Racer's Guild

2012-01-17T18:15:00.005Z

Finally we had a good cold spell in January, and riders attending the first Racers Guild of 2012 were met with a beautiful yet frosty reception. Not even Gazzaloddis where penetrating the frozen surface. Air temp. in the sunshine only got to 2 degrees at midday.

Theres not much better than a hauling a train with your mates during practise, boosting of the newish stepdown off the gasline. This launch was expertly remade during a build day a few months back. Next build day is January 21st. If you cant make it come to the next one, keep an eye on the FORUM.

Stu Tite playing on his little bike. As the DH boss man for Chase Trials, Stu is heading up the build days yet again this year. Attending build days is good karma & we really do need your help. Do you ever imagine how good the trails could be? Then come to a build day to make it happen !

Either on a Racers Guild day or a normal weekend, the hill always has plenty of young rippers. Here is Ellis Jones proving size is no barrier to speed. Full list of the days times can be found on the FORUM.

I was wearing merino, fleece and a jacket but there was plenty of guys in Tshirts & no gloves putting full feel and control over warmth. You get tough and fast when you have a DH track in your backyard, just like Alex Worral.

This pic isn’t from the day, but the upgraded Mega Trail was keeping a lot of riders warm with a quick session on the way back up the hill, including possibly the first 360 over the big gap. The Mega shows what can be acheived with a bit of organisation and lots of graft. Here is Chris OC trying out part of his hard work. Get well soon Richie !

The last corner decided the times and how much skin you went home with. Don’t go round the edge of the roots, they don’t like it. Give them a frontal attack, show them whose boss.

We now have a slightly revised system in place for getting race times immediately after sign in, we had way more riders than ever before so apologies if you didn’t get many runs.

All donations go to Riders Guild equipment or materials for trailbuilding. For 2012 we have a new gazebo for shelter and will be getting new radios ,maybe a finish flag and lots of fixing bolts and timber for the upgrade of Walleater.

We have also replaced the 16+ race plates, please carefully take off & return your race plates before you leave. The gate gets locked at 3.30, please move your car to the main carpark on Stile Cop Road if you want to ride longer.

Many thanks to the marshalls, starters & timers for standing in subzero temps all day. If you have questions or want to help at Racers Guild email harry@racersguild.co.uk or for Trailbuilding email stuart@chasetrails.co.uk or head over to the FORUM to ask questions & view videos / pics of the action.

Pics courtesy of http://djaphoto.pinkbike.com/

Racers Guild December 2011

2011-12-08T15:50:00.003Z

Upon arriving early on the hill on Sunday I had a mellow ride down the Red course, I felt cold but the dirt was nice and grippy. Had a walk over to Ridgeline to help tape the course and was met by the elves applying tinsel and baubles to a section of narrow trees. I know the elves quite well, they often come out of their secret elf houses to help fix the trails and often assume human form to help marshall the course, work stopwatches or man the starting areas. The reindeer had been walking along Ridgeline the night before, but fancied taking a different way down so turned left after the ski jump and wound down a rooty narrow section of trail to their feeding area. The elves liked that route so taped it off to allow merriment and high spirits to unfold during the days bicycle gathering, as 72 riders turned up for a last ride on their bikes before Santa brings them a new one, as they have all been good this year.

Elves are a generous creature, and will ask humans to help in many ways, this month all coins offered as thanks were given to Breast Cancer Care along with a chance to win a new bicycle tyre. Many varied creatures entered the bicycle gathering including diverse Santas, a crocodile (or was it a dinosaur), a skeleton, several dogs, reindeer, Christmas trees and a weird dayglo gymnastic entity.

Midday hit and the young rippers came down and threw down with Adam Yates quickest, followed by Sam Hooker, Connor Smith, Sean Hadley & Josh Laywood, keep it up yoof ! Clare Curtis managed to throw a spanner into the normal sausage fest, although being the only lady entrant automatically gave her the win, she did of course beat times set by the gents, we look forward to you beating more guys next time Clare. Adam Haling pulled yet another fastest time out of his TLD with Matt Gilbert properly ragging it to come ahead of Andy Hughes. Good to see a new face mixing it up with the non-mortals. Within the ‘my next purchase is a Stanna’ crowd Chris Jones headed off all challengers, with Paul Fowkes and Gary Rowe close behind.

However, all was not well with the Spirit of Christmas Cheer. The local pixies felt a little left out and to punish the elves and humans, they danced a wicked dance. Lead bauble elf called Alex was forced by the pixies to lie down for 45 seconds as part of an evil spell to bring in a terrible weather storm. For the final runs it was windy, raining and below 4 degrees, not conducive to writing numbers on paper, wearing cotton, sitting down or standing still and certainly not better for riding bikes faster so everyone soon headed away for steamed up car windows, whopper with cheese or a warming ale. Check the FORUM for some videos of the days festivities.

A Christmas tree called Craig was offered a special prize for imaginative possibility of self-electrocution by cheap Chinese fairy lights, whilst Smudge / Dave won a new tyre in the Breast Cancer Care raffle.

There’s been a lot of arms in slings / swollen hands (and even glands), broken bones and visits to the hospital this year so quick recoveries and the very best of health to all.

2012 will begin on the hill with continued work to Mega Trail, Walleater and a bit to Snakes & Ladders and Wonderland giving more and better trails to play and beat your mates on, keep an eye on the FORUM for dates of monthly build sessions, more help at these will really improve the trails.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from everyone at Racers Guild and Chase Trails. Its no secret that RG traditionally holds a January Red course Hardtail Challenge hope to see you there, there may be a special event announced aswell…

November. A&E onto CDL

2011-12-01T09:11:00.001Z

Novembers RG was ran for the first time down A&E a trail named after the two guys who scoped the line out and did most of the building Adam Halling and Elliot Machin.

The trail proved to be a winner with corner into slippy corner followed by a tight run through the trees, over a gap and then onto CDL to the finish.

With greasy conditions on the hill tyre choice was wets for the slippy stuff or drys for speed on the firmer CDL section. Turns out that High Rollers in the hands of Adam H were the quickest with a stunning 56 second run closely followed by the cut Wet Scream and Swampy brigade.

With over 60 riders supporting the Guild this November a cracking day was had by all with some newer faces sending it against the clock for the first time and feeling the excitement that you can only get by going up against the stop watch.

Many thanks to all the guys who helped out on the hill and sorry if your Marshalling spot ran a bit over!
Decembers Guild session is this Sunday 4th Dec. Don't forget your fancy dress!

See you all on the hill soon,Harry.

Racers Guild October 2011- New Line

2011-10-26T09:13:00.006+01:00

Conditions - Bedrock with added Pebbles and Bam Bam

Roll up roll up for June's Racers Guild, well ok not June but with sunshine and temperatures up around 17 degrees it could have been, but then it wasn't. This is October. Leaves falling off the tress is was about the only sign of it. It's been a dry dry Summer and the Autumn has followed suit.
Shock of the weather over and on with a dust-bowl-pebble-tastic New Line. Not run since the Spring under it's chicken dinner guise this was full unadulterated New Line (with oodles of dust, did I mention the dust??). As ever this was going to be a winner for the Pinners (there is no first place in the Guild though, got that?), the top section of the hill was a test of cornering nerves and dropping down into the trees left a layer of slippery dust into the two mid-course drops. From then it's pinball alley through the trees to the finishing line gap.

So conditions were good, weather fine and off we go.
Mad Sammision threw down the fastest first run showing that despite some time off the bike recently he's still a force to be reckoned with (come back soon Sam) but there was a queue of riders looking to better his time.
Grandfather of the Cop Chris Derry finished amanic XC loop in the morning to crack open the lime green demo machine and show that grey hair doesn't slow you down and showed everyone how to style the double drops. Second fastest first run and second fastest time of the day.

Will Weston has joined us for Guild Sessions in the past but this time was back in his sponsored rider guise showing that age is just a number. Too fast it seems to be in the under 16s but that's where he sits. With a time that would have been second fastest in the seniors it's easy to see why this guy has a deal.

The Bike School's Ad Haling proved why he can teach you a bike riding lesson or two, getting some huge altitude off the drops and giving us the fastest time of the day.

The New Line isn't a trail for the rippers but in the juniors Adam Yates was hot on Will's heels with times that would have stood him wel in the Seniors.
The duffers category was without our very Own Mick who's still nursing arthritis or something which left Shaun Tandy and Chris Jones to battle it out.
Props to Tim Wood who put in a bunch of chainless runs thanks to some shonky bike maintenance, not the first choice of ways down this trail but some respectable times notched on the sheet.
Thanks to everyone for showing up, the donations tin was well fed which means we can buy some more batteries for the radios. To the marshalls who gave up their time and to the crew who make it all happen.

We've got a great bunch of trails that we get to use for the Guild and despite what you might think these trails aren't built by secret pixies after dark. The trails have been worked on officially for around 7 years by Chase Trails and the more they get used the more they need work. With 60 riders on the sign-in sheet this month it would be cool to see some familiar faces at out next build day on Saturday 29th October from 10am. We've got all the tools you need and lunch is free too!

Written by Stu.

Racers Guild September 2011

2011-09-29T16:09:00.003+01:00

Conditions- Hero Dirt.

Many of you will remember the old CDL (Chris Derrys Line) which got thoroughly pummelled during the tree felling works by the Forestry Commission last year.

The new version of CDL took its influence from the original line, being a bit offcamber & rooty, then over the ‘woodbank’, some slower corners then opening out again on almost the original line. New CDL was last used for a Racers Guild in December 2010, its been tweeked a little bit since then to make it last longer and the off camber rooty has a nice but tricky sweeping S shape which naturally replaced the tight right hander round a tree. It’s a relatively slow trail with the bike often lent over one way or the ether, no need to brake too much but little opportunity for hard cranking either.

Conditions were almost perfect, warm, no wind & the previous weeks rain helped alot, not only for grip but also for keeping the trail relatively intact. Few other events on elsewhere so 63 riders turned up with most getting 3 runs in.

In the Youths (15 and under) Adam Yates got a time which would have put him well into top 20 seniors, Shane Johnson got the most runs on the day and Dan Marshall is awarded the best broken ribs of the day award, all Youths were flying and showing real progress.

Thankfully Suzy Osborn spoiled the sausage fest and for that she wins for the Ladies!

Top 10 seniors all got under 1 minute, but in a good upset it was Mitch Ingleby who got fastest time with a 55.5 and Ben Worrall edging out Adam Halling. Woodbank humps which are not doubles were doubled, something I’ve often pondered on the possibility of. A good few crashes took place, thank fully nothing needing medical attention, after all you cant do anything for broken ribs or bruised ego’s. Retro carbon bikes also seem tougher than many modern machines, because that K2 (although I’m sure it really is a Proflex) took a right hammering, as did the owners Troy Lee noggin shroud.

Big boys category was without its mentor, One Eyed Willy Whyte was relegated to the start line all day so Lee Pettitt took the honours with Paul Fowkes and Neil Edgar coming in next.

Thanks to all the marshalls and helpers and everyone turning up for trail building days. There has been a lot of work done on the trails this year but still got just as much again to do. Most of this is planned in advance so its scheduled work, we know whats needed to be done, such as extending the Mega Trail, redoing the lower Black and Red, altering lower Wonderland, rebuilding Walleater from scratch & tweaking lower Ridgeline. The above list can be added to if you think something else needs work, but please share it with us and turn up to help us make it reality quicker and doing it properly so it will last. A few trailbuilding days with a good turn out can have massive positive effect on the trails so please, pretty please give us a hand if you can- meet fellow riders and have a laugh, sometimes you might even get fed and watered. Keep an eye on the FORUM for regular trailbuilding dates or contact
stuart@chasetrails.co.uk

Scruff.

Plenty of pics and Vids of the day also on the FORUM

Racers Guild, August 2011. Ridge-Land

2011-08-26T14:16:00.004+01:00

It seemed that everywhere got some rain on Saturday night apart from Stile Cop! As a result, the hill was so dry, following another rider down the trail was like riding in a dust storm!

Andy Hughes showing scant regard for the tricky conditions

For this month we thought we'd use a line that doesn't get ridden that much; Starting at the top of the darkside and heading down the ridge before taking the left onto the top of Little Bringewood. Just past the gas line there's a line that heads down the hill towards Wonderland, joining that trail just before the jump/berm/jump section. Rather than the usual line down Wonderland, the trail pixies marked out a couple of lively sections to keep riders on their toes.

Also new for this month is a 'first run' listing on the timing sheet. It brings extra an element of fun and shows the times riders are getting without the benefit of 4 or 5 timed runs. RG has always been about the grass roots; chilled out but giving a taste of the DH scene and we think this feature adds some spice to that.

With a decent turnout of riders putting practice runs in, it soon became apparent how dry parts of the trail were. The switchbacks just of Bringe soon got badly blown out and seemed to be getting looser as the morning progressed. The conditions on that pat of the course were a mixture of loose pebbles and fine, silty dust-loads of dust. No time to worry about that because the start of the timed runs was looming!

After all 53 riders had their first runs, it looked like getting under a minute would be tricky. Chris Derry was the first to do so with a time of 58.9. No one else managed to get under the minute on their first run and for a while, it looked like it might stay that way.

By this point the course seemed to be constantly changing with new lines appearing, some of which were a little cheeky (trail pixies gonna get heavy with the tape for the next session!). Even so, this allowed a few more riders to improve on their first runs. Andy Hughes was piped by 0.3 by M Antrobus, who put in a time of 57.8. It was a mixed bag for everyone else though with some riders improving and others getting caught out. Fortunately there were no serious incidents this month but there were plenty of off piste moments. Thanks to Lance (your best edit so far!), Smudge, Dan and any other vid/photo takers for capturing many of these. Links can be found on the FORUM

The times amongst the seniors were in flux but the Youth and Veteran categories also saw changes. Kacper Wozniaks' first run of 1:12.1, in the Youths cat, was not bettered but Billy Netherton managed to improve his time by nearly 30 seconds to 1:18.8. Meanwhile, the top five Vets were only separated by 3 seconds. Mick Whyte managed a run of 1:00.9 but Craig Butler was nearly there with 1:01.7 and Gary Rowe on 1:02.1.

By this point most people were saying how hard it was to improve their times. Just the right time for RG Squadron rider, Andy Hughes to set a time of 56.6 then. Not content with that time, and much to the amazement of all watching, he then came down the hill, through the dust, to set a time of 54.7, showing no regard for the deteriorated course and the laws of physics!

It came as no surprise that no one recorded a faster time after that but at the bottom of the hill, it seemed like a great day was had by all. For those of us who help set up and run the sessions, this makes it all worth while.

Paul Fowkes heading into the dusty switchbacks

Special mentions to:

Mick Whyte for 'kicking a tree and getting away with it while throwing shape' of the day.

Rich Parsons for 'nearly going over the bars, saving it, quick thinking casual comment as if nothing had happened' of the day.

Thanks to all who helped on the day. Its always appreciated and if you want to get involved, either by helping out at the Guild sessions or by coming along to a dig day, keep an eye on the forum or get in touch. Thanks to everyone for coming along and we hope to see you next time.

Cheers, Chris

Racers Guild July 2011. Balboa.

2011-07-26T12:50:00.003+01:00

Another Saturday at the Cop, another Guild. We've done well so far this year, more sunshine than showers but not this time.

We've had it good on the hill lately, too good you could say, the trails have been getting dryer than Gandhi's flip flop and it's been showing, a trip to the Cop has involved drifting on marbles and disappearing in clouds of dust. Luckily we had ordered some dampness for this session and it arrived promptly on Friday night making setting up the course a pretty soggy job.

For the first time since we started the Guild we went for a full run on Balboa, we've used the top section before but never the bottom with the ladder drop and ski jump.

Now for some reason we had a smaller number of racing bunnies than we've for a while, it could have been the intimidating trail or the weather putting people off. Let's be generous and say it was the weather, we know people aren't really scared of Balboa, don't we...

So with the course taped out and waterproofs fully tested it was time to get things happening.

We might have had a small turnout but the big guns were still in attendance with Andy Hughes, Elliot Machin and Mitch Ingley all rolling up to show us all how it's done. It's been a while since all 3 guys have been at a Guild and on this trail there were going to be some great lessons on how to get the best out of Balboa.

The first few riders went off and the initial pace for the course was set, low 50s seemed to be where the times were at which was a nice level given that Balboa is a fairly short course (even by Stile Cop standards). This wasn't to last though as Andy, Elliot and Mitch got on the course in quick succession and took the times below the 50 second barrier. Pretty soon it was obvious that to get into the top 3 riders were going to be at around the 46 second mark and sure enough this is how it went.

Elliot tearing up the hill. (pic from Dan Armishaw)

It wasn't just about the big guns though. Balboa is a testing trail. It might lack the roots and off-camber turns of some of our other trails but it is an intimidating line. From the start the first rock drop sets the scene and being quickly followed by the infamous rock double means that even to roll the trail at speed you have to lift your riding level up a notch. Whilst the rocks fazed some riders (including me) it gave other riders a chance to shine

One way to own the double (pic from Dan Armishaw)

I don't know which riders used this Guild session to hit the bigger features for the first time, the red mist of the stop watch can be enough to give some riders the game head needed to try stuff for the first time. I do know that our very own Dale "The Delminator" Laywood went for it and started hitting the rocks like a star, props and that to him, Shame he got wiped out on the roots at the end (see Lance's video) but hey it's still a good performance for a 48 year old guy with a bee sting.

Another mention goes to under 16 rider Tom Thompson, our only proper 'casualty' of the day. I arrived after a call to the top section of the trail to find him picking himself up off the ground, nothing more serious than some grazes, scrapes and a battered ego but when time came to pick the bike up and get back to the top the look of horror was there, busted forks were his penalty for letting Rocky win. Not good but he'll live to ride another day, good effort Tom!

Thanks to everyone who made it up to the hill. We hope Balboa wasn't too stressful for you all and to those afraid of the rain then shame on you, we ditched the rain at lunchtime and moved onto broken cloud so next time remember to bring a jacket and come along anyway!

See you in August Guildsters.

Stu

Racers Guild, May 2011

2011-05-31T11:08:00.008+01:00

Better late than never eh? I've been too busy working and riding my bike to sit 'ere and type away to be honest! For those of you who are still interested read on and i'll spin ye a yarn...

Trail: Little Bringewood

Conditions: Bone Dry

The 'Little Bringewood' section of the hill must be the only spot in the 'Dark side' un-affected by the felling works of last year, however some inventive taping gave us some fresh line choices and combined with the new top section of the Ridge line we were presented with an awesome trail to shred for the day!

Rider #27 pinning it on the off-camber

The off camber section, true to form, took it's share of victims. Sam Maddison ate it on one of his warp speed crossings and Joe Howard was captured by the lens having this moment of thought:

Just before this happened:

It would be a lie to tell a tale of a hard fought battle for the fastest time of the day this month in seniors. Sam Maddison turned up and was un-questionable all day, His first run was a 53.8, later followed by the winning 53.1 seconds run . Mike Inman wasn't too far off at second fastest with a time of 54.8, which is still an admirable effort, but just not enough to topple Maddison! Andy Hughes of the Squadron landed 3rd fastest at 55.8 seconds.

Sam Maddison on his way to fastest time of the day.

In the Veterans group Mick Whyte whittled his time down to 59.3 seconds to take fastest time in category and in the Vouths Kacper Wozniak took fastest with 1:08.4 .

Photo credits due to Ben Lamming, Martin Hirst and Kitman, for their fantastic captures of the day. Albums from all the Photographers attending are below:

Ben Lamming
Martin Hirst
Kitman

Please comment and give thanks to the dudes with the cameras, after all, they rock up every month to spend the day taking photos of what we love to do!

Finally we have 2 video offerings this month. Thanks to Lance and Mattski:

Racers Guild May 11 on pinkbike.com

Racers Guild - May Time Practice 2011 on pinkbike.com

Racers Guild April 2011

2011-04-19T23:24:00.006+01:00

Track - New Line Chicken Dinner

Conditions - Dessicated

I’ll start off with a top tip- after pushing your brake pistons back in the day before, pull the levers a few times to prime the brakes before warming up by riding down CDL, that way you wont have to bail out at speed, somersaulting onto a tree stump. Not the best way to start.

