Carl, Richie, Connor etc... Are you doing experts?

[ollietrex]

I have been thinking about the idea a little bit and taking the leap from the start of the year and doing the longer distances in expert instead of sport. I don't really want to do it on my own so is any one else up for the change?


Or am I just being a little fool hardy....?

[Richie]

I'll be doing sports for the k-capital anyway, but won't be able to make Killruddery unfortunately - prior engagement I totally forgot about. Will be out for the rest of the races though.


We'd be able to handle experts in terms of distance, but my worry is being totally uncompetitive (I'm talkin' being lapped a few times). I'd suggest doing sports for the K-capital - or even for just Kilruddery, and compare your laptimes against the other categories (providing the laps are roughly the same). From there you can decide to step up.

[Morgan]

Come on Richie - give Masters a go. The pace is a tiny bit slower than Experts. You also get four whole laps for the same entry fee. That's twice the value of the Sports entry! You're practically making money in every race!

[Cormac]

Yes twice the pain and misery

[Arek]

I’d like to try masters as well but I think some elite guys are moving to masters for K-Cup (Peter Buggle, James McCluskey...) I’m not sure but they wrote about some new UCI regulations- if you have points ine elite you can not take part in Masters World Champs.

If its true Masters will be deadly fast…

[Karl]

I like your thinking there Morgan, however I'll most likely be doing Sports for the first race - I don't think I'd make the longer distance at the mo

[Richie]

I dunno who Peter Buggle and James McCluskey are, but they sound fast. Sports for me.

[Liam]

Give us newbie slow lads a chance, if all you guys do the sports I'll look even worse.

[ollietrex]

Looks like Sports for the K-Capital and then Expert in the NPS as a plan.

[Scrivo]

Would be worth entering sports just to ride the Kathy Gallagher style rock face. Seriously, it is a whole lot of fun. Especially when you see the roadies trying to walk down (on their arse the whole way) while you glide past them.

[Fergal]

"I dunno who Peter Buggle and James McCluskey are, but they sound fast."


oh, don't worry about these guys - they will be gone from the start and you'll never see them for the rest of the race until they start lapping people - savage fast riders.

The rock face is some craic, I rode over a guys bike last year when he fell in front of me coming down it - couldn't/wouldn't stop!

[paddyobrien]

very true fergal. I think buggle will beat all but 2 or 3 of the elites too.


So, opinions needed. Which category will have more people of a slower nature in the field? i.e. more people closer to my level in experts or masters?


And more importantly .. will i collapse and die after 4 laps of kilruddery?

[Conor]

I'll race ye Paddy.....to the oxegen tent!!

[paddyobrien]

good man conor!!


seriously though .. i wanted to step up to masters for the NPS so i think i'll just kill myself in masters at the K-Cap races as it'd be the best training there is.


Whether or not i'll even manage to finish the first one or not i've no idea, but i gotta start somewhere.


Plus, it was only 3 laps last year!


(and sure the ambulance is bound to have some form of an oxygen supply!)

[ollietrex]

This is still what I am trying to work out in my head... Better to kill my self in the first few races by doing the longer distance but giving me an aim for the rest of the season of people to catch for the rest of the year... Or do sports and do half the distance but maybe come somewhere decent in the rankings...


I like Paddy's idea but not sure if I am just going to spend the race getting shouted at by people overtaking me to get out the way and holding the elite riders up.

[Fergal]

good man Paddy, that's the spirit, and talking of "the spirit", here's a few paraphrased qoutes from the epic forum re; "K capital cup and the XC NPS - what categories should you ride?"


Sports is for

1 Complete beginners

2.Completely out of shape people

3.Timid people


...aim high, if you are doing any training at all , leave sports to the beginners and the casual rider,otherwise you are a bully ..


Anyone who has bought a yearly licence and is intending to do a couple of races should ride experts/masters etc

Sport's is for racing virgin's who have no experience, who buy a "one day licence" and give it a go, this is the way it should be.

Its quite sad to see lads (bangers) who are obviously fit, riding sports and hammerring the shite out of the new lads. This will only serve the purpose of turning new people off racing.

what the point in driving 2-3 hours paying €20 to ride for 45mins? also, some of the courses use a different loop for the Sports races taking some of the technical/best bits out.


Im gonna step up and race in experts, I fully expect to take a beating and finish last, feck it though, its better than being abused for racing sports


Not in any shape to do experts this year based on a spin on Tuesday - but there's no point in going back into sports - like the guys have said, it should be for the newbies.


I am racing Masters this year for the first time and i expect to get the shite knocked out of me.

But hey it aint going to kill me and i will enjoy it in some twisted way.

I will be a better rider next year, i will be a better rider next year......


<end of qoutes>

[paddyobrien]

you need to be more hard nosed ollie!


