 for some reason, this year i want to give everything a go, so, would these beginner downhill race things be good?
though i'm fairly certain i'd need to get a new bike + all the body armour, it's not gonna be cheap, but would it be worth it?!
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 Yes...?
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 #winces and shuts eyes#
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Oh dear Lord..
Am I the only person who worries about Mike when he rides to college and back?
On a serious note...Mike, give it a go. Just keep your nerve and if you doubt yourself, it's time to walk away.
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well, most weekends i find myself in lordswood searching for dh runs with paul
hmm, what kind of gear will i be needing then?
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 I'm quite tempted by these, both courses are only about a half hour drive from my house.
I've never raced before, and i'd quite like to give it a go.
I'd need to buy a full face helmet and pads but i reckon the bike will cope, mike, can't you just enter the hardtail class?
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hmm, that's a point, would my hardrock be up for it?
i've gone overkill on more or less every component, well, i still am needing my rear brake, but it's getting near bombproof
lid & pads will come to about... £200?
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 Neither of those courses demands a DH bike, that's for sure. As long as you don't ride like a lunatic your Hardrock would be fine.
I'm quite tempted myself, haven't done a DH race since, er, 1992 ;-)
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guess it depends how padded you want to be, i guess it'd be a good idea for beginners to have the whole lot, i can imagine a fair amount of falling off! :-)
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 1992, man you're old. I was 6 then. Had they even invented the wheel?
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 Mike - I know of a lovely DH(ish) bike you could buy.... A mate of mine is selling his Raleigh (don't laugh, they're good!) full susser - Manitou X Verts (perfect condition), XT, Mavic Crosslinks, Magura Discs... £150???
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Mike Davis, is it the same course at Cheddar as they used to use for the Cheddar Challenge? I remember when that was a "proper" DH course, but then 90% of the field were on Giant ATX 990s with 3.5" travel!
Mike (the other one): Brand x X-Suit - £59.99
Brand x knee and shin guards - £17.99
661 Elbow and rorearm guards - £17.99
661 Full comp full facer - £39.99
all from CRC - less than £130
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 think you could ask your friend to contact me, welsh idiot?
mike-eustace@lycos.co.uk.
that's obviously if mike of the M4 variety isn't interested ;)
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mark (welsh), make coldplay history can have, i relish a challenge, and if possible, the hardtail should be fun (if it's up to it)
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plus i reckon make coldplay history needs a bike a bit more than me atm
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 mike if you want to try dh its a little cheecky but theres always the mtb freeride place ( mtb-freeride.com i think) over near blandford so under an hour from soton, but near there theres a shop torrico or something similar theve got a web site just needs googling who have demo iron horse bikes that you can test ride on the dh courses.
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I'm kind of assuming that the Cheddar course is vaguely similar to the Challenge DH one. Could be completely wrong, of course ;-) Anyway, I'm going to chance my arm at Round 1...
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 With no uplift I'd take your cross country bike... I remember even the last walking section to be a right pain at Cheddar!
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I certainly wasn't going to ponce around with a single ring ;-)
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 I didn't think you needed full body armour for a DH race, just a full face lid - I've certainly seen pro racers without elbow pads on - Oh and the Brand X suit included the arm pads so there is no need to buy the extra arm padding.
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