Oi ! CDL is that way

Big firey orange ball in the sky is a good way to start though, the normal New Line was deemed off limits for the day. Whats normally one of the harder trails at Stile Cop was turned into an easier version, the 2 largish drops were taped off forcing everyone to take the chicken line round the sides. The drops are simple enough once you build up the confidence, get enough speed, little pop, hold on, repeat. The Chicken lines surprisingly took a bit more thought, really easy to lock the back up in the dust, and the hardened or hardened with pebbles or talcum powder surface was either quick & grippy or quick & very slidey. More new faces and a few new 2011 Team jerseys lined up, discussed tops being too small and then started riding.

I now want a lime green Demo

Whether its half term or whatever I don’t know , but under 16s turn out was low, so Aaaron Parker was duly awarded with quickest time, putting in 3 good runs with a respectable best time of 1:13.7.

Local trivia fans will know all about the history of New Line, its even Steve Peat approved. But Adam Halling does rightfully hold the unofficial rights to New Line, but with his fellow Racers Guild Squadron member Andy Hughes and Chris Derry joining the fun Adam had to pull out all his best party tricks this month. I’ve heard a few excuses in my time but having Lee Gratton heckling you surely isn’t enough to put off an BDS Senior rider? Either way Andy got 3^rd quickest time with a 49 dead, just getting ahead of Mitch Ingley (49.1) and M. Antrobus (49.7).

Chris Derry and Adam Halling had locked horns early on, with a 48.3 by Chris being quickest until Adam somehow got even quicker when the track was getting looser, with Peaty beating time of 47.4.

Body language = MEEEEEEYOOOOOOOWWMMM

Old dodderers was again headed up by the wrinkly old man in his size small PE kit. Fresh from a top ten place at BDS Mick Whyte was on top with a 53.5, with Shaun Tandy, Del, and Tim Upston standing proudly on the virtual podium.

We hope those who attended the RG for the first time will return and welcome a new photographer this month, many thanks for the great pics. Big thanks to all organisers and helpers and marshalls but I mostly want to thank Sól, the Norse sun goddess, I hope she doesn’t get be devoured by a wolf before next month.

In a first (I think) we have RG Helmet cam footage here kindly provided by James Clarke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLGelA-GIfw&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

more pics from Dan Armishaw (djaphoto)-

http://djaphoto.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild-New-Line-17042011/

Scruff.

March Guild, bring me sunshine

2011-03-27T11:15:00.004+01:00

March, time for Spring normally, fluffy bunnies and daffodils. We can start looking forward to the riding ahead with a hope of a bit of sunshine, dry trails and dust, but not yet. March is usually still a bit dull, cold and not quite there…

Not this March, oh no. There was sunshine, lots of sunshine. The glowing orb has been off on it’s winter holiday in Australia or somewhere and was now back with a vengeance.

I arrived on the hill at the crack of dawn (well 9.30) to find Harry, Mick, Del, Chris and Pog finishing off the course taping and getting set up for a good day. Harry’s floppy locks came strolling down the fire road (with Harry following somewhere behind) to confirm that the trail was sorted ready for the day’s antics.

So then, Ridge line. The trail has been closed since last autumn following the essential (but still ridiculously annoying) felling works but now it was ready. Bob and Mick have headed up the work to get the Ridge rebuilt and our March build day got the trail finished (let’s not talk about the S’s) and it was time to try it on for size.

Mint new trail, check. Unseasonal sunshine, check. Nearly organised organisers, check. Keen riders, check.

Game on.

The first BDS round meant that some of the regular rippers were off playing racer boy including our very own Guild Squadron members Andy, Elliott and (Squadron rooky Bike School) Adam so the field was open for everyone including our very own Scruff who’s been living on the hill for the last 2 weeks to get as many practice runs in as possible.

Practice for the practice over we kicked off at 12pm (all Summer starts will be at 12 from now on). Our very own laid back local guy Aaron Tolley set the benchmark time at 51.8 which looked like it was going to be hard to beat.

The improved Ridge Line was a real test. The main line follows the original route, the straight line blast from the start has been replaced and the finishing section has been sorted to pull in as many roots as possible, throw in the long time favourite ski jump and you have a tip top trail. The root fest at the bottom of the trail makes a big impact on the trail and the dry conditions caught a lot of riders out. After a winter of slop covered trails our tyres could finally grip and brakes actually slowed you down. It meant that even this short trail was catching loads of riders out and letting the good guys shine as bright as the sun.

Tolley wasn’t the only rider on his game though and this is where Paul Roscoe comes in. Jeans hanging low, boxers hanging out and Santa Cruz looking fast Roscoe had his sights on Tolley’s top spot. At 52.7 his first run was knocking on Aaron’s door although Jim Lycett was just ahead of Roscoe after run one with Rich Harman right behind Roscoe.

Tolley and Roscoe were hauling their jeans back up the hill for run after run and as the day came to a close Roscoe was in the hot seat with a 50.1 and Tolley was beat, maybe. With the last few time slots booked as executive decision was made to run for an extra minute and Aaron set off at 3.01pm. Could he do it? All eyes were on him as he wrapped the day up for us but in the end it wasn’t quite enough, 50.3 left Aaron .02 seconds behind Roscoe. That’s the click of a stopwatch button.

We had no girls (officially) posting time but the old codgers were headed up by Mick 10 runs Whyte with a 54.4.

High fives to the little rippers who showed us the future with 7 riders and James Patrick gets a mention for pulling in a 53.4!

The Ridge rocks, officially. We’ll be lucky to get many more days as good as this through the year so if you were there then thanks. If you weren’t then you were probably somewhere else.

See you all next month for April’s next instalment.

Racing licences/BC membership packs

2011-03-16T12:42:00.000Z

I have a number of racing licences for Racersguild club members that need collecting from the next racersguild timed practice on Saturday.

If you need your racing licence for the British Downhill Series race this weekend, you MUST phone me on 07834 636962 to arrange collection, or email me with your phone number:
alex@racersguild.co.uk

Support the RG squadron at BDS Rd 1, 20th March!

2011-03-14T10:37:00.002Z

The first round of the Halo British Downhill Series takes place this Sunday 20th March at Nant Gwrtheyrn, just around Cardigan Bay in North west Wales.
Spectating at this new track is free and the Elite lineup reads like a World cup entry list. Steve Peat, Matti Lehikoinen, Bryceland, Fairclough, Machin, Hughes, Halling,

Event Details @ the Halo BDS site

RG Squadron team members Elliot, Andy and Adam will be racing all of the BDS races this year and we hope that you'll get along to support them, and see the best riders in the world, at the best national series in the world.

If you can't make it to Nant G this weekend, you can stay updated by liking us on Facebook:

Or following us on Twitter:

The RG Squadron team wouldn't be possible without the help of our 2011 sponsors:

Ready To Ride Cycles / Works Components

www.bikechase.co.uk / Swinnertons Cycles Forest Centre

RG Timed Practice: 20th Feb

2011-03-14T09:41:00.000Z

We were treated to a misty merky morning for Febuary's Racers Guild timed practice session. The rain held off on the day but the trail was already well watered and super slick. We chose to run Wonderland for this session which been rescued after the recent logging on the hill and with some hard work it was ready to go.
I think the poor weather brings out the best from the Guild faithful, you need to love this sport to turn out on such a grotty day. There was a decent turn out of 45 riders ready to pit them selves against the all knowing clock. Old faces mixed with new and we had a couple of first timers having a go, Elliot's dad Paul Machin and our regular 1st aider Liam got involved in the action for the first time feeling there way in with some 'steady' runs, hope to see you guys next time.

Wonder land is a mixed bag of tight rooty corners and fast rooty corners, rooty straight bits and some more roots and a load of mud. The first section of tight corners require good technique to clear fast and then once you drop in over the gas line it's all about holding your speed through the fast sweeping corners that lead to the jump, berm, jump. After this the trail flattens out. Is it best to pedal or pump? I heard the Worral boys found a line round the slop over some stumps that was helping keep the speed up. Which ever way you went, this flattish section is tough. There is a new section of trail towards the end that many found tricky and then of course, the RG traditional finish straight sprint pulled what ever you had left out of your legs.

We had just four lads in the under 16's with Jonathon Stewart topping the sheet with a quick 1:16.1 a time many seniors would be happy with. Well done to all the U16's it's good to see the future.
An early broken wheel meant ex Squadron rider Mitch Ingley was once again on a borrowed bike (thanks Mark) and set some quick times (1:06.0) but it was down to RG Squadron rider Andy Huges to represent for all the RG crew with some scary quick times. It really is great to see Andy in such good form so early in the year. He put a 1:04.3 on the timing sheets on his first run and spent the rest of the session chipping away and getting closer to the minute mark. Would he top the timing sheets at the end of the session? Back to that later......

Sunday saw the return to the hill for Haydon after months off with a broken arm, there was no taking it easy for him with a decent 1:21.3 at the end of the session showing his peers that he's back on form.
Trail clearing supremo Paul Robson was at last not working the day of the Guild and gave the Horse a good thrashing with mega consistency, 1:15.1, 1:15.1 & 1:15.0! We also went international with our new Columbian friend Manuel Ramirez throwing down on the cold and sloppy English hill with a 1:11.8 I bet he will go quicker when it's a bit warmer on the hill.

Squadron new boy Adam Halling (RG Squadron/Bikeschool turned up late in the day after a spot of work to put himself up against the clock. Would he be as quick as his Squadron team mate Andy? Well, after a couple of sighting runs Adam put a lightning quick 1:02.8 to top the sheets. This just made Andy more determined and just a few minutes later he shredded the hill with a 1:02.6 which sent Adam marching up the hill for another run. This was classic old school Racers Guild fun, a proper head to head. While all this was going on Ben Worral put in a 1:04.7 to put himself closer to the Squadron boys (Ben we need your number back you Git!) with what would turn out to be 3rd fastest time of the day.
Adam on really cut wet screams just couldn't quite do it and after his rear brake gave up it was all about Andy who just to make sure he completed a triple of quickest times at the RG put in a stunning 1:02.1.
to finish in style. Special mention has to go to another ex-squadron rider Elliot 'Sketch' Machin who after watching his dad's lines from earlier stuck a 1:07.8 on the sheets on his XC bike.

Good luck to all the riders for this years season especially the Racers Guild Squadron, make us proud boys (and Mick!)

Many thanks to all that make the Racers Guild what it is and thanks for the donations. Much appreciated. Another great session

Don't forget, build day Sat 5th March, if you ride the Cop you should come and make your mark on the hill. (remember no un-official building on the Chase)

Provisional date Saturday 19th March for the next session.

Harry
harry@racersguild.co.uk

Parking @ Stile Cop

2011-02-17T23:39:00.000Z

Stile Cop car park (top of the course) is currently being used as a free campsite.
Visitors to the DH trails may well find it better to park in the layby on the A460 opposite the Slitting Mill turnoff.

Cheers, Alex@RG

Racers Guild, January 2011.

2011-01-25T16:41:00.005Z

Edit: Results are now up in all their true to the tenth of a second glory. Results are final.

Course- Red, all of it.

Conditions- breathless & light headed.
Happy new year rippers, now cough your lungs up.

It has become a minor tradition for Racers Guild to run the full red course at the start of every year. I don’t generally ride the whole red, I get round the berm and pull over. Riding it in its full length at full speed is a killer. To add more fun Hardtails were encouraged, it kinda makes sense as the red is a pretty easy trail and it makes for a change to ride your XC bike and hope it doesn’t snap, or ride your Dirt Jumper and hope the tyres grip.

A little bit of marketing on T’internet from Si Paton on southerndownhill gave a few new faces a chance to try RG timed practise. With many local riders off playing on bigger hills where the names are just consonants, bragging rights were up for grabs. With 71 riders vying for the podium and rain constantly looming on the horizon, everyone was opening the taps early, no sandbagging. The trail was pretty dry, a strong wind was a good reason to keep air time low, pro-racer style. Once across the fireroad the trail changes from packed sand to wet loam and a couple of rooty tooties towards the end, giving the snipers on Lower Cliff a clear line of site.

Junior Boost, nuff style. (Pic by Stewygolf)

Great turnout for the Youths, all 13 of them were flying, often literally. Joe Millard practised the fastest with a 1:25.4, Jonathon Stewart took his HT into 2nd and James Patrick got his only run into 3rd place.

Bike of the Month goes to that brand spanker Spesh Demo. Sammytastic.

In the main category (16-39 years old) Andy Hughes was one of the few True Pinners in attendance, blowing everyone else away with a 1:17.5. Chaz Owen was closest with a 1:19.2 with Scott Barley close behind on 1:19.4.

Mr Motivator, this was on his way back up for yet another run. (Pic by http://kitman.pinkbike.com/ /)

Vets class got a result sheet which was not the normal Whyte-fest. Gary Rowe got quickest with a 1:23.7, with Chris Jones 1:24.3 and Neil Owen just 0.2s behind. Si Paton, the man of efficient stature who single handedly is probably not solely responsible for the UK DH scene being the best in the World came in 4th, he should have gone faster really but its nice to have his support and for him to bring along the mobile Descent-Gear Canine Mis-Behavior Van.

We are not worthy. (Pic by http://kitman.pinkbike.com/ )

I can't not mention those who chose to ride their hardtails, mainly because I beat them all, including Harry who miraculously made up 8 seconds on his last run in the wet and rain *cough* of course you did Harry. But in all honesty riding your not normal for DH bike really makes you think about your lines, jumps, speed, everything really. Give it a go next time, you might not be as fast but it will either put a smile on your face or a brown streak in your Troy Lee Jim-Jams.

One of our clocks is now broke and the Insurance has just been renewed so many thanks to everyone who dipped into their pockets and made a donation, without this we simply can't run RG.

We are missing quite a few number plates, if you have one please return it, there will be no consequences, but without those missing coming back the entries this summer will be limited to the plates we have left. We are missing about 20 now.

As always the course pixies, marshalls, first aiders, endists and startists are the most wonderful people who represent all that is good and wholesome in the world. Giving generously for nothing but the betterment of others.

What happened last Build Day, Build Days are good.

Fancy doing something for the betterment of yourself ? Come to our DH Build Day on 5th February. We are chipping away but need all the help we can get, there is still much to do after the Winter of Discontent.

Click here for info >

http://www.bikeadventuresuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9979
Scruff.

Forum issues

2011-01-17T08:59:00.001Z

~~It's not just you!~~

~~The Chasetrails Downhill forum that is sued by RG is currently unavailable. Bikeadventuresuk.com are working to fix it as soon as possible.~~

~~Cheers, Alex.~~

Mark Green at Bikeadventuresuk has fixed it now!

Join the 2011 RG Squadron

2011-01-04T22:53:00.000Z

As most of you will know, Racersguild has run its own team for two years now, with Elliot Machin, Andy Hughes, Greg Hampton, Lee Gratton, Elliot Gill and Mitch Ingley all riding with RG the orange Squadron jerseys on. In 2010, the squadron saw its best ever results with Mitch Ingley very nearly scoring himself a place in Expert, and Machine Machin cruising his way to the top of his class and landing himself in Elite. In fact, they've done so well that they've landed themselves on major national teams for 2011.

The RG squadron is a development team, we want to pick people up people who might not have otherwise done much or any racing away from Cannock, and help them get on to some podiums.

The 2011 Racersguild Squadron Team is being assembled and we are looking for a Juvenile, Youth or Junior male rider or a female rider in any category. You must be an RG member (Ie, have done some RG practice days).

The selected rider will need to represent the team at regional events during 2011 (Pearce, Caersws cup, Midland/English champs etc) and to attend training/photo sessions.

The selected rider will be supported by fellow riders, team sponsors and the team manager to help them have the best season possible.

If you want to get involved, please send a CV with your name, DOB, any results from any races you have done, including RG days and a paragraph on why you should be on the team. Photos and videos are also very useful!

Send them to Team@racersguild.co.uk

Racers Guild December 2010- CDL, frozen then a bit yucky.

2010-12-14T13:34:00.011Z

I love snow, I’ve been out riding a bike in it most days over past 2 weeks, either nightrides or riding to work and going the long way home through the Chase, flying past drivers with their iced up windows and spinning Pirellis- Muppets. Trouble is that the much needed build day we had planned was cancelled, so we have no more trails to play on at Style Cop and it looked touch and go over Decembers RG. 3 days of balmy 5 degrees melted it just enough for Harry to do an inspection on Saturday & confirm it was on. Come Sunday morning and the trails were all frozen again, Richey took an early inspection run and his Intense’s WetScreams were giving it the Bambi, not good.

After a slow turn out it warmed up enough to break up & melt the top surface and we got a good 47 riders including our wonderful sponsors van of cheap spangles, DESCENT GEAR. (Tip from Si Paton- tyres are going up in price next year, so buy lots now.)

Becky, reprazentin like Ronnie.

As CDL had become rideable again it was decided to use it again for a timed practice. Top section off the red was riding well before you hit the post-tree felling newer section. Shame we couldn’t get the new bits finished beforehand (keep an eye on forum for next build day) but it was good to see what lines were emerging. There hasn’t been any decent rain to wash the fresh sticky loam away, so it made for a difficult time in the middle section, sticky and slick, roots and a few tree stumps and boggy-down bits. Getting the line wrong here was easy and you couldn’t make the time back up, but there were a few options. I liked the inside lines on everything- slower speeds maybe but certainly less slippy. Once you hit the original section the roots were more exposed than before, so again it was harder to carry speed up to the fire road gap. Way many more riders were casing the gaps than normal. Last few corners were riding well with the option to cut which was pretty greasy. A sharp greasy rooty left and quick sprint and you were done.

In the 15&under class Tom Austerberry got a very quick time of 106.6 to lead with Ed Smith following and James Patrick took his Hardtail into 3rd. Declan Whyte mostly sat in the car with the heater on scoffing his dads sausage rolls.

Bob taking time out from starter duties. pic by ten yearsafter.

Andy "Top Dog" Hughes was the only rider to nudge under a minute with a 59.8, Mitch Ingley was close with 100.1 whilst Chaz Owen was slightly behind in 3rd getting 101.4 on both his first and last runs. No-one came close to those 3 but Adam Burton gets Pinkbike props for getting his Hardtail into 7th.
In the Grandads category Si Paton blew Micks doors off with Neil Owen just rounding out the podium places.
Becky got her consistent result of 1st in the ladies- How can we encourage more women to attend ? Surely no one wants a pure sausage festival.
It was a good mellow day, everyone got lots of runs if they wanted and no serious injuries.
Sleigh of the day goes to Santa’s green V-10 with matching fork colorway.
Thanks to all those who have supported RG through what in some respects has been a difficult year. The relocation of our star organiser left a gap we have been slowly filling. Plenty of folks have stepped up and started helping out. If you want to be involved further your input would be more than welcome, just go speak to Harry. Next year is going to be a standardised date using the 3rd weekend of every month.

Mitch keeping his racepants on. Pic by ten yearsafter

As well as the monthly meets we need LOTS of help on the build days coming up. We know the trails are only half rideable, this sucks- there are some great plans agreed, just need the weather to mellow out so we can set some dates and willing helpers to turn up and we can get some spanking trails sorted for next year. There will be newish stuff and much better old stuff but we really do need your help.

Video from Lance> http://www.pinkbike.com/video/173044/

I’ve only been attending RGs for 18 months and I’m loving it, its pushed my riding and given me new friends and a different perspective on the riding scene. Next year I want to start doing a few uplifts elsewhere, I’m proper hooked and would like to thank everyone for making everyone else welcome and pushing our riding and good times in the right direction.

I know a good few riders are riding BDS next year with some stepping up in terms of category and changing sponsors. We hope the wind is blowing in your sails next year- seriously, kick some national ass for the rest of us, we are proud of you and you give us a level of riding to aspire to.

Thanks to every marshall, snapper, driver, bike fixer, parent, videoist & trail helper who has attended all year but most special thanks to those who really have made something special for no reward apart from other folk having a good time.

Take a bow-

Aaron
Stu
Alex
Alex’s mom
Harry
Adam
Richie
Mick
Bob
Del
Chris
Lance
Liam
Andrew
Bruce
Boon productions
Si Paton

Happy Christmas to all and hope to see you (holding a shovel) in the New Year

Scruff.

Racers Guild December 2010- Riders report

2010-12-14T13:27:00.004Z

After last months massive turn out i left my house at 8am to get there to beat the massive off season queues I was expecting after Novembers timed practice, but i arrived shortly after 10am to find riders looking a bit thin on the ground.

