Tweet

Niterider Relentless 24 - 2011

Relentless Rain, Relentless Mud, it’s the Niterider Relentless 24

Although I’ve been on the 24 hour endurance “scene” for a number of years, usually as a pair or team, I’m still a relative newcomer to the solo scene. After a good race at my first 24 hour solo at the 2010 Bontrager Twentyfour12 where I came 4^th I wanted to do it again (they say you get hooked) so I scoured the events list for an event that would be challenging and have an enjoyable course. No Fuss Events’ Relentless 24 was recommended time and time again and when the entries opened, I was in.

Little did I appreciate that Fort William is a long way from home and it’s held in October, where anything could happen weather-wise, being on the west coast of Scotland and at the foot of Ben Nevis and all.

I’d had a pretty good year leading up to this event and had a couple of good results in my “warm up” events, 2^nd in the 10 hour solo at Llandegla (another of No Fuss’events), and I finished first in the Howies Coed y Brenin Enduro the previous week, so I was pretty confident and happy with my riding and how my training had gone.

So all there was to do the week before was to keep the legs ticking over and begin the obsessive weather watch. It didn’t look good. Usually I go for the most optimistic forecast, but with the option limited to snow on high ground or heavy rain, optimism wasn’t really on the menu. I resigned myself to a wet event and thought back to the hours spent in the saddle training on the very wet, windy hilltops of the Rhondda Valleys, and I packed every single item of riding gear I owned.

I’d secured support from Louisa, my wife, and also a very good friend of mine, Scottish Mike who came over from Inverness. So off we went on our 550 mile journey north, van packed with bikes and kit for all eventualities. We arrived on site on the Friday to set up the Loco Racing pit tent, and the snow covered tops of the Nevis Range were swathed in sunshine and it was dry, and quite warm. I took advantage of the dry spell and did a practice lap of the course. I stopped a few times to take photos just to show that it was one of the more scenic venues that I’d raced at

The course started with a long gradual fire road climb, nothing too severe. Some 3kms in and we were treated to the first of the fantastic descents that the No Fuss team had included in the course. The first being part of the World Cup XC course, a nice fast flowing descent with some nice slab drops that you could launch off if you wished. So far so good, and after a long section of fire road that traversed across the hillside, we were thrown down the second descent, a quite steep drop in and onto the first of a few boardwalk sections. Nothing too narrow, but just enough to keep it interesting and the course varied.

The first half of the course finished with a more technical singletrack descent, strewn with granite rocks and some roots which twisted tightly through the woodland before finishing with another section of boardwalk. We climbed back towards the crossover point of the course (designed as a figure of eight) on some fire road before climbing steeply on a nice technical bit of singletrack.

The second half of the course was more of a traverse, with a mixture of doubletrack or fireroad, but had a great section of more natural, but well weathered singletrack descending, but to get to it, we had to ride across an area of clearfell which was strewn with exposed, slippery brash (woody material left by the logging machines). This I thought would be interesting in the wet.

The lap ended with a section of fire road, a short climb and a fast descent back into the event arena, which happened to be the main car park and Nevis Range ski centre, including a newly built café. My Garmin made it 14km with some 370m ascent. I was happy with it, and it really did look as if it would be weatherproof, as Frazer at no Fuss had promised.

I was happy, bikes were sorted, the tent was set up, and we left the venue for an evening meal and a good night’s sleep in Fort William.

I woke up to a very grey drizzly morning, but I was expecting it, as the weekend forecast had remained grim all week, so I was mentally prepared for it. I also woke up to a Welsh win at the Rugby World Cup quarter finals in New Zealand against Ireland, so things started well! I arrived at the venue and made some last minute preparations on the bike: number board, checks on brakes, gears, the usual things to keep my mind off the next 24 hours.

Pre-race bike prep

Time came to line up at the start line, but unfortunately for me, a Le Mans start. One thing I’m not is a good runner. I can’t run in flip flops, and I certainly can’t run in stiff soled cycling shoes! However I only had to suffer a few hundred metres and I was surprised I was amongst the first to reach my bike.

I settled in quickly to my planned pace but noticed a few of the solo guys disappearing into the distance on the first climb. I tried to push a little harder just to stay with the first of the soloists but kept within my comfort zone. With the nature of the course, the field of racers spread out quickly which was great as the descents were clear and mostly uninterrupted.

