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The hardest bit after Torridon is the Devil's Staircase. A finish from Torridon is fairly straightforward (conditions permitting).
Dustin’s crossed Fishersfield
How do folks handle the crossing in terms of clothing getting wet? Obviously you can't avoid shoes getting soaked so from then on they aren't drying out. I don't imagine their feet are dry at the moment but a river crossing is another level when everything is already cold
I was thinking much the same. I figure the traditional stripping right off to keep your clothes dry must be the only sensible answer.
But the other thing - how do you know the previous guy got across safely and wasn't swept away? 🙂
I reckon if it's running deep it's not wise to do it without someone watching.
I imagine they’re likely soaked to the skin anyway, to be honest. Which isn’t to say that wading a freezing cold, waist-deep loch won’t add another layer of discomfort. How do they handle it? Probably by gritting their teeth and keeping going at a fast enough pace to light the inner fires. If you carry enough clothing for a change every time you get wet, your kit will be too heavy and bulky to move at speed.
Dustin seems to be enjoying the Postie's path during the early hours. I hope he knew what he was starting........
Re the crossings - most just go in as they are. As stated, you're probably wet anyway, or it's a break from the heat. You can strip off and wring clothing out once across.
Rob Colliver from here has scratched.
River crossing sounds miserable especially when not knowing the depth. You have to cross it regardless, with no alternative permitted in the rules?
From James's instagram he is back on it again with fresh brake pads and pump
Snow on the hills forecast last night and I've had the fire lit every evening this last few days!
We've had fresh snow the past two mornings.
They are asking about Mike Sheldrake on bear bones forum - can someone let them know he has posted on instagram, looks like he is going to decide at Ullapool whether to scratch or not (I'm not registered there).
Done. Thanks.
Just been out Ullapool way and along the road to Gairloch. There is a little snow, but only on very high ground, probably over 2,500'.
The weather was very changeable. When I was close to Ullapool it looked like this, drizzly with a bit of bite in the wind:
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However it cleared up a bit and the sun came out for a while.
I saw Markus and 2 others on the road, but the traffic was busy in both directions so I couldn't stop.
Jenny Graham and Martin Boonman pulled into the garage at Ullapool as I was fuelling up. Both looking fit albeit a bit tired, but in good cheer.
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Jenny's handlebar bag (hole worn through the bottom) and her leg give an idea of how tough it is on equipment as well as people.
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Martin's bike is developing a few problems. Main one is the saddle getting loose - he may end up finishing with just a seatpost. 🙂
They all have to get from down there to up here and that's only a small part of it.
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What's the story with that bar bag - did the straps break? Looks like it's held on with a bit of bootlace?.
I didn't ask. They were busy packing food on their bikes, so I didn't want to intrude too much.
tough folks!
at a guess the front tyre rubs the bag when forks compress.
Still no word on where Nelson Trees is?
River crossing sounds miserable especially when not knowing the depth. You have to cross it regardless, with no alternative permitted in the rules?
Yes, there is an alternate route allowed. That seems to be a concession to the weather this year.
I thought there was meant to be some form of live blog this year? I seem to remember seeing it on the HT550 site before the start but there isn't anything there any more. Was that my imagination? Enjoying the @epicyclo and other updates though
Looks like Jenny Graham is doing the crossing right now. Or contemplating it.
Good pics there and how grim does it look in the first one! Goodness knows how they manage to ride in wet clothing day after day, surely there's little chance of anything drying out even if you do resort to staying in an hotel? Much respect to all who take part.
My mate Andys in Tesco, Ullapool... i feel like a right cyber stalker 👀
Seems like the number one spot is almost certain bar any real disasters, My wife and I are following/stalking Markus Stitz, we met him bike touring in Patagonia. The man is a beast, and totally mad.
Anything could happen at this point really with the top ten, its going to be a mental game as well as dealing with all the physical misery that you expect.
I would love to ride it, but at a touring pace.
Saw Nelson Trees heading down the road to Strathcarron at about 9pm tonight. Going well, seemed quite relaxed. Cold night for those biviing tonight, the temperature dropped to 1 degree as I rode over the top from Achnasheen to Kilochewe.
Looks like Dustin Eroh should finish after lunch time.
