Hello, we are The Bigfoot Mountain Bike Club and we like riding bikes!  We want you to enjoy it too, no matter what level you ride at or what type of mountain biking you like….and even some road riding as well….but that is not our main bread and butter. Have a poke around and if you want to say ‘Hi’ then drop us a line from the contacts page (http://www.bigfootmbc.co.uk/contact/) and hope to see you out on the trail soon! A bit more about us – our motto: just get out and ride! What we are – more Big Society than Nanny State

• We are a group of like-minded people who enjoy riding mountain bikes and, increasingly, road bikes too
• We welcome people with different interests, skill levels and ambitions – cross country, all mountain, jumps, drops, fast runs, downhilling, enduros, 12/24 hour team/individual events, sportives…
• The club exists as a means for people to ride together and share trail knowledge
• The more we ride, the more we improve in skills and confidence, and by riding with people who have more experience and skills, we improve still further

• We ride various areas in Gloucestershire (Cranham, Standish, Selsley, Stinchcombe, North Nibley and the Forest of Dean) and further afield in the UK and beyond
• We aim to provide knowledge and help on all aspects of biking be it the right bike, equipment setup, training or general good advice
• A variety of weekly rides to suit all speeds, tastes and aspirations that run (nearly) 365 days a year, day or night

The only real thing we rigorously insist on is that every member of the club must have  3rd party cycle insurance courtesy of CTC, which you get when you join the Bigfoot team.

‘The club had about 100 members last year and is run by a small but beautifully formed committee to ensure everyone who wants to ride has that opportunity.

With a female chairperson it is only appropriate that one of our New Years resolutions is to attract more female riders. Mountain biking is not only for boys. Yes, it can be hair raising, and helmets ensure a bad hair day, yes, you will get muddy, but after a few months you will be toned like Victoria Pendleton. Give it a go!

And here is the committee of 2013

Chairperson – Susanne Klein - chairperson@bigfootmbc.co.uk

Vice Chairman – Tim Knibbs

Membership Secretary – Steve Rendell – membership@bigfootmbc.co.uk

Treasurer – Pete Newell

Events Co-ordinator – Jason Ayres

Also we have our Webmaster, Andrew Maddison and CTC Insurance Co-ordinator, Janet Clarke helping behind the scenes as well.

The distances for this gem of an event were a 1.9km lake swim, 90km bike and a cheeky half marathon to finish.

When the competitor details were sent out, they were almost apologetic in the fact you couldn’t get into transition to rack your bike before 4am! How annoying! Still, bikes had to be racked by 5.30am ready for a race briefing at 5.45am. Starting a race at 6am is rude to say the least. While I stood in the queue waiting to get down to my racing weight, I was chatting to a guy and you suddenly realise it’s not even 6am and you’ve been up for hours.

And so to the race. I was off in the 6.20 wave followed by Dom in the 6.30. If we were the right side of 40, we might have been away earlier. C’est la vie.

The swim is a brutal affair at the start with a couple of hundred people flinging arms, legs and elbows everywhere, seemingly intent on drowning all around them. Luckily, with my wayward navigation I soon found some clear water and the swim became slightly more bearable although still not my favourite.

Out of the lake and into transition to try and remove the wetsuit. I’m sure it was entertaining to watch and I collapsed to the floor. Some hours later I exited transition with the sole intent of not getting carried away and chasing everyone down, knowing I still had a couple of hours of running to look forward to later on. I’m not quite sure that went fully to plan as Dom and I both chalked up average speeds over 20mph and this without clinging to Jason or Ian’s wheels! So, our swim times were the same, and our bikes within a minute of each other. Just the run to go.

Annoyingly nature called very early on in my run wasting valuable time but soon into something resembling a rhythm. Of course, halfway through I made the mistake of thinking this was actually not as painful as I expected. Cue the Gods of leg pain! The second half really was a chore and a painful one at that. The quad cramp was threatening to take hold at any point. However, I did manage to keep it at bay until the finish for a respectable 1h 47m time. Dom was also under the 2 hour mark meaning we both racked up very respectable times just over the 5 hour mark (way inside what I was expecting).

