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I've now done three solo 24's and for me it's not just a case of getting the miles in and turning up. You have a lot to get right from a bike that will last 24 hours continuous riding, endurance training, handling the mental side, nutrition to technical skill. Yes, even on an "easy" course your technical skill will allow you to save energy thru sections and keep your speed up, both IMO important aspects of a 24 hour solo.
I am well impressed with everyone who gets a top finish and if anyone thinks it's easy but hasn't done it...enter MM next year, get a top 10 placing and prove me wrong 😉
hmmmm, maybe I got a little over excited there, but I hope my (over?) reaction can be understood due to the amount of effort both before and during the race to achieve what really is a dream come true, and getting a solo 24 win.
Hell, even winning a small local race is never EVER easy!
Rob - I was spectating for a couple of hours and was amazed when you went off so fast. I expected you to blow up at some point but glad you didn't !!!!
As for [i]"There were a good few "names" on the start list"[/i] you're now well and truly one of the "names"
Cheers Dave. I was glad I didn't blow up too! It was a bit brutal at the head of affairs with everyone going hammer and tongs to break the others and get a lap. It was very very exciting, nail biting even as the gaps opened and closed and positions were swapped. I didn't realise it would be so much fun! One second it was the start of the race and the next minute, still out the saddle attacking the climbs, it was night time!
My first 8 laps were:
00:44:19
00:41:46
00:42:52
00:44:12
00:45:04
00:47:44
00:46:49
00:47:48
Whilst the course may not have been electric, the racing was. What a lot of fun! It'll be a while before I've recovered, not sure I'll be 100% for the Kielder 100, which will be annoying, I've been told 6-8 weeks to be back to anything near 100%, crikey!
Rob you don't need to justify yourself, you did a brilliant race. If anyone thinks they could win "easily" then they should enter and see just how easy it is.
Yes, it's not the most technical of courses, but there is also nowhere on the course you can rest, it is really hard work, you had to pedal a lot of the downhills as well in those conditions. Add on to that that you get so tired that the trees are jumping out at you and you can't tell your left from your right any more and just keeping going is all you can do. So to win that is a tremendous acheivement. Well done Rob.
It was a great rode by Rob, we only got two lap times below 50 minutes (neither me)which I have done regularly in previous years.
I rode a 29'er for the first three laps and my chain snapped twice on second lap and again on the thirrd so I switched to my ss.
There was a couple of flat sections in the mud where I only just kept going on the ss, feeling a twinge in my leg on one of them. Went to an ostepoath yesterday and I have damaged a muscle in my calf!
Thanks people, glad it wasn't just me that thought it was really quite hard and yet quite a lot of fun to race for 24hrs!
Oof ouch, Blackhound, riding a SS around the tacky leg emptying sections is truly heroic. Recover quick and recover strong 😉
I daren't go to get looked at - I'm feeling pretty messed up from head to toe. Still, I'm hugely looking forward to tearing it up at the BrightonBigDog tomorrow, the course is utterly stunning, standout course of the season for me. For those people that will be at the sharp end the prize fund is bonkers too!
Easy? Easy my arse. I’m not a bad rider but I couldn’t compete with Terrahawk/Twinklydave for an hour (I know, I’ve tried), let alone 24. I’ve an idea how much effort goes into the training and competing at these things, and anybody who tries to take away from the achievement of those who did well at the weekend is a prick.
Rob - you rode an excellent race. Well done. Don't let any of this lot put you down, as you say 24 solos are mind-bendingly hard at the front of the field (and I've only ever done 2).
Anybody who thinks it is easy should try it. It was my first solo and must admit it was hard work physically and menatlly. It's the little things that become hard, I had an hours sleep in the night and decided to put some clean shorts on before I went back out, I had three pairs with me and got them all out and found I was totally incapable of making a decision on which pair to wear.
Well done to Rob onb the win, I reckon he must have had a mortorbike stashed somewhere on course though...