Yes- stopping all activity for a year with two broken legs didn’t help mind you.
I guess I keep forgetting I’m only four months in to riding again and have re-added 112w to my ftp 🤣
... are there any sections that would need to be walked...?
All rideable, for sure, no crazy hike-a-bike.
I’ll not be taking my Garmin pedals - flat soles for me
Anyone want to predict midge activity?
Was always hideous when I did the K100 - felt sorry for the poor bastards camping but that was earlier in the year.
I’m camping this time - wife may come but I can’t see her enjoying it if the midge are out
Tyre Time!
What’s everyone’s thoughts on tyres? Looks like it’s going to be dry so I’m thinking of using my GravelKing semi-slicks 700x43. I’ve got a set of 650b wheels with 47mm WTB Senderos but think they might be a bit draggy! What ya got?
I’m too tight to upgrade from my Pathfinder Pro’s in 38mm so going to run those.
Anyone want to predict midge activity?
We have skin so soft, jungle spray and midge nets for all the family!
Midge net is a good call.
re tyres - Swapped over to Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M Classic in the 45mm 700c/29er version.
Prioritising comfort and grip but they also seem to roll quite well too.
Pondering singlespeed gearing for my mtb. 29er any ideas? Currently 34-18
GravelKing semi-slicks 700×43
Probably about right for most of it. I'd prefer a bit bigger personally but one of my main concerns would be punctures. I've heard GK can be a bit fragile, although I've no experience of them myself.
Cheers, I was leaning towards the GravelKings.
I’ve heard GK can be a bit fragile,
I took them on a 100 mile bikepacking trip round Pitlochry and they held up well. The gravel up there is made from boulders 😳. I was more concerned about grip levels but I probably won’t be going fast enough for that to be an issue 🤣
How much food is everyone carrying? I'm stocked up with more stuff than I expect to be able to eat - gel 'sweets', proper gels, bars - all stuff that I regularly use but much more volume. Filled a small frame bag (plus waterproof and other compulsory gear. Wasn't going to bother with a drop bag. Aiming to do the 200k.
Probably take 4 rice crispie squares, jelly babies, wine gums and a couple of peperamis and then have sugar in 1300ml of bottles, plus 1300ml of water.
I’m aiming to get to at least the last aid station without stopping although I do quite like the challenge of riding any long event without stopping at all.
I’ve got the rest week blues at the minute but hopefully that will translate into some kind of performance on Saturday.
It will be my longest ride full stop let alone on gravel so I need to concentrate on finishing at all first and be pleased with that before I get too carried away with power and pacing targets.
I’m taking as many clif bars and blocs as I can manage! Probably 6 bars and 2 or 3 packets of blocks. I’m liking the idea of pepperami so might take some of them and also some rolls for later. As above I have a tendency to keep going as I hate stopping! I’ve never done anything like this so I’m open for better suggestions!
Think I have 9 packets of blocs (too many)
Also not riding much this week. Just done one 45 min session with a few efforts. May repeat tomorrow.
Never ridden 200k before, let alone on gravel. Did a couple of 100 milers on the road - Bank Holiday weekend. Hoping for a ballpark time of 10 hours but I'd be happy to complete. Weather looks OK which will be important (for me).
Think I have 9 packets of blocs (too many)
Right well, i'm unpacking my bags, what bike are you riding? I'll just follow you around 😀
I'm on an Orange Crosslight with completely mismatched bags, Staying at the Kielder campsite with the family, pop in and say hi if you see us!
That is insanely hard that thing 🤯
Would be fun a couple of stone lighter.
Garmin battery died as I was saving so I need to try and rescue the file.
But I must be around 10h dead for the timed section (minus neutral start).
My Garmin is showing 10hrs including the neutral bit but I think it was 3 minutes longer elapsed time. Sadly I missed my goal of riding the whole thing without unclipping. (Once to retrieve my bottle up a slow steep climb, when it popped out of my back pocket and once at some ruts around a puddle where I had a pee and swapped out my bottom bottle.)
