Howler in Tracton

Tracton is probably the most famous stomping ground for mountain bikers in Cork and has seen many facelifts over the years but over the last few months it has seen major work at the hands of Coillte. The back of the woods has been felled dramatically leaving the area feeling very different to the rest of the woods. Thanks to John Galvin of Coillte, they have left the majority of the existing track undamaged but with only the bombhole requiring a change of route. Brian Mc Carthy (Mcstud) and other members of the club have put in savage work clearing the debris and creating the new line through the bombhole over the last 2 months. 

With that in mind, 5 of us headed out for a spin in gale force winds today, myself, Yogi, Kennedy, Jon Hynes and Ronan. For most of us, it was the first time riding there since the felling had commenced. Once Kennedy had changed out his handlebars (don't ask) we made our way up to the tunnel where the fun times began. The tunnel never wears thin, especially with the sneaky overtaking line down the steep chute which spits you out in front of unsuspecting riders on the mainline. We knocked out 2 laps with plenty of stops to chat about how brilliant adjustable seatposts are. The wind made the newly exposed section hard work with a climb into the wind toward the bombhole. I can only imagine how much fun its going to be in the summer if we get a dry spell, especially with all the new line options around the stumps. In general, the loop was quite dry except for the extension to TNT which was great fun once you kept the speed up to keep the tyres from clogging up too much. Lots of jealous faces eyeing up my swamp things which were super impressive as always. 

We finished the day with a quick sessioning of the downhill section off TNT which was nicely slick but amazing fun all the same. I was eager to try it out with spd's having only ever ridden it with flat pedals. It was tricky enough trying to keep clipped in and I felt kind of restricted but I think a day sessioning it with them would help me no end if I have any intentions of using them on the downhill bike this season. Riding the Morewood Mbuzi on the track was so much more lively and controllable on the twisty track than my downhill bike too. It really is some bike, its amazing you don't see more of them in this country. Al Maxwell of the Bike Rack in Dublin recommended it to me over 3 years ago and I have been so grateful to him ever since. It replaced my Santa Cruz Blur 4X which I still reckon to be one of the best handling bikes I ever owned. Its now owned by my brother Yogi, sporting a tasty orange powder coat finish and top class build as pictured below.

I don't think I will ever get sick of riding Tracton, it continues to challenge and impress. We are blessed to have such a quality track on our doorstep. 

Welcome Back Hilary

Mt Hilary was and probably still is the home to one of the longest downhill tracks in the country and was built a good few years back by the 021 Racing team. It has hosted the  downhill National Championship and a handful of NPS rounds and helped raise the standard of downhill tracks when downhill was starting to really take off in this country. The track itself is split into three sections, each divided by a crossing of the firewood. 

The top section is on a fairly gradual gradient with a host of berms and small jumps and a nice scattering of roots and it finishes with a jump onto a steep cliff face, all of which is very rollable. Even though the gradient isn't that steep, it is very easy to maintain speed with very little need for pedaling which is a credit to the route picked down through this section. 

Once you cross the fireroad you drop down into the second section which is steeper and a bit more twisty which reduces the speed but you need to be on your toes to avoid being flung onto the many stumps that litter the track. The section finishes with another steep drop which is a variation to the track used back in the day. I don't think this works that well at the moment but thats another story. 

A quick burst down the firewood and you slingshot into the third section where the men are separated from the boys. This section has been a bone of contention between trail builders and the forestry commission alike due to the steep gradient and sandy soil type which leads to major drainage issues. The track traditionally took a very straight line down the mountain which is never ideal as the rain water will travel the same route and lead to massive gullies when you have surface that is easily destroyed by running water. Anyway, the section includes the famous open section which is rock minefield covered in sand. Anytime you rode down this section you could expect to be forced to take a different line to the previous visit due to the erosion and gullies….but it was amazing fun….flat out lunacy on some of the roughest terrain found at any race track in the country. From there the track got much steeper and technical with some massive berms saving riders from break neck speeds and burning up your already raw arm muscles from the heavy braking. It was the only track that i can remember racers complaining about arm pump in every uplift back to the top for another run down the amazing track.

I have not been back to the track for many years as other venues like Clashnacrona and Cahir have become the staple diet of downhillers in Munster. Myself and Alfred went back there today for a blast from the past downhill session with Alfred borrowing my 2-Stage Elite 9 and I brought my Morewood Mbuzi. The awkward fucker had to change the brakes around on my bike and being a 10 stone lighter readjusted the air pressure in the forks and the rear shocks. Its a serious hike to the top but spirits were high reminiscing on the fun we used to have booting down the Mt Hilary track. 

