Bristol Oktoberfest 2011

Being based in Bristol, Cyclist No.1 is not just lucky enough to have one great event on our door step every year (Bristol Bike Fest), we have two with the new to last year, Bristol Oktoberfest – or the Ritchey Oktoberfest powered by Mercedes-Benz Vito Sport to use it's proper name! Which is somewhat important as Vito Sport really broke the mould for an event by bringing together their very own all-stars in the form of Steve Peat, Sam Pilgrim, Martyn Ashton and Blake Sampson.

Organiser Paul Newman somehow did it again and booked the weather, not only dry on the day but in the whole week leading up to it. Those new all-weather trails we've been boasting about never really got to show this off their waterproofness, offering just super fast, dusty singletrack where even near slicks offer an abundance of grip.

It was a mighty good showing for Cyclist No.1 with a couple of podiums, a personal best, and a cracking debut ride. Here's how we got on...

Fi Spotswood – 8-hour solo female (1st place)

The last time I raced the Bristol trails in Ashton Court I ended up in a heap of blood and gore, panicking, hyperventilating and then spending the next six hours being stitched up in A&E. While I was prepping my bike and kit for Oktoberfest last weekend, a smiling bearded chap approached me and said "do you remember me?" I know a lot of mountain bikers but am rubbish with names so just smiled and nodded. He said "stay on this time, yeah…?" As he walked away I realised that he was my triage nurse from two years before.

My race couldn’t have started worse. I ran slowly in the Le Mans start, struggling to breath as I had a hacking cough clinging to the edges of my lungs. I got stuck in a queue for the singletrack and chatted to a few old friends before the carnage of the trail began. The whole length of Beggarbush was nose to tail. A few cheeky monkeys tried to overtake and I wouldn’t let them through. They obviously hadn’t heard of ‘first lap etiquette’.

The new Bristol trails, thanks to our friends at Architrail, are XC heaven. They flow, and you can whip, jump, slide and lean to your hearts delight. There is also a lot more singletrack than before, and this means overtaking in a race situation is difficult. It took me four laps to find my flow and get a clear run. That is four laps of not being able to ‘unleash the Fi’ and let my wheels fly on the trails I could ride in my sleep.

After the four hour race had finished, the congestion thinned dramatically and the 8 hour racers had more scope and more space. I was still enjoying the riding. Every time I got a little tired or a little bored, a bit of trail would pop up which I loved, and like a goldfish on a blond day I would yip with joy and launch myself down whatever snaking singletrack the tape lead me towards. I was in my element.

After four hours my lovely kiwi pit bitches, Stu and Fi (don’t mention the rugby) announced that the girl who had been "ahead of me and riding strong" was actually doing the four hour race and I was about to lap the girl in second place in my category. This was welcome news and I zipped out with extra vigour, stopping to chat to the local rider in second as I passed.

The final few hours were marred a little by my aching back. I often suffer from lower back trouble, perhaps because my bike is the wrong size, but on a course which requires almost constant standing, it had decided to give up the ghost completely. I finished my (unnecessary) final lap in record slow time, trying to spin my legs out and enjoy that inimitable ‘last lap’ feeling but really just grinning and bearing it. Having crossed the line, I moved awkwardly into ‘child’s pose’ (yoga practisers will know what I mean) and stayed there, sweaty and dusty, arse sticking out and groaning meekly for someone to find me Scott for a massage.

I managed to get a grip just in time to cheer on my Beloved who had stormed to an incredible third place in the solo ‘old gits’ category and to collect my own edible medal and beer tokens.

Scott Cornish – 8-hour pairs male (3rd)

The full trail network at Ashton Court hasn’t been long open but I had at least had the the chance to get a full lap or two in before the season’s ending Oktoberfest. Consisting mainly of tree lined swooping and narrow singletrack, it was going to take skill and confidence to be able to pass riders at any point along the trail, otherwise you’d be wrapping bars around a tree! But boy were the trails exhilarating to ride at speed! Lose focus though and you were into the undergrowth. Not having raced for the past 6 weeks, I decided in my wisdom to enter the hotly contested pairs event with Dan Sampson, an up and coming junior rider. Unlike me, he had been racing as much as possible this year and had some good speed in his legs. Having raced pairs with him already this year, I knew that this was going to be a good partnership.

