BONTRAGER TWENTYFOUR12 2010 TUESDAY, JULY 27

Now that I've had a few days to recover and get myself sorted from coming home from the Bontrager Twentyfour12 2010 I thought I should write up how I got on, after going on about it for some time now.

This was my first 24-hour solo event, and I surpassed all my expectations and finished in 4th place. I missed out on a podium, but I can't have everything and I'm not disappointed! Congratulations too to everyone else who was competing....

24-hour Men's Solo
Mark : 17 laps : 13th
Kieran : 16 laps : 16th
Al : 16 laps : 17th
Rich : 23 laps : 3rd

12-hour Men's Solo
Jon : 12 laps : 14th

12-hour Women's Solo
Anne : 10 laps : 4th
Zoe : 9 laps : 5th

12-hour Men's Pairs
Scott & Johnny : 16 laps : 10th

Full results and times are on Timelaps.

Louisa and I travelled down to Newnham Park in Plymouth on Thursday to make sure we had a nice camping spot along the track and also to leave ourselves enough time to settle in and relax before Saturday without the added stress of potential traffic jams on the M5 on a Friday. There were a number of us racing, and we managed to camp together making it a great spot for support and the usual trackside heckling.

I felt much more relaxed than I thought I would be until it hit me on Saturday morning and realising what I was about to attempt. Even then I couldn't quite get my head around the fact that I'd be riding, hopefully, non stop for 24 hours. I kept telling myself that I'd worked hard to train and prepare for this event and that I needed to be confident that my training would pay off.

The weather forecast wasn't great for the weekend but Saturday ended up quite pleasant and the course was reasonably dry. As midday approached, we lined up for the start, finding a nice position not too far from the front so that the first lap didn't end up being a stop start affair due to the bottlenecks. Having only raced a 24-hour event in a team and a pair, I found it quite alien not to go off as fast and as hard as I could from the start, and even more weird having Mark (the usual "other half", that sounds wrong, err, team mate?) on the course at the same time as me!

I felt great from the start and was lapping in around 50 minutes for the first 10 laps. Having no experience of 24-hour solo racing, I didn't have a race plan as such as I don't think I would have been able to handle things if that plan broke down and I'd have to adjust to another strategy during the race. I decided to keep going as long as I could and keep to my drinking and eating plan (which I did plan well beforehand).

As darkness fell, so did the rain unfortunately, and conditions deteriorated in an alarmingly short space of time. The course went from fairly dry and fast, to wet, slippery gloop. Worse still my race bike, a Cannondale Rush, which I'd done 90% of my off-road training on, proved to be useless once the conditions started to get sticky, and I was forced to ride my spare bike, a Genesis Altitude, which turned out to be far better in the mud but wasn't quite set up the way I'd have wanted it do be. That said, I had to get my bike cleaned after every other lap which was very frustrating as it forced me to stop, when all I wanted to do was to keep going. Those extra few minutes of stopping may have done me some good giving me that little bit more time to recover after each lap, who knows.

As the night wore on I still felt ok physically, keeping up a steady pace, but my mind started to wander and was tempting me to want to stop and sleep. Luckily I'd been told this would happen and I just needed to fight through the feeling, so I was kind of prepared for it. The course emptied considerably during the night and as the conditions deteriorated I found myself riding long sections of the course on my own. I was determined not to be one of the ones to stop and go to bed, and managed to shut my mind off to the fact that it was my bedtime and the course was a muddy bog.

Another person who seemed to have the same thinking as me was Rich Holmes, riding for Cyclesense and a mate of mine, and we rode long sections together throughout the night. I knew Rich was a couple of laps ahead of me at the time, although I don't think either of us knew what position we were in. Even though he was ahead he gave me that little bit extra to keep going. Hopefully I helped him out by doing the same. One thing I have learnt though is never to try working out how many hours of darkness that was left after 14 hours of riding. Neither one of us got to the right answer, as it was still pitch black at the time we thought dawn should be. Very confusing.

Day broke just after 5am and it was a very welcome sight, as I'd been told once daylight came, I would have ridden through the hardest part of the race. That said, I still had 7 hours to go, so I plodded on. Before starting the race I'd asked Lou not to let me know my position, because if I found I was trailing at the back I'd get demoralised and if I was up near the front I'd push myself too hard too early to stay up there and burn up before the end. At around 6am (possibly, it could have been 10am) I wanted to know where I stood and to find out I was in 4th, just a lap behind Rich in 3rd was a huge boost. I was a lap in front of 5th so by mid morning I knew I was relatively safe, but I kept going and my lap times started getting steadily quicker towards the end.