It seemed most riders wanted to avoid the morning frost and get there later once the track (CDL this month) had thawed.I unloaded my bike, greeted a few of the people i had got to know coming here and set about having a crack at the track. which went a little bit like this Out of the start and into the right hander of the Red Line, I turned off into the narrowest ribbon of singletrack in Britain and fired out the end of that onto what was at the time dry grippy frozen ground, quick scrub of the brakes and drop into a steepish chute, keeping left to gain maximum exit speed onto the off camber section, over the stump and roots and through a compression into the 'nightmare switchbacks'. Now its heavy on the gas, giving those legs a thorough workout through the next bit of tight singletrack with stumps all over to catch you out and make you wander off line. over the two jumps and into the left right combo, inside line for the win. then, as in true RG fashion, there was a tight left hander over the roots and a short slog of a pedal to the line and you're done. the quickest boys were just about cracking the 1 minute barrier but any time under 1:15 was something of an achievement.

With an absence of most of the regular speed boys like Gratton, Halling, Machin(who turned up late on aboard his trail bike) et al, it looked like a toe to toe battle for fastest time between Moto Mitch Ingley and Andy Hughes, both of the Rg squadron. I followed Andy down in practice for a run, yes yes its so much easier to follow someone at that pace but to ride like that off your own back takes a LOT of skill. A couple more practice runs later and it was time for sign on, get my board - number 20 this month. Signed in, time to get a start time sticker and get some a quick drink and do some wheelies to warm up before its time to have a blast down the course and post myself a time.

Now its my turn to see what i can do at this refreshed-by-scruff CDL, Simon Paton, the man behind the BDS and Descent Gear who sponsor the guild has just gone down and i know he's not exactly slow, a minute later I'm clicking my chain across its cassette into the first turn, trying to get to the bottom as fast as i can and post a time i can be happy with. At the moment i just want to go faster than Paton. As i cross the line, after crawling round the last awkward turn, Alex tells me i've put in a 1:06.5. Got to be happy with that! Its getting warmer now and every run i do the conditions are softer as the ground thaws so i never quite challenge the time of my first run.

Booked myself in to marshal at the compression/'nightmare' switchbacks part of the track until all timed practice is done with. Bob Dangerfield is last man down this time and once he crosses the line i start to gather in tape from the track and pack up ready for my well earned KFC. Get in!

ste tomlinson.

Racersguild Timed Practice Day - Sun 12th December- IT'S ON

2010-12-10T11:41:00.001Z

All the ice has now cleared and we're going to go ahead and run the event tomorrow. It's like the Somme out there though, so bring your spikes!

If you don't have spikes, Si Paton and the Descent-Gear Shop will be with us to supply your demand for pointy rubber and Christmas componentry!

Alex.

Racers Guild, Novemeber 2010- Red into Black (Is that brown ?)

2010-11-26T16:21:00.003Z

What a difference a month makes. With many riders opting to ride bigger and better races over the summer season, the Racers Guild has had a nice steady summer turn out of 50 or so riders. Come winter and BOOM- 95 riders turn up. All the plates kindly provide by http://www.descent-gear.com/ got given out, we even ran out of wool to tie them on with.

The Guild has been successfully running a turn up, queue and ride policy on smaller turnouts, this month it didn’t quite work out as hoped- simply too many riders needing to queue, too cold & not enough alternative trails to ride (I’ll get to the last point later). As there was only the red and black trails available to practise on, the tape pixies decided to run both, on a line folk often choose going from the red over the big left berm and onto the black. The pixies were in a particularly devious mood, so they ran the course along the bottom fireroad, for a final sprint finish.

I have to say I thought the times would be quicker, the course went pretty straight down, but most folk didn’t get under a minute. It wasn’t that muddy, a bit slippy on a small section of the black, perhaps it was just long.

This gap is way harder to clear than it should be. pic by Stuey Sasquatch

Most riders managed to get 2 runs in, with quite a few Hardtail Pride riders and double the usual amount of ladies. Next month Mitch Ingleby will show why DH Mountain Bikes are rubbish to ride at skateparks, only his skill saved the mini-Mirra this month.

The Youths gave a good show as ever with 14 riders worrying the older guys. Joe Millard came out first with a very quick 1:04.2, good to see Kieran Davies & James Patrick ragging their Hardtails into 2nd and 3rd, proving its as much about the riders ability as the TF Tuned sticker on your shock.

Seniors was all about Bike Schools very own Adam Halling, setting a 58.3 on his first run and it was not bettered all day. Aaron Tolley kept Sam Maddison & Andy Hughes on their toes, they all had to share the second step with a best of 58.9. Could Sam have won if he hadn’t been on his Hardtail ? The course pretty much suited either bike, so who knows. That left Lee Gratton to round out the podium, although as there were 3 riders tied for 2nd place, Lee was actually fifth. Or something.

Aaron Tolley, pinning and nearly winning. pic by Kitman.

In the Vets Gary Rowe managed to beat eternal winner Mick Whyte and Bob Dangerfield is back on form with a 3rd. Congrats to Martin Bradley as the only rider to get 5 runs. He did that as he is a dedicated Volunteer Marshall. They (and the starterists & finishists) get special treatment- no helpers, no RG. Many thanks to Andrew & Bruce for providing First Aid &Marshalling on their only chance to go biking day off (they volunteer for Chase Trails on Sundays).

Bike of the month goes to the black Transition with white BOS forks.

So, trees and the cutting down thereof. It no secret that the hill is lacking in trails at the moment. We all have to work with the Forestry Commission, whose need is greater than ours. Its their hill, we are allowed under strict conditions to play bikes on their land.

Whilst everyone was standing around busy being cold waiting for a run yesterday we had a look at the further minor works carried out last week by the FC. Our good friends have kindly let some more light into Wonderland, but to allow the light in they had to drive big things via Newline & Balboa and there is still clearing work to be carried out this week so these runs (Wonderland. Balboa, Newline) will be closed until they are re-opened.

Important folk with keys are organising a proper dig day 4th December, if your free on that day please come and help so we can get a few trails sorted, check T’internet

http://www.bikeadventuresuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9816

What will be fixed first could involve any or all of the following-

Wonderland- clear up and fix

Balboa- clear up and fix (yes again)

Newline- clear up and fix (yes again again)

Newly altered but not finished yet CDL

Option CDL

Ridgeline, Walleater and Snakes&Ladders will all get a makeover but not for a while.

More help + blisters + filthy socks = better trails sooner.

Please don’t do any digging or building on your own or ride or even look at shut trails, the forestry use big noisy rider killing machines and Harrys hair escaped & is hungry & looking to eat non-rule compliant riders.

Scruff.

pic by Stuey Sasquatch

Results-
http://www.racersguild.co.uk/Cannock/results.html

More pics of November RG-

http://stueysasquach.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild-Nov-2010/

http://kitman.pinkbike.com/album/RG-21-11-2010/

Racersguild Squadron: Season Round Up

2010-10-27T15:47:00.000+01:00

Check out team boss Paul Machin's full end of season report here:
http://rgsquadron.blogspot.com/2010/10/season-round-up-highs-and-lows.html

Everyone at Racersguild wishes all our team members all the best in the future and hope that everyone has an awesome 2011 season in their new teams. We especially want to thank Paul Machin for being team boss, publicist and mechanic this year, along with everyone else who has supported the Racersguild Squadron this year.

The Racersguild Squadron will return next year.

Racersguild.co.uk

How to: Take part in a Racersguild timed practice & more

2010-10-27T15:23:00.000+01:00

So, you've seen the photos, watched the videos, read the reports and you think it's time you put yourself against the clock?

Well, here's how to do it at a Racersguild Timed Practice Day:

Check the date and time on our website!
Seems obvious, but easily missed. The next RG event is always listed in the top right hand corner of our website. Make sure you note the times, as we move them forwards to get more daylight in the winter season.
Turn up before sign in starts and take the time to check out the track
The track will close approx 10 minutes before timed practice to allow us to make sure it is safe. If you've not had a look at the track by then your first opportunity will be your first timed run.
Racersguild recommends strongly that you always take time to look at a track before attempting to ride it. You are responsible for ensuring you ride within your own abilities.
Sign in
At the sign in time (Generally half an hour prior to timed practice opening), make sure you're at the top of the hill to sign in. Take time to read our rules and conditions.
Next to the correct number corresponding to the number board you've been given, print your name clearly (or we won't be able to spell your name correctly on the results) and sign to say you've read and agreed to our rules and conditions.
Donate
Racersguild is funded by riders, for riders. There is no entry fee, but our ability to pay our costs (Insurance, first aid, race tape, radios, stopwatches, website fees, other costs) depends totally on everyone who takes part chipping in. A single pound is enough
Put your numberboard on your bike
Front of your bike, tied on with the provided wool, top and bottom. If we can't read your number as you cross the line, it makes it harder for us to time you.
Get a start time
Start times are given out from 15 minutes before the start. Look for the popular guy with the clipboard! Once you've got your start time sticker, put it somewhere, but preferably not the front of the numberboards, as it's a pain to get them off again! If it's wet, under the peak on your lid seems to be a good spot.
Pad up, Helmet up, Turn up
You've got your start time, now make your way to the start line ready for your start time, there are clocks in the starting area and the starter will call your start time five minutes or so before you're due to start. If you miss your start time, you will need to get a new start time.
Make sure you're wearing a helmet, and that it's correctly attached. No lid, no straps, no start.
Racersguild recommends that you wear body armour, and we cannot emphasise enough the merits of wearing a full face helmet for Downhill riding. They are compulsory at regional and national events.
Riders Ready?
Riders leave the start line every minute, on the minute. On the start line, the starter will give you a 10 second warning, count you in from 5 and then shout GO! It's now you versus the clock and the track. Smile for the cameras!
Finished!
Cross the line and catch your breath. Ask the Timer what your time is, and then head back to the top of the hill. Please don't attempt to walk up the track.
Crashed? If you don't want to continue with your run, let a Marshall know straight away.
Back to the top
Once you're back at the top of the hill, you can get a new start time, and repeat the whole process again. Repeat until exhaustion.
I'm Done
If you're finished, please carefully remove the number board from your bike and return it to the Number Board Bin next to where you signed in. Results, a report and photos are usually up on the RacersGuild website within a few days.

That was great! What can I do to help?
Racersguild relies on riders to function. We always need help with marshalling, starting, timing, signing in and giving out start times. If you want to help, just speak to any of the officials! Marshals and starters get pre-assigned run times, no queuing for start times.

We hope to see you at a Racersguild event soon!

October's Timed Practice

2010-10-22T19:13:00.000+01:00

Results are up!

Saturday morning started with some welcome sunshine and we found the trail in really good condition. After the hard work a week before from the Chase Trails / Racers Guild crew New Line was ready to be shredded. Friday night's rain followed by Saturday morning's sunshine meant there was plenty of grip on offer.
Pre-practice practice was under way just after 10am and it was..... how should I put this..... CARNAGE!
The pair of drops towards the bottom of the trail were doing their usual job of sorting the men from the boys. One guy on a Glory managed to continue crashing over both drops and into the woods beyond and was heard saying later 'That's the biggest crash I've ever had' Luckily he and all the others (including our own Mick Whyte) survived the carnage with only a few scrapes and bruises.

Once timing started at 13.00 it looked like most of the riders had sorted their lines out and started to shred. New Line starts with a dropping corner straight into two jumps, a corner, a long loose steepish corner, a newly extended rock garden (which was still being bunny hopped!) leading to a set of corners dropping you into the woods where the fun really starts!
A choice of lines into the steepest part of the course littered with off camber roots and trees to keep you on your toes then the all important root hop leading you into the pair of drops, pedal like mad at the first, a step down gap then keep your speed and be brave for the second drop and you get fired into the trees for a few hectic rooty corners.
This part of the trail is a real buzz when done well, get it wrong and it's scary as hell. Once out of the woods there is just the last gap to finish.
New Line isn't for the faint hearted!

There was a real good show of faces on Sat, the regulars were there giving it there best shot along with some old friends of the Guild and hopefully some new. It was a wicked atmosphere all day not even dampened by the couple of heavy showers.

The early pace was set by everybody's favourite streaker Mitch Ingley (Racers Guild Squadron) with Russ Clark and Andy Hughes (Racers Guild Squadron) right on it as well. Not wanting to miss out on the fun Lee Gratton (Team 52) set some pretty quick times with his forth run a 46.6 matched only by Mitch. Then the rain came down and it looked like these fast times would stay top of the sheets until finish. But then after finishing work, a couple of likely lads turned up in the shape of Elliot Machin (Racers Guild Squadron) and Adam Halling (theBikeSchool.net). These lads set about the wet trail easing their way in with a couple of runs around the 50 second mark, a time a lot of us would be more than happy with!
Then they really started turning up the wick setting quicker and quicker times. Those that left early missed a real treat watching these two shredding the trail, an awesome sight!
The top time of the day in old school RG style went down to the the very end of the session. After posting 47.6 for Elliot and 46.9 for Adam the boys almost ran back up the hill to catch the last two runs of the day. First came Adam Halling on the penultimate run. I was lucky enough to see him hit the bottom of the course after the two drops. I don't think I ever seen that section done so fast, amazing stuff. This run was a 46.4s enough to top the timing sheets for all of one minute!
It was Elliot Machin who saved the best to last with a stunning 45.9s the fastest time recorded on that trail ever! Props to both Adam and Elliot, it was a brilliant display of riding at it's finest!

The under 16's was taken care of by the returning to form from surgery Elliot Gill (Team 52) with a time of 53.7s. It really is good to see Elliot getting back up to speed after his long lay off. Keep up the good work!
It was down to Becky Hilton to represent for the ladies. Nice one Becky! A decent time on your second run. Mick once again dominated the 'old enough to know better' category with some questionable grunting off the drops and a good whack to the plums!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the guys who turn up almost every month whether they are riding or not and give up their time to make the RG happen. Bob, Pog & Lance to name but a few. Without these guys we wouldn't be able to run the Guild so big thanks to you and everyone else who does there bit. Respect.

Saturday's session was a real reminder after a few difficult weeks on the hill why I love this sport so much. They can take our trees but they will never take our.......oh dear I seemed to be getting carried away...... you know what I mean though!
Let's all do our best to get the hill back better than ever. Please watch the RG website and forum for details of trail building days in the near future. It's a chance to get involved and make a mark on the hill.

See you all next time, Sunday 21st November.

Harry.

P.S Get well soon Chris.

Forum Problems - Fixed

2010-10-18T00:05:00.001+01:00

The Midlands forum is now fixed. Cheers Mark.

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Stile Cop, Current Status and Build Days

2010-10-02T21:55:00.000+01:00

Due to recent forestry works Stile Cop’s trails have been significantly affected. Forestry works finished on 1st October and we’ve surveyed the damage to the trails.

There is a lot of work to do and some of the trails will be out of bounds for some time to come.

At the moment the open trails are;
Red Course
Wonderland
Balboa
New Line

The closed trails are;
Black Course
CDL
Mega Trail (both options)
Ridge Line
Little Bringewood

Look out for trail specific signs which will explain the current status of each trail. If a trail is closed or if it is obvious that it has been blocked off but the barrrier has been vandalised then please DO NOT ride the trail.

Trail building days are now going to be done on a regular basis to get the trails fixed and then improve them to a better state than before the forestry works.

Please be aware that the fire road at the bottom of the trails has been seriously damaged and will also require repair, please take care as the ruts are deep and filled with deep water and very soft sand.

Even though a trail may look rideable where the signs say it it close please do not ride it. It is closed as the line has been damaged and the condition cannot be guaranteed, there may be hidden holes, dangerous branches etc.

The next trail build day will be on Saturday 9th October. Meet at the top of the hill for 10am and we’ll hand out tools and job lists. If you have them then bring your own tools.

Important: Stile Cop trail closures

2010-09-19T22:26:00.000+01:00

Stile Cop downhill area is totally closed from Monday 20th September for at least one week.

This is due to forestry works. Please stay away as the area will be unsafe and unrideable.

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Racers Guild September 2010. Trail- CDL onto Megaline back onto CDL.

2010-09-14T19:26:00.002+01:00

Final results now online!

It was either going to be good or not so good, I’m not talking about the weather, that is what it is, I’m talking about using the pump/jump track called Mega Line on a Guild Day. Why not, it’s just a trail after all, so it was added into the middle of an established and favoured line, just to spice things up. These things don’t just happen so little trinkets were left under mushrooms for the Guild Pixies. Litter doesn’t count as trinkets, Pixies don’t like litter. A few new lines were roughly hewn into the greasy surface and it seemed to work in theory, when the mischievous little Pixies got the tape out, they added to the mix by forcing riders to actually ride a couple of corners at the bottom instead of cutting them.

In 1965 Yoshizo Shimano started making tape in his attic.

Big DH bikes can suck on pump tracks- long travel, high weight and soft grippy tyres make it hard work.

Apart from Richie and Lucas riding Hardtails, it was the same for everyone, carry as much speed as possible off CDL into the Mega Trail, try not to lose your speed over the rollers, berms and jumps of the Mega, then switch back into DH mode for the last half of CDL. Get the Mega right and it was great, getting it wrong was easy though, lose your momentum and wouldn’t get going again till you rejoined CDL. Still, it forced everyone to ride something they might not normally do, I hope folks who never really rode the Mega before will give it another go, improve Da Pump SkilZ a bit, it all helps to make us better riders.

Want new tyres for Winter ? Support those who support us, buy from http://www.descent-gear.com/

Its still silly season in the wider world of DH, so a few regular riders were away elsewhere, 44 riders put on their Guild game faces, it was decided just to let people que and ride, no allotted times were given out. Also, technical gremlins meant that runs could only be recorded to the nearest second- this is why little trinkets must be left under mushrooms. Inspite of this it all seemed to work well, what do you think ? Go here instead of Fakebook & join in, tell us what you think- (

DH Forum - Midlands MTB

Here are the top results.

4 Youth riders all put in really good times, Tom Goodwins winning time of 1.13 would have placed him 6^th in Seniors. George Ogden got a close 2^nd and Ciaran King 3^rd. Kacper Wozniak came in 4^th & gets a special mention for having a great name.

I’ve never seen anyone pedal all of this corner before = WIN

Seniors top spot was a close one, Mark Johnson was showing some butt aswell as talent & grabbed the hotseat but couldn’t better his own time of 1:07. Paul Roscoe’s riding flowed really smoothly into a 1:06 plus a ball banging run. I got my first podium with a 1:10 (high 5’s myself) even though I couldn’t get that left hand hip properly. Richie Parsons managed 17^th on his jumpy hardtail, but then he knows the Mega well as he created it.

Nothing caught my eye for Bike of the Month so instead Threads of the Month goes to Stu Hopkinson, rocking the full moto Shift factory gear with matching glove and helmet colourways.

Veterans was all about how many runs Mick White could do. I think he managed 26 in the end, winning with a 1:10. Lee Pettit got 2 runs to equal his 2^nd place. Dave Johnson took offense at Micks tactics and there was a Stewards Enquiry, but Dave still managed to score a podium, tying with Martin Bradley. Lance was getting quicker, we love Lance.

Stuey dropping dapper steez, the bracken also makes him look 2 inches tall.

Thanks to all helpers. Special shout outs to Chris and Pog who marshalled the Mega line for the whole day, and to John Brignal who took pics, transported his son Will and George Ogden, marshalled & even a made coffee for the startists. Stu Tite and Alex Thomson have steered the Guild to where it is now, with plenty of help from Aaron before he moved back in with Uncle Sam but its all now officially under Harrys wing. If you want to get involved more behind the scenes in any way or want to be a better rider go speak to Harry. All help in any form is greatly appreciated.

Racers Guild is free, how many *cough* Timed Practises *cough* can you turn up to and its free? Its really appreciated if you to donate a few quid (or leave trinkets under mushrooms). Ever wondered what your donation goes to ? Well lots of things, including stuff like timing equipment. Like the organisers, the Guilds’ timing equipment is out in all weathers and get banged about a bit, sometimes they’ve finally had enough. New stopwatches on the way for October, these will operate using industrial lasers and be calibrated using Military global satellites. Don’t expect to be able to ride the same line again off Mega, the Pixies have closed it off, they need the space to Doolittle.

Team Boon video, superb as always-

- Results: Mick Whyte
- Write up: Scruff

Riders needed!

2010-09-08T16:19:00.000+01:00

We need you!

Every two years the Association of Professional Foresters runs a big show, and we've been invited to build and run a display trail, similar to what we build a couple of years ago at the last.

