Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 75 total)
  • Kielder 100
  • haggis1978
    Full Member

    So following a horrible moment where i caught a not so pretty view of my belly profile in the mirror after my xmas season gorging i have entered the kielder 100. I believe that as i have a goal to work towards now it will spur me onto doing a lot of training and getting out on my bike a lot more which is what i have missed doing the last year or so.

    I have read the stuff about plenty of brakes pads, getting your bike in top nick, getting clocking up the mileage on the bike as well obviously and am pretty sure i can do all of the above.

    i’ll be swapping out my formula brakes for some older XTR ones from my wifes bike as they apparently have better pad clearance. I’ll be changing my drivetrain to slighty older shimano XT 1×9 as i dont want the new 2×10 XT groupset i just bought getting trashed.
    I can build myself up to 100 miles during the time between now and then no problem and be doiong the recommended 3-4 runs at that distance a week fairly easily.

    But i still have some questions as the event website isnt updated for this year yet.

    Whats the camping like?
    Whats the parking like?
    How busy is it when you get there as coming from Scotland the last time i was down there i ended up coming along an almost singletrack road at some points? dont know if my sat nav took me a crazy route there or not. Obviously you need to register the day before. So should i turn up early afternoon to beat the crowds and get myself a good camping spot?
    What food should i be putting in my food bags?
    How big are the food bags as sandwich bags can be diferent sizes?
    What are people putting in their food bags?
    Should i stick in some pasta, energy gels and a few mars bars as i’ll burn off the calories from the mars bars in no time?

    cheers
    for any help offered folks

    br
    Free Member

    You’ve not asked about the midges…

    cp
    Full Member

    I think you’re overthinking a bit!

    Food – whatever you normally ride with, and whatever you normally have between now and then. Don’t have anything unknown on race day.

    midge repellent – every sort you can Lay your hands on!

    think I’m going to do it this year too… Looking forward to it already!

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    I didn’t bother with the bag drops.

    You park where you camp, I’m not a tent fan so camping was as shit as always. I had a terrible nights sleep, not what you need before a 100 mile ride.

    Bike wise I found 1×9 fine, IMO there isn’t a need for a granny on that course. Carry lube too, I had to relube 3-4 times throughout.

    I wouldn’t be putting a meal like pasta in a drop bag, I snacked on snickers, bananas and energy gels. Craved Kendal mint cake though! Food stops have bananas, biscuits and sweets. Big food stop had sarnies, cakes and brews. I used SIS energy drink too, find what works for you on your training rides. Have a good supper and breakfast before hand.

    Longest training ride I went on before was 80 miles. I wanted the Kielder to be the first (and only!) time I’d do 100 miles off road! I forgot my iPod too, really missed it later in the day.

    adilc123
    Free Member

    It’s a lot easier than you think, I did it last year and didn’t use any of my spare brake pads. I slept in the van the night before and booked a b&b for the night of the race. The camp site gets really busy. I used food bags and just had energy bars, gels and what ever else I usually eat on a ride. i used the drop bags because I didn’t want to carry everything around all day.

    Hope it doesn’t rain for you.

    Adil.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    I can build myself up to 100 miles during the time between now and then no problem and be doiong the recommended 3-4 runs at that distance a week fairly easily.

    i don’t know if i’ve misread that but i don’t know if 3-400 miles a week is the best training you could do…

    martinhurton
    Free Member

    I’m entering this year as well. Wondering if I haven’t thought about it enough. I was just gonna turn up with my bike, a pocket full of trail mix, and ride 😯

    I’m pretty sure my bike goes way more than 100miles between services and brake pads normally, can’t see why that day would be any different…

    Will follow this thread with some interest though, I’m worried now (well, thinking I should think about it anyway)

    singlecrack
    Free Member

    I’m pretty sure my bike goes way more than 100miles between services and brake pads normally, can’t see why that day would be any different…

    …..oooh your in for a shock if it rains then ….. 😆

    smuttiesmith
    Free Member

    martinhurton – Member
    I’m entering this year as well. Wondering if I haven’t thought about it enough. I was just gonna turn up with my bike, a pocket full of trail mix, and ride

    I’m pretty sure my bike goes way more than 100miles between services and brake pads normally, can’t see why that day would be any different…

    Will follow this thread with some interest though, I’m worried now (well, thinking I should think about it anyway)

    Last year was pretty good weather so brake wear wasn’t an issue. The year before I went through a set of brake pads in 36 miles. I normally get a good 18 months out of the same pads in the lakes. I didn’t believe it until it happened and there was plenty of stories of people going through the pads and backing plates etc.