With half an hour to go before 12, Rich called it a day as his 3rd place was safe, as was my 4th, but by then I'd made it my mission to complete the race with the same number of laps as him. I don't know why. So as I came around to Team HQ on my 22nd lap to a huge round of applause from everyone, I was then met with some confused faces when I asked Lou to pass me a fresh bottle and gels and I carried on going for another lap. Even more confused I think was the commentator at the finish line when I crossed the finish line at 11:45 and kept on going, when I could have just stopped and settled with 22 laps. I was given a huge cheer from the crowd that had gathered to watch the first finishers, and that was enough to get me going for one final lap.

The last lap was great, it had dried up considerably and the course was pretty fast once again. I gave my usual last-lap "thanks" to all the marshals and encouragement to the riders left on the course on their last lap. The feeling I had when I came back in to the event arena was phenomenal, not something I was prepared for. It was a mixture of relief, achievement, tiredness, a proper rollercoaster of emotions.

Lou was the first person I managed to focus on properly after I crossed the line and I gave her a big, tired and very muddy hug. I couldn't have done the race without her as she is such a massive support, along with the other WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends to those who don't know!) who were supporting us all. She's also been very patient and supportive over the last few months whilst I've been training for this, for which I appreciate.

I've just realised this entry is quite a long one, for which I apologise, but it was a long race! Now that I've got a 24-hour solo out of my system as it were, which was why I did it in the first place, looking back I really enjoyed it, and there wasn't one moment in the 24 hours where I wanted to quit, I'm now thinking not "if" I'll do another one, but "when" and "where".

One last thing.... huge thanks to Dave Buchanan and Jo ("Mrs" Dave Buchanan) for all their advice and encouragement before the race, and for the lights loan, and to Matt Page (Wiggle) for his advice on all sorts of things to do with 24-hour racing. It's really appreciated.

Some things that I found invaluable for my 24-hour solo effort....

* A good pair of racing socks, courtesy of our fashion guru, Scott
* 1 pot of Chamois cream
* 1 pot of Anti Monkey-Butt Powder and plenty of applications
* 6am pot of rice pudding

BC BIKE RACE 2011 TUESDAY, JULY 27

The Bike Mechanic Team are going international in June 2011 as Mark and myself have entered the Team of Two Category in the BC Bike Race 2011, a multi-stage mountain bike race from Vancouver to Whistler.

The race is split into 7 stages over 7 days, starting in North Vancouver before heading on to Nanaimo, Cumberland, Powell River, Earls Cove, Langdale, Squamish, and finishing off in the mecca of mountain biking, Whistler. Racing as a pair, Mark and I will have to race together and finish within 2 minutes of each other at the end of each stage.

We've been promised the best singletrack trails in British Columbia, along with spectacular scenery, and the menu choices for breakfast and dinner each day sounds amazing.

But for now it's back to Twentyfour12 training....

DUST, GLORIOUS DUST TUESDAY, JULY 27

I'm not even half way through washing the dust off everything I had with me this weekend at the Original Source Mountain Mayhem but I thought I would type some words to let everyone know how we got on. The Bike Mechanics had a great race this year, finishing in 26th with 24 laps, out of 200+ teams, our best result yet.

During our practice lap on Friday afternoon the heavens opened and I can't say I was that eager to get going on the Saturday. The course designers had been busy this year adding new sections and bringing in some old ones. Being so fresh, these sections had no chance of holding up in wet weather with thousands of riders cycling over them, and I thought if it was going to be wet, this year would be tough.

However, the forecast looked promising so we crossed fingers and hoped it would dry out and stay dry for the weekend, and thankfully it did. We stuck to our usual strategy of Mark doing the run and me going out second, followed by Jon then Andrew. Mark had a good run, starting at the front of the pack, even though he tripped and fell on the start line (I just wish I'd had a video camera), and he finished with a quick first lap.

It all went pretty smoothly for us all, no mechanicals or any major dramas, and we kept putting in consistent laps throughout the day. The course this year ended up being fantastic. Some of the new twisting sections through the woods were great and made the course far more interesting than previous years. This year also saw the return of the "land rover climb", a long, grassy track, which last appeared in my very first Mountain Mayhem, and my first 24-hour event in 2004. Back then all I remember of it was slipping, sliding and dragging my bike up a long hill of greasy mud, thinking "what the hell am I doing here?" but this weekend it was dry and dusty, and all part of the fun.