It runs from the 23rd to the 25th of September (Thursday to Saturday) and we're building one hell of a trail which you can see taking shape here: www.dhbuilder.blogspot.com

We need riders to come along on each of the three days and ride the trail a part of our display. For an idea of how hard the trail is, the doubles are between 8 and 12 feet gap and you'd need to clear them fairly confidently.

We especially need riders for the Thursday and Friday!

This is your ONLY chance to ride this trail as it will be dismantled after the show, so if you are interested, email me at Alex@racersguild.co.uk with the days that you're able to come along as soon as possible!

Ridge with a Twist. Racers Guild August 2010.

2010-08-24T12:28:00.000+01:00

Results are now up.

As happens every summer, natures fun-police invade the hill, so there were few options available for a good trail without repeating something or taking on the fun-police. Harry & Barney stepped up and started fronting, dissing the Pteridium Aquilinum and saying bad things about their mother. By the time the fronds had finished flying, there was once again daylight at the top of the Ridgeline. In other words, some of the overgrown bracken got cut back up top and on a little link which takes you towards Little Bringewood. Taping of the course again took place alongside the dawn chorus, so the August Racers Guild was open & running early to practise on before err, ‘proper practise’ began.

You missed a bit. (pic by HagbardCeline)

One of the good things about Racers Guild is the variety of trails on offer. We seem to have practised on quite a few lately, with only the red and new line being shunned over the summer (we all know the red is just for racing Hardtails, right ?)

After last months reawakening of the Black line, this months course had some big stealth soled shoes to fill. The start was from under the gazebo & down the Ridge, the faraway noise from the V-festival subsided as you got going, just how far can you pedal down that bumpy straight? Off the gas main and into two easy corners. These easy corners are not always easy, I picked up several riders off the floor who had overcooked it. If you bottomed out landing off the gas line by the time you recovered you were already beyond the turn in & emergency braking was causing a good few riders to slide out on the mulchy wide line. If you made it through a few spins of the cranks sped you down to the Ski Jump. Check out the pics online, everyone was going at this fast sizeable jump like a bull getting its own back in a Spanish auditorium. Then over the ickle jump and make a decision, cut or take the obvious line. Go wide on turn in for the cut & there was a slight off camber on the approach, but take the obvious line and you needed to brake a bit more. Around a nice catchy left , pop the little log jump and then over some zesty roots. With 3 lines to choose from there was some fun on these roots, as you had an immediate sharp right after but it was so easy to end up pointing back up the hill or taking a nice lie down. Pick up speed into the lower trees, stay loose & swing the hips and handlebars round the nearest bit of bark and just keep it upright, if you could keep off the brakes and hold on that was enough. Have a ‘moment’ and brake and you quickly overwhelmed the co-efficient of Supertacky friction, time to flail your legs about wildly, maybe ride into a tree. Drop onto the bottom, round a flat banky/berm and quick sprint to the line.

Velo of the month goes to Lee Grattons Lapierre. Mmmm, Le Shiney.

Conditions were a strange one, lots of rain overnight but beautiful on Sunday, although it was getting a bit too much like Jungle Heat with armour on. Course was dry up top, some softer wetter loam towards the bottom, a lot of this got rode out and dried up, it didn’t really get quicker though as some of the alternative lines came, went and came back again and corners got a bit blown out. A mixed bag which needed dealing with at the time, you couldn’t plan too much.

There seemed to be a few new faces, perhaps they just had new bikes, we all remember people by the bikes they ride. 49 shiny bikes lined up to see which pinner was the winner, but no ladies or tiny terrors this month.

Quick! Jam their comlink. Center switch! (pic by HagbardCeline)

Under 15s drew 4 riders all giving it the beans. With Dean Grafton, Joe Merrick and Hal Bartlett climbing the podium and Declan White climbing the walls and heckling riders at the finish- had he been drinking Monster again ?

In the Seniors there was a right old ding-dong going on for the quickest time. A Welsh calling kept some of the sharp-end riders away, but Adam Haling, Lee Gratton and Russ Clark were setting blindingly fast runs and seemed evenly matched. Lee was on top spot then it was Russ. Adam even did a mid session track walk, something I’d never seen before. He was pretty determined to nail it, but couldn’t beat the other 2. Then Russ came down again & overcooked the first corner. Back up they all went with only a few minutes of riding left and they all opened the taps. Harry Clarkson gave Adam the good news, he’d got the top spot with a 50.2, then Russ quickly followed but couldn’t get quicker so Adam got the August Award narrowly followed by Lee then Russ.

In the good old boys, Mick dropped the Whyte hammer and won by 5 seconds, it was good to see Bob riding well into 2nd with Tim and Martins best times being very close.

23 riders made it down under the magic minute, that’s pretty good going.

Google ‘hold on’ lyrics. There’s too many to chose from, so I didn’t. (pic by tenyearsafter)

For several reasons there were less organisers on hand this month so extra Pinkbike Props to all who fetched, carried, taped, strimmed, gave out times, started, finished, marshalled, first aided & generally helped out- it was a great day, unless your last name is Aquilinum.

Don’t forget, Racers Guild is free but a donation tin is on hand, all money goes back to you by way of materials for fixing trails or buying equipment, or it might buy some more petrol for the strimmer.

Written by Scruff.

July 24th, Back in Black

2010-07-30T21:14:00.001+01:00

Update: Results now up

Today really started a few weeks ago with the old Black table top being changed into a stepdown. The Black run has been one of the least used runs in its entirety for quite a while, with many riders just riding the top, switching onto the red at the berm or just riding the lower drop and table. After the stepdown was completed, ridden and rated- the next Guild was destined to go Back in Black. The strimmer pixies cleared the overgrowth during the week, with the first jump also getting a welcome overhaul, finally the bus stop shortcut got properly blocked off.

Taping off the course was completed early so it was rideable from turn-up o’clock, rider consensus was a Daisy Duke thumbs up, it was like a new trail and conditions couldn’t have been better, not too dry, not too wet, warm, no wind.
Pick the right gear from the flat start, pedal hard, jump, go quick, bustop, hit the gas & keep your speed up until you hit the first linked turns. These turns were tricky, hit the pebbles or loose your speed and you were done for the flat crossover. There was enough pedalling on the upper section for a rider to consider different footwear, the type which gives Si Paton bad dreams.

Team Boon videographist & Harry- The man with the occasional plan. I’m a little teapot…

(pic by HagbardCeline)

The whole day was dominated by one thing, the last section. Keep your speed up on the upper sections, though the loose gully and round two turns and hope your bolts and shoelaces are done up like a submarines hatch. The old black drop, the improved berm and the new stepdown worked so well together making the end a mixture of intimidation and balls to the wall. It was excellent to see the last section taken on and conquered by the yoof, ladies and the old codgers alike, today was the day many riders levels got stepped up. If you stood and looked at that section and thought ‘oh dear’ but finished your runs with that shaky happy feeling of adrenalin and accomplishment- give yourself Pinkbike props, right now.

PULL UP! I REPEAT, PULL UP !

(pic by Stuey Sasquach)

It was another lovely day on our little hill, 35 riders turned up for battle drill. Speeds went up and timings came down. Dan Summers and Becky Hilton had their categories all to themselves but still pushed as hard as they could and were both duly awarded first place. In the Veterans class ‘8 runs Mick ‘ was on holiday so Dale Laywood stepped up to the challenge and came away quickest, Dave Watts got second and third was a tie between an injured Dave Johnson and Martin Bradley. Lance Netherton put his stopwatch down & got the stoke on to hit the last drops, nice one Lance.

In the Seniors it was a dead heat initially between Elliot Machin and Andy Hughes on 0.58, then a dead heat between Andy and Mitch Ingley on a 0.57. Elliot finally flew quickest with a 0.56 and took top spot. Its so good when these guys show up and show us a clean pair of heels, you can learn a lot by just standing and watching them, who else thought prejumping the last step down was impossible ? Its not all pushing the limits though. There was a Racers Guild Team display of Hetro-bonding, with the two of the fastest riders modelling a new line in minimalist D30 protection. I’m not going into further details, but its all on Tinterweb for eternity.

Everyone together now- Its getting hot in here…

(pic by Kitman)

Bike of the Month award goes to the blue Canfield with carbon Dorados.

Thanks to the weekday bettering pixies, course taper, equipment luggers, CT container sorters, the starters & finish timers, number & time giver-outers, first aider, all the marshalls, photographers, videographers, number board sponsor (http://www.descent-gear.com/) and everyone who turned up and turned it up. Double special extra thanks to everyone who worked hard on the build day shifting sand and shaping the future. When we get another build day come and join us, you really can make a difference to our lovely little hill.

Ian Boon's video:

Outta sight.
Scruff

Big Guild Day - bringing Stile Cop back up to standard

2010-06-19T20:20:00.002+01:00

After a few weeks planning we all arrived in site at 10am eager to get cracking with two huge projects. Rebuilding the end of the black run into a fun, fast ending and rebuilding the landing of the New Line gap jump to bring it up to Forestry standards.

Over on new line, the rotten old landing dissappeared and thanks to epic volumes of tough spadework a very large hole's worth of dirt was moved to create a proper landing. It's the same size and shape as the old one, but wider and without a square face if you short it. Please leave it a few weeks to set before hitting it as it may well be quite loose.

Over on the black run, big things were happening. First, the run in to the drop had been graded, along with the landing. Goodbye braking bumps for now!
Secondly, the berm has been biggerised!

Most importantly though were the alterations to the table. It was never the ending we hoped it would be and today gave us the opportunity to make the best of it. I left to go and supervise elsewhere and returned 2 hours later to a different hill. The table was gone. In its place a huge stepdown. The sheer scale of the amount of dirt that was moved is astonishing! When I saw it I have to say that I was speechless!

Harry, supervising

Pog whacking away

Smooth as a baby's arse!

Testing fell to Mitch Ingley who cleared it silently.

If you helped dig today, thankyou so much. It was incredible to see how much we can achieve in only a day!
Top job!

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Results are up

2010-06-18T20:15:00.001+01:00

There's a small display problem but it doesn't affect the results themselves.

Write-up to follow.

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Timed practice - 15th May 2010

2010-05-23T01:29:00.001+01:00

Trail: Wonderland
Conditions: Dry and hard, not too dusty.

Rider:? , Fotog: Kitman

May's Racers Guild session got off to a start this month with all attending crew members in one piece and ready to go.

The trail for May was Wonderland with it's tight, loose switchback corners leading in to a really quick dip over the gas line ,shooting riders into long fast rooty corners sweeping through the woods towards the last flat out straight. Spitting riders out for a final sketchy right and a 20 yard dash to the finish and you're done!

Rider: Pete Gill, Fotog: Stu Hopkinson

The riders were again a mix of familiar and some new faces and a smaller than usual turnout meant plenty of runs for all who wanted them. Timed practice got under way at 13.00 under blue skies with the sun shining down. Bruce was on hand to wrangle the top of hill duties and keep an eye on Mick and Bob.
So the focus turned to the riding for the day. The trail was running nice and fast, the bit after the gas line just turned into blur! Aaron Tolley was the first man down below 1min and was soon heading back up the hill for more. I tried my luck and hit a tree half way down the switchbacks adding a few extra seconds to my first run and another crack in my peak.

Rider: Mick "no air" Whyte, Fotog: Kitman

It wasn't long before P.Ruscoe, after looking quick all morning set a mark on his first timed run that proved tough to beat with a 57.6.
There were a few new faces having their first taste of timed D.H action seen pushing up for another run, big grins all round. Well done to all those who took the plunge and hope to see you all again soon.
The session continued on in to the afternoon, riders getting the trail dialled and pushing hard to better their times. There is always one who tries a little too hard and this month it fell to Alex 'Pogo' Pogson. He wheelied across the finish with his bike at a right angle to the ground finally dumping him off the back just beyond the line. A feat that Mitch Ingley just managed to avoid last month.

Rider: Josh Wheeler, Fotog: SXbegins

After an issue with air in his shock (or lack of it) Mick Whyte started throwing down some raggedly quick times.Teasing the one minute barrier, once again showing the 'old enough to know better' crowd how it's done (and most of the seniors!). There was a good crowd of U16 riders again with Alex Macdonald leading the way with a quickest time of 105.7 in a close field of riders.
Sat at the bottom of the trail you really get more of the story as riders cross the line and get their time.It was good to Mike back and fittish again putting in a few runs and getting quicker with each one. There were a few riders taking full advantage of the smaller field to really put some runs in. That mark of 57.6 stood for a fair while and as the afternoon went on Mark Lee took it upon himself to better it. After a few runs within 0.5 of a sec, on his fith run he finally did it with a well earned 57.4. Well done Mate.

It was good to see the likes of Scruff, Dave and Dale giving Stu a run for his money. It really was a tale of 'what if 'here as Stu dropped his chain on what looked like a hot run leaving Scruff with the bragging rites this month.
Other 'unluckies' have to go out to Stu H and his disintegrating free hub, Dean Tolley who caught a pedal on the last corner and was off on a hot run and Young Cam Jones who took a big crash on the last straight, hope he's not too sore.
There were a couple of missing faces from the Crew this month, Alex had some horrific lergie and Richie is still on the injured list after last month. Hopefully they will be back for the next one June 13th.

Thanks again to all of the fotogs, the marshalls, Andrew for the 1st aid and Bruce at top of the hill and to Lance for stepping in to Rich and Alex shoes on the timing.

Harry.

Website update news

2010-05-10T09:41:00.000+01:00

After a little unplanned downtime last week, the Racers Guild website is now back up and running!

There's been a few changes throughout, so you may need to clear your cache before some of the links work properly.

If you get any problems with the site or find dead links, please report them by leaving a comment or emailing alex@racersguild.co.uk

April 24th, RG timed Practice:

2010-04-30T00:03:00.001+01:00

Rider: Ed Smith, Fotog: Stu Hopkinson

Course details;

Little Bringe - Starting with the Ridge Line, right hand berm into short straight to finish

Conditions - Dryer than a Jack Dee show, hand polished roots and extra dust to go with the dust.

The final organisers email arrived on Friday night, "see you all on the hill at 9am tomorrow" were Harry's words. 9am?! Well it's not a work day so I got onto he hill around 10ish expecting to see people just starting rolling up. Harry, Rich and Mick were already off down the hill though with the course all taped out. The sun must have been making people's heads go funny or something.

The sun, the sun. Well it's been missing from a Guild Session for so long that it's might as well never have existed, but here it was making a storming come back. A light breeze, a few fluffy clouds and bone dry dusty trails. Perfect.

The course was Little Bringe, a couple of line options had been left open to gives riders a choice, last time we ran a session on this trail in 2009 the choices were a bit more restricted, more on that shortly.

Getting the course taped so early meant we were able to open it up before 10.30 so there was plenty of chance for people to get some more practice in. Everything was looking good. sign-in was all set, the course was taped, we only had the finish line to sort. Rich was taking first timing slot at the bottom of the hill so with half an hour to go was heading down the the bottom and squeezing in a final cheeky run at the same time. With Wyld Stallyn (ask you big brother) Harry following him down Rich was going all out on his short travel hardtail with street tyres pumped up rock hard. Not the ideal choice for one of the more tight and rooty trail on the hill but no worries eh.

Well not until the final section when the bike was binned and Rich used his arm as a brake. Wife beater vests don't offer too much protection and it was a pretty dazed and confused Rich I found when I headed down to see if the guys needed any help. Long story short but Rich ended up sitting out the day giving Lance (our new recruit to the timing tent) some training on the timing side of the event. He's now at home nursing a suspected broken elbow, get well soon Rich.

All this meant we had to kick off 5 minutes late with the runs so at 1.05pm we were off. With 55 Stile Cop regulars and new faces alike we were running one of the most chilled days we've seen for a while. The start line reached 28 degrees at one point although the breeze kept things nice. Riders were lined up on cue we had no faffing and everyone had a smile on their face, something else had to go wrong, but it didn't, sweet.

The fast boys started setting the pace and pretty soon the fastest times were around 52 seconds for a few of the usual guns. Once they got settled in though the times started dropping and it was looking like sub 50 seconds may be possible.Sam Maddison was throwing everything at the hill as usual and the orange and white blur was right up there on the clock. I mentioned that we'd kept a few line choices open this time around, well some of the lines Sam was spotted taking were off the radar all together, cheeky but inspiring at the same time.

Rider: Sam Madison, Fotog: Alex Smith

It was looking like a usual kind of running order for the main category until new face James Gant threw his times into the mix, run on run he was up there to finally post a 49.4 and take fastest run of the day. Not wanting to be outdone Mitch Ingley (who for some unknown reason decided it was the day to bring his hardtail out) got down to a consistent 53 second slot until deciding to borrow a full sus which knocked 3 seconds off his times.

Becky Hilton made it onto the hill as our only lady rider of the day, posting a 1.17.8 to place respectably in the overall field.

As ever we had a few young rippers along who were putting in some very respectable times proving that the Guild is doing what we've always wanted to do by bringing new and young riders into the scene. A special mention to 10 year old Cameron Jones who got faster with each run and reached 1.34 in the end.

Thanks to everyone who joined us and to our marshalls for the day. See you again in May.

Stu.

Ian Boon's excellent video HERE

Write-Up, March 2010

2010-03-23T14:30:00.013Z

This months session saw only 47 riders make it out to the hill, our lowest turn out in a long time. I think it would be fair to attribute this to the last moment date change; due to working and family commitments on our event crew and nothing to do with anyone being scared away by the dreaded rain! Our apologies to those who missed out because of the change of dates. We are taking steps to try and make sure this doesn't happen again.

Ok, down to business...

Trail : Ridge Run, with alternate corners after the ski jump.
Conditions : A mixture of slop, wet roots and a generous helping of loam.

Check out the results here: Results

The week prior to the March Guild was a sunny affair, with just about every trail on the hill dry and very gripy for about the first time this year. Everything was looking great for the weekend until the nice weather girl came onto the tele' and told us all we were going to get wet! Some of us pulled our fingers out and fitted spikes, the rest of us sniffed at it thinking it wouldn't be too bad, sticking with the dry tyres we had just retrieved from a dusty corner in the back of the shed! As it happened the trail was a mixed bag getting more slippery throughout the day, thanks to the showers. But the variety of surfaces gave grip at some point whatever choice of rubber you were touting. The top section was a slimy tram line of a rut all the way down to the gas line drop The moisture in the loam elsewhere actually seemed to help hold it together and other spots more sheltered from the wet stuff maintained their surface.

N. Carson coming down hard from the gas line drop. Photo credit Stu Hopkinson.

With longer days we were able to push the practice start time back to the later 1 o'clock start time we aim for, allowing more of a warm up for the riders and a better chance to check the track out. The riders used this extra time wisely and most spent time sectioning the lower fresh and loamy corners to get them dialed before timing started. Time well spent that would prove its worth on the stopwatch later in the day. Most notably on the off camber tight line option on one of the final corners that got so worn away by the end of warm up that a completely new complex of roots had appeared in place of all the loam that was roosted away.

Andy Hughes mastering the off camber loam. Photo credit Thomas Gaffney.

Not everyone managed to ride the slide to success. Rider after rider through the warm up met their match and ended up taking soil samples. Unfortunately not everyone came away from the corner un-harmed. Lee Gratton of the Squadron managed to tear a big hole in his arm whilst getting chucked off the bike, a quick trip to the hospital and some embroidery later he was discharged with a cool future scar and a lolly pop. Event Leader 'Stinky' Harry took the time to drive his car back and everything went smoothly... If your reading this Lee, Harry says he likes you car, but you might want to look at your bumper and to expect 6 points to appear on your license!

Unknown rider taking time out to test the soil PH. Photo credit Kitman.

Time to move onto the best results from the categories. This month we had no 'rippers' or women participate.

Youth (15 and under)

1st - Tom Austerberry
2nd - Dan Summers
3rd -Tom Goodwin

Tom, Dan and the other Tom were the only youth riders to break the 1 minute barrier. Tom Austerberry, on his brand new Orange rig was 6.7 seconds faster than Dan Summers and Tom Goodwin was only 0.3 of a second behind Dan.

Senior (16-39)

1st - Sam Maddison
2nd - Aaron Tolly and Andy Hughes, joint
4th - Elliot Machin

Sams first run down the hill was interrupted by a sit down on the last corner and in usual Maddison manner resulted in anger and shouting once over the finish line, so he marched back up the hill to have another go! Sure enough, later on in the session Sam came down and put in the fastest time of the day: 47.3 seconds. Aaron and Andy managed to score identical times and Elliot would up 4th only 1.6 seconds behind Sam.

