Well I'm posting this in the members section because I don't want to look like I'm just having a go at a venue and a club for kicks.
First of all I thought the Venue was gick..I suppose having to stare at a row of disused, decrepit buildings that looked like a bad day in Chechnya didn't help.
The disaster that was going to be the Youth races and the chaos and utter shambles of the sports race just did it for me.
From where I was standing there was feck all racing, just a dreary procession of riders !
Fair play to the winners..they earned their places, because in my opinion, , Mountainbiking should be done in places of natural beauty, even lady dixons is a beautiful place..and XMTB put on a brilliant event and everything ran like clockwork
But that kip we were in today..if I thought that , that was going to be acceptable for NPS' or MTB racing of any kind I think i would be violently ill..
My apologies to the angry people who had a go at me..and to whom I told to **** off..!!
I was not the Commissar..I was just there to Commentate and encourage..so I was not in a postion to do anything about anything..though I did try.
I'm angry about it, because a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get there, have made a commitment to racing , just to be handed what in my opinion was a step backwards !
One of the under 14s was in tears because he went wrong, and didn't know where the hell he was supposed to go !! His Dad had a go at me and after trying to convince him I wasn't in charge, I had to tell him to **** off !! to get him away from me..he was fierce angry !!
I was not ne bit happy to see that !! or to have to throw shapes to stop someone punching me , over something that was not my fault !!
I'll never set foot in that kip again and theres no way anybody will ever convince me that, that was great racing..
by the time the Elites were finished , everybody had fecked off out of there !!
Thats absolutely unbelievable !!
Richie
Absolutely agree with you Richie, if the weather had not been so good this would've been the worst race ever. And it's a shame because I think that place does have the potential..
There were a few things that that were most annoing, the lack of proper signpositng leading to the venue, strange location of the sign on, incredibly badly marked race track (I went the wrong way myself on the 4th lap!), nobody making sure everyone was ok around the danerous bits (drop offs etc), bits of glass and other post-construction debris on the track.... and the list goes on.
This made the Killarney race look like a world class venue!
would have to agree with what your saying richie but have to admit i was enjoying the course until da chain broke, then again i always enjoy being out on da bike but this is an nps not a sunday spin , there was alot of confussion out on the course , there were more fire extinguishers than marshals or signs on the course this is an nps and there should be some proper organisation put into this event, the section in the sports race where the u14 and 12 went 1 way and the sports the other was a shambles no marshals a crap sign that you could miss very easy i did only for shane the painter who was taking photos at that section everybody would have went the wrong way ,its a fair drive up for alot of people and to be disqualified for taking the wrong route because the signs are gick is hard no chip timing either the weather was the only thing that was good about the placei hope the next rd in kilaloe is better roll on kippure next sunday proper trails proper mtb:)
yeah , Shane rang me and I told him to move the tape..I'd take the flak..
like you say its an NPS and Fergal has worked damn hard to make the NPS a success !!
Along with the clubs !
its the National Points Series !!
I was gutted for the girls who went the wrong way and all the other people who had a **** race !
But when you see the kids getting upset !!!
**** that **** !!
Yep, Big Thanks to Brian and Harry and other pit crew fail to mention, They were very professional, which is the complete opposite with the people doing the signposting to the venue and the coarse marking.
The pit crew are indeed gods !! would have crawled back to the end without the bottles being handed to me, and to get the encouragement, it really is something you look forward to every lap, thanks lads !!!
Yep course marking was a shambles, went the wrong way 3 times on my practice lap, marshalls out on the course were few and far between and the whole place was a bit dreary alright. Was having a good race with SteveM up untill my puncture and front brake failure on lap 3! Pit crew were great though at handing out bottles, thanks lads..
Oh yes, big thanks to Pit Crew, I don't think anyone would've survived today without them! Fair play to Harri & Jack for driving up just to do the bottles.
I dropped a bottle on the 2nd lap but it was my fault, I just stormed into the pit stop without slowing down!
The pit crew were on fire!! oh yeah, fair play lads ,to drive all the way up there and dish out bottles and spure us all on, sensational!
On the other hand I have to say that was a health hazard. Id only be repeating alot of what has being said so Ill save my breath.
