Ripper Race 1 - Thanx to James at Dizzy

[thewwkayaker]

Great race today - we beat the rain (rained at the end of the race).

Fun to hit Bobsled first on the climb - made the climb both fun and harder (more climbing to make up for it).

Thanx to everyone who organized and volunteered for the race!!

I can barely walk now but that's a good thing. Looking foward to the party at the end of the day.

Oh - and thanx to everyone who raced.

[Nelson]

Fun race for sure. The weather was MUCH better than last year. See you guys tonight :)

[Dan CH]

Thanks James, and everyone who put there time and effort into an AWESOME race! Bobsled was sick!

[SubPlop]

The race is what I call a success

Austin

[heckler]

Very well organized! I really liked to hear about the bike mix-up on the start. :):)

[bunny]

even if it was in no part chocolate... THANK YOU NELSON FOR THE PASTRY :):)

it's great to see so many people having fun. especially at the end of the race... covered in mud/blood, broken bike parts but everyone still happy and stoked to be out.

[heckler]

And super thanks to Smoke and Harley from Bushpilot Biking and the NSMB truck for the shuttle and the tunes at the trailhead. I'm sure glad I didn't have to pedal up.

[apeshape]

Thanks to the organizers, the guys who buffed the trail the days before the race and to Smoke for hauling my ass up the hill. It was a buttload of fun and I am completely wiped out.

My apologies to the person I nearly wiped out at the tag off...Big clumsy ape feet don't ya know.

Oh and Ninja..Way to plough up the hill dude.

[LeeLau]

I watched Sharon and Silk work really hard at this. PROPS TO THEM.

Damn Im bleeding again

[LeeLau]

http://www.leelau.net/2006/2006misc/seventhripper.jpg

Started at close to yellow gate with Le Mans start of about 100m running to the bikes. Then up and then down Bobsled and then back up the road to 7th with a detour through Wardens trail. Down to Roadside Attraction down Griffin and finish.


Speed up and speed down almost the same. Semi slicks pumped to 50psi is not so good in slick rocks or roots - have to get a bit faster I think

I missed about 10 -12 minutes triggering the HRM so my time is actually about 1:18 to 1:20.

Amber can sure descend fast!

Andreas was fastest solo - 1:03 or so.

[shirk]

And super thanks to Smoke and Harley from Bushpilot Biking and the NSMB truck for the shuttle and the tunes at the trailhead. I'm sure glad I didn't have to pedal up.

baaaa the real riders raced up AND down :)

Lee where are the huge spikes in the heart rate graph for every time that bike dropped the chain? Or was it just your blood pressure that spiked and not the heart rate.

[heckler]

I'm not a real racer. I came for the fun. baaaaaaaa on you.

[stillgoing]

mental note:Next time, hold the dog and camera in seperate hands.

Darn those pesky bike-moving fairys (http://www3.telus.net/rossets/ripper.wmv)

ps - link fixed

[LeeLau]

baaaa the real riders raced up AND down :)

Lee where are the huge spikes in the heart rate graph for every time that bike dropped the chain? Or was it just your blood pressure that spiked and not the heart rate.

Brian - you're totally missing the point of the Rippers.

[LeeLau]

http://www3.telus.net/rossets/ripper.wmv - try this link

[nouseforaname]

There was a massive spike in the collective "vibe" every time a rider came in and tagged off a second rider (cheering, urging on etc) that was missing when a solo came through with "just another cross country race" attitude.
I thought the point was a TEAM event?
How about scrapping solo for next year - seriously, i heard that 2/3 of the field was solo - wtf? If you want an xc race up and down, do a twoonie race. The CBC ripper is a solo event, make the triple crown a solo option and thats all IMO...


Oh PS thanks to all who made the effort to organise the day - i loved every minute of it (except waiting for the white truck to come back down). The course was cool, volunteers were cheering on - sweet.

[brian]

There was a massive spike in the collective "vibe" every time a rider came in and tagged off a second rider (cheering, urging on etc) that was missing when a solo came through with "just another cross country race" attitude.
I thought the point was a TEAM event?
How about scrapping solo for next year - seriously, i heard that 2/3 of the field was solo - wtf? If you want an xc race up and down, do a twoonie race. The CBC ripper is a solo event, make the triple crown a solo option and thats all IMO...

I believe with the way the BC Cup works now there was points on the line for the overall title so for some this was another cross country race

i loved every minute of it

apparently you didn't

[Sketchy Flanders]

Aside from tagging off to thedude (pain finally over) my favorite part was passing 4 people on Bobsled, and seeing 3 water bottles, a wallet, and a set of keys, all strewn along the trail. Perfect conditions and yeah, the bike mix-up was funny. People wandering around, going " Have you seen my bike? It's a grey Blur... I think "
Thanks team, and thanks Dude. Anytime you want a very slow relay partner, give us a call.

