How Good A Racer Were You BITD?

[Defiant]

13 x National Champion
1 x Scandinavian Champion

European Championships best place 7.
World Cup best places 7 and 8.

awesome!




i would like to think i did well back then but i see the results of the rest ,...i was not that good
Got to be honest; i did fine, did end up with some nice results locally but always liked the XC tours more then the competition, i loved getting up early, cold and fresh weather, together with my cousin who used to be a good friend but we ended up going different ways (i have to call him some time and find out how is doing) and just have a great sunday morning ride.
I threw in the towel regarding the competitions when i found out that no matter what , I was not going to be the one in the top due to my other interests which swallowed my training and spare time.
Once i was standing ready for the start, looked around i recognized 1 of the other competetors, couldn't put my finger on at that point but when he lapped me once after 3 laps, out of 4 i did,..it was Johan Museeuw (tour the france) training in the winter to stay fit,....that was it for me

 

[mrkawasaki]

Palmares

48th at SiTs 2008 and beating all the other Retrobike teams entered at Mountain Mayhem 2008....

Mr K

 

[JustKev]

On the track:
1km 1.06.7
200m 10.811

13 x National Champion
1 x Scandinavian Champion

European Championships best place 7.
World Cup best places 7 and 8.

Superb Shamus. Were they all on the track?

When did you do the 1km time? I think Chris Hoy holds the current WR with a 1.00.7

 

[jango]

I think Chris Hoy holds the current WR with a 1.00.7

isn't it Arnaud Tournant with 58.? :shock: at altitude.

 

[Shamus]

I quit racing 3 years ago... my best times were 97-01.
Never raced against Hoy, and I´m glad for that...he is awesome!
But I won Graig Mclean couple times

WR is Tournants 58.875, done in La Paz, Bolivia 2001
Altitude +3000m

 

[messiah]

I enjoyed racing in the SCU series in the early nineties. I had regular top tens in the "Sport" category for a few years which culminated in 3rd for the series and winning the championships in 1995 (which was also 5th in the Expert/Elite as we raced together).

When I last raced in 1997 I was top 5 Pro/Elite after four races but work got in the way. I have not raced since although I do think about entering something sometime just to see what like. Every ride is a race to certain extent, I only have one speed... flat-oot! Racing a few weekends a year was OK as it didn't interfere too much with my real love of technical terrain and getting up into the big mountains. I never wanted to race outwith Scotland, I didn't like the travel. The SCU team was out of Edinburgh and the training weekends and racing in Englandshire would have meant more travel so I didn't get involved.

I also did DH back then on my XC bike with good results. I bought a DH bike to take it more seriously but I dislike pushing my bikes about so lost interest and sold it having hardly used it.

My current Nicolai has more travel front and rear than the Intense M1 I had :twisted:

 

[daveaasmith]

Racing - umm, could have been better - I never really had that fearless downhill ability that my mates had. Still, loved the XC, climbs and trials - just love being out there.

Did a few Nembas on my zebra-striped Kestrel MXZ, can't remember them all, but Catterick was one I think.

Did a few races at Lightwater Valley, back in 1990-1992.

Anyone else race at Lightwater Valley ???

 

[stevet1]

Some cool stories in this thread. I only ever entered two races, the first an xc race around the course at Leisure Lakes Preston where I felt like I was going to throw up all the way round and ahted every minute. The second a 4 man DH 'eliminator' race down Georges lane (aka the ice cream run) at Rivington which tought me two important lessons. I was on my Orange Vit T with flat bars and 45mm of yorkshires finest suspension. On a rocky corner my feet came out of the onza clipless pedals and I scrabbled to get them back in for what seemed like ages whilst pinballing from rock to rock. First lesson - I bought some flat pedals and never relied on a mechanism to hold my foot onto a pedal again.
When I eventyually clipped back in I was so pissed off, knackered and full of adrenalin as I had expected to crash any second that I just let off the brakes completely and pedalled hard. Second lesson - the faster you go the smoother the course becomes and the harder it is to get knocked off line.

Steve Peat won with an overtaking manouvre down the rockiest line on the course.

 

[reanimation]

I was rubbish, my mate wasn't a lot better, its was just a matter of, -we ride bikes, enjoy our hobby so what next?- a race

1992(?) aged 14/15(?) We signed up to a race in Hebden Bridge at Howards 'Hair Team' bike shop! My mate and I rode our 30lbs+ worth of 1991 GT's from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden, we met a lost rider on the way, Richard who along with his mates became our riding buddies. Glad we met some people because the race was a disaster.

It was basically across a field, or some fields, i kept with my mate for a while while he got ahead, and i lost heart. on the downhill I had a comic moment, going past an older dude, he then hit a dip in the field and cracked his balls on his top tube. As a teen i found this a little bit funny but mostly I was feeling good just going past somebody!

Anyway there was a stream/bog and a wall to climb over i got stuck there, My Hi-Tec Trails were scrampling for grip, the heavy stock GT was too heavy for my Fido Dido arms to lift in the mud after several riders went past I seriousl lost heart till on kind soul helped. thanks whoever that was. and then I'd had enough, i didn't fancy another 2 laps. :roll:

So there ya go my racing career! I still get involved in thing i may not be that good at or prepared for which i think is healthy :idea:

 

[daveaasmith]

1992(?) aged 14/15(?) We signed up to a race in Hebden Bridge at Howards 'Hair Team' bike shop! My mate and I rode our 30lbs+ worth of 1991 GT's from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden, we met a lost rider on the way, Richard who along with his mates became our riding buddies. Glad we met some people because the race was a disaster.

Howard!!! Blimey I know him - my mate Keith worked for him around that time, and I did all his races in Hebden on my Kestrel! They were some proper badly organised races

I remember that race you're talking about as well - almost all field, and muddy as hell......