southerndownhill.com - Forum

Six Round Race Series 2008   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Hi Guys things are looking great for DH racing in the south next year....

We have alot more planned for the coming year, with uplifts most weekends at the park and 6 race DH series . We are also looking to build a 4x track this winter with input from local racers (Steve Atkins  and Lewis Lacy  ) The 4X races will happen on the same weekends as the DH races and will take place on the saturday afternoon/evenings of the uplifts enabling racers to also race the DH on the Sunday. The number of 4X races is yet to be confirmed. The track will be a mountain bike track! - I have been getting feedback from as many racers as possible as to the design of the track but we also want to ensure its fun for beginners too.

We are also planning a hardcore enduro race weekend . This will be a major summer event with a 4hour enduro on the saturday, 4x saturday evening and DH sunday. The enduro is going to be techy and not for the faint hearted . We want to make the enduro event a proper mountain bike race with tech sections to test everyone !

The dates are as follows:

13th 14th april
10th 11th may
1st 2nd june -possible enduro DH 4x triple header weekend
19th 20th July
6th 7th septmebr
4th 5th October

More details will follow but what we can ensure is 6 completely different tracks, fun prizes, great food ( especially mums cake!) and a great atmosphere. If you havent been to one of our events then where have you been ?

We will also be hosting many demo days with bikes from Commencal, Felt and Iron Horse and we have also just done a deal with a major supplier of clothng and hydration systems so expect to see some prizes and more news soon...

I'll be down for the whole series...

then again i said that this year and only made one of them  :'( ::)

Less work commitments in '08 though!

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! ;D

cool, i'll definately be racing hopefuly at least half of them without a messy hangover lol  :P

seconded  ::) ;D

Sweet

The longleat massive will be there to reprezent

Hopefully ill race all of them if i dont break anything :) !

now where would the fun be there!!

as much as it hurt i quite enjoyed trying to race on a track i didn't know through fuzzy vision

but a sober one or two won't hurt i guess

Half drunken, Half sober  ;)  bit of an experiment to see finishing positions in both states

oooh now thats a plan, we going to alternate the tipple of choice aswell?

or sticking to good ole cider

either way it's going to be funny.

personally i reckon i will do better hungover, being sober means i think too much

We all live in Somerset/Wiltshire/Dorset, the only tipple we can legally consume is cider. And as one of the necassary 5 a day is also good for you and will make you race better the next day!

Cool good news,look forward to the 400 mile round trips to get there again!!! ;D

400 miles! Now thats dedication!...........we love it!  ;D

Do some winter races?  Go onnnnn, you know you want to :)

Oh we'd love to, but it looks like now we're going to be hard at work on other stuff at the park over the winter, races are like a big work vacume that just sucks your time up!  ;D

Our first proper year will be ending soon and we have a shed load to get ready for next year!........so until then, it's going have to be boring old Uplifts!  :)

Will the series carry any BCF ranking points?

It's quite likley one of our first races next year will carry points, but thats not definate, we'll let you know as soon as we have the whole series mapped out.  :)

     

so whee would the enduro dh run? would it be a newly built course? or interlink a load of the current trails. next year sounds awesome hopefully me and some mates will make every race :)

The enduro would be an XC ride, but with the emphasis on techy riding, not plowing round the edge of a field, ala mountain mayhem and the like. The course is being scouted every wednesday on a night ride (running from torico (http://www.torico.co.uk/) at 6pm) and gradually being worked out. It's likely that some of the DH tracks from the park will be used, with chicken runs for some of the more difficult obstacles. At the moment they're looking at a 10 or so mile lap (Ben can confirm or deny, as he's the one with the garmin!!). Part of the track is a MX enduro, so it's already nicely bermed singletrack, but with a bit of tweaking and trail clearing, it should work out around the 80% singletrack mark, which will be about spot on.

yep as ali said the route is still being tweaked but so far we are pretty confident that we have a pretty cool track. singletrack is the name of the game with plenty of places for passing on climbs and loads of opportunites for harder faster lines with optional chicken route. If you want to come along on a wednesday, give me a call at the shop.

I'm not tree-magnet!?? ::)

But they (who ever it is......) have it all spot on for that option, it's a great course!