[thewwkayaker]

There was a massive spike in the collective "vibe" every time a rider came in and tagged off a second rider (cheering, urging on etc) that was missing when a solo came through with "just another cross country race" attitude.
I thought the point was a TEAM event?
How about scrapping solo for next year - seriously, i heard that 2/3 of the field was solo - wtf? If you want an xc race up and down, do a twoonie race. The CBC ripper is a solo event, make the triple crown a solo option and thats all IMO...


Why is solo "bad"? It's fun, it proves the person is able to "ride it all" and not just the down or up portions, allows for people to push themselves to be a better rider. I recall hearing supporting chears from the team climbers and the volunteers. Teams can be fun but to be honest, in a relay race there isn't much "team" in the teams - it's like 2 separate races really. If you want to race just XC or just DH enter the appropriate event (not a ripper) and leave the "freeriding" (everything rider) to ride SOLO (because WE can ride it ALL) :-)

But lighten up - if people are having fun on a bike it's all good. If a few solo people had a "serious" attitude (as I'm sure some teams might have had too) and it got you down - let it go and just recall the fun you had in your own race.

Next race - SuperD - who's in?????

[S-Dawg]

i wish there was an emo catagory, i like racing but i cant compeat with every one els.

[SkunkworkS]

i wish there was an emo catagory, i like racing but i cant compeat with every one els.

:lol:

Don't worry buddy. Me and you in the SuperD FTW WITH the hardcore "I gotta win attitude" as Idon'thaveaname puts it.

[DaveM]

It was a pretty fun event (I was the guy waving you into the tent at the top) there was a pretty cool vibe from everyone hanging out waiting for the uphill riders to arrive. This is the first even I've ever helped out with.

Big thanks to Tim Jones and the NSSR guys. They supplied the radios, first aid trucks, manpower, and even breakfast.

Sorry for taking so long to get all the gear back down ( I also drove the white truck.) We had to wait until the final sweep rider arrived, then break down the tent, load up the truck, check on the crew at the trail head, then head down and remove the ribbons and signs on the way. To the guy complaining, no one forced you to leave your stuff in the truck.

Big props to all the downhill guys in the staging area. There wasn't even one tiny piece of garbage laying around at the end.

There shouldn't be any complaints about the format. It's just a fun race, no timing and no real rules. I found it pretty funny when a guy asked me if he could ride back down the road a bit too warm up before the first riders arrived. He was worried about being disqualified. I'm like "It's pretty tough to get disqualified when there aren't any rules!"

[jonny.zee]

There was a massive spike in the collective "vibe" every time a rider came in and tagged off a second rider (cheering, urging on etc) that was missing when a solo came through with "just another cross country race" attitude.
I thought the point was a TEAM event?
How about scrapping solo for next year - seriously, i heard that 2/3 of the field was solo - wtf? If you want an xc race up and down, do a twoonie race. The CBC ripper is a solo event, make the triple crown a solo option and thats all IMO...

This has "sour grapes" written all over it. There's nothing wrong with the current format. If you want to ride up & down, all the power to you. And I think there was 60/120 riders that were solo.

Basically, it was a fantastic event. It was obvious that a lot of hard work went into the planning & organization of this race. Props to James, Sharon, Silk, and all the others who made it happen for us! Boo to winers like nobodyremembersmyname who can find something to complain about on this awesome day.

[nouseforaname]

nope, no sour grapes - had the best race of my life. I thought that the ripper format was supposed to be "different" somehow. I just felt sorry for those guys scooting through to drop straight into seventh. They were missing out on half the fun.
Theres no need to "prove" anything by racing up and down, thats just the way life works. Ride up, ride down.

Oh and your right. I didnt enjoy the time spent in the rain waiting for the truck to come back down, but it was time well spent in the end, and a lesson learnt for next year.

[LeeLau]

I had a lot of fun going up and down. That's the way I usually ride and it was cool to do that with a bunch of other people. Johnnyz kicked ass

[Johnie P]

nouseforaname,Believe it or not there are riders out there that realy like riding there bikes over sticking them on a shuttle.Its not to prove anything its just what they enjoy.

[SubPlop]

I just felt sorry for those guys scooting through to drop straight into seventh. They were missing out on half the fun.

Ok, ok...let me get this straight...the guys who did both halves of the race (uphill+downhill) are missing out on half the fun? How can there be three halves???? What is this third half you speak of? Enlighten us, please.:???:

Austin

[thedude]

Aside from tagging off to thedude (pain finally over) my favorite part was passing 4 people on Bobsled, and seeing 3 water bottles, a wallet, and a set of keys, all strewn along the trail. Perfect conditions and yeah, the bike mix-up was funny. People wandering around, going " Have you seen my bike? It's a grey Blur... I think "
Thanks team, and thanks Dude. Anytime you want a very slow relay partner, give us a call.