Veteran (40+)

1st - Mick Whyte
2nd - Dale Laywood
3rd - Bob Dangerfeild

For most of the session Dale was the fastest 40+, but as is getting to be a common result, Mick got his act together and took fastest Veteran with a 55.6 . Bob was 3rd fastest 2.3 seconds behind Micks time. Can anyone knock Mick off his high horse and take him to school this year? Only time will tell...

Ian of team boons video is worth a look as always, this time further improved with his recent purchase of a new camera!

Last, but not least, the massed media was on the hill on saturday! Have a look through these great galleries:

Thomas Gaffney Photography
Paul Grocott (SXbegins)
Kitman
Stu Hopkinson
Gaz

Renew your membership to Racers Guild!

2010-03-20T23:36:00.000Z

Were you a 2008/2009 member of Racersguild? If so, it's time to renew your membership!

Membership to RG is free and allows you access to free or discounted BC membership, discounts with Descent-Gear. Most importantly, it'll mean you will receive the Racersguild Newsletter every month, letting you know when the next timed practice date is (dates will no longer be published on the forum), giving you club news and the latest and greatest deals from Descent-Gear.

To sign up, fill out the form here. Once completed, you'll get an email straight away saying that you've been successful.

Cheers,

Alex@racersguild

Site updates

2010-03-16T21:41:00.002Z

The 2010 calender is now live, and our membership page has been updated. Go have a look!

RG February - Snowed off

2010-02-22T12:31:00.001Z

With snow on Wednesday, and more snow on Thursday, and then on waking up to find even more snow on Friday Morning, we were forced to inspect the access roads at Stile Cop at mid day Friday. If there was snow on the fireroad, no access to road vehicles would be possible and we would have to call it off. Sadly the news from Harry was grim. The fireroads were thick with snow, and impassible by road vehicle.

February's RG was off, but some hardy souls still got out, got riding and shredded some gnar.

Fotog: Tenyearsafter

Tenyearsafter's 20th Feb set

There will now be no RG in February, but we hope we'll see a lot of you at the Mini DH at the Forest of Dean next weekend. The next RG will be the 27th March.

20th Feb Racersguild@Cannock Chase

2010-02-16T23:43:00.002Z

Hi folks, details for the 20th Feb Racersguild@Cannock Chase are below.

Trail work: Big litterpick following the outbreak of litterbugs.

Sign on from 11am
Start times from 11.30am
Timing starts from 12pm

Don't forget to bring some pennies for the tin!

If you want to help with starting, timing or marshaling, speak to Harry, email him at Harry@racersguild.co.uk, or PM him on here. We rely on your help!

Descent-Gear.com our number board sponsor unfortunately won't be here supporting you trackside. He's up in Scotland for a race up there. If your after something for the weekend then they ship out everything next day for free and are open 10:00 to 22:00 everyday and won't be beaten on price!

www.Descent-Gear.com
Office 0121 422 1032
Mobile 07968 229 359
si@descent-gear.com
!!FREE NEXT DAY DELIVERY ON ALL ORDERS!!

Alex@Racersguild

Alex says: The UCI wants to ruin our national championships...

2010-02-14T20:22:00.001Z

The UCI has recently re-introduced the rule whereby anyone who wins the national champion must wear the national champions jersey during every subsequent timed run and on every podium.

The national champion's jersey has very limited space for sponsor logos and often doesn't fit with the team strip. That means that the rider's sponsors get less exposure during the times that their riders are most likely to be seen. As a result, just as a few years ago, team managers will either remove their riders from the national championships, or instruct their riders not to win. This makes a mockery of our national championship races.

We've already seen Sam Hill mysteriously crash yards away from the finish line of the Australian National Champs whilst half a second up. Team orders or accident?

For the past few years, riders have worn an arm band consisting of their national federation's colours if they are national champion, and that's worked. Why the UCI had to change it back to the bad old ways, we do not know, but it's damned silly.

Bottom line: If you want to see a national champ, not a national chump, you need to sign this petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/UCIrule/petition.html

Alex

The above represents the view of the writer and does not necessarily represent the view of Racersguild.co.uk

Jan 2010 Timing Day

2010-01-26T00:39:00.004Z

"I've never even tried to clear it before, it just happened!"

Rider: Peter Gill, Photog: Stu Hopkinson

3 degrees Celsius, heavy mist and murky, that's how the top of the hill looked with Harry, John and Mick ready and waiting when I arrived at 9am, a quick check to make sure Harry hadn’t wet the bed and we got to work. Suddenly things got a whole lot brighter when Sam Maddison showed up on his new team Orange, first ride out and it looked superb with it’s perfectly colour coordinated orange glow sending geiger counters off the scale around the country. We spent 5 minutes warming our hands on the bike and headed off for a steady run down the Red course to check it was ok and we kicked off the trail prep and marking.

Seems Sketch shrunk in the wash over Christmas
Rider: Luke "minisketch" Cryer, Photog: DrifterJon

We figured it might be a quiet day with the weather and forecast rain but by the time we got to the top of the hill things were getting pretty busy. Si Paton was set up with the Descent-Gear.co.uk stand and the rain was still holding off, result.

Descent-Gear giant Si Paton tests his fresh-out-of-the-box 22shhh!

Photog: DrifterJon

So the course was standard Red including the original long right hand corner that's been disused for a few years, crossing the fire road into the rooty Ss. It was going to be a real test of fitness with a long, flat out trail finishing with a slippery sting in the tail. Adding in the bring your hardtail promo we had and it was shaping up to be an interesting day although we were all grateful that there were no skinsuits on the hill this time!!

Runs kicked off and in the spirit of hardtail pride Mick Whyte then posted a 1.26.9 to set the hardtail bar nice and high.
The course may not be the most technical we have on the hill but it had lungs popping up and muscles screaming for mercy for all but the uber fit riders. It was eyeballs out all the way and great to see such a mix of bikes from full on DH race bikes to 24” wheeled, singlespeed, fully rigid boneshakers, there’s a few dentists in work for the next couple of weeks.

In the end Andy Hughes stormed it to take the fastest time of the day at 1.19.1 while vet hardtailer Mick held on for fastest time in his category. Top senior hardtailer was John Lee with a 1:25.6 pulled out right at the end. Ride of the day, though, has to go to Tom Hodgkinson who not only got the fastest time in Juniors with a 1.24.9, but simultaneously took the fastest hardtail time of the day. He's either been practicing, or someone needs to put him on a big bike!

In the Ladies cat, Elite racer Harriet Latchem took time out from winning regionals to sprint the Red course in 1:29.5, a full 15 seconds clear of Becky and Nadia. Winter training obviously pays off!

Back in the middle of the field, Richie Parsons crossed the line headfirst, Stu Tite notched up his best ever RG result with a top ten overall placing and third fastest hardtail, and Luke Cryer showed that he's not all no-footers and cheek by posting a very respectable 1:27.8
The day also saw our first ever young rippers cat with newbies Josh Laywood and Jessica Pearson showing that everyone can get involved in the Guild. On the right course it’s be great to see these young guns going for it again.

Slippery conditions didn't phase young Jessica!
Photog: Stu Hopkinson

So have we proved a point? Full sussers are faster than hardtails on our little hill? Maybe, but judging by the buzz that filled the hillside there’s no shortage of fun whatever you ride.

Media:

Boon's first video of 2010: Red Mist

Joe Ellement's Vid:

Photos:
Drifter Jon
http://drifterjon.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild---Jan-23rd/
Stu Hopkinson
http://stueysasquach.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild-Jan-2010/
Kasper Wozniak's Dad
http://mtbkacper.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild-23Jan-Cannock/
Tim Pegasus
http://timpegasus.pinkbike.com/album/RG-Jan-23/

Jan results are now available and the 2010 calender should be up to date this week

Over and out:
Stuart@Racersguild & Alex@Racersguild

Midlands MTB Forum Problems + Marshalls

2010-01-21T09:24:00.000Z

The Midlands MTB/Chasetrails forum appears to be broken at the minute. Please bear with us whilst the forum owners fix it. In the meantime, any updates will be posted here.

We need marshals!
If you are over 18 and fancy two guarranteed in advance start times this weekend, comment on this post leaving your name and email or phone number, or email Harry at harry@racersguild.co.uk

Descent-Gear will be at RG Jan 23rd!

2010-01-17T20:44:00.001Z

The Racers Guild number board sponsor Descent-Gear will be trackside with some Racers Guild specials:

All Maxxis Downhill Tyres are £50.00 a pair.

Troy Lee D3 Helmets £400.00

Element Nickel Wide bars £39.99

Fox Goggles £29.99

If you need anything in advance of Saturdays action get onto Descent-Gear.com, they deliver next day for free or can also deliver trackside.

Important Info for 2010 RG Events

2010-01-17T19:32:00.001Z

There are two changes to the way Racersguild runs that come in to effect from this month.

Entry cap
The number of entries for any timed practice day is limited to 100, allocated on a first come, first served basis. We will always let you know what time you can sign on from.

Race plates
You must return your race plates at the end of each timing day to the Race Plate Bucket. Please do not take 2010 plates home with you.

Timing day: 23rd Jan

2010-01-17T00:25:00.000Z

It's this month's timing day on Saturday 23rd!

In a break with tradition, we're running a hardtail special. Leave your big bike at home and bring that hardtail that's just gathering dust. Time to find out whether you've got skills, or whether you've been making up for it with 8" of suspension like me

New race plates will be in use. Please leave your old plates at home. New plates must be returned to the bucket next to the sign in area before you leave.

Sign on from 11am
Start times given out from 11.30am
Timing starts at 12pm
Timing ends at about 3.30ish

Please also remember to put a quid in the tin! Your donations keep Racersguild running.

The Descent-Gear shop will be in attendance, and I'm sure Si will have plenty of shiny 2010 gear for you to ogle.

In a total break in R.G tradition we think it is only fair to mention that we will be running the Red line for Jan's Guild Session.

Time to find out who has been getting the miles in over Christmas and who has been getting the beers in!

We will still allow you to run if you really don't have a hard tail bike but we might ask you to take the chain off!

Racersguild Season ender party and Film Première 2nd Jan

2009-12-25T12:14:00.000Z

Everyone at Racersguild invites you to join us for the 2009 Racersguild Season Ender Party and Film Première on the 2nd Jan 2010.

If you've ridden this year, come along, and if you helped out this year, marshalling, taking photos, filming, starting, please come along too as without the help we get all year long, Racersguild just wouldn't work.

Ian @ Boon Productions will be showing his 2009 Racersguild film, Second Time Around

Day: Saturday 2nd January 2010
Time: 7pm

Place: Birches Valley Forest Centre near Rugeley
It will take place in the same place as last year, the TreeHouse classroom behind Swinnertons. It'll be all signed up on the evening. Parking is in the Go-ape Car park and is free.

Ian will also be selling copies of STA, so make sure you reserve your copy! Copies are £6 and you should PM Ian before the 2nd to make sure he has a copy for you.

Bring your own beer!

December 19th - Tolley's Trail - Write up

2009-12-23T13:08:00.000Z

Saturday 19th was about the ice, those roots and the ground you could never quite predict.

Aaron Neumann on Andy Hughes' bike?

Photo credit: Kitman (click for gallery)

Frozen solid ground, frozen fingers, sheets of black ice in the ruts leading in to the steepest part of the track and the infernal Screams Vs Highrollers debate.

Before we started timing, all the focus was at the roots. A steep chute into an offcamber lefthander over roots that wanted to take you straight over the tiny catch berm, and if you made it that far, another two diagonal slippery snakes to shoot your front wheel away from you.

Alex Hill inspects the trail

Photo credit Stu Hopkinson (Gallery)

First down the hill was the RG Squadron's latest recruit, Lee Gratton. All those tumbles in practice had clearly paid off, as he drew a line in the snow at 57.7 seconds. Big guns Andy Hughes and Elliot "Pants on the outside" Machin both failed to go under a minute at first, struggling to stay on the bike and stay pinned when you never really knew if the front wheel was going to hook up or not. Then, thirty minutes in, Adam Halling sent a shot across the bows with a 57.8. Adam was confident he had plenty left in the tank. Some time later he delivered, taking a half second lead out of Lee with a 57.1 and concluding with a storming 56.6. Lee's only reply was a 57.6, putting him in second a full second behind a perfect ride from Adam. Andy Hughes put in a strong show towards the end, scoring a 57.8, but not enough to usurp the winter warriors.

Luke Weston visits the 80s

Photo credit: Kitman

Meanwhile, over in the junior cat, nine riders lined up to take on the ice. With Joe Ellement, Sam Maddison and Mitch Ingley all over-age and bumped up to Senior, it left a classy Elliot Gill to take command and leaving the rest of the field wondering where they were going to find a full ten seconds from, with Tommy Jeffs coming closest.

Honerable mentions go to;

John Lee, taking the hardtail glory with a stonking 1.13.8 whilst still in his morning suit

Barrack Obama, who, taking a break from climate conferences, signed in as Paul Grocott and laid down a 14.4

Daniel Gibson, who posted a 1.17.8 whilst wearing a christmas present. Seriously.

Dan Gibson makes his presents known before gifting himself to the ground

Photo Credit: Kitman

With everyone retiring to the car to defrost, we wound up early, allowing the Squadron to get a photoshoot with their new team manager, John Lee.

So, it's goodbye to the 2009 season, and with it, goodbye to Aaron, who has turned Racersguild from an idea on the back of a beermat, to the monster it is today. We'll miss you buddy!

Media:

Photos:

DrifterJon's photos

Tim's photos

Paul's photos

Stu Hopkinson's photos

Kitman's photos

Video

Lance Netherton:

Ian@ Boon productions

See you all in 7pm, 2nd Jan 2010 @ Birches valley for the End of Season Party!

Saturday 19th's Track is....

2009-12-18T16:00:00.000Z

...Tolley's Trail

Yes, that's right. That steep, rooty slippery track that peels off New Line just after the rock garden. Wet screams for the loamy bits or highrollers for the frozen bits? Will anyone be able to clear the roots? Will Sam Madison ever get a clear run?

Sign in from 11am
Get start times from 11.30am
Timing starts at 12pm

Please bring your race plate and some pennies for our donations tin.

Check out our previous post for Descent-Gear bargains.

And now, for some ROOOOOTS!

Descent-gear will be at racersguild 19th dec

2009-12-14T22:39:00.001Z

Si Patons Descent-Gear.com trackside emporium will be in the house for some more "Racers Guild Specials" so make sure you bring cash or card for those last minute christmas specials.

Maxxis Downhill Tyres £50.00 a pair
Element Nickel Wide Bars £39.99
Leatt Adventure Neck Braces £169.99
Plus the full range of Troy Lee Race Kit and much, much more..

www.Descent-Gear.com ship every order for free next day and answer the phone.
Plus they can deliver trackside if your postman is not as fast as you!

Sign in starts @ 11am
Timing starts @ 12pm

See you there!

Write Up- 29th November

2009-12-04T14:52:00.008Z

Results are posted here, read them and weap: Results

Well that special time of the month has been and gone again and normal service is resumed. This month we prepared an unusual mix of lines to try and put on something a bit different. The start was onto the top half of the black run, which then peeled off through a flat bog to join the big 180 degree berm on the red run. Straight after that there was a right turn onto the low level woodwork of snakes and ladders, this led into the steep part of the track and plunged down into a huge catch berm that as well as holding riders was holding a pond on the day. Once round the berm there was a short link up hill to either kill off your speed or stop you dead, before a tight corner back downhill round a rooty tree. After that a couple of tight switches to join you back onto the bottom section of the red run, a quick sprint across the fire road then an option of drifting on the off camber inside or railing the berms on the bottom 2 corners, then over the humongous greasy root to finish. We test rode the combination of trails in the dry and it worked very well, however after the deluge of rain in the week before the event things got a little more challenging....

Tom Austerberry going round the pond to keep his socks dry.

Timing this month started at the earlier time of midday in order to make use of what little light we have to play with at this time of the year and the first fast time of the day was to be set by Guild founder Aaron Meumann, 1:20.1, that time stood as fastest for some time and later on in the session Aaron would shave seconds off his time to land a 1:17.7, 8th fastest overall.

Aaron 'Mr. RG' Neumann giving a free lesson to a lot of younger riders on the hill.

As usual Andy from the Squadron was up there with the rest of the fast boys, as well as Adam Halling, Lee Gratton, 'Mad' Sam Maddison and Chris Derry. All putting on a good show with times under 1:17. However this month saw the return of the northern invasion to Cannock Chase, and as expected in tow was Kurtis Knowles, who as you might remember was one of the dominating names in this years Northern downhill series. You've probably already guessed it... But Kurtis went home with the fastest time of the day 1:13.3, 1.2 seconds faster than 2nd fastest!

Self professed northern monkey Stephen Tomlinson went home happy with a time of 1:24:4...

... And Kurtis here styles it up over the bottom jump on his way to fastest time.

Thanks to all the true believers who came out to help, either offering First Aid assistance, Martialling or help with timing and signing on, we can't do it without you lot!

Ever ready Mick Whyte keeping us safe and offering words of encouragement in between chomping on a banana and taking the fastest time in the Veteran category.

Other notable mentions from this month have to be Declan Whyte, our youngest rider (by a long way!) with a time of 1:44.5 to manage 13th fastest out of 19 youth riders and Dan Green who managed a time of 1:26.3 on his jump bike with a slick/street rear tyre!

As usual we had a mass of photographers on the hill snapping away, credit to the photos used in the write up must go to Kitman, Martin Sutton and Thomas Gaffney, links to all galleries below:

Kitmans gallery

Tomos gallery

Martin Suttons gallery

Pauls gallery

Bisks gallery

Last but not least I will leave you with the usual video offerings from Team Boon and Lance, enjoy:

Descent-Gear at RG on Sunday

2009-11-27T01:19:00.001Z

Si Paton will be rocking up to RacersGuild on Sunday with the Descent-Gear shop, With 2010 TLD gear in stock!

Don't forget your wallets folks. Now is the time to get your spikes and swampies for winter, remember, RacersGuild members get 10% off Descent-Gear's already CRC beating prices!

Join British Cycling - It's Free

2009-11-21T19:12:00.000Z

Racers Guild of Cannock Chase is a British Cycling affiliated club. As a member of RG, you are entitled to join British Cycling at Bronze level, for free. So far only 11 riders have taken this offer up, with 8 of those being people who need racing licences and took advantage of the massive discounts offered to club members.

Racers Guild is one of only a couple of dedicated DH clubs in the country, part of the reason that downhill is so under-represented at British Cycling. By joining for free, you give Racersguild and DH as a whole a bigger voice.

You can join by Clicking Here where you can opt to either join British Cycling as a Bronze member (free) or as a silver or gold member which, amongst other benefits, gives you access to a full UK racing license, required to compete at the British Downhill Championships (NPS) or to collect points from any regional races.

Make a difference to downhill; Get stuck in.

Write Up - Saturday 24th October

2009-10-31T07:38:00.004Z

Yet again, sorry to have kept you hanging on for this, but its been a manic week and I hope you all appreciate me typing this out at 7am on my saturday off before going for a shred round the local!

For those who couldn't make it to the Guild, the trail this month was Wanderland, this time with no bus stops! So in the words of Andy. H of the Squadron "Its flat out from the Gas line right down to the last corner"... Well maybe for you and a select few mate, but the rest of us had at least a little scrub of the brakes before we got there!

Andy dropping into the start of the 'flat out' section.

This month again saw big numbers in the youth category, 20 riders this month... However, due to a number board shortage some riders signing i for the event had to use the numbers of the Youth section, I'm sure our strict 'I.D. if you look OVER age' policy got these riders correctly listed in senior, maybe a couple of youthful child like faces went undetected into the wrong category, only honesty will tell now! As for the times, Alistair May, Sam Dale and Mitch Ingley made the top 3 times respectively, with only 2.7 seconds separating the op 3. The kind of close result we're coming to expect at the Guild.

Mitch airing onto the fireroad on his way to 3rd fastest youth.

This month saw smaller turnouts in both the Masters and Women's categories, Becky. H was there, but not feeling to well spent the day marshaling for us, thanks to Stu and Becky who came along to help out even tho they we're too unwell to ride! Jo Perkins was the only entrant for the women's category and put in a time of 1:31.5 and Mick Whyte was the fastest of 4 Masters with a time of 1:07.7!

Fastest Master, Mick throwing it down!

