[Closed] Dirty Reiver '22 discussion post

On the waiting list for next year! First timer last time. Used Panaracer Semi slick Gravelkings and they were ace (the course was bone dry). I did the 200 which was the longest ride I’d ever done. Always new I’d make it to the end, just didn’t know when 😳. Aimed for 10 hrs and came in just under 11. Gutted I’ve missed next years as I’ve signed up to the Frontier 300 and hoped to get this under my belt first!

Joined the waiting list. Suspect it’s a long shot of getting a place. Interested in the frontier 300, so thanks for flagging that up.

I have done it two and a half times, last time I really couldn't be arsed and sacked it.

I have trained for it precisely zero times. One year I hadn't ridden a bike for two months previous and finished building the wheel on a new bike for it whilst camping in Bellingham fire station.

You'll be fine, it might even be fun if you train for it. But it's certainly not special in regards to training needs. Unless you want to be not slow I guess...

I rate it as an event though, good fun and an interesting challenge.

I think @boxelder might be one of the organisers.

Is a chisel a mountain bike? Heehaw chance I'd it do it on anything that wasn't a road bike shape there are sections that are way to long and exposed to be sitting upright. And suspension is completely unnecessary.

i'm doing it for the 4th time on something singlespeedy and daft again, its always a laugh. training will involve growing my beard a bit more a finding something fun for the hipflask

Did it last year in good weather and easier than expected tbh. Did the Lakes JennRide before as part of my training, which is actually a much harder, still pleasurable event. Good weather for the Reiver undoubtedly helped. There are lots of hills so it suits riders that go up well (I dont really). Downs are fast and add some fun.

I saw all sorts of bikes and everyone was doing Ok. I put together an On One Freeranger, 42 x 10-42 gearing was plenty. I put on Pirelli Cinturato Gravel, tubeless of course which were great.

Its an exercise in staying fed and hydrated. I have cycled a lot this year for me, about 500mile per month. Training was mainly on the road, longer 4-5 hour rides throughout the year at weekends with local clubs.

I've got a place.

Not 100% on making it to the event as I've managed to injure myself yet again and I really need the saddle time as my fitness is shite at the moment.

Oh yeah and I don't have a suitable bike either 🙄

Ive an entry to this too but only have an email from advntr.cc. Nothing "formal" from the dirty reiver lot. This normal?!

No idea on finish times or anything like that. Haven't ridden this far in many a year! Really looking forward to a good day out though.

Here's the chisel. I'll be doing it on this. Sid SL locks out. Full bike 9.5kg. Going to stick some 50mm (2.0) panaracers on it.

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I know that bike!

I'm in. My intention is to do it on my CX bike. Hopefully on a file tread but I have some fast rolling intermediates too. If it needs muds I'm not going!

No stranger to long rides although I only managed 2 over 200km on the road last year, I'm still living off past glory. Done about 7 or 8 longer rides on my CX bike. Loads on the road. Spent lots of time at Kielder and I think I've ridden the majority of the routes I've seen.

Plan is to keep riding and get some long rides in. More worried about the weather than anything. Most curious about the best way to carry stuff. Have options so will experiment and dig up the threads on here.

Oh yeah and I don’t have a suitable bike either 🙄

A mountain bike is suitable I'm just not convinced it's the right choice if you have the option. They are very much roads, they may be a little rough and there may be the odd section of muddy puddles but there is nothing on it that screams big tyres, big treads or bounce.

The biggest issue you will face is puncture and losing your water bottles. Definitely tubeless if you can, definitely spares tubes (plural) AND puncture repair kit if you can't. Definitely take 2 bottles and think of some way to secure them that isn't just friction.

I sold my gravel bike a few months back. Wanted to build that chisel as I wanted to reduce the number of bikes I had. It turns out it's lighter, similar reach and riding position.I almost always rode on my hoods on the gravel bike too. Kielder is actually local to me (1.25 hrs drive) , spend many weekends up there. Got s-work fasttracks on the bike at the moment - they are light (500g and fast), but going to stick on a fast rolling skinny gravelstyle tyre for the 200km. Thinking 45-50mm.

