Brighton Big Dog Aftermath

[jimmy5willy]

I spy with my little eye......

 

[cchris2lou]

The retro podium

 

[cchris2lou]

Superstrong was all smile

 

[cchris2lou]

Great event with nice singletracks , shame it rained

 

[sylvain]

shame it rained

Yeah, I actually really enjoy riding in the mud - the wet, slippery mud like after it'd first started raining when you could slide your way around corners, but not so much the thick, sticky mud like on the final lap when it was drying up and your bike would just stop rolling - it's all the cleaning up in between laps and after the race that's not so much fun.

Was all worth it though, great tough course and good atmosphere. Co-organiser and solo rider Ian Leitch was sulking from having to ride against last-minute entrant Yanto Barker , but in the end put in a storming ride which not only got him the solo category win, but also the fastest lap of the day (lap 1) and would not have been far from beating the winning pair category which were no slouches!

I rode with (tall) Phil who's recovered from a busted shoulder and has a dodgy back so has not been riding so much lately but did great, he borrowed a fully rigid Chas Roberts from '92. I gave my only-just rebuilt '93 Ibis Mojo ti a baptism of fire - shame I didn't take any pics before the race, as I'll never get it that clean again . First test-rode it the day before the race, to find out that the Syncros ti post needed a very firm hand to tighten both the seat clamp and saddle clamp, both of which came loose on that test ride

In the end the bike worked great despite the kilos of mud gathered (and the semi-existent braking). Had a couple slow-speed falls in some of the technical sections, plus a scare when the very edge of my bars clipped a tree at high speed - a cm closer and I would have been down badly :?

Cheers to John for some of the prizes, Jo Burt for the awesome Mint Sauce cushion (I'm sure John will have a photo) made by his friend www.anastasiawhittle.co.uk from an old jersey, met him briefly afterwards, and good to meet (if briefly) the famous "superstrong" on the podium. Where I had instructions by our MuleBar mates to try and shower podium girl with bubbly - I did my best!

 

[cchris2lou]

to be fair after Mountain Mayhem 2008 mud doesnt impress me that much

thanks to John for the last minute invite , had great fun .

 

[jimmy5willy]

A few people went into the sea to get clean. Was a great idea until someone realised that their butts would get dirty again on the ride home...

 

[Birdman]

Great event as per last year, good to meet up with folks again. Was a bit worried on the practice lap as the taping of the course seemed a bit vague but they seemed to have it sorted out for the most part by the time the race started, thought I definitely took completely different trails into the second field before we climbed up into the woods proper on my first two laps (Sylvain was that you following me the second time?).

Mud was mostly ok but my Pace forks clogged to the point where the front wheel wouldn't turn on the first push / climb which was a tad upsetting. Have to thank Superstrong for taking a double shift for the last two laps as I couldn't face going out again, which kept us on the Podium in 2nd

 

[john]

Good to see another top retrobike turnout. Some good racing too, just a shame the weather turned an otherwise good course into a thick mud bath in places. Suppose as Chris mentions it isn't as bad as MM 2008 nor was it as bad as the Noah's Ark Cotswold Classic 1992.

I have some pics, when I chisel the camera out of its mud pack will upload them.

Congrats to those on the podium, esp of course Sylvain and partner. Glad you liked the prizes

 

[markoc]

Ian Leitch was sulking from having to ride against last-minute entrant Yanto Barker , but in the end put in a storming ride which not only got him the solo category win, but also the fastest lap of the day (lap 1) and would not have been far from beating the winning pair category which were no slouches!

Results at the link below - it was actually Ian's 4th lap that was the fastest :shock: how on earth he managed that in those conditions I have no idea!

http://www.timelaps.co.uk/assets/upload ... 14/08/2010

Great day out despite the rain. As a local I can confirm it is really quick and fun to ride when it is dry (much like last year) - oh well, here's to 2011!