The brake pads thing is weird. I rode a longish recce ride before 2009 and it was just after hurricane Bill had passed through. See the pictures here to see how wet it was. Then I did the race on the same pads and they weren’t new before the recce. ’07 xt with normal pads.

Then last year my pads looked like this!

Brake pads

Only 17 entered that cannot be right!!!!
Will be entering did not realise they do a diddy Keilder50!
Rich

Missed the 51 mile cut off last year by about 8 minutes. Got through pads front & rear, and couldn’t get the lowest three sprockets due to grit in the cable from about 30 miles out. Bottom line – just not fit enough (and had the shits all day Thursday before the race which probably didn’t help).

Resulting bike mods – have swapped to XTR cables with continuous outers, and brakes with top-loading pads and bite point adjustment (so as to run the pads further off the discs when not in use).

Plan to get fitter before trying it again – I found it pretty gruelling personally (read cramp), and got eaten alive into the bargain.

Definitely worth getting toward the front early on to avoid getting stuck in the woods at the cross-over too.

Number 1 of things that made me think that alot of people would not finish in time = whilst following the slowish pace car out, it had to stop to let over half the field get back on after the first climb.

Drop bags that aren’t used are taken back to the finish and laid out on the ground on a plastic sheet – you should easily be able to retrieve after the race finishes.

Definitely use hardtail; I rode the last 2 years on a rigid SS and can’t say I missed suspension at all.

As people have said, take plenty of brake pads and mosquito repellent and you’ll be right.

Rich this is the first year of them doing the 50 miles, hope you’ve gone for the big one.

Lee just entered the 104 mile route hopefully not SS this year.

Still places available at the campsite, I just booked. Is it 100 miles, 104 miles, 107 miles???? Anyone know if the course is the same as last year?

I’ve done it the last 2 years and completed it both times. It’s my favourite race and one giant adventure.

Most important thing to bring is a sense of humour (and midge stuff!).

Brake pad wise, I am running Hope X2s this year, and they are awesome. Only had to change one set of pads this year (and I raced Strathpuffer solo). The first year, I went into the race with a clicky/clunky drive train and it was pretty horrific to ride after 40 miles. Last year, I gave my bike a full service and it ran like a dream for the whole race.

If you’re running Avids, the sinted Clark’s pads are awesome. Look into baking your pads if it’s looking wet! I didn’t change my last year, and it was cool kicking it on the descents and seeing everyone disappear in the distance as they couldn’t brake.

The hardest half is the first half, pretty cruisy after Newcastleton.

Don’t take advice off anyone who started it but didn’t complete it. Oh, you also need to do that thing called training if you want to finish it 😉

I ‘ve done it the last two years and loved it.great crack.
If it rains it will be harrowing.
brand new brake pads are useless – bed the spares in.
Due to recent fatherhood i’m not allowed to do it this year…..next year tho 😉
If you can cycle 50 mile you will do it – it’s all in the head. don’t give up and do use the drop bags.
Hardtail here.

best of luck.

I’m still annoyed at myself for not finishing last year, especially after I found out only about a dozen people have now finished all three.

Last year, the weather was what stopped me finishing, but that was compounded by barely riding during the year as my bike got nicked and it was only in the middle of August that I sorted out a new one.

I’ve not entered yet, but am intending to. I need to make sure I can scrounge a lift off somebody though. In fact: anyone able to pick me up from Darlington on their way?

Entered twice finished twice and not going to do it again 10 hours riding in endless pine trees on stuff I would rather use the CX bike on ( not allowed I did check the rules ) is not my bag.

Back again this year, thankfully missed last year due to family stuff. Praying it’s dry… Need to sort out getting there and camping as I haven’t had the chance yet… Also riding solo after all my buddies bailed. So do say hello!

Toying with the idea of doing this in the next few years.

Has anyone on this thread done the SDW in a day – roughly the same distance though I imagine more up and down than Kielder.

Are they the same kind of challenge.

DC

I rode Tail End Charlie on this 2 years ago in support of my GF who was riding the whole thing and I did around 50 miles of it. It is tough but a tad boring as no great landscape to speak of just a solid grind. 2010 was dry, a friend rode 2011 and it ate his bike. The fire road cinderstuff is what eats the bike rather than the terrain as such. Get midge head net for the evenings though.
Rode the Manx E2E last year which was more interesting.

Been meaning to get an entry in for this most of the year. Should be reasonably fit as I’ll have been out in the Pyrenees the week before.

Will probably race solo, driving up from Leeds/Bradford on the Friday night if anyone wants a lift etc

mikehow
driving up from Leeds/Bradford on the Friday night if anyone wants a lift etc

What way do you go from Leeds?

Anyone know the stats on total ascent over the 100 route?

Genuine question on what tyres. i was planning on using 2.2 race Kings as from what I understand the course is quite all weather. Fire roads, man made trails etc…?

Please do correct me if i’m wrong though!

RKs are fine

Good. Least it can’t be as bad a Mayhem or Sleepless. Can it….

Fast-rolling tyres will be fine, whatever the weather.

Anyone know the stats on total ascent over the 100 route?

I think it somewhere between 3500-4000 metres.

Anyone know the stats on total ascent over the 100 route?

I think it somewhere between 3500-4000 metres.

Thinks it’s about half that.

I got eliminated after 78 miles last year, and my GPS clocked up 1422m by that stage

There seems to some difference in the climbing. On the garmin site you can get logs with 1200m to 3800m.
But, checking the graphs, you can see the ones with the low climbing are showing a very flat profile, probably due to water blocking the altimeter: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/111720740

Here is one with a high elevation and a nice bumpy graph:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113085589

There seems to some difference in the climbing. On the garmin site you can get logs with 1200m to 3800m.

Thanks for depressing the hell out of me !!

Did a big training ride in the peak on Saturday – 72 miles, 2200m.
Thought to myself “well at least I won’t have to do as much climbing at Kielder.”

Thing is I don’t remember there being that much climbing – a few climbs early on (with the double frustration of chainsuck and having to queue), and then the mile of mud after Newcastleton. Other than that it was mostly undulating – or am I blotting things out ?

There seems to some difference in the climbing. On the garmin site you can get logs with 1200m to 3800m.
But, checking the graphs, you can see the ones with the low climbing are showing a very flat profile, probably due to water blocking the altimeter: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/111720740

Here is one with a high elevation and a nice bumpy graph:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113085589

Actually another possibility is that it is all down to whether you have Elevation Corrections enabled or disabled

The two you linked to have it disabled, I have it enabled

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/112358401

I don’t think there are any BIG climbs, just it doesn’t really stop either being up or down. The biggest climb seems to be about 200m, so nothing massive.

Actually another possibility is that it is all down to whether you have Elevation Corrections enabled or disabled

Still shows as disabled when I view it.

Still shows as disabled when I view it.

Yep, that might be just a website function, rather than any setting on the device. (Like many features on the device I don’t really get it!!)

I’ve just changed it (to enabled) and it’s now showing 2697m – which actually seems more realistic

They require volunteers for this too if anyone is able to help.

http://www.sip-events.co.uk/kielder-volunteers.html

I’m back again this year as a dogs body.

Good drying breeze at the moment and providing it’s not too bad on Wednesday it looks pretty good at the moment.

Good luck to all those doing it!

I had a bit of a nightmare this year, but learnt loads – hopefully this will be useful to people doing it next year: http://teamcycleaid.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/sokielder-2012.html