VES round 6- Blores Hill- GMTB

akashra

akashra

Eats Squid
I see it from the point of "It's the Victorian Enduro Series - not the Metropolitain Melbourne and Central Victorian Enduro Series".

There are going to be events that aren't perfect for people in Melbourne; some not perfect for those in Portland; some not perfect for those in Bairnsdale.

It evens out - deal with it :)
 
riderideride

riderideride

Likes Dirt
adz said:
I can already hear the imaginary whinging :/

My perception is that most of the comments/feedback about race start times have been

1. Positive

2. Constructive

My 2c
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Exactamundo Adz! :) I am beginning to think suggestions and ideas are not welcome... I thought this forum was for discussion and positive ideas, but my thoughts are changing... it looks more like a dictatorship.
Another bonus of earlier finishing times would be more people sticking around for presentations :)
There has been no winging. Actually the exact opposite (but some people have negativity in their heads so dont read....just react). Was an awesome race and a great day out.
 
jt_vic

jt_vic

Likes Bikes
I don't understand why the standard start time isn't 9am. About half of the rounds in the series finish with presentation and pack up in the dark.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
akashra

akashra

Eats Squid
While I agree with you JT, I'm reasonably confident we'd in the minority. Mountain bikers aren't like roadies, and value their sleep.

My concern would be that every hour you make an event finish earlier is a few extra peopl who think "I can get home tonight... I'm not too tired to drive".

Rishi, with the right to voice an opinion comes the right for that opinion to be commented on by others, which is most certainly not limited to only being allowed to agree with it. If I were the first to say the opposite, would that make everyone else the negative ones?
 
S

.stu.

Likes Dirt
I don't give a fuck if something was already discussed if i wasn't a part of that discussion. Start Sunday races at 8am to encourage people to stay the night before. Start Saturday races at 10am or later during summer when daylight allows a late finish to encourage people to stay the night after racing.
 
Knut

Knut

Troll hunter
Do you think that the hard work and extremely long hours donated by the Gippsland crew needs to be rewarded by this type of feedback.

After hanging out with some of the coolest people I know, I find it difficult to understand thata minuscule proportion of the athletes are making the most noise. To be completely honest, I am embarrassed that we as a community are talking to each other in such a way. If you feel like having a crack at someone. PM them with your email address and take it off this site. Or even better, offer your comments in person.

We drove back to Geelong with two kids in the car after the race. So did others from down our way. Let's just remember the awesome trails and the friendly crew. The best thing was riding somewhere different.

If you can't behave, find another outlet.
 
D

dowey42

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brad01 said:
Thanks to Gippsland MTB for an awesome event that was really well run, had a blast! Cheers.
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riderideride said:
Super fun tracks! And fun camping :) thanks for the food Saturday night too! That was great!
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I appreciate the debate and suggestions made as it helps us with what riders want from our races, but if we could get back comments like this that'd be great...they re good for my after event head swell

Appreciate that Knut :)
 
J

jamespierce

Likes Dirt
Yup, thinking about it I'm not sure that wasn't the most flowing course I've ridden in my life. Even the uphill sections flowed, I'm not even sure there was any climbing. Really well organised, totally low key, we rolled in at 8:45am and picked up our race numbers which were all ready for us in a bag labeled with our team name, and our names - no queue, no fuss. The RFID timing worked a treat and live results to the internet is just too much, amazing !

As for all the discussion about start and finish times - personally I'd love to see every race on a saturday, I love nothing more than getting out of town friday night, sleeping, racing and then enjoying a night away with a few post race beers in some local joint having some food etc. But we can't all get what we want, so we compromise. 10-4 seems like a pretty fair one to me. If you live far away (and someone always will), then it's up to those individuals to take responsibility for themselves and book somewhere to stay, bring a friend to drive or whatever...

The amount of work that has gone into those trails and their condition considering how much rain there has been (they were BONE DRY) is a testament to hard work and sensible trail building. Hopefully tonight I'm not so tired I can actually have some dreams and relive the experience again.
 