We finally got to the top and the view was spectacular with the beaming sunshine and low lying fog below us. We hit the first 2 sections in one go, fairly gingerly as we sussed out all the old lines. It proved to be a trouble shooting run with me having to lower the saddle more, turn off pro pedal (muppet) and Alfred having to re tighten one of the swing arm pivots. Second run was way more fun and i followed Alfred this time, staying on pretty much the same line until he dropped me near the end of the second section. The third run was superb as we picked up the pace and started having more fun flicking the bikes around and hopping off and over stumps and roots, big beaming smiles at the bottom.

 For the fourth run we decided to try a full run including the unknown third section. I planted myself early in the first section on a small awkward jump which brought me back down to earth. The third section was a disaster, we came in way too fast into it and was greeted by a maze of nasty roots and ruts. The open section was a mass of gorse and gullies and pretty much unrideable. We got to the steep chute and the gorse disappeared so we took off again, out of control, and i hit a nice sized pothole flinging me over the bars again. I didn't see Alfred again till the bottom where we exchanged stories of near death experiences and agreed not to try it again. 

Another hike right back to the top which totally knackered us so we decided that one more go at the top two sections would be enough for the day. I crashed again on that stupid fuckin jump but not as bad as the first time and bate on down trying to catch the Latvian who was now flying as he got used to my bike. We got back back to the car totally wrecked but not as bad as my dog Jack who was as bate out as i have seen him in a long long time. 

It was a brilliant day out and definately on the list for a another visit.

Welcome back Hilary.

Stan

Feck Off Mr. Frost

The weather has been a disaster in recent months with the extended cold spell being replaced with rain for the last 2 weeks. Not exactly great weather for my favored type of biking at the moment, dirt jumping. So, with the rain holding off for the last 4 or 5  days I thought this weekend could see the good times returning. I ventured down to Kev's gaff after work on Friday with the bike in the boot and i thought at least the pumptrack would be up and running and maybe i could do a little work on the jump line for a decent session on the Saturday.

When i got there i met Sean Swanick working on the third jump which has been given a facelift and a boost in size. I took a walk down to him and couldn't believe the how damp the track was, total mudbath!!! Gutted. There was still frost and ice on the track and it looked like it had just been bucketing rain, unreal. The frost had lifted the surface of the track by a few inches making it boggy and there was no chance of it drying up with the temperatures remaining very low. It could be a long wait for the track to be dry enough for even a session on the pumptrack. 

So, i threw on my convict overalls and got stuck into the digging with Sean and we got through a nice bit of work on the landing for the third jump. So, fleck off Mr. Frost and give us back our tracks ya bollix.

Look back on 2010 Season

I have been racing downhill on and off for years but for 2010 I thought I would buy a downhill bike and give a full season a lash. Late 2009 I bought a 2-Stage Elite 9 second hand off Dublins Greg Callaghan who had huge success nationally on the bike. Its a very unusual bike as it has two shocks on the rear and I wanted one ever since I saw one in at the Worlds in 2008. Having ridden a Morewood Mbuzi and other 6" travel bikes for the previous few years it took a good few spins before I felt comfortable at speed on it but the difference in riding a proper downhill bike with race geometry is unreal. You get away with murder on them, especially when you stray off line or screw up a jump and land on tree stumps.

The first test of the year began with the Winter Series round 1 in Bree near Enniscorthy. I didn't feel that quick during practice but had a savage time knocking out runs with MBCC team mate Brian O'Sullivan, especially over the wooden drop into the berm. The race runs didn't go that well with plenty of mistakes on each run including one aided by a heckling Richie Byrne. Fucker ha ha. I finished in 12th position which was probably a bit flattering considering how I rode that weekend.

The second round took us to Cloon Wood in Wicklow where some sections of the track were covered in sheets of ice during practice on Saturday. It was another fun track with loads of line options and plenty of berms. Again, I didn't feel that fast in practice but surprised everyone including myself when I was placed in third position after the first run. I improved slightly on my time on the second run but so did others and I was pushed to 5th position in the end with only 0.5 seconds separating the top 5. Without a doubt, my best result at a downhill race since I was a young fella.

