Well what a great track. Very fun, and even put a couple of "jumps" in. Weather was a little better than last year, with the main issues being dust… 😉

How you all do guys?

Had a cracking race… feel a little tired after 27 hrs without any sleep!Always forget how tough that race is!

I had a shit race. I crashed on the 2 km warm up and broke my mech hanger 😥 . Twas my first D2D aswell

Dan – Thats bad stuff mate! You keep going? Team/Pairs/solo?

Bear – Where you come?

Nah I was proper sore as I was motoring as I was chasing a mate. so I had to go find my team to tell them the bad news. I ended up going home and having a hot bath to stop my legs getting stiff.
Been to the bike shop to repair the bike and get new shoes, jacket and tyre to replace the ones I broke. Gonna cost £250 even with my discount at the LBS to set everything right

I was only helping in the pits and I'm still buggered. Really nice event though, helped a lot by the weather. Some wonderful photos by the redoubtable Andy Armstrong here. The boys did well.

Really enjoyed it, can only echo the comment about the good fun track and the cadets sat round doing the marshalling where always ready with a cheer or encouragment.

Great fun
First ever D2D
Was supposed to be in a pairs but riding partner ill so did it on my own
Had a rest for 2.5 hours at 3.30 am but still did 9 laps on a rigid single speed
Great course and atmosphere
Look forward to next year

still did 9 laps on a rigid single speed

Good effort, but I think the guy who was second with 15 laps was also on a rigid singlespeed. Ideal for the course really.

That was very hard work soloing, strangely found it harder than last year…

By the way the cock of a photographer sticking the camera almost in your face somewhere i think just before the double shocker, who was he, should be banned…..

How many laps you manage moda?

I got 11 in, which I was happy-ish with!

Good effort, but I think the guy who was second with 15 laps was also on a rigid singlespeed. Ideal for the course really.

Hats off to him-I'm still doubled up with back and arm pain-not sure whether we are the same species 😳

Good course, quite sandy in places, good marshals. Very poor handover area and what is it with people with generators going all night !! Other events I have done generators off at 11pm couldnot believe it, just think it spoils the ambience of mt bike racing and camping, thought some people with them are just unbelivably selfish …I accept in the main arena area the need for generators and lighting but not on the far side of the campsite where we set up so we could get some rest in between some laps..

Good course, quite sandy in places, good marshals. Very poor handover area and what is it with people with generators going all night !! Other events I have done generators off at 11pm couldnot believe it, just think it spoils the ambience of mt bike racing and camping, thought some people with them are just unbelivably selfish …I accept in the main arena area the need for generators and lighting but not on the far side of the campsite where we set up so we could get some rest in between some laps..

Here Here… And that dog that sounded like it was singing very badly till about 2am! We came 6th in th mixed pairs Will. I normally race team so it was a bit of a learning curve getting used to 40mins rest then ride then rest then ride… and so on for 12 hours! I felt sick all morning!

I sort of enjoyed it. I managed 11 laps, with time to go out for a 12th, but had had enough by then.

I found it harder than the last two years, not sure why? Maybe the soft nature of a lot of the course. I did the last two years on a rigid singlespeed, but thought I would go with a geared hardtail this time.

I managed a nice over the bars crash on my 3rd lap on the first section of new single track. I went straight over the bars when a stick stuck in my front wheel, and then I face planted in a pile of dust. I have no idea how the guy riding behind me manage to avoid riding over me.

As above I thought the marshals were great, offering lots of encouragement. The bomb holes were all interesting, it was funny that by the end of the night everybody had seemed to work out that it was quicker to take the chicken runs.

My 1st D2D & thought it was great fun. Agree about the handover area surely it should be just for the riders, it seemed to be filled with so called helpers!!! In the morning i went to the TA tent and thanked them for their help, hope you all did too? Cant wait til next year now.

It seemed to me that the handover area was smaller than previous years – never had a problem finding a spot to prop my bike before in previous years. Generators are unavoidable at these things – its a night time bike race, most people will be up all night whether riding solo or in a team so you don't go if you're expecting to get some sleep? I can understand it more for a 24hr race though.

