Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)
  • Bonty 24/12 – What advice for first timers?
  • topangarider
    Free Member

    I’ve entered this with 3 mates, but apart from 2 of us having done the Enduro 6 the last two years – its all new.

    What do we need to know? With regard to anything – training, tactics, pit contents etc etc…..

    Anything you can offer would be appreciated!

    sharki
    Free Member

    Get pished on friday night, eat whatever and have a laugh, mince the 3 climbs and rag the bejeasus out of the descents and swoopy wooded singletrack..

    If the course and weather is as good as last year just enjoy it.

    I’ll be there slurpping beer and shouting alot.

    I did 12hr solo last year so had sat night and sunday free to do whatever…which meant drinks and riding on Dartmoor…

    IdleJon
    Full Member

    Did the team 24hr last year – doing the Torchbearer solo this year. Looking forward to a good weekend. Much prefer this to MM, partly because the course was so much better last year.

    Same advice as Sharki really – unless you are planning to win it then you probably know what to do as much as anybody else especially if you’ve done events like Enduro6.

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    Jezkidd
    Free Member

    My 3rd year this year. Advice, pace yourself and enjoy it, it’s been fantasticthe first 2 times I did it, apparently the course is similar to last years with even more singletrack!

    Jezkidd (The Jeyteam)

    JasonDS
    Full Member

    Hey all,

    I’m entered in the 12hour as a solo – 1st timer too.

    What’s to be expected, is there a “for fun” attitute or am I likely to be mown down and die a slow lonely death?

    See you there!!

    njee20
    Free Member

    I’m also doing Torchbearer solo, never done a solo event over 3 hours, so we’ll see how it goes.

    Just enjoy yourself, and take every item of kit you own! Everything, shoes, helmets, gloves.

    grievoustim
    Free Member

    i’m doing the 12hr solo – same as last year

    It really was great last year – excellent course made going out for another lap no problem, loads of fun singletrack

    the weather helped for sure – although I understand the course should hold up quite well in the wet

    the atmosphere seemed laid back to me, so hopefully will be the same this year (a few more riders this year, but a slightly longer course to compensate)

    ciron
    Free Member

    I did the 12 hour solo last night. Wea a great day. Nice and chilled atmosphere on the course.

    It’s nice to finish at midnight and watch loads of people carry on going around and around. The Tour will also be on the TV in the arena.

    topangarider
    Free Member

    What do people in teams of 4 do during the darkness??

    AABCD, ABCD, ABCD or ABABABABA, CDCDCDCDCD to allow for some semi-continuous sleep?

    I take there’s no need for rear lights – hate following peeps with them on night events!

    sharki
    Free Member

    There’s no road sections so no need for rear light, though you WILL get some but that’s a Roadie thing and something they can’t let go of…

    As team orders during the night, just keep going, you could grab an hr’s sleep/rest between laps.

    Try this.
    Get in off lap wake your rider (the one next after the one you’ve just swapped with) grab some scram and rehydrate, change into fresh clothes ready for next lap, sort drinks ready to ride, if things need sorting on bike, order pit bitch or do it now…then get some sleep/rest..when your waken you’ve got around 40mins to get up, bung down some more scram/drink, get kitted up and get down for transition.

    Team orders

    you come in off lap wake rider3
    rider 2 come in off lap wake rider4
    rider 3 come in off lap wake you
    rider 4 come in off lap wake rider2

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    by no means an expert but

    take ALL the kit you have remember prepare for the race that you may have not the one that you want – winter boots, waterproofs, etc etc.

    take enough food – nothing worse than running out

    take a comfy bed/ sleeping bag/ chair

    for mayhem we did abcd abcd etc laps. but bumped into some guys who did a lap each ( ABCD) then switched to ABAB CDCD over night and back to ABCD in morning to ensure decent sleep. this is for a 24 though.

    I’llbe there doing my first ever solo and I’m doing the 24 – I’ll be on a scandal 29er – say hello. 😀

    deadpool2e
    Free Member

    My 1st time too, i am in a team of 4 and have a few questions. what kind of bikes do people have at these races? i will have a orange alpine by then but my mate has offered to lend me his Rockhopper HT. would it be ok on my bike as i dont want to be pee’d off. how long/far was a lap last year?

    Thanks in advance

    Sponging-Machine
    Free Member

    I’d bring your Orange and the rockhopper. My choice of the two would be the HT but it’d be best you ride the course and decide. Otherwise, the best thing to bring is a fun attitude. I met some great people last year and seemed to spend most of my time chatting to strangers.

