Tell us your racing history and stories from BITD

[danpiero]

I'm just interested to hear about peoples racing history . What races did you do BITD. What were you best results and favourite coarses that you rode . have you got any stories to tell about them . did you race for any teams or sponsered and what bikes and kit did you use . have you got any old photos . were there any riders that inspired you .
Lets hear about it

 

[Pickle]

I started riding back in 1992, during the summer holidays, a friend and I used to spend all day just riding around on our mountain bikes, razzing down the footpaths, just generally enjoying ourselves. One day we popped into town, stopped at the newsagents and I discovered MBUK. Upon reading this, in the race listings section there was an event just down the road from us. So, I entered, got my arse kicked, but got filthy and loved it. I was bitten by the world of mountain biking.

I then entered my first race at Theford Forest, orgainised by my old MTB team Pro Circuit. Ok, I got thrashed, but made an effort to seek out the organiser once I had finished and ask him 'how do I get quicker'. He advises me to 'train' and gave me the details of a local club to me CC Breckland. So next week I call them and join up.

They are a roadie orientated club, but gave a good grounding in the art of road riding, criterium racing and time trails. I subsequently started to train and do a few TT's. With a bit of effort my times start to come down. I actually enjoyed road riding and begin to enter more and more TT's and criteriums, whilst still MTBing.

Within a couple of years of joining CC Breckland I begin to get top 3 placings at both road and MTB events, but my heart is really into the road riding.

I also started track riding, and had quite good results, winning a number of youth and junior events, so began to race with Cat 2 riders when I was still a junior.

With the help of my parents, I was now racing all over the country.

During the closed season I found my favourite event, the hill climb. I remained undefeated during my racing career, and even set a course record as a junior in Suffolk.

As a Junior, I entered an event called 'National Youth Week', a week long racing event in Norwich. I won this, and got noticed by the National Junior Development squad. I was invited onto the squad and started weekly training sessions at their HQ at the Manchester Velodrome, training with the likes of Bradley Wiggins.

By now I was now racing every weekend and training every day Mon - Fri. I was getting the results, the wins were coming and the TT times were good. This was ok for a few years, but when I reached my late teens I decided I had had enough. The fun wasn't there anymore. With my training regime I didnt have a life. So, I hung up my lycra, sold a lot of my bikes and had a few years off.

I never want to race again, because now I enjoy riding when I want to, not because I have to.

 

[chaser]

What, only two of you guys raced BITD?

Let's hear some more stories....

Ride and Smile,

Chaser.

 

[Repack Rider]

I raced on the road before I took up off-road riding. Here I am sprinting for third place in a local criterium in 1974, with Charlie Cunningham getting all excited in the background.

 

[messiah]

Entered a local race series in 1993, two XC events and a DH. I did OK in the two XC events but my fourth in the DH pulled up to 2nd or 3rd for the series. I was then asked by Alpine Bikes if i wanted to race the SCU races for them, and the first one I did was Sidlaws at Dundee. I didn't see the point in entering fun so went for the Sport class. I was thinking I was going to be far off the back but within the first lap somebody told me I was in the top ten. I've no idea where I finally finished but I was hooked.
Did a few more races and pretty much always top ten but I never really trained more than simply riding my bike. I tended to miss races if they were far away or if there was better things to do that weekend that involved getting up into the big hills with the bikes. Racing was fun but it was not the only riding I enjoyed. In 1996 I finished University and spent the summer working in the bike shop and giving the racing a real try. I finished third for the Scottish Series and won the Scottish Champs (Still in sport... although I was 5th Expert Elite).
The following year I didn't race having tweaked a knee at the end of the ski season - skiing at the time was my no1 passion. This was the year I took up BMX again.
The following year I went to New Zealand where I planned to race but I bust my hand in a ski race at the end of the season.
In 1998 I made a return to Scottish racing and after a couple of top 10's and a top 5 in Pro-Elite I stopped racing completely when my work started sending me off round the world. I've not raced since.
I also did a few DH races over this time. Spanning the time when we raced DH on the same bikes as XC to the days when heaps of travel and full face helmets took over. Again I was usually hitting top ten or five but these events where even more of a day spent hanging around with very little riding thrown in. I guess I don't really like people as I I'm not 100% into the social "thang"... I'd rather ride my bike.

I still get a kick thinking about those days, but as with the above "Mr Pickle" I would much rather be spending my time riding my bike for fun.

Went to the worlds in Fort William as a spectator a few years ago and although I enjoyed it as an event I am in no hurry to go back... I could have spent the day riding.