thats done it...I am now once again part of the list of foolish solo riders wanting to take part in 10 under the Ben 2009
it was a great event last year, in fact out of the one's I attended, I think this has to be my favourite.
Best start training, eating less and buying light things for my bike...
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Sunday, 11 January 2009
swaledale - take 2
"perhaps more ice, maybe a bit of snow, hopefully no rain, but I'm sure it'll be cold!"
all of the above (excluding the snow), to the extreme!
I have a feeling this ride will be honoured with a write up on FatLad very shortly so I will keep this to a minimum and cheat by linking to FL when it is posted up...with photos hopefully!
In short, is was fecking cold, even finding it hard to get out of the warmth of the car to start with, soon warmed up into the first section of the ride along Swaledale, edged along the river having to push through farm fields to avoid burst banks in places, fought with the wind and the extreme cold once we started to climb Gunnerside Ghyll, pushed the bikes on too much of the ride due to ice covered tracks, turned round and came back the way we came due to a stream crossing which was nigh on impossible to cross....
...but...what a day out. A great ride, stunning scenary, a numb chin which gave me a stutter Arkwright would be proud of, excellent company and I can't wait for the next one.
Come on Al, get the pics uploaded...
all of the above (excluding the snow), to the extreme!
I have a feeling this ride will be honoured with a write up on FatLad very shortly so I will keep this to a minimum and cheat by linking to FL when it is posted up...with photos hopefully!
In short, is was fecking cold, even finding it hard to get out of the warmth of the car to start with, soon warmed up into the first section of the ride along Swaledale, edged along the river having to push through farm fields to avoid burst banks in places, fought with the wind and the extreme cold once we started to climb Gunnerside Ghyll, pushed the bikes on too much of the ride due to ice covered tracks, turned round and came back the way we came due to a stream crossing which was nigh on impossible to cross....
...but...what a day out. A great ride, stunning scenary, a numb chin which gave me a stutter Arkwright would be proud of, excellent company and I can't wait for the next one.
Come on Al, get the pics uploaded...
Saturday, 10 January 2009
tomorrow...
were off for a re-run of 'a day in the dales', (see below).
See what its like this time of the year, perhaps more ice, maybe a bit of snow, hopefully no rain, but I'm sure it'll be cold! New Buff at the ready...
it will be something along the lines of...
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
a day in the dales
Swaledale was the chosen dale of all dales this time. I must admit, I love this place, load sof character, great villages, top pubs, real ale and for me a lot of childhood memories of holidays of old.
So, this ride, I decided was to commence from Reeth which is about 30 mins from the A1. I parked up in the centre of the village on the cobbled car park and paid my due's into the honesty box. Whilst pulling the various bits of bike from my car another mountain bikers taxi pulled up beside me and out got a father and son combination. They had travelled from Lincolnshire and were staying in the area and getting in as much mtb'ing as possible...ideal!
This was a cold morning and I was glad to set off to get the blood circulating and some warmth regained. Leaving the village on a fast tarmac descent I was already looking forward to my flask of tea and a lump of cake on my return to the car. That, I hoped, was to be sometime away as I had a days riding to do in this wonderful part of the country.
I followed the tarmac to Grinton where I turned off the 'main' road and eventually picked up a bridleway which was to lead me adjacent to the River Swale. The route along the Swale was mainly bridleway and good bridleway at that with a few bits of road mixed in. The last stretch of bridleway takes you very close to the Swale so much so that the latest heavy rainfalls had caused the river to spill over onto the track. Looking along the track as far as I could see, which was a long way, the end was nowhere in sight. The water was deep and I didn’t particularly fancy riding it this early on in a ride. Luckily there was a bit of a makeshift path to the side which I managed to tentatively wobble my way along using the bike as a walking stick.
Leaving the bridleways behind for a short while I made my way by road into Gunnerside village before taking a minor road out and up onto the side of Gunnerside pasture. This was the start of the long climb. I soon got myself back onto a bridleway which immediately doubled back on itself and then turn north to start taking me up into Gunnerside Gill. The climb was good, not too steep but nice and long. Somewhere near the top I decided it was time for pasty and chocolate and with that in mind i found myself a seat where I could take in the amazing views.