Got a small triangular frame bag I will use, back pockets, two water bottles . Don't fancy a camelback for 10 hrs.

I think the bike will be perfect for the reiver cos the chainring matches the water bottle. It is a long ride though so you might need to source another bottle.

Loving the wit 🙂 changing down to a smaller ring. Was trialling a 38t but need another easier gear for climbing.

Was going to use the cross bike, but made the fairly rash purchase of sonder Camino al this morning 🙂

Not done 200km before, so need to get pedalling

Did it last year. Didn't train for it, but had been doing 50-70mile gravel rides every weekend with 70-100miler gravel rides every few weeks.

Done enough 10+ hour offroad rides to know the do's and dont's, but didn't take my own advice 🙈. I got caught up with faster riders at the start and proceeded to dig a deep hole, then spent 7 of 11hours teetering on completely blowing up, it's the longest pre-bonk wave I've ridden in my life 🤣 (but I did finish).

Anyway, some notes that might help...
---Most mechanicals seemed to be punctures on skinny tyres, under 40mm. I ran Teravail Sparwood 650x2.1 with Orange Seal Tubeless on a gravel bike with no issues, good comfort and grip.
---The terrain was surprising, you're either climbing or descending with next to no flat. I would've preferred longer climbs to settle into, and get more recovery on a longer descent. Along with getting too excited pace wise at the start this really caught me out.
---Slower rolling draggier gravel, go by effort not speed. Trying to chase a time goal probably cost me an hour by then having to manage my energy and stopping longer for fuel\recovery.
---Contradictory info on fuel stops meant I carried too much food, just in case.

Basically you'll be fine, just ride 👍. If you've done a 200k Audax it will be similar effort, but harder\longer. Sensible pace and fuelling. Otherwise just enjoy yourself, and there's always someone to share the suffering with if you're in a bad patch at any point.

If I was using your bike..
Fit the faster rolling tyres you have.
Maybe use a small Camelbak bag just for water.
Quick\easy access frame or bar or stem bag for fuel, repair kit, clothing stashing.
Ergon grips with stubby integrated bar ends or maybe road bar tape on the centre area of the bar just so you have more hand position options.

Suspension definitely not needed but I bought one of those Redshift stems and it was tremendous. Took a lot of strain out the wrists.

I've done it three times on gravel bikes with Nanos - admittedly the old course with the rocky descent which I think has gone now? Either way, I'd happily do it on my XC bike which is v similar to yours, in fact I'd rather do it on my XC bike as there can be sketchy loose corners which I'd feel better on with wide flat bars. Rode my XC bike all last winter on shitty lanes with an On One Mickey bar on for the windier bits - happily average 17mph on decent roads with the right (low rolling resistance) tyres on.

You can get a second bottle on that?

Skinny tyres will be fine. You might want to work out if you can use different hand positions. Inside mounted bar ends or those stubby thumb grips. Togs? Might be important if we hit a headwind. Dropping the front end to a more road like position. I've got some old handlebars you can probably have if you want to try going narrower.

I've never had a problem riding tubes around Kielder. On the MTB back in the day or on my CX bike. I've done Bloody Bush/lonesome pine and Newcastleton on 35mm tyres. You just need to get the pressures right. People have been doing the 3pks forever at that is a whole lot worse. You just put 70psi in and take ibuprofen for the wrist pain afterwards 😉

Pete, let's get out over new year. 5 of us from Reifen have entered so we should get some regular long rides going. I'll send you a couple of Kielder routes that use some of the trails.

Yeh Jon, 3 screws for front bottle cage. Can shift it up one if I need to. Then one on the seat tube. Quite a bit of space. Although I may stick a triangular frame bag in that space for th Reiver and run a camelback hip style bag. Don't fancy running my full on camelback!

Ordered some panaracer Gravelking SK+ TLC in 43mm which should be here tomorrow. Definitely keen to go a few rides soon with you guys. I'll be doing the festive 500 this year (weather permitting, as I see snow storm is set to arrive). Planning to do it on the Chisel mostly.

