SCOTT 24 hour 2010

EzyLee

Likes Dirt
Great video, and great effort to get it posted so quickly! You guys sure have the transition worked out - beer for the incoming rider. :)
Thanks heaps! Yeah the transitions were always a bit of a laugh with peoples comments. The local Canberra Times even made a mention of our team. The beer didn't sit to well after a while though. Not sure what lap times I got, my timing chip must have been faulty as none of my laps were recorded, much to the disappointment of the rider who went after me who's lap times blew up to just over 2 hours! haha!
 

frensham

Likes Dirt
Excellent weekend. I managed a practice lap on the Friday arvo and it felt much better than my earlier look at the track. Loved Willo's track and anything that went down.... The worst part for me was missing link and that constant climb up and over rocky bits. But Double Dissolution was just around the corner..... and Party Line signified the blast to the finish.

Mostly positives for our team this time around. We manged to ride the whole 24 hours and only missed two transitions.

Negatives were the changing of the teams briefing without notification to those of us camping in the areas where it was impossible to hear the loudspeakers. With all the fancy WiFi and FM stuff they had I don't understand why there wasn't a speaker or two up in the main camping areas.
The portaloos were a nice touch for the first thirty minutes. Can't see the point of them if no-one is going to service them over the whole weekend.
The double/triple 'jump' right at the bottom of the finish downhill was utterly stupid - even the B-line had a rock to collect pedals. My initial opinion of the track being unsuitable for beginners still stands. If I was a first timer I might not return. Having said that I was impressed by the lack of hassle being passed and passing - everyone was in a good mood.
The number of empty GU packets and the punctured tubes lying on the track was very disappointing - some of us MTBers just don't get it!
Finally, I would love a dollar for every rider I saw fixing a pinch flat at the bottom of the hill to Terminal Velocity...
 

MTBalltheway

Likes Dirt
!

best race I have done in my life, good excuse to ride all day and night, great team fun and an experience to camp out in Canberra!

THANKS FOR THE GREAT TIME EVERYONE INVOLVED!
 

c3024446

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I had a fantastic time over the weekend, very well organised. I blew myself up in the first lap trying to get the fastest for our team, and succeeded :) Doing a practice lap of the course really helped on Friday afternoon, i think this should be compulsory.

Things i liked: Terminal Velocity - the Garmin said 57.3kph, but i got outdone by a 58.3kph in one of our other teams. Double dissolution - Great track, except it kept hurting my back. The uphill almost paved track, (is that Willo's?). The last 2 km, especially the crit track bit at the end - everyone else was dawdling for some reason, I was sprinting for the line doing 45 everytime. Oh, and not having a hardtail. My 130mm Rize did not seem enough.

Things i didn't: Blackhill Climb - My first night lap i just could not pick the line through the rocks falling 4 times, and they kept getting more exposed as the race went on. Shadys: Went forever, Terminal velocities' 10 seconds of joy means 10 minutes of pain up the other side.



Overall, thanks organisers, i will be back next year.
 

iscarrr

Likes Dirt
Thankyou to the person who cut the lock/chain on the main gate on Sunday after the reace so that we could get our cars out before 4pm. Amazingly nothing crazy happened as a result of people getting out before 4pm.

We beat(or worked around) the gate being locked at 2pm(ish) on Friday by driving a ute we had inside back and forth to the edge of the carpark to ferry gear into the campsites.

Anyway that stupidity aside, the race was good. The track didn't have enough climbing for my liking, i prefer the standard 'red' track, but it was still good. Loved party line, hadn't ridden that section before. Traffic around little seymour was terrible pretty much every lap for me, and despite what they said there was bugger all places to pass (and when there were places it was super dangerous). Number of times i ended up at the back of groups of 10-20 riders going super slow with a really young rider up the front.
 

T-Rex

Template denier
Overall a fantastic race, well done to the organisers.

I enjoyed the more technical nature of this year's track. I only had one stack, that was in the queue for the toilet, when I pulled up and failed to unclip due to a loose cleat. Very funny, with 20 people looking on.

But it seemed like there was more carnage than last year. What do people think? The guy who binned it on the little triple near the 4x track seemed in a pretty bad way, hope he recovers OK. I don't know why they put a feature like that in a 24 hour race, it invites trouble.

