293.24 Miles
23:50:54 Moving Time
26:45:13 Elapsed Time
26,061 ft climbed
9 croissants consumed
The start was great, everyone turned the right out of the HQ and then the next junction everyone went off in different directions, it was like wacky races. Getting out off Sheffield was a series of crossing paths with other racers, jumping up kerbs, avoiding glass and quickly finding some quiet roads to settle into the race.
Well I say settle in, I was following my route, which I knew wasn’t the most direct, so as I turned off the major route out of Sheffield and up some singletrack with a 20% incline, I refrained from screaming out and tried to take in my surroundings and just remember why I took part in these races, to enjoy these moments. The quiet, the sunsets and the state of mind achieved only from riding stupid distances on little sleep.
With the sunset, the sound of my tyres hummed on the quiet roads and the first checkpoint at Haworth came into sight. After a quick run into the pub before closing for a pint of coke and a refill of my bottles, alongside the inevitable quizzical stares at a guy in cycling clothes in a pub after midnight, I took the timestamped photo to show that I had made it to the checkpoint and pointed my front wheel towards Brimham Rocks.
The ride between Haworth and Brimham sort of blends into many steep descents and climbs in and out of towns, through late night revelers leaving pubs and kebab shops contrasting with the extreme dark and quiet of the Dales. The weather was perfect, no rain, little wind and the temperature was manageable.
Passing a few riders leaving Brimham rocks spurred me on. The short gravel section to the rocks was interesting in the dark and the silhouette of the rocks in the moonlight was unforgettable, conjuring memories of visiting the rocks as a kid. I was pleased to hit this control point at 2am as there were no visitors to weave round. I reached the visitor centre, took a photo and went into the toilet to fill my water bottles up. Oh dear, I had woken up another racer who had bedded down for the night in the disabled toilet. Sorry, I whispered and went to the gents to fill my bottles up, luckily no sleeping racers were in there.
Heading West, the sun starred to rise around 4/5 am. From what I can remember, I filled my night with disco and podcasts.
Freewheeling through a small village just after sunrise, I saw Mark waking from his bus stop bivvy and sure enough within another 10 minutes or so he had caught me up and we had a little catch up before he zoomed off ahead of me. It was great to see a familiar face after a night riding through the dark and also a reminder to speed up a bit!
The checkpoints of Slaidburn and Arnside came in relatively quick succession and running out of food, my breakfast craving came to the fore and I stopped at a little corner shop for a coffee and some warm treats! This was my first sit down off the bike since the start and it was bliss. Looking out over the West coast, I savoured the stillness, but didn’t make myself too comfortable and after checking the tracker and my route to Tan Hill, I was on my way after 20 minutes or so.
Choosing again the quieter and hillier route, I rode into the Dales towards Buttertubs Pass. I had cycled this from North to South but never South to North, so thought seen as I will get close to it, why not ride it in the race. Stopping for ice cream at the bottom, I dragged me and my bike up the hill and was pleased to freewheel all the way down the other side and well into the heart of the Dales, I love this place.
The climb up to Tan Hill Inn wasn’t as steep as Buttertubs, but seemed to drag for much longer and the constant stream of motor bikes definitely kept me awake and eager to reach the pub for a substanstial feed!
I made it the the top, took the photo and entered the pub, ordered some food and 2 pints of coke. I sat down inside and soted verything that needed to be sorted for the next leg of the race, with the aim of reaching Kielder around 11pm and stopping there for a few hours to get the only sleep of the race.
The pub was busy so the food took a little longer than I would have liked to come while in a race, but I chose to eat at the most popular pub in the Dales, so all my own fault. Anyway, the food did its job and I was on my way after over an hour off the bike.
The descent down off Tan Hill was well received, as were the flat roads to the bottom of Great Dun Fell.
With the clouds forming over the top of the fell, I started the long climb up the the weather station. The weather got worse the higher I climbed and by the top I was in my full waterproofs and pretty much soaked with a mixture of sweat of rain. The wind had luckily been with me up the hill.
However, this meant for a very cold descent. I knew I had to get the photo at the top and make my way down as quickly as possible to stop myself from getting too cold. I managed this, but after the decent and reaching the flat roads again, I was shivering like mad and soaked through. I started to worry. 2 courses of action entered my head, stop and try to dry myself off or just ride hard to warm up. Seen as I still had my race head on, I decided to ride hard in attempt to warm myself up. The first half hour was tough, luckily the sun started to come out and I started to warm up and dry through. Moods began to rise once more. My mood, as i’m sure is similar to others who take part in these races, is one minute I want to quit and just go home, then the next minute I just want to ride forever. Then repeat until the race is over, or something similar.
The roads to Kielder, the next Control Point and my sleeping point, were undulating with no major climbs. I stopped briefly in Brampton for some supplies and at a pizza shop for my late night supper when I reached Kielder as I knew there would be nowhere open when I got there.
Kielder seemed to take forever to reach and as the sun set for 2nd time since the start of the race. I reached the Castle on schedule around 10:30pm, 26 hours into the race, headed for the toilet block, ate my pizza, rolled out my sleeping mat, set the alarm for 3am and slept!
293 Miles down
271 Miles to go
Jordan Matthews 