Mentioning that I did a bit of running sealed my fate as the one lining up at the bottom of the infamous grassy hill for the Le Mans style start. Knowing what’s coming up, every rider is scrambling to get ahead, making a beeline for any hint of a gap. No courtesy is extended here or race etiquette adhered to as you round the event village, as riders just focus on the quickly approaching narrowing trail. The the next available passing place is not until the trail’s end, some 1.6km away so there's plenty of time for ettiquette shortly after. Despite the relatively short distance, getting caught here is time lost, and that can be a lot of time if you are in the running for a podium spot.

Sitting in formation after my less than decent run, I prepared myself as we came to the trail exit. I wound up the speed and dropped a couple of gears. The legs and lungs were already starting to complain as I hit the bottom of the first climb, a loose, gravel track which led into the next, lengthy section of singketrack. The red mist was well and truly down by the time I topped out, but the 200m double track descent before the trailhead was no time to rest as there were still opportunities to take some places as other riders took a moment to rest. The ensuing 1km of singletrack in formation again would be a chance to rest the legs a little.

We settled into our rhythm and the lap times started to develop a bit of consistency. With the limited passing places on the singletrack, every opportunity had to be made on the open sections of trail, every lap now felt like interval training! Resting-ish on the singletrack then going flat out on the climbs. The trails were more open now as the field had spread out. Being able to ride the new trails at speed was so much fun. They were fast and undulating, twisting their way through the trees with little kickers and dropoffs adding to the mix. They just flowed so well.

Four hours in and we were in 4th place by only a minute or so, spurring us on for a possible podium position, the fight was on. An hour later and we had overhauled the team in front putting us in 3rd by only a narrow margin. A couple of laps later Dan was taking a little longer than expected, he eventually came in, an errant branch having bent his mech hanger limiting gear choice. I went out on my lap anticipating that I had to ride twice so that he could get the problem sorted. With this I rode a touch conservatively, but coming back through Dan had managed to borrow one of the demo Specialized Epic 29ers. Had his mechanical and my slower lap put us back into 4th? We didn’t know and just had to pedal hard for the final few laps.

Dan went out on his final lap at 4.05, with all laps having to be completed by 5 pm on the dot to count, I went to the changeover area at 4.30, wondering if I would get a last lap in and if it was needed to secure 3rd. With my laps averaging around 27 minutes it was going to be close.

Dan came in at a few seconds past 4.33 and I just went. The legs complained bitterly at the effort. This was not going to be pleasant, but I was on a mission. I could feel my calves on the edge of cramping up at each pedal stroke, the climbs were just agony. Coming of that last section of singletrack, I just gave what I had left, a spectator shouting out that I had 3 minutes to cut off. Coming off that last rise I knew that I had made it, but by only 40 seconds as I came over the line. We made our way to the results screen and sure enough we'd done it, third was ours!

Gary Lake – 8-hour solo male (10th)

I went into Oktoberfest with some mixed emotions really. I’m planning a pretty big ride next year (more info soon) and Oktoberfest was supposed to be my big ‘see where I’m at’ ride. It’s also the race where I scored my best ever result with a 4th place in the male pairs with Scott last year. So I was excited but also nervous, putting perhaps much more mental effort and concern into it than it deserved. I’d had a little spill mid-week and had gone over on my ankle, it felt OK to ride on but there was ‘the run’ and what if I had a spill mid-race and properly hurt it?

I survived the run, but it was more of a jog and despite finding my bike with ease, I started well down in the bottom quarter of the pack, proceeding to queue the best part of 60 riders deep to enter the first singletrack section. It wasn’t until the 3rd lap that I was free to really start banking laps unhindered.

The first four hours went by largely without event, I felt comfortable and I felt fast, but definitely within myself pace wise. It’s a course that plays to my strengths and with the exception of the three fireroad climbs and the lower quarry section where I was backing off, I was riding the rest of the course at a non-soloing pace.

At the halfway mark I had a rider in front stop dead in the Barn Wood section, and as I nipped by ‘off-piste’ I found a rather large, solid rock under the autumn fall. My front wheel stopping dead, I was over the bars in complete slow-motion, so slow in fact I put my arms down and lowered myself over in a kind of awkward hand stand. Thanks to the guys that helped me back up!

I came round for a scheduled bottle/gel stop and was greeted by my wife and son which was a huge boost. I also found out I was running 15th and moving up through the field at a good rate! But then I also spied Steve’s (my pit bitch) notes and time check, noticing the time at only 5hrs 30 in was then a little deflating, as I was certain it was later than that in my head.

