assos cream
more assos cream
energy drink powder (i used sis go)
recovery powder
gels/bars
stuff to wash your shorts/tops with
ear plugs if you’re using the communal camping
ibuprofen
camera (you’ll regret not getting pics if you don’t take one)
bit of cash for spare bike bits etc
not too much stuff though, as you have to fit it all in one standard issue bag

all this is working on the assumption you’ve not got full support for the whole thing, obviously – if you have, take everything you own 😉

hmm…

course wise; 8-10 miles, combining the technicality of the strathpuffer course, the swoopyness of CLIC24’s course, the spectator points of mountain mayhem, the all-weatherproofness of SITS (JOKING),
1-2x steady long climbs, with lots of room for overtaking
lotsx short steep climbs to get you out of the saddle

camping and main arena right by the course
loads of bogs/showers
the ‘big race’ feeling of mountain mayhem, combined with the camraderie of strathpuffer, mixed with the out-of-the-box thinking of Hit the North, with the laid back vibes of CLIC24
and a beer tent to crawl into if it all goes wrong

good luck!

Hi Tim

I rode for about 8hrs at MM, then decided to drop out as my stomach was killing me (bit of a shame as everything else was working well). Rest of the time I was chilling/nattering round the arena and wandering round the course. It was actually quite pleasant!

Are you at SITS this year?

show off 😛

some lovely pics there (as you already know…)!

I thought it was a bit steep too, considering the similar-style merida events are £20 less. Shame, as i kind of liked the idea of a nice big race, but cannee afford it 🙁

got my confirmation from the nice people at SITS this morning, so i presume they’re still open!

there’s also relentless24 up in scottishland – using some of the WC course i think, which should be fun 😀

Don’t know how easy it is to get visas to work down there?, but god yes!

Go, try it out, come back if it doesn’t work out!

just add lemsip powder to your energy drink mix, you’ll be reet 😉

i’l have some hayfever tablets with me at the weekend, so you can give them a go and see if they help

oh, and
MTFU
obviously

yeah it was virgin to birmingham the gt western from there (or rather, it was supposed to be, it ended up being virgin to birmingham then black cab the rest of the way!)

whatever you buy won’t be what you suddenly find yourself craving at 3am, but go for easily digestable, not too strongly flavoured things (your rice pudding, macaroni cheese etc were spot on).

If you’ve got someone cooking for you, omlettes can be good…though the best food i’ve ever had at a 24hr race was a congealed cheeseburger at SITS in the middle of the night last year 🙂

(obviously ‘proper’ energy bars/gels are bestest, should ASDA stock them…)

If they’re still running the same stock as they were when I tried it (2007 i think) there’s enough room for 3 bikes…provided you believe the guard

Extra Pie Order

(i’m guessing you already use a recovery drink straight after the ride and do a gentle spin or two during the week to free your legs up a bit?)

it went horribly wrong last time i tried it!

admittedly some of the problems were weather based, so i’m not going to blame the train companies for that, but their attitude to bringing bikes on the train was awful (travelling down from preston)…so bad in fact, that i cadged a lift for the bikes of another rider rather than risk being turned away from the station with them.

As if to prove my fears right, on the way home after the race two other riders – who had booked their bikes on the train and had the tickets to prove it – were turned away as the guard had already let too many other bikes on!

“good luck” is all I can really say; it might all go smoothly, but it probably won’t!

yep, those trailquests can be fun (and stragely addictive)

if it rains now it’s your fault!

it was going to be my fault for fitting semi slicks yesterday, but now it’ll be yours 😛

dunno if anyone remembers them, but the old Tioga Red Phoenix 1.8s were truly rubbish

super narrow, to the point where they didn’t seem like much more than a CX tyre, yet still managed to be really draggy…without offering anything in the way of grip

to not puncture you had to run them at silly high pressure so you got a harsh ride from them too

they were very light though, so if your bike spent more time hung from scales than it did out on rides they were probably OK

