oneblackdot

Woken by my 5am alarm, not an ideal start to a day when starting a 24 hour race at midday.

Up. By 5.30 two bikes have been squeezed into the car & I’m off to get my pit helper for the race.  Seb had offered to drive so I could get some sleep.

Zzzzzzzzz…. The change in speed wakes, a much fresher me, as we turn on to the bendy roads just a few miles from our destination.

Stepping out of the air-conditioned car into an already very warm Newcastleton and it’s only 9am.

3 hours later and I’m beginning my first solo 24 hour race. It’s now hot and even though my pace is purposely slow I’m uncomfortable, my first brief pit and the bottle of Torq I’ve consumed isn’t enough, still thirsty.  

A few hours later and I’m trudging on, swapping places with Matt Carr as he catches and passes me on steady climbs (on his singlespeed) & I pass him on descents and the steeper climbs. Its now HOT and the my mind is focused only on the shade of the next set of trees in and the sun going down. My pit stops are still short(ish) but after 8 hours I’m feeling less than good, especially my arse. Swapping the SDG Fly saddle to a ‘ahhhh that’s better’ Charge Spoon & USE suspension post gives some light relief.

8 hours 13 minutes and 9 seconds into the 24 hours of Exposure Race

As the day reluctantly cools, I mash on.

I had heard a lot about ‘the dark places’ your mind visits during during the small hours of a 24 hour race but I never really encountered any dark moments - my mind was mainly occupied with “ow my back/arse/legs hurt(s)” and “I hope Seb has that brew ready for me in the next pit”.

Seb was ace - super chirpy, food and brews at the ready and generally sorting me and the bike out every lap.

And so it went on, I kept eating (far to much) and riding.
During the morning I was told I was in 20th position, then 16th. As the final lap came round I pitted looking forward to a couple of minutes rest as Seb lubed the bike but was greeted by Seb, Phil and Dave handing me a fresh bottle, gel and telling me 15th place was only a few seconds behind and 13th a few in front as I was pushed out - I hammered the last lap working with the Vet leader for most of the lap (my 2nd fastest of the race(!)) and grunted into the finish in 14th place in my category (open male).

Overall the course, organisation and ‘vibe’ of the race was awesome - I started the race fully expecting never wanting to do another - I finished wondering if next time I could go top 10 with some decent training…

I consumed an impressive amount of scran during the race - here’s the list:-

• 20 x Torq gels
• 16 x Bottles of Torq juice
• 4 x rounds of egg butties
• 6 x Cheese & onion pasties
• 2 x tins rice pudding
• 1 x tin macaroni cheese
• 1 x tin fruit salad
• 1 x large portion pasta
• 6 x mini baby bells
• 3 x cans coke
• Brews
• 1 x Bacon butty
• Numerous energy bars