What was nice was taking my shoe off to inspect what I assumed to be a blister only to find the toe of my sock soaked in blood. Funny how adrenaline dulls the pain but once that’s run away, the pain is there in your face. Still, who needs toenails anyway!

After Monday’s hideous climb up the Col du Luitel I must admit I wasn’t relishing the idea of climbing today’s route: Col de la Croix de Fer…

Following breakfast we began what had, by now, become the routine check over of bikes (cleaning sweat off the frame from the previous days excursions…!) and getting prep’d for the adventure to come. This included much deliberation over what to wear – the climbs were warm, very warm, whilst the descents were, well to be honest, bloody freezing!

At this point Phil (our host and guide) entered the throng of athletes and their machines, and enquired as to how many would like a lift up the first 20km of the route. My already tired legs immediately sent a text to my mouth telling it to hurry up and say “yes please!”

I was joined by Tim, Cris, Janet, Cat, Jon, Mashy and Dean and we set about loading our bikes onto the roof of Phil’s van. Meanwhile, Jason was trying to convince everyone that the first 20km was flat… ha!

We set off with Helen (Phil’s wife) at the wheel, happily telling us just how UN-flat the first 20km was! Soon we were to discover just how un-flat it was as we climbed and climbed, eventually arriving at our drop-point.

As we prepared ourselves for the assault up the mountain (a mere 20-odd kilometres of climbing!) we all revelled in the sunshine and clear skies, merrily joking about what faced those who chose not to take the van option. As we stood there, smiles all round, applying more sun cream none of us could have foreseen what was to come…

I clearly had better climbing legs today. I found a good rhythm I could keep to, and at a reasonable pace. I actually enjoyed the climbing. The scenery was, as you might expect, stunning. Having only ever viewed the alps during winter seasons it made a real change to see lush green alpine pastures, sun-kissed tree tops and melt water creating spectacular waterfalls, all topped off with the crowns of snow the mountains proudly displayed upon their peaks.

Part way up, Tim, Cris and I stopped for a quick snack and were swiftly joined by Cat.

As we continued up it dawned on us that the sun had gone, and clouds were gathering like an angry mob, waiting to unleash their fury upon the poor cyclists unprepared for weather with an anger-management issue!

Tim and I made a bit of a breakaway a few kilometres from the summit, and as we rode we chatted away, discussing when we thought the top was, what the coffee would be like etc etc. Tim crested the peak first, with me some 30 seconds behind. Tim’s face said it all “the cafe was shut”. Bugger. To add insult to injury, it was frickin’ freezing at the top and the weather mob was swelling in numbers with every minute that passed. It was soon going to kick off, big style!

As Tim and I decided we wouldn’t hang around, just get a couple of photos then head on back down, we were joined by Cris, Cat, Mashy, then John, then Ian (who had ridden from the house – the extra 20km!!!)

We all donned the extra layers we had brought, knowing that the descent would be cold in the sun, let alone the rain that started falling and the icy wind we would be riding into. Tim and I set straight off, closely followed by the others. As we descended we passed the others and shouted we’d see them lower down as it was too cold to hang around at the top.

Making as much ground as we could before the heavens opened Tim and I charged down the mountain road as quickly as possible against the wind. Suddenly the rear of my bike felt a little strange and I my heart sank, knowing I’d punctured just as the rain was really starting. I’ve never been so glad of CO2 cartridges as I was at that point; my hands were desperate to get back into gloves!

By this time it was properly raining. Within a minute or two I was soaked right through (note to self: a shower proof jacket is useless in torrential rain!!), with my feet rapidly turning to ice as we plunged down the mountain as fast as we dared given the torrents of water racing us down the road (it’s maybe worth mentioning at this point that 25mm wide slick tyres do NOT like these kinds of conditions, therefore a substantial amount of braking is required. Here again,MIT is worth noting that caliper brakes are not the most confidence-inspiring components down a mountain in heavy rain – especially for descents lasting more than 30 minutes!!)