Last time I looked, I was at 176w/219NP but I ramped up the pace in the last five miles so it may be a tad higher.
Bike was insanely good. Literally perfect for that event. Even the 38’s were spot on at 32/35psi. The confidence I had downhill was amazing- that Diverge geometry is very clever!
My body held up well apart from sore feet. I decided to ignore them for 50 miles instead 🤣
I took all my food and drink and skipped the aid stations. I had 1x750ml of red bull, 1x750ml plain water, 1x750ml of 100g sugar, 1x550ml of 100g sugar and 1x550ml of plain water.
In hindsight, I should have stopped at the last aid section for plain water but luckily someone gave me some.
With 5x rice crispie squares, 1 jelly babies, 1 haribo star mix and 1 bag of pork scratchings (they were the BEST choice ever!) my food weighed 1200g 🤣
All in I dread to think what the bike and food/drink/tools weighed- 18kg maybe.
Being fat and riding to power was hilarious. I was literally a rolling roadblock up the early hills but then would reel everyone back in at 240w on the flats and be doing +15mph down the hills. A few miles later, you’d end up alongside the same folk. That’s why I’m not group riding at the minute- it’s impossible to pace nicely alongside regular folk.
It is pretty “roadie”- I struggled to get too much banter going but given how hard we were riding, it’s hardly surprising.
One poor guy was slumped over his bars, saying he was cracked at mile 73!! But he made it to the finish so I made sure I congratulated him for his crazy effort!
At times, the headwind made going downhill on gravel a 240w, 10mph slog but overall it could have been worse.
Weather was great- too hot at times! With just enough early rain to dampen the dust.
I think I’ll go back in the spring- IF I’ve lost weight. And I’ll probably go lightweight on the bike and raid the aid stations just to mix things up- although they all looked congested.
That’s certainly my hardest day on the bike- I just hope I retrieve the file.
When I did it you were not allowed liquids in the drop bags incase they leaked over other people's gear.
So be prepared to take sachets and mix your drinks when you refill at the food stops.
I just used two bottles and as I didn't want a bag I took a small bikepacking style seatpack, I didn't need it but I was glad knowing I had a warm insulated jacket stashed in there had I needed to stop for a puncture or worst case walk/wait for help due to mechanical or an off. (It was cold and windy)
09:55 official time.
Fastest was 06:44 🤣🤣
That’s 18mph which doesn’t surprise me- it is a fast course.
His power was 246w/275np which isn’t other worldly apart from relative to his weight.
Also, it becomes a completely different event as duration increases. A 7hr effort and a 10h effort are worlds apart.
It’s why the old adage about ‘it never gets easier, you just go faster’ isn’t true when applied to a fixed distance course 🤣
I had a mechanical nightmare and slipped my chain about 10x in the first half. Managed to get it to sort of work in most gears although my BB from my spares box that I was forced to put in the day before turned out to be very worn and the bike started to make a lovely rasping nose with turning the cranks that got louder as the ride went on! I had 10'45 riding time overall including a last minute wrong turn in the dark that added another kilometer 😀 The last climb was horrifically brutal and one I will remember for some time.
Was so glad to get in and drove home to a warm bed which was luxury. See you next year?!
Are the results available somewhere? Can't see this year's on the official website yet.
Moving time of about 9.20 for me. Guess might have stopped for about an hour all in.
Am I right in thinking it’s back to April next year?
That’s a much better time of year for me- I can enjoy it rather than rushing up and back 🤣
And plenty of time to shift some weight 🤣
Let's hope so for less midges 🤪 I don't know how folk do it with almost zero stops?! I needed 2L water from every feed stop...
As above- I carried a lot of extra weight! 3x750ml bottles and 2x550ml
I had three bottles in cages, one in a frame bag and one in my back pocket.
Fair enough, I guess that would allow me to only stop once as I would take less time too theoretically. Will need to think how I can fit all that fluid on my bike and person!
Marshall 12 here...