Refuelled and eager to continue I carried on up the last section of uphill and the higher I climbed to more icicles I spotted dangling at the side of the track. Everything levelled out for a short while until I started to descend in to the main site of Gunnerside Gill where some of the mining remains still stand. The downhill was good and fast and admittedly a little worrying due to the amount of frozen water covering the path. A few sideways moments and trying not to use too much brake I got myself safely to the bottom.
The climb back out from the Gill starts with a very narrow singletrack which immediately climbs steeply before again descending back to the Gill for a water crossing minus bridge. Once again, using my bike as a walking stick I picked my way across the Gill. Another very narrow singletrack climbed and headed me further north and then back on myself to pick up the main bridleway on top of Friarfold Moor.
I remembered this path from many years ago when I came here during my student years and I had a sneaking feeling that a good downhill was in wait at the other side of the moor. The land up here is very barren and bleak, not a place to have bike mechanicals! I was heading down again and the path headed off into the distance as far as I could see. With smile firmly in place I freewheeled as fast as I dared downhill at the side of Old Gang Beck. The freezing air was doing fine job of numbing my knees and chin but this was not to dampen what was an amazing downhill...I will definitely be back to visit this one again.
Seeing tarmac again, i had a short climb up hill to the start of the next bridleway. Not too easy to find which was the correct path I slowly inched my way forward, checked the map and checked again I decided to descend onto what I believed to be my chosen path. Then disaster struck, my chain snapped. Not too upset as I knew I had put a powerlink in my Camelbak not too long ago, so I set to work. But, my powerlink was doing a fantastic job of hiding, it was not to be found anywhere. Now getting seriously cold as the weather was starting to change I decided, whilst chomping through a sausage roll that I would do a quick fix and shorten the chain. This done, but deciding this was not the best chain repair I had ever achieved and after consulting OS once again I opted for the road option back to Reeth.
It was a shame, but it just means I will have to return sometime soon to complete the full ride. All in all I covered approximately 33km and had a great time.
One last thing to do before driving home....cup of tea and cake...only the tea I left in my Dwain Dibbley flask in my car had gone stone cold...how disappointing!
So, this ride, I decided was to commence from Reeth which is about 30 mins from the A1. I parked up in the centre of the village on the cobbled car park and paid my due's into the honesty box. Whilst pulling the various bits of bike from my car another mountain bikers taxi pulled up beside me and out got a father and son combination. They had travelled from Lincolnshire and were staying in the area and getting in as much mtb'ing as possible...ideal!
This was a cold morning and I was glad to set off to get the blood circulating and some warmth regained. Leaving the village on a fast tarmac descent I was already looking forward to my flask of tea and a lump of cake on my return to the car. That, I hoped, was to be sometime away as I had a days riding to do in this wonderful part of the country.
I followed the tarmac to Grinton where I turned off the 'main' road and eventually picked up a bridleway which was to lead me adjacent to the River Swale. The route along the Swale was mainly bridleway and good bridleway at that with a few bits of road mixed in. The last stretch of bridleway takes you very close to the Swale so much so that the latest heavy rainfalls had caused the river to spill over onto the track. Looking along the track as far as I could see, which was a long way, the end was nowhere in sight. The water was deep and I didn’t particularly fancy riding it this early on in a ride. Luckily there was a bit of a makeshift path to the side which I managed to tentatively wobble my way along using the bike as a walking stick.
Leaving the bridleways behind for a short while I made my way by road into Gunnerside village before taking a minor road out and up onto the side of Gunnerside pasture. This was the start of the long climb. I soon got myself back onto a bridleway which immediately doubled back on itself and then turn north to start taking me up into Gunnerside Gill. The climb was good, not too steep but nice and long. Somewhere near the top I decided it was time for pasty and chocolate and with that in mind i found myself a seat where I could take in the amazing views.
