View Full Version : Midlands summer series
i think we're past the faking it stage now,and well on our way to form a credible race team ;) good luck to the chaps entered into this weekends round 1 at Hopton,watch out for them lovely roots:devil:
Its kinda cropped up all of a sudden! . this weekend, uplift saturday racing sunday as usual cant wait! the next round is on the 29/30th of april
Kind words, Fish, Thanks.
I know I'll enjoy it when I get there, but at the moment I'm going through that horrible "Oh what have you let youself in for thing" Up until last night I could dispell the doubts and bring on the "race buzz" by watching Earthed and drinking beer. I've now got 3 days and nights at work totally alcohol free to wallow in the self-doubt. At the moment I just don't want to embarrass myself or damage the credibility of the team.
At the moment I just don't want to embarrass myself or damage the credibility of the team.
Youll be a credit to the team, when you cross the finish line you'll be grinning from ear to ear, that i can guarentee ;)
Dont worry Ken all the veteran hopes are pinned on you, no pressure or anything :eek: :D ;)
Good luck everyone. You'll be fine Kenny B.
Yeah good luck mate! You'll be fine and do us proud no doubt!
Thanks lads, I feel a lot better now.
What's this "All the veteran hopes" .......Am I the thin GREY line?
It will be awesome actually been able to cross the finish line this time! Thanks for the look guys! Have a good weekends ride you who aren't coming!
Kind words, Fish, Thanks.
I've now got 3 days and nights at work totally alcohol free to wallow in the self-doubt. At the moment I just don't want to embarrass myself or damage the credibility of the team.
here's some more kind words :verb: buck ya idea's up Ken Baker you should know by now that this club doesn't tollerate negative attitudes :nono: kick out that self doubt shizzle:hu: and get with the program and start believing in your abilties we all know you've got and start thinking about the destination(the finish line) and not too much about the journey to it,
i reckon you've got more experience than most at staying calm in the face of adversity,use that experience and enjoy it,you'll nail it fella,two thirds of the vets wouldn't ride off FT2 of that i'm sure :D so embarassment just won't be an issue :D just make sure you get a podium :D :devil: :D :devil: :D
Top motivational speech Fish. Did you watch "Don't mess with miss Beckles" the other night? Anyway, I'm really up for it now, I've got the Fort Bill head-cam descent on my computer at work so the buzz is coming back!
Got a bit of a job on Friday night..... does anyone know how best to fold up 2 DH bikes (without creasing them) so that they fit in the back of my wife's very cute Ford KA? suspect head gasket on my Ford V6 (HSWTTFHE) - That's the same as LOL for "laughs out loud", only HSWTTFHE means "he says, wiping tears from his eyes"
does anyone know how best to fold up 2 DH bikes (without creasing them) so that they fit in the back of my wife's very cute Ford KA?
with difficulty :fu:
we are in the same boat, two bikes in the back of jays car :devil:
It should be a laugh! If we get desperate I can always use the bike rack or put James on the roof! And its not actually definite that I can't use my car yet - I just don't know yet if I'll have time to investigate the water leak. I'm still hoping it's just a leaky hose, but it's got significantly worse lately and there's no puddle under the car. The oil's clean but There's a very slight misfire for a few seconds when I start it in the morning which might suggest a leak past the head gasket into one of the pots.
arite guys, whats the news with the car ken? me and ben had a practice run with wedging the bike into mine last nite, its going to be snug with all the kit packed in around them heh.
whats the plan regarding food? if some one can dig out a gas stove im happy to cook again. any requests?
J
I'll bring a gas stove and a pudding or something. I've got some pans as well.....You can even use my big one!!
It's definitely looking like the Ford KA as I've had no time to investigate the Mondeo. It's dark metallic blue by the way, for spotting us at the layby in Newark. You'll spot us OK as long as we don't park behind a discarded coke can or something.
We'll bring plates & cutlery as well - probably paper and plastic to chuck away.
