Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 47 total)
  • Last minute tips for the Puffer?
  • franksinatra
    Full Member

    Off to the Puffer this weekend as a solo. Travelling with a mate who is also solo, sharing a van and logistics.

    I’ve barely been on a bike in the past month (had my balls snipped three weeks ago so pretty good excuse). Not planning to break any records, just going mainly for the experience. So in that sense I have no real target or expectations. Having said that, I would rather not completely embarrass myself!

    Any tips in terms or strategy, kit, food etc?

    weeksy
    Full Member

    Don’t die 🙂

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Don’t die

    Tip top tip that one. I plan not to. I reckon the long drive back on Sunday is probably the most risky part of the weekend zzzzz

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    rickmeister
    Full Member

    Good luck Frank..

    Self supported Puffer Solo is quite a thing. Hope conditions are in your favour for a relatively easy weekend.

    Take it easy on the return drive…

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Any more tips?

    djflexure
    Full Member

    Don’t die

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    I’d be lost without the high quality advice offered on this forum

    AlasdairMc
    Full Member

    Take all your bike gear.
    Wash your bike every few laps as the mud is horrific
    Bring too much food – it allows for variety
    Eat on the first big climb
    Don’t use a rear light. Please don’t!

    See you there. I’m solo too, riding either a Stooge or a fat bike

    ianfitz
    Free Member

    Lay out a variety of food on a table so you can grab what you fancy. Plus:

    As many bottles as you have with water/energy drink/recovery drinks in. Wide neck flask with soup will keep warm for a while. You may find a spare supporter from near your spot who may do a batch refill.

    Supermarket fruit jelly sweets are soft and easier to eat than many sweets I ate loads of these at relentless. Loads!

    Box or bag up spare gloves. Leg wear. Tops. Water proofs. Label them so easier to find.

    Put it all under a big gazebo so you can step out of the rain. Don’t mJe it too comfy in there though!

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Take every piece of cycle clothing you own.
    Take every possible spare that you can – everything from mech hangers to a complete bike!
    Don’t use a rear light.
    Have a clean bag with everything neatly laid out. Shorts in one bit, jerseys in another etc.
    Have a dirty bag where all the muddy shit gets dumped.
    More lights. Beg, borrow, buy or steal every light you can.
    Don’t die.

    HTH.

    jonnyboi
    Full Member

    Beg someone to go as pit crew, pay them even.

    Break the event down into manageable mental chunks, and prepare yourself for the inevitable lows.

    jonnyboi
    Full Member

    Oh, and use chamois cream

    tjagain
    Full Member

    I did a puffer solo – calling what I did as racing would be a bit wrong. My tips?

    don’t get involved in the run at the start. Walk to your bike and set off slowly – that way all the traffic jams will be gone when you get there. You are likely to run out of miles in your legs before you run out of time. I did

    Take a spare bike. Take loads of kit. Putoline on your chain so you don’t have to relube all race. Decent pads in your brakes and a spare broken in set. Hub gear bikes are very handy. run low gearing – as low as you can.

    eat as much as you can.

    fifeandy
    Free Member

    Don’t just take all your bike clothes, take all your outdoorsy clothes too – you lose the ability to regulate body temp once you are properly f*d = need an endless supply of warm, dry clothes.

    If its muddy (which is looking likely) a lifetime supply of brake pads may come in handy.

    Lights, lights and more lights – and some more for use in the pits.

    Oh, and final tip is maybe a bit late: Don’t skip a months training to get the snip 😛

    Phil_H
    Full Member

    Start slow, get slower.
    Take all your cycling kit and spares.
    If you decide to have a kip get into fresh kit before you doss down. That way you’re dressed ready to go when you get up.
    A baby wipe wash can make you feel much better.
    Have a variety of foods in small portions and eat what you fancy. Eat early and often.

    JPR
    Free Member

    Just do one more lap.

    LongboardSi
    Free Member

    Eat from the start,
    Keep eating
    Have savoury/salty food too
    Drink lots
    If you stop for more than a few mins change into dry kit straight away.
    Don’t put a down jacket over sweat soaked clothes – looses its loft very quickly
    Run single speed, and geared lower than you think (I found 30/17 on 26″ worked).
    Don’t sleep. However tempting, once you have, waking up and getting going is near impossible.
    Take a spare bike.
    Bed in you spare brake pads first
    Take a spare everything you can. Especially gloves.
    Enjoy it
    Persuade someone else to do it too- they can have my entry: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/strathpuffer-solo-entry-2?replies=3#post-8222983

    kennyp
    Free Member

    Remember that you haven’t fully enjoyed it until you’ve totally hated it…!!!