As for bars, I'm going to buy some bull bars and stick them inboard. Tape the centres of my bars up along with the bulls. May drop the front end by the final two spacers, so it's slammed. Will play around over the next few months.

Oh and the Sid raceday SL is 1300g with lockout. Very light. Will ride most of it locked out, perhaps letting it off on some of the descents.

anyone get any other email confirmation of your entry other than an auto generated one from advntr.cc?

I'm in but only for the 130km.
Intend to use my Singular Swift, rigid, bar ends with 29x2.0 Conti Race Kings - in the absence of a drop bar gravel bike. It's what I used on the Badger Divide and it was great.
First time for me and looking forward to it.

Dickydutch, I've had two emails. The auto-generated payslip, then another saying I was in. Today they sent a circular about the event and the build up to it.

Fatmax, sounds like a good set-up. New tyres showing up tomorrow. 43mms on a MTB, still unsure but we will see lol. Will post a pic.

With the 43mm Panaracer Gravelking SK plus..

It will be my first Dirty Reiver having missed out before so grateful for this thread.

Always curious and apprehensive what to carry. I’m comfortable with marathon distances and completed this sort of distance on the road, but 200km off road is into the unknown for me. I will be doing it on a xc hard tail so not sure about tyre choice, will definitely be tubeless though.

Any advice on tyre choice will be really appreciated

Them Panaracers are the nuts. Rode 110km today on the Chisel and they are very fast rolling. Not too bad in the wet and some mud. In the deep mud they do slide a bit, but Kielder is like 98% gravel/hardpack anyway.

Plan is to now build 20km onto my long rides each week. Hands were a bit sore today. Going to get some Ergon grips and also wrap the centre of my handlebars with bar tape. Find I've been riding with hands in on straights etc. Maybe a cheap bar cut down too.

More spaces freed up so if you were on the waiting list there should be an email. In for the 200!

Welcome to the pleasuredome Paino! Are you camping? We're in the teepees this year which should be more comfortable than wigging it down at 4am!

In the back of the van hopefully. Not checked out the camping/van situation yet. Which reminds me, I need a new leisure battery!

I’ve just got in from being on the waiting list. Now I need to figure out what I’ve signed up for other than a big ride!

I am in for the 200k. Did my first one last year.
It is a great event!
I had to work Friday morning, drive up 7hrs, sleep in the car, do the event and drive back again for a quick snooze and work again Sunday morning 🤣

I aimed to get round in about 10 hrs and made it bob on at 9h55.

Knowing I wouldn’t be troubling the leaders, is set myself the goal of doing it non stop without unclipping. I failed that one as I needed a wee and then a bottle fell out of my jersey pocket. But that was the only two times and I was stopped for only around 3 minutes.

The course is brutal. Never flat, always rolling and the gravel and headwinds stop you getting momentum.

I did it on my Diverge comp carbon and the bike was perfect. I ran the 38mm pathfinder pros at 35/32 psi tubeless and had no punctures.

For nutrition I had a red bull, 1.5l of sugar water (60g per bottle of table sugar), 1.5l of plain water, 5 rice crispie squares, haribo, jelly babies and most importantly of all- pork scratchings 😋

I obviously started with all this on board so it’s pointless even worrying about bike weight 🤣

I was short by about one bottle of water I think but luckily a guy I was chatting to had a spare so let me down it.

Power was 173w / 206w normalised but I’m hoping to have added 20-30 watts to that for this attempt.

So my goal this year is 9hrs non stop. Depending on conditions of course.

@crosshair, I take it there was feed stations, you just decided to keep going?

Yes mate, 3 good feed stations. I just wanted the challenge.

I plan to stop as little as possible, perhaps 5 mins max at feed stops. Don't want to let my legs cool down and stiffen up 😂

Doing rides at the moment. 100km gravel ride last week. Planning a 130-140km ride this week. Building up to 170km a few weeks before the event. I'd love to complete it in less than 10 hours.

Let's hope for a dry, calm day. If it pisses down and blows a gale, I'll ride 130 I reckon.