We eventually reached a cafe, adjacent to our drop off earlier on, which seemed a lifetime before in the sun…
By this point my teeth were chattering uncontrollably from the cold, my top lip had frozen and I could no longer feel either toes or fingers. I dumped my bike and dived into the warmth of the cafe, where we were met by friendly staff who instinctively knew that chocolat chaud (hot chocolate!) was required. Here we huddled, gradually joined by more cold, soggy Bigfooters. Some stayed. Some continued down the mountain.

Having regained a modicum of warmth (and been extremely grateful for hot drinks and crêpes), those of us not waiting for the van pick up donned soggy gloves and set out once more into the wind and rain. We quickly descended the last section down to the reservoir, and here the temperature was noticeably warmer. A straightforward blast back to Bourg d’Oisan quickly saw us back at ‘the ranch’, grateful to finally strip away soaked clothes, shower and enjoy the luxury of warm, dry garments!

This ride was, without question an adventure, and very much a tale of two halves. Emotions flowed from joy to despair and my body experienced wild temperature extremes. Ive never been so grateful for a hot chocolate, but ive also never felt so exhilarated after a climb. I can categorically say I LOVED IT!!

By the time we finally limped into Le Bourg d’Oisans, sometime after 2pm, I felt like I was on a boat – slightly unstable and probably not safe in charge of machinery. A hastily-consumed but much-enjoyed chocolate brownie convinced me I was surely capable of the ‘quick run out on the bikes’ before the proper riding started the next day.As usual the event was mis-sold, I need to learn to be less gullible… I promised myself I would turn back after 5 miles, but by that point we’d started ascending. There’s something about the effect of climbing on me that I can’t define. It must bring out my stubborn streak or something. I had no clue what we were climbing, or indeed that we were going to be climbing at all on this small amble-ette. Turns out it was the Col d’Ornon, but I hadn’t really worked that out, I just kept pedalling, hoping it might flatten out at some point soon. Like all good and bad things, it came to an end. All over. Then I realised my error. Since I hadn’t foreseen an ascent, it goes without saying the descent hadn’t figured largely in my consciousness either. About 30 seconds in, with only fingerless gloves and a shamefully ill-chosen get-up, I was wondering whether I’d die first from fear or cold. The debate raged in my brain for most of the descent as my hands became increasingly numb and more akin to wooden paddles than useful manoeuvrable devices. I survived, which was simply a relief at first, and then gave way to some sort of fatigue-induced, brain-addled-by-cold, giddy exhilaration. We reconvened at the bottom of the descent, and rode back as a group to Bourg. I was tired beyond reason as I took my first ambrosial sip of ‘pression’ but compos mentis enough to have two sane thoughts:

1) Mental note to self to never ever believe Jase about the length or gradient of a ride unless you’ve studied the mapping yourself first.
2)This was going to be no holiday.

Mike J topping out Col D’Ornon

Cat QOM

Tim celebrating an easy win over Peter and Mark – Col D’Ornon

Cat topping the leader board of the girls – Col D’Ornon

Keiran topping out – Col D’Ornon

Cris and Keiran topping out – Col D’Ornon

A little 650 meters of up and 8 miles – easy peasy

Bigfoot times – Col D’Ornon

Now that’s a good sky

Well what a weekend that was!   The sun was in full force on Saturday for Bigfoot Utter Carnage (A.K.A. Tim, Maria, Mark and myself) to compete in the most excellent Bristol Bikefest at Ashton Court.

We were competing in the mixed team category for 12 hours of what turned out to be very fast and hot racing.