Need to get back out  on the wednesday nighters!!

hi guys, ive not raced before, but would like to start.

im not brilliant i just want to race for fun against some good riders rather than my mates, is this series ok for a beginner like me to enter.

cheers guys

Yeah mate, bike park is proper chilled out. I did my first race there and had a wicked time.

Whats up with the race prices going up even more now?

If you dont mind me saying, its not very 'grassroots' when the prices go up  to such a high level.

What's your definition of Grass roots??

 

Just to clarify, the entry fee for racing this year is £30.......... £25 last year, sounds like you've been told there's another increase, it's just a fiver on last year.  :)



 

Having never raced before I was really shocked to see how much it costs, UK BP races are on a par with other race series as far as cost is concerned though. Racing is expensive but if that's what you want to do then you have to pay for it!
I don't drink anymore so racing no doubt shall become my new G&T! ;D

My definition of grassroots  would be 'affordable racing so as to encourage pople to try out racing'

basically what i was trying to say is, Why the need for the increase in cost of 22% for a weekend over last year?    or, What changes over last year justify the price rise, e.g timing equipment?

I do very much like the idea of the BSX race at the event, cracking idea.

Ben.

Ok cool, I asked what your idea of grass roots was so I could better answer you question.

And this is for pretty much everyone.

Grass roots racing doesn't necessarily mean 'cheaper' racing . . . . . .grass roots, for us, means that it's not part of some big organisation or movement, there's no corporate or government sponsor or funding involved, if there were it's possible that we could offer subsidised entry to attract new riders, which would be ideal!

The park is run by riders to create a great riding venue (out of a steep muddy hill) that funds itself, not some non rider looking to make a few quid or a business interested solely in profit. We love riding and want to build a cool place for all to enjoy, when it's done it'll be a great asset for the UK MTB scene. Since there's no one round here with a spare £100,000 kickin' about, we've got to work for it.

Racing is not really a winner as far as making cash goes, if you noted down all intailed as a business proposal (and don't forget all those volunteers/marshall's etc), you'd get laughed out of The Dragon's Den!  ;D
We do it for the park, the good of the sport and simply cos it's good fun!! (This is the 'good business' side of it which we try to bear in mind when we're lugging stuff about ankle deep in mud sometimes)  
I've no idea of the costs incurred for organisers at other venues, but for us this is what it costs to ensure the event is a success. But if they run a good event then you can be sure they've worked for it, so support them all the way!

For those who've not been to a race (or one of ours) you get,

A taped race course (obviously  :) )
A race plate.
Marshalls (volunteers yes, but they get fed and a free race entry for whoever)
Timing!!
Prizes.
Race insurance.
Uplift (for practice and timed runs using bike specific trailers)
Paramedics to stick you back together.
Loos.
Parking.
And a load of people running around making sure you have a good day out!

What makes everything possible at the park is the Uplift service, we don't operate 15ton military lorries just to make us feel butch! these are the only things (within financial limitations) that can cope with the uplift track (which btw we have to rent per event and resurface at times £££) without falling apart after a few trips. The skilled work that goes into these trucks is unbelievable!
On the road Paul tells me fuel economy runs at a heady 6mpg, up a 30 degree incline loaded with trailer 40 riders and bikes, probably it's a little less  :-\

When you fill up your car next try and remember how much fuel was per litre a year ago.

They'll be tons of new stuff at the park to do by the summer, all paid for by it's riders, worth the 22% for sure!

As SJ said the extra will mean different things to different people it depends on your situation I guess...


But that's what it takes to make it happen at this venue and that's why racing has gone up to £30   :)

TBH Ben, it is a little price increase, and i had sooooo much fun last year at the three races i attended (one as a marshal, and 2 racing) that i think its worth a further £5 ontop. And the fact the money goes pretty much straight back into the park to improve upon what is already (personally) one of the best riding spots in the UK is great.

I define grass roots as an opportunity for someone to start racing. The level at UK bikepark is high enough to challenge most riders (You and i included Ben) yet offer up and coming riders a chance of a good result (For example that 10yr old last year), £30 for a days racing and uplift is only a £5 less than an uplift at Cwmcarn, but we also have to pay toll (£5) and petrol (£30) to ride there!!