Ill bring the pasta again if thats cool with you, still got a full bag from last time!
Oh no it is tomorrow, am getting kind of nervous now! The food plan sounds great! Let’s hope that the cars work ok lol. See you all nice n early tomorrow then!
We have good news and some bad news! The good news is that the water isn't leaking into the head gasket and the bad news is that we were too late to be able to get any parts to fix it so we are still in the KA. We also have the stove and pans all ready! See y'all at 7:30ish tomorrow then at the same lay-by as last time!
ROUND 2
this weekend 29/30th Jay and I will be racing in a place in wales, pent-y-bont-fawr or something (better get the map out!)
Good look guys! Have a good one! You got the room sorted yet lol?
yep, the room has a zipped front door and extremily good air conditioning!
Haha lets hope the weather is nice then! Where will you clean or are you just gonna stay ewww! hahaha
accomodations just arrived haha. hope i got my entry in in time!!
http://www.naked-racing.com
some flics of todays course building.
I love the motostick thing that looks cool!!!
so how was Round 2 at Pen Y Bont Fawr ? ;)
Yeah you haven't said nothing yet? What was the branny track like?
Going to write a track report in hook ups and riding spots as soon as i can find some oics and the results on the internet, stay tuned!
anyone doing round 3 Bala 17th of June??
family weekend out for me :p
We will be in sunny majorca lying on our backs(like at DH races but without the pain!!!) I did want to do annother soon btu the next one we can do is Caersws!
On holiday for June round, but July in Caer Thingy is looking good for the Bakers. Will probably send entry off this week.
Round 3 this weekend, looks a good track, should be fun :D
We have sent off our entry for Caersws so should be in hopefully! Well looking forward to it! Good look this weekend then ben!
good luck at the race this weekend!!!!
you'll be going for gold this weekend then Ben,with all your familiy watching ;) no pressure then :D
i'm going send in my Caersws form this weekend :D
i want to do the caersws round but i've got no money what so ever, plus i just don't think i can get there:cry: :( :cry:
Im on holiday that weekend so i canny make it :( good luck to all who do though!
i can come if i can get there, can anyone give me a lift? ill pay for fuel etc etc
shall be off, giving my form in this week, still places left apparently, weekend went OK bala is unreal, puts pent y bont, bringwood and hopton to shame, such a fast course with fast loose corners and soooo much dust! first run i did a 3.51 sliding round the second to last on my backside almost taking out my dad and little brother, was trying to take at least 5 secs off of that on my second run but managed a 3.37 which i was pretty pleased with although it could have been improved, results soon.... (they were a bit slack with the printing of standings etc. and we were in a hurry to get home) ooooh and the uplift, it was painfully long, think twice the length of cearsws at half the speed, we were being advised to set off 1 hour before our race times!
Hmmmmm i think i shall be able to go if i can get a lift, don't suppose anyones got room in any vechile, will pay plenty of petrol money etc
has anybody got a spare seat to the uplift weekend in july? both me and my bike are quite small and im verry happy to pay my share in petrol!
i've sent my entry in today for Caersws :D unfortunatly my van is full already.
i can't wait,it will be my first race at a track that i know fairly well :devil:
Sweet sounds like it gonna be a big turn out for team ratz! Any results yet benarg foriegn comp where the question mark
the track they are using is brand new this year, not the other midlands track which is a shame, i hope they still have the step up and table top in it though!
God i hope it ok! I bricking it already lol! I not even there yet! Should be a blast of a weekend any hoo!
I think it was mentioned that they were planning to use last years NPS, so that's one to look forward too.
ben
Aint that the super steep balls out brake n die track! Hope not!
Super steep balls out brake n die track... that sounds ace hehe :)
I dunno! Hey fish you got space in that van o yours for a nice big team gazebo? We have a nice white thing which will be great for the big team going! Don´t know how it´ll fit in our car with the tent n stuff!
