A few days at the coast - Knoydart Penninsula

Since being made redundant i have mostly just mooched about... looking for jobs.. discovering how little there is out there and contemplating how again i have managed to land myself in this position of uncertainty.

Riding has taken a back seat... primarily due to the disorganisation in my life.. living with Grace's parents.. trying to move to Newcastle.. trying to find a job and also as Kielder seemed to take a higher toll than i thought leaving me with a sore knee to rest up.

This lack of riding wasn't really an issue as anyone that finds themselves with spare time on their hands due to unemployment quickly realises when you wanna go do some riding all your riding friends are at work:(

So came about this trip.. after contacting the usual suspects looking for an out for a few days just to think about something fresh other than life Micheal (Rose) came good with a long weekend idea to a place in Scotland he had wanted to go to for a long time.. the Knoydart Penninsula.. one if not the remotest place in the UK... the destination town we were gonna be visiting, Inverie, is totally cut off from the main road network.. only accessible by walking/riding in or by ferry.

The trip idea was pretty straight forward... Friday night we would drive to Glenfinnin where we would dump the car and from that point carry everything we needed.. a short ride up the valley would see our first nights accommodation.. the Corry hully bothy.. the Saturday would be a ride to Inverie.. Sunday a walk up a mountain and Monday a short ride to catch the ferry.



Friday everything was loaded into a 55 litre borrowed rucksack from Micheal... tent strapped one side and sleeping mat the other.. this thing weighed at least 15kg.. riding was gonna be interesting. I drove to pick Micheal up and the third member of the group.. Ellie.. his whippet.. with no dog sitter available we were taking the dog, distances looked manageable and we knew the going was gonna be very much 'hike a bike' with maybe more hike than bike so she would easily be able to manage it.

The driving was shared and after consuming a large amount of wine gums and midget gems we arrived at Glenfinnin at midnight.. we quickly unloaded the car and dumped it at the train station hoping it would be safe there for 3 days..



After a short ride and trying to get used to riding with so much load on our backs we reached the bothy and Micheal took a look in to find one inhabitant, an American lady who didn't mind the rude awakening at what must of been 1am... we quietly got bags out and got onto the wooden bench to get some sleep.

The next morning we woke to clear skies and a promising day.. the scenery was fantastic...



After a coffee we got underway up the valley.. the days riding was basically set to be 3 passes.. the first starting straight off the bat and we were subjected to a good slog up the valley although the rough double track we were on allowed us to ride all but the steepest sections.. well Micheal used the granny ring and got up most. The top section was mostly pushing.

the ground as we go to the top of the first section was very boggy and although allowed some riding also allowed some comical falls.. when you have so much weight on your back its really difficult to get back up from a fall or drag yourself out of a deep section of bog... riding was very comical even if weather had started to turn to crap and we were getting wet.

We made it to the bottom of the pass and into a section of forest which luckily after a very short push opened into a lovely hard surface to ride.. the weather was getting worse so we decided to stop at the next bothy for some food and to dry the dog.. the bothy was nice and bike and allowed us to get bike in and all our gear out to try and dry it once we had got a fire going..



It was definitely a 'room with a view' looking out onto the hillside and valleys and we took the time to cook up some hot food.. at this point we had decided that to make it to Inverie today would be too much.. the going was very soft and slow so our aim became the Soulies bothy on the other side of the second pass located on a beach it looked to be a great spot to spend the night... happy we had time on our side we set to some noodles.. also time to ponder the switch on the wall labelled 'immersion heater - please turn off before leaving' for a few seconds we looked about for sign of hot water before realising how ridiculous we were being.



After lunch we stepped outside to a much better day the sun had come out and there was rainbow seemingly outside the door..



We set back off able to ride the double track till it eventually ran out and turned to singletrack... from here on we pushed and rode a little and picked our way up the pass.. although the path was not ride able in places the going was still good..




As we made our way the weather tested us with bouts of sunshine followed by battering squall's of rain... we finally reached the end of the pass and with only the descent ot go we were treated to some fantastic technical singletrack... unfortunately not as much was ride able as liked due to the hindering rucksack that every time you slid your weight back it would push you in the head and slide your helmet forward but all the same this was a hidden gem of a descent which i imagine as seen not many tyres in its time..