80 mile / 5000ft / 15mph / 3800kcal training ride today. Did a slight whiff of Salisbury plain gravel but mostly windy road riding.

Targeted 200w and normalised was 230. I was fairly wrung out afterwards, mostly as my feet were cold. But was pleased with the effort especially as decoupling was only 6%.

I ate enough but probably didn’t quite drink enough (1.5l). Mainly as I didn’t want to stop to get the bottom bottle out 🤣

That was 9hrs this week but I’m hoping to steadily ramp up into double figures before April.

How's everyone doing? Five weeks out now. Rode kielder at the weekend. Looking good. Very dry and has been cleared from trees.

Absolutely gutted. 2 weeks off work to put in some decent mileage. First week my daughter had Covid, this week it’s the lad. Wife at work meant zero pedalling time. More annoying is that the weather has been awesome. Now constantly working between now and the event.

Making the most of the sunshine this week! I’ve done 408 miles / 26h35 on the Diverge since last Saturday.
110 miles today. Ran less food than I’ve been using and whilst I don’t feel too bad- the ride was only 170w. It took me up Streatley hill at 101 miles- which felt a bit like that last big climb after the dam 😮‍💨🤣

I’ve never done a big slab of base miles like this before so hopefully I can absorb it.

Did 56 road miles yesterday with 1000m of climbing. Longest ride for a long time as I’ve been injured for quite a while. It was good, but the last few miles felt worryingly tough. I only ate a single caramel wafer though, so hopefully with some proper feeding I’d feel a lot stronger. I’ll try to get a couple more longish rides in before the event. I’m sure I’ll get round, but it might not be pretty or fast.

Out in the Algarve at the moment. Hilly 50km yest then a big 160km day in the hills today. Few more days left. Two smaller rides and another big one. I'll probably do two more weeks training then start to taper back a bit. Good excuse to get fit for summer nevertheless.

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Last pre-event gravel ride yesterday.

I felt awesome for a bit but the headwind home felt harder than it should have. I’ve been training with a camelbak but I’m just ordered a TopPeak frame bag to stick 2x 2l bottles in to get the weight off my shoulders.

I’m still on the fence about whether I should stop at rest stop 2 and 3 instead of taking enough for the whole ride but at least I have options.

Man flu all week. Finally got back on the bike yesterday for a quick 55km @32km/HR average. Felt great and Portugal gains have been realized. Probably ride some MTB tomorrow at Hamsterley although keeping the km low. Perhaps 20km on Wednesday as a very light, easy ride. I reckon that's it..ready to die on the 200km on Saturday 😂.

Saturday appears to be 5-10 degrees at this rate. Likely going to go for long bibs, endura baselayer and endura wind-chill jacket as my riding gear. What are others looking at?

Also thinking of skipping feed stop 1, asides from grabbing a quick water refill.

Double post

Mechanical q:

I just changed my brake pads. The new ones rub the rotor. New ones are shimano xt sintered, old ones were shimano xt resin which must have been a narrower pad thickness. Not a major drag but enought to bring the wheel-spin to a noticeably premature halt. On a 1hr blast it wouldn't bother me, but a 9/10hr Reiver I need to make as easy as possible.

Pistons are fully retracted and moving equally when I squeeze the brakes.

Should I try sanding down the pads? Is that a recognised technique? Disc brakes are great but this is a faff.

Sounds a tad annoying. Reading what you posted, it sounds like you've pushed the pistons the whole way back. Have you loosened the caliper bolts and held the brake on to realign? Might help if you haven't. Otherwise, yes, I'd probably be willing to rough them up a bit with some rough sandpaper.

Looking forward to it despite the lack of proper miles. Aiming for the 200, so just hope the weather holds! Slow and steady whilst inhaling as many carbs as possible is the plan. Hopefully there’ll be a spot in the car park for the van Friday evening, not sure if they’ll open up another area for campers?

Re brake pads…if it’s dry I’d just stick the old ones back in!