Refuelled and eager to continue I carried on up the last section of uphill and the higher I climbed to more icicles I spotted dangling at the side of the track. Everything levelled out for a short while until I started to descend in to the main site of Gunnerside Gill where some of the mining remains still stand. The downhill was good and fast and admittedly a little worrying due to the amount of frozen water covering the path. A few sideways moments and trying not to use too much brake I got myself safely to the bottom.
The climb back out from the Gill starts with a very narrow singletrack which immediately climbs steeply before again descending back to the Gill for a water crossing minus bridge. Once again, using my bike as a walking stick I picked my way across the Gill. Another very narrow singletrack climbed and headed me further north and then back on myself to pick up the main bridleway on top of Friarfold Moor.
I remembered this path from many years ago when I came here during my student years and I had a sneaking feeling that a good downhill was in wait at the other side of the moor. The land up here is very barren and bleak, not a place to have bike mechanicals! I was heading down again and the path headed off into the distance as far as I could see. With smile firmly in place I freewheeled as fast as I dared downhill at the side of Old Gang Beck. The freezing air was doing fine job of numbing my knees and chin but this was not to dampen what was an amazing downhill...I will definitely be back to visit this one again.
Seeing tarmac again, i had a short climb up hill to the start of the next bridleway. Not too easy to find which was the correct path I slowly inched my way forward, checked the map and checked again I decided to descend onto what I believed to be my chosen path. Then disaster struck, my chain snapped. Not too upset as I knew I had put a powerlink in my Camelbak not too long ago, so I set to work. But, my powerlink was doing a fantastic job of hiding, it was not to be found anywhere. Now getting seriously cold as the weather was starting to change I decided, whilst chomping through a sausage roll that I would do a quick fix and shorten the chain. This done, but deciding this was not the best chain repair I had ever achieved and after consulting OS once again I opted for the road option back to Reeth.
It was a shame, but it just means I will have to return sometime soon to complete the full ride. All in all I covered approximately 33km and had a great time.
One last thing to do before driving home....cup of tea and cake...only the tea I left in my Dwain Dibbley flask in my car had gone stone cold...how disappointing!
Saturday, 25 October 2008
what better way to start...
....my 1 week holiday than with a Bad Brains trip over to Llandegla trail centre in Wales.
To say we were heading to Wales, the start time for this trip was most respectable. In fact my 18 month old son made sure I was up with plenty of time to check, check and recheck I had all my kit with me.
I was to be privileged with the company of Fat Lad on this very trip to Wales so off I went as quick as I could to meet with a promise of good old British bacon butties and a cup of tea. There’s no better way of getting the cycling body prepped for action and with a little arm twisting I was enticed into having a second butty and more slurps of tea. Full of food and excitement of riding somewhere new we decided to load the car get ourselves on our way.
With two dismantled bikes and enough cycling gear to complete the Trans Wales we headed off West to our meeting point. The 2hr car journey passed by as if it wasn’t even trying to make us feel the discomfort of long distance travelling and soon we were crawling round the car park looking for a suitable spot to park up. With the lower car park full of cars and riders tweaking their bikes and making last minute pre ride checks we made our way up to the additional parking where we found Glen and Lynn and a few other Bad Brainers.
This was Al’s and my first outing at Llandegla and the countless sightings of body armour wasn’t doing anything for my overworked imagination of what I was going to find here. Is anyone riding XC?? Thankfully, when the ‘all I can see is downhillers’ vision had cleared I recognised some Bad Brains faces riding their usual choice of bike sans armour.
Bike rebuilt, lid on, Camelbak packed and strapped into position we freewheeled down to the trail centre to meet up with the rest of our group. Good turnout. Without counting there must have been around a dozen of us. And with groups photos taken we headed off onto the start of the track.
The initial part of the trail is a wide track which steadily climbs out of the trail centre for a good stretch and eventually brings you to the first of the downhill sections. Now, Llandegla knows how to do berms! These were big and immense fun to ride.
