ScooterXC
Likes Dirt
haha thank you.
BMC 100 Awesome event!
- Thread starter ScooterXC
- Start date
Gu packets left all over the trail
Hi guys,
This was my first experience at a 100km race and I had a great time. Awesome single track and the whole community of riders thing was great.
Once thing I was disappointed with though was the amount of rubbish on the trail.
I'm not a fast rider so when I rode the trail, hundreds would have been before me. There's no way I would have ever gotten lost due to bad signage as I could have followed the trail of silver Gu and Endura Bar packets strewn along the ground the entire length of the course.
Is this a common thing at races? Do race organisers have trouble getting repeat bookings at multiuse locations (ie where other users of the trail see this crap all over the place)?
I'd heard rumours that there was a sweeper crew cleaning up afterwards on motorbikes but don't know if this is true. I can understand dropping something by accident (there were plenty of waterbottles on the ground in the first half) but all the other rubbish must cause a huge amount of negative PR for the sport.
Could this maybe drive Gel manufacturers to come up with biodegradable packaging (less than ideal) or perhaps race organisers could stipulate that only refillable bottles are used (at least so you would think twice before chucking it on the ground).
End of rant!
James
Hi guys,
This was my first experience at a 100km race and I had a great time. Awesome single track and the whole community of riders thing was great.
Once thing I was disappointed with though was the amount of rubbish on the trail.
I'm not a fast rider so when I rode the trail, hundreds would have been before me. There's no way I would have ever gotten lost due to bad signage as I could have followed the trail of silver Gu and Endura Bar packets strewn along the ground the entire length of the course.
Is this a common thing at races? Do race organisers have trouble getting repeat bookings at multiuse locations (ie where other users of the trail see this crap all over the place)?
I'd heard rumours that there was a sweeper crew cleaning up afterwards on motorbikes but don't know if this is true. I can understand dropping something by accident (there were plenty of waterbottles on the ground in the first half) but all the other rubbish must cause a huge amount of negative PR for the sport.
Could this maybe drive Gel manufacturers to come up with biodegradable packaging (less than ideal) or perhaps race organisers could stipulate that only refillable bottles are used (at least so you would think twice before chucking it on the ground).
End of rant!
James
ScooterXC
Likes Dirt
jeez how'd he manage that
?? Nice work hahaApparently he just rode over a stick inside the entry to cammeray waters, which flicked up and did the damage.
It's funny, i've seen him ripping everywhere from you yangs to mt wellington without so much as a puncture, then he does this on the easiest terrain you'll ever see haha
Congrats on your 2nd place btw!
It's funny, i've seen him ripping everywhere from you yangs to mt wellington without so much as a puncture, then he does this on the easiest terrain you'll ever see haha
Congrats on your 2nd place btw!
Flying haggis
Likes Bikes
Maybe if self seeding is'nt work then larger events should have time trials the day before the race, so that people who are really serious about their race can get right at the front. And the rest of us who are happy to pick our way through the field can rely on the more common self seeding on the day.
Personally I dont mind having to pass slower riders, just like I dont mind faster riders passing me. I'm only racing against the clock. And I dont think there are many riders out there who go out of their way to not let people overtake.
Starting the race on a few kms of fireroad would help a bit in sorting out the field, but people can easily ride fast at the start and then run out of steam after a while and slow down.
Personally I dont mind having to pass slower riders, just like I dont mind faster riders passing me. I'm only racing against the clock. And I dont think there are many riders out there who go out of their way to not let people overtake.
Starting the race on a few kms of fireroad would help a bit in sorting out the field, but people can easily ride fast at the start and then run out of steam after a while and slow down.
bashncrash
Squid
Rubish on trail
Hey Jwd
There are clean up rides happening all week, we have covered approx half the course already. there will be no rubish left on the course by Friday. Without this effort the DSE would never aprove a permit for next year.
I must agree with you, the quantity of GU wrappers etc on the trail is more than dissapointing. The pre race document and briefing specifically mentioned this and yet people still decided to litter rather than take their rubbish with them. I know plenty of people did the right thing but thoes that didnt should have a good think about how they would feel if peole left shit all over their local trails.
Its nice to know someone else noticed.
Cheers
Hey Jwd
There are clean up rides happening all week, we have covered approx half the course already. there will be no rubish left on the course by Friday. Without this effort the DSE would never aprove a permit for next year.