Well, well... As usual , last but not least the Seniors category. 58 seniors this time around made it to the hill and as usual it came down to the wire! Early on Adam Halling set a fastest time of 1:00.1, which was then matched by Lee Gratton with an identical 1:00.1... Andy Hughes of the Squadron was waiting at the top of the hill tho and came down like greased lightening with what would stick as the fastest time of the day, the only rider under a minute, 0:58.6. Adam and Lee would both try again to beat Andy with no success. The only change to the top 3 being Lee beating his 1:00.1 with a 1:00.0 to just pip Adam back to 3rd. So to re-cap - Andy Hughes fastest, Lee Gratton 2nd and Adam Halling 3rd.

Lee, close but no cigar... on his way to second fastest.

Those of you with eagle eyes may have noticed the massive Descent Gear stand at the top of the hill with Si Paton, Son and dog there to do you some great deals on all sorts of kit. It was great to have 'Mr NPS' back on the hill, but better than that Si and Descent Gear will be sponsoring the guild next year with a generous donation of new number boards for next year, for those of you that don't know this may not sound like a lot, but those boards are chuffing expensive and this is a fantastic boost for the Guild! Check out www.descent-gear.com for Si's great prices, don't forget Racers Guild members are entitled to discount at Descent Gear, which makes the UKs cheapest even cheaper! You can also expect fast and friendly service... go on you'd be a fool not to. More on this coming soon.

Now over to the media! This time all the pictures used in the write up are curtacy of Paul (SXbegins), have a look through his pinkbike album and i'm sure you'll find one of yourself! Thanks Paul!

http://sxbegins.pinkbike.com/album/Racers-Guild-Stile-Cop-241009/

As usual Ian from Team Boon was there filming away and John Lee (Jumble) from the 52 week project was there riding and filming, check out both of their videos here:

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/106484/

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/106249/

5 points or a punch on the nose to the first smarty pants to point out my spelling errors and now i'm off for a ride! See you all next time!

-Rich

October Results Posted

2009-10-22T21:35:00.005+01:00

Here are the results for Saturday's wicked Wonderland timed practice. They've been updated with hardtail times now, although you may need to refresh your browser.

Squadron on Pinkbike!

2009-10-21T08:51:00.002+01:00

Just thought I'd post this here as well as on the Squadron Team blog... Head on over to Pinkbike if you've not yet read John "Jumble" Lee's article on the Squadron!

If you don't know who Jumble is, you might enjoy reading about his "52 weeks" project via his blog or website.

Breaking News, Descent Gear back at RG!

2009-10-19T11:32:00.006+01:00

Bring your piggy banks and big girly purses!

Si Paton will be rolling up to the Racers Guild day this Saturday with the Descent Gear stand and, as usual, is promising some killer deals on all sorts of essentials and trick bits. It might well be the last chance of the year to see the Descent Gear stand with Si's great prices on Maxxis Tyres. With the RRP on Maxxis rubber set to go up next season you'd be a fool not to stock up on saturday!

Also don't forget that any signed up Racers Guild members receive discount from Descent Gear. If you're not a signed up member and you want to join the Guild then check the "join" box when you're signing in. RG membership also entitles you to discounted British cycling membership and discounts on racing licences.

Last thing, don't forget that the Racers Guild is dependant on donations (in the red tin at sign on) to keep going. Every month we have expenses such as the Firstaider and club insurance to cover. The RG is a non profit club and with you're help we'll can continue to host the timed practice days everyone loves!

Rich.

Forum

2009-10-19T09:43:00.001+01:00

Hey folks, just to let you know that someone is working on getting the forum back up. I'm not sure what the problem is, but hopefully it will be back soon.

Racer's Guild goes racing for real - Descent Gear Unclipped

2009-10-14T19:54:00.006+01:00

From Squadron Moelfre 2009

You wouldn't believe it, but we had 23 riders from Racer's Guild entered into the Descent-Gear Unclipped race at Moelfre this past weekend! That's like, ummm, 7% of the total entries! We didn't manage to make a central camp - in fact we were spread all over. But everyone did manage to make it to the campfire at some point Saturday night, while our good friends from up north (i.e. Steve) kept us entertained with good stories and occasionally painful one liners.

The first competition for the weekend was the Saturday night long jump. I didn't rush over, as the jump was only about knee high and I didn't think it would be too spectacular. When I did wander over, I just happened to catch some pint-sized juggernaut mid-flight going waaaaay bigger than anyone could understand. That just happened to be the winning jump. Any guesses to who it was? Here's a hint:

Guess Who? Photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Still don't know? Well, who else, but the human coil spring, Sam Maddison. Somebody walked it off...40 ft. Think of the Ridge Line ski jump, and then think of someone landing about twice as far as where the landing is. That might approach his accomplishment! Wish I could remember what he won...

Sunday rolled around early, with a mix of clouds, sprinkles, sun, and an increasing wind which would play havoc on people's 2nd runs in the afternoon. Can't complain much about the weather though, it was alright for the whole weekend.

Sam Maddison taking the Sam Hill Line, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

In Youth, Sam once again got some spotlight in the hot seat for a long time with a super quick 2:35. Youth is a highly competitive category though, so he ended 7th in the end, which is still an awesome result. He crashed on his 2nd run, but rather than throw in the towel he gave it some welly - I saw him motoring down the long pedally section faster than anyone else and yelled my lungs off at him from the uplift. Ed Smith had what looked to be a good result, although I didn't speak to him and know he was having some brake issues. And Joe Ellement tackled the biggest course he's yet ridden being fairly new the sport, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Joe Ellement, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

The surprise in Juniors was Kyle's 16th place finish - with a flat! The boy has definitely got quicker, who knows what he could have pulled off with a clean run! Joe Worral placed 24th, which isn't too shabby either - not sure what his run was like. I saw Tom Harris there as well, but couldn't find his result, if he was there for moral support good on ya!

Kyle Dixon, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

In the womens class, Nadia did very well and went home with a 5th pla...hey that's a podium in a World Cup! Becky was also there and took 9th - I know she was pleased to conquer the steep section during her race run. This was only her second race, but I reckon she'll be back for more!

Becky Hilton, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Masters was right after Womens, which was just Stu and myself. Stu, like Becky, also had a good race run - wish I could say the same for myself! Two little mistakes on my first run and a crash on the 2nd. Can't complain though, it was good enough for 8th. That wouldn't have even been top 50 in Seniors though! On the way home I was reflecting on life, as I like to do, and realized that I am a bit of a choker when it comes to racing even though I do love it. It's one of the reasons I ended up forming the Squadron and spend a lot of time outside the tape around races supporting the Squadron guys - time better spent I think!

Yours truly, photo by Tom Smith. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

The Seniors class was huge - 130 riders and quite a few RG regulars. I'll work my way up - I don't think Stevo was too happy with his run, and James M pulled something in his leg which meant he had to sit the 2nd run out. Hope it heals quickly mate! Turns out he went up the hill to watch and ended up helping me with my bike in that stupid off I had in my 2nd run - he gave me a good shout and I was back on my way, thanks man! John Lee, the pinkbike blogger on week 11 out of 52 before the Mega Avalanche was there in training as well. Shane blew out his rear mech in practice but managed to fashion a single speed up using a zip tie as a chain tensioner! On all accounts he did OK for 84th position!

Steve Tomlinson, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Jay Price took 82nd, no doubt slightly troubled by his massive header which left most of his upper body looking like a big bruise - can we get a picture of his black eye? Twin bro Dan had a very good run at 2:40 (have to say that because he just beat me!) for 54th place. Tropical Dean did a very solid 2:45 for 76th - actually it was a blinding run, but that's more due to his race kit. And Joe da ho Howard showed up - we all thought he was still living it up in BC, but apparently he's back - 68th for Joe with a solid time.

From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Richie was there, and despite his t-shirt that said "can't ride for sh*t", he did a 2:41 for 59th. We had a bet riding on who would be quicker between us, the winner wouldn't have to do the timing at the next RG. Richie lost by a fraction - but we decided Alex (who wasn't at the race) would do the timing anyway.

Richie Parsons, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Now we're getting into the really quick guys. Sam Hill came down riding Gee Atherton's bike - no no wait, that's just Ryan. He caught someone in his first run and yelled at him all the way down. His second went alright though, 22nd place with a very fast 2:32. He was right on the tail of all-out Doddy who muscled out a 14th place finish with 2:29 - only a fraction slower than Andy on the Squadron.

Andy Dodd, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

To find out how the Squadron guys did, pop on over to the team blog here:

Squadron Home Page

(may not be up yet, be patient)

There was some awesome pre-race mechanics and massive race moments - it's definitely worth a read - don't miss it!

It was an awesome weekend made better by great company. I drove home with a bit of a heavy heart - this was my last UK race before I return to the states. The sun was setting and there was a warm light that cast long shadows on the Welsh hillsides along the winding country lanes. It was stunning. I will miss this. The country, the racing, and the people. As much as I'd like to say you British are a bunch of pricks, sadly, it's just not the case - you're actually some of the best friends a guy could ask for. Quit while you're ahead they say - the weekend was definitely a high point and a great memory to cap off a great few years. Cheers guys and gals!

Everyone's Results

Joe Ellement: 65th Youth 3:44
Sam Maddison: 7th Youth 2:35
Ed Smith: 22nd Youth 2:48

Kyle Dixon: 16th Juniors 2:46 (with a flat)
Joe Worral: 24th Juniors 3:02
Tom Harris: Didn’t race?

Shane Botha: 84th Seniors 2:48
Dean Callister: 76th Seniors 2:45
Andy Dodd: 14th Seniors 2:29
Ryan Edwards: 22nd Seniors 2:32
Joe Howard: 68th Seniors 2:44
John Lee: 112 Seniors 3:07
James Molyneux: 86th Seniors 2:49 (injury)
Richie Parsons: 59th Seniors 2:41
Jay Price: 82nd Seniors 2:48
Dan Price: 54th Seniors 2:40
Steve Tomlinson: 118 Seniors 3:12

Stu Hopkinson: 29th Masters 3:47
Aaron Neumann: 8th Masters 2:41

Becky Hilton: 9th Womens 3:57
Nadia Williams: 5th Womens 3:20

Jay Price, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Joe Worral, photo by Scott Cartwright. From Squadron Moelfre 2009

Boon 2009 Productions Video

19th September Write-Up

2009-10-02T17:51:00.003+01:00

Better late than never right?

September saw the return of 'Little Bringewood', a trail dominated by a tyre testing off-camber section followed by a 'thread the needle' mass of roots, both of which take total commitment to hold the fast line. This was the first time Little Bringe' had been run on a Guild day in the dry, a relief at first for many, at least the off camber and roots were dry! However by the end of practice in the morning, before the timing started, the trail was so blown out and dusty the fastest time of the day wasn't a great deal faster than how the trail rides in the pouring rain!

Josh Richardson kicking up the dust through the last of the trees.

As I said the trail is dominated by the mid section with the off camber and roots, however you can't count out the importance of the loamy corners further up, Ian from Team Boon managed to get some shots of riders appearing nearly axle deep drifting in the loam, have a look at the video linked at the bottom of the post to see how much roost was getting shifted!

The final section of the trail is a rutted, rooty 20 seconds through the trees, again on the day very hard to hold a fast line. Looking through the results sheet you can make out the tell tale differences in riders times, as nearly everyone on the day had the inevitable intimate moment with the undergrowth. I won't mention names, I would be here all day! But you know who you are...

Becky Hilton getting it right through the wooded section.

After you drop out of the woods to the flat bottom of the trail your met with a small double to squash the bike over, followed by a berm and evil flat loamy corner to the line. Not a lot to report from this section, but I was entertained to see riders washing out within 6ft of the line from time to time! Good call on Stinky Harrys' part for the finish line position... So anybody with grievances now knows who to talk to!

That's the trail outlined, now down to the riders. This month saw the closest battle for fastest time the guild has ever seen with a joint fastest time of an impressive time of 53.2 shared by Ben Worrell and Lee Gratton, closely followed by Squadron rider Andy Hughes. This month saw more competition in both the Womens and Veteran categories, which appeared to give the girls and the 40+ crowds more incentive to bring their A Game. Close times at the top of the veterans category and a clear victor in the Womens category. As usual the Youth category is on the up with a turn out of 16.

Hard to tell, but Luke Cryer here of the youths had a hard day of pinning it only to be unlucky, managing to eat dirt more than once and bounced up to carry on like a boxer all day AND hung about in the evening for an after hours shred!

Full results here: http://www.racersguild.co.uk/Cannock/results.html

Team Boons' Video: http://www.pinkbike.com/v/100230/l/

Billys Video: http://www.pinkbike.com/v/100356/l/

Finally, big thanks to Alex Smith for snapping away for the day, all photos used in the write up owe credit to him and if you follow the link below you'll see his album from the day, thanks mate!

http://alex235.pinkbike.com/album/racers-guild-18th/

One last pic to capture the feeling of pinning it through the trees, a great day had by all!

- Rich.

September Results

2009-09-25T12:21:00.002+01:00

Hey folks, looks like y'all had another chain slappin' good time while I was in Ohio. Alex did a nice job on the results, and I've posted them up here. If you see last month's results, refresh your browser.

Nobody knows what's going on with a write up yet. If you fancy doing a Racer's Guild write up now or in the future, let me know at Pslide@racersguild.co.uk .

29th August Write-Up

2009-08-31T21:38:00.006+01:00

OK, first things first: Results are up here.

This months Write-Up is bought to you by either Rich, Richie or Richie_Boy, depending on who you know me as!

Right, down to business! The regulars might have noticed one or two faces missing from the organisation side of the day. Most notably our fried Mr Aaron Neumann, who month in, month out pulls the RG show together for a great days riding. As far as i can remember this was the first month Aaron has missed since the Guild started out in 2007! With Aarons absence, coupled with most of the usual crew holidaying or otherwise busy, it came down to a matter of canceling the whole show for August.

After a weeks worth of frantic Emailing and courier pigeons we started to gather a tatty list of names who were interested in stepping to the plate and keeping the show on the road.

"Stinky" Harry quickly stepped up to run the show, and lets be honest he had some big shoes to fill. A chap called Ian (from either Chase Trails or the FC, sorry I'm not sure there!) came forward and offered to fill the role of first aider for the day. The usual Chase trail XC contingent of Rob "Bobble" and Bruce came to the rescue, with Rob at the top all day, dealing with sign on, start times and generally keeping the rabble in check at the top and Bruce did a great job at the bottom taking times down. Big thanks to all the usual Martialls, who again did a great job of keeping things clear on the hill (more thanks to Harry for organising the Martialls!). I took over timing at the bottom for the first half and Bruce took over for the end stint while i got a couple of rides in. All in all the show went off without a hitch! Top bombing!

Harry taking a minute out (or more precisely a respectable 55.8 seconds) from running the show!

This month saw the addition of a new category on the hill, the 40 plus/veteran category. This time only 6 riders fell into the new category, not to say this didn't lead to a good shoot out! Early on Bob Dangerfield set the bench mark for the bus pass brigade with a 58.8 second run and then followed that with a slightly faster run at 58.5 seconds. It seemed like it was all over, but then, positively barreling into the finish, came number 15 Paul Robson with a 57.5 second run. With that Paul stole the show and took the fastest time of the veterans, Bob Dangerfield 2nd fastest and Pat Poole took 3rd fastest in the vets.

Paul Robson on a hot one to take the fastest time in the newly formed Veteran category.

The Veterans put on a good show, but on the other end of the scale the little rippers in the Youth (15 and under) Category came out swinging! This months biggest smile award has to go to Jack Austerberry, who was delighted with is time of 1:33.1, now that may not sound like a great time... But I'm sure you'll agree with me that for his age (whatever exactly that might be), as the picture shows below 1:33.1 is a great time!

Jack Austerberry looking pinned and focused through the tricky berm after the step down.

As impressive and inspiring as Jacks runs were, there's no escaping the speed and style of Sam Maddison. Let us back track a few months to the start of the year... Sam was turning up on his hardtail bike, running single speed and a pair of old Marzocchi XC forks, not that it ever seemed to hinder his efforts. Moving forward a few months and Sam rolls onto the hill wielding a new Iron Horse Sunday! Now we're talking! Straight out of the box Sam takes to it like a duck to water and the rest is looking more and more like history! Sam took the fastest time in the youth category with a 52.0, Alistair May took second fastest with a 'close but no cigar' 52.5 and Elliot Gill took third fastest with a fast 55.8 .

Sam Maddison getting a bit sideways on the way to another fastest time in the youth category.

We've heard from the oldies and the younguns, now its time for something completely different, the womens category. This month saw only 2 entrants, but this didn't stop either rider having a great day shredding the hill. Joan Dangerfield managed to take nearly 10 seconds off her time over the afternoon and went away with a 1:30.7, anyone who rides downhill will know that to find 10 seconds on a track isn't an easy feat! This months fastest fem however was Becky Hilton with a rapid 1:13.4 .

Becky Hilton tucked fast and low over the infamous Ridge Jump.

OK, we've narrowed it down and the only thing left to talk about is the Seniors category. This month 54 seniors hit the hill and whole rolls of fast times started to reel off the timing sheet at the bottom. After about a half hour into view came an unusual looking frame, going at what might as well have been a speed Captain Piccard of the Enterprise would have been impressed by. It was of course Kurtis Knowles (a strange face round these parts, but a well known name around the top step of the podium in the Northern series). Kurtis set the first hot time of 49.4. This was quickly answered by the Squadron rider Greg Hampton with an equally smoking time of 49.1, however Gregs time didn't stick for long and Adam Halling put in a 49 flat. They think its all over? well it was after Kurtis got a chance to answer back with a victorious 48.2 . At the end of the day Kurtis took fastest, with Adam Halling taking second fastest and Greg rounding things out with 3rd fastest. A very closely packed top 3 to close a great day on the hill!

Kurtis Knowles flying his way to the fastest time of the day.

Besides the riding (as if that wasn't enough!), as usual the hill was a-wash with photographers and videographers. Aside from the timing and riding, this has to be the next highlight of the day for me. Its great to come online a day or two after the guild and find the Internet flooded with great pictures and videos of the weekends riding. As usual Kitman was there with his camera and 'drifter' Jon who seems to be becoming a welcome part of the woodwork was also in on the action. All pictures above owe credit to Jon and Kitman, thanks guys! I'm going to leave you with a couple of atmospheric shots from the guys. Links to Kitman and Drifters albums... And last, but by no means least Team Boons video edit of the day!

Kitmans gallery

'Drifter' Jons Gallery

Thanks everyone!

Rich.

'Drifter' Jon captured the moment with this typically artistic, moody black and white number...

...Whilst kitman gets into the action with this sniper style action shot!

Role up, role up, for Team Boons video!

OK, i can't seem to get it imported into the page, but just follow this link! Doh!

Team Boons Video, Click Here!

Aug 29 - Results

2009-08-31T17:36:00.002+01:00

Results are posted! Make sure to refresh the page if last month's come up.

Write up with pics and video (already on the forum) to come...

August 29th for next RG

2009-07-28T15:17:00.002+01:00

Hey folks, sorry for messing around with the date for August's timed practice. Hopefully we've settled on Saturday, August 29. Lots of folks on holiday, so should be plenty of start times available!

July 19 Results and Write-Up

2009-07-20T21:33:00.007+01:00

Results are posted!

The English summer strikes again, turning what was an almost perfect CDL timing track in the morning into a sloppy, slimy, gooey mess that even Nickelodean would be proud off. The track started to get a little bit faster through the afternoon, just in time for another downpour before the finish. No matter to some though, over 60 steely tough riders thrashed their bikes down the rooty, flat corners of CDL for a good laugh.

This is actually not a jump, but when you're going that fast you've got no option but lift off. Unfortunately, Andy H suffered a very high speed impaler before timing started. He was white as a sheet from the pain before the medics gassed him up. He's recovering now, with some internal bruising around his kidneys, and finding it hard to do the simplest things. Our best get well wishes go out to you Andy! From July 20, 2009

Ben Worrall, on a new bike - one of Bryceland's old V10s. He slowly worked out how to turn it on, finally breaking the 1 minute barrier with a 58 second run, 3rd fastest on the day. From July 20, 2009

Kyle Dixon, back from who knows where, and faster than we remember him! From July 20, 2009

Wicked angle on a tricky corner compression combo. The top 5 was hotly contested for young and old. James Hopkins was closer than ever to that top spot, finally finishing with the 4th fastest time. Photo by Kitman. From July 20, 2009

We all love the young rippers, like Declan Whyte. They want it as much as anyone, and it will come if they just keep at it! From July 20, 2009

Colby Watts in the U16s entering the lower atmosphere from CDL's one gap jump. Keeping it low and tight for speed! From July 20, 2009

Tom Austerberry set the fastest time for a hardtail with a 1:07, and with a lot of style. And he's only 13! If his little bro Jack takes after him, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Ginger power! (I hope that's not rude.) From July 20, 2009

Demetri Wade on the gas! From July 20, 2009

Rich's Soiled Productions video is now here!

