Crankworx Canadian Open Enduro. Sounds masochistic, who's in?

[shirk]

Originally Posted by FlipFantasia

just checking out ye olde strava stats on stage 4....looks like I hit 70km/h on hwy 86 just before the bridge at FT/NJ!! man that was scary as hell, and ridiculously fun!

I only hit 63.2 km/h. Looks like I need to take off the skirt and lay off the brakes.

[Skip]

Originally Posted by shirk

To get to Stage 3 I just rode out Lost Lake Loop and back up Lost Lake Rd. At the intersection of Lost Lake Rd and Blackcomb Way there was an "Enduro" sign and arrow pointing riders onto a gravel path that goes behind Hortsman House. This connected with the access road that climbed right up to the start, there were arrows the whole way up the climb. Most of the access road is like the Fromme Mtn Hwy climb, a couple bits higher up were a bit steeper.

I had time to finish stage 2, change helmets, take off my knee pads, grab a banana, and spin up there in granny (26x36). I got to the top of Stage three with about 4 or 5 minutes before my go time. I certainly didn't pin it, I did climb at a good pace. Being warm from the climb I had time to cool a bit but certainly would not want to have stood around there for 15 minutes waiting for my time.

Granny? Took mine off as this was Enduro and not XC (or so I thought) walked up 75% of the climb to #3, 11 mins late starting. To get there I went along by a river, past the bridge to the spa, along the river again and appeared at the medical centre heli-pad then went up the road to Blackcomb and pushed up the piste under the chair until I got to the fire road. I saw ONE Enduro sign all day. If I'd known the transitions were so tight I'd have spent time route planning, kept the granny ring on, and worn less armour. I did enjoy the DH bits though, particularly #4. I think the biggest problem was not knowing until it was too late that the transitions were so short, I didn't stand a chance.

[FlipFantasia]

Originally Posted by Skip

Granny? Took mine off as this was Enduro and not XC (or so I thought) walked up 75% of the climb to #3, 11 mins late starting. To get there I went along by a river, past the bridge to the spa, along the river again and appeared at the medical centre heli-pad then went up the road to Blackcomb and pushed up the piste under the chair until I got to the fire road. I saw ONE Enduro sign all day. If I'd known the transitions were so tight I'd have spent time route planning, kept the granny ring on, and worn less armour. I did enjoy the DH bits though, particularly #4. I think the biggest problem was not knowing until it was too late that the transitions were so short, I didn't stand a chance.

triple ring ftw! (....aside from the smashed big ring teeth)

[clarklewis]

skip and others, did you pre-ride the course? did you not notice the steep climb up blackcomb?
getting from A to B is part of the race. i agree it was too tight, but being unable to climb your bike at all because of gearing makes no sense to me.

[shirk]

When I say granny I just mean the easiest gear in my 2x10 set up.

38-26 in the front and 11-36 in the back.

I did pay the price for this set-up on Stage 4. I twisted a chain somewhere on Hwy 86 just below Kyhbers Pass. I could get maybe two pedal strokes in before either dropping the chain down off the inside or it jamming up somewhere and needing to back-pedal.



I see a Shadow Plus rear mech in my future.

[mudhoney]

Originally Posted by clarklewis

skip and others, did you pre-ride the course? did you not notice the steep climb up blackcomb?
getting from A to B is part of the race. i agree it was too tight, but being unable to climb your bike at all because of gearing makes no sense to me.

We pre-rode Friday.

I did have my granny and pushed parts of that climb...pedaled where I could. (I did pedal it all in the Charlie's Angels race - on a different bike though)

I'm definitely not in pro league, but I am decently fit. It doesn't make sense to me to expect all categories to be equally fast in the transitions between stages - i.e. what might be a comfortable amount time for you (a few minutes to spare), won't be for me. You and Shirk both passed me on the climb; I arrived just at his start time, ~7 minutes late for my own.

[shirk]

Yes no argument there should have been different time allotments for the different classes. Have a Pro time then add +2 or 3 mins for Masters and +4 or 6 for Women's.

[Mic-digdog]

I also rode in it and actually really liked the concept of the enduro. But, IMO, could have been improved on just 2 things -
inform the riders before hand that you really have to make your transition time so that they bring a watch! I didn't have a watch on me, which probably actually worked in my favour, cause I thought I was taking way longer than I was and got to each stage start and was like "did I make it??!!!" lol

I definitely wouldn't say I'm a super strong climber, but I'm happy to climb if I can put it in granny and spin it out. The climb up Golden Boner was tough, especially in that heat! It wasn't technical tho, so it definitely wasn't XC. And, I'm glad it wasn't just 4 DH races as it added to the event that the transitions had to be ridden on the bike that your also going DH'ing on! I made my transition times, it wasn't easy, but totally doable.

I thought the course could have been better signed/taped, or maybe provide a good map with registration. I hadn't preridden the course - but had a rough idea of where to go and luckily it turned out to be where I should have been. But the actual course itself, was awesome. And yes, the last stage was the best, but if the transitions of the other stages weren't hard to make and everyone just pushed their DH bikes up, then really, it would be just a different sort of garbo race. Or, if you had chosen an XC rig, sure, you may have easily made your start time, but the downs certainly would have been challenging, especially the last stage!

I was surprised at the lack of supplies other racers had - even the pros! Emmeline Ragot is one of my fave DH racers, but when I saw her on the enduro, she didn't have anything with her - not even water! I wasn't surprised when I heard she had pulled out on the transition to stage 3! How are other enduro's in europe run?

I think reasonable transition cut offs are a good idea. Yes, maybe the ones in this race were on the tough side, but overall, I think cut offs are good, otherwise, it would just be another DH race. I liked that it was a real challenge - have something that you could pedal up blackcomb, yet still handle the DH of the park on the last stage On the way up, I was regretting my Van 36 fork (especially as everyone was telling me a float would be much lighter!), but on the way down, I was super thankful to have it!

[sAFETY]

Originally Posted by Mic-digdog

I think cut offs are good, otherwise, it would just be another DH race.

I'd prefer if the courses dictated the style of bike used, and not the transition sprints.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by sAFETY

I'd prefer if the courses dictated the style of bike used, and not the transition sprints.

EXACTLY.

[Mic-digdog]

Originally Posted by sAFETY

I'd prefer if the courses dictated the style of bike used, and not the transition sprints.

Totally agree with you there (I went in it for the downs!)....but aren't the transitions still part of the course? Yes, the DH are whats timed and the bits we look forward to, but the transitions are what make it an enduro and not just 4 DH races, no???

[sAFETY]

Originally Posted by Mic-digdog

Totally agree with you there (I went in it for the downs!)....but aren't the transitions still part of the course? Yes, the DH are whats timed and the bits we look forward to, but the transitions are what make it an enduro and not just 4 DH races, no???

Agreed, their presence is part of the course, but they shouldn't define the race (or maybe they should, I dunno).

I just don't think that the transitions should be the defining element that makes people choose a certain bike.

[clarklewis]

Agreed

[Mic-digdog]

Originally Posted by sAFETY

Agreed, their presence is part of the course, but they shouldn't define the race (or maybe they should, I dunno).

Spot on sAFETY - they are part of the course, but should add an element to it, rather than define it

[FlipFantasia]

dirttv edit....really good....man I still had a lot of fun that day!
http://mpora.com/videos/AAd8q06zvjuq