Having last raced it in 1999 & 2000 i though a return to this legend of a race was due.

We stayed in Giggleswick on the Saturday night, the Sunday morning ride over displayed all the summits to be cloud free, the forecast was good, minimal wind, overcast & warm.

Having got a 3:53 & a 4:07 in the past, i’d told them on my entry i’d line up in the 4:30 grid at the start. My excuse on getting slower is i’ve gotten older, but someone needs to tell Nick Craig that!!! My aim was to race my younger self round the course.

I was running 1 bike & had my wife & son bottling at Cold Cotes & Ribbleshead.

At the start area i got to meet a couple of people i knew & have a chat with John Rawnsley which was nice.

After a brief slow start (for those back from the front) the 650 riders soon spread out creating space on the opening closed road section, i tried to put some effort in here and made my way up the field a bit.

Inglebourough goes on for a bit (no fence grabbed by me!), and the descent didn’t offer much in the way of speed, lots of grass & peat bogs robbed me of that as i dropped altitude. I took on my first bottle at the dibbing stop, enthused by the crowds i carried too much speed into the rutted bit before the road & fell off… i later realised i’d knocked my rear mech / hanger and my gears complained about it forever after.

Approaching Whernside the sun made a brief warming appearence so i refilled my bottle at the Bruntscar water station (many thanks for that), and headed up this gravelly stepped climb. On the top of Whernside i pinch punctured my tubeless WTB Cross Boss, it spat sealant out so i stopped to fit a tube. With the wheel out of the fork i put it hole down and shook it – and the sealant held the hole! I attempted to add air, but then realized that my CO2 canister head (which i brought in 1999… for the 3 Peaks) had perished O-rings that allowed the gas to escape, i got some pressure in and made my way down to the viaduct where i new my support team had a pump, on the way down i experienced a bit of adductor cramp which eased off again. As i took on my second bottle i topped up to 60psi and hit the road.

Pen Y Gent is sooo bumpy on the way up, a tiring body and line choice limited by keeping to the left to avoid descending riders made it hard work. At the top, the steps and loop around to the descent were new, once off the grass and onto the track i felt like i stormed the descent.

On the last section of road i attempted to give it my all and push a big gear – but cramp threatened to put a stop to that so i spun a lighter gear to the finish line.

At the finish tent as i was having my timing chip removed my front tyre went PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSST and blew sealant out, which a quick spin of the wheel sealed again. A great advert for tubeless.

OMFG why do we do it? I can’t bend down and my legs & ass really ain’t happy. That was sooooooo hard. Phew!

[/url]Cold Cotes by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Dazed @ Ribblehead by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Ribbleshead Viaduct by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Support team by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]THE FINISH by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Medal Man by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]Tea up. by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

213/500 finishers = 4:19:37

Don’t believe those rose tinted spectacles, it’s f*cking brutal.

I love the low key vibe of the event, the atmosphere, the comradery of those taking part, my legs & butt are still complaining, my back hurts, i’m bruised from shouldering my bike, the descents have made me query my hip sockets life span. Will i be back next year…… ask me in a weeks time!

From the 2017/18 CX racing thread:

steve_b77 – Member
3 Peaks for me today, had a mare, blew up on Simons Fell & could hardly move, got better, binned it on Peny Ghent, went to see Mountain Rescue, knackered my shoulder. Made it back in 30 mins from the top with much wincing and swearing.

CX season possibly over before it’s begun

POSTED 12 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Heal well Steve. Well done for finishing!

Well done, I found this year’s race tougher (and slower) than my first attempt in 2014. The bogs were very sapping, and the headwinds for the second half didn’t help. I think 70psi was too much in my Schwalbe G-Ones – I was getting pummelled to pieces on the descents, but no punctures!

4.13 for me, which I was a bit disappointed with as it was 15 minutes slower than previous. However I had done no hill running/walking trading at all this time, and my times up the hills suffered for sure.