I must agree with you, the quantity of GU wrappers etc on the trail is more than dissapointing. The pre race document and briefing specifically mentioned this and yet people still decided to litter rather than take their rubbish with them. I know plenty of people did the right thing but thoes that didnt should have a good think about how they would feel if peole left shit all over their local trails.
Its nice to know someone else noticed.
Cheers
ScooterXC
Likes Dirt
fergo
Likes Dirt
Hey Scooter, if your 14 and its 10:30 in the morning on Wednesday, aren't you supposed to be doing school work???haahaha fair enough.
lol get away with it if you can!!
Re: the gu rappers etc - it did say in the race instructions that people would be disqualified for littering, but this is a bit of a hollow threat if you can't ID people. There's been mention before of rear number plates for under seats as a solution. Not sure we really want to turn these events into a police nanny state of dobbers, but it's not fair to expect the organisers/locals to spend a week cleaning up lazy peoples rubbish.
I was thinking about biodegradable markers for keeping people on the right track - you could use something like white flour to mark off tracks that are the not used. Personally I thought the track was very well marked and the marshals were great, but a friend did manage to add an extra 8 km to his race by following a numpty who missed a marker, and I saw someone ride right past the marker pointing us back into Cammeray Waters at the end, which was well signposted if you were looking.
Anyway, I had a good race (only did the 50km) considering the amount of training I've done. Made it under 4 hours, which put me in the top 25% of women, which I was pretty happy with. There's some awesome single track out there - big cheers to the trail builders.
The only downsides were the conga-line on the single track in the first 10-15km, this section would have been awesome with less traffic, but the riders who were holding people up here were the ones who blasted past on the fire roads, so I'm not sure of the solution to this. I played leap frog with one guy for about 15 km, he'd hold me up on the single track (which is a fair effort cause I'm usually the wuss on the technical stuff), then he'd blast past on the fire road climbs.
I was thinking about biodegradable markers for keeping people on the right track - you could use something like white flour to mark off tracks that are the not used. Personally I thought the track was very well marked and the marshals were great, but a friend did manage to add an extra 8 km to his race by following a numpty who missed a marker, and I saw someone ride right past the marker pointing us back into Cammeray Waters at the end, which was well signposted if you were looking.
Anyway, I had a good race (only did the 50km) considering the amount of training I've done. Made it under 4 hours, which put me in the top 25% of women, which I was pretty happy with. There's some awesome single track out there - big cheers to the trail builders.
The only downsides were the conga-line on the single track in the first 10-15km, this section would have been awesome with less traffic, but the riders who were holding people up here were the ones who blasted past on the fire roads, so I'm not sure of the solution to this. I played leap frog with one guy for about 15 km, he'd hold me up on the single track (which is a fair effort cause I'm usually the wuss on the technical stuff), then he'd blast past on the fire road climbs.
Knopey
Likes Dirt
For a race around these here parts a few months ago they* used what looks like white paint on the ground to mark out big arrows. You can still see these all over the place on different sides of town and these could not possibly be missed during the race (or even now months later... ).
Given how it's persevering, I'm guessing it's "proper" white paint as opposed to marker paint. "Marker paint" is more like spray-on chalk and would be perfect I would think Comes in a range of pretty colours too from any hardware.
* It may have been for a triple-tri, not sure?
). Given how it's persevering, I'm guessing it's "proper" white paint as opposed to marker paint. "Marker paint" is more like spray-on chalk and would be perfect I would think
Comes in a range of pretty colours too from any hardware.* It may have been for a triple-tri, not sure?
Megahead
Likes Bikes
There was certainly plenty of litter on the trail but I'd like to think that the majority is accidental. The best part about mountain biking for me is enjoying the bush & getting back to nature rather than riding on busy roads/through the suburbs. I can't imagine any like minded people would want to spoil that by littering.
I stuff empties in the back pocket of my jersey. I haven't lost one yet but I'm sure it will happen eventually as you wouldn't even notice them falling out.
I stuff empties in the back pocket of my jersey. I haven't lost one yet but I'm sure it will happen eventually as you wouldn't even notice them falling out.
This was my first MTB event and I loved it. At almost 55 years of age I wasn't up with the "go fast" brigade, but I had a great time.
My observations of the event are:
*Sure there were some glitches but when all's said and done, most people weren't playing for sheep stations.
