the number of people who visit the site each day, each week etc. About two hundred people visit each day with over one thousand on the busiest days. Lots of people come direct but we are also found via searches on google etc, whenever someone searches for a ride, a bike or a bit of kit.

In our charts for the last year at number three pop pickers we have the Ay Up light review at 860  reads. At number two is the Continue reading →

Iconic Birds Nest

I’ve finally made it to China! I had a few days in Beijing initially, staying with a friend – actually arrived on St Patrick’s day so spent my first evening drinking lots of guinness in an irish bar, a great cultural introduction! I’m now settled down in Hangzhou, near Shanghai, where it’s my 3rd day of work. Seems interesting so far and it’s a really pretty city by a big lake. I’m working with all chinese people but they speak good english, when they want that is – the rest of the time I have no idea what they’re chatting about. Got my first mandarin lesson tomorrow, hoping it’s easy?!

New Bike Kit (!)

Exciting news, I bought a bike here yesterday! Ok so it’s a bit of a downgrade, but not bad for about 170 quid. Even has cable disc brakes and some squidgy rst forks. As you’ll see, I ran out of budget at the accessories stage so have ended up with children’s penguin gloves and pink butterfly helmet, nice! I’ve got my first ride on saturday with an expat group here and some trail clearing friday eve.  I’m missing the night rides, no one seems to do them here! Maybe I could get some started once I’ve got the hang of the trails. Although with my navigational skills I’ll be leaving here by then.

On the Start Line

Huangshan MTB race, Anhui province, People’s Republic of China

After arriving Friday evening, I struggled out of bed on Saturday for a 6am hotel breakfast (and I thought 10am at Sussex Uni car park was early..!) I then opted for the 10km ride to the race start in a local village, rather than the provided transport. Inevitably it turned out to be uphill all the way. Still, it was worth it for the novelty of riding behind a police car escort, specially provided for us foreigners. At the race arena we waited in the sunshine for the opening ceremony. All sports events in China are organised by the government and they’d brought in lots of patriotic flag waving youths. Every time an official person was introduced there was a drum fanfare and everyone obediently flag waved. Chinese soldiers stood to attention around the arena, I guess to dispel any unwanted biking riff raff. Needless to say it was a very peaceful event. Well, at least until a local Lady Gaga tribute band came on to finish the ceremony. It all made for rather a surreal start to a race.

The men and women were to start together so at the gate I hung towards the back, thinking the guys would all be really fast. The gun went and we headed off through the village where locals had come out to watch, and on into the rice paddies. I soon realised that actually mountain biking isn’t a strong point for most Chinese people. At the first uphill singletrack section there was a big back-log as they’d all dismounted to push up. Now I’m not the best of climbers, but even by my standards it was a non-technical molehill! The next back-log was where someone had fallen off a little bridge into a paddy. Luckily they seemed to be ok. Shortly afterwards a girl was sobbing hysterically by the side of the track as she’d had a mechanical. So far the race was also proving quite surreal! Getting slightly frustrated by the delays, I decided to put the camera away and try to get past the slower riders.

There were around 500 racers in total, about 60 in my category (the ladies 20km). The course turned out to be really fun – a good combination of dirt road and singletrack with a bit of road work to make the main uphill stretch much easier. After some stunning views down the valley at the end of the climbing, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenging downhill sections, with interesting rocky bits, sharp switchbacks, through a mountain village with 2 flights of stone steps and then down into swooping forest trails. My new found competitive spirit led to some calamity on a narrow section as a girl I was overtaking wobbled, falling onto me so that we both fell sideways. Thank goodness there was some netting there, as there was a massive drop beneath us!  Another interesting bit was a 2nd short section of road, this time through a long poorly lit tunnel. I had my sunglasses on so couldn’t see anything except the light at the end, so I just aimed for that and prayed for no pot-holes!

That’s me on the end

As we headed for the valley again I realised that the finish was close and went for a final push, shouting ‘excuse-me’ in my best Chinese as I tried to get past more riders. With the final exertions I was pretty tired and relieved to ride through the finishing gate. I was greeted by a camera crew (they’re fascinated by foreigners) and had to do an interview while still panting, bright red and sweaty. Embarrassingly it was shown on the national sports channel the next day. My time was about 1hr 15 and it turned out I was 6th in the category, 20 seconds behind 5th place and 10 minutes behind the first. At the prize-giving they weirdly announced the top 6 so I had to go on the podium to recieve a medal and a big cheque. Well in literal terms, not monetary unfortunately – it was about 20 quid and when I cashed it in they deducted 20% tax! Lunch was provided afterwards: a soggy KFC burger. We headed back to town for noodles and cheap beer instead. More promising was the race ‘banquet’ that night, followed by an excellent trials display in the hotel lobby and the return of Chinese Lady Gaga.

The hangover takes shape

Nursing a slight hangover, there was time Sunday morning to explore some more local tracks before getting back on the public bus for the long journey home. All in all, it was a very entertaining weekend.

The weather was its usual sunny Brighton self, Stanmer seems to have its own micro-climate as even when raining and the ground is slippery it is rarely cold.

Thanks to everyone who helped out. Lugging boxes, erecting tents or finish lines, directing cars or standing for hours without a break trying to prevent the odd fool from killing themself.

Feedback from those competing or just taking part was very favourable and the riding was considered some of the best on the UK race scene, this is great news as at the end of the day those competing are the most important aspect of a mtb event. It seems us regular visitors to Stanmer don’t know how enjoyable our little playground is and it takes others to point it out. The use of some of our singletrack on the course was also gratifying although we will have to accept that it is no longer secret!  Why did some complain about the wasps nest? be thankful, we  have a section of singletrack called ‘Sting-in-the-Tail’, it wasn’t used but is named after the flying fiends. Some of the descents witnessed chaos and plenty of tumbles, hopefully no was hurt (including the guy from Oxford who we took to first aid and was instructed to go to A&E) and everyone will be back next year.

The high marshal turnout from Brighton mtb was very much appreciated by both the competitors and the organising committee who are planning a show of thanks during the coming weeks so watch this space.

Plenty of the Brighton mtb gang took part (apologies if I’ve missed anyone):

Mark and the ‘Bongo Pedallars’

Pete & Brian as ‘Brighton mtb’

Alex and Rob as ‘Where’s the Beer’

Mr Donne and Gez as ‘Are we there yet’

Sam in the solo event

Jo in the Oneder Dog

Jimbo from Sussex-mtb in the solo event

However, pride of place must go to Gill and her team ‘3 Pedigree Bitches’ who won their catagory, no pressure to defend it next year then girls.

As a first event to be organised by a bunch of amateur mtb enthusiasts the excellent vibe together with unanimous competitor feedback shows that the Big Dog  09 was a great success. The good bits of 2009 will be built upon and areas for improvement have been noted. The plan is to make the 2010 event one of the best experiences on the mtb calendar for both competitors and all those involved in organising and staging the event.

Keep checking the photos as they will be updated during the course of the next week.