The highs and lows ...
 

[Closed] The highs and lows of endurance racing

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Endurance season is upon us so lets have your stories of the highs and lows.

High - Leading the roll out at Hit the North, albeit briefly.

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Low - Mayhem 2004. Getting back to the pits at 6:00am after 2 hours of dragging a knakered bike to be met by a team mate all showered and changed. We had broken all of our bikes so it was time to call it a day. Watching the survivors shaking Pat’s hand was a bit tough one.

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Posted : 31/05/2010 5:45 pm
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Highs, just taking part solos enduros anything 😀

The lows? ten years later sitting in a tent listening to the rain coming down just before the off on another solo and realising you've had enough 😥


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 6:28 pm
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Highs: 1st night lap at the 24hrs of Moab..Desert, lights, singletrack, stars & moonlight, awesome..Racing a thunderstorm down to the finish line at a 75k race in the Alps - you could see the ****er coming up the valley!!! Lightning strikes, super fat rain - just made it back to the car before it hit & it was biblical..Such a rush!

Lows: 2nd night lap at 24hrs of Moab..chain broke twice, sucked, big time sucked..Im sure there are more but Ive blanked them from my mind!


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 6:54 pm
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Highs - the dawn lap.

Lows - falling off 4 times on one lap at the puffer and realising I had to stop for a few hours or I would hurt myself.


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 6:57 pm
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Highs - there's so many!
- pinning it down the last descent with trail_rat during Relentless24 last year, about 18hrs in and still loving every inch of the course, still romping up the hills and thundering back down them, chatting away
- having abuse hurled at me by my pit helper during mountain mayhem in the middle of the night, so loud several people on the opposite side of the race arena jumped!
- the crunchy 3am cheeseburger at SITS a couple of years back, that brought me back to life
- just flowing on the course at CLIC24, no aches, no pains, just totally relaxed...and fast 🙂

The Lows - well, dry retching as I rode up through the singletrack at the UK24 solo champs the other week, knowing that my stomach wasn't going to recover enough to let me race like I knew I could was...crap.
Really crap.
(Not crap enough to make me not want to do it over and over again, mind you!)


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 7:15 pm
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highs - free entry to the gorrick 100

lows - the gorrick 100 in general, i.m still finding mud stuck in places i didnt know it could reach!


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 7:32 pm
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highs - winning solo at 10 under the ben this year

lows - getting the bonk for about 10 miles at last years kielder 100. Taught me alot about hydration, eating and using a lightweight bike


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 7:34 pm
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Highs: 10 more in Moray 2007. Finished 5th in solo and could have kept going.

Lows: Mountain Mayhem 2006. Nice and dry but despite being the fittest ive ever been for some reason legs just didn't want to work


 
Posted : 31/05/2010 7:54 pm