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What ferrals said - my second lap strava segment shows a speed of 29.9kmph average along the beach section. That was on an mtb with a Ron/Ralph combo, 34/11
Really nice day. Thank you to all the fast boys for being really sensible when overtaking, it really shows how good this event is and remember even if we look slow we're still racing, I'm hoping for a fairly reasonable placing on the Grand Veteran, SS, Fat bike category. My legs hurt...............
The issue with the CX bikes is the return leg is an Mtb course - quite bumpy and lots of singletrack. The CXers are good on the beach but get in the way on the return leg.
well I had a brilliant day... and I finished last !!! 😆
in my defense I did stop for 10 minutes to help a whippet because he snapped his chain and didn't have a chain tool plus a mechanical meant I pushed my bike across the line.
What a great event deffo back next year and I'm aiming for second last place!
My first time there, and I really enjoyed myself. Mostly. Fat SS, must have been passed by dozens of riders on the first beach run. Found a couple of peletons to sit in and stupidly passed them when my legs stopped hurting so much. Should have just sat in! Really enjoyed the last third of the lap, loads of fun, passed quite a few back again.
Came over the line 170th ish (just been playing with the results spreadsheet), rode up the beach again with another guy on a fatbike, then just completely ran out of steam. Nothing in the legs at all, feeling dizzy and faint. lay by the side of the trail, calmed down, ate a gel and a bar (all I took with me 🙄 ) most of the water, carried on.
Started the lat lap with nothing left to eat or drink. Very nice South African guy called John insisted I have one of his gels, which got me to the end of the race. Dropped a hundred places from the end of the first lap to the finish! Not what you'd call good quality race craft!
On the bike front, don't know how badly SS hurt me. Nowhere near as badly as pacing and fueling, certainly!
Wish I'd taken the 1x10 Peregrine with Thunder Burts to compare.
Next year!
Fantastic event, loved it, rode my Pace RC129 in the evening, on Thunder Burts, was seriously undergeared with 30:18 on the beach. Then on the Sunday rode the Niner RLT with 34:17 gearing which was about right, the Clement LAS tyres despite being a really minimal file tread were fantastic, great down the beach, and pretty handy in the singletrack, happily allowing me to keep pace with most of the mtbs, only the really loose sand caused them an issue, but that was more width than tread.
Would be interesting to see what bike everyone rode.. The SS and fat bikes are categorised.. Why not the CX?
Although I did see someone actually swap bikes from a CX to xc MTB near the end of lap 1..
SS and fat bikes are categorised
But not both! I know there were at least 2 others out there.
Absolutely brilliant event.
3 happy Manxies going home today (after a cheeky blast around Cannock yesterday on the drive up)
Great to meet you Ninkynonk.
Plus a big thankyou to IdleJon for an awesome day's guiding around Swansea on Friday.
We'll be back!
I was one of those SS Fat bike riders. I had the purple Pugsley, the other was a yellow Pug, I think he chose a better gear...still there's always next time......
Panda was also out there on a black and purple ss pugsley, the only lady daft enough to run that combo. I was chilling out as moral support with her as its best to keep a diminutive hungover manc away from normal folk for fear of full honey badger moments.
I will be in racey mode for tide to tide though 😀
Tazzy, Sorry I didn't get over to yours after, but someone swapped my legs for jelly. I'll have to think of a Plan B....
My 3rd one but first time on a FATTY, felt as I was going backwards on the first run down the beach with all the cx bikes passing me but in reality being able to ride the soft sand at the start put me nearer to the front than normal and the fast guy's were just passing me. Loved the Fat bike could ride it everywhere except the one very steep climb. Didn't suffer with cramp this year either.