Plenty of road riding for me, the cross bikes built up but with slick tyres and a small cassette at the moment, Ultra run next weekend which I hope to get through with no niggling injuries then some trips over to the Dales with the bike now the weathers brilliant.
Question for experienced PPPcx riders, footwear? are mtb spds which is my usual choice for CX suitable I'm particularly concerned about the rocky terrain on Ingleborough.
My other thought is fell shoes with old fashioned strapped pedals.
Any tips for a 1st timer regarding footwear.
Rich
@Sancho regards starting line up and positioning, I did the fell race in 4hr 12min this year and was hoping to do a sub 4hr for the CX so where do you reckon I should be in the pack at the beginning? 1st 25% of the field?
Question for experienced PPPcx riders, footwear? are mtb spds which is my usual choice for CX suitable I'm particularly concerned about the rocky terrain on Ingleborough.
My other thought is fell shoes with old fashioned strapped pedals.
MTB shoes, studs and SPD's. It's not that long over Ingleborough. Straps will just slow you getting in and out, falling, dying etc etc.
Im using an 11/32 cassette and a 22/32 /44 chainset so I can drag myself up Peny ghent lane
It's up to you Rich, its just annoying to see a load of people flying down the road and then pull the rip chord on the first climb, its best to be realistic and not hold up the top thirty or so riders.
I've done heehaw training so far, just really got back on the bike after a particularly fattening family holiday. I have bought the Land Cruisers though. Next week should see most if not all biking done on the CX'r from now on.
Planning on hitting the hills big time, with one or two weekly runs taking in some stair/hill repeats.
Well I've just made it a whole lot harder for myself by going over the bars and breaking my collar bone last night, at least it's my left shoulder and I carry the bike on the right!
Anyone got any advice on reducing healing time for a bust clavicle?
Rich
Don't try to do too much and re break it.. it's not nice!
anyone fancy some training on saturday afternoon? probably around winterhill?
Well did a cross race on Sunday and my last hill running session was last night, so rest up now till Sunday!
The weathers looking like it's going to be wet,windy and not very warm is anyone else as worried/nervous/excited as me?
The weathers looking like it's going to be wet,windy and not very warm
To be fair, we're due a wet one. Last year was wet on the ground but it wasn't actually raining - I think this year is going to be rain all day...
I've done very little since finishing LEJOG a couple of weeks ago. Been out on the CX twice last weekend, both rides of about 90 minutes. Will do a short spin around the area on Saturday, maybe head up the PyG track and back again.
Bike all sorted, just need to tape the orange survival bag to the underside of the top tube now.
I'm in. Eventually bought a Boardman CX Team and very happy with it. It's got a 34 front, 32 back gearing, so hopefully that's low enough for me.
I've done a bit of training, but not a lot. Up to 8 mile runs. I did the Walney to Wear coast to coast bike ride last week, 160 miles or so, so hopefully that will be some help on Sunday.
I think it'll be a tough enough day anyway, but the weather is looking ropey!
Like a kid at Christmas! I will be on a borrowed bike which is currently still in bits but otherwise kind of prepared.
Ish.
😀
Start list is up
Thomas Frischknecht is racing, same cat as Nick Craig, it be like the 90s all over again.... 😆
Oh, and after asking on here I have my Schwalbe Land Cruisers fitted. Feel bombproof and roll well on the roads, and a 14st fat knack like me shouldn't notice the weight to much.
Frischnecht racing is pretty cool. Now if only Tim Gould was racing, that really would be awesome!
My house is smack between Penyghent and Ingleborough. Looking out of the window, I would leave your bike at home and bring your flippers.
C
I'm considering ditching the SPD's and going for fell shoes with toe clips? But not really sure so it's more indecision and doubt.
Sunny day in East Yorks today!
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I saw a set of these on a bike last week.
Made me smile.
Hmmmm. /goes off to pack SPD wellies...
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good luck guys and girls 😉
heavy rain and 20mph winds - see you all Sunday
I just hope nobody pulls the plug going through Horton Scar Lane, there'll be a hell of a whirlpool. Pack your overcoats folks!
I think I'll bring my waterproof shorts as well...bloody eck.
My top tip is buy yourself a cheap waterproof top and cut the sleeves off at the elbow, then bin it at the end.
My top tip is buy yourself a cheap waterproof top and cut the sleeves off at the elbow, then bin it at the end.
I'll just wear a gillet, same as last few wet ones. It's only 4 and a bit hours 🙂
More worried about my nether bits and the grinding paste that will build up :/ Had issues with it in the past...
My top tip is buy yourself a cheap waterproof top and cut the sleeves off at the elbow, then bin it at the end
Why would you do that?
It acts as an essentially disposable protective layer, because gritty bike carrying tends to destroy your cycling top. Cut the sleeves down to make it far easier to get on while riding along, and to make it pack up smaller if you take it off. Plus cut down sleeves are less boil-in-the-bag.
New pads fitted, brakes adjusted (again), orange bag taped to toptube, all ready.
Last night I thought I'd have a final short shakedown ride. Felt great up the climb, took the descent easy, got on the road and completely wiped out in comedy fashion. Over the bars into a wall.