I think the organisers have a bit of fine tuning to do with site access - clearer communication about when you can and can't get vehicles in and out, thinking about where people are going to need access with trolleys to and from the car park. It was pretty annoying pushing a trolley full of equipment down from the car park to come across a locked gate and having to lift the thing over it, a bit of planning around foot access could have avoided this.


Things i liked: Terminal Velocity - the Garmin said 57.3kph, but i got outdone by a 58.3kph in one of our other teams.
That was scary. I hit 53.8 according to my Garmin, which was enough to coast up the single track at the bottom. Anyone top 60?
 

mittagongmtb

Likes Dirt
Tubed vs Tubeless

In our team of 6, we had 4 flats on bikes running tubed tyres and none with those running tubeless. Same last year. It would be great to know a collective figure for the hundreds who rode. In the overall event the time lost with tube changes came close to missing out on a first place.

Now I know tubeless are not invincible but having run them now for a couple of years we have only suffered 1 flat (with LUST tyre). This weekend ran Aspens on stans rims - fantastic.
 
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EzyLee

Likes Dirt
You guys sure have the transition worked out - beer for the incoming rider. :)
Not only was the beer a motivator/reward for finishing a lap, but it is also how we recorded our lap times... and other tidbits. Some people use whiteboards, we didn't have one.

 

mittagongmtb

Likes Dirt
Not only was the beer a motivator/reward for finishing a lap, but it is also how we recorded our lap times... and other tidbits. Some people use whiteboards, we didn't have one.

So 16 laps?

I can see it now - radars on terminal Velocity, random breathalyzers when you least expect it, overtaking lanes on little seymour....
 
My initial opinion of the track being unsuitable for beginners still stands. If I was a first timer I might not return. Having said that I was impressed by the lack of hassle being passed and passing - everyone was in a good mood.

Finally, I would love a dollar for every rider I saw fixing a pinch flat at the bottom of the hill to Terminal Velocity...
That was my first ever race. In fact I had to borrow a $600 bike from a friends wife and only had 5 practice rides ever on a MTB before the big day...luckily two of them were on the course so I had an idea what I was in for.

Overall I think a little too difficult (technical) for me as a beginner. But hey this is mountain biking right, so there needs to be a challenge. Just saying that it was a bit tough for beginners and I should probably have chosen a different introduction to the sport...but that is not a reason to change the course in my opinion. For some reason I always struggle on that blackberry hill climb near the start. Amazingly my first lap was ok and managed it all the way without unclipping apart from a small bit climbing up from terminal velocity. That climb to the top after TV always tricked me up.

Night was a different story and I just lost all confidence and felt like I walked around the whole course! Met a fellow with the same idea as me coming out of terminal velocity where I spent most of the time running up the hill and alternatively letting the fast people through. Will chose an easier race next time! Having said that – the atmosphere was awesome and our team totally loved the event – big props to the organisers for all the effort and for putting on such a fun event . Will do another 24hr again – apparently the Mont is easier for beginners.

Regarding the flats – was that an uncommon number? We had 5 flats for our first two laps alone!!! Took them over 4 hours to get around what with borrowing spare tubes and all. One more flat and a snapped seat post rounded out the casualty list. 4 of those flats were just after Terminal Velocity..anyone know what was causing it? We were camped right on the track after the big descent on the way home and about 20 metres before the triple jump while it was in operation. For a while it was fun to watch on as people attempted it (and reasonably often failed)...then you realised it was only going to be a matter of time until someone was seriously hurt. But I guess it was included as there was a simple B line around it. Big shout to the volunteer who stood there yelling “detour” at the very top of his lungs for a full 60 minutes each time a rider past (every 15 seconds) when the course was changed. The guy didn’t let up once – no idea how his voice held out...it became the catch-cry of our team.

Finally – there is no way to compare your lap times against an average? The live timing was awesome, but doesn’t give me an idea of where my lap time stood other than within my team. Would be cool if eventually that was an option. The leaders doing laps in the mid 40’s is unreal! I managed 1.06 during the day which I am guessing was just a bit slower than the average? Any thoughts?

Finally – the thing I was most afraid of was being past by faster (angry) riders. I should have had no fear as they were totally professional and friendly at all times. Most passed with ease and were patient. I only held one person up down a really technical part and then the climb up afterwards. He probably had to sit behind me for 2 minutes or so and then when he finally sped past at lightning speed said thanks and good luck rather than cursing – so I think that was a good introduction to the sport. I also managed to pass people with ease...but then again I was happy to get a rest and wait for a good spot!
 

