On top of the pandemic, lockdown, people worrying about loved ones and jobs, our cycling community has taken battering.

The race calendar has completely stopped, small businesses that run races have struggled, offering refunds or asking if you can support them by deferring your entry to next year.  It’s been tough for everyone.

If, like myself, your racing is more of an escape, a get together with like minded people where you can forget about life’s pressures and curved balls for a hour, a day or a weekend then that’s what signing up for the Red Bull Timelaps Challenge was all about.

Budge had mentioned this ‘race’ a couple of weeks ago and stirred my interest, but couldn’t do it having committed to racing in a local CX race.  However I knew the team I could ask.

Andy Kindness, Mike Milne and Neil Scott, all hardy 24hr mountain bike racers who I’ve raced with over the years and know a thing or to about digging in when they need too.  Once I contacted the guys they cautiously agreed.  25hrs, on a turbo, racing in the virtual world. But heh, in the comfort of your own home (or garage).  How hard could this be?

Our team name ‘200 and Counting’ was something to do with our combined age I think

The racing platform would be Zwift, the virtual cycling world that has kept the community ticking along, with professional teams and races now taking place on it.

Neil, Andy and myself are Zwifters, on it a few days a week (17 days and 4hrs for myself up to Saturday) and pretty much up to speed on how it works.  Mike, was new to Zwift and fitted in well, despite getting a very steep learning curve on drafting, pace and bike choice.

Once signed up there was no going back.  We had committed to each other and if I’m honest, glad to be being competitive again.  Something to focus on for the weekend rather than what’s happening around us.

Friday before the event, we all received a Red Bull package through the post.  A box of Red Bull, some flyers and a flurry of emails explaining the rules.

All rides would have to be done and saved to Strava.  Riders riding simultaneously would incur penalties.  Any bike or course could be used.  And there was the magic power hour, at 2am when the clocks go back to 1am, miles achieved during the hour would be doubled.

Each of us decided to do one and a half hour stints, then come the power hour, fifteen minutes each to try and TT it a gain a few extra miles.

And so on the Saturday afternoon at 12pm Andy kicked us off with a strong 36 mile stint.  Me next with 37 miles, Neil with 37 miles and Mike with 35 miles. Each from the relative comfort of our own environment.

What became apparent as the day wore on was the sustained effort we were all doing.  Being used to racing on a mountain bike, more interval based, strong hard efforts on stupidly steep technical climbs and then recovering on the descents.  This challenge was completely different to what we were normally used to.  More like time trial efforts, constant spinning to keep pace, heart rate either in threshold or tempo, no recovery during our stints. This was more mind and body than we thought it would be.

Setting the bar at a level that could only go south, we were sitting in the top 10 for a good period of the day in the male category.  No grand vets category here. It was hard, I’m not going to lie, probably harder than I expected given the power and the pace we had to put out to get where we were. We had raced on Zwift before, B and C category races, but this was a different animal.

As the race wore on we had a few glitches.  During Power Hour we were penalised miles (a lot of people were, mainly down to the clocks going back and the syncing of times from different platforms) and had 15 miles wiped.  Then again later for the same issue, but to be honest at that point were just in it for each other.

The chat on Messenger, the fuelling strategies, Andy listening to Elvis radio and Neil with his golden oldies during their stints.  Me comparing the race at midnight to the Kielder Chiller 24 a couple of years ago, Wendy (Mike’s wife and our regular coach during 24s) joining Mike in the garage for his last stint made my race if I’m honest, forget our placing at the end, it was the fact that four mates were back doing what we love, our escape from the norm.

I think we all agreed though, we would much rather race in the mud and the dirt in the future.

As for our final position, with penalties and my last ride not uploading, who cares! It was all about us getting together, even if it was in the virtual word.

(Neil’s final spreadsheet did have us around 16th out of 120 odd teams if our mileage had been counted, but that’s not important….. right ???!!!???)