Getting to the bothy we weren't the first to arrive with a couple of walkers already in there.. luckily on seeing another approaching group of 4 they decided they would vacate and camp up the trail away only for the group of 4 to arrive and they were camping too so we got lucky with the whole bothy to ourselves. as the sun set the views along the loch and the shoreline were stunning... a couple kayaked in just as the sun was setting and it really appealed.. sea kayaking will get tried in the not too distant future.



That night we drunk little bottle of red wine while Micheal tried everyway under the sun to light some very 'green' wood... finally succeeding just as we had decided to go to sleep... i went to sleep on a double thick bed of my mat plus some foam i had found in the bothy intoxicated by plumes of wood smoke whilst Ellie had decided it was my turn to have her sleep at the bottom of my sleeping bag.. i have no idea how she can breath in there!

On the Sunday the day started on a very civilised note with pain au chocolat and coffee for breakfast followed by what could be viewed as a bad decision but now its all over i see it as laying down one of the hardest challenges of my life and opeing up some future trip possibilities.

Instead of simply going up and over the third pass to Inverie we decided to 'ride' the coastline... hug the coast.. ride the beaches we could find and hopefully get to see some wildlife hiding off the beaten track.. we set off on a rideable beach.. the day looked promising..



After a short while we were faced with a straight up a grassy rocky bank.. this should have signalled what was to come but optimistic we pressed on... then a shallow ish river crossing..



Once we had crossed the river another push up a grassy bank gave us some doubletrack to ride... this ran out at a jetty about 1.5km down the valley.. from this point we could only go straight up the steep valley till we could traverse across again.. prefered mode of travel was bikes on top of rucksacks..



From here on the going was the toughest ground i have ever tried to cross... we had calculated that we would have 3km of this hard going before it flattened... not only were we having to go up and down the valley sides but also inland to varying degrees as the outcrops of rock forced us inland.. the lovely ride able beaches we were hoping for just didn't materialise.

We did however get some wildlife.. firstly in the form of a group of basking seals on a rocky outcrop just of the shore... a few of which came close and popped up out the water as we went past on the beach to take a look at us.. then a Deer darted out of the bracken a few feet away.



The going continued to be hard.. if it wasn't 4ft high bracken clinging to your cranks and bars it was tussocks of grass making your bike 'endo' as you tried to push it meaning you were having to lift it over stuff.. eventually after a number of hours we got to a large flat area... a very large boggy flat area!

Micheal had opted to strip wheels off his bike and carry it on his rucksack... i was still wheeling mine.. crossing this bog was like a mine field.. on at least one occasion each we had to be helped out of a particularly deep section.



The reward for crossing this horrible place was a large ish stretch of rideable beach.. the gem we had been searching for.. if only it was all like this!!



No sooner had we smugly rode this section of beautiful coastline we were back up against it going up and down bracken covered hillsides... at one point we had to go straight up a very steep section.. probably only 20m but i was having to cling onto the grass with one hand and repeatedly throw my bike up the slope with the other.. at this point i thought i was beat... luckily myself and Micheal's high and low points didn't coincide so there was always the other person to give some encouragement... if i was on my own i would have curled up and waited for death to take me!

At this point we realised how totally committed we were to this endeavour... in mountain biking you don't generally get to feel this kind of exposure as you can ride to the nearest point of help in a relatively short space of time... but we weren't able to ride.. we were barely able to push at any great speed.. we weren't on any recognised trail or track so no one used this area.. we simply couldn't sit down and wait for someone to come and help.. totally committed to the route and the only way out of this was under your own steam... a sobering thought.

We pressed on and eventualy could drop to the rocky beachline and although it was not rideable and was uncomfortable to walk on the cobbles it was at least forward progress without constant traversing... we made a few more kilometres before we had to head briefly inland... at this point we could see Inverie on the other side of the bay.. painfully close... i was super thirsty as had lost one of my waterbottle son day one and had only stopped to boil up stream water once that day.

Our final real test came in the form of a 6ft high wire fence with half broken crossing poles... my bike got thrown over in frustration although i took more care passing Ellie to Micheal.. with a final rest to take on some more calories we were left with an easy shoreline push till a trail appeared which we rode complete with axle high salty water puddle till we got to the pub of Inverie.. the remotest in the UK... at the pub we ate well and i sunk 3 pints of cola and a magners.. and still could have drunk more while Ellie took well deserved rest on my Alpkit gilet/Dog bed..