I loved the track and the conditions were as good as they going to ever get for an october race. I was racing pairs with a stonker of a cold but enjoyed it none the less apart from this minor problem with my rigid singlespeed on my 5th lap.

Time for a replacement I guess then………..

I really liked the "informalness" of the handover area, it's nice to hear other people having fun & chatting while you're waiting to go out again at 3am. And those of you that are upset about generators running all night – I suppose you were the same people with the nice cosy down sleeping bags & cocoa? 🙂

Awesome effort by the top solo riders.

Best course yet too IMO.

Wahoo! What a great race!

Mother Nature seemed to be taunting us with the downpour before the start.
Some of the bombholes were ridiculous. We normally ride 'the skip' the other way round, but that way round it was impossible to get out of. As were most of the others, unless you took the chicken run.

The changeover area was far too small and the first changeover in particular was very stressy with people bringing their bikes too far in, rather than parking them up outside somewhere. There was nowhere near enough stands for that many racers. Was OK by 6:45am though!!

There was a great atmosphere on the course, with quite a lot of banter, especially towards the end. I was particularly jealous of two blokes who had stopped to eat some Jelly Babies. I did comment, and they offered me one, but had I stopped I am not sure I would have started again.

The marshalls were all really good – particularly the girls at the top of Snake Pit constantly shouting encouragement.

The men's pairs timing seems a little strange. The fastest lap time goes to Basildon Timber Two with a lap time of 32 mins whilst most of their other laps are 50min+.

BTW no other team got a sub 40 min lap time including the 4 man team winners (fastest lap time 40mins for them).

Something strange going on there…

Remind John I me, whats the difference between the hours of 8pm to 8am during a 24 hr race and why exactly do you need a generator ? What about gaslights or electric lights which don't make a noise, its got nothing to do with sleeping bags and cocoa its do with common courtesy and not being selfish …what did you need to watch something on tv … ?? I work in a noisy factory all week so why should I when I go mt biking racing have to listen to selfish **** with generators on all night well away from the arena where you accept that will happen…you know some people actually can hear !!

The elveden bomb hole was particularly fun. I don't think the girls marshalling got tired of telling people they could do it when I have doubts they saw anyone all night get to the top of that powder-covered mess without pushing at least the top part.

Oddly, next to the arena it was quite quiet despite the teams telling us they'd be running generators all night.

Scarcat67 – i didn't have a generator, but I think it's a bit strange to enter a race that runs through the night & not to expect that there are some people that will want to be awake for the duration & have light/heating etc.

My first D2D and of what I did I really enjoyed it but need to put some proper training in for next year. I was paired up with a mate who was due to do more laps than me (he is the fit one!) but unfortunatly he did his back in coutesy of a drunk driver rear ending him 2 weeks ago, he was told not to do it but he did! I went and did the first lap about 50 mins i think, the he went out but his back gave up after 4 miles, he was gutted. I went out and did 2 laps and it finished me off, I got terrrible cramp in my right quad with 4 miles to go on the 3rd lap, took me over an hour to get round.
My inexperience at pacing myself, lack of preparation saw us finish with just 4 laps between us!
Still i now know what to expect next year. I have to say it really showed me just how fit some people are, amazing or should that be how unfit I am!A real eye opener, thought some of the single track was great and fast flowing. I truly take my hat off to the solo guys doing 10+laps!! Fair play to you.
Never been so glad when my lights went out with 2 miles to go on lap 3, i had to stop and do a battery change! 😯
Cheers

Dan

Scott – Is that your beloved Karate Monkey? Can it be repaired?

Dan98 – yeah it does make you realise how quick some of the fast riders really are!
You think that they can't sustain that for the whole race – but they do! I just get out of the way as soon as possible!

With regards to the generators – I do find it a little annoying that people run them through the night. I had no heating, but I had plenty of light running off batteries & it wasn't that cold with a jacket & hat on. You can also get gas powered heaters, so a generator isn't exactly a necessity.
Perhaps the organisers need to have a camping section just for generator users or have a rule that you can't use them after a certain time.

