The BB 200 Thread

[Spillippe]

Stu - thanks for a great event. Enjoyed all of it apart from the last bit, which was horrible!

Thanks also to Dee for making some brekkie for the kids and letting them feed the Lammas.

Hopefully, see you next year.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Stu, I'm in Aber so if this guy in hospital needs any practical help like lifts or whatever give me a call 07973444521

Cheers Kevin.

[Bearbonesnorm]

By the time I woke up in the morning the carpark was quite quiet and my head very fuzzy. I wasn't sure where the farm house was to get breakfast or my badge. Were we meant to pick them up there or are they going to be posted out? Can I get mine posted out if I was meant to pick it up? Man all I had in my head was getting home at that point. I was stumbling about in daze.

You really were asleep ... you rode through the farm when you finished

I'll get you a badge sorted out. May be a couple of weeks though as we'll need a new batch.

[composite]

You really were asleep ... you rode through the farm when you finished

I'll get you a badge sorted out. May be a couple of weeks though as we'll need a new batch.

Ahhh OK I remember passing a building now (maybe on the left?) near the end but I didn't really connect the two.

Thanks Stu and team for all the hard work.

[mountainbaker]

Ahhh OK I remember passing a building now (maybe on the left?) near the end but I didn't really connect the two.

Ha, I pointed it out to you on the right as we rode past it! You must have been knackered!

[composite]

I can kind of remember now...
I guess I was just all messed up in the morning. :?

[Ian]

Carnau was funny. I could see Alan G, Phil R and Phil S as spots in the distance as I lifted my bike over the gate off the end of the stone track. We all got to the far gate at about the same time, me having made up possibly 10-12 mins on Phil S by going the right way. Probably the most rideable I've seen that trail.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Probably the most rideable I've seen that trail.

Totally agree ... very fast / easy this year.

[darbeze]

What an experience! Hardest/best/worst ride I have ever had the pleasure of doing...

Discovered that such efforts are about far more that just pedalling... You have to keep your head in a good place, you have to eat and drink regularly, you have to manage battery consumption in your bar light, helmet light and GPS. You have to fix punctures the first time, and not miss the bit of wire stuck in your tyre which puncture the tube again 30 minutes later, just as you are going to cross Carnau (or whatever it is called).

I remember going over the bars, just before realising I was the wrong side of the river...

Keep having flashbacks of moments of the ride, mainly of the dark parts... It was funny coming across what looked like massive slugs, only to realise upon closer inspection, that they were fellow riders in bivvy bags at the side of the track!

All in all, a fantastic unforgettable experience, I still can't quite believe I managed 23.5hrs. I am very pleased.

Thank you to Tom, who I ended up riding with for what seemed like half the night. Pete who I bumped into a couple of times throughout the ride, and of course to Stu, who I caught up with for the third time just after the cliff face climb challenge!! At that point, Tom and I were not convinced we would get back under 24hrs, but Stu assured us we were only10-15 minutes away from home... 30 minutes later we all got back safely...

A little black embroidered badge has never looked so good. The breakfast roll was fab, and just what I needed!

Right then, what's next??

Si
(Genesis Fortitude Race - Bright orange)

[Mattie_H]

It's too long and rambling and there are no decent photographs but... for what they're worth here are my thoughts on the weekend: http://tricksterprince.wordpress.com/20 ... 3-edition/

[Ian]

Hopefully, see you next year.

Fat bikes at 200km it is then?

[flat_4]

Great event, second time I've done it and 24 hours later I can almost see the appeal in doing it again.

Personally I reckon it was a bit harder in this direction, maybe it's just psychological as going the other way I only really thought as far as getting off Carneau and then rolled home. This way you still have those last 20km to do...

And what a last section! Those climbs up the grassy banks were just cruel! I started off pushing, then trying to lift my bike onto my back - not easy when you've got zero strength left. That tussocky boggy push near the end caused much swearing and sense of humour failure as the long grass wrapped itself around cranks, hubs and anything else it could find just to rip my bike from my hands.

Carneau was way easier than last year, even if I made the schoolboy error of religiosly following the GPS trace rather than the defined path part way up and found myself hauling the bike over more tussocks for 10 minutes - idiot.

Rode with some great people for a few sections as we seemed to leapfrog each other during the ride - thanks Chris Purt, Bryan and Luke for the company.

Caught Kevin Roderick on the final descent into Pennant (not that I knew who it was at the time - total tunnel vision by then), and absolutely gobsmacked that he got around in 17hrs on a cross bike - massive kudos for that!

So big thanks to Stu, Dee, Chew and Flatfishy for the organisation and the sarnie which went a good way to replacing all my lost calories in one hit. I'll have another one of them next year please... :D

[FLV]

Probably the most rideable I've seen that trail.

Totally agree ... very fast / easy this year.

I actually enjoyed Carnau. up and down this way round...