Yep, just 750ml for the 4 hours. I wonder if my performance on lap 4 would have been better with more fluids as I found I did feel half a lap short on pace but i wouldn’t say there were any specific dehydration signs.
I probably spat out 50ml of grit too 😉
I had a flapjack in my pocket too but didn’t fancy it and it had disintegrated by the time I got home.

I didn’t ‘pit’ at all, just ate whilst pushing up one of the hills. Again, I wonder if I’d have benefitted from a quick stop.

2 gels, a cereal bar and about 2.5 litres of water

Crosshair – your not the only one grinning like the village idiot!!

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pTCgRA]mudbath 2[/url] by boltonjon, on Flickr

For my 4 laps:
About 500ml of Accelerade (a 750ml bottle but I didn’t finish it)
About 500ml of High5 Energy Source
750ml of High 5 Extreme
A bottle of water on the last lap (didn’t drink much of that)
3 gels I think
Half a Torq bar (I dropped the other half, and didn’t fancy it once covered in mud)

Seemed about right for me.

For 4 laps:

250ml of water, bottle was filthy to drink from.
3 High 5 Banana blast gels
High 5 Energy bar, banana flavour.

I was more in need of brake pads than drink, rear was shot after 2laps, and fronts after 4.

5 clif gels (one per lap)
2 and half 600ml bottles (felt too cold to drink more…)
no stopping.

3 laps in 2:43. About 300ml of gatorade. That was it during the race. Just before the start I had one torq gel and a banana. Not enough to drink, but the bottle was grim.

I have to ask why everyone seemed to be running bottles not camelbaks ?

Camelbak for me

But then again, I was wearing baggies too 🙂

camelbaks are a pain for lap racing, yes bottles get sh@tty, but more likely to get half way round/just started a new lap with an empty camelback, and a pain carrying 2kg minimum round, for a few hours, plus it reminds you to take a drink each lap!

As Mr klein says. Hate using camelbacks. Only use mine 1 or 2 times a year if on a longer day rides. On lap type events where you can get a fresh one every lap it’s not usually an issue. It’s also easier to keep an eye on how much you’re drinking.

I might use the Camelbak at the next round but I couldn’t face it what with wearing a coat as well. Once or twice I was a bit toasty but for 75% of the race, it seemed the right choice.
I had Sealskin socks, overshoes and non-waterproof tights on and by the end I tipped half a pint of sewage out of each sock.

Boltonjon- great shot! I think Kevin needs a medal too for his pics in those conditions 😉

What kit were people wearing? I was struggling to decide at the start – but was pretty happy with what I chose

I got a bit cold on the exposed sections – but nothing uncomfortable – it was just a nice reminder to push harder 🙂

Long sleeved base layer & club jersey
3 year old ‘splashproof’ Endura shorts & standard liners
Winter riding boots with thick socks
Summer gloves

long sleeve mesh base
gore alp x soft shell
gore bibs
leg warmers
my lovely shimano mw81s with thermal socks
thin gore gloves

My feet were soaked on the start loop inside 60 seconds when I went through one of those massive puddles so the smug thought I was going to have drier feet than everyone else was shattered – should have just worn the normal shoes

Core was mostly fine, but by lap 4 both feet and hands had gone numb and I was very cold by the time I finished had trouble getting changed.

Saw a couple of nutters with their arms and legs out….

What kit were people wearing? I was struggling to decide at the start – but was pretty happy with what I chose

Not so relevant in the 2 hour, but I wore:

Shorts
knee warmers
Short sleeve jersey
arm warmers
gilet
long finger summer gloves
Woolie Boolie socks with regular shoes

Gilet was the only real concession to the wet, I’d have worn a bit more for 4 hours. Didn’t get cold except in a couple of places where I was struggling to push as hard as I wanted due to being a shit rider/mechanical issues!

For me it was:
Compression base layer
Team top
Gillet
Arm-warmers
Lyrca bib shorts
leg warmers
Woolie Boolie socks
Summer shoes – at least they let the water out!
Windproof gloves

I went for the wet and warm approach rather than trying to stay dry. Also a good coating of warm up oil on my legs before the start.

I left a waterproof in the pits just in case I started to get cold.

Temperature wise I was fine during the race, it was only when I got home and was washing the bikes that I started shivering a bit. The drive home was too short to really warm up in the car.