*I shattered my R.H. pedal at the start of the first single track section (my apologies to all those I held up whilst trying to ride on one functioning pedal), but Matt Bowen from Total Rush loaned me his pedals after he DNF'd, enabling me to finish the 50Klms. Thanks Matt; you're a gentleman!!
*I didn't have any problems with the course markings, but I had LOTS of tyre tracks to follow by the time I got the bike repaired!
*I found everyone I passed and those who passed me to be courteous and patient.
*By the end of the ride I was stuffed, had cramps in muscles I didn't know existed and could barely walk the next day. So will I do it again?? HELL YEAH!!! Thanks to the organisers, volunteers and fellow riders for giving me a bloody fun day!
Wayne
My observations of the event are:
*Sure there were some glitches but when all's said and done, most people weren't playing for sheep stations.
*I shattered my R.H. pedal at the start of the first single track section (my apologies to all those I held up whilst trying to ride on one functioning pedal), but Matt Bowen from Total Rush loaned me his pedals after he DNF'd, enabling me to finish the 50Klms. Thanks Matt; you're a gentleman!!
*I didn't have any problems with the course markings, but I had LOTS of tyre tracks to follow by the time I got the bike repaired!
*I found everyone I passed and those who passed me to be courteous and patient.
*By the end of the ride I was stuffed, had cramps in muscles I didn't know existed and could barely walk the next day. So will I do it again?? HELL YEAH!!! Thanks to the organisers, volunteers and fellow riders for giving me a bloody fun day!
Wayne
kerno
Likes Bikes
Photo's are up
For those that don't already know, the photo's are now up
http://www.auroraimages.com.au/index.php?module=media&category=gallery/events/mtb/bmc09&start=0
For those that don't already know, the photo's are now up
http://www.auroraimages.com.au/index.php?module=media&category=gallery/events/mtb/bmc09&start=0
ScooterXC
Likes Dirt
BMC 50km was a mess
I was in the lead group and was in 6th place had just passed the rider who ended up in 3rd overall. On a section of fire road that went into single track had a 'no motorbike' logo sign at the start. The bunting began to disapear and the signage was non exisitant. I continued to ride as there was frsh tyre tracks. After 5mins I stopped to check is any riders were behind me, waited nothing so continued. Eventually I spotted an arrow and then past a photographer. Rode for antoher 5mins and was alert to any signs or marker, but again nothing. I got to a short climb up only to have too riders come back towards me saying we are going the wrong way.
We back tracked only to have more riders come headlong into us. I decided to go see the marshals and ask WTF is going on. A guy on a 29ner joined me. The marshals didn't know where the 50km loop was or how we had ended up there. And there was no way I was going to ride back on a course with people riding a race pace headlong into me.
I spoke to 5 other riders in that lead group that said the course was not marked properly at this point and they all pulled out as did I. Gary the race organiser said to email him to discuss a refund. no response. Another person emailed me and said to call him to discuss. No answer.
I was in the lead group and was in 6th place had just passed the rider who ended up in 3rd overall. On a section of fire road that went into single track had a 'no motorbike' logo sign at the start. The bunting began to disapear and the signage was non exisitant. I continued to ride as there was frsh tyre tracks. After 5mins I stopped to check is any riders were behind me, waited nothing so continued. Eventually I spotted an arrow and then past a photographer. Rode for antoher 5mins and was alert to any signs or marker, but again nothing. I got to a short climb up only to have too riders come back towards me saying we are going the wrong way.
We back tracked only to have more riders come headlong into us. I decided to go see the marshals and ask WTF is going on. A guy on a 29ner joined me. The marshals didn't know where the 50km loop was or how we had ended up there. And there was no way I was going to ride back on a course with people riding a race pace headlong into me.
I spoke to 5 other riders in that lead group that said the course was not marked properly at this point and they all pulled out as did I. Gary the race organiser said to email him to discuss a refund. no response. Another person emailed me and said to call him to discuss. No answer.
fergo
Likes Dirt
bummer dude that you got lost. How far in was the fire road and single track? All junctions near the single track at the start had marshalls telling us where to go when I got there.
I started in the same race and the first group (same as you) and completed the whole race. Maybe it helped being a local and having ridden the first 20km. Its a pity the 102 riders in front of me didn't pull out also.
I started in the same race and the first group (same as you) and completed the whole race. Maybe it helped being a local and having ridden the first 20km. Its a pity the 102 riders in front of me didn't pull out also.