BB200 2017 - No More Speculation

[ScotRoutes]

Is there enough for a multi-fuel stove?

[RIP]

.

It's certainly rather quiet in here this morning. Anybody would think something's going on. End of the world(*) coming perhaps?

(*) Carnau

[Bearbonesnorm]

72 riders gone out, most seem to have gone in the right direction. The rain has stopped and the wind calmed down. Over half were away before 8.45 so probably hoping to hit Carnau before dusk. Perhaps surprisingly, only 1 fat bike ridden by a certain Mr Barrington but a good smattering of 'gravel' type bikes.

The majority seem in good spirits, (even Mr Barter who lost his lock keys so had to free his bike with the aid of a Junior hacksaw before he could depart) but we know that can and likely will change considerably in the next 24 hours

[RIP]

"Junior hacksaw " - . One can imagine the panoply of ripely expressive terms utilised during that little cameo .

[Taylor]

Just looking at the route again I think I'd be tempted with a gravel bike on there.
Most of the pushing bits will have the mountain bikes pushing too so no advantage lost there.
Just a handful of descents to pick your way down too.

[voodoo_simon]

72 riders gone out, most seem to have gone in the right direction. The rain has stopped and the wind calmed down. Over half were away before 8.45 so probably hoping to hit Carnau before dusk. Perhaps surprisingly, only 1 fat bike ridden by a certain Mr Barrington but a good smattering of 'gravel' type bikes.

The majority seem in good spirits, (even Mr Barter who lost his lock keys so had to free his bike with the aid of a Junior hacksaw before he could depart) but we know that can and likely will change considerably in the next 24 hours

Mr Barrington? There's a name I haven't heard in a while

[HUX]

A junior hacksaw! Brilliant. Pure Muppetry I would have killed to have seen that and sweary Mr B. Did anyone video it?

[Richard G]

Pub pit stop. Everyone here thinks I'm nuts. I'm inclined to agree.

Onwards!

[ianfitz]

I’m back about an hour ago. Enjoyed it. I think.

Not many will have hit carnau in the light. I was away about 8:45 and it was dark by the summit.

I wouldn’t have liked to have ridden a gravel bike on that route!

He’s put a tricky one together this year. Resupply was tricky - I didn’t bother. Carried everything. But bothies a-plenty. Some good technically riding, more singletrack than last year too. Lots of climbing though...

Rode alone most of the time, apart from when I was thinking people were other people. A first I thought Sean was Dave Barter, then I thought Tom Bruce was Hugh Oliver - and he’s not even riding! I did recognise Dave when I rode with him though.

[RIP]

"A first I thought Sean was Dave Barter, then I thought Tom Bruce was Hugh Oliver - and he’s not even riding!" - I'd've been hallucinating too in that situation Ian! Sounds a bit like the scene from Monty P and the Knights Who Say Ni who are initially just seen as scary glimpses through the mist behind the trees....

Blinking amazing achievement on your part anyway - 17 hours?, wow. Anybody manage to pip you to the top spot?

[ianfitz]

"A first I thought Sean was Dave Barter, then I thought Tom Bruce was Hugh Oliver - and he’s not even riding!" - I'd've been hallucinating too in that situation Ian! Sounds a bit like the scene from Monty P and the Knights Who Say Ni who are initially just seen as scary glimpses through the mist behind the trees....

Blinking amazing achievement on your part anyway - 17 hours?, wow. Anybody manage to pip you to the top spot?

It was mistaken identify rather than outright hallucinations

Steve Large quickest by a few minutes.

[slarge]

Cracking route. A bit wet on the ground but can't blame Stu for that. Freehub almost gave up at 180km so rode back in with Karl B, Alan Sheldon and Andy? nursing it and pushing for the steep bits. Think it was 17:52 total time, so quite happy (both that my freehub lasted to the finish and with the time. Thanks Stu & Dee, another cracking event.

[RIP]

Carried everything.

Would be interesting to hear, after you've got your breath back, exactly what food you took Ian? Kit list? Ta, "Reg".