My initial reaction was how can this proceed and surely it’s not really going to happen?  It’s just a case of high optimism and wishful thinking. I read all the information about the event and the logistics – no longer a twelve-hour event but four timed distances to choose from, two ,four, six and eight hour and all the races taking place over three days with numbers limited to fifty riders. Social distancing measures would be in place at the venue, no spectators, no arrivals before a scheduled time and competitors placed into ‘race pods’ at the start. I thought It would be rude of me not the enter and luckily my category of over fifties still had a small number of spaces left.

So what does one think when you’re about to race an eight hour endurance event in the midst of a global pandemic? My thoughts were of gratitude not just in terms of the physical ability to undertake such a task when health is right at the forefront of everybody’s mind but the reality of this event being staged in the first place. This was mixed with the usual fears, excitement and trepidation plus the obligatory endless checks of the weather forecast.

In terms of preparation I was in pretty decent shape as I had been lucky enough to been able to ride pretty regularly during lockdown and its easing off. I live in the Chilterns with loads of trails within five minutes of my house plus I had the Ridgeway on my doorstep and had bike packed the double once lockdown was eased so the endurance engine was pretty topped up. It was just the racing element I knew was a bit lacklustre as my last event was Brighton Big Dog in 2018. I had taken a year out of racing to explore this bike packing lark after succumbing to my friend Alex Watts’ enticements as to how I would love it (I do btw).

The weather in the run up to the event had been a mixture of torrential thunderstorms with high temperatures and some sun and luckily the day of the race was forecast for no rain. The morning arrives everything is packed and the trip to the venue timed so as not to arrive before the 8am rule. The race was situated at a place named Area 51 in Surrey and was only a short distance away, a maximum of one hour drive. I had raced there before at a short XC event that the same organisers had put on. Its a technical twisting single track course with very little place to overtake or take on food and drink whilst riding. The organisers had stated in the race information that the lap was only four miles long.

So what does one think about when you’re about to race an eight hour endurance event in the midst of a global pandemic and your sat nav takes you the wrong way, then as you’re course correcting a driver of a vehicle peeps his horn violently at you from behind as you’re trying to navigate your way back. Gratitude certainly wasn’t my first thought as I turned around and headed towards the start with the sat nav saying I was only five minutes away. As I drove closer to the venue the estimated arrival time on the sat nav counted down to three minutes and I now recognised where I was, but what was that strange feeling I noticed as I was driving the van ? Something didn’t feel right, surely not a puncture ?

I climbed out and went over towards the rear passenger side wheel where I can see the tyre is totally shredded. It then dawns on me I must have driven with it like this for a number miles as far back maybe to where the driver behind me was beeping his horn frantically to tell me something!

Changing a tyre is a pretty standard procedure, wheel comes off, wheel goes on right ? But what if the spare wheel is held into place by a metal bar with a some strange fixing nut with a three hole configuration that looks like a secret Egyptian hieroglyph. Get the wrench that has the Egyptian hieroglyph adaptations to remove it of course, and this is where ?

It was at this point I started to resign myself to the fact this wasn’t going to happen, I just couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to remove this bolt so I had to make the call of shame “Hello RAC….”

Before I gave up I thought I would dig around everywhere in the van to find the tool to remove the bolt then bingo found it. Now it was time to go to work and quickly got the wheel sorted, spare wheel on and wrecked wheel on the passenger seat.  Then a rapid drive to the venue.

I now knew exactly where I was and proceeded to drive down the dirt road to the start, the gate to the entrance was locked so I ran into the tented area where all the riders are socially distanced in their respective pods listening to the race briefing . I explained my situation to one of the organisers and we proceeded to get me into the race venue and off on the course. There was no way I was going to be able to start with everyone so had resigned myself to just riding around and seeing what happens.

I quickly sorted some energy drinks and gels into my pit container and placed them next to the course and started my first lap. Luckily I knew what to expect on the course as it was almost identical to my previous outing. There were a number of short very tight scrambles up steep inclines followed by similar drop offs and then technical flowing single track. I settled into a rhythm and just followed that time old XC endurance rule of ‘bang out the laps and don’t stop’.

