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Fall Epic 8 at Hardwood

3K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  14Stone 
#1 ·
So tonight at midnight is the deadline to sign up for the Fall Epic 8. Weather looks stellar, the race course is loads of fun. So who's racing this weekend? :)
 
#4 ·
I shall be there as well, doing my usual solo single speed. Agree with merdoff that the course is nice and flowy. They added many sections that completely confused me as to where I am, effectively making it fresh and new. Well done Pulse Racing. And the weather looks fantastic !!!

And speaking of circus bears ... I shall be the circus clown dressed up as a mountain bike racer. :D
 
#19 ·
It was an amazing day!! I came in with no expectations but to go for a long ride & ended up on the podium (3rd) in solo women with 12 laps. Great showing by many eastern Canada members, CONGRATS!!!

The only negative part of my day was hearing some douchebag refer to the very young man who was a little overweight but was out there giving it his all, as lardass, loud enough that he likely heard him (I pray he didn't). If you are on this forum as a member or a lurker all I say to you is "karma is a biatch"
 
#21 ·
Couldn't have asked for better weather for the race. Great day, good people.

As for the kid, I saw him, he and his team were parked beside me in the solo pit. I rode with him to the finish on one of the laps he did, he seemed fairly upset on his lap, but by the end of the day he was all smiles. I hope he's back out next year.

Though man, closing down the BBQ before the Solo's get to have their swing at it SUUUUUCKS. Smelling them burgers all friggen day only to rush my fat arse over there to see them closing up shop is mean!
 
#23 · (Edited)
Fantastic day for riding and racing, congrats to all who podium'ed and especially to all solo riders. The course seemed to get better and better as the day went on, at the beginning it seemed a bit "fresh" in some spots.

A few remarks from organizational/logistics stand point though. First and foremost - 8 port-a-potties for probably close to a 1000 people, and no portable hand wash stations with them?! NO FACILITIES to wash hands, period, as the washrooms in the main chalet closed shut, too. WTF was that?! Ridiculous. Talk about unsanitary... Whoever thought that would be a good way to save money - great idea. Just hope no one got sick.

Then, a smaller issue, but still - the placement of the results tent. Really?? That was the best spot you could have thought of?.. As riders come off the course, they had to circle back around the busy bike stand corral, and go back to see it, when most campsites were in the other direction. Not to mention one of the monitors was barely suitable as a display..

Come the awards ceremony, the PA system could hardly be heard through the noise of the large crowd. it was so bad that at least one team had missed the podium ceremony, and they were standing about 20-30 feet from the podium... When we suggested to the Pulse folks (I assume they were Pulse folks who were doing the announcing) that many people can't hear anything, all we got back was "There is nothing we can do about it" Really? How about moving the speakers closer in towards the podium area - they were standing far behind it on stands. Talk about the lazy, don't care attitude.

Don't get me wrong, my whole team and friends had a great time, but these things sure stuck out, and just show how the quality of organizing is slowly going down...
 
#24 ·
tyh83, I heard you a couple of times during the ride.

I managed to do 10 laps. I was hoping to do more, but I'm just too slow on singletrack right now. I need more time in the saddle to get better.

8 hours on a hard tail really beat you up. Thinking about getting a Full Suspension bike for Leadville. Also will make up a bit for my lack of technical skills.

This was my first Epic, I probably do more in the future and I have to do more than 10 laps next time!

I was hurting at the end, so it was a good ride.

Ditto Arek comment about the washrooms.
 
#25 ·
I had a good day at the race and managed to snag 2nd place in the solo single speed category with 14 laps. But I found the course very rough for a rigid setup. By the last 2 laps I was barely able to hold on to the handlebars. It was also quite crowded on the course, but I found that everyone was very courteous.

And then they called my name for the series championship, proving that consistency can pay off even when there are plenty of riders that are stronger and faster. Sometimes luck helps more than anything else. :)

And last but not least, it was great to see all my friends, many of whom did really, really well. Congratulations to all.
 
#27 ·
I was lucky enough to get a hamburger before the awards ceremony started. They seemed low on patties at the time. I think they just ran out.

serious, I think single speed mountain bikers are just crazy ;<)! I cannot imagine doing the Epic single track on a rigid single speed. I can do Durham Forest on my cross bike, but I wouldn't want to do the Epic on it. Congrats on your second place finish, well done.
 
#43 ·
So while you guys argue the finer points of successful bike racing, I want to point out 14Stone's excellent performance on Saturday. The man did 11 laps, on a single speed. Not only did he kick a$$, but if there was a bear on the course, he probably could have kicked its a$$ as well. Yes he is that big a guy. :)

Congratulations 14Stone!
 
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