A newly created course in 2006. This is a private forest please do not try and go riding outside of the offical up lifts or race day.
quote from super series website, i guess its totally new or as ben says the NPS track (as its the newest on the hill as far as i know)
That is what i saw, looking forward to it all now!
True Saxon
22-06-06, 17:56
haha.. from what i saw of the nps track when it was being built... id be scared if i wa you..
yeah, will be looking to get down it in one piece on the saturday, went down it when it was being built with rich jones and it was insane, think the steep chute at bottom of fort bill for 2 mins with corners!
arg arg arg n more arg! i wimped out on the thing at the bill!
i think i'm glad i can't race there now:\
i'm going to give Ian Jones a call and find out which one it is,i suspect that its the old NPS which starts off to the left from the top,it also crosses the fire road further down where theres a sketchy looking drop with an angled take off,its all pretty steep,but not as steep as the mental new NPS one :devil: and picks up the bottom section at the lower rock garden after the step up ;)
Me, my dad, Ben and fish are all in for caersws! It getting closer and closer! Better get a bit of training :D >>>>> http://superseries.net/startlist/start06_dh4.htm
Good luck to all those racing at caersws this weekend
Any one got any reports, how did people do. Ouch about your arm James, get better soon
what an excellent weekend,the track was IMO superb :devil: and pretty much followed the old(and eroded) midlands track with the addition of new mental off cambre steep chute with very off cambre right hand run out all covered in 6inchs of dust/powder near the bottom and an extension right thro the bottom field with two lines,after the steep drop in and big left hand berm, first line, 15ft double followed by flat right then left turns,second line 30ft step down double with right hand berm and then down the hill and on to a fairly big launch through a farm gate and then over the finish line,the start line also had some changes,down the start mound and straight into a lefthand berm followed by a 3ft gap jump double thingy very tricky to start with :\
any way practice on sat got off to a good start having a couple of "off's" on the first run after that i soon found my rythym and felt more relaxed and started to go pretty quick taking on all the jumps etc,the track however was starting to claim some victims,first ken has a big stack on the fireroad tabletop jump and then later james on the same spot breaks his arm :\ get well soon mate.
the race for me was probably the best bit of riding i've ever done,the first run i cleaned the track with no mistakes and got down in 3.01 beating daz squirrel by a second and putting me 5th,i was well pleased the second run was going the same way only much quicker when i lost the front end turning at the bottom of one of the steep chutes and got a handle bar in the groin :eek: which cost me at least 4 secs i still nailed the rest of the course and did exactly the same time as the first run only to loose a place to daz who beat me by a second :rolleyes: grrr bloody yorkshireman ;) .
so for me a very good result and i really pushed my riding boundrys :devil:
top weekend, great course and my best result so far too, after the first run i was sitting in 9th which was pretty good considering my usual placing in the 20's but i did feel there was room for improvment, the second run down on entering the woods i lost my chain :( which was a real pain. I eventually ended up 11th so still quite chuffed, best time was 2.40 and my second run was 2.48 but still carried enough speed for the 30foot step down at the end :D , so yeah great weekend at one of the best tracks in the UK....
Any pics? there is usually a video done which should be up today, will try and find it to post the link. Forgot to mention the weather, dry dusty both saturday and sunday with about a 20min shower on saturday afternoon which had absolutly no effect on the track and how fast and effiecient the uplifts were in comparison to other tracks
Too right a great weekend! The track was sweet and very good for me as i didn't like steep chutes untill now! I wasn't too bothered bout not beeing able to race cos practice was so good although it would have been good to see how i did against the other guys! I havent seen any pics or vids yet but i sure hope the guy who helped me was filmin cos the crash would be good to see! Well done to ben fish kenny b n daz n colin for all great times and positionings!
Ok here is the X-ray! Looks worsee than it is in a way as the big crack to the right of the left pic is something to do with growing! I was pretty amased about that! >>>>> http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/936711/ <<<<<
Danger Dean
24-07-06, 13:49
Nice Baker! You got a cast on for that one?