And here is Billy's video...

More photos here:
Kitman's Gallery
Billy and Lance's Gallery

RG Jerseys Now Available!

2009-07-18T09:40:00.002+01:00

From Cannock DH

Very limited availability. Sizes S, M, L, XL. Price: £35. Will be available on the July 19 Racer's Guild (tomorrow)!

Sorry, I will not take orders or reservations - these are first come first serve with cash in hand.

June 20 - Results and Write Up

2009-06-23T17:35:00.004+01:00

Results are now officially up, check them out and then relax to some more great pics from our snappers Drifterjon, Kitman, and Dale. Don't miss the Boon video at the bottom!

Right, let's get this out of the way first. Adam built this track, knows this track, and kills this track. Greg from the Squadron who took 2nd fastest time was well impressed and scratching his chin to think where he could find any extra speed to beat him. I reckon Adam would say you'd find it in the gym! (Where he spends most of his time when he's not on the bike.) Wicked shot by Dale.

Another awesome shot by Drifterjon of Adam. He won by a full second with a 47.2 second run. Quite astonishing. Keep in mind Steve Peat took 48.7 seconds, but that was in the wet and on a 5 metre shorter course that he'd only ridden once or twice. Anyone who has seen Adam ride is envious of his speed and body language on the bike, which is remarkably similar to Peaty now that you mention it...

This photo is like Space Odyssey meets Predator - Shane flowing through the foliage. This is the upper section of the New Line course in all it's green glory. Thanks to the sunshine, the ferns have come up and changed a lot of lines. Have you tried riding the Black line lately? Nigh on impossible! Photo by Drifterjon.

There were two stories from today that will go down in the annals of the RG history books. The first was Andy H, Squadron rider and general nutter. His 224 was in the shop, so he brought an old jump bike with Junior Ts. The New Line is maybe the hardest trail on the hill for hardtails. When Andy crossed the line I literally could not fathom the digits on my stopwatch. 48.5 seconds. 3rd fastest. Basically the same as Greg on a World Cup race bike. How is this possible? Seriously!? Photo by Kitman.

And this is story number two. Mad Sam, under 16, showed up with a brand spanking new Iron Horse Sunday. Never ridden before. Replacing his old hardtail with 2003 Marzocchi forks. Sam has got bags of skill, so we all wanted to know how this could be applied to a proper downhill machine. Sam adapted to the bike like white on rice! His time? Right up there with the big boys...50.5. Fastest junior. I can't wait to see his name in lights. Photo by Kitman.

Sam H jumping the tape - which in this case is completely legal and highly encouraged! (My first attempt was FAIL.) Adam taped the ballsy gap jump in the middle of the course so it couldn't be rolled - that's what the chicken line is for anyway. This gap was not easy, and the landing was destroyed by the end of the day from casing. Not hear though...easy clean. Photo by Drifterjon.

This was our sole woman entrant, but thankfully she's becoming a regular at the Chase. Becky is pretty quick and very tough...I saw her go down hard near the finish, bouncing her bonce (head) off the ground and jumping up and running to the finish! She is one class chick! Let's just hope Nadia, Joan, and the others come back to give her some competition. Photo by Kitman.

This is how downhill feels to me, total focus while the rest of the world blurs by unnoticed. Greg H, second place with a 48.3 second run. Greg and Elliot are off to the Fort William NPS next weekend - best of luck guys, the Squadron is due some! Photo by Drifterjon.

I just like this one because it's colourful and perfect. By Kitman.

A gorgeous snapshot of the life of a Midlands downhiller at the Chase (it's pixelated here, prettier if you click on it). Telemark skiers call it earning your turns. We spend approximately 15x more time pushing than riding. That means the riding downhill at Stile Cop must be 15x better than...well...sitting on the couch, going to the pub, riding XC - you name it. Artwork by Drifterjon.

Gallery Links:

Drifterjon's Photos
Kitman's Photos
Dale's Photos

May 24 Results and Write-Up

2009-05-25T16:29:00.007+01:00

Results are up. If it doesn't show May, refresh the page.

With so many snappers on the hill, I thought I'd collect my favourites and steal a page off littermag.com race reports...more glossy, less talky!

Another great shot of Adam H, Cannock's most photogenic rider, captured by Drifter. Even though the track was less than a minute for fast guys, it still had a bit of everything, from full throttle straight line to drifty corners and a deceptively tough rooty bit in the woods where it was all about carrying speed. Funny thing though, I can't quite figure out where this picture was taken?

I think this picture captures how perfect the day was. Loads of sunshine pouring down on us from the heavens and loads of friends on the hill riding it all up. Jamie C foot out on the Ridge Line. Photo by Tom Gaffney

The Squadron riders were out front from the start, with Greg setting a fast 53 second run and Andy H, shown here, flying into first with a 52, but that wouldn't hold for long... Elliot took a nasty fall at the finish jump when he tried to pre-jump off a small mound and keep a little more speed. It knocked the wind out of him, tweaked his bad shoulder, and bruised his kidneys according to the doc! Photo: Paul H aka Vic Tenant

Here you have a 3 part photo essay of speed, brought to you by the day's fastest rider, Chris Derry. Part 1: Pedal like fiend out of the start box... Photo: Dale Laywood

Part 2: ...hit the top speed ski jump in full racer tuck... Photo: Drifter

Part 3: ...and try to carry maximum speed through the roots. Elapsed time: 51.6 seconds! I wonder if that Yeti 303 gave him an edge here? Yeah, yeah, definitely...that 303 is the bike for the job at Cannock! Ha ha...hold on to your life savings, I'm just kidding... Photo: Kitman

I think British Cycling calls them Rippers. Snowboarders call them Grommits. Whatever. These young guns inspire all of us. We had two first timers, Jack A (age 8) and Declan W (age 10). Both did great and had the full support of mom or pop...Mick was yelling PEDAL! Photo by Tom.

The style awards. In 3rd, Richie's X-up. Not bad for being on his "beeriod," recovering from a late night! Photo by Drifer.

In 2nd, Luke's awesome whip. This kid can throw it down, he ought to have a number plate on! Photo by steerider.

And first prize goes to Gooch, mental as always. OK, a no-footer...ON CLIPLESS PEDALS. How did he land that? Did he click back in in the air? Did he just land on his beans? Congrats Gooch, you win our respect! Photo by steerider.

Hey Billy, can you sum up the day for us? Cheers! Photo by Lance

There are loads of pics. Definitely check out Kitman's, if you were there, he's probably got a quality shot of you, and you can download them fullsize! What a guy...

Kitman's Gallery
Drifter's Gallery
Dale's Gallery 1 and Gallery 2
Steve "Steerider" Gallery
A few from Billy and Lance's
Vic Tenant's Gallery
Tom Gaffney's Gallery

And of course, Team Boon Production's video action from the day!

Racers Guild May 2009 - Little Ridgewood from Ian Harvey on Vimeo.

April 10 - Results and Write-Up

2009-04-11T22:38:00.005+01:00

After hanging the results sheets on the laundry line outside today, they've finally dried out and been entered. Check 'em out here.

Nick G, tied for 2nd fastest Under 16 under stormy skies Photo: A Dunwoody

Good Friday brought rain of biblical proportions for the April Racer's Guild timed practice. At 1 PM, the Black Course was only damp, but by 4 PM after a 3 hour power shower, well it was less of a trail and more of a river. And the lovely-when-dry alternate ending was now nothing but frictionless flat corners and seriously sketchy berms.

Ali May, the second half of the tie in Under 16s. Photo: Kitman

Those that got off in the first half an hour had a faster course to ride on, and that included Rich P's very quick 1:07 for third fastest and Greg H's fastest time of day 1:05. The track would slowly deteriorate over the next three hours slowing by about 4 seconds on average. Which makes Kurtis K's run very surprising. I don't recall running into Kurtis before, but the man has some talent to spare as he put down a 1:06 followed by a 1:07 quite late in the day - a time even Greg admitted he couldn't match under those conditions. Awesome riding!

Mitch I would go fastest in the Under 16s with a 1:15, and Nadia W would fend off four other women riders with a 1:29. Both the Under 16 and Women's categories continue to grow - a big welcome to all our new riders!

Kurtis K - fastest in the wet. Photo: A Dunwoody

What blew me away about the day was how much fun you lot of kids managed to have in what was the worst conditions we've had on an RG day. Covered in head to toe in muddy grit and yet grinning ear to ear, loving every second, bragging about how big a drift or how sketchy a run was had. This is the mettle of British riders that makes them known worldwide as incredibly skilled downhillers. Not very impressive Easter egg hunters though...

No rainy day blues here! Photo: A Dunwoody

John I. enters the final greasy section at speed. Photo: A Dunwoody

Picture Galleries from:
Andy Dunwoody
The Kitman
McTomo
Oldgitonabighit

Boon Productions 2009: Black (Tears in the Rain)

"Clydesdale" Lance's Video

A closing message from Paul H: ROCK ON! Photo: A Dunwoody

March 15 - Results and Write-up

2009-03-20T08:38:00.004Z

Results are posted. Read 'em and weap!

Balboa is named after the one and only Rocky Balboa. The Italian Stallion was a true fighter and had a fair dose of determination, courage and commitment. All traits that came in pretty handy as you rounded the top tight corner and faced up with the rock double. OK, so it's no Dolph Lundgren, but don't bother throwing sucker punches cause it'll hit you right back and send you to the matt! This is how it's done:

The now infamous rock double beautifully hit. Photo: Kitman

Big thanks goes out to Kitman, who again provides some awesome photography. Check out his site and the full gallery. And here are links to Alex's gallery and Joe's gallery.

Bob the builder, and Mick too! Photo: Kitman

Yep, above is the man responsible for whipping Balboa into a daunting practice track. Mick, in the background, along with a few others also put in some hard graft the week before to bring you the new and improved version. (Although you can thank me and a load of XC beards for the rock double!)

Dan Price demonstrates proper corner entry technique. Photo: mentalalex

Not many had ridden Balboa, and for many of our less experienced riders it provided a challenge equal parts mental and physical. Everyone who gets into the ring with Balboa is gonna come away a better rider for it, and I think that was the best part about the day. Improvement. And sunshine!

Alex W, one of the increasing number of fast Under 16s. Photo: Kitman

Our Under 16s category is growing rapidly, and getting faster as well! Elliot Gill sat in the hot seat all day and looked like a sure fire shoe in for fastest junior with a 1:03, not too mention biggest air off the double, until Ali May and Mitch Ingley came down at the last minute with a 1:02 and 1:01 respectively. Elliot wouldn't be the only one disappointed at the last minute though!

Railed, a corner by Ali May. Photo: Kitman

Nadia lead the women with a great 1:16 and some very smooth riding, while Maria, Joan, and Becky were all around the 1:30 mark, giving each other some competition! It was great to see them all rolling the steep rock sections and not taking the chicken lines.

Nadia, fastest woman - no wait, that doesn't sound right! Photo: Joe Ellement

It was Greg H of the Squadron who set the early fast time for the rest of us. His 55.4 would stick until the very end, when he would get pipped by his own Squadron team mate Andy H whose 54.9 would be fastest time on the day. Adam H came down shortly after, declaring expletive after expletive about how shocking his race run was. It was a 55.1 for second fastest. Adam the grumpy perfectionist!

Sam M, crazy young hardtail talent and riding DEMON - click the photo and check out his eyes and you'll see what I mean! Photo: Kitman

Adam and Sam M, the crazy young hardtail talent, might just be related, we're not sure. Sam didn't crack a smile all day - he was totally focused on going absolutely as fast as fu...dge. Could he be the next Elliot Machin? Not sure, but he's awesome to watch. Hey Sam, we like you...smile!

Dan Green. Photo: Kitman

There was lots of biggish crashes, but only a few injuries. Kyle and his cousin down count, but Sam H took a trip to A and E to get his should checked out after hockey checking a tree in the jump-berm-jump section of Wonderland. We hope to see you on the bike again soon Sam!

Bzzzzzzzzzt! Photo: Kitman

Joan didn't take a single chicken line all day! Photo: Kitman

Pushin' up - the purist's way to ride downhill. Lazy slackers can stay at home. Plus it gives you time to have a laugh with your mates.

The Racer's Guild experience captured by Kitman.

Vic Tenant's Pinkbike Gallery

Boon Productions awesome vid - you can watch it over and over and over and...

Billy's Video

Photos from timing days:

2009-03-16T23:27:00.004Z

We're very lucky at Racers Guild to have several expert photographers, some of whom earn a living with their camera, give up their time to take photos of us riding our bikes. For free. We also have a raft of budding amateurs who're improving all the time and supplying us with awesome shots. Once again, they're free.

Nobody charges for photos from Racers Guild. and most of the photogs are happy for you to use their photos as you want. However, please recognise how lucky we are to have these guys, and credit them when you use the photo, whether that's linking to it on a forum or putting it on your pinkbike album.

For the trails and the local community...

2009-03-13T08:40:00.002Z

The Racer's Guild and moreover, the timed practices that we have been running each month have been a great success and word has gotten out. But we don't want to forget our core motivation, and that has always been to benefit the trails and the local downhilling community. The number of riders that attend continues to grow, to the point where we're as big as we can handle. For this reason you won't be seeing much advertising on the forums or websites anymore, as we want the practices to benefit the locals that have supported our hill. Thanks to all you regulars and especially the diggers who've made Stile Cop a hellavu fun place to ride!

By the way, we've got a doosy lined up for Sunday!

Feb 14 - Write up and Results

2009-02-17T19:51:00.002Z

Click for RESULTS.

Thanks to the Kitman for the killer photos below!

Hammer the last nail in the coffin for the bike vs. partner debate. One hundred and ten people showed up on Valentine's Day to ride bikes - more than any other RG! I'll leave you to ponder the state of our relationships and get on with the ride report...

Time for something totally different. Well, not that different, as most ride the Red Course more than any other track. But not at race pace. Yeah, the first third is fun and flowy, but after the big berm you're looking at a 30 second sprint over flat ground on legs that are already starting to feel it. And the final third which requires a bit of attention as you're wheezing and seeing red. How can a 1:30 second course utterly destroy so many?

The nature of the course meant that everything you knew about who's fast and not so fast was turned on it's head. Unless you studied last year's results, which a few actually had. Adam H was fastest last year. Could he hold his title? My money was on the hell-for-leather pedallers, like Andy H for example.

So when Scott Barley came down with a 1:17 and took three seconds out of Andy H who was leading at the time, I was a bit shocked! Yeah, Scott's fast, but flippin eck. Others who had legs included Adam B, Smithy, Ryan E, Jason P, and Mick W, who pegged an impressive tie for 7th, up from the middle of the pack where he usually hangs. Mick is twice the age of some of you!

Mick laying down some hurt on today's youf.

Elliot M put in a 1:18, but didn't seem much out of breath, he may have more in him. Eyes were on Adam H, and he didn' disappoint, setting a fast time that no one would even sniff at all day long. 1:14. Want to be that fast? Adam's in the gym 5 days a week boys (and girls). I guess Adam is so smooth I just never noticed him pedalling before... Elliot and Andy would get into the 1:17s but would go home pretty well spanked.

Adam bringing it home.

The Under 16s class has exploded with talent, and the poor local boys are trying to figure out how to fend off all the new talent. The fastest of the lot Nick G, Ali M, and the fastest of the day Mitch J with a 1:21. Credit to Tom A who went fastest on a hardtail, and Rich P, the fastest of the over 16s who showed immense style and speed on his jump bike.

Billy N's speed and skill on the bike have definitely been improving! Photo by Joe Ellement.

And finally, I have some ladies to write about! Four in fact, which is fantastic. It takes some guts to get out there in the middle of all that testosterone and do your thing. Hats off Maria, Joan, Becky, and Nadia (who went fastest by a fair way).

I'd just like to apologize for what I'm about to say next, because many of you are trying to forget it. The skin suit debacle. Few have seen such a grotesque spectacle. I heard one person instantaneously vomitted! But for the doubters, Alex T went 3 seconds quicker without his clothes on. Lesson over!

Words cannot express. Photo by victenant.

For Kitman's full gallery, click HERE.

Finally, we have recently famous Ian's video of the Valentine's Line...

A word about the series points...

2009-02-16T22:51:00.003Z

Hey folks. Have got some kinda bad news. It seems that by ranking times and having series points we were inching towards the competitive side of our non-competitive timed practices. So BC have asked us to stop the series points so that we don't invalidate our club insurance.

As you know, we need this insurance for the Forestry Commission to allow us to hold the practices on their land. And the alternative - getting full race insurance - brings with it a lot of cost and additional requirements that aren't in the grassroots spirit of the Racer's Guild.

We have contacted CTC to see if they can offer us a different insurance package. Will let you know what's up there. But until we can get something else worked out, there will only be your times posted, along with ranking for non-competitive purposes only.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. RESULTS are posted for Feb 14!

Also, check out Kitman's photos here. Click on the little "gallery" link for the full lot. Awesome photos - Kitman kicks it!

Full write up coming Tuesday. Check back soon!

A few reminders for Valentine's Day Practice

2009-02-12T21:12:00.003Z

First off, don't forget to give your loved one flowers before you kiss her goodbye for the day.

Secondly, bring a bin liner and join us before the RG for a litter pick around the hill. It will be fun! (Not really, but worth it.)

Finally, if you kept your number from last race, don't lose it. Either bring it back or keep it for the season. And don't think I don't know who you are...

Adam Beech
Alex Pogson
Andrew Hastings
Andy Dodd
Barracuda Bob
Colin Astley
Dan Roberts
Jake Smith
James Hawkins
James Hopkins
James Patrick
Jason Price
Maria Law
Sam Bowler
Sam Dale
Sam Waters
Scott Barley
Tim Hawkins
Tom Harris
Tom Majski

Digging / litter pick starts at 10 AM, Timing at 1 PM. See you Saturday!

Meet the Squadron

2009-02-02T21:49:00.002Z

For 2009, the Racer's Guild has spawned a national level downhill team. The top three finishers from the 2008 RG series will be racing the regional and NPS races together under one banner. The website is now live. Click the link below to meet The Squadron...

Jan 24 Results + Write Up

2009-01-25T11:49:00.006Z

Results are now posted! The BUM Chart (series points) won't be updated until after February's timed runs.

Twas a typical English winter day, cold and bright, the soil was thawing into a power sapping mess. Alex had taken one of Cannock's more technical tracks and turned it into an absolute beast of knife-edge riding. Once in the trees, no one was safe, and dare I say, all but one would be taking soil samples. About the only thing left shiny and clean were the roots. Roots that would haunt our dreams for nights to come.

But what good picture opportunities! The vultures clicked away to their hearts content. Just check out the carnage in the slide show below. Seriously, is there any better way to spend a Saturday in January?

View Album Get your own

The gallery includes pics from all our talented snappers: Andy Dunwoody (http://www.andydunwoody.com/), the Kitman (http://www.kitman.ownlog.com/), and Troy Overton. Thanks guys!

This course was one that you love to hate. I think anyone who made it down without touching earth felt a huge accomplishment. Personally, after three runs I was getting pretty aggravated. But the fourth was magic, and it did feel good to get it right! For some, like Smithy, that magic run never happened - the frustration must have been immense! Still, Andy caught this pretty awesome pic of him threading the needle and getting the front end up to avoid that nasty, nasty root (friction = zero!).

In the under 16s class, hardtail phenom Sam Maddison was back, hacking away at his time with a very smooth style that makes everyone notice. Sam did more runs than anyone else, committed to pinning it. After 7 runs, he would score an awesome 1:10. But there was another under 16 on the hill who was not going to lie down. He knew Sam had landed a 1:10, and the bar had been set. This young man, only 13, has actually been training this winter, and decided to put the power down and pedal the pins of his flats on the last run and netted a killer 1:08. Can we get a WOW for Elliot Gill? (Just don’t let it go to your head!)

The awesome thing about the Under 16s is that the class is growing and there is some good talent. Sam Hopkins will have his hands full protecting his title in 2009. This is what grassroots is all about!