Being a normal training week for me (i.e. not a race week), I already had over 280km of riding that I'd done during the week in my legs before the start of the race, and I wondered how I'd cope with racing. I'd made sure I only did endurance rides during the week and kept the higher intensity training for the weekend. Luckily it paid off and I felt strong on all 7 of my laps.

This coming week is a rest week for me, with just some easy rides to do, for which I'm grateful for, as I feel like I need a rest. Then I'll be going in to my final 4 weeks of training for the Twentyfour12. I could only admire and respect the guys that were soloing this weekend, and many of them riding more laps than some of the teams. I just hope that I'll be one of them crossing the finishing line in a few weeks' time.

BRISTOL BIKEFEST 2010 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9

The team were out in force at the Bristol Bikefest last weekend with Jon and myself entered in the men's 12-hour pairs, Andrew and Mark in the men's 12-hour pairs singlespeed, and Scott and Zoe racing in the mixed 12-hour pairs.

First off, a huge congratulations to Mark and Andrew for finishing on the podium again in 3rd place with 24 laps! Apparently, the course didn't really suit singlespeeding this year (so I'm told), what with the relatively short sharp climbs and long pedally sections. On top of that the ground was hard and unforgiving with roots and rocks and allsorts. They both did it with rigid forks as well as only one gear. I prefer gears and suspension myself, far more sensible.

They beat us in 2009 by 10 minutes, but thankfully Jon and I were a lap up on them this year with 25 laps. Heh heh heh, sorry, had to get that in somewhere, not that there's any competitiveness within the team, honest.

Scott and Zoe came in 7th in their category with 22 laps, and Jon and myself finished 11th in our category with 25 laps.

This year was a tough event, a shorter but much faster course than the previous year and in hot, dry and dusty conditions. Jon and I put in a good effort to stay in the top 10 pairs from the start and we were doing really well and looking comfortable until I came back from one of my laps about 4 hours in to find Jon was missing!

Unfortunately he'd punctured and had problems with his brake pistons so while they frantically tried repairing it all at Team HQ, I had to go out for what I thought would be a few laps on my own. Luckily I only had to do an extra lap before Jon was up and running (or rather, riding) again, but we'd lost a fair bit of time, in what was already a very close contest for top 10.

Annoyingly on my next lap I punctured twice, so it lost us even more time. However, we battled on and fought our way back to 11th, and we finished just 20 seconds behind 10th.

There was a great turnout of friends this year racing in the solo, pairs and team categories, so there was a great atmosphere all around the course and plenty of people to talk to and encourage. On top of that the weather was great, which made the event one to remember.

As I've mentioned many times before, this was another "training ride" for me, albeit a rather intense one, and another opportunity to tweak my bike setup, drinks, nutrition etc in preparation for my 24-hour solo attempt at the Bontrager Twentyfour12 in July. Overall I was happy with everything. I seemed to be drinking enough fluid and getting enough energy gels and solids down me between laps, with very little ill effects.

I was even happy for the whole event, something which doesn't always happen. I had a surprised comment from Jo, Mrs Dave Buchanan, when I went to say hello between one of my laps, "What's wrong with you? You're happy!". Thanks Jo. And thanks for the mouthful of peanuts I had off you, I was still chewing them half way around that lap. Kept the cramp off though. But seriously, we're always grateful for the support and encouragement you give us at the events, top stuff.

Look out for us at the Original Source Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Castle where we'll be racing in the Men's 24-hour Team category.

7.5 WEEKS TO GO TUESDAY, JUNE 1

The last 4 weeks seem to have flown by and preparations for the Twentyfour12 24-hour solo seems to have turned into an obsession. That's all I seem to think about these days although I try not to!

I've enjoyed following the first month of my three month training plan from Chris Eatough and I've managed to stick to it pretty rigidly so far. My time on the bike has increased and the various exercises I do during the week, although painful sometimes, seem to be paying off.

I raced at the Margam Big Welsh Weekend on the 30th May and entered the full 75km Marathon. It was meant to be a training ride for me under "race" conditions just to see how things were progressing and what needed working on still. I was very pleased with my 4 hours and 4 minutes and 20th spot amongst a field of very fast XC racers. Full results are available on Timelaps.

Zoe also raced the full 75km Marathon and a massive congratulations for getting onto the podium in 3rd place in the women's category.



The next month on the calendar looks interesting, even more hours riding (about 56 hours) and also the Bristol Bikefest this weekend and OS Mountain Mayhem on the 19th June.