I missed the final 2 rounds of the Winter Series and the season continued with the first round of the National Points Series (NPS) taking place in Scarragh Woods near Cahir Co Tipperary. The track was one I was fairly familiar with but it got cut up badly during practice and became a bit of a lottery in sections. I thought I could do well at this race but I made a mess of both my runs and finished in a disappointing 10th position and took a defeat in the on going rivalry battle with Brian O' Sullivan. Not a happy camper.

Round 2 of the NPS was held in Kilgarvan, Co Kerry. We were treated to dusty conditions, a nice change to the usual mud and wet roots. MBCC had a huge turnout at the race with the yellow jerseys taking over the event and the mocking having everyone in tears. The dusty fast track seemed to suit both me and the bike and I finished up in 6th position, missing out on a podium by less than a second again, gutted. I managed to beat Brian by enough to put me ahead in the NPS overall standings so I made the most of it with constant bragging and taunting.

Round 3 brought the NPS circus to Dunmanway in West Cork which is the where I tend to ride downhill most. The race organizers decided to go with the steep track which I was delighted with as its probably the most technical track in the country. The weather turned nasty for the few days before the event and didn't let up over the weekend turning the track into what can only be described as porridge. The trick was to keep your speed up and wheels rolling to prevent the bike clogging. Team CRC/Intense were racing the event also and it was comforting to see that even they were having issues with the track. Practice went fairly well when i managed to stay on and i was fairly confident come race time as I knew a clean run could lead to a good result. That all went out the window on the first run where I had a high speed crash before i even got to the woods. The second run was a disaster too with stupid crashes all the way down the hill and I finished up in a poor 11th place. Another victory to Brian and the bragging rights slipped through my fingers and came back to slap me in the face.

Round 4 saw us return to Scarragh woods Co. Tipperary which used a very different track to that used in round 1. There was jumps the whole way down the track including two slightly hipped jumps, a decent sized step-up and 2 road gaps. The track was dusty dry for practice on saturday but became slippy in places on race morning due to over night rain. It seemed to dry up as the day went on and was fantastic fun with everyone pushing their limits trying jumps they would usually shy away from. Im not sure why but our club had a growing list of casualties over the weekend which started with Brian breaking ribs and his forks on the bigger of the two road gaps on practice day putting him out of the event. Fred followed on next with a suspected broken ankle, Ian broke his collarbone and I broke my shoulder. The x-ray machine in the VHI clinic was flat out that sunday but they might might want to get the bloody thing looked at. Fred was told his ankle was sprained and I was told my rotator cuff was damaged which turned out to be a broken shoulder after an MRI 5 weeks later. Muppets.

So, that was it, National Points Series over. Brian managed to recover enough to roll down the hill at one of the final rounds and beat me in the overall standings by 1 point. 1 POINT!!!! Fucker!!! hahaha.

The final and biggest race of the year, the National Champs took place in Rostrevor up North on the most punishing track in the country. The perfect track to test out my shoulder and balls. I travelled up with the Polish bike ballerina Jakub on the friday and we pitched up the tent in the finish area field. I absolutely love this track, it has everything. Practice on saturday didn't go too well with a crash every run including one where I had to avoid a dickhead standing in the middle of the track looking at lines. Qualifying was on the saturday where I concentrated on taking it handy and getting a crash free run which worked out quite well putting me in around 13th position but I felt slow and awkward. At the champs there is a different format and you only get one race run on the sunday, shit or bust time. Practice went much better that morning and I got all my lines right in my head, so I was confident of putting in a good time and hopefully grabbing a top 10 spot. It wasn't to be though as I punctured on the third corner on some sharp rocks. Lesson learned, you gotta ride as hard in practice as you will in your race run to see how your bike will handle it, my tyres were too soft to be hitting the rocks that hard.

So that was it, season over with a lot of positives and negatives to take from it. The 2011 DH race season begins in late march with the first round in Rostrevor and only four more rounds after, all of which are spread out nicely. There is no winter series for 2011 either so there there will be even more emphasis on the NPS. I cant wait, bring it on!!!

Stan

Racing with the Roadies

This weekend I made the trip to Kenmare for the 2010 Humpty Dumpty Duathlon. This was the second year this event was run and it had competitors cycle 40km up through the Kerry mountain roads through the infamous Molls Gap followed by a 6km run around the outskirts of the village. Tom Elliott got talked into entering by his friend Donal a.k.a. Dermot, who in turn invited myself and Hefner. I had never raced any kind of road race or triathlon type event before but I have been running quite a bit this year so I thought it might be a laugh, especially with the promise of a night out in Kenmare afterwards.