After an extended stop due a shoe stuck to spd pedal incident we continued on with the fast flowing singletrack. Now, if I were to try and describe the extent of this ride I think I would get entirely lost and meet myself coming backward a few times. So, all I can try and do is sum it up as best I can, here goes...
- Big grin
- Berms
- Switchbacks
- Jumps
- Table tops
- Short climbs
- Long downhills
- Rocks
- Drop off’s
- North shore
- Fun black sections
- Front wheel landing!
- ‘should have put my seat down’ moments
- Thrown off line
- Heavy braking
We rode a couple of the sections twice and maybe three times, it really was worth the climbs to get back to the start. Each run building the confidence to go just that bit quicker and to ride the jumps just that little bit smoother.
Eventually, after lots of fantastic riding the trail was nearing the end and finally we landed back at the trail centre. Time for tea accompanied by a huge helping of a huge cake brought by Chip. If there’s ever a time for sneaking your own cake in to a cafe this is not the cake to do it with! With a diameter close to the size of a car wheel and a thickness that none of my knives at home would make it through this will now be my immediate vision whenever anyone mentions ‘cake’.
A cracking day out and a great start to my weeks holiday. I will definitely be revisiting at some point.
I will add links to pictures and videos as and when they are available as I didn’t take any of my own.
To say we were heading to Wales, the start time for this trip was most respectable. In fact my 18 month old son made sure I was up with plenty of time to check, check and recheck I had all my kit with me.
I was to be privileged with the company of Fat Lad on this very trip to Wales so off I went as quick as I could to meet with a promise of good old British bacon butties and a cup of tea. There’s no better way of getting the cycling body prepped for action and with a little arm twisting I was enticed into having a second butty and more slurps of tea. Full of food and excitement of riding somewhere new we decided to load the car get ourselves on our way.
With two dismantled bikes and enough cycling gear to complete the Trans Wales we headed off West to our meeting point. The 2hr car journey passed by as if it wasn’t even trying to make us feel the discomfort of long distance travelling and soon we were crawling round the car park looking for a suitable spot to park up. With the lower car park full of cars and riders tweaking their bikes and making last minute pre ride checks we made our way up to the additional parking where we found Glen and Lynn and a few other Bad Brainers.
This was Al’s and my first outing at Llandegla and the countless sightings of body armour wasn’t doing anything for my overworked imagination of what I was going to find here. Is anyone riding XC?? Thankfully, when the ‘all I can see is downhillers’ vision had cleared I recognised some Bad Brains faces riding their usual choice of bike sans armour.
Bike rebuilt, lid on, Camelbak packed and strapped into position we freewheeled down to the trail centre to meet up with the rest of our group. Good turnout. Without counting there must have been around a dozen of us. And with groups photos taken we headed off onto the start of the track.
The initial part of the trail is a wide track which steadily climbs out of the trail centre for a good stretch and eventually brings you to the first of the downhill sections. Now, Llandegla knows how to do berms! These were big and immense fun to ride.
After an extended stop due a shoe stuck to spd pedal incident we continued on with the fast flowing singletrack. Now, if I were to try and describe the extent of this ride I think I would get entirely lost and meet myself coming backward a few times. So, all I can try and do is sum it up as best I can, here goes...
- Big grin
- Berms
- Switchbacks
- Jumps
- Table tops
- Short climbs
- Long downhills
- Rocks
- Drop off’s
- North shore
- Fun black sections
- Front wheel landing!
- ‘should have put my seat down’ moments
- Thrown off line
- Heavy braking
We rode a couple of the sections twice and maybe three times, it really was worth the climbs to get back to the start. Each run building the confidence to go just that bit quicker and to ride the jumps just that little bit smoother.
Eventually, after lots of fantastic riding the trail was nearing the end and finally we landed back at the trail centre. Time for tea accompanied by a huge helping of a huge cake brought by Chip. If there’s ever a time for sneaking your own cake in to a cafe this is not the cake to do it with! With a diameter close to the size of a car wheel and a thickness that none of my knives at home would make it through this will now be my immediate vision whenever anyone mentions ‘cake’.