Ah no, in all honesty, when racing, you're racing too, so while you shouldn;t deliberately get in their way etc and should make an effort to let em past, the obligation is entirely on them to pass you safely. You've paid your money for your licence and to enter the race, just as much as they have. Thankfully most people are nice and understand this fully. But there is probably one or two twats out there.


If i hear someone catching up with me and getting close etc i generally look for a suitable place and then tell em to go past on the right or the left or whatever.


Anyone who gives you any shit .. quite frankly .. f**k em

[Colm]

Is it alright to jump up to masters later in the season cos to be honest my winter training consisted of a lot of sofa work or do ya have to stick with sports all season...

[paddyobrien]

nope you can jump up a level .. but its very frowned on to drop a level unless you had a seriously good excuse!


I'm in the same boat colm .. not really been out that much over winter but i decided to be brave (read: stupid!)

[Colm]

Sorry I'm a self confessed coward I reckon I'll see how it goes and then make a semi-educated ( fully ignorant ) decision after the first few races to avoid the humiliation of dropping a level ( or a lung )

[ollietrex]

Right I am going to make the bold move and try Experts for the season and just put some leg work into really getting faster. There is only one way to find out if you can do it and thats to throw your self in at the deep end.


Paddy will see ya in the new lung tent at the end of the race.

[paddyobrien]

good man ollie .. now all i need is another few auld lads like myself for masters

[Arek]

Paddy I nearly made up my mind to do masters, I’m just afraid that I’ll be laped before even finished second lap. Hope there are no more then 3 of them for masters/experts. Maybe Graham will go with us, the more the better

[Scrivo]

Very little chance of being lapped in Kilruddery as the laps are 8km so will only be 3 or possibly 4 of them.

[Fergal]

Now then, I want the non-Sports riders to be out encouraging the Sports people please!

Note; if you are racing Sports and are a "banger" then you'll get appropriate abuse, if you are coasting you will get abuse, if you're givin' it socks you'll be deafened by applause and roars of "giddy up ya good thing!!" etc...

In turn, Sports people get to roar at the non-Sports when racing - it's really good to have people giving you a shout - be it abuse or encouragment - keeps you sane when you are going insane.....

[Richie]

OK Fergal I take your point about sports, but if you apply the criteria above to the sports racers in the Tymon park NPS last year, defo over half of them were bangers, so how do you police it?


Anywho, I'll leave you to ponder that - Paddy squeeze over on the stretcher, I'll do masters too...

[paddyobrien]

arek and richie .. good on ye .. this'll be great .. in the worst case scenario we can race against each other and sod the rest of them! ;-)


plus, we've got a good target .. ollie is gonna do experts meaning he's starting 1 minute ahead of us .. so hes your first target for the race!


this is gonna be great (painful and tiring, but great!)

[Liam]

"...aim high, if you are doing any training at all , leave sports to the beginners and the casual rider,otherwise you are a bully .."


Couldn't agree more. Give us beginners a chance!

[ollietrex]

Exactly there is the aim for all you old folks (sorry masters) try and catch the english man...

[Conor]

We could just rob yer bike Ollie! It sounds like yiz are all ganging up on myself and Graham. Tell you what, I'll think about masters, ok ?

[Cormac]

Go on Connor, you know you want to.

[Fergal]

Hey Richie

yeah, not really a matter of 'policing' it as such, more like a matter of alientating people who basically chicken-out of Masters/Experts when they actually would be able for it, or at least give it a damn good effort, bravery will be respected and rewarded with pats on the back and "fair play" and "good man/girl yourself" etc...


Conor - no thought needed - you can handle hardship and the longer distance no problem - don't say you can't, I've seen you - good man, you're signed-up


who else....ah...Mr Diamond down at the back there!!!!!

thought I didn't spot you there with your head under the desk eh???

Experts for you too Graham - rumour has it that you've been receiving elite-coaching so there's absolutely no way you can do Sports now! hah!


Cormac - you've been very quiet, by the way, you are Experts too,

or else your membership will be withdrawn...

or your new bike confiscated....


Well now that's great - everyone getting stuck in, very encouraging to see it.


Now then, all the recent graduates - make sure to set yourselves up for an easier race;


plenty of sleep the night before, no pints

a proper breakfast on race morning - porridge with nuts is great, add some maple syrup - stay away from the fry-up,

sip a drink in the car on your way to the race,

try not to experiment with new energy drinks on race day that you have not tried before - if it doesn't agree with you during the race, you'll feel very uncomfortable - stick with what you know,

don't overdress for the race - expect to feel cool/a bit cold on the start line - you'll soon warm-up, then again, don't expect to get away with just a string vest!

