2014-01-19 Strathpuffer Aftermath
- Thread starter zigzag
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Had a wee bit of time to mull over and pick through the meat and bones of my Puffer experience. All in all I've got to admit I'm fairly happy with the outcome, a few regrets for sure but on the whole content! Choosing the fat bike was a dicey prospect, my reasons at the time seemed good and I think I can say now that I'm happy enough with the decision, the big tyres made mincemeat of the tech sections and rocky muddy stuff. I think on a more regular bike this would have taken a hefty toll physically, as it was the fat bike helped in this respect but there was a trade off and the big tyres did begin to drag after a while.
I'd also say that singlespeeding was a not too bad call either, unfortunately some school boy errors creeped in, I should have realised that the reason I had a 20t cog was because I'd previously ran 32/20 and indeed had done so at the summer puffer. After a while it was apparent that it was a bit tall, something like 32/22 would have been a more sensible option. My biggest schoolboy error was not fully testing out my set up :facepalm: I'd been running the Pug with gears pretty much up till a week before the event and with everything to do a full test never happened. As mentioned I lost my chain around 20 times on the first lap, and a attempted bodge on the second never worked either in fact it might have been worse as the chain was pulled out of alignment and shipped more than the first lap. A link out did increase tension but the drag was crazy and it never eased off, looking back I'm amazed I did 7 laps with it so tight. Jamie to the rescue gave me a chain tug and that sorted out the tensioning (thanks to the pit crew mechs
) alas the bite was in and fatigue was setting rather quickly. I'd planned to ride right through but the gearing and the tensioning issues meant I needed a break, a sleep ensued( I'd have sworn I never fell asleep but the clock says differently!) I did manage to pick myself up though and squeeze out another two laps giving me a total of 12 which was 3 short of target( I'd read the course was 11k, but it seemed a bit shorter than this so 100miles for 15 would have been out anyway)
As I said on reflection I'm happy, it would be easy to get pee'd off at the things that went wrong but you can read and hypothesize all you want and try to mitigate against anything that might crop up but only by doing it can you learn. Today I'm all up for doing it again next year! But I do remember trying to tell myself that somethings are best left as a standalone experiences, so I'm not sure......honestly
I'd also say that singlespeeding was a not too bad call either, unfortunately some school boy errors creeped in, I should have realised that the reason I had a 20t cog was because I'd previously ran 32/20 and indeed had done so at the summer puffer. After a while it was apparent that it was a bit tall, something like 32/22 would have been a more sensible option. My biggest schoolboy error was not fully testing out my set up :facepalm: I'd been running the Pug with gears pretty much up till a week before the event and with everything to do a full test never happened. As mentioned I lost my chain around 20 times on the first lap, and a attempted bodge on the second never worked either in fact it might have been worse as the chain was pulled out of alignment and shipped more than the first lap. A link out did increase tension but the drag was crazy and it never eased off, looking back I'm amazed I did 7 laps with it so tight. Jamie to the rescue gave me a chain tug and that sorted out the tensioning (thanks to the pit crew mechs
) alas the bite was in and fatigue was setting rather quickly. I'd planned to ride right through but the gearing and the tensioning issues meant I needed a break, a sleep ensued( I'd have sworn I never fell asleep but the clock says differently!) I did manage to pick myself up though and squeeze out another two laps giving me a total of 12 which was 3 short of target( I'd read the course was 11k, but it seemed a bit shorter than this so 100miles for 15 would have been out anyway)As I said on reflection I'm happy, it would be easy to get pee'd off at the things that went wrong but you can read and hypothesize all you want and try to mitigate against anything that might crop up but only by doing it can you learn. Today I'm all up for doing it again next year! But I do remember trying to tell myself that somethings are best left as a standalone experiences, so I'm not sure......honestly
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
12 laps was blooming impressive !!
I'll never puffer unless part of a team that does not take itself at all seriously.
Well done Kaiser, Jamie and Epicyclo
I'll never puffer unless part of a team that does not take itself at all seriously.
Well done Kaiser, Jamie and Epicyclo
zigzag":266f3kdw said:Words to follow...
Kaiser... beard sporter. Single speeder. Fat biker. And not nearly dirty enough for a Puffer racer.
Well done chaps.... .... ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmFnarFSj_U
....and....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C5nE4UqqLk
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aelmdQWX ... 4-overview
there is a bit were mr k is riding not pushing :twisted:
there is a bit were mr k is riding not pushing :twisted:
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Kaiser features as many times as Guy Martin, although I only saw him on the Pugsley once. Epicyclo was in there too with his huge red mudguards. Looked a good year to do it if your not a fan of snow and ice.
epicyclo
Senior Retro Guru
velomaniac":3lg6txfu said:
Kaiser features as many times as Guy Martin, although I only saw him on the Pugsley once. Epicyclo was in there too with his huge red mudguards. Looked a good year to do it if your not a fan of snow and ice.
On the other hand if you're relying on foul conditions to give hypothermia to the mudguardless competition, it was a bad year...
Radoslaw":25h14ifb said:Brilliant! Well done guys. Holy shit, Kaiser. I bet if you shave off that beard you would knock significant weight off. Looks cool though
Beards now off(ish) will report on Monday at the weigh in
I remember those two guys, nice chaps willing to help. It does look like I pushed my way around the whole course and I've no doubt that just about everybody taking part saw me walking or putting my chain back on at some point!