No luxury of a bothy that night so out came the tent... we quickly pitched behind a wall and got in trying to sleep as the wind really had a good go at the tent and put it to the test...

Unluckily in the morning it was raining but with only a short ride to the ferry terminal life wasn't so bad..



I discovered my first and the trips only puncture... gave me something to do while we waited for the ferry.

The ferry crossing was very wet and windy and although indoors was available they operate a no dogs policy so we were literally left out in the cold.. Ellie tucked down inside Micheals jacket.



Arriving in Maillag there was only a train journey seperating us from the car... that train just happened to be a steam train.. a strange end to the Journey..



On reflection i rated this weekend tougher than any race i had ever done.. Micheal rated it tougher than the Matterhorn summit he recently did... so why am i sitting writing this now and i bet Micheal will be sitting reading this figuring out where we can go next and what changes we can make... insane?? certifiable!!!

Kielder 100 - a hard days work.

Everything is bigger and better in America (apparently)... they drive bigger cars.. have bigger houses.. eat bigger burgers and until the people at sip-events got to work they had bigger single lap mountain bike races...

Not anymore... Saturday 5th September 2009 saw a historic moment in UK endurance mountain biking... we got our first taste of a 100 mile single lap race.. long had we read tales of Breckinridge, Leadville, Shenandoah and other such races in the states and wondered about these single lap epics... we had even tried to trick ourselves cleverly using our metric system to give us 100km races but there was no getting away from the itch that needed to be scratched.

Paul and Sara at Sip Events made the bold move and their hat was thrown into the ring when the Kielder 100 was announced.. at first it was a rumour.. then a reality.. shrouded in mystery as forums buzzed with speculation as to what the course would be like, how much climbing would there be...

From day one of hearing about this event it was well and truly marked on the calender... no matter what i was riding or how i was riding i needed to be part of this first.

The race day came round quickly... really quickly and before i knew it me and Grace had packed the car and were heading up the M6 to then dart across to almost the middle of the country and dangerously close to the scottish border. The journey was hampered as usual by our wayward sat nav freestyling yet another destination other than the pre programmed... we arrived at the campsite to find friends, Rich and Shona, already there and pitched. No one knew what to expect so the atmosphere was very light hearted... although Ian Leitch and my epic riding partner Rich Rothwell were present no one knew how this race would pan out... too long for cross country riders but almost too short for the endurance experts.

The singlespeed race looked like it might be tough too with Deano and Phil the Horse from Velo Club Moulin ( i really want a jersey guys:) ) present and although i had been riding with Manchester Trev in the week previous and had felt good riding for a few hours is far removed from riding from what we though was going to be at least 8-9 hours. Oh well it would be hellish good training if nothing else.

With a 6.30am race start an early ish night was the order of the day.

I felt like i had the longest nights sleep but maybe as i kept waking up every hour and checking time... i always struggle to sleep before a race or epic ride.. i just feel like i wanna get on and get doing it and I'm wasting time lying in bed... as i got out the tent in the morning it was clear and weather looked okay... dressed and bike sorted we headed upto the line.

The race started with a near 3 mile lead out behind a car before we swung onto a gravel climb.... i took my time and gradually made my way up the field... no way was i gonna stay with he geared race leaders so i played the long game and went for a consistent ride from the start.

I managed to catch upto deano first and we exchanged places a few times before he let me go on my own... next i caught Phil on a steady climb and it looked like he was going for a similar approach to myself and just holding a comfortable pace... the course initially was a mix of fireroad and draggy, boggy singletrack... really hard work.



Just after the 33 mile marker on a fairly sedate descent on fireroad i managed to flat... as i was getting eating alive by midges and changing unfortunately the rear tube ( no quick release on the back of my bike) Deano came past with my good friend Matthew Barton towing him along at a good pace... then a few minutes later Phil gunned it past too...balls... as i got back on my bike i could see Phil nearing the top of the hill i was on making it look too easy where i was making hard work of it.

