5by3 MTB

Sorry folks … been a bit busy and haven’t got around to doing a proper event report or saying ‘Thank you’ to everyone who turned up for the WVGL event.

So, having had a just over a week to reflect … I think it went pretty well, I enjoyed myself, the support crew were supportive and the riders seemed happy so, I think I’ll run another one later in the year!

Thank you to everyone to came along and made it such a great day. Sorry to those of you who got lost or took a slightly more scenic route than planned – I hope it didn’t detract from your enjoyment, my only regret is that those who missed the turn in Swanton Morley missed huge chunks of the off road sections

The method of signing the routes clearly caught some folk off guard so I have some lessons to learn around that, mainly due to communication rather than changing the system I think. I’m not keen on seeing the countryside plastered with bright yellow arrows and they are very labour intensive to put up and take down.

My refreshment strategy seemed to work well – plenty for all but not too much left over for me to gorge on!

The routes were all on public rights of way – there is just one short section of footpath on the 17 mile section (ooops) – so if you’d like to come out and ride round again I’m happy to make the GPS files available. There seems to be a slight problem with the website or FB accepting the GPS files though so I’ll need to get a bit of help from my techy friends before I can do this! In the meantime the maps are attached below.

Look forward to seeing you all again soon,

Sara

7 mile route

17 mile route

30 mile route

Right ho, a quick update.

The routes are all confirmed and have been GPS mapped. They are pretty rideable as they stand but I’ll be out with a few willing helpers next week to cut back the remaining brambles and do a bit of raking. Where the council have cut back the vegetation they leave the cuttings where they fall, as some of the hedges are brambles and hawthorn this has caused me a few punctures so, we’ll do our best to groom the trails and minimise the puncture risk.

Printed maps will be available on the day, but I’ll have to guess how many to print out so please be prepared to share!

The routes will be waymarked. The 7 mile route will use arrows on each junction. The 17 and 30 mile routes will use squares of yellow tyvek paper stapled to convenient signposts/trees/gate posts etc. So, when you arrive at a junction, the ‘sign’ may not be on the junction itself but a short way from the junction in the direction you need to go. On long stretches of road/track there will be confirmation squares at convenient points.

The 30 mile route drops back into Lyng before heading out for the second half of the ride so you have options to shorten or lengthen your ride if you are having a good/bad day

If the weather stays dry next week the trails will be virtually mud free – even with a bit of rain the going under wheel will be pretty dry. Some sections may be a bit cut up by horses so if you are on a CX bike be prepared for a bit of rattling and jarring!

All under 18s must have a parental consent form signed and under 16s must be accompanied by an over 18. These forms will be available at event HQ in the morning.

The is little or no mobile signal in the village so bear in mind that you may be unable to contact friends/family once you have arrived at event HQ.

That’s all for now folks – I’ll keep you up to date will any developments during the week

Well, with the inaugural 5by3 racing series all done and dusted, I thought it would be a nice idea to add a recreational, non-competitive event to the 5by3MTB calendar.

So, after much map reading, a few route recce rides and managing to find a free weekend in the calendar I have registered a brand new event – Wensum Valley Green Lanes – to give everyone the chance to head over and ride the lanes and byways that are right on my doorstep.

Full details of the rides are on the tab cunningly titled ‘Wensum Valley Green Lanes’ but to give you a quick overview the plan is this …

The event is based upon the ‘reliability ride’ model but with a few modern tweaks. The basic version is to turn up on the day, pay your money and head out around a predetermined route before enjoying cakes and a natter at the HQ after the ride. The slightly more organised version is to pre-enter using the BC website, turn up on the day, ride your chosen route and then hit the cakes at HQ.

The benefit of pre-entry for you is that you get a GPS route sent to you before the ride – rather than relying on a map and waymarking on the day. The benefit of pre-entry to me is that I get a bit of money guaranteed to cover the cost of event registration, hall hire and food.

If you are interested, check out the WVGL tab for all the info

OK folks, here is the news!

The course has been checked over – we have raked clear most of Autumns leaves; cut back branches that the snow had brought down and generally reminded ourselves what a great little course it is!

We have amended a couple of sections in the woods and found a rooty section for you to tackle.

The extra grassy loop that the seniors/juniors did to add length to the lap has gone and has been replaced by a new loop along the edge of the lake – including a wooden footbridge (which I forgot to photograph) and a clump of early snowdrops (which I remembered to photograph). This will still be a ‘recovery’ section but it is more interesting and picturesque than riding round a grassy field.

There are series trophies to be presented to the under 12s and under 16s. Final positions will be based on total accumulated points, not 4 out of 5 or any other permutations you can think of. The presentations will take place as soon as possible after the end of the races, so under 12s at around midday and under 16s around 2pm. We will try not to keep people hanging around but we do have to confirm on the day results and then enter them into the overall standings before we can confirm the trophy winners. It’s not rocket science but it does take time!

The hotel will be serving hot drinks from the bar in the sign on barn. Please support them as much as possible – it all helps to make us welcome next time around.

Car parking is in the field to the left of the entrance road – as for round 1. This field has a decent section of roadway around the entrance so getting in and out shouldn’t be a problem. The field itself is also pretty firm at the moment.

That’s about it I think … just the weather to contend with now! Let’s see what Sunday brings. See you then!

I’m really pleased to confirm that with the help and agreement of Simon Edwards at Fritton Lake we will be able to run the final event of the series on Sunday 10th February – weather permitting

Race times will be:

Under 12s – 11am

Seniors 7 Juniors – 12.30pm

Under 16s – 12.45pm

Keep and eye on Facebook and Twitter for updates. We may be able to tempt you with a slightly longer course …

See you there