We think the last few years of muddy conditions and difficulty with actually getting into the venue has put people off as there definitely seemed to be less people this year, however  they have changed the location of the camping field to make it a lot more accessible and now have proper toilets in a nearby clubhouse which made it a lot better.

Anyway, onto the racing, Mark is becoming legendary at banging in a fast first lap and he did it again this time, arriving within the first 30 riders for the changeover to give us the most traffic free racing we could get.

But racing can be unlucky at times and we suffered two punctures in the first 8 laps, however some seriously fast tyre changes limited our loses as best we could.

The sun was really beating down and made for some hot racing, along with a killer headwind on the final meadow climb that sapped our energy.

A visit from the Bigfoot road crew who cycled down was much appreciated at lunchtime, they all got the train back at 2pm leaving us with 7 hours left to get a good result.  Looking at the times, we were slipping down, currently in 7^th looking at 8^th, we decided to get the BBQ going for a protein boost, and step it up in the last 5 hours and ‘smash it out’ (Quote: T Knibbs 2013).  It seemed to work as we reigned in 7^th, and eventually lapped them, and ended up finishing 6^th, only 8 minutes down on 5^th place.   The winner was a full 3 laps ahead of us (XCracer.com), so it really was a fast category, but we definitely came in the top three of ‘club teams’.

On a side note, close Bigfoot friends Andy Bird (Rachel’s husband)  and John Helmore were competing in the 12 hour SOLO category, Andy did unbelievably well finishing 13^th in his first ever solo race, the conditions made one lap very difficult, how Andy did 12 hours of it on a hardtail deserves some serious respect.  John only went and won the category, even lapping 2^nd place.  John was racing so fast, he only did one lap less than our team of four in 12 hours!

It would be great to see more Bigfoot team’s at the next race, it is now back to being a first class venue and we have so many great riders in the club, we would do really well along with having a lot of fun at the same time. So see you all at Octoberfest, on the 12^th October!

Some photos below of the fun we had!

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/20931049/in/album/398025

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/21028375/in/album/400915

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/20868415/in/album/398025

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/21025407/in/album/400915

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/21030577/in/album/400915

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/20925285/in/album/400175

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/20933273/in/album/400175

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/20887613/in/album/398025

John on his way to that podium spot  http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/21027881/in/album/400915

Scooby in pride of place. Tim recovering from ‘going hard’

BBQ – food of (almost) champions

Nice jersey John!

 

According to the eye witness reports at the beginning of the meeting the trip to the Alps was a big success. I am looking forward to some pictures and further reports. I was told as well that some people think  that after climbing all those hills in the Alps  it is about time to return from the dark side ( road riding ) to mountain biking again.

The membership is still 63 , but the last meeting was only 3 weeks ago.

As mentioned already we are rich at the moment: £1420. Dear Bigfooters, if you have ideas how we should spend it, please let me know.

The weather is brilliant at the moment. Come out of your caves and ride! We need more people to put rides up. Jason and I have day jobs, and Jason has a little baby to look after , therefore it would be really helpful if more riders stepped forward to lead a ride. It is fun and not difficult. Getting lost makes a ride only more interesting.

Quite a few events are coming up. If you are not riding yourself, you could consider to provide moral support to our riders. It was really much appreciated when Dean of the Forest came to the Wild Boar Chase to send us off. The Bristol Bikefest and the Mountain Mayhem are spectator events. Go and have a look.

Another 4X race this weekend with a National race on Saturday & a Euro on Sunday. Saturday I made a few mistakes & failed to get to the top 8 for semis Sunday however with only 6 of us choosing to race the Euros in Masters I managed to make the A final & came away with a 3rd place finish!

Lovin the matching shorts in team colours there John

Podium spot for John – excellent work!

Handy item for the mantelpiece there!

My swim was a bit off, but the ride and run were PBs so overall a PB on last year’s effort so upward and onward…I think Mike and Andrew should join me next year…eh boys….

This is me, er , being a bit dramatic…

??

…and that is not a stick on!!!!