I don't own a road bike or even a hardtail that could be pedaled so I had to borrow a bike from Grif. Its kind of mad that I have 3 bikes and none of them in any way suitable for this kind of race but Grif's Lappierre Tecnic 700 fitted the bill nicely, especially when you throw a set of 1.5 slicks on. Myself and Hefner travelled up early Saturday morning and set up the bikes in the carpark near the finish area.

122 competitors met at the Brooklane Hotel where we registered and got our safety briefing. We were warned that there could be leaves on some sections of the road and that there was some nasty crosswinds that could knock you off your bike, very scary stuff. We got going on the parade lap of the town just before 12 noon and the race began with a rolling start as we passed by the hotel. As normal, I took off flat out and burnt myself out before too long. I had a lot of confused roadies throwing me dirty looks as i spent the first few kilometers out of the saddle trying to keep up with the chasing pack. It didn't last too long and I had to sit down and find a rhythm on the climb up to Molls Gap and was passed by around 15 roadies with a smug look on their faces, fuckers. Once I got beyond Molls Gap the downhill sections began and I thought I would flake along here and catch some of the lads who passed me. Big mistake, the road bikes proved to be much faster on these sections too but I was able to tuck in behind a group of 6 who towed me along for around 10k. It was some buzz riding along in a pack at that pace, taking turns to take the lead and take the sting out of the wind. We came to a sharp left hander with a marshal waving at us to slow down, screw that, off the brakes and cut in tight and I dropped the bunch of roadies and took off up a steep climb where the mountain bike seemed to have an advantage.

By now I had realized that there was only one mountain bike in front of me, as I was the only one dumb enough to ride up the front at the start and only one lad had passed me. An old dude came flying up behind me so I jumped in behind him and we started picking off riders in front of us including the guy on the mountain bike, delighted. I managed to stay with older dude until about 5k from the end, my legs were buckled and didn't have the gas even to stay behind in the slipstream. I knew the run was going to be murder.

I had to dismount at the change over area where I changed my shoes and ditched the helmet and backpack. My legs were like jelly once I started running, way worse than I expected. I was relieved to see I wasn't the only one suffering with others in front of me having to stop and walk. I kept the head down and plugged away and the legs felt a bit more normal after around 3k. I crossed the line in 50th position with a time of 1.51.57 where I met Donal who had kicked ass and finished in 23rd position in his first race of this kind.

Hefner followed in behind in 85th position after making up a lot of positions on the run. Im pretty sure he was the only competitor on a full suspension bike, not exactly ideal for a road race! He had passed Tom who died a horrible death on the run after a good cycle, and was seen trying to thumb a lift from a passing tractor.

After a quick feed and wash we took off to sample the Kenmare pubs, and kept sampling until we somehow ended up in the park throwing chips at each other and worked on our wrestling techniques.

It was a brilliant day out, both for the event and the night out that followed. I wouldn't be too surprised to find myself wheezing up at Molls gap next year.

http://www.thehumptydumpty.com/

What Saturdays are made for

At the start of the year i decided i was going to make a big effort to figure out this dirt jumping lark, and things were starting to go well with the construction of the dirt jumps in Tracton. The standard and expectations moved up a notch when the Whistler pickled Nugget came home for a few months and we started some resurrecting work on the pump track and dirt jumps at Kevs gaff. This area had seen some tasty work over the few years with the help of Alfred, Quinn and Sean Swanick, to name a few. We set out reshaping the track and lips and before long the first two jumps were rideable but proved much more technical than I had anticipated due to the berm on the run in to the first jump. Since then, there has been work done to get more of the line open to get some continuity going. There isn't a straight jump in the set, with a berm either before or after each jump forcing you to get comfortable moving the bike around in the air when landing into a berm to maximize your speed for the next jump. It feels like a big pump track and although the jumps are not that big, I am usually smiling from ear to ear after each run. Just to clarify before I go any further, this is on private land and is on an invite only basis. The last thing anyone wants is strangers turning up at their front garden unannounced.

So, Saturday saw me finish work reasonably early and i met Jakob at the jumps around 3pm. It was a bit of a last minute decision to go ride there so we didn't put the word out about it. We weren't there long when Miley Murphy of Weldon Suspension showed up with some of his buddies, most of which had never seen the place before. These lads were mad eager to have a go at the jumps and seemed pretty confident about being able to ride the jump line as they were well used to the jumps in Tracton. The jumps in Tracton may be of similar size but its a whole different story when you start throwing berms and rollers into the equation. The penny dropped after the lads took a few runs at them and were coming up well short of clearing the first jump. The fact that most of them had full suspension rigs with knobbly tyres did nothing to help their cause but in fairness, they tried away mad and as the day went on they were getting closer and closer as they figured out the berm and got comfortable hitting the line with more pace.

