The Ratz Rampage is back for 2010 at Checkendon. With improved access, better parking and maybe even online entry.
Round 1 - June 6th
Round 2 - June 27th
Round 3 - September 19th
Round 4 - October 3rd
For anyone that hasn’t tried this yet, it takes the form of a excellent flat and twisty singletrack short loop. Races are generally only an hour long, allowing you to really go flat out. They make for great fun and excellent training.
Sunday 29th November, 2009
It was another early start for the first of the new Brass Monkeys Winter Enduro Series which was held at the Rushmoor Arena in Aldershot. With what seamed like a year's worth of rain falling in the week leading up to the event, and more of the same forecast for race day, Tracey and I left the house bloody early at about 6:30 in case of bad weather driving up. Fortunately we had a good drive to the event and arrived at about 8:30, plenty of time before the 10:15 start. However not long after we had arrived it started to rain so it was time to try out my new pop up gazebo. We had it up in a matter of minutes which was brilliant. So as I unloaded the bike from the car and had a little chuckle to myself at all the other guys in the car park either getting soaked or hiding away in their cars.
It was a bit of a walk down to the start area which seamed to be tucked away in the corner of the arena. We later found out the arena had been doubled booked so the organisers, Gorrick and the Army Cycling Union, had to make a decision to cancel the event or make do with a smaller area. They decided to make do with the smaller area and a reduced course length. This was also the reason for the walk to the start as we couldn't park in the arena itself, a bit of a pain but better than no event at all.
With the weather not looking too good I decided not to pre ride the course, with it being about 7 miles long I figured it would take too long. At about 9:30 I went down to the start area to find a huge queue of people waiting to sign in and collect their race numbers. This I thought was a bit odd as the 4 hour race was due to start at 10:00. My race, the 2 hour male category, was due to start at 10:15, so of I went to try and do some sort of warm up and decided to ride the first part of the course.
I returned to the start area to be told over the really crap PA system that the starts had been delayed due to the back log of people signing on for the 4 hour race. Unfortunately they didn't tell us how long the start had been delayed by, so it was a case of waiting around in the cold for more information. All of a sudden the 2 hour race was called to the start , by the time I realized it was my race a large group had already got to the front. So I had to settle for mid pack which I thought was ok as it was an enduro race. I didn't feel too confident going into the race as I had a really bad time of it on the team ride on Thursday night , so I was looking to just finish . So the start horn went and it was a very relaxed and quite slow start from the guys around me, probably due to the saturated grass.
My God how wet was the start straight, bloody wet, water logged grass made it hard going. At the end of the grass was a short section of tarmac which went up on to a wooded track which was pretty dry considering the weather. Just at the end of the track was a short section which was really muddy and slippy before it went back on to tarmac and under a bridge. This was the section of the course I pre rode as a warm up, the rest of the course was a mix of mud, clay, sand and some fast sections of single track which mainly had, you guessed it, more mud on them.
I managed to get passed a lot of people on the long drag down to the tarmac section which was good. After the start I sat in a group who were going at quite a good pace for me and managed to pick off a few of them on the short climbs, of which there wasn't that many. I also got passed a few when they made mistakes in the slippy conditions, watching this happen in front of me made my mind up to take it a bit easy and stay upright. At the end of the first lap it was a quick pit stop to pick up some fresh drink and get rid of my jacket as I was really hot, despite it only being about 4 degrees . Half way round the second lap the weather took a turn for the worse and it chucked it down, it was proper nasty out on the course and not much fun for Tracey waiting in the feed zone. On the second lap the course was getting worse and I was sure I would crash at some point, so at the end of the second lap which had taken me over 50 minutes I decided to call it a day.
To sum up the race, reasonably happy with the way it went and felt more confident in the mud than at the previous race at Newnham Park. The bike was working good again not let me down all year but it needs a strip down and clean before the next race, which is the second Brass Monkeys Enduro at Ash Ranges, Ash on the 28th December.
Results for Team UK-Biking.net
Peter Hall 42nd 2 Hour Male
Sunday 15th November, 2009
After the final round of the BMBS I decided to do as many races as I could over the winter to try and raise my skill level (which is pretty low) on the bike. So after competing in the two Gorrick Autumn Classic races it was off to Newnham Park with my wife Tracey for the first of the Soggy Bottom series. We travelled down to Devon on the Saturday morning in very strong winds and driving rain, thinking to myself I am definitely going to get a soggy bottom tomorrow. We eventually made it to Tracey's mum's house in Paignton, about half an hour away from Newnham, where we spent the night.
I decided to try a set of egg beater pedals this weekend as I'd had trouble with my SPDs at the last few races. I was also trying out some new tyres and decided on a Schwalbe Nobby Nic on the front and a Rocket Ron on the back, given the wet and slippery conditions I was expecting. Other than these changes it was just some new brake pads in the bike and it was ready to go.
The morning of race day and the weather was surprisingly bright and sunny but still quite windy, so we set off at 10.15am heading to Newnham Park. On arriving we were diverted to the big field as the car park was full, so we thought their must be a good turn out. We were right over 250 riders were there to play in the mud.
The course opened for practice at 11.30am so off I went to figure it out. Most of it I had ridden before at the BMBS race so it was quite good knowing where most of it went. Just after the start line the course went steeply up on a gravel track then into the woods for some fast single track before descending over a bridge into the big field which ran alongside the river. Then it was up again on a muddy slippy track not as steep as the first climb but lack of grip made it feel as bad. Into the woods again and more single track before it came out at the top of a very muddy descent into the river crossing, which was deeper and faster flowing than last time I rode here. Then out the water and a bit more single track back to the start line. Most of the course was dry with just sections of it muddy and I thought it was a good course at about 3.2 miles long, just enough this time of year.
I had entered the Masters race - 4 laps. The start was manic with Elite, Masters and Vets all in the small start area at the same time. I tried to get near the front but had to settle for the middle of the group which is not ideal with the first climb just after the start. The whistle went for the start and I got my feet clipped in first time horaaah!!. Then on to the climb I was going quite well overtaking the riders walking up until the guy in front of me decided to fall off. That screwed it, off the bike running up the hill at the top back on feet in easy again I set off to try and catch the group in front. I tagged on the back of the group on the run up to single track as soon as we were on it they pulled away from me as I wasn't to sure on the grip with the new tyres at race speed. As the race went on I managed to get a few places back especially on the climbs and flat sections and was getting more and more confident with the grip from the tyres, I also felt I was going quicker through the single track which is why I'm doing the winter races. So an hour and a half later and I crossed the finish line in 32nd place pretty tired but quite happy with the way it all went.
To sum up the weekend, very happy with the new pedals, tyres worked great once I got used to them. The event itself was very good and I will be back to do the other three rounds in the New Year. Next up for me the Brass Monkeys race at Aldershot on the 29th of November, hopefully I won't be the only team member at this event.
Results for Team UK-Biking.net
Peter Hall 32nd Masters
