It’s just over a week until our last event of 2016! Prepare to wrap up warm, charge up your lights and cross over to the DARK SIDE. Well, Falkirk.
Yes our fantastically handsome, talented, beautiful and moderately insane band of Muckmarshals are getting ready to wrap up like Eskimos on a particularly chilly day, before pulling on the orange vests one more time (provided they fit over all those layers) as we head to Callendar Estate for a day and night of super-fun MTB racing, cosy food and even cosier campfires. It’s time for Falkirk Funduro 2016!
If you weren’t lucky enough to make it along last year imagine the scene; the sun was shining, the sky was blue and clear, the hills were snow-capped, the trails were firm and dry (apart from that really muddy bit), the Burritos were ludicrously tasty, and it was absolutely Muckin’ Baltic! Brrrr, it was so cold I’m planning to tuck my vest into my underpants this year.
We really do always take your feedback on board and act on it, so what’s new for this year?
Under 6 Races
Trail Tots will once again be running under 6 Pedal and Balance Bike racing in the Mini Bike Park from 10am. They are always awesome so they will stay the same for this year.
Mini Funduro
Riders aged 6 to 11 get their own dibber just like the Pros and due to the spread out nature of the course parents can chaperone their kids on the course if they wish. It’s safe to say everyone LOVED it last year so we’ve decided to keep things pretty much the same. All riders will complete three timed, Green-grade stages and riders aged 8 and over will complete a fourth, gnarlier stage. If it ain’t broke….
Day and Night Funduro
Most people loved the stages last year but some people thought they were a bit pedally. Honestly you just can’t please some people, we were only trying to keep you warm! Well you’ve asked for it now, we’ve managed to eradicate a significant amount of those lovely, lung-warming mid-stage climbs by opening up some new sections of natural trail, adding some bridges and generally using the terrain to full effect. What a difference it’s made, more flow, more speed and a smattering more gnar, but don’t complain you got cold because it wasn’t pedally enough…..
In addition to our new wee bits and bobs, Bespoke Community Development Company and a whole bunch of crazy mattock-wielding volunteers have been working for months on a new downhill section full of Black-graded drops, berms and even a couple of tasty gap jumps. It just so happens that the trail will be finished just in time for the event which is handy but don’t worry, this is a Funduro so every feature has an easy line around if you don’t like drops and gaps.
It’s Cold. So Cold.
Put some more Muckin’ clothes on then! Ok, ok, we know some people got pretty cold between the Day and Night stages, it’s November, it’s Scotland and we were freezing our nads off too, so please, please, please come prepared for a whole day and night of cold, wet, Scottish, winter weather and anything else is a bonus! The fantastic bunch at Bespoke have been stock-piling logs to build us a big old bonfire and have also been knocking up as many cosy Swedish Candles as they possibly can in between building Black trails, so we can all warm our cockles by the fire. No ging-gang-goolies by the fire please, this is a family-friendly event.
Stop Hanging Around
Ok class, pay attention please as you’ll be tested on this at the end of the blog. We’ve tweaked the “Day & Night” race format in a bid to reduce the waiting around between Day and Night stages this year. Obviously certain things are unavoidable as, crucially, we have to wait until it is night time and riders have to leave in waves to avoid massive queues on the stages but this year we will be adding “Day & Night” stage times together and the accumulated times of a rider’s “Day & Night” stages will decide their overall position in the “Day & Night” Funduro.
“Day Only” riders will leave in the first waves from 12.15pm, followed by “Day & Night” riders. Once it’s dark (from about 4pm), “Day & Night” riders can head to the night stages even if the “Day Only” podium is still taking place. “Day Only” riders will only qualify for the “Day Only” podium which should be around 3pm depending on numbers. “Day & Night” riders will only qualify for the “Day & Night” podium which will be held at 8.30pm-ish depending on numbers.
Did everybody get that? Yes, even you at the back picking your nose, did you get that? Good.
Pre-Book Your Starting Wave!
Now then, now then, then now. This is something we’ve wanted to try for a while but weren’t sure how to do it, so basically it could go very badly wrong. Why would it though?
If you have entered online, after entries close on Wednesday at Midnight you will receive an email with a top secret phone number. You may call the number between the hours of 10am and 6pm on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th November to PRE-BOOK YOUR STARTING WAVE! The theory is, you’ll be able to book yourself and your mates into a preferred wave and arrive to registration a bit later to save even more hanging around. That’s the theory…..we’ll have a further think about this and put all the info you need in the email. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
Bike Park Head2Head
We have a Bike Park and oh boy are we going to use it this year! We had a play around with the boys from Greenrig Cycles recently and came up with a cunning plan to run some fun Head2Head races to keep us all amused (and warm!), so we’ll be running a “Cat and Mouse” tournament on the Pump Trail. One rider “The Mouse” sits halfway down the hill and the other rider “The Cat” starts at the top of the start ramp. “The Cat” is allowed a few pedal strokes to get started but “The Mouse” is only allowed one. They both then have to pump their way around 150 meters of berms and rollers and “The Cat” has to catch “The Mouse” before the bridge. Unbelievably simple but what-a-giggle!
Also new on the Pump Trail this year is an “Adult Extreme Balance Bike Dual Slalom (possibly at night)” tournament, which probably speaks for itself really 🙂
Live Music
One non-bikey thing we’ve added to this year’s line-up is live music in the main tent, which should be a superb addition once the fires are lit and the sun goes down. Confirmed so far we have our very own George Brown who performed at Cream o’ the Croft and Angus Cycling Festival earlier in the year and we’re also looking forward to welcoming Erin Scott, a rising star from Fife who we’ve heard so much about. Fingers crossed the fantastic Mike Delaitre can also make it along as his sunny reggae will make the place feel instantly warmer, even if there’s an icicle hanging from your nose. Anyway, hopefully they’re busy practicing playing with skiing gloves on, just in case.
The Bottom Line
Our aim is to make our events better and better each time we do them, so we’re tweaking things that need to be tweaked and the bits that are already awesome will stay the same. As always you can expect a super-relaxed race atmosphere for all ages from under 3 and upwards, the best Marshals in Scotland, a great choice of trails, delicious food and drink, a cosy bonfire, demo bikes (including lots of E-bikes!) and some crazy bike park racing to keep you warm in between races.
For full details of race times etc, click on the button below and enter before it’s too late. Remember our next Muckin’ Good Event is The Eliminator in June so you’ve got a while to wait ’til you see our cheery wee faces again. What do you mean good riddance?!