Six Hours in the Saddle

[gravity]

Hi Guys,

Just a quick reminder that entries close for the Six Hours in the Saddle mountain bike event at the Beechworth Mountain Bike park at midnight on Tuesday May 12. The race is on this Saturday May 16 from 10am-4pm. $3 from every entry goes to the Beechworth Chain Gang mountain bike club and back into the local trails at the park. A lot of work has been done out at the Beechworth MTB Park including some brand new trails which will be included in the Six Hours in the Saddle event....the race features close to 9.5km of predominantly singletrack. More info is at http://www.sixhoursinthesaddle.com

Cheers, Paul

 

[paggnr]

I love this trachk and have raced SHITS in the last 3 years.

Its a pity it is no longer in the official VIC Endurace Series. Any idea if it will return next year?

 

[Bundy boy]

Got my entry in early and ready to race.
It's an awsome track to ride, all the members of the Beechworth chain gang have done a great job of building it.

 

[RichJS]

Driving 4.5 hours for 2 hours of riding - team of 3. I normally insist on riding for at least as long as the drive there, but I'm making an exception this time.

 

[MBPL]

Vic Enduro Series

Not being part of the Vic Clubs Enduro series highlights the private promoter profit motive versus clubs running great events for their members' benefit.

 

[rootri]

yep count me in.

hope the track is as good as the hype. how rough is the course? will most likely ride dually but is hardtail an option out there?

looking forward to ripping it apart.

 

[leftieant]

Alot of new track this year - the private property section (on the southern side of the fireroad) has been taken out, and the track will be completely in the confines of the Park.

Hardtail OK (I wouldn't be soloing on it) but it is a pretty techie course, so a duallie is probably a good option.

 

[leftieant]

On the Private Promoter front, I think SHITS (and Gravity) have always been privately promoted events, with club assistance, as opposed to being club run events.

I'm not sure of the financial arrangements, but I think most of the Series type races (Enduro series, Vic XC series etc) the hosting club gets a $$ figure per rider, rather than all the revenue.

 

[paulb]

My guess is the people who don't participate in Saturday's race will be the losers

I did a couple of laps at the club's practice day on Saturday on a 29er single speed with fairly skinny tyres (Cannondale OEM Contis that measure about 1.8) and had no problems. Did see someone fixing a pinch flat though! There's quite a few rocks but nothing too extreme. Some of the new track was fairly soft but it improved through the day so should come up great.

I can't see anyone having major problems with a hardtail but as Ant says a duallie would be more comfortable, especially for solos

 

[Oldas]

I have heard alot about the trails and are travelling 4 hours myself to race the mixed pairs.

Looking forward to it.

 

[MBPL]

Shits

The issue is not PP but being part of the series, maybe PPs are too poor to contribute to series prizes.

 

[gravity]

On the Private Promoter front, I think SHITS (and Gravity) have always been privately promoted events, with club assistance, as opposed to being club run events.

I'm not sure of the financial arrangements, but I think most of the Series type races (Enduro series, Vic XC series etc) the hosting club gets a $$ figure per rider, rather than all the revenue.

Correct...the SHITS and GRAVITY 12 HOUR events have always been privately run with the support of the local club the Beechworth Chain Gang. Money is going into a cash prize pool just the same as the VIC XC enduro series the difference being this is a standalone event. Hope that clears some things up.

 

[Le Matelot]

Results and Photos

The full results from the 2009 6 Hours in the Saddle at Beechworth MTB Park are below, including a photographers index.

My happy snaps from the race are here.

