Viewing 23 posts - 1 through 23 (of 23 total)
  • Twentyfour12 Hints and Tips?
  • crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Hive mind, I need your magnificent knowledge and expertise!

    Am finally doing the TwentyFour12 with some mates this year, but having never done anything like this before I could do with some pointers from those “been there, done that” people. While we haven’t decided on whether 12 or 24hr yet, I thought I’d start asking the questions now!

    Any and all advice and tips welcome. Camping and facilities/what spares etc to be prepared for/tips on running orders etc etc….
    TIA

    PrinceJohn
    Full Member

    Start training now.
    Be on time to transition.
    Bring as much kit as possible.
    Prepare for rain.
    Have fun.

    Yak
    Full Member

    Never miss a rider changeover.
    It might rain.
    Bring more cycle clothes that you think you need.
    Never miss a rider changeover
    Don’t miss the beers and cheese on the Friday whilst the kids are racing.
    Bring a gazebo
    Never miss a rider changeover
    Bring lots of food including 3am type food. Odd food items seem appealing at 3am, so be prepared.
    Never miss a rider changeover

    and
    Never miss a rider changeover
    Have fun!

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    BadlyWiredDog
    Full Member

    Take a white board and a white board marker so you have a written reminder of who’s due out next, what lap times you’ve just done etc. It makes it harder to get confused at 3 o’clock in the morning. And harder to miss a changeover.

    We used to run A,B,C,d lap order during the day, but overnight split into two pairs and did A,B, AB, then CD, CD so you get a break long enough to have a bit of a snooze.

    If it’s cold / dark / wet take a warm, water-resistant jacket to wear while you’re waiting at changeover and give it to the incoming rider as he arrives.

    If you are the incoming rider, turn your helmet light off just as you come in. It’s very hard to recognise someone in the dark with a Joystick beam in your eyes.

    Don’t be called Dave or ride with anyone called Dave. Everyone is called Dave. Every hand-over is punctuated by people shouting ‘Dave! Dave! Dave’ No, not you, Dave. The other Dave!’ etc.

    Between laps: clean clothes, then fuelling, then clean up your bike ready for the next lap. Don’t sit around in damp clothes. Baby wipes are a good call. Take lots of riding kit. And basic spares, track pump etc. Spare wheels already set up with mud tyres are a good call, so if things go biblical, you’re not messing about changing tyres. Ideally a spare bike too…

    It’s kind of endless, but bear in mind it’s more a sprint relay thing in team terms rather than steady endurance, if you’re quick-ish anyway.

    crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Thanks for the those guys, good start for me to have a proper look into organising bits!

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    – If going as a team, try to have somewhere to sit around – a gazebo type thing.
    – Take wellies.
    – Take as much riding kit as you can.
    – Some kind of list (whether on a whiteboard or something else) to schedule in approximate timings of changeovers is good – whiteboard allows you to update depending on tiredness/course conditions.
    – Get there as early as possible. We haven’t done it for the past two years having done 10 years on the trot, but the first few we went to you could rock up on a Friday afternoon and guarantee a good trackside spot. The last few we did, we left early on Fri morning & arrived to find virtually the whole camping area rammed with people reserving massive swathes of the field for their entourages.
    – Don’t rely on the onsite catering. We always take a trip to the nearby Sainsbury’s and stock-up on easy cook pasta pots etc. banana’s, biccies etc. and take a small stove etc. with us. Still use the on-site catering a couple of times, but the cost adds up & there’s not always great options.
    – Bog roll – take your own.
    – It’s worth riding the course on the Friday if you have never done it before. No need to charge round, just a nice potter to acquaint yourself.
    – Look at the weather forecast & consider packing some mud tyres :o)

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Although this is a brilliant and fun even, be prepared to get out of the way of the serious chaps this year – it’s a National.

    But have fun.