I’ll probably wear my Castelli gabba jersey and maybe start with arm warmers. Otherwise it’ll be summer skin suit if over 10 degrees, winter long sleeved CX skinsuit if under 5.
And ride harder if I get cold 🤣
Coat and base layer as per the regs incase I have to change any punctures in the 15mph NE 🥶

Try a short ride to sort the pads out. Mine normally reset better after a bit of use.

Clothing wise, still not sure will try some ideas on my commute this week.

As it stands (5-10C) probably 3/4 bibs. Base layer and fleece top. Will likely set off in my waterproof until I warm up. Might got for a perfetto style top if the sun isn't coming out all day.

Doing the 130 in a windproof fleece and bibs a few weeks ago I was too hot with a max temp of around 7C.

Nice Chisel. The only thing I'd add is that with flat/riser bars you have limited hand positions which can be hard going at that sort of distance.

Have you thought of putting some small barends on just inboard of your grips? It would also make you more aero on the flatter easier sections.

It's a pretty common tip, I did it myself on a tour of Mull last year.

If you have a decent level of fitness then you should be ok, the one thing that you might struggle with is being in the saddle for 12 hours if not used to it. Make sure you get some longer rides in before the even. Also ride regularly using the same bike and setup before the event (including the same shoes). Even a small change before the event can lead to a slightly bdifferent bike fit which over the day can manifest itself into pain, discomfort and even injury.

Aiming for ten hours in an ideal world with an average of 20-21km/hr. Been riding plenty so far this year - about 2500km, half MTB at a guess 🙂.

Currently have tape for the inner bar, gonna double wrap tonight so I have a few positions. Not sure I can be assed removing the ESI silicone grips to put bull bars on though. Do you really rate them?

Done 140km on the Chisel recently which was fine. A few bigger roads rides recently. Looking forward to the day.

you'll be fine without bar inds (TM) jus stay relaxed and enjoy it.

when you get to the 130 cut off don't cave! Also the ford if its still in is best ridden through without stopping to take a look or you'll over think it. You're likely to get wet feet either way.

Waterproof socks then 😂

Ford no longer in, or at least it wasn't last year.

I've never ridden the route but 20kmh average seems fast to me for that distance. You must be a pretty strong rider. Good luck and I'm sure you'll love it. Just think how good your first beer will taste at the end. 🍺

Pulled out last year after wrecking both tyres before feed stop 1, hoping for better luck this year!!! Brand new set of wtb nano’s on my cx bike, and plenty spare ammo for the Dynaplug tool…..

Having the quarq on the bike now will be good for pacing, started near the front last year and was amazing how many people I reeled in quite quickly as they went out guns blazing!

Let’s just pray it stays dry

@mrshovelhands

What tyres were you on last year?

@crimsondynamo wtb nano’s last year too, albeit i was unlucky and slashed the sidewalls! It’s a Trek Crockett I ride, it can only take up to a 40c tyre

I’ve ridden this setup at 10 under the ben and whw before, so trust the tyres most of the time

Good to know that a Crockett is up to the task as this is what I have. I absolutely love my Crockett.

Kielder is quite close for us. I've ridden kielder on my old gravel bike with 38s on and was more than fine. I had bought panaracer Gravelking 43s but decided last minute to go with 2.1 Thunderburts as they roll faster surprisingly. Had them at Hamsterley yesterday. Happy with them.

20km/HR is the goal. I've heard the fastest ride at 27-28km/HR average which is mind blowing. Was at kielder a few weekends ago and done a mid-range 70km as I was short of time. We held 21 without any issues, although it will likely drop off after 120-130km. I think the main challenge are eating every 15 mins while on the go and hoping the rain stays off!

Is anyone riding with a camel bak or just frame bags?

I've got a saddle bag for all my bike repair and spares. A top tube bag for food. 2* 750ml water bottles. Back pockets for some sandwhiches and more snacks.

I ran bottles last year, then have been training with a camelbak ready for this year but I’ve just bought a top tube frame bag to put 2x 1l bottles in instead.
I’ll have enough onboard to do the full route- although I can’t get a good enough model dialled in on Best Bike Split to figure out if stopping at rest stops 2 and or 3 would be faster.
I definitely won’t stop at 1 as it’s crazy busy.