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Maybe the thread for this

    I am so evangelical about the putoline that I will offer to prepare anyones drivetrain for the puffer with it if they want me to do it. Edinburgh based if anyone wants to try it. I believe a putolined chain will not need relubing the whole race.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Bring sunscreen.

    13C in Inverness yesterday.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Any snow left Scotroutes? Next week is my winter hillwalking week to play in the snow. If there is none I shall sulk.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Sulk.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    *pouts*

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    All good stuff, thanks for this.

    My strategy is to go and experience it. I am thinking of it as a series of bike rides over 24hrs, rather than a single 24hr event. I have a number of laps I want to do and plan a ‘downward spiral’ approach so each outing is less daunting than the last.

    br
    Free Member

    Any more tips? [/I]

    Miss out the middle man, put the ticket on the classifieds now rather than tomorrow.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    I took 8, yes 8, sets of broken in pads with me. I was still using the set I started with 6 months after the puffer… 😆

    Break it down into lap times, ie if you’re targeting 24 laps, then take an hour between starts, if you lap in 45 minutes, take 15 minutes to either nibble or change socks, undercrackers, chill, whatever.

    Makes it easier to think about during the low hours…

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Dodgy takeaway on the way up and bail with the raging squits but offer to support your mate (no chocolate milkshake recovery drinks though)

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    I would actually really like to do the Puffer if (and only if!) I could guarantee that wonderful cold you get at ski resorts with loads of snow, blue skies, sunshine and the temperature never above -5 for the previous 2 weeks to ensure crispy snow and no chance of mud, slush and ice.

    Night time snow riding is ace.

    But seeing as you won’t have any of that, just go with the plan of having all your bike parts, clothing and outdoor gear and winging it from there… 😉

    terrahawk
    Free Member

    I would actually really like to do the Puffer if (and only if!) I could guarantee that wonderful cold you get at ski resorts with loads of snow, blue skies, sunshine and the temperature never above -5 for the previous 2 weeks to ensure crispy snow and no chance of mud, slush and ice.

    it’ll never happen. Have you every tried to ride on snow that’s already been ridden over thousands of times?

    br
    Free Member

    +10c last night on the ‘tops’ (Scottish Borders) and muddier than a muddy thing.

    Take lots of spare clothing?

    highlandman
    Free Member

    Sweet foodstuffs have a tendency to set hard when cold- you’ll be amazed how tiring it is to try to chew a solid bar at 3 in the morning. Take something that will still be soft- fig rolls don’t set too hard.
    A really good chicken curry pie or a chicken, white pudding & mushroom one (J Pirie & Sons butchers in Newtyle, Angus) could be a life-saver. If you don’t have an oven with you, someone nearby probably will in their motorhome.
    Finally- Keep going. The forecast looks …..

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    loads of snow, blue skies, sunshine and the temperature never above -5

    It doesn’t matter, it’s dark for over 70% of it.

    Anyway, if you need last minute tips you’re probably stuffed. Everything above apart from singlespeeding is true.

    If it’s warm and wet pack as many brake pads as you can eat.

    Pack every item of cycling clothing you and all your friends your size own.

    Change if you stop for more than a minute. The wet clothes clinging to your body robbing heat is what has done for me in the past.

    Precook some food (I used pasta and some sauce with bacon in it) that you can heat on stove. Warm food will be your saviour.

    Do whatever you can to get a pit bitch. It will make everything so, so much better for you. Get them to cook your food, sort out changes of clothes and fix your bike.

    Enjoy it, it’s amazing.

    dumbbot
    Free Member

    is this supposed to be fun,? sounds like carnage.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    That’s why it’s fun.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Its type 2 fun. the solo I did is the single toughest thing I have ever done ( I did it the year of deep snow) Everything I had to give over 24 hours meant 67 miles IIRC – and I was 28 out of 42 solists. to put it in comparison my usual sort of ride is 30 – 50 miles

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    Yeah, I think when we came 2nd at Relentless in Pairs we did 240 miles between us.

    At the Puffer we did 165!

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Aye – and you had good conditions at the puffer

    the year I did it the leading solo did something like 140 miles

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    Just had a look through- that was the year of the warmest conditions, but as it was warm it was also wet so the trails were slow. That’s the least mileage I’ve done as part of a team at the Puffer (yet, oddly, my best result, 2nd). Even on a cold dry year though I’ve never done more than 180 miles as a pair.

    Vader
    Free Member

    Beg someone to go as pit crew, pay them even

    This^

    It’s not as daft as it sounds. I did the first puffer as a quad. Without my team mates supporting each other it would have been utterly utterly miserable.

    My bike was trashed by the end. I took a week to recover. We won a mug for second place.

    I’ll never do it again. 🙂

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Pit bitch certainly helps a lot. Its also surprisingly quite fun to do. Bribe a mate with beer to pitbitch for you

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