Well done to everyone for getting around and completing their race, not easy at all!
and to Byrner for keeping me in fits of laughter at the start line!! Poor ould James Joyce sitting on the wall, didnt know were to look!!
Alfie didn't even hear that stick !!
I don't think some of the very serious people were impressed
" hey..theres James Joyce..nice of Ger Jackson to bring his same sex wife to the race, however its not a true Hillbilly marraige as their not related !! "
I don;t know where that **** comes from !!
Well glad I am not the only one annoyed, last I heard I got chucked out of the race having thought I won Sport. I make no excuse for my mistake and accept the penalty, but several others made the same mistakes and got chucked out of podium positions, the same area was changed for masters but because we were sharing the loop with underage it was all a bit of a mess. I was leading when I cut the section so I had nothing to gain.
I felt sorry for the underage guys, they were terrorised by the sports riders coming behind them, the commisar mentioned some were hurt in collisions
He also mentioned they had to disqualify people last year when there was problems in the same area we cut. So instead of acting on it they did nothing. Some way to finalise the results.
Some lads actually went round and done a few extra laps. There was confusion there also.
There was one marshall at the top of that hill watching for people cutting, instead of directing the area. He was the only one I saw. While I was over there a few orgainisers were chasing lads on dirt bikes rallying up and down the race course while the Seniors were coming through.
Got the impression that the organisers saw the Sport and underage as a joke race, barely worth the time, if that was your first experience of the sport you would probably feel the same.
I have travelled to nearly all the races this year and the Leinster XC run by Racing 795 and Cuchulainn made that look silly and there not even NPS. Even the Development races were excellent. Thats the standard we got used to, I am not round long enough but I expect today was the standard years ago and that crew aint moving forward. Cuchulainn lost their NPS last year for the timing, but at least we enjoyed a full race. Ok the event took place thanks to the commitment of alot of volunteers, but its easy to be pass it off and accept it on that basis alone. If folks travel they expect a good show, we got used to a high standard, if its not up to much I feel the Sport suffers.
Got a few nice photos though, will upload soon.
Alan
Alan..you need to make an official complaint to Fergal..not at him, as he can only suggest/demand that Organisers do what everybody else has done.
But at least he will have complaints to back up his argument.
WHile I'm on it..
the Commission is not just Fergal..I think thats the only race Sean wasn't at , because hes under pressure to get the EPIC DH NPS sorted..but hes been at all the others..
These boys are doing more than anybody has ever done to improve the XC NPS..
Organisers are not going to other people races..so how the **** do they know what way things are ran..
Darragh Maloney was at todays race, hes one of the Organisers of the UL race..so I was glad to see him there !!
But where was the rest of his club..
And as for the Development races..they were ran by a tiny handful of people...
Me , Fergal and Sean with help from a few local bodies !!
I've ran more races than anybody since 1989...and raced more of them than any ! I've seen some **** venues..thats now top of the list !!
Well I'm posting this in the members section because I don't want to look like I'm just having a go at a venue and a club for kicks.
First of all I thought the Venue was gick..I suppose having to stare at a row of disused, decrepit buildings that looked like a bad day in Chechnya didn't help.
The disaster that was going to be the Youth races and the chaos and utter shambles of the sports race just did it for me.
From where I was standing there was feck all racing, just a dreary procession of riders !
Fair play to the winners..they earned their places, because in my opinion, , Mountainbiking should be done in places of natural beauty, even lady dixons is a beautiful place..and XMTB put on a brilliant event and everything ran like clockwork
But that kip we were in today..if I thought that , that was going to be acceptable for NPS' or MTB racing of any kind I think i would be violently ill..
My apologies to the angry people who had a go at me..and to whom I told to **** off..!!
I was not the Commissar..I was just there to Commentate and encourage..so I was not in a postion to do anything about anything..though I did try.
I'm angry about it, because a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get there, have made a commitment to racing , just to be handed what in my opinion was a step backwards !
One of the under 14s was in tears because he went wrong, and didn't know where the hell he was supposed to go !! His Dad had a go at me and after trying to convince him I wasn't in charge, I had to tell him to **** off !! to get him away from me..he was fierce angry !!
I was not ne bit happy to see that !! or to have to throw shapes to stop someone punching me , over something that was not my fault !!
