MASSIVE respect to those folks that finished. I had to chuck it at the 60-mile Newcastleton stop. Had already used 2 new set of brake pads and was down to metal again and had 10 minutes before the cut-off time kicked in but didn’t have the time to get pads fitted by the Tech Station guys to get me on my way again. Having said that, I didn’t need much persuasion to chuck it – the conditions were thoroughly miserable all day.

Will I be back next year for another crack? Hmmmmmm…… 😐

Seriously, the BBC can’t forecast tomorrow’s weather accurately, never mind the weekend’s! 😆

BTW I never stop for clipped wing mirrors as it minor even if mine is damaged!!

Crap attitude to have 🙄

Seriously, you SS guys are nuts! 😈

Told you mine would be the oldest and heaviest!

However, I bet you’ll still cruise past some folks on their sooper-dooper, top-of-the-range, carbon-framed flying machines 😆

Here’s my steed. Have put on some Stans Crest rims with Pro 2 Evo hubs since this shot though:

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If anything, the midgies could be a good thing for me; they’ll make sure I keep going, as stopping will be a nightmare with the little buggers!

it’s been on my mind every day for weeks now. Kind of wish it was tomorrow so I could stop thinking about it and just do it!

Know what you mean! I go to sleep every night thinking about it, what kit to take, what I need to buy, if I’ve trained enough etc. 😕

I’m in!

It’s my first K100, so quite nervous really. I’ve done a few MTB marathons and regularly do road rides of 60-100 miles, but still worried! I was planning my final big ride this weekend, but the weather is pretty poor here just now, so may just do a couple of wind-down rides during the week (I did manage the 104-mile Ken Laidlaw sportive last weekend, just up the road from Kielder in Hawick).

So, to my dilemma – bottles v pack. Well, I say that, but I really mean ONE bottle v a pack with a spare bottle. I can generally get by comfortably with one 750ml bottle for around 1.5 hours of riding, unless it’s scorchio hot, which I think it’s unlikely to be. But I’m gonna take a 1000ml bottle on the bike and I’m thinking that should see me okay. The other option was bottle on the bike, with a spare bottle in a very small pack on my back, with other odds & sods. If I don’t go for the pack option, I have a fairly large saddle bag which fits all my tubes, tools, space blanket etc. and my jersey pockets for food, jacket, pump etc. Again, pretty much what I’ve done previously for other MTB/road events, so I reckon I’ll just stick with my tried & tested method.

Nutrition wise, I find it difficult to eat solids during events. I can have an energy bar or two within the first couple of hours, but after that I find it very difficult to eat, so generally stick to gels, carb drinks, jelly babies, bananas etc.

On the tyre front, I’m going for 2.1 Maxxis Crossmark eXception series rubber on both front & back. I’ve run them for some time in various guises on my Giant Anthem, so fairly happy with how they perform.

The only other query I have is about the start & event village itself. I guess it’ll be pretty manic with cars parked everywhere? In fact, is there enough space for everyone to park?! What about facilities – are there adequate toilets for everyone at the start, for the mad pre-event ‘comfort break’? And showers, am i right in thinking that there are no post-ride facilities on that front?

I’ve luckily managed to bag myself a nice wee B&B just a few miles up the road in Saughtree – couldn’t go without a decent nights sleep for something like this! The wife is coming too, although she’s volunteered to be a marshal or feed station helper.

Finally, I’ll just be happy to finish, but would be over the moon to get a time somewhere between 10 – 12 hours!