I touched on it above but:
Northwave summer shoes
Sealskinz socks
Endura tights
Btwin budget overshoes
Btwin padded shorts
Btwin Short sleeved Jersey with key and phone in zipped pocket wrapped in carrier bags.
Cheapy waterproof coat from Halfords with gel and food in rear pocket.
Fleece snood- not sure why really it didn’t do a lot!
Barbour Neoprene gloves ;D

Was never cold but once or twice I unzipped the coat to let a bit of steam out 😉

Bib 3/4s
Mesh vest
Long sleave jersey
Roadie lightweight waterproof
Softshell gloves
Merino socks.
Summer/regular shoes.

My legs and hands were cold from halfway, but my core was warm.

baselayer
arm warmers
team jersey
3/4 bibs (lightest weight I have)
team bibs shorts on top
waterproof socks

this was not enough…
well in fact it was fine for 3 hours but then I started to get seriously cold legs and struggled.

Tights, long sleeve roubaix jersey, coolmax socks, summer long finger gloves, thin roadie waterproof, specialized comp shoes, nicely comfortable for temperature.

Got lovely and warm in the car during a 4 hour drive home, how do people face the M25 everyday?

Roubaix 3/4 shorts
Thermal base layer
Winter thick jersey
Waterproof jacket
Thermal Inner gloves
Waterproof gloves
Woolie boolie socks
Overshoes

I started in waterproof 3/4 over shorts as well, but as these were a bit tight for racing I took them off after 2 laps.

In those conditions, it was about not getting cold and not giving up.

GB

Where are people keeping these extra bottles to swap over? Doing the next round and not sure how to manage it

There’s a designated feed zone. This was on the field edge just before the finish but I it’s sometimes afterwards. Depends on the course layout I think.

I use a little wooden table in the feed zone.

Wasn’t planning on bringing furniture, this is getting serious now.

I’ve never perfected collecting bottles off a table without scattering all of them! I just stick them on the floor.

I’ve only got a box on the floor, but have seen some nifty bottle holders on metal pole type affairs going on. V neat as the bottles are at grab height. Looks like a fishing tackle shop collection of bits possibly.

I read somewhere about making a bracket at the handle end of a garden fork- just stick it in the ground 🙂

For my 3 laps (last half was running/pushing bike) I drunk nearly 2 bottles of Sponser long energy powder. Before the start 1 mule bar and 1 sponser energy liquid gel per lap. Also a shot of caffeine some time before start.

I wore a shimano windproof cap under helmet, maillot and bib shorts, Alp X 3.0 goretex shorts over the bibs, waterproof endura gloves (wet hands after 2 hours), sealskinz waterproof socks and a Mavic hc h20 waterproof jacket. Old summer shimano shoes and front and rear mudguards. Felt cold only when I completed 3rd lap after running for 20 minutes. My core was warm and dry throughout the race.

Last years designated feed zone….

a little wooden table in the feed zone

[url=https://flic.kr/p/imiPBQ]DSC01477[/url] by al4d, on Flickr

a bracket at the handle end of a garden fork

[url=https://flic.kr/p/imimmM]DSC01375[/url] by al4d, on Flickr

nifty bottle holders on metal pole

Tinsel optional…

[url=https://flic.kr/p/imim8F]DSC01373[/url] by al4d, on Flickr

😀

I saw that table on Sunday!

In two minds whether to do the next one or not!

Just stripped the ‘pads’ from my rear brake. Fragments of spring, one backing and shrapnel of the other were all that remained. Had just started on the piston 😯

That’s my table!

Lots of useful info here, especially those bottle photos as I had no idea.

Yup all very useful, only my legs and the weather against me now! Need to buy a bottle cage to match the Fatty now.

nice , er bottle pics! 🙂

Obvs I need something bodged together and festooned with Christmas decorations. The box on the floor is clearly passé 😉

Pitch fork with bottle crate attached always looks a reasonable solution!

Did anyone else get ill after the event? Norovirus type ill? Wondering if it was all the crap that went in my mouth whilst drinking from filthy bottles?

No.
Hope you are over it now. There’s plenty of more likely sources of chunder/shit bugs though (mostly children).

Both fine here too.

Bikes now back in working order. 2 pairs of brake pads on my bike. Wife’s bike needed 2 sets of pads, new rear tyre and a new bottom bracket.

On the bottle front I have a bottle carrier I leave in the pits, I normally have a plastic crate that I leave a few spares in, and put the carrier on top. In the top picture above you can see my green box and carrier. As long as it is dry the free cardboard wine bottle carriers from supermarkets do the job. For longer races I take a table as it saves bending down to pick up the bottles.

Ding ding,round 2. Hopefully better conditions than last time, although it would be hard pushed to be worse. I lose track of the gorrick courses. Is tunnel hill the one with the big parking area and massive puddles?