(Not having a go at you buddy, love you really)

Finally! If 'mums cakes' where advertised more, then there would be no need for anyone to pay race entry!!!!!! ;D

Dressed as a cow...quite a fast one too!  ;D

Anyway, back to the races, forgot to mention for the six races we're holding this year we'll be running six different tracks! The three from last year and three new combinations.

There's almost a myriad of different ways to the bottom of the park now and we'll be linking the best of them for your courses.

So guess away!

Dark side? Free fall?....... The stupid steep track?  ;D



 

Thats what we like to hear!

When you guys return to the park in the summer I think you'll see where the extra £5 has been spent - it's going to be great  ;D ;D ;D

Cool, I heard about a cafe or summit being built at the top, sounds good.  All I really wanted to know is wether the timing equipment has been updated from last season, as the only negative out of the whole event was when the timing messed up at the final race.  Cheers Ben, hopefully I won't be still pi**ed for racing the day after this year, and get some podiums, lol.

Timing for next year will be done by ukbikepark and myself!!! we realise how important this is to everyone and we are looking to make gradual improvements with the timing gear we have now purchased- last year we hired the kit and the manpower. We would love to have split timing and cameras as well as live timing and this will come in time however we will ensure your results are printed on time with some great podium prizes
and on that note we will be in a position very soon to release some news about  prizes and a big title sponsor for next year so watch this space. Im also booking up demo days as I type so expect to see more great bikes to test ride over the course of the race weekends. and of course we will have mini bike races and any other races we can think of to keep us entertained in the evening. and dont forget 4x !!!!its going to ba a blast!

Any chance of an uplift day at the end of July/beginning of August? I'm organising my house warming party coupled with hopefully a day at the bike park!

Long shot but worth a try? ;D

live timing sounds wicked,

any chance of tropthys for the podiums

Hi Mono - Got a feeling that Ali & me self will be on holiday in France (the only chance we get to ride a bike!) We are offering a private uplift service shortly which will cater for 10 - 16 riders. Check the website for details.

Farmer ash - not sure if there be trophies but they'll be some more useful and cool prizes from Dakine, 661, Uk Bike Park, Torico & Scratch tape.......   ;D ;D

You guys were saying you might be carrying BCF points at one of the races - any update on that?

Yeah we looked into it and the cost of BC sanctioning would have to be carried over to the racers. we are trying to keep the racing costs as low as possible and we concluded that the actual amount of people who will be point hunting for the NPS was pretty small( the logical reason for BC points).Its pretty hard to quantify it but locally I have had only 3 requests for BC sanctioning so it seems a shame that everyone would have to pay more just for a small minority who might be able to feed into the NPS races. I would expect there must be more riders out there looking for points and I would be glad for any feedback on this forum to change our minds??

I feel strongly that the regional races should feed into the NPS and the current system doesnt really help this process. It seems to penalise people who want to race regionals and doesnt help buddig NPS races enter into them > if we are trying to encourage grass roots racing then keeping the costs down is important in this but likewise I would love to see budding top class racers feed into the NPS from one of our races. Here lies the conundrum and I think the problem can be solved easily with BC making the regional races affordable and able to feed into the NPS. I like ranking systems, i think they are fun and we are nearer a workable approach to this than at any other time in DH racing history.

For the good of the sport and to prosper racing in the UK I would scrap the levy on BC ranking races and set up regional races series with ranking points . it would be hard to admisnster and of course some of the rankings might be amiss( but this is the same in any sport!) but it would be great to have a system based on data . we could almost copy the road model by having cat 1 cat2  cat3 racers.

great discussion point by the way... lets hear some other views!!!

Well having seen your prices for 2008 I assumed they were ALL going to have BCF points - £55 for a weekend is £5 more than the Midlands (the most well-run and respected regional series in the UK?), for a hill that's half the size and events that don't have BCF points...

I know you guys put a lot of work in etc etc, but I fear you may struggle to fill your races this year with your prices £10 higher than last year (I think last year was £20uplift/£25race?)

I'm not saying that you're overcharging and making a mint, but if that ISN'T the case, then I'd suggest you need to figure out how to cut your costs a bit!