I'll never set foot in that kip again and theres no way anybody will ever convince me that, that was great racing..
by the time the Elites were finished , everybody had fecked off out of there !!
Thats absolutely unbelievable !!
Richie
Absolutely agree with you Richie, if the weather had not been so good this would've been the worst race ever. And it's a shame because I think that place does have the potential..
There were a few things that that were most annoing, the lack of proper signpositng leading to the venue, strange location of the sign on, incredibly badly marked race track (I went the wrong way myself on the 4th lap!), nobody making sure everyone was ok around the danerous bits (drop offs etc), bits of glass and other post-construction debris on the track.... and the list goes on.
This made the Killarney race look like a world class venue!
would have to agree with what your saying richie but have to admit i was enjoying the course until da chain broke, then again i always enjoy being out on da bike but this is an nps not a sunday spin , there was alot of confussion out on the course , there were more fire extinguishers than marshals or signs on the course this is an nps and there should be some proper organisation put into this event, the section in the sports race where the u14 and 12 went 1 way and the sports the other was a shambles no marshals a crap sign that you could miss very easy i did only for shane the painter who was taking photos at that section everybody would have went the wrong way ,its a fair drive up for alot of people and to be disqualified for taking the wrong route because the signs are gick is hard no chip timing either the weather was the only thing that was good about the placei hope the next rd in kilaloe is better roll on kippure next sunday proper trails proper mtb:)
yeah , Shane rang me and I told him to move the tape..I'd take the flak..
like you say its an NPS and Fergal has worked damn hard to make the NPS a success !!
Along with the clubs !
its the National Points Series !!
I was gutted for the girls who went the wrong way and all the other people who had a **** race !
But when you see the kids getting upset !!!
**** that **** !!
Yep, Big Thanks to Brian and Harry and other pit crew fail to mention, They were very professional, which is the complete opposite with the people doing the signposting to the venue and the coarse marking.
The pit crew are indeed gods !! would have crawled back to the end without the bottles being handed to me, and to get the encouragement, it really is something you look forward to every lap, thanks lads !!!
Yep course marking was a shambles, went the wrong way 3 times on my practice lap, marshalls out on the course were few and far between and the whole place was a bit dreary alright. Was having a good race with SteveM up untill my puncture and front brake failure on lap 3! Pit crew were great though at handing out bottles, thanks lads..
Oh yes, big thanks to Pit Crew, I don't think anyone would've survived today without them! Fair play to Harri & Jack for driving up just to do the bottles.
I dropped a bottle on the 2nd lap but it was my fault, I just stormed into the pit stop without slowing down!
The pit crew were on fire!! oh yeah, fair play lads ,to drive all the way up there and dish out bottles and spure us all on, sensational!
On the other hand I have to say that was a health hazard. Id only be repeating alot of what has being said so Ill save my breath.
Well done to everyone for getting around and completing their race, not easy at all!
and to Byrner for keeping me in fits of laughter at the start line!! Poor ould James Joyce sitting on the wall, didnt know were to look!!
Alfie didn't even hear that stick !!
I don't think some of the very serious people were impressed
" hey..theres James Joyce..nice of Ger Jackson to bring his same sex wife to the race, however its not a true Hillbilly marraige as their not related !! "
I don;t know where that **** comes from !!
Well glad I am not the only one annoyed, last I heard I got chucked out of the race having thought I won Sport. I make no excuse for my mistake and accept the penalty, but several others made the same mistakes and got chucked out of podium positions, the same area was changed for masters but because we were sharing the loop with underage it was all a bit of a mess. I was leading when I cut the section so I had nothing to gain.
I felt sorry for the underage guys, they were terrorised by the sports riders coming behind them, the commisar mentioned some were hurt in collisions
He also mentioned they had to disqualify people last year when there was problems in the same area we cut. So instead of acting on it they did nothing. Some way to finalise the results.
Some lads actually went round and done a few extra laps. There was confusion there also.
There was one marshall at the top of that hill watching for people cutting, instead of directing the area. He was the only one I saw. While I was over there a few orgainisers were chasing lads on dirt bikes rallying up and down the race course while the Seniors were coming through.
Got the impression that the organisers saw the Sport and underage as a joke race, barely worth the time, if that was your first experience of the sport you would probably feel the same.