T-Rex

Template denier
In our team of 6, we had 4 flats on bikes running tubed tyres and none with those running tubeless. Same last year. It would be great to know a collective figure for the hundreds who rode. In the overall event the time lost with tube changes came close missing out on a first place.

Now I know tubeless are not invincible but having run them now for a couple of years we have only suffered 1 flat (with LUST tyre). This weekend ran Aspens on stans rims - fantastic.
I've been wondering this myself. Last year I ran brand new Crossmarks with Stans rim strips and Stans goo and still managed to get two punctures, as in rocks punching through the tyre casing, including one right through the top of a tread block. This year's track was considerably more rocky, but my flash new ride, a Trance X1, comes equipped with real tubeless, including Kenda Nevigal UST tyres. Being a real tubeless tyre, I expect they have a more robust tyre casing. This year's course was more rocky than last year's and I had no troubles at all.
 

EzyLee

Likes Dirt
woops ... I forgot to put my last can on there!! 17 laps in total for our team.

I thought the track was good from a singlespeed point of view. I changed my gear ratio down the night before just to allow for times where I would be behind people on climbs and not having opportunity to pass. Just meant a snappier ride but would spin out on some of the fire roads. No biggy.

My only dislike for the course was Missing Link. That bit can get stuffed... momentum sucking bit of track. Also the spit out on to the grass after crim track (where you see people coming out of partyline). Another momentum sucker.

On my last lap I managed to bend my handlebars taking the drop off on the side of the 4X track.

The atmosphere out on track was awesome, a lot of friendliness... I didn't come across any agro like in previous years.

Some of the course signage was a little strange, my team mate got waved in to the solo pits on his first lap. So after a brief moment of 'this doesn't seem right' he was back out there having a bit of a giggle.

Now I must go wash my eyes. I still have the burn of the green mankini in my retinas.
 

EzyLee

Likes Dirt
I managed 1.06 during the day which I am guessing was just a bit slower than the average? Any thoughts?
For a first timer that didn't seem to be too confident on that course, that is an awesome time buddy! Would love to see what you could do after getting your technical skills ups!
 

T-Rex

Template denier
That was my first ever race.
And a great first post mate! If only they were all like that.

A very interesting perspective from a beginner. I'm pretty impressed that was your first ever race, on a $600 bike, with clips. You are right, that was a pretty technical course, well done for getting around it and still having a good time.

Regarding some of your questions:

This year's Mont course at Sparrow Hill was heaps easier than the Scott, less climbing and hardly any tech. However, for next year I believe it will be run at a different venue.

Most punctures are what are called pinch flats, where you hit a rock hard and the rim gets driven through the tube. This is why you see so many flats being repaired on or after decending sections of trail. Avoiding pinch flats is primarily a technique thing and comes with experience, but tubeless can substantially help too.

Edit: And regards your night riding, a couple of tips. This might sound obvious, but the more lighting power you have, the further you can see ahead, and the better you ride. Lighting power makes a big difference. Also having a handle bar mounted light as well as your helmet mounted light is very helpful, as you can see the shadow behind obstacles so your perception of them is clearer.
 
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drew.d

Likes Bikes
i ran tubes at <35psi. no flats in two laps; pick your lines, people. pedal failure put my foot into front tyre at 45kph on the crit track for my 2nd lap, otb, ending my race when hardly started.
 

Neon

Likes Dirt
That was scary. I hit 53.8 according to my Garmin, which was enough to coast up the single track at the bottom. Anyone top 60?
i have hit about 65 on it in the past.. but i wasnt wearing my garmin so im not sure about in the race.

as for the big stack.. he hit the triple and his back wheel got kicked up so he landed on his front wheel at the top of the landing, which caused him bounce futher down and to flip over onto his shoulder/collarbone/head.

after the course got re-routed there were still a few stacks on the dusty corner at the bottom.. less serious, but a little more entertaining ;)
 
And a great first post mate! If only they were all like that.

A very interesting perspective from a beginner. I'm pretty impressed that was your first ever race, on a $600 bike, with clips. You are right, that was a pretty technical course, well done for getting around it and still having a good time.