Cheers for your comments Seb

Haha, my entries are gonna get burnt or fed to the dog arent they? :-P

i agree with seb, the midlands are 5 quid cheaper and same as the dragons with a smaller hill and no bc points  :-\

sorry, but i maybe slightly biased here, but they're doing great things up at the park, and it will be an even more awesome place to ride when they get more money to fund new projects. Yes racing is expensive, but if it is that bad, just go down race day and practice in the am. The camping is dirt cheap, and the facilities are good. Never raced the midlands so can't comment, but i would say its worth every penny at the bike park.

Plus if you join up for a year, thats a fiver off every uplift you do, including the days before races.

Don't foget too, for most of us travelling to the welsh venues, the its another £5/10 for the pleasure of getting into the country, on top of fuel/accomodation etc.

For the size of the hill they do damn good job of making a fun and as lengthy as possible course.

Bring on april  :)

Well I didn't want to get too involved in this, but for you to argue that their prices are ok since you need to pay £5/£10 to get over the bridge to Wales is ridiculous, what does that have to do with it?!  Very flawed logic there!

And the camping isn't dirt cheap, it's £5.  I normally IIRC pay nothing, or sometimes £3 depending on the venue.  £5 is steep.  A minor point compared to the entry fees though.

"For the size of the hill they do damn good job of making a fun and as lengthy as possible course."

Agreed.  Was never questioning that.

Hi again
no of course your entries wont be burnt seb, just your bike ;)!!

Ultimately our costs have gone up this year and that is reflected in the new pricing however along with increasing fuel costs, we are trying to put on an even better service and with the new uplifts running next year, I think you will be hard pushed to find a faster, scratch free uplift in the country , we have more than doubled the  capacitty for uplift over the winter and I think that will mean we are offering the best uplift service in the country . Im pretty confident when I say that - the only method of quicker uplift would be a 1200people/hour doppelmayr 6 seatter chair and that would cost ~3million euros for our hill. And dont forget the money gets reinvested, its not going into the organisers pockets, its going into the tracks and redevelopment of the park. This year alot of money has been renivested in a fantastic new club hut, uplift and trail development 

I can breakdown the costs for you of running our race but its very hard to compare and contrast other race organisers costs As an example  we dont pay for  the race course venue hire but we do pay for trail maintenance and we do pay for the hire of the locals farmers land for the uplift service and parking, we have invested heavily in an efficient uplift facility as we feel that to really crack the uplift and make it as reliable and fast as possible is somthing that people want or expect. we  are always looking to cut our costs and hopefully this will be reflected in the pricing in years to come, for example, ambulance provision is pretty expensive and we are currently talking to a local GP ( who is highly qualified and a rider!) to oversee and run the medical provision. This would be a fantastic cost reduction and we believe would offer an improved service, along with this service we will have a medical facility on site which will be second to none in the country. defibulator(sp?) anyone ??? 

  Many people compare british race costs to french or euro races ( i know you havent seb in your post  but I thought I might as well throw it into the mix as we are discussing it !) but the economics of runing a ski lift in les gets are pretty much a loss leader  in the summer . e.g. ONE  day in february half term gains more revenue for sagets ( the lift company in les gets ) than the whole summer in the portes du soleil. Pretty impressive stuff  and I love the fact that I can ski on mont chery for under £10/ day - incredible rates on a great mountain but something that would take years to happen in an MTB facility in the UK.

I hope I have answered some of your concerns about our pricing and I would love to see in the future these costs come down . One way you could do this is to become a member and support the club as well as enjoy reduced uplift costs.

By the way we also have a new title sponsor who are donating about 150 great prizes this year . This is fantastic news and its great to see the bike industry getting behind the park.

Look forward to seeing you at the races... its going to be a great year!

got to comment on this one....at any other venue or race, you are stuck to doing the one track all day. this place has got loads of tracks so if your hacked of coming down behind someone or always got someone up your arse then you can have a break and practise elswhere. not a lot of other venues have that kind of option. as for the price......so what.....fuel goes up, we have a grumble but get on with it. if this is how the park stays afloat and puts the revenue back into the facilities then good luck to them and i wish them the best....