A cracking day out and a great start to my weeks holiday. I will definitely be revisiting at some point.
I will add links to pictures and videos as and when they are available as I didn’t take any of my own.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
new old winter bike
I've decided to build myself a winter bike so that I can tuck the Superlight up for the winter in its cosy warm bed to get plenty of rest for next season.
I must say, I am finding I am having to work bloody quick on this project as it feels like winter is upon us already. Mince pies and sprouts at the ready...
The idea is to build using no new parts, so ebay has been seeing some action from this corner of its empire
what I have so far:
- trek fuel 90 frame (this is my old frame which I used before the superlight)
- Easton EA50 stem (going to put this on the Superlight and swap the bontrager stem back)
- XT shifters
- XT rear derailleur (swap from Superlight)
- chain (swap from Superlight)
- LX Cassette (swap from Superlight)
- front wheel, Mavic XM719 deore hub
- Selle Italia Flite seat, put this on the superlight
still a fair few bits to get but enjoying looking at the moment, hopefully have this up and running very soon...
23.10 update
now have a set of XT disc brakes, bargain from ebay.
Looking forward to getting this built up now, maybe even put my manitou black forks back on this bike to save the expense of new forks as I know what i am like when i get spending...this little lot aint going to be cheap....or 'this little lot will only be cheap love' if talking to the Mrs!
I must say, I am finding I am having to work bloody quick on this project as it feels like winter is upon us already. Mince pies and sprouts at the ready...
The idea is to build using no new parts, so ebay has been seeing some action from this corner of its empire
what I have so far:
- trek fuel 90 frame (this is my old frame which I used before the superlight)
- Easton EA50 stem (going to put this on the Superlight and swap the bontrager stem back)
- XT shifters
- XT rear derailleur (swap from Superlight)
- chain (swap from Superlight)
- LX Cassette (swap from Superlight)
- front wheel, Mavic XM719 deore hub
- Selle Italia Flite seat, put this on the superlight
still a fair few bits to get but enjoying looking at the moment, hopefully have this up and running very soon...
23.10 update
now have a set of XT disc brakes, bargain from ebay.
Looking forward to getting this built up now, maybe even put my manitou black forks back on this bike to save the expense of new forks as I know what i am like when i get spending...this little lot aint going to be cheap....or 'this little lot will only be cheap love' if talking to the Mrs!
has it been that long...?
...didn't realise it was that long ago when i last updated on here. Well, i'm still riding lots but seems like life has got a whole lot busier for some reason! Moving house, jobs to do on new house, designing a shed (yes really!) and work all seem to be eating a lot of my time up. But the bike does manage to get out now and again...and thankfully takes me with it.
In between my busy diary I seem to be getting plagued with much more bugs, colds and illnesses these days. Not sure if it is my son who kindly brings them home from nursery for me or my 32 year old immune system is not what it used to be??
Anyway, I'll stop the moaning now and promise to get out on the bike a bit more than I have been and report back here more often...
In between my busy diary I seem to be getting plagued with much more bugs, colds and illnesses these days. Not sure if it is my son who kindly brings them home from nursery for me or my 32 year old immune system is not what it used to be??
Anyway, I'll stop the moaning now and promise to get out on the bike a bit more than I have been and report back here more often...
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
secret recipe
Just got back from a fantastic and fast ride out from home. I managed to cover 36km in just less than 2hrs and I felt great, I could of had more I'm sure and I'm certain it was my pasta concoction I knocked up for tea.
I knew all day at work that for some reason I was on for a bigger than usual Tuesday night ride, there was just something niggling all day and I was eager to get out on the bike.