For the rest of us older guys, the talk on the hill was about local favourite Mr. Sketch, the bigger Elliot. He'd showed up late, no gloves, no armor, front brake missing, and was seen taking a scouting run and passing Dean C (who is no slouch when it comes to speed) on that crazy slippery steep root section! Check it out:

Earlier, Tom Knight had set the gold standard with a 1:03. Tom's a sponsored 4x champ, and I didn't really think anyone was going to touch him. It was another local though that would give him a real scare, the Peat Beater, Dan Green. He pinned a 1:01. Dan just keeps getting faster and faster, and at his rate of improvement, he'll be racing World Cups by 2010! Tom wouldn’t let that stand though, and on his final run blazed a 1:00.

So that was that. Except for Mr. Sketch with no front brake. He didn’t think his run was any good. 59 seconds said otherwise. One run, that's it, then he disappeared. I simply cannot wait to watch him race for the Squadron all year.

What's missing from this picture?

I know I usually only write about the fast guys, but everyone really deserves a pat on the back after running such a nerve racking course. There was a really good vibe and everyone was battling with a smile. Donations were great on the day as well: 98 squids, which will help pay for the new number plates.

Ryan Edwards, the best photographed rider of the day!

Special thanks goes out to Si Paton for not only showing up with the van and giving all of the RG members some awesome deals (10% off for all members all the time!), but also doing an awesome write up on pink bike. Check it out: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/racers-guild-january-2009.html

Special thanks to regular snapper Andy Dunwoody, new hot shoe Kitman, and camera borrowing Troy Overton. There galleries are here:

Dunwoody's: http://www.andydunwoody.com/
Kitman's: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/przemekkita/RacerSGuildCannockChaseStileCop#
Overton's: http://eddy6freeride.pinkbike.com/album/cannock-rg-24th-january/
McTomo's: http://mctomo.pinkbike.com/album/racers-guild-timed-runs/

And finally, more video gold from the movie maestro Ian of Team Boon productions:

The Party - and what's new for 2009

2009-01-01T12:58:00.008Z

Happy New Year! Hope Mctomo doesn't mind me pinching his cool sparkler photo at left - thought it was pretty festive! 2008 was a great year for Stile Cop and the Racer's Guild. It's been a real pleasure making new friends and thrashing bikes down our little patch on Cannock Chase. To celebrate 2008, we've got our first annual RG party...

2008 End-of-Year Party and DVD Launch
Date: Friday, Jan 9
Time: 7:30 - 10:30 PM (Not AM Bev!)
Location: Cannock Chase Birches Valley Visitor Centre, New "Treehouse" Classroom (see picture below)
Who's Invited: RG riders and friends, family, partners.
Beverages: Bring your own! (it's a grassroots party...)
Music: Supplied by DJ Stinky Harry
Cost: Classroom rental cost is £75, so the donation tin will be out! Also, bring money to buy a copy of the Boon Productions DVD.
Parking: At Birches Valley (or Go-Ape parking area), will update this post later when I find out if you need to pay and display (better safe than sorry).

The FC has kindly let us use the new classroom, so this will be a pretty chilled party - just like our RG practices. The entrance to the new classroom is past Swinnertons to the earth mound and through the gate on the right. The new classroom is the long building with the deck, but the entrance is from the courtroom side, shown below.

We will premier the Boon Productions DVD recapping the 2008 season, which also includes some extras from Ian's video library. You'll be able to buy a copy at the party. We should also have Andy Dunwoody on site with a rolling slideshow of photos from the year...don't forget you can buy his very cool calendar and other cool stuff with your photo on it from the Red Bubble site. I've got mine hanging on the wall already and it is class!

On to 2009...

The plan for 2009 is more of the same! Why change what's not broken right? There will be some minor website changes, which you may have already noticed. The number of practices that count for your final season total will be dropped from 8 to 6. And we'll also be getting the same kind of pimp number plates that we used for BSP for the whole season. And Descent-Gear has decided to support the RG by offering a 10% discount to their already CRC competitive prices. Thanks Si! Check out the members page for more info...

There will also be some good improvements to Stile Cop. More signage. Better jumps. And those new dirt piles will be transformed into a cool new skills area / dirt jump line! It's all very exciting, but please don't get too eager and screw things up by working unofficially on the lines.

And finally, spawned from the grassroots of Stile Cop and stopwatches, something very fast this way comes! As everyone knows, we've got some sick talent locally, and we've decided to select a few of the top guys and make a team which will hit the major races, including the NPS, in 2009. RG riders are free to join us at the races, but the actual Squadron Downhill Team has already been selected for 2009: Greg Hampton, Elliot Machin, and Andy Hughes.

The team will have some very wicked jerseys, and similar RG jerseys will be available for anyone to purchase. We are hoping to get T-shirts and stickers as well! The first race will be the Wentwood Downhill on March 1st. Look for the website to go online before then so you can follow their success over the next season of racing. I personally can't wait! Bring on Spring!

2008 Series Finale - Results

2008-12-23T11:44:00.009Z

Results are now posted for the Dec 21st practice, including the Final Results for the 2008 Series.

December Timed Run Results
Series Results (BUM Chart)
Detailed Breakdown

The defining image of December's festivities...a jolly McTomo! Links to galleries and videos below...

And what a year it's been! From all the organizers, a big thanks to all you guys for showing up, keeping things chilled and fun, and chucking some silver in the donations tin. We've got some tweaks in store for 2009 that should make things a little better...but enough idle chat, let's get to the series results!

I can now reveal the Top Ten for the 2008 Racer's Guild Practice Series...
(queue dramatice music and wait for a very annoying 30 seconds...)

1. Greg Hampton - 782 pts
2. Andy Hughes - 777 pts
3. Elliot Machin - 774.8 pts
4. Dave Cotton - 764.2 pts
5. Adam Halling - 762.8 pts
6. John Hayes - 742 pts
7. Dan Green - 715 pts
8. Aaron Neumann - 714.4 pts
9. Matt Smith - 707.6 pts
10. Rich Parsons - 698 pts

Those results are based on the best 8 runs. We had 23 people make at least 8 sessions, so we may reduce that requirement to 7 or 6 for next year. I've also added two new columns to the BUM chart titled that give the Average points scored each round (minimum two rounds required) and the how the Average points rank. This is an indication of a riders speed regardless of how many rounds they completed. The top three Average point scorers were Mark Milward, Dave Upton, and Greg Hampton.

The new 15 and Under class has had some shake ups in points. I'm sorry that I'd previously missed a few 15 and Under rider's out of the class. Hopefully everyone's included now...

15 and Under Class Top Ten for the 2008 Racer's Guild Practice Series

1. Sam Hopkins - 667.8 pts
2. Ben Robson - 472.2 pts
3. Alistair May - 376.6 pts
4. Elliot Gill - 365 pts
5. Joe Ellement - 277.4 pts
6. Henry Simons - 262.2 pts
7. Davide Upton - 200 pts
8. Luke Cryer - 198 pts
9. Will Weston - 191.6 pts
10. Billy Netherton - 184 pts

Not many of the juniors were able to make all 8 practices. Based on the Average points per round, Will Weston was fastest, with Sam Hopkins and Alistair May behind him. 2009 will definitely be an interesting year for our Juniors category!

I can also reveal that the Racer's Guild is forming a top level racing team for 2009. It will include some of the fastest Guild members, and will tour the NPS, Pearce, and other local race series. Riders have already been selected for the "Squadron", and expect to see more information and a new website for the team in early 2009.

Pictures from December 21
Rob Crayton's Gallery
Greg Hampton's Pinkbike Gallery

Team Boon's Xmas Line Video

Billy's Video

Expectations blown away... (Update #1)

2008-11-16T19:17:00.009Z

UPDATE: Results now online! Quick links for Practice Results (both RG + BSP), Series Chart, and Detailed Stats.

Going into the last practice of the year, the top ten is quite close. Are the top 3 safe? Will Dave C pimp Adam H? And Dan G (hot off his BSP win), Smithy, Richie and myself are so close we're nearly siamese. Place your bets...

Also, check out Richie's Soiled Productions vid below - it's got some great chase cam footage of Dan G and current #1 Most Wanted Mark M.

And finally, down to something very, very special. Tonight our Firstgiving donations for the Athlete Recover Fund went over the $4,500 target (£3,000), and with the remainder of the donations from Saturday, I wrote a check to the Stephen Murray Family Fund for £2,593. And there are still a few remaining donations! It's a beautiful thing.

*****

Peaty came. We conquered. Track records were demolished. The fundraising target was utterly annihilated. And one local boy would actual Beat Steve Peat.

His face pretty much sums up the day!

The actual results will take me a little while to put together, so I'm going to give you top ten finishers for both rounds yesterday.

Racer's Guild Session - Wonderland
1. Steve Peat (51.7 sec)
2. Mark Milward (56.0 sec)
3. Andy Hughes (57.0 sec)
4T. Greg Hampton (57.1 sec)
4T. Miami Bryce (57.1 sec)
6T. Dave Cotton (58.4 sec)
6T. Si Paton (58.4 sec)
8. Harry Heath (58.8 sec)
9. John Hayes (59.5 sec)
10. Jamie Munroe (59.7 sec)

Beat Steve Peat - New Line
1. Dan Green (55.5 - 9 = 46.5 sec)
2. Steve Peat (48.7 sec)
3. Tristan Tunstall (55.8 - 6 = 49.8 sec)
4T. Matt Smith (59.9 - 10 = 49.9 sec)
4T. Mark Milward (52.9 - 3 = 49.9 sec)
6. James Hopkins (59.4 - 9 = 50.4 sec)
7T. Greg Hampton (54.7 - 4 = 50.7 sec)
7T. Miami Bryce (54.7 - 4 = 50.7 sec)
9. Dave Cotton (55.8 - 5 = 50.8 sec)
10. John Isaac (1:02.9 - 12 = 50.9 sec)

Congratulation Dan Green! If you can't quite remember who Dan Green is, try to recall the guy on the Orange who is always got a big grin on his face - that's him. Look, he's even grinning in this picture:

The Winner!

How did he do it?

Well, for the afternoon feature event we used a handicap system based on the times from the morning timed runs. Dan Green put in two clean and consistent runs on Wonderland in the morning, with his best being a 1:02.3. Steve's time on Wonderland in the morning was a staggering 0:51.7. The difference of 10.6 seconds is put into an equation which pops out Dan's handicap for the second race, which turns out to be an even 9 seconds.

So if Dan can get inside 9 seconds of Peaty in the afternoon, he'll beat him. Well Peaty clocked an incredible 48.7 second run in the afternoon on the New Line. That means Dan would have to beat the time of 57.7 seconds, and he had one run to do it. Dan's a good rider and he's always at the Racer's Guild meets working on his speed, and he pulled out a corker of a run, completely pinning it for a 55.5! I'm glad Dan gets some glory, because he's a super nice guy and deserves it!

Let's get on to the fundraising, which is heart and soul of what we accomplished Saturday. We set a target of £3,000, and up until Friday things were looking a little sketchy. But you guys pulled it off big style and really brought it home on the day! No signs of a recession around here!

This is a figure that will make a huge difference to the Murray family, a family that could have been yours or mine if chance had played it's cards differently. We had a blast riding bikes yesterday, and let's not take that for granted.

Thank you all for your awesome efforts to get out there and raise money for a good cause, and to all those who gave so generously.

The untold story of why Steve Peat is a legend

I have got loads of respect for Peaty, and let me tell you why. It's not because he came down to little ol' Stile Cop hill and gave everyone a smile, an autograph, a handshake, and even a kiss, as the case may be with my wife (it's true!). It's not because when he could have half-assed it down our little hill, he gave it full welly and put on a real show, inspiring anyone who wants to ride bikes fast. It wasn't because he showed up and paid his £100 that he raised himself to get his two runs in the afternoon just like everybody else.

It's because after everyone had left, he handed my wife an big heavy envelope. In it was his sponsor form with a load of handwritten sponsorships, along with a load of cash and coins. It added up to £551. That's on top of the £105 he paid to get into the event. He'd gone around and done things the old fashioned way, raising more than any of us for his friend Stephen Murray. And he'd waited until the end of the day to quietly give it to us so he wouldn't steal the glory from any of the other top fundraisers. In fact, he probably wouldn't want me to tell you this. But I'm going to, so you can see the kind of man that he is. Steve, you are second to no one!

Photo Op

As you know we've always got top class snappers on the hill at Racer's Guild. Be sure to check out Andy's gallery (click) and purchase a nice photo of you or Steve. All the proceeds go towards the fundraising, so it's a great way to get a great keep sake and donate a bit more for only £3 to £6.

Team Boon's must watch BSP Video

New! Soiled Productions BSP Coverage

Last Minute Information!

2008-11-14T09:04:00.002Z

Schedule: We hope to start at 10, so try to get there by 9 - 9:30 for registration.

Parking: We will fill up the fire road and normal Stile Cop car park first, and then overflow into the horse field, which they have kindly let us use. Thank you horsey people!

Food: Rumor has it that a burger van will be on site! But best to bring some of your own food just in case.

Facilities: If you haven't been to Cannock before, then be warned - there are no facilities on site.

Money: Bring some! We'll have multiple ways to get a bit more out of you for charity, including photography by some very good photographers...

Course: Right, I'll let the cat out of the bag a little early - It will be Wonderland in the morning and New Line in the afternoon.

Number plates: We have special ones for this event, so no need to bring your regular RG number.

Weather: Looking a bit dogdy at the moment, better bring your rain gear.

Descent-Gear at Beat Steve Peat

2008-11-09T10:27:00.003Z

To keep you on track with all your spares and repairs we have secured the guys from Descent-Gear.com who will be turning up with their big van rammed full of all the essentials and latest goodies and some one off Beat Steve Peat Cannock Race Specials!

Phone and order anything in advance the week before the race and any racer can get an additional 10% off and they will either deliver trackside or post direct to your door!

Marshalling at the event? You can also get an additional 10% off on the day from the guys at Descent-Gear.com

Heading up the microphone we have the pulled in the best in the land, none other than Si Paton who will keep you entertained and informed on the days racing and the riders.

A bit of Miami in Cannock... (updated)

2008-11-05T19:46:00.005Z

Yep, that's right, the current World #1 junior has signed up for Beat Steve Peat! Josh Bryceland broke out from under Steve's mentoring wing this year and has proven he's got the racer's edge along with bags of style (well, apart from the hair). He's the current World Champion and World Cup winner, but amazingly doesn't have a single Racer's Guild point! We all can't wait to see him ride...

Below is the current entry list, which stands at 79 as of Nov 9. Donations are up to spot on £1,800, but everyone I've talked is going full throttle on fundraising and bringing the money on the day, so I'm stoked!

Please notify me (Aaron) if you've noticed a mistake or omission in the below list at pslide@racersguild.co.uk .

Note: I recently received a check from S. Wakefield. If you are reading this, can you please email me and clarify who it is for? And also, can Chris O'day please confirm if he is coming, as we have not received your entry donation yet. Thanks!

Aaron Neumann £154
Aaron Tolley £10
Adam Boech £10
Alex Thompson £0
Ali May £10
Andy Hughes £10
Andy Ward £10
Barracuda Bob £10
Bart Jaskiewicz £19
Ben Robson £10
Billy Netherton £357
Bob Dangerfield £10
Bruce Parks £10
Dale Hennessey £10
Dan Doleman £12
Dan Green £10
Dan Roberts £10
Dan Jackson £47
Dan Mosely £10
Darren Hale £31
Dave Cotton £28
David Wiliams £10
Ed Smith £10
Elliot Gill £109
Gareth Warren £10
George Newton £10
George Simons £10
Greg Hampton £100
Harry Clark £10
Ian Willstead £10
James Hopkins £10
James Tennant £0
Joan Dangerfield £31
Joe Ellement £12
John Hayes £10
John Isaac £10
Josh Lane £50

Kyle Dixon £25
Lee Mackintosh £12
Louis Swann £46
Marc "Yatesy" £10
Marcus Bell £12
Mark Milward £12
Mark Scrambler £10
Matt "Smithy" £10
Mick Whyte £140
Neil Harris £10
Nick Lane £10
Paul Bennett £34
Paul Robson £10
Paul Savage £10
Pete Wilson £10
Peter Gill £10
Rich Parsons £110
Ryan Davies £10
Sam Hopkins £12
Steve Deveieax £10
Stu Tite £12
Tim Riley £10
Tim Upston £10
Tom Smith £10
Vic Parsons £10
Will King £34

From the North:
Steve Peat
Farmer Jack
Josh "Miami" Bryceland
Josh "Mad Dog" Lewis
"Ken" Barlow
Kevin Radical
Max Feetham
Paddy "BMX" Baker

New entries as of Nov. 9 include:
Andrew Hastings
Andrew Phythian
Al Raines
Dangerous Dave Moorhouse
Guy Brooke
Paul Fowkes

Some good numbers...

2008-11-01T23:25:00.003Z

Number of people who've been timed at RG: Over 200
Number of RG members: 104 - biggest active downhill club in the UK???
Current number of entries to the Beat Steve Peat Charity Event: 65
Current funds raised: Over £1,700!

Peaty's bringing 5 mates down from Sheffield, all of whom are going to try to raise the £100, which is awesome!

I will post the current list of entrants, and total funds raised on Wednesday. If you've sent your registration via snail mail, don't worry, I got it!

Here is Team Boon's BSP Advert in case you didn't catch it on the forum:

Oct 26 - Results and Write-Up

2008-10-27T22:35:00.006Z

Results have been posted! Quick links to Stats, BUM chart, and Details.

Under 15's Class results have been updated! See below for details...

Photography by Tom "Mctomo" Gaffney.

It was the day for the official bedding in of the "new line" - otherwise known as the course with no name, which is the treacherous devil-child of some of Cannock's top riders such as Adam H, Dave C, and Elliot M. From the fast and flowy start through the tight and technical, over the drops and through the breakneck finish, it makes for one helluva minute or so. And it was made much more devious by that blue blob, which had visited the night before to add a nice layer of slime. Tough, yes. Fun, oh yeah.

Adam H, course designer.

Mark Milward, fresh off his National Champs 1st place win and Worlds 3rd place, was looking like easy money for the fastest time. Keeping speed on this course was no easy matter, which suited Marks hard charging style, pedalling every inch he can. But it was Greg H, interestingly a guy with a similar pedally style, that would nip him with a fantastic 55.7 second run for the fastest time of the day. Based on the BUM chart, it would appear that Greg might just be the fastest man on the hill, and that has caught the eye of a potential sponsor for Greg for next year, but I'll keep my lips sealed about that one...

2nd fastest Mark M putting far too much trust in his tyres

Adam H and Dave C had super fast times as well, and Dave was one of the few people to fully clear the swamp gap at the bottom. From the finish line I counted about 6 people who gave it a go only to case it and loose valuable speed at the finish. Needless to say, most only tried it once, especially Peter G, who hadn't walked the final length of the course and, to my terror, rode right off the gap at half speed disappearing into the swamp nearly head first!

Peter G, on rocks at Cannock? Blimey what next?

Updated - We actually had 6 Under 15s, not 4. Newcomer Jack Terry (who forgot to sign in) took the fastest time from Sam Hopkins - not a bad start! It was looking like Ben Hardwick was going to school them all on his hardtail, nailing the drops with great finesse - until I found out that he was actually 15 and would have to play with the big boys! For the record, only two guys were brave enough to ride hardtails down this monster, the other being Ali W in the Under 15s. Sam H did his usual best and took 2nd fastest, with Will W and Elliot G on his tail. Joe E rounded out the pack, and was smiling all day even not having had the chance to really practice the course.

Sam H, fastest Under 15 and leading the series.

Even though the new line is one of the shorter courses, times were quite long due to the technical difficulty and mud, which didn't necessarily bog as it did sap. We had around 60 riders, with £36 in the donation tin - not quite enough to cover the medic, so don't forget your pocket change next time!

James H, tweaked

The Beat Steve Peat event is less than 3 weeks away now, and I'm really excited. Got the custom number plates in the mail today and they awesome. Peaty's bringing 5 mates down with him and we're all gonna have a good time for a good cause. There are still spots remaining, so click if you haven't signed up yet and get to it! We much prefer to have local RG guys get the spots than people from further afield, which is starting to happen since the coverage on Pinkbike and Descent World. We're expecting more coverage in the coming weeks as well.

Click here for more of Tom's pics on Pinkbike. And check out Ian's awesome video from the day below and see for yourself how much fun the course is!

Team Boon's "Guild XI"
by Ian Harvey