SA MTB Ballies (over 30) Mentalities ??? Please explain

[SwissVan]

Anyone know if the Chris Brand that got hurt is perhaps "THE" Chris Brand who used to be a very successful Enduro (and MX) racer in his younger days, talking about in the 80's and 90's?

[nigelhicks]

On the note of "Chicken Runs" ........... Man i HATE that term ... the oke who came up with that should be dragged into the street and dressed in a Chicken Suit!!!

 

No one is a "Chicken" ... everyone is their own pro ... no matter what your level of riding ... So by naming something a "Chicken Run" the organisers are saying that their participants are Chickens ... and by Golly - NO SA MTB rider will ever be called CHICKEN

 

... so they all take the "Bull Run" ... even if it is over their technical level of experience ... so it causes hell on earth ....

 

Thats why trails with multiline technical options, A, B and C lines make such a difference ...

 

To all the organisers out there - next time you have a bonfire - BURN your Chicken and Bull Run signs ...

[Stretch]

 

So "dangerous" should actually be if there is

1. no alternative route around said obstacle (but the obstacle must be something that is potentially dangerous ... not just one rock in the middle of a trail)

 

2. no warning sign before said obstacle

 

3. No Catchnetting if said obstacle is a bank drop etc.

 

So if the safety guidelines are adhered to ... a track cannot be dangerous ... just technical ...

From there on - its the riders skill level that becomes the issue

 

But.......if where con crashed is where I am thinking (the two camel humps with the drop off/jump after them) then the B line is significantly slower than the A line. The A line is straight over those jumps and then up the hill, while the B curls back and then around another loop and only then meets the track. Therefore to be competitive, you almost HAVE to do the A line in this instance.......

[patches]

I loved the off camper comment. I'm mean I'm happy to launch off a pavement, kicker or small car but a camper? Those things are far too high for a carbon hardtail. Or me.

 

Tables have quite a large size variation but I'd probably ride off most of them.

 

Gotta love journalists.

 

Lastnight I was watching an old New World Disorder (NWD5), and saw Cedric Gracia going off-gondola. I think it's probably similar to going off-camper. But I see how watching a pro do it so effortlessly might lure some into thinking they can follow suit.

 

 

As for double tables... like you say, are they coffee tables, or dining room tables. Big difference!

Edited August 5, 2013 by patches

[Eldron]

I know exactly what you are saying Eldron ... and it is that exact thing that (not just for Masters - for Elites too) makes us put in B and C lines ... (note that these lines are NOT deemed as "Chicken Runs" .... as most people state)

So if the safety guidelines are adhered to ... a track cannot be dangerous ... just technical ...

From there on - its the riders skill level that becomes the issue

 

Yes and no.

 

Ok this is a purely theoretical discussion because I haven't ridden the track but in my opinion B and C lines don't turn a dangerous course into a safe course.

 

For instance - if I make the A line 7 out of 8 times and the 1 time I don't make it results in a broken collar bone then I'll be hitting the B line. Not because I'm not skilled enough but the consequences outweigh the advantage.

 

I'm not being beaten by a better rider - I'm being beaten by a rider that is willing to take that 7/8 chance.

 

Me - I like challenging/technical where superior skill gains you time not dangerous where brass balls and no thought to consequence gains you time.

 

Anyway - until I see the course this is all moot.

 

Whatever happens I can't wait to get down there and put feet to pedals - last time I raced pmb was a national in 2010 and that course was pretty mild. Can't wait to see what the upgrades are - time, videos and your and the team's input suggests the upgrades are HUGE!

[NicoBoshoff]

Hey Nigel

have no problem with killer courses as long as it stated and clear up front! most ppl showing up at cycle parks on weekends are out for a spin with the wife and kids. watched a group of them staring at a river crossing on Saturday wondering if the 5cm of water was going to wash one of the kids away.