if you want to control your body temperature better,

wear a base layer, the Nike Clima-Cool type stuff is great as is Under Armor, a bit expensive yes but well worth it I've found, they help regulate your temp by moving sweat away from your skin,

then one or two light layers/jerseys that can be zipped down/up according to weather conditions, a jacket is not a good idea, if you need to wear a jacket it means you're not trying hard enough,

the hotter your core body temp. is, the higher your heart rate so don't overheat! - remove a layer if you need to, throw it to an adoring fan, don't take your shorts off though (Tom)


try get out to the race venue for sign-up and practice lap(s) on the Saturday - this will give you an idea of your pacing and also familarity with the more technical aspects of the course,

get your bike fully fixed / tuned on the Friday evening and give it a test-ride to ensure all is ok, DO NOT wait until the Saturday night like I have done before - you want to be sure any new chains etc... work ok with your existing set-up (right Oisin Fitz??!!) - you don't need a nasty surprise on the start line,

arrive in PLENTY of time on the Sunday, get geared-up, settled and then warmed-up before your race - this doesn't mean sitting in the car with the heater on!

hydrate yourself before and during the race - have your bottles labelled etc..

settle yourself quickly into the race - the start is ALWAYS tough, get a regular rhythm going as soon as the mania of the start has settled down,


don't sit behind a rider when you could realistically get past them -

I have a bad tendency for this, try to advance where you can, try spotting someone ahead of you who seems to be at a similar or slightly faster pace and try close the gap on them (ensure that person is not an Elite though!!)


hmmm...what else?

oh yeah, don't forget to enjoy it!


Ryan - a few tips for our racers please!

[Cormac]

I qualify for masters I'm afraid Fergal.


I fully intended to do Sports for the K-Caps as I have done next to no biking over winter, but with all this talk and posturing I may yet reconsider.


My membership cannot be withdrawn as I have not yet renewed for this year!


I would second the advise to ensure that your bike is in working order. There is nothing quite like not being able to change gear/chainsuck/seized suspension in a race.

[Morgan]

> My membership cannot be withdrawn as I have not yet renewed for this year!


Don't worry Cormac, that's easily fixed (http://www.madmtb.com/club-rides/how-to-join/).

[Arek]

Common Cormac, race masters, it will be the whole lot of us!! We’ll set new level for this category ;)

[Conor]

Yeah Cormac, join in with the madness! if I can manage(?) in the masters, so can you. I plan to be the fastest 31 1/2 yrs old smoking truck driver!


Hey Fergal, whats with the abusive talk, you'll upset peoples feelings! I think you've spent too much time on Epics forum. Your beggining to sound like Her Byrner!

[Richie]

Took the words right outta my mouth Conor... funny, I could have sworn I saw some fluff on Fergals upper lip on the last spin :-)

[Fergal]

abuse?

ye softies, that was pillow talk!


whatever you call it, it seems to be working, I recall some time back when myself and Morgan agreed we needed to take a leaf or two out of that Byrner fellas book and cut-back on the sweet-talk, interesting though, seems to be working....:-)

[Fergal]

oh, and the other reason for the 'abuse' was that hopefully someone would reply with a firey mega-abusive response and I could use my awesome powers of moderation on them - c'mon, who'd like to be moderated?

[Fergal]

anyone?


ok - here's some ammo for ye - I'm training on the ROAD all this week, how bent of me - someone has to give me guff for that surely???

[ryan]

Hey Fergal - training on the road is a FINE thing to do! Gee - some people even do road races to get there legs going before the all important MTB races :)


Tips for racing are coming... but everything Fergal said is stop on. Other quick things...


When you descending, try to stay in control and not get too caught up in teh moment... Best not to total your bike on a rock to 'save' a second.

If you puncture - don't panic, relax for a sec and then get down to business... Sometimes people put in faster following laps due to a puncture.

If there are a lot of people in your cat, get to the line early so that you have a good grid position.

Look out for elites lapping, usually you can tell - no need to stop or anything just pull over slightly when it makes sense. We have lapped enough that a tiny bit of room is enough :)


Pacing - my usual thing is that if it doesn't hurt, your not going fast enough :) Learn the track - know when you can push that bit harder because there is a section coming up that you can 'rest' on.


And a general thing about racing - racing will take you skill level on far far faster then any other type of riding - you'll push yourself fitness wise and technically much more then any other time. I know I have my descending training speed, and descending racing speed. Racing is much much quicker :)


Fergal, I'll have an S-Works road bike for sale soon if you want a few road miles ;)

[Richie]

Hey Fergal, if your moderation skills are anything like your motivation skills God help us all :-)

[oisinfitz]

Fergal, i will not accept being used as an example of mechanical problems and am deeply offended.

[PeterPolish]

Damn it! After I read it all and had a chat with Arek I will go for Masters as well for as long as it is 3 laps :)

Having said that I will die there...

I have not done even 500 km so far... not prepared at all...

Should check my ride as well, as it doesn't work as it should...


See you on Sat on pre-ride... and pray for a good weather with me :)!!!


Cheers!