I have travelled to nearly all the races this year and the Leinster XC run by Racing 795 and Cuchulainn made that look silly and there not even NPS. Even the Development races were excellent. Thats the standard we got used to, I am not round long enough but I expect today was the standard years ago and that crew aint moving forward. Cuchulainn lost their NPS last year for the timing, but at least we enjoyed a full race. Ok the event took place thanks to the commitment of alot of volunteers, but its easy to be pass it off and accept it on that basis alone. If folks travel they expect a good show, we got used to a high standard, if its not up to much I feel the Sport suffers.
Got a few nice photos though, will upload soon.
Alan
Alan..you need to make an official complaint to Fergal..not at him, as he can only suggest/demand that Organisers do what everybody else has done.
But at least he will have complaints to back up his argument.
WHile I'm on it..
the Commission is not just Fergal..I think thats the only race Sean wasn't at , because hes under pressure to get the EPIC DH NPS sorted..but hes been at all the others..
These boys are doing more than anybody has ever done to improve the XC NPS..
Organisers are not going to other people races..so how the **** do they know what way things are ran..
Darragh Maloney was at todays race, hes one of the Organisers of the UL race..so I was glad to see him there !!
But where was the rest of his club..
And as for the Development races..they were ran by a tiny handful of people...
Me , Fergal and Sean with help from a few local bodies !!
I've ran more races than anybody since 1989...and raced more of them than any ! I've seen some **** venues..thats now top of the list !!
Well I'm posting this in the members section because I don't want to look like I'm just having a go at a venue and a club for kicks.
First of all I thought the Venue was gick..I suppose having to stare at a row of disused, decrepit buildings that looked like a bad day in Chechnya didn't help.
The disaster that was going to be the Youth races and the chaos and utter shambles of the sports race just did it for me.
From where I was standing there was feck all racing, just a dreary procession of riders !
Fair play to the winners..they earned their places, because in my opinion, , Mountainbiking should be done in places of natural beauty, even lady dixons is a beautiful place..and XMTB put on a brilliant event and everything ran like clockwork
But that kip we were in today..if I thought that , that was going to be acceptable for NPS' or MTB racing of any kind I think i would be violently ill..
My apologies to the angry people who had a go at me..and to whom I told to **** off..!!
I was not the Commissar..I was just there to Commentate and encourage..so I was not in a postion to do anything about anything..though I did try.
I'm angry about it, because a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get there, have made a commitment to racing , just to be handed what in my opinion was a step backwards !
One of the under 14s was in tears because he went wrong, and didn't know where the hell he was supposed to go !! His Dad had a go at me and after trying to convince him I wasn't in charge, I had to tell him to **** off !! to get him away from me..he was fierce angry !!
I was not ne bit happy to see that !! or to have to throw shapes to stop someone punching me , over something that was not my fault !!
I'll never set foot in that kip again and theres no way anybody will ever convince me that, that was great racing..
by the time the Elites were finished , everybody had fecked off out of there !!
Thats absolutely unbelievable !!
Richie
Absolutely agree with you Richie, if the weather had not been so good this would've been the worst race ever. And it's a shame because I think that place does have the potential..
There were a few things that that were most annoing, the lack of proper signpositng leading to the venue, strange location of the sign on, incredibly badly marked race track (I went the wrong way myself on the 4th lap!), nobody making sure everyone was ok around the danerous bits (drop offs etc), bits of glass and other post-construction debris on the track.... and the list goes on.
This made the Killarney race look like a world class venue!
would have to agree with what your saying richie but have to admit i was enjoying the course until da chain broke, then again i always enjoy being out on da bike but this is an nps not a sunday spin , there was alot of confussion out on the course , there were more fire extinguishers than marshals or signs on the course this is an nps and there should be some proper organisation put into this event, the section in the sports race where the u14 and 12 went 1 way and the sports the other was a shambles no marshals a crap sign that you could miss very easy i did only for shane the painter who was taking photos at that section everybody would have went the wrong way ,its a fair drive up for alot of people and to be disqualified for taking the wrong route because the signs are gick is hard no chip timing either the weather was the only thing that was good about the placei hope the next rd in kilaloe is better roll on kippure next sunday proper trails proper mtb:)
yeah , Shane rang me and I told him to move the tape..I'd take the flak..
like you say its an NPS and Fergal has worked damn hard to make the NPS a success !!
