Highland Trail 550 2015

I’ll step in first – rode and finished in 2013 when it was only 420miles.

Ride your MTB a lot. Ignore your road bike. Ride your MTB. Days need to be back to back. Loaded. With little food. Ride more. After a while you’ll want to stop. Don’t. Ride your MTB more. You need to be technically good, like really good, especially when you’ve had no sleep-food-water. Hike, lots, with your bike.

The bike you ride, and the kit you carry mean nothing if you’re not fit. So ignore kit fetishising and train. Be fitter than you have ever been. Stronger than ever mentally. Then do it.

You may fail. About 50% of people do.

Pretty much what Greg said. Days of 100 miles should be easily attainable, and repeatable. I finished 2nd in 2013, but DNF’d in 2014. It’s that kind of route. Some much to get right, and so much to go wrong.

I blame it on the gears Ian 😉

Well, yes – 3 singlespeeds in the top four in 2013 can’t be wrong 😉

Totally agree – lets ask Phil in year one too.

Hence, why I’ve been riding one a lot of late.

Tom’s not far behind now.

I’ve got to stop waiting up to see who makes the last move – I can’t stand the pace 🙂

Minipips training has consisted of going out on his bike lots to avoid tidying up the swamproom that he sleeps in. He has combined this with plenty of playing in the park and eating his own body weight in cake and sweets, with crisps as a savoury accent. He has also done extra thumb specific training on the playstation.

😀

He missed the turnoff to the off road singletrack approach to Lochinver. Easy to do, I did that last year

I’m almost afraid to ask, but how do the “rules” handle that if it’s a genuine mistake?

Morning blue dot junkies.

No overnight change in our leaders positions – Phils record (LSH) is still safe.

scotroutes – Member
He missed the turnoff to the off road singletrack approach to Lochinver. Easy to do, I did that last year
I’m almost afraid to ask, but how do the “rules” handle that if it’s a genuine mistake?

You backtrack, then go the right way.

If you cut it out, a GPS trace – which you need to provide to have a completion – will be checked to make sure you didn’t.

Overnight Scratch Update:

Giacomo Maltman has scratched at Oykel Bridge with an old Achilles injury kicking in.

When looking at the track history files I assume that the green wedge shaped icon is a tent and that’s where the individual stopped for the night? If so then Josh and Tom appear to have paused (I hesitate to use the word rested) very close to one another, it looks like Tom used the road past Drumbeg to his advantage.

Josh is now back at Oykel Bridge, that’s 313 miles in 48 hours!!

As Greg says, practice pushing your bike up and down big, steep, rocky hills. A failed ITT in 2013 left me unable to walk for a fortnight.I might have been unlucky but to a degree you have to make your own luck out there.

That Ledmore road section can be a right bugger because there’s usually a strong headwind funnelled through the valley, but if it’s going your way it’s great. (Done it twice in the last couple of weeks and cursed it all the way 🙂 )

Right now the wind is in the right direction so they’ll get a well deserved push along.

Invercassley Stores has a rush on.

dotwatcher – you have been cool, calm and collected considering that not only is your other half doing this daft race but your son too. Have to take my hat off to you for being so supportive and you must be so proud of your lad who will remember the adventure for many many years. Do hope that you’re managing some sleep away from the tracker! 🙂

+1 ^^^

Rich knows that if Tom comes back in bits we will be getting a BOGOF deal at the undertakers.

They have shit hits the fan contingencies in place – although I do worry when the tracker doesn’t update for a while. On board the bike is 11,000 calories, Tom has had the call emergency services drill down to a fine art (both phones are registered with 121 and whistling was practiced until the deaf neighbour complained). He can also set up the tent by himself so if something happens to Rich he is OKish. My biggest worry is the river crossings – Tom is not a strong swimmer.

If he wasn’t doing this I would have to worry about childhood obesity and the long term health effects of sofa surfing & playground bullying because he is not very good at ball sports…

Invercassley Stores has a rush on.

😆

Needs must if Ocardo won’t deliver.

dotwatcher – Member
Rich knows that if Tom comes back in bits we will be getting a BOGOF deal at the undertakers…

The way he passed me in the ‘Puffer, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. That’s a gifted young lad with a great future..

Looks like he’ll meet the other Tom fuelling up at Oykel Bridge Hotel.

We will find out in the next hour or so if Minipips is going for the full 550 or will decide that the top loop will get him a unauthorised absence from school.

Oh eh….

Scratch Update:

Tom Gibbs confirmed as a scratch, is all fine and is going to spin home nice and easy.

Rich and Tom are going down the HT440 route.

Oh eh….

It is one of the planned get out clauses. See how he is doing at Oykle Bridge, if he won’t make it back for school on Monday morning then turn south. They weren’t too impressed when he took a day off for Strathpuffer. Having said that the top loop looks as if it is a goer on his times so far.

I am always the last to know…..

Scratch Update:

Darren Koslicki – cold, wet, not enough kit.
Amanda Brooks – GPS failure
Two riders are together and ok

dotwatcher – Member
I am always the last to know…..

Twitter innit’

Luddite moi…

On an aside is a remedial Twitter user = a Twit?

re fuelling at Oykell Bridge Hotel. Stayed there one night, all you can eat buffet, by lord it was immense (and great). Great hotel if not cheap.

It is going to be a bit of a head swivel moment for the field as they pas Team Pips for a second time….

More photos up on my blog http://niksbikingblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/highland-trail-race-2015-riders-as-they_25.html – this set are on the first day, the other side of the Devils Staircase.

Not that I want to worry anyone, but it looks like the pips took a wrong turn off towards Seana Braigh but now seem to have corrected themselves.

it looks like the pips took a wrong turn off

A case of take the right turn…. no the other right! Or Rich was ahead with the tracker and had to go back and find the boy…

Great to see the pics nikk, good work getting them up as they ride.

Looks like Josh has 12 miles up on Tom. Tom has yet to hit Braemore which is Scottish for effing big hill.

It looks as if it is going to be tight to the end – who can stay awake the longest?

I am so impressed by the back markers too… Jenny G looks to be having a hard day, but she is still going and Chris A is plugging away. I don’t have that sort of will power.

Official Scratch Update:

Dave Barter (@citizenfishy) with some serious knee pain. Otherwise ok.