GO has carbs and stuff in too, whereas nuun is just electrolytes, so you’d have to get your energy from somewhere else.

i find nuun easier to drink than GO when working hard – not as sickly, but beware of the fizz when you drop the tablet in water, i got an eyeful when i took a slurp out of a bottle for the first time!

up The Rake?

awesome
almost tempted by that, though I’ve only got a cx bike at the mo’
🙂

EDIT
bugger, just read your other post

ONE ONE EIGHT TWENTY FOUR SEVEN

GIVE THEM A CALL IT’S DIRECTORY HEAVEN

arrrrrghhhhhhh

still not as bad as

WE BUY ANY CAR
dot com
WE BUY ANY CAR
dot com
WE BUY ANY CAR
dot com
WE BUY ANY CAR
dot com
WE BUY ANY CAR
dot com

🙁

the vines?

1) LOL @ miketually

2) Oww

3) 4-6 weeks officially, but often less 😉

I see Terrahawk managed a fantastic 20 laps. That nearly didn’t happen as he came very close to riding head on into a moving car near the end of his 5th lap. Muppet

Ha!
He didn’t mention THAT bit when I spoke to him! I’m sure he said he nearly fell asleep on the bike while riding along that road last time…

this weather should make for an ‘interesting’ drive down there 😥

not even thinking about the actual riding yet

they’re surprisingly fast rolling for a knobbly mtb tyre, not semi slick fast, obviously, but not too bad

No bush turds!

LOL
grim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AJ0SkbPxAk

STW earlier 😉

How many are you doing this because it is for charity and how many because it is a bike event?

because its both. you get a warm fuzzy feeling from doing something good to match the sore achey feeling in your legs 🙂

(saying that, if it was a rubbish course/atmosphere, i’d probably give it a miss…but it isn’t, so yay)

Ti29er – Member

Dave – why not solo?

In previous years I’ve always done OK early season races – from strathpuffer through to CLIC, then run out of steam in the summer, when all the ‘big’ races are. I’m taking everything a bit slower this year and hoping to be fit enough to properly race a bit later in the season (SITS, Relentless etc).

Didn’t want to miss out on a great event though, so when a mate offered a place on a team I leapt at it 🙂

i remember utterly destroying a brand new middleburn hardcoat chainring during the 2007 event – to the point where you could literally spin the cranks freely in both directions with the chain on!

it was nice watching the lightening on the friday evening last year with a pint from the bar (mainly because the weather didn’t move onto the course…)

I’ll be there NOT soloing for the first time ever 🙂

remind me, what do you do between laps again?!

I’ve spent chuffing hours slogging my guts out (pun intended) over hill and dale to get fit enough to race my bike.

If i were to kark it I’d actually be a little annoyed if all that work went to waste and just sat rotting in the ground/got barbequed!

Saying that, I’d also be a bit annoyed if my uber-awesome heart went into some fat, lazy couch potato that didn’t appreciate it…is haunting people an option in this instance?!

clif shot bloks are good if you’re going fast, esp when combined with some sort of energy drink (currently loving maximuscle viper)

common or garden cereal bars and water are fine for most riding though, with a high5 gel in the jersey pocket “just in case”

sarcasm overload today 🙂

you certainly picked the right day for it!

it’s amazing how pubs can eat time whenever you stop at them isn’t it 😉

(saggy armwarmers are not compulsary)

oh look, another UJ

watching the telly and wondering who roland ratzenburger was

if it’s the garstang one you’re doing there’s usually a right mixed bunch down at the start – from properly kitted up types taking it deadly seriously to blokes sat eating sausage rolls while waiting for their turn!

don’t you only have to ride in a couple of times on it for everything to be ok?

if so:

is the way forward

Seeing as i live in the middle of a town (sorry, city). Never.

However, one of the most enjoyable things about most of my rides is the feeling of leaving all the fuss behind – after about an hour I’m well away from the crowds and noise on my own with just some hills and the occasional bit of wildlife 🙂