Out on my own then i kept on trucking till about ten miles later i managed to catch back upto Phil as he had stopped to take snack... that made me feel alot better although the thought of how quick deano had gone past me made me believe i would be lucky to catch him and at that point i considered slowing to wait for friends to catch up and riding rather than racing.. before i could make the decision i was caught up by Rob Dean, Morvelo team rider and recent SITS rider.. the guy is huge.. i mean he is massive! Luckily i managed to stay with him and use him as a great windbreak when we got into headwinds.. He also notified me of the infamous puddle after mile 49 by riding into it and nearly losing his bike... he pulled away on some slow draggy singletrack climbing and as i turned off that onto a fireroad i could make out Deano not far ahead.. things looked promising.

After passing Deano i put in a larger effort on the climbs and got a nice gap... i also got back Rob Dean so had my windbreak for the border crossing into Scotland.

At Newcastleton feed station i took a full fat coke, some cake and one of my SIS caffeine gels... after being dragged into an impromtu photoshoot Deano pulled into the feed station too... we exchanged encouragement and as i left Newcastleton all that caffeine and sugar kicked in and i went for it.. Dropping Rob dean and pulling across to another rider that i stuck with through the amazing flowing 7stanes singletrack descending... my bike although fully rigid handles like a dream and i doubt was any slower than most the other full sus bikes out there... after another climb i found i had pulled away from the riders i was with through the descending and at 70ish miles i found myself alone on a slightly uphill section heading along the valley bottom... this seemed to go on for ever... i then glimpsed a rider just ahead and for a moment i though it was Barton.. until i got closer then i realised it was Barton.. excellent.. company and a fast wheel to pull me to the finish.



It was excellent to ride with Matt as to be fair we haven't ridden together for a long time.. Matt has trained so hard and come though to be a force to be reckoned with on any event that involves extended periods of pain and suffering... as we passed the 80 then the 90 mile marker i started to flag a little.. i had decided to use a hydration pack instead of just filling my pockets and with racing being so close i hadn't been stopping much to get gels/bars out the bag... i stopped and sunk another caffeine gel.. that seemed to work... then with 6ish miles to go i was fading and Barton kindly gave me one of his gels so we didn't have to stop pedalling.

The gels really kicked in with 1 mile to go and i caught Barton back up as he had managed to ride a climb i had to push and i passed him on the descent into the finish.. so i took his gel and a position higher on the finish.. sorry Matt.

Grace was waiting at the finish giving an estimated finish time of 10 hours.. somewhat longer than we had anticipated... more importantly though i took the singlespeed win!!!



I have to say it was the hardest race i have done this year.. maybe ever... anyone that got round that course in the allowed time put in an amazing ride.

Big thanks to Sip Events for such an amazing event... 100 mile single lap race.. a UK first...well marshalled, sign posted and generally organised...

Lets see if Lance turns up next year and tries to complete this lap in 6 hours... let it be known that if he does i will eat my bike.. tyres and all.

Will i be back for next years???... I'd be lying to myself if i said i won't.

Massive thanks to Joolze Dymond for the images (www.joolzedymond.com)

No going back

Earlier this year i sat down and thought about really achieving something notable with my cycling... in my eyes at least.

I'm a realist (well almost).. i'm never gona make a pro... i'm never gonna carve a living with my legs... but i enjoy my cycling... no matter how bad a mood i am in with life i know that a few pedal turns i'll be feeling back on top of the world.

This is pretty mch the only thing i have ever shown any promise in... i would like to think i am a better than average rider.. on a good day i can ride at the front in a race and usually see the top ten but the draw of the podium although desireable isn't what is motivating me at the moment.

Well anyway i came up with an off the cuff remark to Grace that i wanna ride the coldest, hottest and highest mountain bike races in the world... in the same year.. on a singlespeed.. and she agreed if thats what i wanted.

I live to a rule generally in life that came from my bmx days at university.. if you call something out you got to do it... i've called this now and my body is gonna have to endure the workload my brain has scheduled it.

So the first is the coldest...a bit of research showed that the Arrowhead 135 Ultra in Minnesota can see a trail temperature of -60 farenheit.. so i've entered and it looks like my entry on the basis of previous lunacy whilst in charge of a bike has been accepted.

No going back... i've called it... so now i got to man up and do it.. if i said i wasn't scared i'd be lying... if i said i was excited it would be an understatement.

