Eldron Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Well done Eldron - don't think I would have been able to stay on the bike or even attempted some of the technical sections. It was a long process - crashed 6 times on the Tuesday, licked my wounds for a few days then tried again. Like I (and a few others) have said - the secret to technical is commitment. You do the obstacle or you don't - if you go in thinking you can't you crash. I tested this theory a lot that week :-) Underachiever, DIPSLICK and Tumbleweed 3
Room Service Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I must also applaud Nic for an brilliant course. The utoob video does nothing to justify the course. In fact, on Tuesday before Masters a 3-time world champ ballie from canada fell on the last drop (that was taken out eventually). He was fkd, didnt know artha or martha, put his tooth completey through his bottom lip. Think his blood is still on the ground. Spoke to him on wednesday & he said he entered after watching the video & if he knew it was this tuff he would not have entered coz he was going to italy to compete from here. Now thats out the window as well. We were made aware of 24 hospitilisations on tuesday alone! I must admit i also took the b & c lines all week of practising & only on the saturday practice rode all the a lines exect the double jump & log drop off. Everything considered I had a whale of a time.
sometime Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I arrived two days before our race with the intention of putting in quite a few laps getting to know the course but managed to crash twice in my opening 1.5 practice laps the last of which broke my front wheel and ended my practice. I eventually got a lightweight wheel on loan but could do two more practice laps. Since it wasn't my wheel and as I was too heavy for it I couldn't take a chance trying out the second log jump so I never got to practise that before the race itself. As a result I made the call to take the B line on that jump during the race. I initially found the Master's course pretty intimidating but once I found the right lines and momentum I absolutely loved it even if the grip levels were pretty sketchy with all the dust. I was never comfortable on the first log jump as flying my bike into a blind landing is not something I've ever done and I only got it right on the last lap of the race. To be honest I was both disappointed and relieved that the corkscrew drops were taken off the course. I would love to have known that I could ride them, but at the same time that section claimed a lot of riders and I wouldn't have been happy to have joined them especially given the fact that I'd already donated some skin, blood and a front wheel to the course As it was I was chuffed to stay upright and finish the race and the few seconds I dropped taking the B line on the second log drop may have cost me a place, but in the context of the race and my ambitions was meaningless. What a brilliant experience and course! Iron, Warren911, Grebel and 1 other 4
Eldron Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I must also applaud Nic for an brilliant course. All the safety/risk/death talk aside - the amount of work put into that course was unbelievable. Burying that many rocks and logs is SERIOUS work. The trail work/cutaways/lines etc was phenomenal. I spent a lot of time riding the course thnking WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP. DIPSLICK, Iron, Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and 2 others 5
Eldron Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 Hahahahaha, what did you tell him? Nothing - just walked away. There are some debates you just know are not worth getting into.... M L and Iron 2
Tumbleweed Posted September 3, 2013 Posted September 3, 2013 I packed my bike to maybe have a go on the course in the early morning before racing or practice. After looking at it, I ended up happy that I dislocated my hip before o got there! Much respect to all who gave it a go! Proper courses! DIPSLICK and Grebel 2
nigelhicks Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 Pah. I'm happy for keyboard jockeys to tell me to HTFU. I had some hero at elite worlds tell me he would easily outride the pro ladies on Tree Rock House. He hadn't actually ridden any course at pmb of course but he could if he wanted to ;-) hahahahaha thats classic ...
nigelhicks Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 Tumbleweed, you could have just used your bike to ride in to the beer tent each day! hahahaha
nigelhicks Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 Regarding Nicks Course ..... I chatted to him about his A / B and then C line lengths etc. after the Masters race. He said the "magic" number he has found is 8 seconds for a C line as then a lot of riders will try the A or B line. I sort of disagree with this as I personally think it then makes the riders try stuff that may be beyond their ability. (as we saw at Masters Worlds).... If it had been me, (and bear in mind I build DH tracks where 1/2sec is a lot of time to loose) ... I would have shortened the C lines a bit .... Especially the one at Shakas Playground, and at the Corkscrew (also known as Over the Top). Id say at a Masters Level race you should not be penalised too much at a super gnarly section as, if you cant ride that obstacle (or are unsure about it), you will be slower in other less technical sections anyway compared to someone who is more proficient. But thats just my opinion. ... However the other side of the coin is then - you have the guys who SUCK at Tech doing well as they are just strong on climbs ... I must say its tough to set tracks up perfectly .... But i think Nick did a PERFECT Job.
Wayne Potgieter Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Hey Nigel, how about we get you up to JHB to build a nice little lap course on Eldrons smallholding. Eldron, you keen? Could be great fun, and its up the road from my place, so naturally i will be allowed to ride it. Iron 1
nigelhicks Posted September 4, 2013 Author Posted September 4, 2013 hahaha - Wayne ... Unfortunately I dont have a trail building company like Nick does - I am a Geologist who builds DH tracks in his spare time ... So thanks for the offer - but the man to speak to would be Nick!
Wayne Potgieter Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 hahaha - Wayne ... Unfortunately I dont have a trail building company like Nick does - I am a Geologist who builds DH tracks in his spare time ... So thanks for the offer - but the man to speak to would be Nick!Was thinking more like i rent some dangerous heavy machinery, and we drink too much beer in the sun and try make a course.
Tumbleweed Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Tumbleweed, you could have just used your bike to ride in to the beer tent each day! hahahaha Hehehehehe! It was just coincidence that I happened to be there every time you passed by ;-) BMCfan 1
Grebel Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Hehehehehe! It was just coincidence that I happened to be there every time you passed by ;-) That's your story and you stick with it sunshine...! BMCfan 1
Grebel Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Tumbleweed, you could have just used your bike to ride in to the beer tent each day! hahahaha Noooooo! He's dangerous enough just on foot! Mixing three volatile ingredients like Tumbles, beer and bicycles is a recipe for disaster..... NotSoBigBen, BMCfan and Tumbleweed 3
Eldron Posted September 4, 2013 Posted September 4, 2013 Hey Nigel, how about we get you up to JHB to build a nice little lap course on Eldrons smallholding. Eldron, you keen? Could be great fun, and its up the road from my place, so naturally i will be allowed to ride it. We lack a bit of gradient - only 4m in 100m but I'm sure we can hire a bobcat and play. The property is only 16,000m so it'll have to be tight and twisty. I'm in! Grebel and Wayne Potgieter 2
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