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So many - expensive - bikes … getting completely shagged after half a lap , alright ( well , sort of ) for those with pit crew and bike change but …. such a struggle and strain on the bike … it was very muddy … !
Tried to help a lass get her chain back on but no way could you get enough mud off chain and ring to even get it seated / run properly… why hasn’t someone invented a brush type attachment for the chain to run through - bit like those old tyre scrapers ?
may-
I think the outfield at Herne Hill is used so much now that it's become one huge mud pit. The soil doesn't ever get chance to recover between races like it used to, so has got really churned up and rutted.
I guess it's inevitable as fewer and fewer venues are available, and those that are require a lot of organisation, so HH gets used more.
andyp
I did regret my decision to run gears afterwards. I usually do at Herne Hill, but for some reason decided gears was the way to go today.
I'm still amazed my rear mech survived, given the amount of crap that was wrapped up in afterwards. I dropped the chain just after the finish, and I had to remove loads of mud before I could get it to stay on enough to ride home.