SITS.. Awful.. Thetford.. Awesome..

In place of this blog post should have been a great write up of how I went to SITS race… I had a great ride and I took away a good result… there was no reason on my part why this shouldn’t have happened.. I was feeling great.. no bullshit I have been feeling strong and fit and not afraid to have the confidence to say this… after Europe and Selkirk I have really started to feel good on the bike... my bike was running well too… set up is now near perfect and I feel like I can ride this bike forever..a real credit to James at Genesis how great this bike has turned out.

The reality was the race started…. We ran a short 800m lap to our bikes.. my ankle was still dodgy so I took it easy on it.. start was good I climbed strongly passed a lot of people and held the wheel of some good riders relatively comfortably but after only 4 laps I was bored… really bored… there was nothing on this course which really tested.. no hint of a cheeky bombhole or fast flowing descent… there was a slippery short descent which was pot luck over skill to get down. At the start of the 5th lap I had to put my ipod on.. I usually reserve this treat for the night.. even with music the lap was draggy and horribly dull.. the weather was fantastic but this meant the usually muddy ground was now a spongy grassy field.

At the end of the 5th lap Leavsley was waiting for me and after a bit of banter about how awful the course was and the prospect of riding it for 24 hours the talk turned to the more serious note of actually calling it a day.. after a mid lap meeting on the top of the course we decided this was the way to go… if you are not enjoying what you are doing what is the point in doing it.. yes this is a hard format of racing but some enjoyment can usually be drawn from some element of the course where this course was soulless… race over at 6 laps a little over 5 hours in.
After this race I headed to south wales for a family holiday with Grace’s family… near milford haven I had a good few days of long walks.. taking lots of pics and generally relaxing.

A plan however had already been hatched to get the scent of SITS out of my nostrils and get back to a race I enjoyed… Thetford… I have always liked racing there in the winter and have had limited success but more importantly I knew the racing would be fast and the course challenging singletrack through trees.. luckily this year for the first time a summer series has been run.
A long drive from Wales to north London to stay with West… noodles were consumed and bikes set up.

Sunday, race day, weather was great… I opted for the first time ever to opt for a shorter distance than the maximum offer.. instead of the 6 hour I opted for the 4 hour to allow me to leave for the Genesis bikes photoshoot in the peak district late evening.

The start was fast… I was out the saddle and sprinting bmx style… straight up into 4th place… I was great through the fast singletrack until after a long drag we turned to an equally long slight downhill and they changed up gears and I spun out my singlespeed…

The rest of the race went well.. I kept what felt like a consistent pace… used the now tried and tested West nutrional plan which left me nothing to worry about other than the pedalling the bike.. I had planned on completing 8 laps which looked to be easily achievable … a 7.2mile lap which we were lapping in around 30 minutes…

At the end of the 7th lap they announced the rider I was catching in the start finish area as 3rd place.. I had passed him earlier in the lap and he had retook me on a long straight fast descent where again I spun my gear out.. with a podium within reach I gave it all.. he slowed in the feed zone to take a bottle and I opted that I had just enough to finish the lap so gunned it as hard as I could…

I wasn’t turning my usual smooth circles I was smashing the pedals into the ground.. swearing at myself when I went offline by an inch.. it looked like I had opened a gap and I began to think he may have been done but flowing through a section of singletrack I heard the sound of a flapping derailleur.. the sign of a rider closing on your back wheel… 2 hour riders were done..we were faster than the 6 hour riders so it must be him.. I took an uncharacteristic glance back and saw him 5m off my back wheel.. I pressed on harder but he had hooked up into my back wheel and I was gonna struggle to lose him…

Through the final sections of singletrack I smashed my body and bike through.. everything flexing horribly as I soaked up the rolling bumps and tried to smash the bike through as quick as I could… to no avail… this left a long straight… a tight turn.. then a long straight descent into the final bombhole and singletrack.. I knew if I wasn’t in the lead in the last section of singletrack I was done for as I knew I would spin out on the long descent… he made his move on the straight before the turn and I grabbed his wheel… he was riding full suspension.. me fully rigid and I must have been riding mm’s off his back wheel to get sucked along praying he wouldn’t ride straight over a rut or similar that would have snapped me in two.. at the tight turn I made my move down the inside and washed out!! On the floor I swore loudly.. immediately having to apologise to all near me… straight back on the bike I hammered again but to no avail I was 4th by 10 seconds.