[Dave Barter]

I'm back home now. MASSIVE thanks to Stu and Dee for the usual excellent organisation and Chew for seeing us in this morning.

The bike lock cable is proudly hanging in the garage to remind me never to skimp on keyring quality again.

As for the route, I think it was a real challenge. I'm properly done in physically and emotionally. I did take some video along the way, the later clips are off the scale sweary, not sure if I can publish that. I really really enjoyed the Hafran section, the ride to the visitor centre and the reservoir tracks. I had several off-piste moments due to the occasional GPX issue, but I guess that is all part of the fun. The worst moment for me was watching five riders storm across Carnau on a track that I failed to find. Had a bit of a meltdown coming off it in the dark due to severe lack of riding talent. 18 hours 35 for me I think which I'm chuffed with as I was pretty under the weather with manflu the week before. It was good to ride with others in the second half including Fitzy, Craig, Steve Large and Pete. I hope they all know that I would have kicked their arses if it wasn't for the missed track on Carnau ;-) And a final thanks to the 3 welsh houses along the way with hosepipes that allowed me to rob their water.

[ctznsmith]

Thanks Stu, Dee, Chew and everyone involved.

Sorry Stu for trying to blame you for the wetness. ;-)

Sorry Chew for being grumpy when you signed me back in.

...and apologies to the guy I rode large parts of the second half with and never asked his name.

23 hrs 51 minutes, in no way fast but a black badge gained.

Despite never feeling like I was really suffering that much, I'm not sure I ever want to do that again.

p.s. I thought Carnau was alright. Other boggy bits were worse.

[Richard G]

For anyone that heard me complain about my chest soreness...

...broken rib. Sigh. I have no idea why they break so easily.

Will report the rest of the experience later.

[Karl]

First thanks Dee and Stu...but mainly Dee

Finished in 18hrs 19 mins I think.

Thanks to Burty for build up the meteoric battle between myself and Steve Large. It was epic but eventually I bowed to his greatness. The best bit of this battle was watching Steve come into Elan visitors centre and spotting me, pointing and laughing knowing he'd caught me, quickly followed by me pointing and laughing and the size and speed of the cue he had to stand in

Proper good route made all the better by riding with a top bloke Andy Deacon.

The route was a perfect balance of all the things we love and hate, and come to expect from Stu. Well done that man!

Oh and we'll done Steve, you are annoyingly vaguely exciting!

[Karl]

Good news though... Richard G's pedal stayed on!!!

[ctznsmith]

Good news though... Richard G's pedal stayed on!!!

Shame about his shifters.

Hope you heal quickly Richard.

[Richard G]

Cheers.

Broken body aside... did anyone notice the sudden gusts of wind that were REALLY warm? It was like being in the tropics all of a sudden. Totally out of no-where.

I actually think I should have gone without my undershirt, as on the whole I was boiling.

[padonbike]

even Mr Barter who lost his lock keys so had to free his bike with the aid of a Junior hacksaw before he could depart)

vaguely related: a friend went all the way up to Scotland to do the Aberfeldy triathlon and late in the evening realised that his bike was locked to the bike rack with quite a hefty lock and he'd forgotten the key. Being a philosophical type he didn't throw a wobbly, but just thought, "I'm up here now, I'll go to the pub and have an ale or two and drive back tomorrow"
The first person he got chatting to in the pub was a mechanic who had heavy duty bold croppers - the bike was freed and the race was quite a success.
Well done to Fitz and Steve Large.

[Richard G]

So I'll write up my thoughts on the actual route / riding partners / randomness later but...

So that was eventful...

I started at a pace that I was very pleased with, given I'd not been out for a proper ride since Leadville. I wasn't putting myself in the red at all, just working at a heart rate I knew I could sustain.

First issue came quite early on when my front wheel was completely swallowed by a ditch masquerading as a puddle and I hit the ground hard. My front light shot backwards and damaged the screen on the Garmin (thankfully it still worked, I just couldn't see most of the screen). At the same time, my knee hit my left shifter and snapped off one of the paddles.