Good intel on here for another first timer. I managed to catch covid 3 weeks ago so training been non existent. Effects seem to be largely passed, so hopefully all will be well for the event. I’ll be slow and steady and just hoping to get around ok.

Well I’ve only went and got bloody Covid! I was chuffed to get a waiting list place but not to be this year!!

So how did we all get on?

My experience:

First 100k: excellent varied course, feeling good really enjoyed it.
100k-150k: death march into the teeth of a 18/19mph headwind. The 3rd quarter is always going to be difficult psychologically, but to have it also the most difficult physically was a double whammy.
150k-200k: Again a really nice course and my spirits rose nearing the end. However body started failing. Hot-foot with 25k to go, lower back pain which I had been managing started to get out of control, and right hamstring/calf/back of the knee started to go.
Finish: burst balloon.

I didn't get any punctures, and I was quick at feed stations, as such I think I was higher up the field than I should have been on power alone, meaning that for every one person I overtook whilst pedalling, I was overtaken 99 times. I have conflicting feelings on that.

0-70km was nice and easy.
70km - 100km started to feel the legs and sick of eating normal food.
100-140km - that headwind! Felt sick, by this point I was using gels. Questioning why I was doing it. kept pushing on.
150km- 178km - positivity returns, feeling strong again.
178-200km - felt very strong, knew I was near done. Pushed the last climb and hammered out the lakeside. Exercise induced asthma started playing up a little at the end.

Very lonely and silent between 100-150km. I think everyone was in a dark place with that wind.

Tyre burped somewhere before feed stop 2, so I had to pump it a bit. Only bike issue of the day.

Moving time of 10hrs 1 minute. With feed stops I reckon about 10 hrs 40. That headwind will give me flashbacks for a while

First 100km got dropped by most of the faster groups but kept it under control. Climbing well making good progress.

Caught by team mates at the second feed station. One was throwing up and had to abandon (Kids at home also throwing up we found out later).

Felt amazing on the 100km climb, probably the sugar hit and tail wind.

Turned into the wind and went to a very dark place. Pressed on, keeping my HR sensible over the many steep climbs. Perked up a bit when we hit the tarmac at 140ish km. Drank a lot of water and ate some food at the third station before heading back out into the wind.

Mixed it up with various groups for a while but let them ride away if the pace was too much. Got through the last 25km on will power and force feeding gels (was feeling quite nauseous but needed fuel). Knew from a recce about the climb after the dam and that it got much easier after that on the roll in. It was great to catch up with the 135 and 65ers. I'd been on my own for a while and even the hellos were nice. Also motivation picking them off.

Got round in 8h25. Given my sensible target was under 10h I'm massively happy with that.

I am completely broken. I'd signed up to the Weldtite ride but could barely walk to my car this morning.

It's an amazing event. One to add to any bucket list. God know how hard it would be in wet cold weather though!

Epic time, well done!

Well done Jonba that’s insane in those conditions 👏🏻

Well it’s funny looking back on my expectations 🤣 One thing Kielder does is make you feel insignificant- let alone your attempts to ‘beat’ it.

The weather looked perfect- bright sun, 15 degrees and light cloud. But it packed a killer punch. The worst headwinds I’ve ever ridden in. Literally 20mph with gusts all day. Being pebble-dashed with gravel at times!
Okay fine- so you get some slow sections and some super fast ones right?
No! One of the best things about the event is the descents. On the racing line (say ten inches wide) it is super-compact gravel. Then to either side is the stuff of nightmares. Loose marble - fist sized gravel slipping about on the hard sub layer.
Last time I would clear whole descents with only 100y of braking at the bottom. This year, on many of the descents, the cross winds were trying to rip your wheel out from under you.
So what should have been the prize for a 20 minute climb was a super sketchy crawl dragging the brakes and forcing yourself to relax and stop making it worse.
Sadly I knew in my mind that 13.6mph average was my stretch goal (the 9hr finish) so I pushed hard to try and make it happen. I don’t actually think I got there more than once. Every time you’d make progress, a headwind climb or a crosswind descent would drop you lower into the 12’s.
At about 50 miles, I was starting to feel it. I’d gone harder for 4h30 than I have in my life but the average speed was like 12.7.
Then I hit the only short road section and my legs felt amazing! The difference between pedalling on gravel or roads is insane.
I obviously over compensated by going flat out- pulling 380w up a short road climb and whistling along around 20mph.
This gave me hope that maybe things would get better so I pushed on. Speed was nudging 13mph average again and as I reached the aid station at half way, I pressed on by, full of hope.