My idea was to get home then straight out on the bike. So home it was, changed and banana consumed...then...this is where the plan changed, I decided to spend more time with my son and have my tea first. The wife already tucking into her culinary delights left me stranded in the kitchen looking for possible ingredients. A pasta dish it was to be, laden with veg and (this is what I believe to be the secret and trail busting ingredient) chorizo sausage...oh it was a delight!! Anyway, as simple as that, and all topped off with a chilli tomato sauce. It worked for me anyway!
The route:> Ackworth > Wragby > Haw Park Wood > Old Royston > Newmillerdam > Secker Wood > Newmillerdam again > Walton > Crofton > Ackworth
I knew all day at work that for some reason I was on for a bigger than usual Tuesday night ride, there was just something niggling all day and I was eager to get out on the bike.
My idea was to get home then straight out on the bike. So home it was, changed and banana consumed...then...this is where the plan changed, I decided to spend more time with my son and have my tea first. The wife already tucking into her culinary delights left me stranded in the kitchen looking for possible ingredients. A pasta dish it was to be, laden with veg and (this is what I believe to be the secret and trail busting ingredient) chorizo sausage...oh it was a delight!! Anyway, as simple as that, and all topped off with a chilli tomato sauce. It worked for me anyway!
The route:> Ackworth > Wragby > Haw Park Wood > Old Royston > Newmillerdam > Secker Wood > Newmillerdam again > Walton > Crofton > Ackworth
Monday, 7 July 2008
Mountain Mayhem 08
Well, I am struggling to find time to write up on this amazing event due to house move, family commitments, work, continual biking, etc, etc
so in the meantime have a read up on what went on at Big Al's blog, a very well written report which truly captures the moment...the 24hr long moment!
Also, some excellent photo's to be found here.
so in the meantime have a read up on what went on at Big Al's blog, a very well written report which truly captures the moment...the 24hr long moment!
Also, some excellent photo's to be found here.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
10 Under the Ben - Sat 31st May 08
Have bike, have wife, have kid…we’re off!
Following the arduous but increasingly view rewarding journey north we finally got to Fort William around tea time on the Friday. With a quick check in at the guest house we were reluctantly back in the car for a quick 5 mile trip to the Nevis Range where the 10 Under the Ben event village had been assembled. Surprisingly when we arrived it was fairly quiet so we promptly made our way up to the Nevis Range centre at the top of the gondola ride where registration was taking place.
Only at this point I think I realised what I had let myself in for, when listening to other riders it seemed everyone else was taking part in a team….oh how sensible they are, but where’s the fun in that? Now, accepting this as the point of no return, I gave my name in exchange for an electronic ankle tag.
So, after a very quick look around at the top Kay, Oliver and me set off on our journey downwards back to the event village. Deciding there wasn’t a lot happening at this point we made our way back to base camp.
By this point, Caroline, my third support crew member (3 – Kay, Oliver, Caroline) had made her way down from Ullapool to join us for a huge pasta tea. Huge is probably not the word, in fact mammoth with lots left over is probably more apt. Got slightly carried away with the Fussili !!
Friday night saw me have the best nights sleep in months and I woke up extremely refreshed and full of adrenalin for today’s race. Two bowls of porridge for breakfast and I’m now full of a mixture of adrenalin and Scottish oats.
Dressed in my racing attire (sorry folks there was a bit of Lycra going on) I ambled over to the compulsory race briefing, not sure why it was compulsory as they never told us anything new from what I had read in the event programme. Back at the car I got myself together, dressed, wheels on, seat in, water on board, checked seat height, checked I had my water, checked I was dressed! And I was ready for the off.
The start area was now very busy, so after a last toilet check I get myself nicely positioned somewhere near the front of the pack which presented a few photo opportunities for my support team.
Lap 2 seemed to be quickly over and after a short rest I was away on lap 3. Things were going well! By this point the sun was getting very hot and the white stone tracks were throwing heat back at me from every direction. The good weather meant the tracks were on the whole very dry and fast. In terms of mountain biking, the whole of the course was fantastic and consisted of a bit of everything from rocks, roots, drops, berms, fast downhills, river crossings, boardwalks and plenty of other things to choose from. To have this on my doorstep would be good!
