Has anyone who isn’t an elite racer done it and lived? plenty.

Do you need a racer license to enter? No

What was it like? Hard but fun

Did you train much? A fair bit.

Any recommendations? Er? Have a look at the official website and Dave Haygarths excellent 3 Peaks site.

Will my disc brakes on the cx bike cause derision and scorn? No, there’ll be others

Should I leave stuff like this to the hard men? MTFU.

Done it twice, once in 06, again in 08 (it was cancelled in 07).
It’s the hardest bike event I’ve done, harder than 24hrs races, you are absolutely battered by the end of it. But it’s also one of the most fun events ever, great atmosphere and you get to see how you really stack up agianst the Elite boys and girls at the front of the field!

My first race was 4.20 with 2 punctures, last year I did 4.03. I *will* get sub 4hr next time!

No licence needed but it’s worth doing at least some training if you want to enjoy it. I just did lots of miles on the CX in the Peak District. Disc brakes are fine as are flat bars (so long as they’re not wider than 50cm). Tyre width is restricted to 35mm IIRC.

I did it once.

That was enough for me.

There was far too much walking in it for me.Bikes are for riding not carrying up steps. 😉

Maybe if I’d done some walking carrying the bike training I’d have liked it more.

35mm FFS

I know – pansies. proper riders will be on 32s 😉