I was going well and started to pick off a number of back markers so I wasn’t last. I was soon lapped by Ant White (night follows day) and then was told I had worked my way into sixth place in my age group.

So what does one think of when you’re five hours deep into an eight hour endurance race during a global pandemic and all of your body is hurting like hell? I thought everything, how I should have chosen the six hour, its amazing this event is actually happening, stop braking so hard into into the corners, is he in my age group, ohh I think I’ve lapped you mate, here comes Ant White…again.

After seven hours I was told I was now fifth and that I had probably two laps left, there was nobody going to catch me and I was too far down on fourth place to chance charging out for a fast last lap. I came in and was honestly battered, more of a beat up feeling than a cardiovascular fatigue. Not racing for a year took its toll and the muscles hurt from the pummelling of the course but, like every race I’ve ever done, the relief and sense of achievement was flowing in abundance – it was great to be back. Upon my return home I checked the results and was pleased to see I had maintained my standing of being at the sharp end of mid pack mediocrity.

So what does one think of when you’ve finished racing an eight hour endurance race during a global pandemic…. When’s the next one of course…26th Sept four hour!

We should have been racing at Exposure 24/12 at the end of July and I had tentatively earmarked an appearance of some sort (post baby fatigue levels dependent) but with this cancelled the Trust Races stepped in to provide an alternative challenge where you could make your own mountain bike course and race as far/high as you could within 6,12 or 24 hours. I thought 6 hours would be more than sufficient so plotted a fast loop round Ashton Court in Bristol, a venue I’ve done many times at the Bikefest event so knew I could hold a fast average speed whilst being almost entirely on MTB trails.

Unknown to some there are a few short sections of off-piste trails in the woods there which I incorporated which also helped with the elevation gain. There was about 200m of tarmac on the whole route and the rest was a mix of built trails, some flowy natural singletrack and sections of fire road. I was happy that it was a proper MTB course if any questions were asked by my peers.

The boys at Pedal Progression were on hand to help if needed but for 6 hours I didn’t need any. I even tried to get my head in to full race mode so ritually got the race table out and bottles ready to grab on the move. So much so that I didn’t have one second of none moving time according to Mr Garmin.

I had started a bit later in the day to allow for parental duties earlier which I thought might help me also dodge some of the stormy weather. No such luck and at times it was biblical but fortunately warm enough that a few extra hard turns on the pedals kept me toasty enough.

I was surprised at how I managed to keep motivated in the most part during the ‘race’ despite my only competition on course being other trail users that I politely navigated. I came across a lot of dog walkers but due to the rain not many cyclists which was good for average speed as I wasn’t going to be shouting at people out for a leisurely ride whilst I was trying to smash round.

I had some tunes playing in one ear to keep me motivated and had a thought to see if I could check the fastest times set to date. It was so wet I couldn’t even unlock the phone so I had the thought of calling racing mate Chris for some live updates. He listened to me panting whilst relaying that it looked like I might have a shot at the furthest distance if I didn’t hang around. This ‘virtual’ pit advice was really handy and I do feel a bit bad that other competitors didn’t have this option if they had started earlier in the day. Nevertheless it was cool to have the incentive to empty the tank rather than just roll to the finish which I cracked on and managed.

I was surprised that some PB’s were appearing at Ashton Court, a place I have raced and ridden a lot. Given everything going on at the moment and a sleep deprived state this was a pretty good testament to the work Lee Eaton has being doing with me at Transition Endurance Group coaching.

So it turns out I ‘won’ and it was close with another rider less than 1 mile distance behind!

One of the ideas of Trust Races is to bring in a charitable element. For this if you’d like to donate please go to:

https://uk.gofundme.com/f/le-tour-de-fran

For those who don’t already know Fran lost his young life to cancer. I didn’t know him very well but his story touched me deeply and if you can help out his family please do so. With all the utter shit that’s happening in the world right now my heart was warmed when I asked a couple of random girls in a car to take a picture of me at the end whilst I was packing up. They listened to the story about what I was doing and instantly handed over a tenner, such a cool thing to find kind humans like that. Admittedly as the kebab shop didn’t take card after and that was the only cash I had, I did spend it on a dirty kebab haha (I of course put the money back in to the pot after).