Benizmo

Benizmo

Likes Dirt
What an event!

Some highlights for me;

Awesome course, after riding it last year I think the changes were great. A little less climbing, and the new trials section was a good challenge. Conditions where perfect, trails where in mint condition!

The live timing was great, and don't know anyone that got a split wrong. It was great to be able to see the splits live on your iPhone.

Food, dinner was some of the best at a race I've had, carbonara was great, and the portion & price was good value! Burger after the race was just what I needed! Plenty of food left too.

Trophies, well what can you say, unique!

This round is going to be hard to top, looking forward to seeing what Castlemaine can put together!
 
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leithel

Likes Bikes
I pretty much second everything he said ^^^^^^

The extra rocky loop added at the top this year was awesome. This was my first attempt at riding a 6hour solo and it was the perfect track to do so..... Out of all the Enduro Series races I have attended the last two years, I've found the Blores Hill race the most well organised (two years running).
 
S

.stu.

Likes Dirt
Knut said:
Do you think that the hard work and extremely long hours donated by the Gippsland crew needs to be rewarded by this type of feedback.
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Yeah, not the right thread to debate about decisions made by others for reasons that apparently aren't all that self-evident.

On topic: That was one of the slickest events I've had the good fortune to participate in. Rego was so easy I wandered out in confusion thinking I'd missed it but no, everything I needed in a neatly named paper bag. And it only got easier from there. The track was fantastic, so much flow but also with enough variety to keep me on my toes lap after lap. Such a great venue too, so good to be set up on grass with established facilities. Having the spectators up on trig point was also a great feature, crowd support goes a very long way during an enduro event and they seemed to enjoy watching us struggle across the rocks.

I got out of bed at 4am and drove 3 hours from Werribee, raced solo and drove home again afterwards... and I'd happily do it again. This event was well worth the effort.
 
setonz

setonz

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Yep an awesome event, the timing chip/sticker on the back of the number plate was an amazing idea..... is it an expensive set-up? Would seem to get rid of all of squabbles people always seem to have about timing after an event.
 
felixmtb

felixmtb

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No matter what the time, location or any factor that goes into a race, there will always be be someone complaining.
Shit happens, get over it and just enjoy the atmosphere and race!
 
Flannie

Flannie

Likes Bikes
Fantastic race well worth the drive down to ride trails that kept me smiling through the pain. Cannot fault the organisation at all.

I wish that all small towns and caravan parks embraced mountain biking events as much as Blores Hill - its nice to feel welcome (Eildon/Thredbo etc could visit and take a few notes)!

Will definitely be back, regardless of the start time.
 
Stevob

Stevob

Likes Bikes and Dirt
.stu. said:
...Having the spectators up on trig point was also a great feature, crowd support goes a very long way during an enduro event and they seemed to enjoy watching us struggle across the rocks...
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Yeah, that's always awesome. I even had a bloke hand me a snake lollie as I went across the top...which I promptly dropped:doh:, but it's the thought that counts (even though it's probably classed as outside assistance).
 
Knut

Knut

Troll hunter
Nah Steve, that just means your unco like the rest of us. Bad at ball sports? Try cycling. Not as bad as someone from Bendigo flailing on the rocks like a wounded seal. Who is usually a Jedi amongst the boulders. Had a good laugh with him after. The lack of passing opportunities didn't really matter when most people were so good about it. Pretty cool when self importance is put aside and shared enjoyment is the main theme.

Standing around talking to people after the race was pretty nice. Meeting new and old friends was cool. I think we are lucky to have such a sport that is filled with fantastic people. Where else could you get two hundred happy, earthy and well grounded people at a state level competition?

Next year, I think a weekend away for sure. Night festivities would be the key. It's on our calendar already.
 
Stevob

Stevob

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I definitely have my share of unco genes. We stayed the night in a cabin. No way would I do that drive up and back in one day. Besides, it gives you a chance to ride and get to know the course prior to going flat out at race pace.

Back next year too. This race and Forrest will be permanent fixtures on my calendar.
 
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