BB200 - a tale from the trenches

[Valerio]

Amongst the many things I attempt - and I'm not good at - there's also writing, in this case writing about daft days on the bike.

So here is my recap from this year's BB200, following last year's story. I'll let the readers decide which one they prefer:
https://www.gravelunion.cc/article/arm ... ver-fails

There's also a youtube video in there for those who missed it.
I think it complements the words quite well.

A recent discussion on this forum about some bikepacking.com content generated a really good discussion about writing and storytelling.
I tend to keep my writing pretty factual, and while I would like to add more "flavour" to it I'm simply not good at it ("do you even know how smart I am in my own language?!" Cit.) and I prefer to err on the side of being too factual that being overly dramatic.
I'm sure there's a sweet spot between
"I rode my bike. Route was hard. I made it to the end."
and
"This was the toughest, most brutal day on the bike ever experienced by man, the story of an extraordinary fight between willpower and self-doubt, a monumental quest on two wheels."

I hope you enjoy the read, I'd love to hear your thoughts so that I can improve as I weirdly enjoy writing these.

[RIP]

Unhelpfully I can't suggest any improvements . The trenches round there are generally full of reeking filthy water...

Good mix of facts, feelings and fun stuff; nice photos (damn lucky with that weather!); grammar and spelling and paragraphing much better than most; flowed well. Always helpful to include a few bits of 'area info' (pubs, cafes, water, points of interest etc) since that's useful for prospective future riders in that area. My penn'orth anyroad.

How many prangs did you have?! . Surprised you carried 3L water rather than a filter...

Point is, you wrote it. And posted it up on here. It takes a lot of time and effort. So you're well ahead of the pack straightaway. Many don't, which is a shame because a forum is only as good as its contributors.My view is if one is going to be a 'member' of something there's actually a bit of an obligation to contribute or one would just be a 'taker'.....

Enjoyed the read .

[Valerio]

Unhelpfully I can't suggest any improvements . Good mix of facts, feelings and fun stuff; nice photos (damn lucky with that weather!); grammar and spelling and paragraphing much better than most; flowed well. Always helpful to include a few bits of 'area info' (pubs, cafes, water, points of interest etc) since that's useful for prospective future riders in that area. My penn'orth anyroad.

How many prangs did you have?! . Surprised you carried 3L water rather than a filter...

Point is, you wrote it. And posted it up on here. It takes a lot of time and effort. So you're well ahead of the pack straightaway. Many don't, which is a shame because a forum is only as good as its contributors.My view is if one is going to be a 'member' of something there's actually a bit of an obligation to contribute or one would just be a 'taker'.....

Enjoyed the read .

Thank you!!!
I'll take that feedback and try to stick with that mix of facts/feelings/info!

Agreed that a forum is about sharing, I love reading stories from others and if my stories can "inspire" even one person to go out and give it a go I'll be well pleased. If anyone has similar stories - and I know lots of people here do! - please consider sharing them!
Ultimately, writing for me is also a really good exercise to improve my (pretty limited) vocabulary and remember what went well, what didn't, and how to prep for similar rides in the future.

CRASHES:
I only had one which is on the video and happened fairly early on in the ride. It left me relatively shaken so I was pretty conservative on the rest of the ride.
I did crash into a sheep - the bastard jumped in front of me from behind a wall - but somehow I managed to stay on the bike....does that count as a crash??!

WATER:
I've had a couple of infections in the past linked with drinking/eating sub standard and I try to be careful with what I drink. This year I had a 1.5L camelback plus 2 1L bottles....one is still in Wales unfortunately (I think I lost it on the first crash) which worked out ok for me.
With hindsight I could have been fine with a filter as I definitely saw a few good refill options but also...I'm just shy of 90kg, my bike is 12kg (naked), so carrying a couple of litres of water adds very little weight in %

[fatbikephil]

Good read that Valerio, except it just makes me more gutted I missed the fun
Next year...

[dlovett]

A very enjoyable read. I could feel the cold and wet as if I was there!!

Sorry to hear about your friend.

d

[Valerio]

Much appreciated fellas!

It wasn't even that cold and wet (well not for most part at least) and it was definitely great fun.
No doubt we'll pay the price next year.

[trob6]

What a lovely read, it took about 45 minutes to fix my bike, at one point I thought the mech was broken, great I can limp back to the van and go home but unfortunately I fixed it.
The route and weather where superb, although I did suffer quite badly from about 8pm onwards so I definitely won't be going back next year and by the year after I will have forgotten

[Valerio]

What a lovely read, it took about 45 minutes to fix my bike, at one point I thought the mech was broken, great I can limp back to the van and go home but unfortunately I fixed it.
The route and weather where superb, although I did suffer quite badly from about 8pm onwards so I definitely won't be going back next year and by the year after I will have forgotten

Thanks Tim! And thanks for perfectly aligning your rear wheel with the sun and my lens, I really like that shot!
If you insist I could give your rear mech a couple of kicks while in Atlas...only if you promise to do the same with mine!

Sounds like your memory is much better than mine!

[godivatrailrider]

Very enjoyable read... much respect due !

[Valerio]

Very enjoyable read... much respect due !

Thank you!!!