I’m hoping to race Kielder Chiller 24 later in the year providing I’ve caught up on some sleep by then. In the meantime I’ve got another big road adventure planned to keep the motivation going.

Thanks to all the race organisers and Exposure Lights for the prizes. Well done everyone who gave it a go despite the challenges of making it happen. Hopefully see you between actual tapes soon!

STATS

Animal count:
4x deer
3x suicidal squirrels
Many dogs
5x horses
1x bird of prey?

Incident count:
1x chased by a dog
2x instances of logs appearing on bridleways

Bike stats:

“Hi I’m Chris, currently living in the North West of England. I starting riding bikes about 4 years ago to rescue a very unhealthy lifestyle.
Since then I’ve been hooked. A bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ as I love all areas of racing but for 2017 and beyond, I have decided to concentrate on Cyclo-Cross for the winter, with the added fun of MTB racing in the summer. Since my first ever MTB race in Summer 2014 I have been improving with each race and 2016 saw me break into the top 20 NWCCA with some solid results.  

I’m really looking forward to being part of Team JMC and it has pushed me into entering my first endurance event at this year’s Mountain Mayhem, which is going to be a real test! Oh and who can forget 3 Peaks CX in September!”

We are always happy to welcome new team members and everyone is welcome no matter what level of ability. Our motto is “Talent Optional, Enthusiasm Essential”. We keep it simple with no fees or forms. All we ask is you wear some of our team clothing to show your colours. In return we can offer support, advice and, coming soon, our very own events.

Want to learn more? Visit our website or drop us a line. We would love to hear from you.

I don’t know why, but I expected a broken nose to hurt more than that. Maybe it was the below-zero temperatures or the rush of adrenaline that you tend to experience when you’ve just landed on the ground on your face. Once I’d crawled up off the floor, moved my bike out of the way, I had a sit down.

With us having to travel some distance to the race, my wife Mel and I traveled up on Friday and stayed over at one of the cottages (quite close to Kielder) that fellow Team JMC racers Lisa and Richie Scott look after. Me and Richie went for a 14 mile ride in the afternoon and we talked about the race ahead. That evening Lisa cooked us a lovely meal and we called it a early night.  Thanks Richie and Lisa for the hospitality.

The next morning we headed over to the course around 6am so we could help get everything set up.  As we were setting up I kept looking at the weather and it was looking grim – nothing like the forecast had suggested.  Hopefully it will be alright I thought.

Right then! 11.15am so I best start putting my kit on. Before we knew it it was time for the rider briefing and off to the start line.  And we were off!  I went off a bit too fast but I didn’t want to get caught up in traffic as we hit the singletrack sections.  As the race started to calm down I came in for some food.  Mel said ‘how is it?’ My response was ‘it’s alright but there is a lot of snow, hail, wind, rain, I have cold hands, a cold face and cold feet.  ‘Man up’ she said.  I smiled and set off again for another few laps. I was thinking this is not good, I’m too cold on the long downhills and getting sweaty on the climbs, it was making me shiver and my teeth chatter.

I came in again later for some food and a warm but after a few minutes Jason Miles pointed at his wrist and said ‘come on, do one’ I thought this was great motivation and headed off.

As the long night began my body started to warm up and was feeling OK until around 1am, at this point I was really struggling and could have chucked my bike into the trees. As I came in the pit area I saw Richie was just about to go out for another few gruelling laps, so we headed out together.  One lap turned into another and another whilst we were chatting. Can’t remember what we were chatting about though. It was brilliant to have company and took our minds off the crazy adventure we were on (thanks Richie).  As we plodded along the sky became clear, quiet and peaceful. Eventually we drifted apart and I started talking to myself and singing (I’m Spinning Around by Kylie Minogue) making up the words as I went along as I only know the chorus. I had lost track of all time at this point.

