Mountain Mayhem Aftermath Thread

Good to meet up with you lot, albeit briefly. I will at some point do Mayhem on a retro bike . On my skanky modern steed I ploughed on through, stopping twice for some rest. I came 21st in the solos, pipped to 19th by a measly 1 second! Not bad for a first attempt, though how the winner (James Braid) did 26 laps is beyond comprehension.

I saw daj a few times out on the course and some of you lot, well done to you all. Maksters video sums up the conditions nicely. My memories of the course include:

1: Bloke half way up a climb with his iPhone out taking a picture of the mud
2: Bloke at bottom of the grassy climb stretched out smoking a roll-up
3: The sickening thud and subsequent silence of one of the competitors crashing on one of the descents - badly. I reckon he broke something.
4: The two marshal girls on the last big climb shouting "'ere, 61 you've been out all night"!
5: One of you lot commenting on my chest wig as I rode most of the course with my jersey open

Congratulations retroyetirigid!

SP

Where's the sudacreme?

elPedro666":1chzx2aq said:

Where's the sudacreme?

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You dropped it on the course on the first lap!!

My thoughts from a MM virgin.

The lap was hard, with most of the climbs just too steep. I don't mind climbing, but I couldn't get up them all on the Friday recce lap, in the dry, let alone when they were wet. The camaraderie was great, not just with us RBers, but with the fellow competitors. Lots of love for the old bikes, and some nice chats when walking / stumbling up the climbs. However, the course was soulless in the sense that nobody came to watch or cheer us on. This didn't inspire, especially when you lose half your team mates, albeit one of them had a decent excuse. Nice one Chris.

The RB camp was great. Fantastic to meet you all, and well organised. Thanks to all involved. Just a shame it was so far away from the action.

I think I agree with Maksters summary, but I may just be on a 10 man team next time

Sidewinder":3gknx6l0 said:

elPedro666":3gknx6l0 said:

Where's the sudacreme?

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You dropped it on the course on the first lap!!

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Is that why it was so damn slippery?!

Towards the end some of the polished rock was so icy it was ridiculous - kept hearing shouts of 'it's like bloody ice!'


I'm all mixed up at the moment - very very proud of all the retro boys and girls, but sad I didn't see much of many of you due to the crappy lack of heckling and spectating which has killed 70% of the magic for me. The young marshals did a fantastic job of cheering us all on around the clock, really quite touched (leave it) by their efforts. But twice a lap through the campsite for a mile of encouragement, jumps of doom, pushing people up the bridge on a wave of noise, last lap jelly babies from strangers... The list is a long one and it's a sad, sad loss. Fingers crossed the message gets through for next year.

Loved the first descent (koffin?), loved how the grip levels totally changed from lap to lap, seemingly at random, enjoyed most of the riding but absolutely fed up of pushing my bike up hills, that was just ridiculous. Even with grip only a handful of top guys were riding and it was a total waste of effort when it's quicker to walk a lot of the time anyway. Just daft in my eyes. Did mean a lot of good chatting on the way round though!

Love how well I got looked after - 3/4 of the whole extended family turned out to wash bikes and feed me, was wonderful, but hate that they never actually saw any racing because it was so bloody far away. And that I had to camp away from RB as it was way too far from the start for me going solo (not that it felt solo at all with all the helpers!) and dropping in every lap.

Bring back the crowds, the heckling tent and a rideable course and the venue has real potential.

elPedro666":3279kdav said:

but absolutely fed up of pushing my bike up hills, that was just ridiculous. Even with grip only a handful of top guys were riding and it was a total waste of effort when it's quicker to walk a lot of the time anyway. Just daft in my eyes. Did mean a lot of good chatting on the way round though!

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I want to know where the other course was, as I seem to have been on the same course as you, but according to a lot of the posters on STW, the course was boring and they were able to clean most of the climbs :facepalm: Were they even there?

wookiee":1vayopbe said:

makster":1vayopbe said:

For those who couldn't make it, I think this piece of video I got on my gopro pretty much sums up the conditions
By the way....there's swearing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoN1_S_j ... e=youtu.be

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That is genius!! You can literally see it clogging up by the meter!!!! Now I know why I was waiting so long...!

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There is more footage to come that covers that! My back wheel shifted about 3/4 of the way around, and was rubbing against the frame. Not great, when it's already like riding through marshmellow.
I have video of me walking for about 15 minutes, until I bump into Nobby, who (being a complete legend!!) had a 15mm spanner in his bag.
Worst, but funniest, racing lap I've ever had

NeilM":309k8k51 said:

elPedro666":309k8k51 said:

but absolutely fed up of pushing my bike up hills, that was just ridiculous. Even with grip only a handful of top guys were riding and it was a total waste of effort when it's quicker to walk a lot of the time anyway. Just daft in my eyes. Did mean a lot of good chatting on the way round though!

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I want to know where the other course was, as I seem to have been on the same course as you, but according to a lot of the posters on STW, the course was boring and they were able to clean most of the climbs :facepalm: Were they even there?

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That must be why I post here with the grown-ups!

On the last lap - when it didn't matter anymore if I buggered my legs up - I gave a few of them a serious attempt and cleared a few extra sections but there were at least three or four that just weren't ever going to happen under any circumstances. Quick estimate ... I pushed up at least fifty big hills this weekend. That's just silly

Never mind silly, that's legendary.

Must remember to take more socks next year and drink less