Ladies (we wish), Gentlemen and Rob, the Scottish Mince Marketing Board and Clubbytrail productions proudly present...
MACDURO 2016!!!!!!
Ok, I've teased you with this for a while, but now the recce is done and the electronic witchcraft has been put in place, so beans can now be spilled.
Most of you will have heard of the new fad of Enduro racing. It's pretty much a big ride with timed (mostly) downhill sections, that are added together to give a winning time. Problem is that most of these races are getting pretty gnarly, for us fragile riders and bikes. My aim is to put on one that is rideable on a retro without killing anyone. The venue I've chosen is the Sidlaw hill near Dundee. The basic loop will be the same as the one we did 4 years ago, which everyone survived, even though JimiHendrix fell off a cliff.
The loop is 9 miles, 2100 ft climbing and took me 2.5 hours including setting up GPS markers for the stages. With macretro faff time added and the extra time for running the stages, I reckon 4 to 5 hours would cover it, including picnic.
Timing is the clever bit. Most of us use or have access to Strava. I've set up a Macduro club, which the entrants will be invited to join. Using another site, Matesraces, I'll set up an event which the club will compete in. I've marked out 7 virtual stages, 5 of which will be used on the day to give our winner. We will ride the loop as a group until we get near a section. We will stop and I'll ride to the finish. It's then up to you to come down one by one, with enough gap not to hopefully have to pass anyone. The tracks are all narrow and overtaking will be hard. If you get backed up then it's your own fault for not leaving a big enough gap! My mate used to have a pair of 2 way radios we may be able to use to help with this.
The tracks are narrow but perfectly rideable on a retrobike, there was racing up there as early as 1990, so no excuses. A couple of the potential stages I had in mind will not be raced as the are a lot more eroded than they used to be, but we will still be (hopefully) riding them.
I realise that this relies on having Strava, but most us regulars are on it already. For those without a GPS unit, the Strava app runs on most smartphones. Spares may be available from those that have both gps and smartphone versions. Entrants must be signed up in advance, so I can put the backroom connections in place.
Obviously, anyone not wanting to "race" is most welcome to turn up and just enjoy the ride.
Unsure on timing. The trails today were running the best they have in years, but we have a couple of events coming up soon. I had also thought of September, but trails doable today may have overgrown by then. The event is ready to go, we just need a consensus on a date. I need more than a couple of entrants to make it worthwhile, as with me being trail leader, I'm not eligible to compete.
Any questions or comments then fire away.
Couple of photos.
Top of stage 1.
Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr
Top of Stage 3 (or 2 depending) looking back at stage 1
Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr
MACDURO 2016!!!!!!
Ok, I've teased you with this for a while, but now the recce is done and the electronic witchcraft has been put in place, so beans can now be spilled.
Most of you will have heard of the new fad of Enduro racing. It's pretty much a big ride with timed (mostly) downhill sections, that are added together to give a winning time. Problem is that most of these races are getting pretty gnarly, for us fragile riders and bikes. My aim is to put on one that is rideable on a retro without killing anyone. The venue I've chosen is the Sidlaw hill near Dundee. The basic loop will be the same as the one we did 4 years ago, which everyone survived, even though JimiHendrix fell off a cliff.
The loop is 9 miles, 2100 ft climbing and took me 2.5 hours including setting up GPS markers for the stages. With macretro faff time added and the extra time for running the stages, I reckon 4 to 5 hours would cover it, including picnic.
Timing is the clever bit. Most of us use or have access to Strava. I've set up a Macduro club, which the entrants will be invited to join. Using another site, Matesraces, I'll set up an event which the club will compete in. I've marked out 7 virtual stages, 5 of which will be used on the day to give our winner. We will ride the loop as a group until we get near a section. We will stop and I'll ride to the finish. It's then up to you to come down one by one, with enough gap not to hopefully have to pass anyone. The tracks are all narrow and overtaking will be hard. If you get backed up then it's your own fault for not leaving a big enough gap! My mate used to have a pair of 2 way radios we may be able to use to help with this.
The tracks are narrow but perfectly rideable on a retrobike, there was racing up there as early as 1990, so no excuses. A couple of the potential stages I had in mind will not be raced as the are a lot more eroded than they used to be, but we will still be (hopefully) riding them.
I realise that this relies on having Strava, but most us regulars are on it already. For those without a GPS unit, the Strava app runs on most smartphones. Spares may be available from those that have both gps and smartphone versions. Entrants must be signed up in advance, so I can put the backroom connections in place.
Obviously, anyone not wanting to "race" is most welcome to turn up and just enjoy the ride.
Unsure on timing. The trails today were running the best they have in years, but we have a couple of events coming up soon. I had also thought of September, but trails doable today may have overgrown by then. The event is ready to go, we just need a consensus on a date. I need more than a couple of entrants to make it worthwhile, as with me being trail leader, I'm not eligible to compete.
Any questions or comments then fire away.
Couple of photos.
Top of stage 1.
Untitled by Steven Clubb, on FlickrTop of Stage 3 (or 2 depending) looking back at stage 1
Untitled by Steven Clubb, on Flickr