It looks like Dustin might have made a route error last night. The pings were intermittent so hopefully he realised the mistake and corrected it.
wouldn't bet against James Hayden getting 2nd
Yep - I quit this one - there will be lots written about the conditions out there and I simply wasn't good enough to get round the course safely.
@scotroutes - are you referring to him apparently missing the GGW turn between 11pm and 2am? Seems he must have slept in that time so I guess he had a good look at GPS on waking up so hopefully it's fine. Would be cruel to be DQ'd for that in any case .
Aye - it's an easy turn-off to miss, especially in the dark. I've seen cars parked where they hide the sign too. Hopefully, he realised the error and corrected it. Lee Craigie was DQd for a similar error a couple of years ago when her GPS was playing up and she lost the route off it.
We have a first finisher...
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47957766667_9036c194b0.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47957766667_9036c194b0.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2g4S6cZ ]2019-05-29_11-54-25[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinddd/ ]martinddd[/url], on Flickr
Approx 4 days & 3 hrs in appalling conditions.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByCz20pFVRe/
Nails (the lot of them)!
Brilliant, well done that man.
Nipped out to Strathcarron to try to get some pics. Just missed Markus as he turned up the hill, and no way was I going to be able to catch him. 🙂
I ran into Mike Taylor who has scratched, due to mechanicals. He rode from Ullapool to Strathpeffer to get bits for his bike (brake pads being one), and then headed back out in the general direction of the trail.
He's now cherry picking bits of the course and adding other bits to it that he wanted to see such as Skye.
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Then I headed to Kinlochewe. As you can see, the weather today is perfect.
The Postman's Path is on the right of the loch. They have to get over that big lump to get to it first. 🙂
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This is the easy bit of the path, near its end
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Looks easy enough, but there's lots of little bits like this
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I only went about 3 miles along it when I ran into a familiar figure
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Jenny has run out of brakes so she's been doing a lot more walking than she'd like, and is feeling pretty drained.
She's got to be back at work on Friday morning, and doesn't think she would make the finish in time, so it's a likely scratch.
I was going to go further along the path after that, but there was no mobile signal so I couldn't track any riders.
(The truth - I wasn't keen to go further and tackle the more difficult parts on that bike 🙂 )
Now I'm back home I can see there's a regular peleton coming along it. Expletive!
Congratulations to Dustin. This HT550 sounds horrendous from what I've been hearing.
I have been following this. Would love to hear the stories. Strangely drawn to having a go. Need some horror stories to put me off!
Thanks for the updates Epicyclo, answers alot after watching the dots!
Epic riding by all involved!
thecrokkofdeven-You need to prove you are up to it. This is done by riding in other ITT's. It does look epic though and not for softies!! I'll do it when I reincarnate into a superhuman cyclist 😉
Jenny now officially scratched, must be particularly frustrating with the gnarly stuff mostly done.
summittoppler
...You need to prove you are up to it...
I must admit I've been toying with the idea too, but you really need to be sure of your physical endurance. Mine is declining, so I'd like to have a go before I lose too much more.
Unless you have a CV with things like the Tour Divide, PBP etc in it, I reckon the obvious thing to do is to do it as an individual ride first time.
Just doing a day ride along various parts of the route isn't going to tell you whether you're capable or not. You need to know if you're capable after several days of utter misery and exhaustion on a failing bike.
If you can get round in a decent time on an individual effort, then you may have a case for being accepted for the mass start.
And like many Highland events, the course may seem innocuous or not too challenging, but it's the weather that decides and changes the risk from slightly damp socks to perilous.
When I look at the palmares of those who scratched, I can't see any who are known for giving up easily...
Impressive efforts everyone who rode (including scratchers)!
I have dot-watched the last few years and like the idea of doing it but not racing as I like sleep too much. Also I don't want to be riding during midge prime time. Reckon I'd take 9 days to enjoy it. The purity of strict ITT rules appeals and I'd enjoy bivvying (in decent weather) or bothying. However, I think my overall enjoyment would be higher with a few nights with a proper bed, shower etc.
I'm working on a plan for Sept. (chance of good weather and hopefully fewer midges) or April/May 2020.
Fantastic photo! Is that a snorkel sticking up from his head?
As i said on IG comments.... O M F G 👀 🙈 👌