 

Allot of the hubs tough guys will tell u to make it harder as they not gonna ride it. if this is how u plan on making money I recommend modders approach with something for everyone but it aint gonna kill u.

 

on the DH side i have no clue, never done it before.

 

I don't want to troll, but you do realise that we are talking about a WORLD CHAMPS course and not just a bike park course that is there for anyone and everyone to enjoy with their 6 year olds?

 

Making money has nothing to do with the course as it is being designed right now. The course is playing host to World Championships in August.

[NicoBoshoff]

Yes and no.

 

Ok this is a purely theoretical discussion because I haven't ridden the track but in my opinion B and C lines don't turn a dangerous course into a safe course.

 

For instance - if I make the A line 7 out of 8 times and the 1 time I don't make it results in a broken collar bone then I'll be hitting the B line. Not because I'm not skilled enough but the consequences outweigh the advantage.

 

I'm not being beaten by a better rider - I'm being beaten by a rider that is willing to take that 7/8 chance.

 

Me - I like challenging/technical where superior skill gains you time not dangerous where brass balls and no thought to consequence gains you time.

 

Anyway - until I see the course this is all moot.

 

Whatever happens I can't wait to get down there and put feet to pedals - last time I raced pmb was a national in 2010 and that course was pretty mild. Can't wait to see what the upgrades are - time, videos and your and the team's input suggests the upgrades are HUGE!

 

Yeah. Just like I hate the fact that people who make risky investments sometimes end up millionaires and I still have to work even though I am smarter and more hard-working than them...

 

It's part of the sport when it gets competitive. If you aren't willing to take the risks for the extra potential upside of success then that's your decision, but you shouldn't impose your standards of risk/reward on others willing to take the plunge.

 

Sometimes the guy taking the risk falls on his face and you overtake him and beat him. And in that case you didn't win because of superior skills, but because he took the risk and lost.

[NicoBoshoff]

But.......if where con crashed is where I am thinking (the two camel humps with the drop off/jump after them) then the B line is significantly slower than the A line. The A line is straight over those jumps and then up the hill, while the B curls back and then around another loop and only then meets the track. Therefore to be competitive, you almost HAVE to do the A line in this instance.......

 

Higher risks = higher rewards. Your call to make if the equation is in your favor or not.

[Eldron]

, but you shouldn't impose your standards of risk/reward on others willing to take the plunge.

 

Sometimes the guy taking the risk falls on his face and you overtake him and beat him. And in that case you didn't win because of superior skills, but because he took the risk and lost.

 

That is a fine comment. Consider my view point altered.

 

Well said.

[NicoBoshoff]

I WANT to be a millionaire, BUT I am not willing to risk losing everything on a business with no promise of success. Does that mean I can demand that all business ventures / investments should be low risk or come with a guarantee in the event of my failure?

[sometime]

If you want to win a World Championship XCO race then you must have it all - speed, strength, technical skills, race strategy, intelligence and balls. Whatever the debate might be on the nature of the course I have no doubt the best (most complete) rider will win.

 

I'm looking forward to riding the course and being part of a World Championship event. I haven't ridden the course yet but from what I've heard it's pretty intense with a number of competitive XCM riders I know seriously reconsidering their entries. When I suggest they take the B & C line to say safe, their response is they'll lose too much time...

[DIPSLICK]

MY 2C and i mean my knowledge is literally worth 2c on this topic,,,, but i always say with a certain amount of skill you must be able to ride it, relative to the competition. its like when i watch the epic on tv and you watch the pros pushing a bike, my thinking is if they push..........how the hell can i want to ever do the event i cant remember where i read the amount the pros pushed this year but it was km/s ..now if the top boytjies are breaking bones then surely, the set course might need to be re looked or MAYBE THEY JUST HAD A BAD DAY OUT,

as eldron says you need to see the course and decide, yes it must be tough but it must be doable

[vanniri]

All these "real mountain biker", "you must toughen-up", "...it's worlds..." spoils riding off-road for me as much as cyclists navigating around pebbles.