I think everyone found it heavy going, most people seemed to be about 15 minutes down on normal time. I saw Chipps atthe same point I see him at every year so it seemed like we were all slower.

4.05.01 for me, I did at one point on PyG think I might slot in under 4hrs but it wasn’t to be.

I ache all over now!

Nice write up qwerty, well done in returning to it after 17 years!

Nice write up, nice time! I went rock climbing yesterday – seemed the less frightening option 🙂

Nicely done! I was marshalling at Rawnsley’s leap, a really enjoyable day all in. It’s definitely got me hungry to race again next year.

Excellent Martin!

The bogs were very sapping,

Photos are emerging to confirm this:

[/url]Riders compete in the 2017/55th Annual 3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross, Ingleton Yorkshire Dales, UK by andrewnward, on Flickr[/img]
[/url]Riders compete in the 2017/55th Annual 3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross, Ingleton Yorkshire Dales, UK by andrewnward, on Flickr[/img]

😉

Ha ha ,excellent photo and well done,I was never brave enough in my racing days to try it.
Was that a Major Jake you were riding?

Was that a Major Jake you were riding?

Private Jake with some minor changes to suit me & local riding / races.

[/url]2016 Private Jake by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]

I like it, its done a number of 100 mile road rides this year, a few single speed cross races, local trail riding, commutes etc.

Ha. I had a couple of over the bar moments – fortunately with very soft landings. The brake levers were so full of peat that the brakes were jammed on for about 15 minutes afterwards.

Ground conditions did make it hard going this year.

Ha. I had a couple of over the bar moments – fortunately with very soft landings.

There was a guy near me who came past me like a train on Ingleborough – seriously he’d have put Steve Peat to shame. Then he hit a bog and his bike stopped dead. He carried on for quite a while. 😉

He did the same again on Whernside on one of the “off-piste” bits and I’m like “can you stay away from me on PyG?!”
No idea who it was but it provided a bit of entertainment in between the slogging away.

Some bits of ground look firm and aren’t, other bits look soggy but are firm – it’s peat luck.

I think everyone found it heavy going, most people seemed to be about 15 minutes down on normal time.

I am glad Crazy Legs said that as I was only just under 5 hours whereas I was thinking I should be around 4.40. Mind you ploughing into the back of parked car just after dibbing at Whernside did not help. The car owner offered a gel and a kindly Skipton rider let me ride on his wheel until I felt okay which was just before Horton. Helmet is a w/o but everything else seems fine. I think I may be replacing the forks though. I can’t believe they are not damaged.

Around 4 hours is a cracking pace, 5 is still quick, just completing the ride within the cut offs (about 6.5 hours) is a struggle, well done everyone.

I marshaled on the Ingleborough descent and it was interesting to see the difference in descending ability of riders at all levels of the race.

I was watching the live results as Jebb dibbed in first at the top, a minute or so ahead of Oldham. I expected him to come through like a train but he was carefully picking his way down the rocky path, then didn’t really accelerate over the boggy common.

Oldham came down much more confidently and smoothly, it’s no surprise that he had caught and passed Jebb by Cold Cotes. Maybe Jebb was having a bad day, as he retired after Whernside with a broken seat I believe.

Then it was mixed bag of skills shown throughout the field. Some ran the whole lot, some smashed it popping manuals off the rock steps, some picking the poor lines and crashing – some of the most flamboyant riders were the last down.

With only a few minutes between a cautious descent and smashing it, it’s probably fair to say that the race isn’t won here, but certainly can be lost.

I’ve taken a lot of pictures I’ll post a link when they are uploaded to flikr, here’s an action shot to be going on with;

Maybe Jebb was having a bad day, as he retired after Whernside with a broken seat I believe.

He crashed – rumour was he’d hit a specatator – and although he made it down Whernside he retired and was taken to hospital with suspected concussion.
A broken seatpost wouldn’t have stopped him, he’s got loads of spare bikes.