Now, when it comes to punctures, I have never seen so many people with tyre lever in one hand and a semi inflated tube in the other in one day. I kept wondering when it was to be my turn, surely these rocks were not going to let me get away with 10 hours of riding at full psi? I must have had someone looking out for me on Saturday because smooth rolling with no technical issues was the order of the day for me.
Nearing the end of lap 3 I decided now was the time to take a longer rest before setting off once more and for some unbeknown reason to me I made the fatal mistake again (I didn’t learn from the Merida in Wales) of eating too much. After a good rest in the shade and now full of bananas, cereal bars, sandwich and energy gel I sumped back onto my bike for yet another hour plus in the saddle. Lap 4 wasn’t good, it hurt and I felt sick…I seriously thought this was going to be my bail out point, how could I do anymore feeling like this. Granny ring on all the hills to conserve energy I finally made it round. Back to my support team who amazingly told me I looked better than I did when I came in off lap 3! Time for a drink, change of plasters on the hands to protect the blisters, banana and that was it this time, no gourmet pit stop to be had.
Reluctantly but at the same time willingly I lifted myself onto my bike once more. Lap was good! Felt loads better, picked my pace up slightly and got round another time. Some of the sections, in fact, one in particular which was a bloody steep short climb had me taking the bike for a walk but I figured better to walk a small bit and feel better for the rest of the ride. I nearly did myself a mischief at the start of lap 5, a very steep drop with a few steps plus tiredness equalling complete lack of concentration had me entangling my plums in my handlebars! This I decided was also to be walked on my next lap.
My personal target, for whatever reason, was to do 6 laps, and so with that in mind off I trundled for the last time into Scottish mountain biking bliss. In fact, lap 6 felt great, it was fast, my legs felt good, the hills seemed a bit easier again and even the blisters were not hurting as much. Inner strength, second wind, whatever I were to call it, it got me round and quickly. But, truth be told, I was glad to see the finish line for the last time and have my end of race photo taken.
Electronic tag handed back, miniature bottle of Whiskey received and a check of my times, I decided this was now time to go home.
And, to top it off, a fantastic amount of sponsor money raised for the Thembalitsha organisation.
All round big smiles
Now looking forward to Mountain Mayhem in a couple of weeks…
Following the arduous but increasingly view rewarding journey north we finally got to Fort William around tea time on the Friday. With a quick check in at the guest house we were reluctantly back in the car for a quick 5 mile trip to the Nevis Range where the 10 Under the Ben event village had been assembled. Surprisingly when we arrived it was fairly quiet so we promptly made our way up to the Nevis Range centre at the top of the gondola ride where registration was taking place.
Only at this point I think I realised what I had let myself in for, when listening to other riders it seemed everyone else was taking part in a team….oh how sensible they are, but where’s the fun in that? Now, accepting this as the point of no return, I gave my name in exchange for an electronic ankle tag.
So, after a very quick look around at the top Kay, Oliver and me set off on our journey downwards back to the event village. Deciding there wasn’t a lot happening at this point we made our way back to base camp.
By this point, Caroline, my third support crew member (3 – Kay, Oliver, Caroline) had made her way down from Ullapool to join us for a huge pasta tea. Huge is probably not the word, in fact mammoth with lots left over is probably more apt. Got slightly carried away with the Fussili !!
Friday night saw me have the best nights sleep in months and I woke up extremely refreshed and full of adrenalin for today’s race. Two bowls of porridge for breakfast and I’m now full of a mixture of adrenalin and Scottish oats.
We got to the event village for just gone 8.00am and as it happens we got a really good car parking spot right next to the course which turned out this was going to be my support / rest area.
Dressed in my racing attire (sorry folks there was a bit of Lycra going on) I ambled over to the compulsory race briefing, not sure why it was compulsory as they never told us anything new from what I had read in the event programme. Back at the car I got myself together, dressed, wheels on, seat in, water on board, checked seat height, checked I had my water, checked I was dressed! And I was ready for the off.
