Bearbonesnorm wrote: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 wrote:"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 wrote:Carried everything.

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

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)

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?!?

Karl wrote: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!

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