I think it should be renamed "Dust til Dawn".

My fourth year doing D2D and my favourite so far.

Apart from the trauma of trying to get our tent up in the high winds during the afternoon the course and conditions were perfect, and the organisation was excellent as always.

I think the best D2D course I have personally ridden.

My favourite parts of the course were Helter Skelter, The Pumps, Pork Pie trail and Double Shocker. The first half of the course definitely being the better in my view.

The exits on some of the bomb holes were a bit of a joke. I think buckets and spades should of been on hand from the cadets and prizes for best sand sculptures.

Riding my final lap at 7am and seeing the sun coming thru the trees was a real highlight.

Funniest moment was watching the guy in front on The Pumps sitting down the whole way and bottoming out his rear suspension until eventually the rear suss fought back and shot him over the bars. He was ok.

Bringing the event forward a week was also a good move as weather has turned and probably raining this weekend.

We used generators for power, but, in an attempt to be considerate to others who may have wanted to sleep, we camped right next to the arena, where it would be noisy anyway. Perhaps a designated quiet area would be a good idea for these events.

The one thing we were doing with it that we couldn't do with gas and couldn't do easily with batteries is charge our lights. Also we were supporting 16 riders in a 30ft tent, so would have needed a fair few gas lights to illuminate it and to cook with.

I think this photo sums up D2D 2009 pretty well.

Sounds like everybody had a great time 🙂 I thought the section of singletrack before the fireroad climb past the fireroad decent on the other side of teh track was such great fun! Really encouraged you to go fast!

stumpy01 – I think i rode with you for a while. You were wearing a green top, and had a Spec Stumpjumper (which i think i identified from the seat thread) I spoke to you briefly, however for some reason I didn't ask if you were from singletrack 😆 I guess i was too tired. I was the solo rider on a green giant NRS

Anybody ride into work this morning? 😉

Will, yep that sounds about right – that would have been during the wee small hours – I did a double lap from 1:10am to 3:10am.

Stumpjumper can be identified by it's retro red & blackness/various scuffs/rear shock that seems to be leaking something.
Rider could be identified by general poor line choice/green Nike jersey/bright blue & grey small camelbak with pump & tube lashed to outside. In fact there'a pic on Dave Franciosys website….

1257 pics from the weekend here!!

dusk till dawn

Speak of the devil!! Hope you don't mind me linking to the pic of me above??!!

Think I bought one of your pics from the summer series 2 or 3 – dropping into the first rooty bombhole. Must have been SS3 as it was the Santon Downham side.
Might buy that one too, I think.

I had a stunning time, even though I did bugger all at 3 laps and sacked it off at half past midnight. The girls at the top of that bombhole deserve a medal – their cheering kept me going.

Also the lad from Dublin on the Commencal who I did my last lap with – you're a legend mate. Public transport is the way forward

And the chap cheering me on while doing 'jumps' over the hips somewhere after the start, again you're a legend mate – the support was greatly appreciated.

Easily the best atmosphere at any event I've done – I'll be back next year but as part of a team rather than solo I think!

A selection of my pics here:
D2D

And then the rest on my website Joolze when I can sort out my hosting problems:0(

Really hard work. How anyone could do that solo I have no idea.

Riding my final lap at 7am and seeing the sun coming thru the trees was a real highlight.

+1. And seeing Venus high up in the morning sky was nice.

Joolze, your website appears to be up and running again so I look forward to seeing your snaps.

Yep, just been frantically uploading pics before they pull the plug again!!!
They're all up now and ready to roll….

Stumpy, I'm not Dave "Pizza Dave"Franciosy, he's just a good mate of mine that moved to Thetford.
If anyone likes their pics, get in touch with him via his race photos website

Afterall he did spend all night in the woods taking photos of you sweaty lot when he could have been down the pub!
The high resolution pics he sells are A1 and are a great bragging tool when folks spot them hanging on your wall.