Sticking on in there, I kept plugging away, I was getting really tired now and was beginning to worry I’d over cooked it at the start. But I came round for my final scheduled stop to find out I was up to 12th and cutting into the gap to the top 10 at a still good rate. I would have time for two more laps – “make them count”, were Steve’s words.

I proceeded to bank one of my quickest laps of the day first off, but I quickly descended into jelly legs for the final lap. It felt like I was barely moving! I crossed the line, no idea if I was in the top 10 or if I’d slipped to 15th, so close was the field.

Relieved to just be eating real food and drinking a cup of tea, I was elated to find out I’d done enough and 10th place was mine – my best ever solo result by some margin! Although there’s always a bitter sting in the tail, I was only 9 minutes down on 7th! The challenge is to not drive yourself mad trying to figure out where you could have made up 9 minutes in the proceeding 8 hours! The run and the very first lap perhaps!?

Richard Fox – 8-hours solo male (21st)

Knowing that the rest of the CNo1 team had entered I signed on the dotted line and entered my first solo 8 hour race. My wife kindly volunteered to be my pit woman, my bike was serviced, cleaned and lubed and my nutrition was ready to go.

As we entered the race grounds and crowds of people were amassing it dawned on me it was going to be a big event. We made our way down to the bottom of the hill, bikes lined up at the top, until the off, where I ran at full pelt trying not to pull a muscle or sprain an ankle.

The first lap of the course, which I had never ridden before, on my hardtail was fast and exhilarating and with fresh legs I recorded a fairly fast lap time. The small jumps, berms and drops were great fun. I made sure over the next few laps to eat and drink regularly, knowing at this rate, energy depletion would be my worst enemy.

The third and forth lap came quickly as I made short stops at our EZUP to get new energy bars and drink. With a little pep talk suggesting my laps were reasonably decent and fairly consistent, I set off again. However, all was about to change. My positivity was sliding, thinking “I have only accomplished 3 hours” – still 5 hours to go! 5 hours!

My initial 32 to 34 minute laps had slipped slightly to 39 minute laps by lap 6 and my back and wrists from the constant battering were starting to get a little sore. The thought of riding a short travel full suspension bike (like my future longterm Felt Edict) was preying on my mind (also thinking of Gary on his bouncy Santa Cruz Tallboy) as each successive drop and jump was taking its toll. I knew from the pit that I was running a healthy 26th and although I'm not uber competitive, this was a small personal challenge to keep me focused.

At about lap 8, I took some pain killers for my sore back. The difference was huge and my confidence was back. With the next two laps I was back in the zone and passing the 6 hour mark which was a huge boost to my confidence.

On lap 12 however my energy, from a lack of experience at long distance off road riding, was starting to fail and my lap times increased to over 40 minutes. Half way round the inevitable happened, a kind pat on the back and a jubilant hello from Gary as he passed me. I tried to dig deep up the first climb but the tank was empty.

The stop at the last lap, for a double energy gel shot, confirmed I was in for 13 laps but I only had just over 37 minutes to complete it – a laptime I hadn't done for a while now. I put pedal to the metal and raced the last lap as fast as I could, the legs were tired and so were my arms, wrists, neck – everything! Coming into the finishing straight I literally had seconds. Out the saddle, my teeth were gritted I heard a huge sigh from the crowd as I missed the 13th lap by 4 seconds – I was gutted but still elated to finish. It turns out though that the crowd had been a little over excited in the count down and I'd only gone and come in exactly on 08:00:00. And not only that, I'd gained 5 places and finished 21st. Not bad for my first 8 hour solo race!

Fancy a punt at one of Bristol's great 'Fest races?

If you haven’t experienced Bikefest or Oktoberfest, put on by the stalwart team of Paul Newman and Mike Wilkens (who was resplendent in his lederhosen at the weekend and also came third in the singlespeed solo category to boot) then you must mark it in your diary now. The sun will shine, the trails will flow, and you will drink and make merry after a solid day’s trail-nailing. Your bike will even get so dusty you can set the sag of your suspension by it (trust us, Paul's only forgotten to book the weather once or twice). And if it does rain, did we mention our trails are totally weatherproof! Kenda Small Block 8s will still work if there's a monsoon lashing down, honest!

Cyclist No.1 - riding bikes too much!

Bristol Oktoberfest 2011

Bristol Oktoberfest 2011