Don't get your knickers in a twist mate, i was merely stating, that for me, and any others outside of wales, then thats another cost towards the weekend in whole. Since you're mithering over a couple of quid for the camping, im sure you'll agree that every penny counts. Therefore, with regards to the cost of a weekend, its very relevant.

You did actually comment that you were paying for a 'hill half the size' hence me commenting that i thought they did a good job with what they had.

it's a public forum to voice opinion, and i for one, am fairly happy with the prices. Yes it would be nice if they were cheaper.....but they're not.

totaly agree, and also at other events, midlands etc, you get trophies/medals

Dont have a really strong opinion on the 'its too expensive' discussion, however i'll give my thoughts. I went a year or so back and did a load of dragon uplift days. I was dissapointed, not with the tracks (although only one at each venue) but with not getting all that many runs in (3 runs all day at Gethin), miserable/in your face other riders and absolutely no facilities whatsoever - not even a burger van. In fact at Mt Ash and Gethin I was concerned that some chav may knick my car! I realise race days are a bit different but hey.

The bikepark is a cool place to ride - it may not have the best longest trails trails but you do get, Fast comfy fun uplift, secure parking, loads of trails to choose from, awesome catering and great atmosphere, this year we also get the in house timing and possible cheeky medical service.... (Plus the air ambulance crew are familiar with the location making pickup speedy  ::))

These guys are getting off there asses and making something happen, I for one am happy to support that. Dont forget that your race fees are going into the development of a park for everyone to ride all year round. I dont think this is the case with many other race venues? Its a good thing, the higher price actually brings a benifit to us riders. (See what I did there Ben!!) 

Its all about fun per pound for me, and if I have to pay a fiver extra, fine..... I'm having a good time all day rather than just when i'm on my bike...... cant ask for more in my book.

A

Well said chaps!

The bikepark is one of the best venues I've visited. There's a bit of everything for everyone and it will only get better with the income coming from the uplifts and races.

As for medals and trophies do you really think thats a great reason to enter a race?

in the end if you dont like the prices or tracks or whatever its is....do go there....simple! ;D

I dont care what anyone else says, I LOVE IT THERE!  :)

good job lads with the new stuff at the park by the way, loved it!

I see that the timed runs start at 1.30pm. How many timed runs does that enable us to have?

CHeers,
Lewis.

FWIW I plan on doing at least one race there this year, I was just surprised there's no BCF points given the price of other established DH series, chilllllllllll ;)

Don't really want to hijack the thread but I don't feel this question warrants a new one :p
Is the park open on weekdays? I can't see any opening times on the website (if they're on there it must be me being crazy)

yeah mate. it's open all the time. there proboably won't be many/any people up there though. day passes can be bought from torico bike shop 5 mins down the road.

cheers duder!

just  a quick one. my m8 and i are coming from cardiff to race here but we were going to leave on friday after work. is it possible to camp in the field at the top on the friday night aswell or is that only available on the saturday. cheers planman

You'll be fine mate there's nomally people on site from friday afternoon on,  all campers are welcome to stay through til monday morning, for those who can't face the drive back sunday night  :)

Can I just say... UK Bikepark rocks!

Great bunch of people, wide variety of bikes and tracks, barbeque, camping, drinking, no struggling for parking spaces and you get to do the uplift in mahooosive ex-army trucks!

What more could you want?

you to do a handstand with one arm

I'll get practicing for round 1...

Lots and lots of Ladies handing out red bull or the like in bikinis but thats just another topic all together.... Come on uk bike park u have everything spot on, just need that finishing touch! ;) haha keep up the good work guys

cheers  for the votes of support. everyone involved in the park loves doing what we and we do want to make it as great as we can
your point of making it even bettter with young scantily clad ladies handing out red bull has been noted before and it appears that one of our members and a huge helper up at the park has a daughter who has appeared in lads mags such as nuts.negotiations have started and a selection panel has been assigned to interview any other candidates n the intersts of being fair

Will that put the race prices up?

I'm getting pretty excited about the first race coming up, hope I dont injure myself a week before at Cwmcarn in the dragons.