The start area was now very busy, so after a last toilet check I get myself nicely positioned somewhere near the front of the pack which presented a few photo opportunities for my support team.
After a fumbled count down we were off, to a very slow pace as riders sorted themselves out and gradually got both feet clipped in and pedalling. The pre race lap must have been around 3 miles which soon had us coming back through the transition area and off to start the first official lap.
I made good pace round the first lap completing it in around 1hr 5mins and after a very short stop and another photo I set off for lap 2.
I made good pace round the first lap completing it in around 1hr 5mins and after a very short stop and another photo I set off for lap 2.
I found it hard to pace myself against other riders as there were riders of all abilities and also team riders who were going all out on their laps. So keeping my head down I plodded along at what I thought was a sensible pace.
Lap 2 seemed to be quickly over and after a short rest I was away on lap 3. Things were going well! By this point the sun was getting very hot and the white stone tracks were throwing heat back at me from every direction. The good weather meant the tracks were on the whole very dry and fast. In terms of mountain biking, the whole of the course was fantastic and consisted of a bit of everything from rocks, roots, drops, berms, fast downhills, river crossings, boardwalks and plenty of other things to choose from. To have this on my doorstep would be good!
Now, when it comes to punctures, I have never seen so many people with tyre lever in one hand and a semi inflated tube in the other in one day. I kept wondering when it was to be my turn, surely these rocks were not going to let me get away with 10 hours of riding at full psi? I must have had someone looking out for me on Saturday because smooth rolling with no technical issues was the order of the day for me.
Nearing the end of lap 3 I decided now was the time to take a longer rest before setting off once more and for some unbeknown reason to me I made the fatal mistake again (I didn’t learn from the Merida in Wales) of eating too much. After a good rest in the shade and now full of bananas, cereal bars, sandwich and energy gel I sumped back onto my bike for yet another hour plus in the saddle. Lap 4 wasn’t good, it hurt and I felt sick…I seriously thought this was going to be my bail out point, how could I do anymore feeling like this. Granny ring on all the hills to conserve energy I finally made it round. Back to my support team who amazingly told me I looked better than I did when I came in off lap 3! Time for a drink, change of plasters on the hands to protect the blisters, banana and that was it this time, no gourmet pit stop to be had.
Reluctantly but at the same time willingly I lifted myself onto my bike once more. Lap was good! Felt loads better, picked my pace up slightly and got round another time. Some of the sections, in fact, one in particular which was a bloody steep short climb had me taking the bike for a walk but I figured better to walk a small bit and feel better for the rest of the ride. I nearly did myself a mischief at the start of lap 5, a very steep drop with a few steps plus tiredness equalling complete lack of concentration had me entangling my plums in my handlebars! This I decided was also to be walked on my next lap.
My personal target, for whatever reason, was to do 6 laps, and so with that in mind off I trundled for the last time into Scottish mountain biking bliss. In fact, lap 6 felt great, it was fast, my legs felt good, the hills seemed a bit easier again and even the blisters were not hurting as much. Inner strength, second wind, whatever I were to call it, it got me round and quickly. But, truth be told, I was glad to see the finish line for the last time and have my end of race photo taken.Electronic tag handed back, miniature bottle of Whiskey received and a check of my times, I decided this was now time to go home.
All in all a fantastic event. Carloline did ask, about 10 mins after finishing, if I would do it again? Still not given her an answer, but the answer would be a definite yes. I can’t wait.
A huge thanks to Kay, Oliver and Caroline for supporting me on the day, I could not have done it without them.
A huge thanks to Kay, Oliver and Caroline for supporting me on the day, I could not have done it without them.
And, to top it off, a fantastic amount of sponsor money raised for the Thembalitsha organisation.
All round big smiles
Now looking forward to Mountain Mayhem in a couple of weeks…
Final ride stats
6 laps - (approx 63 miles including pre race lap)
ride time (including stops): 9hrs 44mins
in the senior solo male category i finished 45th out of 88
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