Regarding some of your questions:

This year's Mont course at Sparrow Hill was heaps easier than the Scott, less climbing and hardly any tech. However, for next year I believe it will be run at a different venue.

Most punctures are what are called pinch flats, where you hit a rock hard and the rim gets driven through the tube. This is why you see so many flats being repaired on or after decending sections of trail. Avoiding pinch flats is primarily a technique thing and comes with experience, but tubeless can substantially help too.

Edit: And regards your night riding, a couple of tips. This might sound obvious, but the more lighting power you have, the further you can see ahead, and the better you ride. Lighting power makes a big difference. Also having a handle bar mounted light as well as your helmet mounted light is very helpful, as you can see the shadow behind obstacles so your perception of them is clearer.

thanks for the comments guys - just thought it woudl be good to have a beginners perspective. Clips v platforms and running shoes was a toss up. I did a couple of rides in each. I am ok with the idea of the clips from riding a road bike in the past and you get so much more power - weighed against the fact I panic in the technical areas and probably unclip too early rather then being committed at pace which I might in running shoes.

Sounds like we were all about the pinch flats!

Sparrow sounds good (if it were there again) - I love the hills and have heaps of fitness so passed many people on the fire trails or the easy uphill section - only the technical areas that I struggled - but again I guess it wouldn't be fun for the expereinced people if not technical.

Lights - in the spirit of borrowing everything I had some Ay-ups on the helmet..maybe just me but wasn't overly impressed, but I guess it is dark so no lights are giong to make it perfect. And it didn't help when I must have clipped a tree with the helmet and it pulled the battery pack out of the lights leaving me with darkness! didn't really have a good handle bar light...just a token effort so as not to cheat the rules.

All our team had a good time and I think we will be back for more - mainly becuase it was a good atmoshphere and everyone on course were really nice and friendly.

I wasn't at the briefing (another person was) but in some other sports I have done they have a special "beginners briefing" might be a good idea for an event like this to point out the etiquette etc, difficult points on the course and general things to look our for.

I have a Garmin (used for the runnig I do) - I see that people have mentioned they used one (recorded top speeds) would people in general load their courses onto a particular website? would love to see them as a comparison.
 

c3024446

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I wasn't at the briefing (another person was) but in some other sports I have done they have a special "beginners briefing" might be a good idea for an event like this to point out the etiquette etc, difficult points on the course and general things to look our for.

I have a Garmin (used for the runnig I do) - I see that people have mentioned they used one (recorded top speeds) would people in general load their courses onto a particular website? would love to see them as a comparison.
Every time you go onto a new trail, on the sign in the bottom left hand corner there was a colour: Green: means easy trail, blue: medium, black: hard. They should have said that in the briefing. We only had greens and blues: Shadys, Blackhill climb and Seamores was blue, the rest were green i think.

I don't think there are too many places in Aust where the trails are this well signposted however. I was a bit disappointed that Pork Barrel is only a blue. I rode it all on Friday, including the A-lineover the left side of the rock, but that was the limit of my ability, so i'm not keen on attempting a Black trail.
 

EzyLee

Likes Dirt
For lights I run 2 sets of Ayups, they are the business. One set on the bars, one on the helmet. I have tried some pretty bright lights in the past and I tend to think Ayups are the better. Reason being, there is such a thing as too bright in my opinion. Having the light blow out the shadows in the track making it all look flat is a bad thing, having the light be so bright that it lights up the dust in the air is also a bad thing... it makes it look 'foggy' if that makes sense.

Try and get another set of Ayups so that you are not only running some on your helmet. I would probably be unimpressed if I had one set too.
 

T-Rex

Template denier
I had some Ay-ups on the helmet..maybe just me but wasn't overly impressed, .
No, it's not just you. I hastily borrowed a set of Ay-ups for my first night lap when my (normally very good) $400 Light & Motion suddenly died while I was waiting in transition. I thought the Ay-ups had slightly less power than one of these:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13095

I have one of the Trustfires as my handlebar light, and my 14 year old son had three. For my second night lap I pinched one of his Trustfires, so I had a back to back comparison between the two. Both my son and I did fine on our night laps with just two trustfires each. If I can't fix my Light & Motion, I'm just going to buy a couple more Trustfires. For $15 each you just cant go wrong with these things.

Re your garmin, you should be able to load your laps up onto connect.garmin. Here's one of my laps as an example:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/52357154
 
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