How did you manage to get a copy of your Xray? The doctors wouldn't give me mine, which is a shame as it looked quite impressive:)
I don't have a cast cos the break is in the joint so the scar tissue could affect the movement and i have to try to move it every so often! I got the X-Ray cos i was at a different hospital n i had to give it to lincoln county when i next go! Thought it was pretty lucky they gave me it too!
here's the only decent pic my sh!te camera managed to get :\
http://www.trailblazerz.net/gallery/index.php?n=402
OOOOhhhh nice! That jump was gigantic! I so wanted to do it!
most people would just settle for clearing it, but no ben has to put some style in doesn't he
results now up
www.superseries.net
oooh so close to a top 10 :(
ohhh 2.4 seconds and you would have been in the top ten. Well done to mr fish too, 6th and kenny B aswell
Sweet guys! Nice one dad, great come back!
http://monkeyspoon.com/blog/lazy-index.php?file=Caersws/caersws006.jpg
found some pics of Caersws http://monkeyspoon.com/blog/lazy-index.php?file=Caersws/
the only one of me :(
http://monkeyspoon.com/blog/lazy-index.php?file=Caersws/caersws123.jpg
series points are now up on www.superseries.net
whos doing kinnerton round 5?
HAHA i some how think Jayden from Dis Dirt has the hardtail catergory in the bag
Some photos, there are flipping hundreds haha! liking the photos of you n ben, fish!
http://monkeyspoon.com/blog/lazy-index.php?file=Caersws/caersws197.jpg annother of ben......
here's some more http://photos.yahoo.com/matt_dev64 ;)
True Saxon
04-08-06, 07:36
theres also some on the bc website, i spotted one of ben but wasnt looking closely... theres a ton of them!
i will have a look, are there any from practice day?
Thomas Kelly
09-08-06, 23:50
Ben i will be up for going down to RND5 at kinnerton, just let me know if your going for definate. Cheers Tom
most certainly am, a family weekend to Wales :D
Haha another swindled one then ben! Lets see you get a nice podium this time for your fam though!
pffft dont think so some how baker :rolleyes:
Ah well! You were in a nice postition last time! Lets see you get in top 10 then!
found this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8iZPmgATrE
Is that Baker 3.46mins in?
Still not too sure whether it is me but i am pretty sure that is ben just before it says ' Day 2, 1st Race runs' Got the orange bike, red lid and you were wearin a brown top i seem to remember!
Ben i think is 3.51mins in, and it looks like race plate number 500?
Hatchleader
15-08-06, 13:42
think it is!! is it just me or were those fellas on the yeti 303's motoring the whole weekend??? the speed they were hitting some of that stuff is just crazy!!
Not you baker on a white 222 with black boxxers, although it is me at 3.50/51 :D
Din't think it was me, i was also wearin my 2006 royal jersey! Thought it was you at 3:50 though!
Is anyone doing round 5 at Kinnerton, desporate for a lift as my parents cant due to house moving, paying of course
whens the next round ben? i'll be back on the 6th, and back in lincoln on the 16th. up for racing if its after then, hand permitting (having a few troubles at the minute)
just spotted the dates on super series website, cant do that one but will do the last one at radnor
Jay
Straight back from france and into racing, thats the spirit!:D The final should be a good bash hog roast n fire works apparently:eek: , i think me n my dad will be doing it, might be gettin a travel lodge in ludlow again though cos campin was a wee bit ropy!:rolleyes: Sure we could do the same as the first round n share!:devil:
just got back from kinnerton,there will be a full repo tommorow as i'm knackered right now.
the track was bloody awful :\ for about the first half then it opened out some and flowed a bit which was much better :D bespite this i got a fairly good result 5TH :D :D :D well chuffed but most important i beat Daz Squirrel by 6 sec :devil: ben however was feeeling a dissapointed with 15th.......there were "issue's" ;)
issues? did someone drug him to slow him down? :p
big kudos on the 5th though fish, thats awesome!