Another pit stop, this time for a coffee and jam sandwich (mmm that was nice).

As the morning approached I was falling asleep on the bike, this happened about 4 times. I started to wonder how I was going to get round the course safely. As soon as I heard I was in 3rd position, I woke up a bit and powered on, forgetting about the pain and cold feet and urging myself to ‘Come on Tom!’.

Some time after this I had a chance encounter with Lisa, grinding out laps on her singespeed (hardcore) and received some welcome support and encouragement.

A few laps more and somehow I had managed to move up into 2nd place – my best placing ever in a solo race.  I knew that there was only time left for another couple of laps, but with 3rd place only 15 mins behind me I couldn’t afford to ease off at all.  I had to keep my concentration and soldier on.

On my last lap I knew I could finally take it easy.  I had opened up a bigger gap on 3rd place and knew that if I completed the lap I was on I had 2nd place in the bag.  There was no chance of catching Rich Rothwell, he had 2 more laps on me (what a machine).  Approaching the finish line for the final time was a huge relief.  2nd place solo in a 24hr race!  ‘ That’s alright’ I thought

A massive well done to all the Team JMC racers for a number of great results. Thanks to High Fell Events for putting the race on and the marshals for braving the daft weather.   And finally a huge thanks to everyone who supported me and cheered me on, especially my wife Mel!

“Hi my name is Neil. I have always enjoyed the outdoors having Rivington on the door step and holidays to the Lakes and Wales when I was a kid. I also have always been interested in mechanical stuff. So my journey really began with mountain biking and walking. I am quite competitive so mountain biking quickly turned into XC racing then I progressed to endurance events.

In 2016 I graduated having only cycled during the University summer break. 2017 is the first year since the accident I have been able to really focus on cycling. So I have entered the mountain mayhem in the solo category.”

We are always happy to welcome new team members and everyone is welcome no matter what level of ability. Our motto is “Talent Optional, Enthusiasm Essential”. We keep it simple with no fees or forms. All we ask is you wear some of our team clothing to show your colours. In return we can offer support, advice and, coming soon, our very own events.

Want to learn more? Visit our website or drop us a line. We would love to hear from you.

However, just occasionally we dare to rub shoulders with the more serious cycling fraternity and enter organised events, such as the Manchester 100 last year on roadies, raising about a grand for the Christie, as well as the recent Evans MTB Ride It Day in Rochdale, which turned out “interesting”….

A couple of days on I’m still a bit stiff after what what can only be described as a “memorable” ride, due to truly inclement weather, and to be fair, lack of preparation – but let’s not talk about that! Suffice to say that out of the 7 of us that set off with the intention of completing the “Long” route, approx 30 miles and 3,500 feet of climbing, only 2 of us finished it. That is no slight on the sensible riders who bailed and took the intelligent option of switching to the slightly shorter “Medium” route, more an indication of the sheer lunacy of myself and my brother-in-law, Simon Bates. However, next time I’m dying with cramp and sodden to the bone, I may just decline Simon’s offer to do “just a few more miles”, and politely tell him to Foxtrot Oscar.

The event was well organised with helpful stewards, although not many along the route to be fair. The two feed stations were stocked with copious amounts of peanuts, flapjacks, brownies etc., so plenty of solid energy food on offer, which really did keep us going. The icing on the cake would have been a hot brew… maybe next time, eh Evans? Just a hint

A set of determined, friendly riders battled the extreme elements on a mix of hard tails, full sus, plus bikes and fat bikes. Ploughing through boggy moorland in rain, hail and even snow, my respect for the Strathpuffer warriors grew by the mile. Guys, how DO you cycle for 24 hours in those conditions?! Respect, is all. The road sections were very welcome respite but throw in some gnarly descents and (to us novices at least) unrideable elevations and you had a truly varied, challenging route. Probably best enjoyed on a dry spring day!

Evans, thanks for a great event, and for sure, “We’ll be back!”

Photo courtesy of those lovely people at SportSunday Event Photography! 