 

The sooner people realise that the tough talk and the pansy riding is just the opposite sides of the same coin the better for us all.

 

Ride your bike because you enjoy it and share this enjoyment when riding.

[Grebel]

Nige, Thanks for the hard work bud!

 

I have owned and been riding a downhill for less than a year. By all accounts I am the weekend warrior you all speak of. I heard about the Masters World Champs and thought nothing of it except that it was the week before the "Big Guns" come race!

 

Then I had a chat to Mr Hicks. He explained the honour of being able to participate in the pinacle of your chosen discipline of MTBing. Being part of one of the biggest spectacles of the mountainbiking calendar. Having straangers cheering you on as you do your run. I was convinced. I upgraded my licence and paid my entry fee. (My kids will go without shoes for a while but as long as patches is around, they won't go without sweets.)

 

I have ridden from the section just above Haibo for the KZN Champs and if I'm honest I had eyes the size of dinner plates by the time I had gotten to the bottom! Have not had the pleasure of riding the top section yet but hoping to get up there this weekend and give it a run.

 

This is a propper big boys track. No doubt. Do I have visions of wearing the rainbow stripes? Of course! Is it a realistic goal? Of course it is! There just has to be some divine intervntion first..... The chances of everybody the comes after me crashing out or having a mechanical are slim but thereis still a chance!

 

TBH, I think the guys whinging are the guys that want to stand around the braai fire and brag. Me, I will probably soil myself the first two days of practise. TBH I am sh!tting myself already (I blame Hicks...) Not a day goes by where I think to myself "WTF have I done...! I am boxing way above my weight division here..." I will be looking at all the available lines when the time comes. I will more than likely hit the C lines but I sure as hell am not going to be the one to bleet about how hard the track is. If it is unrideable for me, I'll fake an injury and go home early.... or back down to regroup and change my undies!

 

All being said and done though I am looking forward to being there and the thought being part of this is truly one of the highlights of my MTB "carreer"!!

 

In the word of HandH: "Crusty Ballies Represent!"

[Danger Dassie]

I loved the off camper comment. I'm mean I'm happy to launch off a pavement, kicker or small car but a camper? Those things are far too high for a carbon hardtail. Or me.

 

Tables have quite a large size variation but I'd probably ride off most of them.

 

Gotta love journalists.

 

Take it you read the "press release" then, Patches left that bit out. Hence why the source is always quoted.

Copy is generally subbed for spelling and grammar, but with all the syndicated media and releases going out some things do get missed whilst we do someone's job for them.

[Eldron]

MY 2C and i mean my knowledge is literally worth 2c on this topic,,,, but i always say with a certain amount of skill you must be able to ride it, relative to the competition. its like when i watch the epic on tv and you watch the pros pushing a bike, my thinking is if they push..........how the hell can i want to ever do the event i cant remember where i read the amount the pros pushed this year but it was km/s ..now if the top boytjies are breaking bones then surely, the set course might need to be re looked or MAYBE THEY JUST HAD A BAD DAY OUT,

as eldron says you need to see the course and decide, yes it must be tough but it must be doable

 

Thats aligned with my way of thinking Dips...

 

My opinion on various mtb disciplines:

XCM - its all about fitness and stamina - the consequence of poor training should be loss of time.

XCO - it's about skill and fitness - the consequence of lack of skill and training should be loss of time.

DH - it's all about skill and BALLS - the consequences of lack of skills and balls should be injury.

 

I've been quite vocal about not making XCO dangerous. Technical yes but dangerous no - gap jumps and insane rock gardens should not be in XCO in my opinion. DH riders get to use an armoury of protection because they don't have to pedal tooo much and don't have to worry about overheating. Making XCO dangerous when conditions don't allow body armour is silly in my opinion.

 

Technical yes - dangerous no.

 

The problem is that the line between the two is murky, grey, flexible and relative :-)