    I did the race as a team of 6 last year. It was my first event in 15years and got me totally hooked on racing. I’m doing the solo 24 hour this year. I had such a good experience last year that I wanted to do it a different way this time around. I’m also doing it to raise some cash for St’ Luke’s Hospice in Plymouth. If anyone fancies chucking me a quid or two for it, my donation page is HERE

    Have fun. See you in 5 weeks.

    Shit, it’s only 5 weeks away! 😯

    bikemonkey
    Free Member

    pack as much beer as you think you’ll need, then double it. It’s an endurance event so you’ll definately need enough beer. Also, take your bikes as I believe there’s a moutain biking circuit there somewhere.

    shinsplints
    Full Member

    lol @ bikemonkey

    topangarider
    Free Member

    I like the way this is sounding – should be good!

    What level of spares do people take? A whole bike? Or just the normal ride stuff?

    Way I see it – 24hr race in a team of 4, so I’ll be riding for 6 hours – the length of a day on the bike – and I wouldn’t take loads of spares for that!

    Spare bottle opener I suppose!

    phildowling
    Free Member

    Ride Solo! It’s easier than the …”who’s next?” kinda moments when it’s 3 in the morning and you’ve got no idea 😆

    I’m Solo 24. Be riding a Gary Fisher Pro Claiber or maybe my 69er SS if me legs fixed, cracking event loved it last year. Loved the bomb hole section

    hamishthecat
    Full Member

    Ref spares I normally fanny around putting virtually everything from the shed into the car and then use none of it – but it’s good for confidence.

    Hardtail is completely adequate for Newnham – but I take my full-suss as a spare just in case. (see above).

    Take plenty of bottled water or a big container you can fill up and loads of easily digestible food you can snack at. Second the chair comment.

    Make sure you take warm clothing for the night time bit ‘cos it can get flippin’ freezing when you’re off the bike. Like the comments above, take as much riding clothing as possible – it’s nice to be able to put dry shorts and jersey on for your lap if possible.

    The main thing is to make sure you’re at the changeover when your buddy comes in from his lap – and have a good time – it’s a pretty laid back event.

    Doing the pairs 12 hour race this year.

    IdleJon
    Full Member

    Sponging-Machine – Member

    Have fun. See you in 5 weeks.

    Shit, it’s only 5 weeks away!

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but if it’s the 29th June today (your post was the 26th?), and the event is around the 24th July, that doesn’t add up to 5 weeks. I make it just under 4 weeks. You’d better jump two weeks on the training plan, Sponging-Machine. 🙂

    As far as night laps on the team event are concerned – since we did our first 24, the teams I’ve ridden in have always aimed to ride for around around 90mins per session, so normally 2 laps. That gives enough time to eat sleep, etc, and it does actually give a nice break overnight. Of course it means that not everyone gets to ride a ‘proper’ night ride…

    topangarider
    Free Member

    That was one of my concerns – I think we’re all keen to do a few night laps, at different times of night too.

    Reckon we’ll stick with the ABCD method, unless anyone really objects, or more likely -lights fail!

    What lights do people have as back ups?

    IdleJon
    Full Member

    My favourie night lap is the 2am to 2.30am start, roughly 90 mins of riding, bacon sandwich as the sun comes up, straight into sleeping bag before hopefully the last session. A magical time of day.

    topangarider
    Free Member

    Exactly – thats the sort of thing I don’t want to miss out on.

    IdleJon
    Full Member

    But it’s really horrible getting up ready for that lap!

    carlphillips
    Free Member

    bring some good earplugs if that horrible jazz singing/wailing banshee is going to be there again, scooby dooby doo wah wah wah beebopbeebo etc etc utter shite and i came close to ‘piss bombing’ her a la festival stylee last year, especially in the wee hours it wasn’t fun at all.

    topangarider
    Free Member

    You’ll just have to pedal quicker past her then!! 😛

    topangarider
    Free Member

    So – how's people's training/race prep going?

    julianwilson
    Free Member

    what is this training you speak of?

    I have tried lifting up the bag of my new enormo-tent a couple of times if that's what you mean. I am also trying easier and easier gearing on my new/old singlespeed in the hope that i can do just the one lap on it before rolling into the transition in floods of man-tears and riding the geared one instead.

    mrs julian's training has been the trying of many flapjack variations and buying herself some (more) new shorts.

Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)

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