Then we cross under the main road into the southern sector. And things went badly, quickly. I started to feel sick. The effort in the heat was just like Salisbury Plain last week but I’d gotten behind on my eating. There literally wasn’t time. You’re either climbing at an intensity that makes it impossible to swallow or descending at 30mph on sketchy gravel or grovelling into a savage headwind. It is crazy how little in the way of flat sections there are.

So I rapidly try and resolve things by eating and drinking as much as I could handle. Then pressed on hoping it would take effect.

Around this point, so say mile 70ish, I knew the conditions had made my hopes of a fast time impossible and I knew I’d been a very silly boy by riding at 6-7hr pace in a hope that I’d get a surge at the end to carry me to the line. I knew I was looking at a 10-11h ride.
And it killed me. Literally crushed the life out of my entire body. Suddenly everything hurt. My feet, my shoulders, my neck, my wrist and my tendons. They were like journalists hyping up PartyGate whilst I was like Boris- fat, useless and without an ounce of moral high ground with which to argue my point.

It is no exaggeration to say I was about to quit. To turn around and ride back the way I’d come. And I saw one guy do just that!

So then the next phase of my race began- and probably the hardest thing I’ve done in my life.
When I arrived at Kielder I tried to think through my goals. And one was to finish without stopping. The one I tried but failed on last year. Suddenly- this was brought to number one. This was the thing that could get my through.
Just. Don’t. Stop!

My body wasn’t having it. “Impossible!” “Pointless!” “Why!!??!!” came the cries from my various dying muscles.

So then came the lies. For the next 30 miles, I survived only by doing two things. Lying to myself and by doing a Vegan Cyclist and appealing to “future me”.

The lies were a variation of a theme. “Let’s finish this climb and we’ll stop” or “if you (my right foot say) don’t stop aching at mile 86, I’ll stop and take my shoes off”. Next it was beating the point at which I finally stopped for a pee last year. That kept me going for at least 3 miles. Then as we got closer it was based around the third aid station.
Finally, it was a helpful miscalculation I had made about the route. I thought there was 25 miles left once you cross the main road for the final time. But actually it’s a fair bit less.
So I was able to tell myself that when I reached the main road, I would bail out and ride along it with a glorious tailwind back to the Castle! Then, I told myself I would cross the dam but turn left instead of right and follow the cycle path back. And for this I lied once more and told myself it was 12 miles if I went that way. Thankfully, by the time I got there, it was only about 17 miles to follow the course- so naturally I turned right and told my legs to shut up one last time.

The “future me” thing is great too. Just ask yourself whether future you will accept your excuses when you look back on things. The answer is usually no.

I know I could have matched last years time now. Which would have been amazing in the contortions. But two things stopped me. One- I didn’t bother taking lube. And despite lubing it as well as I could- my chain literally sounded like it was going to snap for the last 40 miles or so. So I actually wasted 1/2 a bottle of sugar water to keep splashing on it- which would buy me around 20mins of peace. But it definitely stopped me exploiting the ‘finish line surge’ that I felt but couldn’t utilise for the last 7 miles. The other thing was my rear pads. Thanks to the crosswind descents, I used more brake pads in one ride than I had since buying the bike last summer and had no rear brake for the last 30 odd miles. This was a massive handicap too and stopped me committing to any of the hills because I was terrified the front would go too.
Yes in hindsight I should have just put fresh on regardless but they literally had more material on than the non-branded ones I had in my spares box at home. As well as lube, I will pack spares for sure next year (although changing would have made finishing non stop impossible).

