Li Mu Bai

I play taxi to my kids, does that count?

Thanks for the comments Fritz. The reason you have so many entrants is that your Series are generally well managed and any problems are improved on. This is encouraging to bring me back again in future.

I agree with you about the gate, easy to see the race order if its a 1 at a time squeeze, and bad behaviour there will get a reaction. If its a 'ride over a small obstacle problem' (like what happens in 94.7 MTB for example) and there is space to get off the boardwalk and bundu bash at your own risk without pushing others out of the way, then good luck to that person.

Fantastic!

I saw a chap on a white Cannondale do a slow and graceful faceplant endo on a sharpish righthand corner about 4/5ths into the marathon. Nasty - STAY OFF YOUR FRONT BRAKE, when things get sketchy. Also the guys who crashed through the single track bridge at the end looked hurt, legs all caught up in the twisty grabby broken plastic crate carnage.

I agree. He is too much of a super star to do what he did, especially after he was beaten. Pity. There must have been better ways to tackle this issue.

Did you take the fastest race line? As everyones average racing speed, and resultant seeding index, will be based on the same/distance, does it really matter if all are bumped up? I do agree with you that it should be accurately measured and advertised. Doing a 80km ride and then finding it turns out to be 89km bites, but sometimes a 70km race that turns out to be 66km can be a bit of a blessing.

Umm, you were the one talking about taxi's. My question was the whining that seems to happen when there are bottlenecks etc directed at other riders rather than the race organisers. As rouxtjie correctly said when race organisers merge marathon with half marathon races towards the end, you end up with various skills and fitness levels mixed up and congestion. This after most marathon riders have worked their butts off to break free of the congestion that one experiences at the start of a race (and dust). Then all you need is for the route to have one last single track, and it becomes even more of a stuff up. And made even worse if a bridge breaks like what happened on saturday - (Who in their right mind builds a bridge out of flimsy plastic bottle crates and cable ties anyway. I got there just after it broke, and guys had their legs right jammed through that twisted plastic carnage, it really looked painful). This imo, is one of the biggest mistakes race organisers make. Riders then take out their frustration that comes with their own decision of displaying manners by 'doing the right thing' and wait for their turn to get through, on other riders who aren't interested in waiting for many reasons (making up time for falls and/or punctures, half marathon race leaders wanting to get through, exhuberance of youth, impatience, bad manners, whatever) The guys in front of me waded around the bottle neck. I took my chances with the slippery rocks and dark knee deep water and waded across too. Decision made. There was no sign saying wait for green. At the time, everyone just got on with it, without assaulting eachother. Getting pissed off with the other riders who later on were directed onto the tar road by race officials, to bypass the 'unforseen broken bridge' bottleneck just makes no sense. Express your frustration and anger to the race organisers.

you better not overtake anyone then either. jokes aside, evaluate why you are doing the event? if its to get a podium or better you last effort then do what it takes, its a race to get to the finish as quick as you can. If not, then enjoy the experience no matter what is thrown at you (Joe's pump and all! )

haha luckily not, hate them even more than you do.

exactly. some see a gap and go for it, and others (as Joe says) have manners. At the end of the day the organisers should be taken to task for these sorts of disasters. time we started voting with our feet, rather than bickering at eachother in bottlenecks. Luckily there are so many mtb events, we can start to pick and choose, and the annoying races will have to adapt or fade away.

terrible.

@ joe: the flip side: its a race, if you are not prepared to get off your bike and run around an obstacle or bottleneck, but would rather wait your turn to cross at the designated point, then why complain about it? do what you have to do, or just go for the fun ride and stop worrying about throwing things at people. Why get all worked up if some others out there are prepared to do what it takes to keep racing? Sure it may not be for a podium but people take part in these events for all sorts of reasons. If the organisers poorly plan a route that results in silly bottle necks, its their fault, not the riders. (94.7 mtb race is a classic example of a rediculous mtb race that is poorly planned, the bottlenecks are abominable. @ Martin: punctures or mechanicals - just get off the track as best as possible not to hinder those following you. pushing up hills: move to the side so that those who are able to ride the hill, or want to challenge themselves can get a fair and unhindered crack at it. When you are ready, ease back into the track once its clear or you will cause a tangle.

Dust was really bad, my eyes are still wrecked.

+1 nice!

not really. If using Royal Mail its roughly 2 weeks, and if using Parcelforce its 4 day from UK, and then it sits here for a further 4 days, unless you go fetch it at ORT mail centre. Free shipping was weight dependent on whether CRC uses Royal mail or Parcelforce (2KG and over = parcelforce) not sure if this has changed recently.

its actually roughly 16.5 - 17% for Vat and Clearance. PM sent with my tiny order.

Oh please, read between the lines, or must it all be spelt out for you...

to remind us to wear helmets, and avoid old farts who dont.

I was hoping you would push me, haha.

River Rat, Jcmeyer, see you in B too, what bikes are you on? Good luck for Sat.

OMG, theres just no pleaseing anyone these days. first its whining about the USN Bio-Field armband, now its the Spike energy drink. If there was no goodie bag, then there would be whining about that too. FFS, just go and enjoy the ride, and stop worrying about the junk you get in goodie bags. At least christmas will come early when you get your 94.7 RubbishGoodie bag.

ouch, heal up soon.

If the tire fit is really loose, then it will burp at the low pressures you describe. Peeling off a tire by hand without using tire levers = fairly loose. The lower the pressure, the better the traction as more of the tire tread is spread/pressed onto the ground. Also rim shape helps this too, a thin rim eg ZTR Alpine, squeezes the tire into a tighter round with less traction. A wide rim Sunringle equaliser 27 or Easton Haven allows the tire to open more with slightly better traction. tire pressure = horses for courses: for heavy sand and traction on rocky terrain, use less pressure; mud thinner and harder. for speed use a harder tire pressure. harder pressure will give better speed over rolling farm roads for instance, but your choice of line must be perfect when its gets rocky or loose.

it also depends how tight the tire fits to the rim. Schwalbe EVO tires (the thin ones) are very loose on some rims (DT SWISS), and you cannot run them too soft or they will burp, especially on corners or hitting an obstacle. This can be dangerous too at speed. your weight also adds to this, so run them slightly harder and perhaps adjust the rebound on your shock and fork softer to compensate. I am using Snakeskin ralph and nic on Easton Haven rims, the fit of the tire is much tighter (need tire leavers, whereas on my DT Swiss rims I could remove the tires by hand) so I am more confident running them tubeless at 1.9 bar. no issues so far. Top up your sealent if it burps, and then every 3-5 months as the activelatex usually binds onto the inside of the tire wall, leaving you unable to seal a hole when it counts the most.