I crossed our pits for the first time a couple of minutes behind the leaders. So far so good and onwards and upwards… until I heard a crack halfway around my second lap and then a repetitive ticking noise. I looked down and was alarmed to see a spoke flapping loosely in my rear wheel. I’d snapped a spoke. I only have 24 of them on my Hope Pro 3 hubs and to lose one meant that I had a ridiculous wobble. I finished the lap slowly and gingerly. There was no panic and I got to the pits and swapped wheels. I’d lost some time, but I wasn’t too concerned at this early stage.

I heard a crack halfway around my second lap and then a repetitive ticking noise...

Conditions started wet and remained wet, but even though the surface of the majority of the course was covered in a wet granitic muddy paste, it was 100% rideable throughout. That section of clearfell I mentioned earlier though was tricky and I dreaded it every lap. The exposed logs got progressively more slippy and the section became more and more technical, especially as the body started to tire.

Lap after lap things continued without too much drama, apart from the consistent rain and mud splattering every inch of my body and bike. Some 6 hours in I was cursed with another mechanical. This time one of my pedals slipped off its spindle leaving my right foot unattached. I tried not to panic and tried to slide the pedal back on as far as it would go, stuck the bike into an easy gear and coasted back to the pits and a change of pedals.

The very muddy finishing straight

Darkness fell early on the Nevis Range and we were using lights by 1900. It was time to settle in to ride through a very long, dark, wet night. I treated myself to a quick change of dry clothes before the night and I was glad of it. I lapped consistently throughout the night, stopping as little as I could so that I wouldn’t be tempted with the warm cosy inside of our team tent. I’d taken the lead in the senior men’s solo some time before dark and that gave me a nice boost to take me through. Jason Miles in the solo vets was ahead of me and I don’t think I would have been able to chase him down and survive the rest of the race in the conditions, he was riding too strong and continued to do so. “Man on a mission” comes to mind, and he rode a superb race.

It was time to settle in to ride through a very long dark wet night...

As the night wore on the course got quieter with increasingly less racers out on the course. It became very lonely and there were times, I admit, where the lure of the tent, and warm dry clothes were almost too much. I tried to keep my spirits up with songs, jokes (yes to myself), and the brief contact I had with the marshals and riders out on the course.

By 0600 I was nearing breaking point, desperate for darkness to break and the sun to come up over the Nevis Range. Unfortunately I had another 90 minutes before I could take my lights off, but even though battered and bruised by this point I did not let the relentless course and conditions break me.

6am, my lowest point

With 5 hours to go and daylight breaking over the mountains, I knew I was on the final few laps and perked up. I’d stayed out in front in the solo seniors and was 5 laps clear of second place. Not only was I looking at finishing, winning the senior male solo was also a high probability as long as I kept going. I was determined to finish well and keep lapping consistently rather than back off towards the end as I wanted to know how far I could push myself.

There were a lot of broken looking people on their bikes by the end, but the last lap came and the relief of having finally reached the end and finishing 1st in category was amazing. I crossed the line and finished with a big muddy hug from Lou and Mike, an amazing support duo that I could not have done without. I’d ridden further than I’d ever ridden nonstop before (340km in total with 8,900m ascent) and in all honesty, some of the worst conditions I’d ever let myself ride in. But looking back, I loved it and look forward to the next one.

Battered, bruised, but not broken.

No Fuss Events know how to put on an event and I have no gripes with how the event was run or setup. Absolutely spot on. The course was excellent, challenging and enjoyable, the event arena was basic but well set out and provided a shelter for those in teams at the transition or just those that needed a rest, and the marshals out on course didn’t stop encouraging us as we rode past lap after lap.

My 2011 season ends here and thankfully on an amazing high, but 2012 plans are underway and this won’t be my last blog during the winter as I’m sure I’ll have enough to write about.

For more information about LocoBM Racing team visit bm-racing.co.uk. If you want find out about the Niterider Relentless 24 and No Fuss events visit www.nofussevents.co.uk.

Search Cyclist No.1

Get our Newsletter

We don’t share our list and will only mail you regarding content on cyclist no.1...

Cyclist No.1 News

• Ritchey TrailMasters 2012
• Black Mountains 3 Day returns
• The Run Rider – Bristol Offroad Duathlon
• Whyte bikes at the 3 Peaks
• ALPKIT Big Shakeout 2011: 14,15,16 October 2011
• Marin and Whyte Demo day Bristol
• Whyte 2012 range highlights
• Bikes Stolen at the Black Mountains
• National Trust: Chilterns Sportives
• The Chilterns Challenge, something for the weekend.

View all news »