Sounds great! 5th finally over daz!!! What was wrong with ben?
True Saxon
28-08-06, 07:32
top result fish :) bet your pretty chuffed. And 15th isnt too bad either ben;)
the weekend got of to a good start with no traffic issue's and a three and half hour drive,the weather was looking good but it was obvious that there had been lots of rain and indeed chucked it down just before our first uplift:( .
the track......the first section was in the open and was nigh on impossible to make it flow as it consisted off deep wheelsized holes one after another with big stumps and roots in a bit of a gully which ruled out going on the sides and all very soft and new:jiz: ,total bollox imo at the bottom of this section was a tight left hand bend followed immediately by 18" step on to a wooden bridge over a dyke,i didn't see anyone have enough speed to land back wheel first,and indeed i crashed here on my first run slipping off the bridge in to the ditch :badmood: ,across the fireroad and into almost total darkness and a twisting turning mudbath with roots and stumps and not much space between the tree's you couldn't get down without paddling most of the way,i watched the elites go through here and they had the same issues,alright in the dry i expect but total nonsense in the wet and as the day went on a groove the width of a tyre and getting on for axle deep appeared:umm: ,whatever you tried you ened up slipping into the groove,the trail then briefly open up as it sent you through a bus stop bit to send you across the hill,still very dark as well and into another section just like the one above after this you came out into a clear felled section with monster roots and 2ft stumps again very tricky in the wet a couple of good jumps in this section it was reasonably steep as well the track then went back into the woods and where it got much better with a wider more open and lighter track and where i made up for lost time:D ,it was pretty fast through here still lots of roots etc across another fire road and into a similar section again fast open turns trough the tree's then near the end still in the tree's was a big take off with a flat landing:confused: which was pointless as the it was a lot faster to swerve around it, then out of the tree's and into the open grass field section via a steep chute on to a steep incline to step up jump followed by a big take off to massive natural land :devil: to a big left-hand turn up a bank and into the last very fast open turns on the grass field:devil: ,line choice was crucial in this section,get the first turn wrong and it messed up the rest,i used my motor cycling experience to see me through and indeed in my race runs got some foot out drifts and didn't have to brake.....mint:devil: .
as for the race practice on Sunday morning the track builders had been out and really altered the track and it had dried out quite a bit you could now ride most of the track feet up with dabs instead of looking like you were riding a hobby horse paddling down:D .
as for the race my first run saw me looking like i had just taken up mountain biking that weekend with 4 offs in the first half of the course:cry: however i did really try hard in the second half, i was amazed to find that i was in 5th with 4.33 so it was the same for everyone else,Ben had similar issue's as well.
so i had it all to do on my second run i knew that if i stayed on i could prob make up 25 secs which put in contention for third.......no pressure then:rolleyes: ,so i cruised the first half with only one incident hitting a tree and stopping dead in the track,i lost 4 secs a least:( , i really dug deep on the second half and took some big risks with corner speed and really got the grassy open section dialled:devil: ......i stayed 5th with a 4.18 missing 4th by 2 secs and 3rd by 4secs..........:cry: :badmood: grrrr, still I'm very pleased with 5th tho :D .
Ben had a big off in his second run but still improved on his first run time to come 15th, he was disappointed with this result, but you need luck as well as the skills to get good results and i guess Bens ran out a bit.
all in all a good trip......apart from the top half of the track:jiz: .
cheers Fish
Sounds good then! How big was the BIG off from ben then? No injuries i hoping! So the next race you off to you looking at a podium fish?
First race run i missed the important rut which you had to be in, in the sloppy wooded section to get your way through this took me through the tape on the wrong side of the tape, i then paddeled my way down the next 30secs of the course. Second run i launched the last jump in the wooded section which was closely followed by a tight 90 degree left hander and stopped dead by an oversized stump with my crank arm slapping my pedal into my ankle. Good report ;)
OOOOuch! Still not too bad a result from 2 stacks!
what happend to "yeah it was alrite but i gashed my ankle with my pedal and almost took out a spectator" ?