Wiping myself down I continued on, a little sore but no big issue. Was passing some quick riders and generally feeling good about things.

Heading towards Rhayader I was making good pace when my rear (tubeless) wheel flatted instantly. I had torn a hole in the sidewall which was far too big to fix using the rubber plugs. Thankfully a tube + tyre boot seemed to do the job and I got on with the riding. Annoyingly this had taken a while and I'd been passed by quite a few of the people who I'd passed earlier.

My mojo started to leave me a bit and I noticed it was getting harder to breathe properly. I figured I'd just tweaked a muscle in the crash and just got on with it, though with a much slower pace. It was starting to go dark when I realised that my light wasn't working properly after the crash, and I was having to run it at a much higher setting to actually see anything. This meant that most of the time I was working with virtually no light so I could ensure it lasted the night.

As I went past "The Arch" I noticed that my rear tyre was starting to deflate very slowly, which began a never ending cycle of riding for a short while, then stopping to top it up before it got catastrophically low. It turns out that the tube had pretty much gone completely, but was putting enough pressure on the tyre boot to make some sort of hybrid tubeless system. This made for a VERY long run to the finish.

To add to the misery, I lost the ability to change up smoothly on the rear cog... the only way I could get it to work was by changing gear, then pedalling backwards before pedalling forwards again. No idea why this worked, but it was effective (if annoying).

So yeah... turns out I'd broken my rib in the crash earlier in the day (now medicating with alcohol), which explains the struggle to breathe.

Still, can't complain; I got around in sub 24 hours, which was all I really wanted to do in the first place.

Edit - Oh god, I know where it all went wrong. I didn't lose any rear lights this time. I ALWAYS lose a rear light... maybe that's my penance for a damage / mechanical free ride?!?

...and yes, my pedals are perfect.

[substandard]

First thanks Dee and Stu...but mainly Dee

Finished in 18hrs 19 mins I think.

Thanks to Burty for build up the meteoric battle between myself and Steve Large. It was epic but eventually I bowed to his greatness. The best bit of this battle was watching Steve come into Elan visitors centre and spotting me, pointing and laughing knowing he'd caught me, quickly followed by me pointing and laughing and the size and speed of the cue he had to stand in

Proper good route made all the better by riding with a top bloke Andy Deacon.

The route was a perfect balance of all the things we love and hate, and come to expect from Stu. Well done that man!

Oh and we'll done Steve, you are annoyingly vaguely exciting!

Great to ride with you Karl at the end, helped each other through a couple of tough mental moments each! Loved the course setup, think I got back in at 2.37 which was well inside the 24hrs I’d set as a goal for a first stab.

Nice to ride with a whole host of others too in the last few hours, amazing how close everyone ended up. Only had one big sketchy moment. Sidewall blow out on a fast road descent! Nearly died! Half an hour later and some blue Peter style sidewall stitching on show and I was rolling again!! Tubular repair kits are incredible lifesaving pieces of everyday kit for the toolbox.

Nice to meet so many friendly faces, will be back again for sure!

Andy

[lionelrik]

Cracking ride everyone. Some of those time are mind-blowing, especially considering some of the trials and tribulations you had to endure. Thanks to Stu and Dee for their hospitality and thoughtful route planning . It was great riding with so many friendly people, too many to name but thanks to Joe (another on a fat bike Stu) who rode with us up to Claerddu Bothy, Burty for leading us up Carnau and finally Mark for pushing me to the finish. Managed to get back to Newcastle without falling asleep, which is always a bonus. See you next year. Rich

PS. Massive thanks to my girlfriend Fi, for not throwing a strop. It was her Birthday on Saturday!

[Roobell7]

Perhaps surprisingly, only 1 fat bike ridden by a certain Mr Barrington

Does a Sala Mukluk on 3" tyres not count

Ian asked me at the Elan Valley visitor centre "how were my thighs" Even by then they were suitably worked to make their presence known