I'm new to mountain biking - is this series for me?
Absolutely! Enduro is a great introduction to racing. What you'll find when you come to one of these events is that, while a small percentage of the field are 'serious' racers, the majority of the riders are there purely for fun and a social day out in the forest. For most, it's all about enjoying a lap and then kicking back with mates over a coffee or a bite to eat while they wait for their next lap. The great thing about enduro racing for the novice rider is that you are generally not racing the person next to you - so no jostling for position or tactical racing required, just ride your laps at your own pace, enjoying the sweet singletrack! Sure, there will be riders on the track who will need to get past you, but we'll be strenuously emphasising the necessity for courteous behaviour on the track. We hope that you'll find any passing riders to be friendly and happy to wait until a convenient and safe passing opportunity can occur.
How fit do I need to be?
Each race track will be between 8km and 12km long, predominantly singletrack, with regular fire road sections to facilitate passing. It's entirely up to you how many laps you do. Each team member must complete at least one of their team's laps to show in the results, and the same applies to solo riders. Female riders in mixed pairs must complete at least 35% of the team's overall laps in order for the team to have a result in that category, though we'd prefer to see all teams having a equal share of the riding and an equal share of the fun!
Can I practise the course before race day?
All of the Singletrack Mind Series locations are open for riding at any time! Note that the course for the enduro race will only be marked & signed in the day or days prior to the event, so you might not be able to ride the exact course if you venture there in the weeks before. But, for Rounds 1-4 the race track will be open for practice the day before the event, when you can also register, so it's a good opportunity to check out the track and avoid the rego queue on the Sunday morning! For Round 5, practice and Registration will be early on the Saturday morning. Full details for each round will be posted on the Series Information page when available.
Can I choose how many rounds of the Singletrack Mind series to enter or do I have to do the whole series?
Each round of the Singletrack Mind Series is a stand-alone event and you can enter as many or as few as you wish ... but remember, winning a series is all about consistency!
How are series points calculated?
Series points will be calculated using each team or solo rider's highest results from four rounds of the Series. So, if you can only get to four out of five, that's not a problem!
Do I have to ride in the same team formation at every round?
This is only important if you want to be in the running for overall series points. We do understand that each of your team members may not be able to attend every round, and allow substitutions as follows:
- Pairs: 1 single rider substitution over the course of the series. This means that you can have 1 substitution for 1 round of the series BUT as you will drop your least competitive result from the series overall points you could in fact have 2 substitutions but only 1 of those results would count towards the series.
- Threes: 2 single rider substitutions over the course of the series
- Fours: 3 single rider substitutions over the course of the series
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