This was racing though…. Great course… super fast… tyre to tyre chasing through tight singletrack.. podium or no podium my faith was restored and I am ready.. very ready for the next number to get tied to my bars.. Kielder 100… I can’t wait.

Europe - photo diary

One bike to rule them all

For what seems like the entire year to date I haven’t ridden a mountain bike with gears… this started as the racing that was initially available suited the singlespeed… then I invested a lot more time in it… then I took it everywhere I went and soon it has become pretty much the only bike I ride.

I love its simplicity.. I like the fact its quiet… I love how light it feels and how responsive it is.. and if the truth be known I love the way it looks!
After getting back from France I have been itching to ride another event… I had half considered the Merida event at Selkirk but wasn’t 100% into doing it although was somewhere I hadn’t ridden and had heard good things.. I was just taking a look over the site and saw that on the Saturday they had a sportive.. a non competitive road event for those not in the know, they had the usual distances but then had added an ‘Extreme’ distance of 120 miles.. when anything has a tagline like ‘extreme’ or ‘ultra’ I’ve got to take a look.. so I emailed James at Genesis to see what his thoughts were.. ride the Vapour on the Saturday and then the IO on Sunday in the long 85km off road distance event… he thought a good workout before SITS.. then I thought why take 2 bikes… I could gear IO low and get some slicks then it would be ‘One bike to rule them all’ .. or at least get the job done on both days..

A set of 1” Continental slicks for my IO were sent out to me from Madison and a 15t sprocket..i wanted a 14t but in hindsight it would have meant messing with shortening/lengthening of chains… I was gonna be very undergeared so would have to spin, spin, spin my way through it.

Grace decided to come for the weekend too as there was ample opportunity to catch up on reading and sleep.. we set off Friday night and after driving through some dubious scottish villages with drunks rolling into the streets.. we arrived at the campsite at midnight and again the pop up tent came into its own and I was tucked into the Alpkit sleeping bag within 15 minutes

In the morning I woke to another rainy event… getting a little tired of this bad weather that seems to come with me to every race… but being a road event I aimed to just wrap up and spin the legs for what I thought would take about 8 hours ish.
8am I started and soon got into the mix of riders who I assume were doing the shorter distance or weren’t holding anything back for the long ride… I had to jump wheel to wheel on the flat sections to draft and then ‘pulse’ bursts of what felt like 200rpm at the pedals to keep up.. when the climbs started I slowly pulled my way up and past people.. the riding was very rolling so what I would gain on the climbs I would lose on the descents…



I ended up with a riding partner for the day and unfortunately did not catch his name but we rode until he took the turn home for the 90 mile distance leaving me a final 30 to do on my own.. the day was spent as always debating the pro riding scene and its issues.. bike purchases.. places we had ridden etc.. all in a very pleasant day when the rain stopped and I rolled back through the start/finish a little shy of 8 hours… my knee very achy after a lot of spinning but not so much I would consider not riding the next day… that night I changed back to fat tyres and a 16t at the rear.

Sunday was really the main event for me… 85km of what looked to be good quality mountain biking… on the start there was not another singlespeeder in sight which nowadays surprises me… the start was a little too long on the tarmac and I had to spin like a mad man to keep moving up through the large field… life got easier when the first long climb started as it was of a gradient I could push the gear up and through people going slower… the climb was quite long and I was looking forward to the descent at the top but was only rewarded with some brief gravelly fast section before we descended over a rutted field which was hell on a fully rigid.. I couldn’t let the bike just go as it was too wet and the rigid bike wasn’t tracking the ground well enough to let me brake and gain control.. so it was an initial slow and jarring descent before I could get stuck into the next climb and get some time back.



In contrast to the day before the weather was glorious… I was drinking though my water bottles very quickly and the feed stations were only just close enough together to see me through… the riding on the whole was excellent.. the climb from Innerleithen was brutal and relentless...



The descending in parts was such good fun… a good mix of fast stuff and some very steep techy rooty drop ins… The climbs were going well and I felt nicely strong.. some sections were a push as although the gradient was manageable the ground was so soft under wheels it really dragged and sucked you in..

