Entered my first MTB'ing Event!

Good luck!

I was surprised how nervous I got on the morning of my last event. However they soon went once I was started.

I found it very nervous my first time as rossco832 said but the nerves went as soon as it started as well. Good Luck!

well done jacq,get in there. we will be expecting full race report and pics of you on the podium

Smashin mate, i've made a promise to myself to enter a race next year, i'll be 52 yr old, i see other guys my age doing it so why not, gonna enter the King & queen of the hill enduro at Tweedlove next year just so i can get it out of my system so i can say i did it at least once, i don't care what position i finish as long as it's in one piece, good luck with it 

Good luck - your young and fit so it should be a breeze.

Good luck 

Good luck and have fun 

Will do. Did it 2 years ago and loved it.

I'd love to do a few mini enduro events..

Just can't be arsed with all the travelling involved!

Well guys, what a great day out that was! Firstly, i'd like to apologize for the lack of a Strava link (for some, this may be a good thing!)... My shitty Samsung Galaxy Ace is to blame as it crashed about 6 miles into the ride...

Lets get back on track now. Although the Hills Killer is not classified as a race, due to it being illegal to race on public bridleways, everyone there was pretty competitive. We all have our efforts timed, and we all ran a Race Plate, so it is a race really, just not classified as one!!!

The day started off nice and early.With all my kit packed the night before, i didn't have much to do apart from consume a few High 5 Caffeine race drinks and a nice breakfast. I arrived just before 9am. As soon as i got there, it was apparent that the guys riding were all pretty serious. All around me lay nice bikes, carbon frames with Pikes e.t.c!!! I proudly pulled my Hardrock out the boot and poodled up to the registration office. We were all given a Tracking chip, which we wore around our necks and scanned in at the various checkpoints along the route... In total, there was 12 checkpoints, dotted along the south of the Island, stretching from Freshwater to Sandown. After spending more time than necessary looking at the map and noting down the locations, i set off.

There were a few rules for the event, and one of them was to not use footpaths... I planned my route to the first checkpoint to use a bridleway. However, once i got there, it turned out it had been changed to a footpath. After a quick map check, i decided to ride the short distance to the first checkpoint by road instead. This drama cost me time and by the time i got there, i'd already been riding 8 minutes. Luckily, there was a group of about 5 riders (not local) at the first checkpoint. It turns out they'd also had similar problems trying to locate checkpoint 1... We decided to stick together as we headed off to the second checkpoint. After a grueling climb, we were soon at checkpoint 2, and the first hill out of the seven was out of the way! Up until checkpoint 5, the riding was all on familiar ground, so it wasn't too exciting, and my local knowledge of Brighstone Forest helped abit. I'm glad i joined up with the group of riders as one had a GPS, which did make locating the checkpoints a whole lot easier!

The riding soon got interesting when we started to chase down Checkpoint 6. A few nice little climbs laid around and i was glad to take a quick water and food break at Chale (the 3 hills start point) shortly after Checkpoint 7 ... By this time, we'd already ridden half the hills, and the energy gels and drinks seemed to pay off, as i was still feeling fresh as a daisy!

The next 5 checkpoints were strung together with some amazing single track. We were treated to some very steep climbs, but the views we had were worth it! I never knew how good the riding was down this side of the Island, with single track being draped over the hills, it was so fun blasting down them. In certain areas, the riding became very technical and i could hear my brakes starting to give way over heating! We counted down each checkpoint and the climbs soon went by, which was good. The weather got better as the ride went on, and by the time we finished, it was glorious clear skies and sun all over!

At Checkpoint 11, we hit abit of a problem. Some scum had removed the Buzzer, so none of us could check in. This would usually mean disqualification, however, with so many racers facing the same problem and multiple photos to back up our argument, we headed to 12. From now on, the riding was a nice easy pedal home. We finally rolled into the finish area. I completed the course in a total time of 4:14:23 and to be honest, i was pretty dissapointed. Before i set off, i looked at the previous years results and i set a target of under 3 hours. However, everyone said the course was alot harder this year, and the quickest rider only completed it in 2:51::51, so i would be very very very very ambitious to finish under 3 hours!!!

My effort placed me in 14th out of 89 finishers and 15 DNF's... I was chuffed with this result. For my first ever MTB event, i dont think it could have gone much better. By the finish, our group of 5 ended up being about 15! None of us had any mechanical's, punctures or crashes, which was great.

Looking at a fellow riders Strava, we covered about 30 miles, with 3700 ft of elevation. Mostly on tracks i've never ridden. IMO, the location of the checkpoints were quite harsh, however i was expecting the route to be alot harder, given the name "7 Hills Hiller"

Thanks for reading!

Great effort, 14th out of 89 is very good going indeed. Glad you enjoyed yourself as that's the main thing, nice write up.

Good stuff jgmu! You should be very proud of your achievement.