Along with the clubs !
its the National Points Series !!
I was gutted for the girls who went the wrong way and all the other people who had a **** race !
But when you see the kids getting upset !!!
**** that **** !!
Yep, Big Thanks to Brian and Harry and other pit crew fail to mention, They were very professional, which is the complete opposite with the people doing the signposting to the venue and the coarse marking.
The pit crew are indeed gods !! would have crawled back to the end without the bottles being handed to me, and to get the encouragement, it really is something you look forward to every lap, thanks lads !!!
Yep course marking was a shambles, went the wrong way 3 times on my practice lap, marshalls out on the course were few and far between and the whole place was a bit dreary alright. Was having a good race with SteveM up untill my puncture and front brake failure on lap 3! Pit crew were great though at handing out bottles, thanks lads..
Oh yes, big thanks to Pit Crew, I don't think anyone would've survived today without them! Fair play to Harri & Jack for driving up just to do the bottles.
I dropped a bottle on the 2nd lap but it was my fault, I just stormed into the pit stop without slowing down!
The pit crew were on fire!! oh yeah, fair play lads ,to drive all the way up there and dish out bottles and spure us all on, sensational!
On the other hand I have to say that was a health hazard. Id only be repeating alot of what has being said so Ill save my breath.
Well done to everyone for getting around and completing their race, not easy at all!
and to Byrner for keeping me in fits of laughter at the start line!! Poor ould James Joyce sitting on the wall, didnt know were to look!!
Alfie didn't even hear that stick !!
I don't think some of the very serious people were impressed
" hey..theres James Joyce..nice of Ger Jackson to bring his same sex wife to the race, however its not a true Hillbilly marraige as their not related !! "
I don;t know where that **** comes from !!
Well glad I am not the only one annoyed, last I heard I got chucked out of the race having thought I won Sport. I make no excuse for my mistake and accept the penalty, but several others made the same mistakes and got chucked out of podium positions, the same area was changed for masters but because we were sharing the loop with underage it was all a bit of a mess. I was leading when I cut the section so I had nothing to gain.
I felt sorry for the underage guys, they were terrorised by the sports riders coming behind them, the commisar mentioned some were hurt in collisions
He also mentioned they had to disqualify people last year when there was problems in the same area we cut. So instead of acting on it they did nothing. Some way to finalise the results.
Some lads actually went round and done a few extra laps. There was confusion there also.
There was one marshall at the top of that hill watching for people cutting, instead of directing the area. He was the only one I saw. While I was over there a few orgainisers were chasing lads on dirt bikes rallying up and down the race course while the Seniors were coming through.
Got the impression that the organisers saw the Sport and underage as a joke race, barely worth the time, if that was your first experience of the sport you would probably feel the same.
I have travelled to nearly all the races this year and the Leinster XC run by Racing 795 and Cuchulainn made that look silly and there not even NPS. Even the Development races were excellent. Thats the standard we got used to, I am not round long enough but I expect today was the standard years ago and that crew aint moving forward. Cuchulainn lost their NPS last year for the timing, but at least we enjoyed a full race. Ok the event took place thanks to the commitment of alot of volunteers, but its easy to be pass it off and accept it on that basis alone. If folks travel they expect a good show, we got used to a high standard, if its not up to much I feel the Sport suffers.
Got a few nice photos though, will upload soon.
Alan
Alan..you need to make an official complaint to Fergal..not at him, as he can only suggest/demand that Organisers do what everybody else has done.
But at least he will have complaints to back up his argument.
WHile I'm on it..
the Commission is not just Fergal..I think thats the only race Sean wasn't at , because hes under pressure to get the EPIC DH NPS sorted..but hes been at all the others..
These boys are doing more than anybody has ever done to improve the XC NPS..
Organisers are not going to other people races..so how the **** do they know what way things are ran..
Darragh Maloney was at todays race, hes one of the Organisers of the UL race..so I was glad to see him there !!
But where was the rest of his club..
And as for the Development races..they were ran by a tiny handful of people...
Me , Fergal and Sean with help from a few local bodies !!
I've ran more races than anybody since 1989...and raced more of them than any ! I've seen some **** venues..thats now top of the list !!