The tortoise and hare thing was fascinating as usual. The same 30 people seemed to pass me all day. I’d get dropped on the climb, pull back on the descent and then finally they’d stop somewhere and I’d chug past only for the whole thing to get repeated.

Everyone goes on about roadies being unsociable but there was lots more banter this year for the first thirty miles and then everyone slowly got quieter and quieter 🤣 Soon everyone was just eating their stem wishing they were anywhere else.

There is a river crossing with a bailout bridge. And whilst ridable, it is rocky. So I made the decision to go over the bridge. It is very narrow but just wide enough for my bars so I didn’t dismount or actually stop but my feet did touch the ground as I scooted over. And that was it, the entire rest of the day I was pedalling/moving.

I managed to beat my sprint up the hill at the castle too- despite everything, I hit 1800w in my most powerful recorded sprint ever 🤣
I had it in mind to leave my Garmin running and then do an extra mile on the way back to the car to make it my longest ride on Strava but I couldn’t. As soon as I stopped at the finish- my body finally won and wouldn’t let me do more than roll back to the car.
My time was 10h30 but there was at least 20 mins in the things I’ve outlined and way more if I had paced for 10h.

But still- I’m pretty sure there won’t be many people who did the entire event without stopping so I found my own little victory in an otherwise mediocre performance 😀

ace laugh as always, brilliant to see so many female riders in the pack. 29+ on the downhills meant I could pick any line and hoon past those clinging to 10" of clean trail,did result in me totally airborne over a cattle grid and as the the trail turned right and i very nearly didnt. headwind was an utter $%#@ and one cheeky grunter on the special stage brought my chubby little singledpeedy legs to a complete trackstand and comedy dismount 🙂

all in all a tip top ride with lashings of beer and mead

Loved it! Overriding memory was the savage easterly wind.
0-1m nearly missed the start, last minute change of clothing meant I forget my gloves so had to head back to the van (idiot). Joined right at the very back-oops.
1-96km. Felt great. Plan to eat on the climbs whilst spinning went well. Got through the horrible boulder field unscathed only to get a puncture on the steady climb with no rocks about 10k past the feed station. Think it was from a pointy bit of bark from recent forestry ops, luckily it semi sealed itself, didn’t want to push putting too much air in so rode delicately to the second feed station. Bike and me covered in dusty jizz from the sealant.
96-150k started nicely on the climb only to turn into that savage head wind. The fast descent off the summit nearly had the guy out in front of me crash due to an insane cross wind. Realised at that point I’m a long way from anywhere if I suffer a high speed crash, so eased off. What followed was a demoralising 25k slog where pedalling to get any speed downhill was simply brutal. No chat from anyone around me. Head down and slog. I’m sure the views were lovely though.
.
150km+ the Red Bull & soup sorted me right out. Timely feed! Really enjoyed the last but, albeit with a proper sore neck. Here I must thank the small groupetto that dragged me along at a speed well above my ability. At times I get dropped only to catch up and help out. One guy especially dragged me all the way up that last big climb from the dam. A big thanks, whoever you are!

Riding time according to Strava 8 hours 50mins. Much better than the 10 hour target. Really happy with that.

Said to myself I’ll only do this the once, but it was just SO well organised that I may well consider it again!

Friend made a video

Just saw that! Mind blowing in that lead group. 18.1mph on Harold Evans’ Strava 🤯

Got spat out the back of the chase group on a descent, i’m a strong climber but was a bit too cautious on the descents!

The power numbers back up just how brutal that head wind was! 275w normalised @ 78kg with a moving time of 7:58, phew

GRX double chainring setup or a mullet sram setup would have been nice, little bit grindy with a 44t ring / 40t cassette on a couple of the climbs

No mechanicals though, which was a relief!!

Finally had the energy to make a video.

Love the video Crosshair.

knowing you in real life, that's actually a really funny video with you talking to yourself about your plans, structure etc. I can imagine this stuff keeps you awake at nights.