Thanks for doing the climbing leg Sketchy. The trails were great and from what I understand nobody got hurt. Next relay race I will give you call.

This Ripper was fun and interesting putting a face to an online name...Apeshape and Heckler among others.

[freerider guy]

I had a blast also. The organizing was done very well and everything ran accordingly. Thanks to the boys at bushpilot for the ride up the mountain. I was in the last shuttle up. What was the count for people? Like 18 or more plus as many bikes on the roof. The ripper taught me a few things though.

1. I need to get into better shape (there was way more uphill on the downhill than I remembered)
2. Make sure I know when my gear is gonna be down at the bottom if I decide to leave it at the top/ keep it covered if it raining (thanks for bringing it back down though)
3. Don't do a bike race hung over (I really felt like I was gonna die/ throw up once at the bottom)

If any of u remember I was the guy decked out in the stylish american eagle clothes with a stupid phase written on the front (mine was "I lie to girls"). Also, do anybody know of people who were standing not long into the entrance of the trail after crickem crankem. I had a sweet endo off of some drop and when I got up I was in from of somebody filming me and I want to see that clip.

Thanks again.

[heckler]

And the movie put together by www.whistleractionvideo.com was pretty cool too. Amazing what he put together in an afternoon! They said they'd post it up in a week or so, but it was great to watch at the after-party.

[Dan CH]

There was a massive spike in the collective "vibe" every time a rider came in and tagged off a second rider (cheering, urging on etc) that was missing when a solo came through with "just another cross country race" attitude.
I thought the point was a TEAM event?
How about scrapping solo for next year - seriously, i heard that 2/3 of the field was solo - wtf? If you want an xc race up and down, do a twoonie race. The CBC ripper is a solo event, make the triple crown a solo option and thats all IMO...


Oh PS thanks to all who made the effort to organise the day - i loved every minute of it (except waiting for the white truck to come back down). The course was cool, volunteers were cheering on - sweet.


I think a real ride on the shore you actually ride up! when do you have someone ride up for you when you go for a ride?

[Rat]

Done it both ways as a soloist and a downhiller. both were fun but Id say the team aspect of the two man team gets the nod as which I prefered. somthing about tagging off with your teamate that amped the whole fun factor.

[mattj]

It was a pretty fun event (I was the guy waving you into the tent at the top)

Hey Dave I thought I saw you there but I was just caught up to by 4 XC riders at the very top so I came through in a pack of 5 and was too focused on not crashing into the crowd to say hi. It's awesome to see that you're up and around. Your rehab will be amazingly effective with your lack of pain. Just don't run on it. Fake ACLs don't like running for the first year...


Thanks again to James, Dizzy, NSMBA, NSMB, pretty muhc everyone that made the race happen. I loved it. I'm happy for the solos, happy for the teams. I'm glad everyone was there to enjoy it.


-m

[nouseforaname]

I think a real ride on the shore you actually ride up! when do you have someone ride up for you when you go for a ride?

No, genuinely i thought the Ripper was meant as a team event - 1 up, 1 down. Have i got it wrong? Mountainbiking is already super individualist - a little "team" doesnt do anyone any harm.

P.S i dont think anything i have ever posted has been quite as controversial as this one, pretty unexpected really.

[LeeLau]

No, genuinely i thought the Ripper was meant as a team event - 1 up, 1 down. Have i got it wrong? Mountainbiking is already super individualist - a little "team" doesnt do anyone any harm.

P.S i dont think anything i have ever posted has been quite as controversial as this one, pretty unexpected really.

I read it as a misunderstanding so no worries. The Rippers are meant to be FUN events. Some people like the team thing, some people like doing it solo.

Hey Dave - thanks for yelling at me when I was pedalling uphill. I needed that. Hope the knee's holding up and healing

[Smoke]

I actually think the team aspect deserves a revisit. The original GK Ripper in Squampton has no solo category.

[Big Dipper]

Me, myself and I planned on racing but no one would sit out so we didn't do it.

Solo is best for people like me who have no friends. In the first year (I think it was a Toonie race back then) it was great pacing Christina to the top and then dualing back and forth with Cam on the decent. I was clipped into all three inches of lovin on my Trek Fuel and Cam was on a Big Hit in full downhill gear. It really showed where each bike had the advantage.

PS - don't worry Heckler, that wasn't the frame I sold you!

[Oldfart]

I seem recall racing pretty much the same course in around "93-94 as a Raoch Race. We did two laps though with no bobsled section but we did do "the Deke". I think the best times were around 2 hours for two laps.

Good race though. Low pressure, happy people, but for the person who pushed the woman off her bike with a too close pass on bobsled.

[heckler]

That explains why it's got a carbon rear and an alum front triangle, when a 04Fuel 95 is supposed to be all carbon!

Nonetheless, great bike Dipper! I'm really happy with it.