Re: Re:
jimo746":2v635d7d said:
...Kind of makes me think about giving it a go next year, last 12hr event I did was 2 years ago now, probably about time I looked into it again.
You should give it a go.
It's not that hard. Just disconnect your brain, don't listen to the dire warnings your body is giving you, and 24 hours later, it's done.
A positive mental attitude helps. When I was knackered, freezing and thinking it's time to stop for a rest, I looked at my watch (taped to the bars) and thought "Thank god, only 23 hours and 55 minutes to go"
The main thing is a reliable bike, properly maintained and preferably with a brand new drivetrain (it won't be a day later).
This year was a big fail for me. I built up a new bike before the race and didn't take it on a proving run first. It then developed a myriad of small nuisance problems, all of which sucked up time fixing it. Worse was 3 punctures in 4 laps. New carbon rims for tubeless tyres but using tubes (don't trust that new fangled technology), and my normal 1-2 minute tyre change took 20+ minutes. I have since practised at home and got a tyre change down to about 4 minutes. I need to go tubeless!
Luckily I live not too far away, so I got a lift home and rebuilt my trusty Pugsley whose bits had been distributed amongst my other fatties. I returned to the race with that after having lost a huge chunk of time, but at least managed to have a beer or two while building it, and all was golden thereafter. If you notice a fat bike with huge red mudguards and the rider wearing a yellow jacket near the end, that's me Puggling away.
My dreams of 24 hour race domination will have to wait for next year.
Worst memory of the race is that I managed to do an OTB in front of a crowd from the top of the stairs into the wee burn. It wasn't the crash, but that no one got a photo that narks me. It felt spectacular.
Edit: embarrassingly they included my dig at Dougie Vipond.