I had predicted a 6 hour ride but came in 5hrs 20mins roughly… happy that I had felt strong on the climbs but disappointed that in some sections I should have been quicker on descents…think maybe I will experiment going back to a suspension fork and see what the difference is.



Now I have a few days of recovery riding and eating before SITS and some fun in the mud and the dark

Salzkammergut Road Trip

This year for me has been pretty disjointed... with the advent of the new Genesis Bikes/Alpkit team coming late last year this year has been all about sorting the little details.. getting new riders.. deciding how the team will operate and what are goals are..

In all this although I have been following my normal training as laid down by Mark Forgy in Colorado I have struggled to get a race calendar together that fitted really with my new goals on the bike of going as big as possible... I had a cool 2 week cycling tour planned which I had to shelve due to finances... my 24 hour race goal was cancelled... I tried to get racing as much as possible but I felt like I was a little lost.... then I remembered Salzkammergut Trophy.

I had a set time booked off work and it just so happened that this race fell on the first weekend of this time... my friend Matt Barton had done it a year or so previous and it took him 15 hours and he is a good rider... the basis of this event is an almost single lap 208km race with 7000m of climbing... singlespeed rideable... I had to find out.

I mentioned the possibility to James at Genesis Bikes of hitting this race road trip style..driving out to Austria and doing the race then trucking to France to catch the tour and bag some big road climbs and cheeky singletrack... luckily he was instantly sold on the idea and convinced the gods at madison to provide a van for the trip and generously contribute fuel and ferry costs too the cause.

With the trip loosely planned we still had to find another passenger to share the driving and luckily my brother, Guy, decided that it was a trip he couldn't miss and joined the now 3 bound for Austria and big climbs:)

My Brother and me left Manchester on the Thursday morning and en route called in at Alpkit for some supplies for the trip.. namely excellent t's and a sleeping bag for my bro... the guys also sorted some stickers for some guerilla marketing on the trip.. leaving there we drove to Madison at Milton Keynes to meet James and load the van up... load up we did.. with a good supply of spares and now 2 bikes each we were set.. only one more stop to meet Paul West to collect a couple of jerseys and new shorts for the race... all that was left after this stop was to catch our ferry which we did with about 20 minutes to spare.

Arriving in France it was my turn to drive and the idea being to drive for a few hours then park up and camp but being the endurance type I decided I could drive straight through to Bad Goisern, Austria from Calais in one hit only stopping to refuel... a drive of around 10 hours... to say I was a little tired would be an understatement but my bro kept me entertained during the small hours and we arrived at the race campsite on the Friday morning leaving all day to relax in the sun and eat and drink..

Drink I did... the weather was scorching... I sunk bottle after bottle of SIS electrolyte drink fearing dehydration before such a massive effort.. in the sun we set my bike up with an 18t sprocket on the back instead of usual 16t.. 32x18 I hoped would be just low enough to muscle the long climbs but not so small I lost a ton of time on the fast open descents.. we then fitted a fresh set of Continental Race Kings.. 2.2 on front and 2.0 on back.. bike was looking real fast.

Out of nowhere you could hear thunder in the distance and black clouds were rolling in fast... in no time we were forced to take refuge in the back of the van as the rain hammered down... this didn't look good.. after an hour it stopped and seemed to be moving further down the valley.

After a trip to the race village, which was full of trade, stands.. a big area to eat and generally a great atmosphere it was decided a reasonably early night were needed as race start was 5am.

I woke up with my alarm at 4am.. at first I didn't register the sound all around the tent but quickly I became aware that this sound was rain.. and lots of it:( My brother told me I was mental for going out in this and I had to agree although you don't drive over 1000miles to cry off racing for fear of getting wet... I had already laid all my gear out in the van so quickly got ready adding to the layer a waterproof jacket... forcing food down my throat trying to cram in as many calories as possible James joined me in the van.. I was expecting no one to be up at this hour but he said he was going to come down to start and take some pics.. welcome company.

The ride down to the start was in the dark and by the time I got there I was already soaked... reassuringly allot of people were already there and the big crowd eagerly awaited the start.. while I am sure by no accident the organizers played AC DC's 'Highway to Hell' track as the start gun went... what had I let myself in for.