I'm not quite sure what all this fascination with times and watts is. It's not a race, never has been and there's no prize. Its just a big old ride in great countryside with like minded people. Slow down a bit, chat, enjoy the views, look at the "stuff" around the place. Normally I'd say chill back at the food stations for some snap and a banter, but I understand things were a bit different this year thanks to covid.
It's interesting - the first one I worked on 3 years ago was about a 50/50 split of gravel bikes and assorted old MTBs and weirdo bikes where the challenge was just to finish, but this year it definitely had a very roadie feel to the whole thing and it was all very serious and sufferfesty and having fun was verboten. (definitely some very honourable exceptions to this!)
<<tongue in cheek>> As for all those complaining that the corner I was on was a bit rough - it's a *in' gravel ride. Its supposed to have *in' rocks in it!!! Get some handling skills if you want to go fast! <<tongue out of cheek>>
First time I’ve ever done an event like this and only recently started doing long distances so I’m well chuffed I managed it in 10.46 which is over my target of 10 but at one point I thought I’d take about 12!! The next 30km from the last feed station was a slog for me but managed to get round the last 20k fairly fast (for me). I carried four clif bars and ate 15 clif blocs and stopped at the last 2 feed stations. Loved the event, hated the midges! Definitely going to try it again now that I know what I’m in for!
@JonEdwards I think gravel is going that way unfortunately. Tbh it seems every cycling specialty goes that way sadly. I guess if you weren't given an official time then it might limit it a bit but the world of ego is well and truly in gravel now. MTB events have gone the same way eg. Glentress 7 used to be about turning up and getting round while having a laugh. These days I'm not certain I saw a single person smile all day 🤣 Not sure there's an answer tbh
@JonEdwards Respectfully- no 😀🤣🤣🤣🤣
It’s non-technical gravel and the scenery is epic but repetitive.
(And I say that as someone who hopes to move to Northumberland in the near future as we love it so much). The challenge, the motive for inflicting the suffering on yourself, is the urge to keep pushing on the pedals beyond your normal limits.
I’m not treating it as a race against anyone other than myself. But I wouldn’t pay the entry fee if it wasn’t timed.
It’s based on the USA gravel scene and that’s exactly what they delivered- a race at the front, a party at the back and everyone else in the middle chasing their best time.
There is nothing to stop anyone completing it. You could ride it on any Halfords hybrid.
But by having a time to try and improve on, you generate an incentive to return.
I now have motivation to train harder, kick start my diet and test and improve my fueling strategy.
Without the simple time chip in the number- I’d have none of those things.
(And if you don’t ride to power- did you even ride at all 🤯🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣)
Thanks for your support by the way- all of you marshals were super friendly 😀
Marshals were all awesome. Cheers Jon. Out of interest how much climbing was involved? I though I’d read it was about 2500m but my computer recorded just under 4k! No wonder I was slow 😂
I got 3500m of ascent. I was 7th from last in the 200km. Clearly partying at the back 🤣
The toughest day I've ever had on the bike. The midges were a welcome distraction!!
Enjoyed a great day out on the bike. Switched the bike stats off after feed 1 (as I was so slow) and chatted/ looked at views/ enjoyed descents. Got round without any mishaps. Just under 10 hours.
Bike setup vid in case you’re struggling to sleep 🤣🤣
I had a hard old time, entered the 200km, but i had too swap to the 130km as my left achilles tendon started really hurting randomly.
I was one of about 8-9 i saw on MTB instead of a gravel bike, very different to the first two years which is when i had last done it.
Event has become very roadie, you can tell as they go fast up the ascents, then on the descents they slow right down, spread across the whole trail, then get annoyed when you get off the brakes and go past them! Saw a lot of people with punctured inner tubes too.
But overall, a great even, really well organized and great atmosphere in general
Had some good banter repeatedly passing riders on descents/ rolling trails only for them to get me back on the next [long] hill. Saw the same folk over and over again. I thought it was a nice atmosphere, with relaxed chat at feeding zones. All in the same boat, trying to get around reasonably quickly in one piece.