Someone I know told me they saw the bike with seat at an extreme angle but yeah maybe result of crash rather than the cause of retirement.

Mrs managed 5:04 for her first one. Wanted to be nearer 4:30 but punctured coming off Whernside (annoying as tyres were hard and she didn’t whack anything). I’m just relieved a home brazed steel frame finished in one piece 🙂

Doing support on a bike rather than a car was much nicer. Single track road from Ingleton to Chapel le Dale was almost deserted. Doing it again I reckon it would be possible to bike from Ribblehead to Horton mostly on bridleway and still be there in time for spare wheel duties.

I’m just relieved a home brazed steel frame finished in one piece

Well, lets see it then!

Here is a link to my blog outlining the whole dirty business bog horror 2017

I really messed up Cold Cotes this year. Minor and pointless off into a random bog near the top made bars and gloves nice and slimy, then bouncing quickly (for me) through a rocky section I just lost my grip, front wheel went 90 degrees followed by a full on somersault through the air. Came up laughing and completely unscathed, but lost it in the head and pootled down from there. Bollocks eh?

I also, for no good reason, tried to ride the rocky ford at the bottom of Whernside. Damn near made it. At least I and the bike had a bit of a wash…

qwerty – Member
Heal well Steve. Well done for finishing!

Went to the local minor injuries hospital today as it wasn’t feeling much better. Turns out I have a Grade 2 ACJ separation.

Cross season is definitely over.

What an event! Just about came in under 3.30 – disappointed at first compared to last year but interested (relieved) to hear that people felt it was slower this year.

As ever, thoughts turn to improving next year…make a note of this year’s tyre pressure and learn from it rather than panic pumping rock hard just before the start; don’t leave it to Friday afternoon for a courier not to deliver the PF30 to BSA adaptor; have a pooh in Settle etc etc

Good to catch up before the start Martin 🙂

OK, as requested, home made CX frame with one careful (?) lady owner. Mix of Columbus Zona and Columbus Cro-Mo steel. Skinny curvy seatstays for a tiny bit of comfort.

Original build

Before

After

Saddle angle is nothing to do with me 🙂

Those seat stays are very elegant. Did you manipulate them yourself?

I’ve been thinking for a while that the trend for making things stiffer ie hefty carbon forks and oversize bars is actually making things harder to control. I don’t know if it’s just my imagination.

Yes I just used a fairly crude tube bender and 1/2″ plain gauge Columbus tube. Bends were worked out in CAD first. Chainstays are tapered / moderately burly and I designed dropouts and brace tube to try and keep the brake forces in the chainstay (thus allowing the skinny seat stays). To be honest a lightweight 27.2 seatpost probably contributes most of the comfort.

Was reading your blog before – Think me and Alison run the same Vittoria tyres as you. I don’t find them overly draggy as the middle tread is almost a centre rib but they still have very grippy edges for off-camber.

I really like your frame. Taking orders yet?

As to the tyres I think most of the drag was in my head – that and the 200ml of tubeless sealant I put in each tyre because I was so determined to avoid punctures.

You had 200ml of sealant in your head?

Mick’s bike are always nice. Sometimes they are Rad too.

Under 3.30 is a fantastic time. You are winning the STW 3 Peaks CX league at the moment for sure.

An Elite time is bonkers, well done Dave!!!

Mickr – nice curves, looks tidy.

Yes well done Dave – some people occupy a different world where 3:30 is “disappointing” 🙂

Conveniently my own CX bike is semi-illegal for 3 peaks – continuous twin top tube / seatstays that are only 14mm diameter (unless two tubes can be added together for the 25mm minimum width), plus long carbon-suspiciously-mtb 29er forks. Oh dear, I shan’t be able to ride……

Saying that, I did see a few very wide flared drop handlebars, but checking the regs they seem to have removed the maximum width stipulation.