Bike's fine. I'm less so. Knackered elbow, ribs and knuckles. Chances of miraculous self-healing before Sunday? Slim. I'm gutted.
just can't decide now between landcruisers or mud wrestler raze combo, may go for the lightest as i'll be doing a lot of carrying 😀
I assume with 700 riders unless you are near the front it is going to be deep mud. I imagine carrying will be quicker than riding even with mud tyres for the longer muddy sections?
Also does anyone know if your number has to be visible at all times? Might limit the gillet jacket choice if it does unless I can manufacture an arm band before Sunday.
Edit: You do have to have your number visible, anyone got any top tips for making an armband- don't fancy pinning a number to a widproof or waterproof!
Fangos for me. Pretty much my 'go-to' tyre in these sorta mixed conditions. Spare wheels will have something burly on them, probably Landcruisers or such.
The weather forecast hasn't changed all week for Horton-in-R, heavy rain and 20mph winds!
It's my first time, so I was hoping for some gentle weather. However, it's probably apt for the 50th anniversary of the race!!
Is anyone camping on site, or that a bad idea with the rain that there has been?
Cheers
Fraser
Had a premonition about the weather so decided to book in the Schoolhouse rather than camping...
I'm camping on site but most likely the tent will stay in the car and I'll sleep in the car after a pint or two in the pub.
Well that was suitably epic. Or daft.
Wind up on the tops was mental, could barely stand sometimes. I got blown over once on the climb of Whernside when the wind caught the bike. Had to make a wild dive after the bike to stop it disappearing down the hill.
My slowest time ever, partly cos of the conditions, partly just didn't have anything in the legs.
Huge thanks to all the marshals, helpers & spectators for standing out in gale force winds and rain all day! There were still quite a lot of people coming up PyG as I was going down - I saw Chipps heading up - but by the time I'd got to the bottom I think they were stopping people from going up. The puddle half way along PyG lane went from being 18" deep to being well over 3ft in the time it took me to go from bottom to top and back down again!
So, flippers then?
Was driving back from Mrs ChrisE's mums (in Dent) and saw the misery....
C
Great stuff Mr. Crazy Legs.
Looking forward to hearing tales of epic daring do from the others. Esp. as I've been planning since Spring to enter as a first timer next year.
Nasty or Epic, depending on your point of view. I suffered like a dog today, did a poor time compared to last year and was right at the limit on Pen Y Gent.
That puddle went from knee deep to balls deep in the time it took me to climb and descend.
1st time for me. 4h40 so reasonable given the conditions. I lost my glasses n whernside, last seen disappearing upwards at an incredible speed. The wind and rain was horrendous. At times I was struggling to stay upright. Thoroughly enjoyed it and very different from any thing I've done before. I'll be going back.
I did stop at the top of Whernside to sort out a young lad who had a cracking A-over-T fall, then stoppped again at the bottom to make sure the Marshalls were looking out for him.
From the results he retired at Ribblehead, so hope he was ok.
4:40 is a very good time in those conditions; it's a lot easier in the dry or even the less wet.
Ahhh, so that's what it was. Was doing the tour of Ingleboro and kept crossing your paths. As conditions go it wasn't too bad as it was mild, when it's like that and cold it's truly grim....
My mate did his 3rd tour today.
He came 21st!!
My hands look like I've been in the bath for a day and a half! And I overheard a guy on the phone this morning saying to someone back home 'It's the kind of weather where you look out the window and say 'Well, I won't be doing any outdoor activities today!''
Suitably epic I think - and mostly on the side of comedically bad rather than bad bad. Did see a few people suffer though - a suspected collarbone on the way down PyG (London Dynamo rider perhaps?) and a friend who double flatted on Whernside descent and was politely steered into getting a van ride home as he couldn't string a sentence together in his cold state.
The pub last night seemed rather quieter than last year. Wonder if it was people either not wanting to camp, or just looking at the weather and bailing.
Great event as always and fun to ride around the Dales with some equally mental folk. And props to the Mountain Rescue guys who had to get to the top of each mountain, then stay there for several hours while us lot filed past, then get themselves back down before they could go to the pub.
I was bike and wheel dude for the lad that came in 25th today never seen him go so deep for a result as that.
crikey chipps jonba and anyone else that got round fair play to you all it was a fek of a nasty day.
I did stop at the top of Whernside to sort out a young lad who had a cracking A-over-T fall, then stoppped again at the bottom to make sure the Marshalls were looking out for him.
Think I was just in front of him. Was it you that said he had a 'skill failure" or something like that? Great comment but hope he was ok.
Struggled all day, bad pains in achillies / calves on Simon Fell, felt like jacking there.
Whernside was brutal and brought on knee pain trying to run instead of riding, crossing the 2nd stream at the bottom when the rear mech took a dive into the spokes, luckily going slowly enough not to break any pulled it free but that only left me 2 gears luckily easy ones.
P-Y-G was orrible saw a young lad coming down at breakneck speed when he lost it big style...looked like a Moto GP riding going high side I though he was going to clear the stone wall!
Top of P-Y-G was hideous weather stinging rain and very high winds, the puddle at the bottom covered my wheels completely then submerged the bottom bearing of the headset before washing my top tube, more a drowning hazard than a puddle.
5hr 11mins 310th
Should've done better 1st time though.
s'posed to be cross racing in S****horpe this Thursday...
Oh and people with 80mm deep section wheels what were you thinking, it must have been like carrying a kite up there?
