travel – Jordan Matthews

SRMR 4 – Race

Friday 12th August The race wasn’t starting until midnight, so we had the whole day to get sorted. I went over to the sign on, which involved a couple of trips back and forth to take bike, bags and cardboard box. Sign on was quick and gave us a chance to chat to other riders,ContinueContinue reading “SRMR 4 – Race”

Italy Divide – Pre Start

Italy Divide is a 780 odd mile bikepacking event from Pompeii, to Lake Garda. The website says it… ‘follows fast rolling gravel roads (Francigena/Eurovelo7) with quite technical mtb trails (Via degli Dei/Lessinia/Monte Baldo) in between to explore the wild and remote parts of Italy with a plenty mix of history along the trail. You willContinueContinue reading “Italy Divide – Pre Start”

HT550 – Pre start

The Highland Trail 550 is a self-supported mountain bike route 550 miles in length with over 16000m of climbing. The route was created by Alan Goldsmith to prep for the Colorado Trail Race, but it has become a massive event in its own right. From https://highlandtrail550.weebly.com/route.html I’m excited and nervous, probably in equal measure. It’sContinueContinue reading “HT550 – Pre start”

Hell of the North West 2021

Up then down, then up then down, then up some more… 520 Miles Too many feet of climbing 60 ish hours The Hell of the North West is a road based long distance bike ‘race’ (it’s not a race). Its 520 miles with over 45,000 ft of climbing. The route was made by Dan JonesContinueContinue reading “Hell of the North West 2021”

Dales Divide Race 2020

55 hours 15 minutes of the whatever the North could throw at me. The Dales Divide is a 600km mixed terrain route with 9000m of climbing. Having heard of the route last year and with it being not far from where I live, it had always been my plan to complete the route in someContinueContinue reading “Dales Divide Race 2020”

All Points North 2019 – Day 2, and the rest

275.75 Miles 19:58:25 Moving Time 23:07:55 Elapsed Time 11,418ft Climbed X2 giant bowls of curry devoured at the finish! Waking up with my alarm at 3am was actually a relief as my constant shuffling in my sleep during the night turned the light and fan on with the movement sensor. Oh well, feeling somewhat refreshed,ContinueContinue reading “All Points North 2019 – Day 2, and the rest”

All Points North 2019 – Day 1(and a bit)

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,ContinueContinue reading “All Points North 2019 – Day 1(and a bit)”

All Points North 2019 – Pre Race

With nearly a year passed since the All Points North Race in 2019 and with the news that this years race has been postponed, I thought it was a good time to try and recollect the crazy 50 or so hours I spent on the saddle during the race. Plus some before and after snapshotsContinueContinue reading “All Points North 2019 – Pre Race”

TCRN07 Day 15: Checking Out

10/08/19 52.41 Miles 5:02:40 hrs Moving Time 3,133 ft Gained 10.4 mph Average Speed My body was finished. My head was finished. Everything was finished. The only thing that wasn’t finished was the race. I woke just before 6am with the morning light, a pleasant change to the aggressive tones of my GPS alarm. AsContinueContinue reading “TCRN07 Day 15: Checking Out”

TCRN07 Day 14: Trees near Tubilly – Carhaix-Plouger

09/08/19 194.2 Miles 15:25:53 hrs Moving Time 11,119 ft Gained 12.6 mph Average Speed Waking up to the sound of rain is nice, but to the feel of rain on your face, slightly worse. When I checked the forecast the previous night, the rain wasn’t supposed to start until 5am, however this was wrong. AsContinueContinue reading “TCRN07 Day 14: Trees near Tubilly – Carhaix-Plouger”