 

[spinner]

Photos from the race HERE and HERE

 

[rootri]

well run event i thought. i tried to register by fax, but it wasnt working, so then did it online. when i picked up my race number, there was a note that i had been charged twice, and got a refund before i even knew about it. good stuff.

did anyone else think the course was ridiculously hard. 100% technical single track for 6+ hours (is this the norm, first lap race). i was under the impression the course was going to be fairly easy. im not complaining about the event, just commenting btw. my technical riding ability is embarrasingly bad. ended up 6th solo so happy enough with that

 

[rrocket]

well run event i thought. i tried to register by fax, but it wasnt working, so then did it online. when i picked up my race number, there was a note that i had been charged twice, and got a refund before i even knew about it. good stuff.

did anyone else think the course was ridiculously hard. 100% technical single track for 6+ hours (is this the norm, first lap race). i was under the impression the course was going to be fairly easy. im not complaining about the event, just commenting btw. my technical riding ability is embarrasingly bad. ended up 6th solo so happy enough with that

This was my 3rd 6hr having previously done Castlemaine & Bendigo last year.
I found the to be a lot more physical & mentally demanding than the other races, particularly on a hardtail. I thought it would be hard to pass anybody,
but after the first couple of laps most riders were happy get across.

I think the track was awesome specially the berms & flowing sections.
I was on your tail I think for laps 3 & 4 but you were a lot stronger climbing,
whilst I was fading fast.
Not too likely to travel 5hrs to do this race again but who No's
Cheers, from rider 33

 

[Oldas]

Only my second race but absolutely loved it. The single track is the best i have ridden and the course was to me, a 'true' mountain bike course.

The town of Beechworth is awesome, what a place to host MTB event's. I will definately be back soon for a casual day of riding and will bring as many people as i can!

Thanks to all competitor's and organiser's for what was a great day. And thank's to the guys from www.trailmix.com.au for gettin me up there.

 

[johndh]

"Money is going into a cash prize pool just the same as the VIC XC enduro series the difference being this is a standalone event"

Curious to know how much cash was handed out at the SHIT as is mentioned in a previous comment or what the cash prize pool is?

 

[monc]

great photos spinner!

I had a great day at Beechworth, well organised, track was challenging but not scary, lots of rocks but some fun section too. It certainly kept you on your toes all the way around, I don't know how the solos were managing, there weren't many places to eat or use a bottle.

There were a LOT of people on the side of the track fixing things, and I think there was only one bike/rider in the two teams I was with that didn't damage something. The score at the end of the day for us was 1 mangled rear deraillieur and hanger, 2 flats, 1 exploded chain, 1 broken helmet/sore rider (all separate events).

Big thumbs up to the hot potato van!

 

[akashra]

There were a LOT of people on the side of the track fixing things, and I think there was only one bike/rider in the two teams I was with that didn't damage something. The score at the end of the day for us was 1 mangled rear deraillieur and hanger, 2 flats, 1 exploded chain, 1 broken helmet/sore rider (all separate events).

Last year Beechworth and Bendigo were the two tracks that stood out when it came to number of people trackside fixing their bikes, particularly as the event got further in. In fact, I too was one of those trackside in the final hour, flatting the rear in the first 10 min of the lap, then again less than 10 min later in the lap flatting the front

To have the tally you've listed though within team scores some serious points.

did anyone else think the course was ridiculously hard. 100% technical single track for 6+ hours (is this the norm, first lap race). i was under the impression the course was going to be fairly easy. im not complaining about the event, just commenting btw. my technical riding ability is embarrasingly bad. ended up 6th solo so happy enough with that

Last year there was nothing I couldn't easily ride at Beechworth, but that's not to say they didn't add something new this year.
IMO a good enduro course should be one easily ridable on lap 1, but by hour 4 becomes extremely physically demanding, and the difficulty in obstacles comes through fatigue. This is why I like courses like Eildon and Eumeralla.
If riders need to put a foot down on lap 1, it's not an encouraging sign. For an event you want to encourage participation, then sure having everyone finish is nice. But the more high end you want to target, the more you want to be aiming for ~50-70% attrition. IMO

Edit: Actually, now that I think about it Beechworth did have one big drop that I couldn't ride until I watched Matt L pass me right there and watched him ride it. Every lap after that I got it with no problems.