Us 'Sofari Sogoodi' (the *******t Massive)will be making an appearence, without a Mr Ash Brown this time, unfortunatley.  We're gonna be a bit out of practice a bit due to our trails being shut down at the moment.

We've got 1 and half more hardtailers to add to the equation this time round, A   Mr Will Hardy entering his first race at cwmcarn and a sober Mr Ben Irons  :P

A quick question a bit off topic, How many members has the UK Bikepark got ?  This is to do with saving our trails

Cheers, Ben.

Hi ben
have a chat with paul and ali about saving your trails at one of our races or give me a call at the shop as I was involved in setting up the original mtb-freeride club at the park... if you go down this route prepare yourself for a world of bureaucracy and waiting for action, however it will be worth it in the end, the rewards of seeing your labours come to fruition are well worth it !!! - look at how the bikepark has evolved from a  few lads wanting a place to ride to the riding mecca that it is now with NPS 4x and an uplift service with added cake!

A huge part of the process is determined by who controls the land and who is in charge of making decisions ( pretty obvious really!). We have a great relationship with the forestry but as our forestry manger once said to us.- he entered the forestry cos he liked nature, bird watching and the great outdoors, he wasnt expected to become a sports venue manager so as the forestry has needed to adapt, some of their staff have to adapt too ... this is not always easy with any organisation. fortunately our chap is very progressive and at first thought we were barmy to ride up at the hill. a few years down the line he thinks we are still barmy but loves the fact that we want to build wooden north shore features and sees the woods very positively and now fulfills a brief from the forestry to get people exercising in woodland areas.

forming a club is the easy bit managing your partners is the harder part, getting funding is even harder !

Nah, everyone works for hot dogs, cake and stickers at the park....well, I seem to....

Who we going to get to hand out the ladies prizes??

I got all excited when I misread that... Thought it said you were handing out ladies AS prizes. Ah well...

trust me, its worth it just for the cake...

Is the weather down there as bad as it is up in bristol? im bored of the rain, been raining every day for about 2 weeks now it SUCKS! Will hopefully be entering the 6th april uplift soon :)

Peed down for 18hrs solid yesterday, it's all flooded out down here. Sposed to be dry for the rest of the week though (local farmer told me so must be true!)  :)

Just read on PINKBIKE about the 'Royal Racing UKbikepark summer series!', Congrats guys that is so sweet! ;D

This summer is going to be sooooo sweet!

ahha there is the worst picture of me on there :)

Q: Is there a discount for the races if you are a member of the park?

It doesn't seem to come up on the online entry. I always thought there was?

A: No.

Next round says 1st and 2nd of june but thats a monday and tuesday :/
is that right? or is it not then...

Err? must have been a Type O somewhere, Race day is Sunday 1st June, uplift still running on sat 31st.....

awesome, Ill be there.

slow as ever though leo!
do we use the same numbers from the last rounds if we are doiong the whole series?

  ::) Nah, you get allocated a new number and board on sign in...

is there gonna be a 4x race at round 3?

No sorry mate, the whole ramp build project was delayed due to a timber supply problem as a result we've had to shelve the 1st few races. We are now hoping to host a couple of single races before the NPS in August. Keep your eye on the bike park website for progress.

:D

 

yeah I reckon we should get a 4x race organised for July - Im trying to work out gettinga gate from chris roberts and sort out costing for a fun taster session on the new track

sorry if already mentioned but do all the races count for overall positions or can you drop some, many thanks ben

yeah looking at dropping one race so your best 5 count

that puts me out.. damm it! how about best three :D

hi guys is there a hardtail category for uk bike park races?

yes

Had it in my head that there is a race weekend on 12th/13th July. Coincides with my birthday and been planning things around it. Re read this thread and I seem to have got it wrong. Sometimes Southern Downhill and Website info don't tally or am I just being stupid again?

 ::) Yes, race day is on the 13th July not the 20th (we'll be in France by then.. :) )

do you know what track its gonna be on yet?

I think Ben has something in mind for this one.......

yeah ali
after a bit of consultation with the beards, we have a "dry track " which is a new one and a wet track which is the one I discussed with ali
The "dry" track is steep and looks like it could be a cracking track with a bit of work which we will be carrying out soon. They both start on the platform and both finish at the table top ( but dont use it )