    Broken brake pads

    oldnpastit
    Full Member

    If it rains you’ll want a single speed with a coaster brake!

    EDIT: annoying it’s on my son’s 18th birthday so for the second year in a row I may well be barred from going 🙁

    Drac
    Full Member

    I’ll answer what I can as I’m usually there as a helper and plan to be this year.

    Yes depending which part of Scotland you came from the road from Newcastleton is single track road, if you come in from Northumberland end it’s a better road as it was built for the damn.

    Camping is basic from what I gather but not 100% sure as I’ve been treat to a proper bed.

    Food bags people put in a variety of items but seems to be high energy and proteint based which makes sense.

    Registration is the night before but this year the event is being held on the Sunday, no I’m not sure why, so you have the Friday evening to travel or all day Saturday.

    100 miles at Kielder with a trace of damp does seem to eat brake pads, last year wasn’t too bad on compared to the year before there was big drop out rate for mechanicals. Stick them in your food bag and carry a pair, if you don’t use them then you’ll have plenty of spares.

    Riding wise those that have ridden will give you better tips than me, I’ve rode it last year on the Sunday but I had a fatbike. Very fat.

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    If it rains you’ll want a single speed with a coaster brake!

    EDIT: annoying it’s on my son’s 18th birthday so for the second year in a row I may well be barred from going

    Your son is going be 18 years old two years running? Some folk just won’t grow up will they! “Treat” him to an entry for his b’day!

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    Something I will add, I ran my tyres a bit harder than usual to prevent pinch punctures, this created much soreness in the bum region. I expected to find blood. Wish I’d stuck with normal pressure. So don’t go changing stuff on the day, go with what you know.

    Oh and I went there knowing I was going to finish, positive mental attitude and all that!

    chives
    Free Member

    I didn’t go last year (when typically the weather was great, dammit!) but 2011 was a war of attrition bike-wise. Pads gone in 40 miles (into the metal) and couldn’t get the lowest 3 gears after 30 miles as the cable was full of slurry.

    Brakes with plenty of pad clearance will help, and top-loading pads would be quicker to change if necessary. Continuous outers (or at least the lower rear section) with XTR rubber boots should sort the shifting issues.

    I got through a chain & cassette soon after (250 miles old) as a result of the gritty wet of Kielder. Bottles nearly worn through, and taken a fair chunk out the alloy cages too, all that, and I didn’t even finish!

    I may try again this year (need to work on my fitness – which was the bottom line in 2011 for me); if I do you can almost guarantee it will piss down again! 🙄

    martinhurton
    Free Member

    I’m pretty sure my bike goes way more than 100miles between services and brake pads normally, can’t see why that day would be any different…

    …..oooh your in for a shock if it rains then …..

    I’ll take spare pads and lube 😆

    Anyone know the route? I only live 1.5hrs away so thinking I could do it in sections over the coming months.

    jota180
    Free Member

    Whats the camping like?

    in a word, basic

    Book yourself a bunk at the [on-site] YHA – if there’s any left

    fizzicist
    Free Member

    If you’re not super fit, ditch the 1×9 and use 2×10. Whilst the course doesn’t have any steep climbs, it is a lot of elevation change and you’ll need a bail out.

    Take spare pads.

    Tubeless is good.

    Make sure your bike is comfortable enough for you to spend all day (and I mean all day) in the saddle. I did it in 2011 and it took 12h 45.

    Don’t bother with the bag drops – find an energy drink you know you can cope with drinking gallons of without discomfort (Torq or High 5 for me. SIS is dreadful). Then go for 2 bottles on the bike and a camelback & take premeasured bags of powder to fill up at the water stops.

    I’d also recommend sticking a new chain & cables on for the start & be prepared to throw it all away afterwards if it rains.

    Use mudguards.

    Put dry clothes & a towel in your car for when you get back.

    I did few of these things and got covered in shit, ended up badly hypothermic afterwards, had conjunctivitis for a week afterwards and destroyed an entire XTR groupset. But I finished it and it was the toughest race I’ve done. Just brutal.

    Which is why I’ll be back in 2013.

    caspian
    Free Member

    OP although it’s another eight months or so away I think it’s good that you’re setting a goal for yourself. A mate and I entered just 30 days in advance.