Good luck to Mark and Andrew who will hopefully be out defending their crown in the 12-hour Men's Singlespeed category at the Bristol Bikefest, Zoe and Scott in the 12-hour mixed category and myself and Jon will be riding in the 12-hour Men's category.

A GOOD START MONDAY, MAY 24

I was hoping for a decent time for the Howies Dyfi Enduro this year and to at least get in to the top 50 riders like last year, but I wasn't expecting to come in 31st overall, 23rd in category, out of around 700 riders. Well done also to Jon, who finished within 4 hours, and also Scott and Zoe for finishing well (their first Dyfi attempt).

I had planned to use this year's Dyfi as a start to my last 3 months of training for the Twentyfour12 in July, and to highlight any part of my riding that I needed to work on, but as I started the first climb I felt strong and reached the top within minutes of the first wave of riders, so I decided to go for it and try to keep my place.

For me it was a fairly uneventful race until the end, no spills, punctures or mishaps, unlike many other riders who fell victim to the exposed rocky shale descents that defines the Dyfi Enduro course. I kept a steady pace but pushed hard on the climbs and took it easy on the descents, a strategy which seems to work for me.

There were a few changes to the course from previous years, with an added steep climb and an even steeper descent which made the ride more interesting. With 10km to go, and within the top 30, nearing the top of the bonus climb for the first 200 riders, I started to suffer with cramp and I had to ease off on the climb and spin. I managed to keep going but unfortunately got overtaken by a couple of guys so I dropped out of the top 30. Still, I had more than surpassed my expectations and was pleased to finish the last descent and the race in 31st in a time of 3 hours 24 minutes.

TWELVE WEEK COUNTDOWN SATURDAY, MAY 1

Today marks the start of the 12-week countdown to my first 24-hour solo attempt at the Bontrager Twentyfour12 in July and what better way to start it is with the Howies Dyfi Enduro tomorrow. It also marks the day when I'll be starting my new 12 week training plan for my solo attempt at the Twentyfour12. Not that I've not been training for the last few months!

Looking at the plan I can see that there are a few savage rides and weeks ahead of me, all geared towards improving my endurance and all aspects of my riding, and maybe near the top of the list, to condition me to get used to being sat in the saddle for so long! I'm under no delusion that anything I do will make it easier, but I hope that the preparation will at least give me a chance to see it through to the end and complete the race.

So, off I go to get my kit ready for an early start tomorrow, and what I hope will be a good start to my racing season.

QUIET ON THE BLOG TUESDAY, APRIL 20

Things have been a bit quiet on the Blog front lately, for which I apologise to whoever reads it. That's not to say that we haven't been busy on the riding front though. A few of us have just returned from a week of riding the 7Stanes in Scotland, and we had a fabulous time, topped off with 8 days of sunshine and dry dusty trails.



Our event entries are in and confirmed for the 2010 season and we'll be making appearances at the following events:


2nd May - Howies Dyfi Enduro, Machynlleth

30th May - Big Welsh Weekend, Margam Park

5th June - 2010 Kona Bikefest, Ashton Court, Bristol

18th June - Original Source Mountain Mayhem, Eastnor Castle

24th July - Bontrager TwentyFour12, Newnham Park, Plymouth

25th September - Macmillan Afan Monster, Afan Argoed


So, a fairly busy few weekends for us!

NEW MUCKY NUTZ ROTORS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

A collection of very nicely designed lightweight 6-bolt 160mm rotors arrived in the post this morning, which Mucky Nutz kindly sent us for testing. There are 2 types in the pipeline, the Northern Star, and the Muck Chucker rotors. Each 160mm rotor weighs about 74g (according to my kitchen scales!) so they are possibly some of the lightest out there.

The Muck Chucker is already available in 160mm and 180mm sizes (£20 and £21 respectively) and are available to order from Mucky Nutz. More details on the Northern Star to follow.

MUCKY NUTZ & THE BIKE MECHANIC JOINT VENTURE FOR 2010 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19

The Bike Mechanic Team has received sponsorship from UK-based cycling products design and manufacturing company Mucky Nutz for the 2010 season.

Mucky Nutz produce, amongst other products, the Bender Fender, a simple yet very effective and innovative mud guard that fits easily and neatly onto the rear of your forks.



Bike Radar loved it in a recent review concluding that the Bender Fender "proved consistently effective, keeping mud out of our eyes and off our bodies and bikes".

The Team will be using the products for the 2010 season, so look out for us at the events, and hopefully we won't be as muddy as we usually are. We look forward to working with Mucky Nutz to help promote their products.