I do wonder about how rigidly the rules are enforced. I was surprised to hear that a jacket was mandatory this year given the weather forecast. Unsurprisingly most guys didn’t seem to be carrying one – guess there’s always the excuse that ‘it fell out of my pocket’. Likewise wide tyres and the shear number of people who fancy their chances in the sub-4hr pen (guess there’s no easy way of policing that!).

I should say that my time was only disappointing when compared to last year since when the bike was heavier and I did less hike-a-bike practice.

Still not sure if improvements are to be made with more hill walking or simply holding off the brakes on the descents! I’m not convinced cycling fitness makes as big a difference.

I do wonder about how rigidly the rules are enforced. I was surprised to hear that a jacket was mandatory this year given the weather forecast. Unsurprisingly most guys didn’t seem to be carrying one – guess there’s always the excuse that ‘it fell out of my pocket’. Likewise wide tyres and the shear number of people who fancy their chances in the sub-4hr pen (guess there’s no easy way of policing that!).

It’s a massive bugbear of mine about that event – they go all prescriptive on the rules on the website and in pre-event briefings and then it all goes to shit; there are no bike checks, extremely limited checks out on the course (I’ve seen riders getting a tow from a support car in the past or drafting a group of roadies who “just happen” to be riding that way at the time their team-mate comes off Ribblehead…) and the bike change options mean you can more or less get away with anything.

Gridding this year was chaos, people just came out of the pub car park and straight into the sub 4hr section.

The tyres thing – I think part of that is just the huge leap in technology over the last few years, especially tubeless tyres on wider rims which look far bigger than 35mm.

Still not sure if improvements are to be made with more hill walking or simply holding off the brakes on the descents! I’m not convinced cycling fitness makes as big a difference.

I feel the same way, cycling fitness was not a problem for me. Lugging my bike up the hills on my shoulder was.

My first time and there are plenty of things I’ll be doing different next time:

I broke my seat-tube mounted bottle cage on Ingleborough, downed my bidon on the road section then went without for the rest of the race, bar a cup of water at the feed stop. Maybe a camelbak? Maybe a better bottle cage? Maybe bottle handups if you’re well supported?

Alternative lines off Whernside rather than smashing down the stairs are way faster, as the 5 riders who flew past me will attest.

As a cyclist and not a fell runner loads and loads of time can be made up on the road sections if you’re in a group that’ll work together. A team mate and I clawed back about 10 places and minutes of time between Ingleborough and Whernside. Sadly I trudged a little quicker than him and no-one wanted to work with me after Ribblehead so I ended up dragging a group of 4 to Pen-Y-Ghent only for one of the group to fly past me up the hill never to be seen again.

Gear lower than a typical cross gearing! Paul Oldham was running a 36t chainring with a 10-40t cassette. I was running 40t with 11-32t. I managed to grind up a significant proportion of Pen-Y-Ghent but was pretty broken by the time I’d dismounted. If I could have spun up a bit further I may have saved some energy and been capable of something slightly faster than a trudge to the summit.

Still, chuffed with an 11th place and 3 hours 22 minutes for a first bash. Reckon I can make the top 10 with a bit more work on running, gridding myself higher up the field, more suitable gearing, a pre-event walking holiday that just happens to take in Whernside, and continued luck with the puncture fairies.

Great result. Was that you on the Donhou?

Therein lies the issue with being cycling fit. Unless you’re super strong and able to go solo (which I guess is the case for the top few lads) you’ll either find yourself in a group where no one work together or out of frustration you ride off the front and in to a headwind which makes the effort worthless!

Thanks!

That’s Neil, my teammate. I was on the silver Crux.

This thread keeps getting faster! Serious respect chaps.

That’s a properly fast time Butcher but unless you’ve been over the bars into a bog you’ve not really experienced the 3 peaks 😉

Anyway I didn’t mean to take many photos but I started snapping away and got most everyone and uploaded to Flickr might need a bit of cropping etc.

Fooman – cheers

[/url]Ingleborough Common / Pennine Way junction by martinddd, on Flickr[/img]