    As others have mentioned, 2011 (rain) was horrific. Fitness-wise I found that a summer of riding including 3-4 ea 50 mile rides and 1 ea 80 mile ride was enough for me to finish (12hrs 50mins so just made cutoffs). The whole experience cost me over a grand though, once all parts replaced and travel/ghetto accommodation paid for.

    It’s cheaper, per mile, to rent out the 7-seater luxury helicopter from Babington House Hotel than to ride the Kielder 100 (if doing >60mph).

    Your heart has to be in it!

    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    It was forever going to be unfinished business ,entered 🙂

    Whats the camping like?

    in a word, basic

    Looked more like the World War 2 trenches, when we rolled past two years ago. 😯

    I am sure it will be lovely conditions this time 😉

    jimmers
    Free Member

    I did it in 2011, went through six sets of pads. I would consider single speeding to remove a potential point of failure with gears.

    I didn’t bother with the bag drops, I carried all of my food with me. Again less to go wrong.

    At the 55 miles stage in Newcastleton there is a great big marquee tent full of soup, rolls, flapjack, etc. The tomato and basil soup the kind ladies were serving was the best soup I’ve ever tasted!

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    Pre bed the spare pads, fresh out the packet in gritty conditions don’t stand a chance.

    jonba
    Free Member

    In the dry it is not that bad. In the wet it is. What was the finish rate in 2011, something like 3 out of every 4 on the start line didn’t cross the finish? In 2010 it was lovely.

    Kielder really is that bad on kit. I ride there a fair bit and generally avoid in the wet as it does grind away bike components.

    The miles you do in training need to be off road miles. It is fairly bumpy under wheel and beats you up over 100 miles. It is not just your legs that take a hammering. I would consider myself pretty fit but I’m not sure I could manage 3-400 miles a week every week. What you need is a few big rides under your belt not just lots of smaller rides. Being on your bike for the duration of the race is something to get used to. Most people it is 10-12 hours at a reasonable pace. None of this short laps with the opportunity to rest and refuel either. The distance between each bag drop is a good ride on a normal day.

    Food wise you should be preparing in your training – work out what you can eat when you are on the bike that long. I couldn’t go on energy products alone so had pork pies, ginsters, mini cheddars amongst some of the sweeter things. The bag drops work reasonably well if you are organised.

    For training you can get up there an have a look around. If you can ride most of the trails in a day you’ll be ok. I did Lonesomepine/bloody bush over to Newcastleton + dead water + the blue a couple of times. That is about 50-60 miles. There is also the Kielder Marathon Series that will let you race on some of the course. The winter warmer is in a few weeks, then there is the border raid in summer which is the ride over to Newcastleton.

    I also used to head up to Glentress – Black, Red Blue and Innerliethen in a day is a nice run with no navigation and good in all weather. I really struggled to find 60-80mile off road routes that were fun, challenging and didn’t involve faffing with a map every few miles.

    Trimix
    Free Member

    Well, thats put me off then 🙂

    haggis1978
    Full Member

    I’ve not forgotten about the midges, was intending on riding too fast for them to catch me lol
    Forgot about the lube though.

    I take it they open up a field somewhere nearby for the camping then? Is the camping extra as I booked through xcracer.com and there was no option to book camping.

    With regards to the 3-400 miles a week I’m sure it was a thread on here I pulled that info from. I must need to do at least a couple of runs that kind of length a week to get me used to that kind of distance? If i only do a couple of runs like that then what about throwing in some shorter interval sessions? What do you guys think?

    I’ll be taking my new Ritchey P-29er hardtail with 100mm travel and mudgaurds all over it lol What are you guys taking?

    And it will be fully decked out with mudgaurds the lot lol

    chives
    Free Member

    There are campsites a stones throw from the start/sign on etc. As for the midges – it’s the day/night before the event and the evening after thats usually the problem! I got eaten alive despite trying all the usual preventatives (Avon Skin so Soft moisturiser, and some mega deet laden stuff that dissolved my tent..). Get a midge hood.

    Just phone the camp site direct to book. The river’s quite handy for washing your bike in afterwards.

    jeffm
    Free Member

    I’ll be riding my Scandal 29er, 100mm forks and running it with a 1×10 setup.
    Cant wait.
    I’m going to come out and say it, you know, to put the pressure on for me to train properly. Aiming for sub 9 (weather dependent).

    postierich
    Free Member

    take some lights not nice riding after 14 hours and it goes dark!

    will be back only did the 50 last year but drank for 10 hours after!

    haggis1978
    Full Member

    Got another couple of questions. Flats or SPDs? Also how many entrants are there normally?

    ackie
    Free Member

    SPDs definitely. There is a lot of fire road and a lot of up and down.

