Thursday 20 June 2013

This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time....*

So, planning the events/rides I want to do over the course of the next year.  I like this bit - it feels like I'm actually doing something.  And it's more interesting than the report I need to write, but then so is watching Airport Live....(seriously?)

So, I shall list these in chronological order because...well, it makes me feel more organised and hopefully covers up the inability to book the correct flight in the correct year and month.

Thetford MTB Enduro - 29th June 2013

South Downs Way in a day - 31st August 2013

GB's Surrey 100 - 14th September 2013

D2D - 5th October 2013

Bearbones 200 - 12th October 2013

Highland Trail Race - 24th May 2014

Tour Divide - 14th June 2014

I need to decided on whether I can do D2D and the BearBones 200 back to back, what distance I do for the Thetford MTB enduro and whether the HTR is too close to the start of the TD.

I think the Thetford Enduro will probably be the 6 hour one, mainly because I'm still getting quite a bit of back pain and...well...its less than two weeks away.  But it'll just be nice to get a decent long MTB ride in and the Thetford lot always puts on a good course round the forest.

This list isn't currently complete.  I've got the 'Ride to the (semi) North' planned at some point which will be an out and back to my Aunts in Lincoln.  I think this should probably be done in deepest darkest winter so I get used to feeling the nastiness.  Also got numerous Thetford Winter series and Gorrick races that I want to do.  I might try to do the MSG race at Haleigh farm too, just because of the venue.

I'm also reading up on gear.  I've got the bike sorted (I think) but there will be more to come on that as and when I start doing some proper distances.  In fact, that's a total lie - I've no idea what bike I'll use, be it one I've already got or something I might purchase at some point (rather than food - I'm good at that).  I need to ask someone who has done the event whether a cross bike would be better suited as I've heard it's not particularly technical and I get more hand positions with a drop bar.  Anyway - exciting stuff and I LOVE buying new bikes.

Kit choice (sleeping/clothing) is still an area I know very little about so that's going to need lots of reading.  My last bike packing trip was about 5 years ago with lots of AlpKit bags lashed to my Turner 5-spot.  The tent leaked, I spent the weekend eating pot noodles and there were a lot of midges. So I need some new kit.  The Salsa site is proving pretty useful although slightly scary, talk of swollen legs, painful knees and sore mouths from having to eat constantly.  I'm also on BearBones which seems pretty awesome and particularly helpful.  I need to get signed up on there and maybe start asking some newbie questions.

Riding to Swinley tonight - it looks like its going to piss it down so that'll be nice.

*Fight Club

6 comments:

  1. I was going to suggest to you that I was looking at doing the SDW in a day some time in August and if you liked the idea of riding it with someone else? I would need to do it one weekend earlier than you have planned though as I have the Manx End-to-End to ride early September. I was also looking at bare bones if again you were looking for someone to ride with?

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  2. Composite sir - that sounds like a fantastic idea. Drop me an email on Wilkitcher@gmail.com and we can sort some dates out

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  3. A 50+ lady it managed on a cross bike I think. 29er mtb is the favoured bike, carbon rigid forks are popular. Craig Stapler was wondering about this 2 years ago but he did an ITT on a Scott Scale and the last 2 years set off in the Grand Depart also on his Scott. This year he has switched from Sus forks to Niner carbon's which is what the winner, Olly Whalley, used last year.

    Alpkit are producing a load of stuff shortly. I was in the World HQ on Friday and some stuff will be released next week, the rest to follow shortly.

    Also look at www.wildcatgear.co.uk

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  4. I have a one of the wild cat handle bar harnesses and I can recommend that as a great bit of kit. Got my saddle bag from here, made to order. http://bikepack.pl/shop/index.php?route=common/home

    Just noticed that he is doing frame bags as well now. I was going to go for one of the alpkit frame bags over the wildcat ones as they are just a bit too expensive for me.

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  5. Cool - thanks for the links blackhound, will get looking and purchasing!

    I'm thinking an MTB with tri-bars might be the best bet. I've got a set of tri-bars that I tried at the weekend and the position on the current bike is quite comfy. Also been a standard double diamond means a framebag will fit, I just then need to sort out how to carry water

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  6. If you fit tri-bars practice with them a lot. I didn't use mine much before hand and then did not feel comfortable on them during the TD for long periods, Not sure they were worth taking for me in retrospect.

    Mike Hall said much the same in his blog and did not fit them this year, he used bar ends instead fitted either side of stem - no idea how he found them though.

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