How is everyones BB200 prep going?

[Normg002]

Hello guys,

Just secured my place for the BB200! Really excited! Was just wondering, the guys who did it last year, what are the prospects for the use of a hammock?

Cheers

Geoff

[Bearbonesnorm]

Nearly

Cuben bottomed Borah?

what are the prospects for the use of a hammock?

Certainly possible but the trees tend to come along in fits and starts.

[Normg002]

Certainly possible but the trees tend to come along in fits and starts.

Hmmm, interesting, when is it expected that the GPX file will be released?

Could do with a google earth recce I think.

[Ian]

Cuben bottomed Borah?

All in good time, but no :)

[gairym]

Got the CyB enduro coming up which will be a good run out.

I'll be there!

Managed to bag myself No.12 and am still weirdly excited about this (like it means that I'm ranked highly or something :? )

My current plan (subject to massive potential for change) is to ride The Beast (or something/somewhere else) on the Sunday in order to get my two-days-riding-hard-trails-in-a-row legs in before the BB200.

Fancy meeting up for some slow-paced fun?

[boreham]

I ran the Cader Idris 3 peak loop last weekend! i have just entered the BB200 as my first ever MTB event, i usually compete in mountain marathons etc... But my love of mountain biking (and the added interest in lightweight bikepacking) got the better of me.
See you all in Oct.....

[gairym]

Nice - should be a fun introduction to mountain biking events!

See you there.....

[Nick]

Hi Gairy,

I'm 471 not yet sure even how I am getting there, or whether we'll be there Friday night and/or Saturday night, but will let you know - there will be a few of us, more than welcome to join us, I won't be going very fast!

[Blackhound]

Training going OK, hope to get an overnighter in Tuesday / Wednesday in the Peak. Be happy with 100 miles total.

What I carry on BB200 will depend on conditions, last year was excellent. Hopefully go with a bivy bag & tarp. I stopped at 120km last year but likely to push onto base of Carnau at 145km this year if I can. Doubt I am as fit as 2011.

Going over Carnau looks tricky at night, it was difficult to spot track in daylight! Ideally I will cut down on sleep time, carry less and get in under 28. As others have said to get under 24 means crossing Carnau in the dark.

[slarge]

What's the score with the route? Any idea when it will be posted?

Kielder 100 this weekend for prep! Can't be any harder than that can it? Please don't make it harder than that - it nearly broke me!

[Bearbonesnorm]

What's the score with the route? Any idea when it will be posted?

Everyone will receive the route in gpx format via email on Sep 30th.

[royAB]

My preparation going splendidly - just bought a new pump... 30gm lighter than my old one! So, that must mean I'm now in with a chance of finishing :D

[alfachippy]

Kit prep is going much better than physical prep...bike and kit should be at least 5kg lighter this year, which sounds quite impressive but is in fact an indication of how much I overpacked last year.....!
I have to get a black badge this year, missed it by 500m/hour last year...500m....500m...!
You've no idea how many ways I've worked out how I could have saved those 500m every hour. I'm not taking my camera this year as I'm convinced that it cost nearly half an hour in time, stopping to take shots, not to mention the 348g weight saving .

[gairym]

I'm out!

I re-buggered my back yesterday evening and so there's now no way I can recover enough in time to be ready for the BB200.

I am absolutely gutted!

This was going to be the grand finale in a year that's seen me get back into some sniff of fitness and form but instead I'm now back in bed with another couple of weeks of nothing (except maybe bed sores) to look forward to

To add insult to back-injury my new Cotic 'Solaris' frame arrived yesterday and I was planning on building it up today.

Yours miffed beyond belief, Gairy.

[slarge]

That is bad luck Gairy - hope your back sorts itself out.

General question over bikes - lots on here have rigid or hardtail 29ers. I have a 26er hardtail and a 26er 90mm travel FS - which would be a better bike for the Bear Bones? I want to go light and fast, so the hardtail is better for this, but I also want to be the same height at the end as at the start, so the FS will be better for this. I am tending towards the hardtail at the moment but having just done the Kielder 100 - this was not the best choice over some of the rocky cobbles.

What preferences do people have?

Also, can the first person over the Carnau leave a trail (sawdust, breadcrumbs, string, anything) for the rest of us to follow? It looks like it might be challenging in the dark....

[alfachippy]

I'm on a 29er rigid. I did the Kielder 100 a couple of years ago and my lasting memory is that the trails are all made up of brick sized rocks that beat you up around most of the course.

BB200 terrain I think is not as rough as Kielder combined with some paved and bog I would go for the hard tail to save weight.

At the time the Kielder 100 was the hardest ride I'd ever done...but then I did the BB200,which re-set the bar

[Blackhound]

Gairy - sorry to hear you won't be able to make it, had looked forward to caching up with you. Take care with the back. Always next year. If you fancy a ride round the route next spring/summer when you are over maybe we could do that.

slarge - terrain is not to difficult. I used a hardtail last year and this year plan to ride rigid. Very few places where a bit of boing is required. And a rigid is less weight to push/carry! Therefore less food required....

[Ray Young]

Hi Gairy, suffering back problems myself I know how gutted you must feel, bad luck mate.

[Ian]

Gairy - sad news - hope you get yourself back into shape soon. I was also looking forward to meeting you, but I guess that'll have to wait, unless you want to come along and wave us off?

On the rigid/ suspension fork discussion - I rode a rigid 29er last year and will return this year on the same bike but with a suspension fork fitted. Read into that what you will

[gairym]

Gairy - sorry to hear you won't be able to make it, had looked forward to caching up with you. Take care with the back. Always next year. If you fancy a ride round the route next spring/summer when you are over maybe we could do.

Thanks fella!

I'll be over April/May time if you're around for a little mini-trip like earlier this year?

Hi Gairy, suffering back problems myself I know how gutted you must feel, bad luck mate.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty miffed right now! But I'll be back new and improved (well, maybe not improved but hopefully at least less damaged).

Gairy - sad news - hope you get yourself back into shape soon. I was also looking forward to meeting you, but I guess that'll have to wait, unless you want to come along and wave us off?

There's a chance I might be in the area that weekend and I've got a some bivi bags to drop off for Stuart and so if things work out that way I'll hang around to say hello.

We'll see how things pan-out.

Cheers all and good luck!

[Nick]

Bad news Gairy, I take it that means no CyB enduro either. What a bummer. Hope you get it sorted and maybe see you at the start of the BB!

[gairym]

nope - no CYBE either - it's a buggeroo!

[Blackhound]

gairy - a little trip next spring would be good. Let us know when you are coming over.

[gairym]

definitely will do!

[Ian]

Unless we get a drought for the next two weeks, I think it's safe to assume that it'll be a very wet BB200 this year...

I can see difficulties keeping bikes/bodies running nicely for 200km with the amount of water and mud around.