Got my entry for the last round sent off today, it looks like Radnor is now being replaced by Kinnerton as that part of the forest has been double booked that weekend with a car rally, still a decent track now it'll be worn in ;) .
:( Don't like the sound of that track so much, ah well!!! I'll try get mine and my dads off tomorrow ;)
so how was it then James? ;)
It was good fun..... Practice day started off pretty iffy though having had to rely on a tractor to pull us up the hill to where we were supposed to be camping! The Track seemed to be exactally the same as the last round but the bottom grass section had a step up/hip onto off camber instead of the jump used last time. Neither me or my dad came out bruised although i had a nasty bash to the crown jewels on 3rd run of the day and i think we both had a few minimal offs! We also caught up with Daz after our first run so it was good to have another guy we knew to ride with. Camp fire got off at about 6 so we had a bit of food and went down!! We were all wacked and ended up feeling as though it was about 10pm where it was acctually 7:eek: So we left it till 8 and went up to find a bent double tent:eek: so took that down and ended up sleeping in the car:\
Woke next morning to a clear sky, went up on first lift to find the track alot better than saturday, thanks to the guys who voulenteered to fill in and sort out some of the crazy sized ruts:\
First race run down i crashed within the first 100foot loosing lots of time seeing as though it was a bike rolling crash:mad: so got on and had another few tumbles in the open section:\ Although to my amazement got a time of 5:28 which i didn't think too bad...
Onto my second run having 2 bottles of lucozade and plenty of food inside me i got up to the top and had a very clean run not even been buzzed by any polished roots :eek: In the open section i was on completely the wrong line and found myself heading right at a big jump which was about a 5foot take off and a nice landing about 15foot away onto a tree stump:? I landed it pretty smoothly too and was well happy with myself! Down into bottom wooded section and into crazy guy pedaling mode, in the end i came out with a pretty shabby 4:51 (compared to the rest of my category) I think i got 21st :eek: .
Onto the Father son rivalry.... After the 1st round i was 4seconds ahead of my dad so i was happy about that :p
Daz also managed a nice 7th place in the end.
Not too sure about my dad's results yet so i'll let him fill you in on them;)
Looking forward to the next race again, which ever it will be!!!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C1%20RR/slides/MDHSSR6C1RR167.htm My dad coming off in open section
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C1%20RR/slides/MDHSSR6C1RR329.htm Me taking one of the jumps in the top section!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C1%20RR/slides/MDHSSR6C1RR462.htm Dad rolling the jump in top section
Did your dad nut the stump? Cos it looks a bit close if he didnt!
Yer, well he nutted something! He has a cut across his nose and black eyes, with a head ache to throw in too! And judging by the way he is slurring his speech i think he may have brain damage, oh maybe not, just the beer!!! There are some more real good photos on there of us two and daz, i'll post them up soon!
lol sounds like my dad
he decided to nut my driveway playing on ollies avid juciy 5's...
Right more pics,
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C2%20GG/slides/MDHSSR6C2GG277.htm well focused eyes and very nice shot of me!!!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C2%20GG/slides/MDHSSR6C2GG138.htm Daz looking fast!!!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C2%20GG/slides/MDHSSR6C2GG142.htm Dad looking fast, Notice the large amount of roots behind him!!!!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C1%20RR/slides/MDHSSR6C1RR035.htm Me again, good focused eyes pretty fast!!!
http://rhodopsin.co.uk/Cycling%20Menu/MTB/MDHSSR6%2008-10-06/rhodopsin%20C1%20RR/slides/MDHSSR6C1RR163.htm Daz on same part of pic above!!
haha the furry dice are a lovely added touch :)
Yer, a guy had a nice teddy bear of tigger on his stem too!!! Good touch i think lol!
I think the dice are just right quite understated. i think tiggers just a little too far ;) :p
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