    What threw me was the sudden appearance of trail centre, twisty singletrack and northshore.
    Which would occasional just appear after I’d be grinding out the miles for and hour or 2.

    It was good fun though and am thinking of doing it again even after 2011s mud and rain.
    Which I hasten to add finished on only one set of pads (Clarks sintered) not sure what the hell everyone else was playing at braking wise?

    alansd1980
    Full Member

    Does anyone know if there is a public transport way of getting to the start from newcastle or carlisle?

    Drac
    Full Member

    You made the most of the social tent Rich.

    vdubber67
    Free Member

    My advice? Don’t drink the accelerade provided drink. Made me feel sluggish and crap until I stopped drinking it at about 60 miles. Evil stuff.

    Oh and take a few spare brake pads 😉

    ac282
    Full Member

    You won’t find many people who do many 100 mile MTB training sessions. Just think how much they would cost…

    radoggair
    Free Member

    I’ll be doing it again this year for 3 reasons

    1/ a new 29er should see me put in a faster time ( thats what everyone is saying anyway)

    2/ i’m 1 of only 9 ( i think) people who have completed all 4

    3/ if i complete it, i’ll get free entry for life 🙂

    ac282
    Full Member

    That’s great, but will you ever want to go back?

    radoggair
    Free Member

    not if i have a newborn like you last year. You were pants 😉

    toyrobot
    Free Member

    Someone asked about public transport from Carlisle. I live fairly locally and used to work in Kielder – the First Buses X95 will take you from just outside the Carlisle train station to Canonbie (just over the border) which is fairly close to Kielder. There’s also a small mini bus (Anderson’s Coaches I think) that runs to Newcastleton – closer than Canonbie. I think in both cases you might have issues with getting bikes on board – especially the coach to Newcastleton as it’s not a big bus.

    (I was refused entry onto the x95 having just bought a dh bike and had to bike it 25 miles home. I think it comes down to the driver’s choice and we all know how much they enjoy the power of being able to say NO)

    I’m not aware of any public transport that runs into Kielder but could be wrong

    breadcrumb
    Full Member

    Got another couple of questions. Flats or SPDs? Also how many entrants are there normally?

    Whatever you normally ride, I use flats so that’s what I used.

    I think there was about 450 started the 100 last year. Something that pissed me off a bit was some people that started the 100 that dropped out after 50 miles were classed as kielder 50 finishes rather than dnf.

    It looked like a lot less people had had to pull out.

    will
    Free Member

    Some good tips on here. I’ll add my bit too, although last year was my first, so haven’t had the pleasure of rain.

    – make sure your bike is reliable. For me my 1×9 setup whilst was fine gearing wise I think it put alot of pressure on the gears (if that makes sense) I dropped a chain a few times and it got jammed between the guard and frame, and then 5 miles from the finish I snapped my chain which meant a run to the finish. I’d be tempted with SS.

    – the food stops are really good. Lots of food there, and the Hellers are brilliant. Although I had a bad at each point I didn’t eat it all.

    – ensure your bike is set up for comfort, not speed. I ran a flipped stem which was a mistake lol.

    – don’t try and follow the lead group for the first 10 miles. The first 50 miles were good and quick, and I suffered in the second half.

    – if it’s windy the boarder crossing will be painful

    – camping is fine, just like mayhem or SITS.

    – take a Camelbak, not a saddle bag. Well this more applies to me. When my saddle bag broke which meant I lost some tools and kit

    I’ll be back this year. On a SS 29er running 100mm.

    haggis1978
    Full Member

    i must say guys this is all great info im getting here, thanks very much. looking to build myself up to the 100 miles journey so i want to be fit to do 100 miles by August. i’m going to start this months by doing 35-45 miles runs which im sure i can manage no problem. im not that hugely fat just chubbier than i was and a bit vain about it ;)Then build it up adding an extra 10 miles each month to my runs.

    i’ll try 2 big runs each week until about june then 3 runs whilst also fitting in some short interval sessions about twice a week as well. Does this sound about right to all the veterans in here?

    one problem i have is that i work offshore so im away 2 weeks out of 3 and whilst offshore i will have to be getting on the spin bike and clockin up miles on that which after a 12 hour shift is hard. im planning on doing a wee bit on my lunch hour and then a couple of hours a night.

    still very tempted to go singlespeed though as i know my fitness will be right up by that time. what gearing are the guys doing it SS thinking of running?

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