As everyone shifted up the gears on the flat road I had to jump wheel to wheel spinning like a mad man trying to get up the field although this flat didn't last too long.. after about 2km we started what I knew was the first climb of 10km and 800m gain.. I soon started to make my way up the field as everyone eased into a steady pace and I had to turn my gear of choice.

The weather showed no signs of letting up with lightening and claps of thunder nerve rackingly close.. especially when I realised all these euro boys riding their exotic carbon machines and me riding the biggest piece of steel on the mountain!!!

The riding was good... the climbing although relentless was pretty much manageable in gear I had chosen.. the descending was a mix of fast fire road with some tech stuff thrown in too.. although I was running technically a dry tyre I still had an acre of grip and past alot of the guys that seemed to be struggling in the technical stuff... great thing about riding rigid is usually the only way to get away with it is ride everything full on so you can 'glide' over as much as possible without getting bogged down which means you can be as fast if not faster than guys on suspension and in the mud rigid singlespeeds are king:)





At well placed intervals on the course were feed stations stocked with locks of good things to eat and isotonic drink to restock bottle as on advice I had ditched the hydration pack and gone for water bottle instead... good move as it would have driven me mad... the number of people manning the stations was amazing.. the weather was horrendous but still people were out there marshalling and manning the stations.. not to mention the spectators on the course.



I had no watch, gps or computer so just had to guestimate my position... this wasn't an issue as I felt super comfortable on the bike.. stacks of power and was following a well laid down feeding plan which kept me feeling good and although it never stopped raining you can only get so wet and as I was warm enough I was happy...




This was until the raindrops started to get bigger and come down slower.. and settle! SNOW!!!



At the tops of the climbs the temperature really started to drop and the feed stations took on more of the appearance of POW camps with riders huddling for warmth and shelter.. luckily this weather is standard fair for any British rider so it was not felt so bad.. although my hands went numb I couldn't brake so descending was tricky as soon as you got lower you warmed up and were good again.. some of the feed stations had warmed some drinks up which was most welcome and at one feed station I drew a small crowd of disbelievers at a single speed bike competing in this distance race. I had one guy poking my chain and another trying to shift an imaginary gear with my brake lever.. felt like I had just wandered into a different world in which its inhabitants although may have read fantastical tales on these one geared beasts they had never actually experienced one first hand.. I also discovered that singlespeed is called singlespeed in all languages:)

As time passed I worked out I was over the half way point.. we had had the 100km leading race guys pass us now I was mixed up in the much shorter race entrants... at a feed station I was listening to a marshal explain to a racer where he was a gesticulating a cut off at around 150km... unfortunately no one spoke English and I have no experience of Austrian or German so I guessed that we were maybe a little off the pace and were going to come close to missing a time cut off... how had this happened?? I had felt good the whole time out on the bike...I really pressed on after this point out of the saddle on the gas on all the climbs and not stopping for anything.. when I got to a railway crossing the barriers were down and I was told to stop... I assumed that we would be going over crossing when we could and as I waited a marshal cut off my transponder.. I was a little lost and the same happened to a fellow competitor that had also stopped..my heart sunk.. I had missed a time cut off.. devastated I rode back to the campsite... how could I have felt so good and been so slow?? how was I going to explain to James, my brother and sponsors that they had backed me to complete this epic race on a singlespeed and I had had come up short?? I was a little angry too as glancing at the marshal’s watch while he cut off my transponder I noticed I had 6 hours till race end and only I guessed 60km to do.. I would easy do it.. my toys came out the pram and I tore off the race number from the front of my bike... as I got to the campsite ready for the disappointing looks of James and Guy I saw James coming towards me relieved he had found me.. apparently the race due to the snow and severe weather conditions had been stopped... I was immediately relieved that I hadn't failed but then just as quickly very angry that I hadn't been able to finish.. I had ridden the worst and been out on the bike for 10 hours... this was the first race that I had ever ridden that had been stopped.



Nothing left to say or do a well earned shower was taken... and plans discussed about next year and how we would come back and do it again.

Bikes and kit packed we drove towards France.. think again after an epic post I will dodge more text and photo diary the rest of the trip:)

Results are up although not sure what they are based on but when they called it a day i was 31st.. not too shabby for a man with one gear and no suspension in a world of carbon fibre pervery