That’s how this race panned out for our quad, Up Ooer Roond & Doon – Mike Miline, Andy Kindress, Mark Smith and me.

January, in the Highlands for a 24hr Mountain bike race, eh?  We must be mad but every year the same pilgrimage to Strathpeffer, the same build up before Christmas/New Year.  What always changes though is the weather.

The Ice Spikers were packed but looking at the weather forecast it was doubtful if they would be required, along with the half dozen changes of clothes I had packed.

Setting up camp on Friday we were blessed with glorious sunshine but the temperature was low.  The question was how low would the it drop during the night? Hmmm? We were about to find out.

I took the first lap for the team and the race started with the usual carnage with the running start including flying elbows, tripping up and trying to remember how far up the road the bike was!

Keith Forsyth (solo) started at his usual pace with around six other riders flying up the fire road, passing all the pits and camps set along the edge with people cheering and shouting.  I love the first lap.

One by one the company Keith was keeping dropped off until it was just him, me and another rider. I kept tight behind them (reminding myself that Keith was a racing solo!) down the fast descent to the Bridge of Thighs before deciding enough was enough.  I upped a gear and just mashed it past both midway up the climb.  Then it was just about redlining the rest of the lap to transition, stating our intention to the other quads.  Come and get us!

Mike Miline was next for us. Bang! Another storming lap – beating my first lap by 2 seconds! LOL Sure this will be a discussion point until we both stop pedaling.

Andy Kindress next, big diesel engine, he pushes out consistent laps one after the other.  He was part of the winning pairs last year with Wayne Blair.  Then the youngest (or younger) Mark Smith, probably our most consistent lapper of the race.

And so we got into the routine. Out, fast, back, recover, do it all again.

Within a couple of laps it was clear who our main threats were, NOB-bies, The Adventure Syndicate/Sandy Wallace Cycles and Shibden CC A.

The temperature during the day was fine, although the mist never really lifted. The top climb to the bench gave a view that was absolutely stunning with the sun out and the mist lying in the valley below, although it only got a quick glance as the pace was furious. Surely it had to slow down at some point.

Night time brought -6 degrees and black ice, treacherous on the higher climbs but more so on the descents. Breathing was like fire on the lungs, gasping for breath on the climbs, then watering the eyes on they way down.

Looking for alternate lines became the norm as the lines everyone else were using were quickly turning to ice.  Keeping it tight into the whin bushes, hit the water splash to the right, try not to spin out on the climb to the bench, all great stuff.

Nob-bies were starting to gain back time on us, our lead was down to 4 minutes.   Next lap we sent them a statement of intent with 37 odd minute lap.  From that point we gained 30 seconds here, 40 second there, opening up our lead again.

By this time the two other teams were out of it, two laps back on us and NOB-bies.  This was now a two horse race but in 24hr racing anything can happen, it was a matter of bike/body preservation but still staying fast.

Daylight..ahhh. Unlike Relentless 24 you know when it gets light at the Puffer there’s not long to go. NOB-ies were still in it less than 15 minutes back, so all it would take was a wrong line, puncture or mechanical and we could easily lose the lead we had held from the start.

On the second to last lap I got in with around 10 minutes to cut off, got the dibber off, handed it over to Mark and sent him off on our final lap. NOB-bies came round and made the 24hr cut-off by just 2 minutes to get in their final lap.  Nail biting stuff.  Then it was a long wait for the rest of our team for Mark to complete our final lap.  Hoping nothing had gone wrong.

Yessss! Finally round he came to the finish.  Even managing to gain a little more time to finish around 17 minutes in front. Job done.
38 flat out laps and fastest lap of the day.

This was a fantastic race.  We were pushed all the way to the finish which made it all the better. Our two pit bitches Martin Smith and Andy Morrison were outstanding, bikes washed and maintained. Ripping the dibber from each rider and getting it to the next.  Keeping time/pace without a break during the full race.  Thanks for your support boys!

Kielder Chiller 24 next.  Hope to see you all there.