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    In addition to the stuff higher up, here’s my tips-

    – Service your bike properly beforehand. Replace anything that you are swithering about.
    – Take food you want to eat as well as food you ought to eat. It’s all very well having a big tub of pasta if you cannot force it down you at 3am when you want a Ginster’s.
    – Change clothes immediately after every session. It’s not such a problem for 24/12 as it’s down south and in the summer but sweaty clothes can whip heat away from you that you really need, and they’re less comfortable which lowers your morale.

    mattbee
    Full Member

    Practice riding in filthy wet muddy mucky rainy conditions. Based on my experience that will be the most likely type of weather you’ll have.
    Take all the riding kit you have so you can get changed after every lap if needs be.
    After lap/s I tend to clean bike first, then live chain (& change brake pads if needed) then get changed myself, new cycling kit under something warm unless you’ve got ages to wait for your next turn then just the warm stuff.
    Then fill your belly and drink, preparing new bottle/camelback bladder whilst you’re at it.
    Make sure you are at the transition area in plenty of time. If it’s cold/wet (as is highly likely!) keep a warm/waterproof jacket on that you can hand over to the returning rider as they come in and you depart.
    Make sure you give the kids in the arena high 5s when they offer their hands! The second or two it costs in time are worth it given their endless enthusiasm which should be rewarded!

    BadlyWiredDog
    Full Member

    Don’t leave your mates in charge of a fire-box in a humungous borrowed and very expensive Tentipi canvas teepee while you go out for a lap. By the time you come back, they will almost have set fire to it 🙁 don’t ask how I know etc.

    Saccades
    Free Member

    A very sturdy table that’s hard to knock over.

    Pit crew.

    I’ve some blog posts somewhere that details my build up/event and I have a list of kit you can have if you fire me your email.

    Might be helpful as I over think/analyse things like this.

    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    Not done it since it was in Shropshire but….do the 12, get shit faced the night before, go full gas on the first lap, ensure you’re the one out there in the torrential downpour that makes 50% of the course impassible including sliding on your arse on the last corner into the arena/change over area, take lights that don’t work and have to follow the wheel of a solo single speeder to complete the lap, go the massage tent and instead of getting one of the two bonny lasses get thrown around by a massive hairy ape-man, get progressively worse at the woopdidoos going from super smooth to buckaroo on your last lap, get shit faced again,

    mjsmke
    Full Member

    Some big plastic bottles for water too. There are drinking taps there but often a queue for them and gets slippery there at night.

    If you’re likely to get up during the night to pee, having a bottle to pee in while in your tent is better than walking outside to the facilities. Unless you’re sharing a tent of course!

    Bring suncream just in case. I got burnt in the 2014 heatwave.

    Last year was dry too which made it awesome. Probably my favourite few days of recent years.

    crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Thanks for the help people, loads of good stuff to think on!

    beaker
    Full Member

    Just bookmarking for later.

    crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Hopefully, I can put some of this into practice!
    Might need to start getting some more riding gear, and maybe a bucket of spares that i dont currently have!

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    Don’t miss out on the free beer

    longmover
    Free Member

    When it has been hammering down with rain don’t stop at the side of the track for a piss and get grit on things that grit should not be on.

    Get your fueling strategy right, don’t get stuck on the course with stomach cramps and the shits.

    *both items learnt from experience

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    Yeah, get your fuelling right. Eat after every stint as soon as you get in. I try to get around 500 calories in after every stint- if not, the risk of a bonk which will throw the whole race to cock (and, more importantly, spoil your enjoyment of it) is high.

    lesgrandepotato
    Full Member

    Do the 24 so you all get a decent go at it. If you do the 12 that’s about 3hrs each, the 24:12 is about that special only just alive still pedalling feeling. You’ll need more than 3hrs to achieve it.

    crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Thanks for the input people, am starting to look at whats happening. Think we’ve got a forth so looking like the 24hrs may be a go!

    stumpy01
    Full Member

    We’ve always done single laps through the day & then around 9pm switch to double lapping (team of 4), which gives each rider a half decent amount of sleep.

    crazyjenkins01
    Full Member

    Thats the advice a mate has given me @stumpy01

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