A few familiar faces showed up during the day including Larry Douglas who popped in on the way back from an adventure race in West Cork. Greg O'Keeffe had a lash off the pumptrack and seemed to spend more than half of it on the back wheel, manualling everything at high speed. Next to arrive was Denis Corkery with two of the Cornforths in tow, Cam and Luke. The two lads had downhill bikes with them but it only took them a run or two before they had the first two jumps dialed, pedaling at every opportunity to keep up the speed. Even with a bit of teasing, Cam could not clear the third jump with his bike robbing all his speed in the berm before it. They spend the rest of their time there hitting a huge jump that Rob Davis had carved out of a pile of dirt alongside the pumptrack. They were getting massive air off it, making it look way too easy. Denis got the balls of the day award with his attempts at the jump line on a borrowed bmx, flaking at it in much the same way way Rob does, low and fast. He did well to come away with only a few minor falls. The same could not be said for one of Mileys friends who managed to pitch himself over the bars when he landed the first jump short. It was a worst case scenario crash and he was very lucky to walk away from it, and a bit of a reality check for the rest of us.

Since i have been riding there, i don't think i have seen a day where there was so many riders out to learn and have a go off something new. It really spurred you on and the more that showed up, the better i found myself riding as i tried to keep up. Everybody left with a smile and most with some unfinished business and eagerness for another lash of it. Its what Saturdays are made for, riding dirt jumps with a bunch of like minding loonies.

Vee Virgin

I had heard great reports from lads in the club (MBCC) about a spin around the "Vee" out in the Knockmealdown mountains. What was promised was rough rocky open mountains with some savage downhills so it was hard to ignore the advertised spin on the club website.

With my bike out of action I borrowed a hardtail off Fred, an On-One Inbred which i was told "could be held together with bits of coke cans". A quick inspection later and after replacing some missing bolts and lobbing on some Minions, she was ready to rock.

Myself and Hefner hit the road in my car and met up with Scully, Brian, Eoin T, Jakob, Kimjongil and PHD where we shuttled to the top of the mountain in some cars and left the others at the bottom in Clogheen.

From what I understand, we did a figure of eight around the mountains. The first loop was the shorter of the 2 with a handy enough climb followed by a fun descent. A long enough drag back up the road took us back to the carpark where started the second loop up a really technical steep climb. The single ring on freds bike broke me on this climb and I had to ride it with a "flat out or stop" approach where I would blaze past everyone only to be passed again while I tried to keep my breakfast down, gasping for breath on the side of the track. Every nasty bit of that climb was worth it for downhills that followed. The first of which was down a steep boggy side of the mountain where it was recommended you avoid the beaten track and find your own way down, off piste. Out with the allen keys and down with saddle and away we went. I took it fairly slow and steady and still barely made it down without being pitched over the bars.

The next downhill was fuckin nuts. As Eoin put it, " your booting along over the rocks thinking this is rough as hell and then you hit the rock garden". It was the roughest track i have ever ridden, worse than anything in Alp d'Huez, the home of the Mega Avalanche. Freds poor hardtail got the shit kicked out of it (sorry fred) but luckily most of his parts including his wheels were off a downhill bike. Lots of smiles and stories at the end of that section. A short hike a bike later and we came to a split on the track where you had a choice of routes, one of which was down a chute with massive loose rocks everywhere, no sign of ground below them either. Myself and Eoin took this route which I started to regret once I got going on it, it was much harder than it looked but there was no stopping once you got going. Very relieved to make it down in one piece. There was a flat out section down a smooth enough track next, into the tuck position racing each other to the bottom.

The final downhill was unreal too, very loose and rocky again but this time there was a few switchbacks thrown in for good measure. I chased Jakob down it with old man Scully roaring at me from behind. There was some honk of burning brakes coming from my Hopes, which were fairly rubbish to be honest but that could have been due to set up. Wont be rushing out to buy a pair after the days biking.

We made our way to the Lucky Leprechaun Pub in Clogheen afterwards for a well deserved pint of the black stuff and a few more of PHD's twisted jokes.

Thanks to Eoin and Scully for the guided tour, looking forward to another lash of it soon.

Stan