Specialized storms front and back worked well on all but some of the lose rock on the moorland. I don’t reckon there’s been a tyre invented that could’ve dealt with “plasticine alley”.

I did toy with the idea of swapping to something a little less draggy but glad I didn’t in the end.

I had Kenda Nevgals running tubeless and they were mint 🙂

IME the course was either grippy enough for summer-ish tyres in places, or not grippy at all on anything (polished roots, 15cm loose rolling rocks at end of the moorland descent).

FWIW I had a fairly worn SB8 pumped up fairly hard on the back and a 25% worn NN at about 30-35psi on the front, didn’t find it any more or less sketchy or draggy than last year on mud x’s. Although I only rode after midnight, i hear it was a bit faster and easier in the sunny afternoon. As per sharki’s ace description earlier, it seemed to me be more about the line choice and the considered application of brakes or pedalling in places. Which of course i was all over the shop with by the end!

racing ralphs (2.4) were awful on fridays practice lap but pretty good all weekend. bit slippery on the off camber rocks between the rocky 2nd climb and the farm though.

I ran two knobbily hoops of rubber pumped up hard.

Front was less knobby on the middle and i think a 2.3 where as the rear had closely spread big knobbles throughout and a 2.2.

I think the results work well, it seems silly that in races like the muc-off event last year, you could ride all day yet decide to finish 15 minutes before the end due to mechanicals or injury etc, and despite all the effort exerted, you don’t even get to see how you measured up to the competition.

The people who beat you just managed more laps before taking some time out, it just so happened that their time out was at the end of the race whereas yours was in the middle.

I’d be disappointed if they changed the results to a DNF for any person that didn’t cross the finish after 12. Plus you’d get the group of riders waiting for the minute hand to tick over before riding over the line, so they don’t have to do another lap!

Well, that’s how most 24-hour races do work. Like I said I’m not massively worried about it, it’s just unusual.

Thanks to Sharki for returning Nikky’s phone. She was camped with the MB Swindon crew and sharing our solo tent.
Hello to everyone who said hello to me while I was riding, both to other riders and to people trackside, it really does make a difference to have some encouragement while riding.

My race here on Garmin Connect in two goes as I swapped GPSs through the night.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101926460
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101926293
Only about 15 hours moving time in total. 🙁

I knew it was going to be hard, I’m just not a hill climber.
I did 8 laps by midnight, then lost all motivation. I had about a 3 hour break where I couldn’t face going out to push up those hills again, did one more lap, then had another 3 hour break before going out for a final 4 laps in the morning light.

20th solo male out of 47 starters, so still top half. There were about 65 pre entered. I guess 18 people looked at the rain on Friday and gave up without even trying.

Loved the random soft toys dotted about the course, wonder who stole the gel from the squirrel!

I can at least claim to be the man that left the gel with the Squirrel. For some reason I found it amusing at the time, but even funnier two laps later when someone had eaten the gel and left the wrapper with the squirrel to look after. 😆

Somebody gutted one rabbit/squirrel around the next woody section before the last descent down to the camp-site! Cheered me up somewhat as I was struggling

I used Maxxis high roller 2.35 single plys because they’re the only tyres I’ve got and I love them.
I overinflated the front and had an off on the first bit of slippery rock. I was thinking “piece of piss this bit” and the next thing was the front wheel washing out and me hopping with the bike under me. I ended up still on my feet but with the bike through the tape and pointing down the hill.

Lower pressure (30-35 psi ish) on the front helped. After that it was a matter of careful use of brakes and rolling over a lot of the stuff. Really good fun IMO.

Thinking of tricky bits, those big roots going up past a tree on the second half were great. The bomb hole with the sharp left at the top of it at the top of that hill caught me out a few times too.

Brilliant route.

I wrote a quick blog on my “experience” 🙂

http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/blog/bontrager-twentyfour-12.htm

Graham, Tell her i wasn’t chasing a podium position so it wasn’t any hastle in loosing 30 secs on the lap..

8)

Well, if we’re doing blogs of experiences, short post about my pit bitching.

http://www.dislocatedmtb.com/2011/07/lifes-pit-bitch.html

AAH foxyrider you rode with us… its a small world 🙂 Nice blog mucker!

Stu

Hey foxyrider
Just read your blog, some nice photos. Don’t know how one of your riders came second in the female 12hr solo though, that was me 😉

It was a good course, probably the best I’ve ridden there yet as the singletrack sections being a bit slippy let me gain back time on the fitter guys who weren’t quite as confident on the slippy stuff. The cottage return has to be the highlight of the lap, although the speeds I was hitting down there were getting silly towards the end and a mistake would have resulted in a major crash. I ran small block 8’s tubless, were fine all day. They slid a bit on the rocks in the evening, but were predictable enough to still go hard on the downs.

We battled hard to take 3rd in the main 12hr pairs, but after around 10 hours had to conceed defeat to the Clee Cycles / KCNC boys. Two years running now we’ve taken the coverted 4th palace spot.

My team mates Dad took a load of photos on the first few laps, and they are all up on the MTBMonkey website here (http://www.mtbmonkey.com) for download.

Cheers Stu – nice to ride with you 🙂

@Sok – oops typo – 1st in 12hr solo and and 2nd in 24hr team – thanks for the correction 🙂

Rich sorry missed you at the end… good effort you put andy to shame haha 🙂

@Sok – oops typo – 1st in 12hr solo and and 2nd in 24hr team – thanks for the correction

not to mention a 1st in the vet 24 team (3rd overall) too 🙂

photos are up BTW: