DH racing unlike Horse Racing does not have to be, "The sport of Kings". For less than a pint of Magners you can can go "racing" here in the U.K and why not the rest of the World? Your local trails?
To see how, read on...
January the 24th 2009 was the race and here's how it went down.
Course: Little Bringewood, red start with three extra-technical bus stops.
Conditions: Slow, mud, roots like ice.
Photos: Troy Overton
Going Down..
Now I might have slightly mislead you above by using the term "Racing". From now on we will use the words, "Timed Practise". The guys at the Racers Guild at Cannock Chase near Birmingham in the middle of England have a small hill to play with. In fact the longest true DH course there is around 1 mins dead for the Pro racers.
Catch!
They have several race tracks established and run one timed practice session every month. It is all pretty relaxed, the course is taped out, number boards are provided, a first aider is on hand and there is live timing! What more could you want? Have any pros raced there? Steve Peat did just prior to Christmas as reported here on Pinkbike.com:
superfly.pinkbike.com/blog/Steve-Peat-Cannock.html Now if you form a club and register it to British Cycling then for a few hundred quid a year you can run practice, time it and be insured!
Front Wheel Light!
Open practice starts from first light and timed runs begin at 12:00 sharp and finish when it gets dark or around 16:00 (whichever comes first).
Dan Price
How many timed runs did everyone get? Well as many as your little legs can carry you. After each run you make your way back to the start and grab a sticker with the next available start time printed on it. Then go again and several runs can be yours.
Race HQ
There is no uplift and the walk up is between 10-15mins at a very casual pace. Your timed practice runs are then live on the Racers Guild website the next day and you can see how you have done. Remember you can't improve what you can't measure!
Rather than sitting on the internet forums moaning about the cost of racing, why not take a bit of inspiration from these guys and get your own scene going in your neck of the woods? What's stopping you?
Elliott Machin
On an average practice day they get 60-70 riders from all walks of life, all ages and all abilities. There are riders there on £150 Toys "R" Us bikes lined up next to £5k worth of super bike. They are all there to race and have fun. If you're free on any of these Saturdays over the year then get yourself entered on the day, no license required, just pop a few quid in the tin and you're off!
Video courtesy of Boon Productions.ChaseTrails Trail Building: Before the timed practice - usually at about 10 AM - they get together to dig. This is official downhill trail building organized by ChaseTrails. It's not just to give back to the local trails, but also to give input for new lines and features and create the kind of trails you like to ride.
Trail Building dates are posted under Dates on the homepage. Tools provided, jeans and work gloves recommended. More info can be found at
www.chasetrails.co.uk, and Alex writes a blog at
dhbuilder.blogspot.com.
The Racer's Guild is organized by Aaron Neumann
Contact: Pslide@racersguild.co.uk
For more details please checkout:
http://www.racersguild.co.uk Stay Unclipped.
Si Paton
www.Descent-Gear.com Mavic 2009 Wheelsets Instock!
