The 2016 BB200 (& 2015)

On Saturday I set off to vanquish the demons of the past, about 12 months earlier a fitter / leaner / faster version of myself set off on the 2015 BB200.

It was my first go at it proper (previous years I'd just been in charge of parking) and I was a bit scared by it but I got my head down and kicked on, and by all accounts was doing pretty well, well on for a decent time and Top10 finish, that was until 180km @ 3am. I was cold, it was dark, I was on my own and my arse hurt. This also coincided with crossing a road that I knew went downhill back to the start. My head went, I wimped out and I've been jolly cross with myself for 12 months...

.....Jolly cross indeed,

But not cross enough with myself to train or get fitter.

So 2016 came and a stone and a bit heavier with about half the mileage under my belt I set off on the BB200.

It was ace!

Set off on my own but I bet I only rode 10km alone, got to Knighton quicker than I thought, watched the sun go down from the top of hills. The cafe and its soup and full fat Coke cans at 140km was a godsend. Onto Hafren and then left at Staylittle, I knew it would be hard from here but after last year  just making myself turn left and not rolling down the road was all I needed to do.

Came in just over 21 hours, the route was good and the conversations along the way made it.

Foggy Bit

Fast bit

No helmet death bit

Sunset bit

Leek & spud soup bit

1kg of stuff I carried 200km for a laugh bit

(nb Sunglasses useless, refer to foggy bit photo)

Poo-ey Bike

Future Calf Tattoo just annoy Iron Mans* 

(*not Tony Stark)

Dream Bike Time

My mantra has always been "I'll swap my bike when it becomes the limiting factor" this is mainly aimed at the fact that I'm a slow fat biffer on the bike. Not the slowest, or the least capable, but I'm certainly not "a racing snake" and the fact is, the bike isn't the thing that's slowing me down...

....and to be fair to my Scandal it's a bloody great bike. It's done soooo many many miles now including 4 Welsh Rides, 4 Winter Bivies, ridden from London to Wales and many trips and local blasts in-between. Every year people turn up on new bikes but my Scandal has stayed true to the cause. In 2011 at the start of the WRT you probably could have counted the 29ers on one hand. Last year my 26er Scandal was in a minority.

but..... and it's a fairly common but.. every so often my mind turns to my next bike (once I've earn't it, I know what my goal is) and when I do the Scandal will be retired and new bike will take it's place.
I know what I want, I want to take all the good bits about my Scandal and put bigger wheels on it, in fact if I could swap it for the original 29er version Scandal I would in a heartbeat but seen as On-One don't make this anymore and added silly 1.5" headsets on the later ones, it's off the list.

I like the simple things and I want to re-use a lot of the bits I like on my current bike. The 1/18th Headset, Normal BB, Gears, QR dropouts.

I think I'm going to risk rigid forks on my next bike. So many times have I set off with my forks locked out and promptly forgotten, then rode with them locked out for an entire ride without really noticing. Bearing this in mind, adding bigger wheels and a bit of a springy steel frame I think it's worth the risk and in my mind my super light current frame and heavy bouncy forks should weigh the same as a rigid steel? (just guessing)

A frameset that has caught my eye in the Genesis Longitude and I think this could be 'the one'. It will take all on my existing stuff (hopefully my Wildcat bag as-well, cable guides and bosses may be in the wrong place but I reckon I can get this on 'Warranty') so all I'll just need to buy is Frameset, Wheels and Tyres.

Right, best get on with my target then....

A couple of Winter Bivi recipes

Well the 'Winter Bivi' was massive this year (I counted 18) and the usual good fun

Usual malarky

• Pub, cafe breakfast, coffee, etc
• Ride bikes (not far)
• Push Bikes (not far)
• Bit of Banter
• Get Wet, rained on, sleeted on, hailed on, snowed on. (~0.00001mm of snow)
• Get Muddy
• Sleep Out
• COOK OFF!

So in prep for the COOK OFF! Two new recipes that can be prepared and eaten on a hillside, under a tarp, in a barn.

Baked Camembert (On a Meths Stove) - Serves 2 (or 1 fatty)

I tested this on an Alpkit MyTiMug and a Snowpeak Mini Solo (but any similar sized pot should work)
Ingredients
1 Small sized Camembert (Just small enough to fit in the pot in it's wooden box)
Pinch of Sea Salt & Pepper
Pinch of Paprika
Crackers or Bread for dipping.

Prep (done at home)
Take Camembert out of it's packaging, dispose of anything plasticy that could melt.
Cut a X in the top of the Cheese
Sprinkle on the Salt, Pepper, Paprika
Wrap the Cheese in Tin Foil (just enough to cover it
Then wrap the cheese in a bit of baking paper
Put it back in it's little wooden box

Cooking
Put about an small amount of water in your pot, about 20-30mm
Using a some tin foil make a little cradle so that you can suspend the cheese in very top of the pot, just low enough so that you can get the lid on but there should be a decent air gap between the water and the cheese.
Then stick the pot on the heat.

10mins later, lift out a perfectly baked Camembert, best eaten with bread to dip straight out of the box.

Hillside Chocolate Mousse

Quite easy this one and made cold and sets quickly without a fridge and it's amazing!

Ingredients
1 Packet of Angel Delight (or cheap alternative, I used Sainsbury's 20p stuff)
1 TBL Spoon of Powered Milk
1 Small Tin of Thick Evaporated Milk 170ml (Carnation ones have the ring pull lid which means no tin opener needed, supermarket version didn't)
150ml cold water

Method
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until all of the lumps are gone, will thicken as you stir, no need to stand it or wait. Add grated chocolate, or smashed up biscuits.

Welsh Ride Thing '14

Well I'm back and I'm proper cream crackered. My eyes are sore and I must look bad as people at work are asking me to shout "Adrian!" in a Rocky voice.

All I can say is this year was Epic! (Please don't sue me Specialized)

But rather than some long write up (too tired)

• 3 Days 
• Lots of Hill
• 2 Nights out both cold but dry (An Abbey and Hafren)
• 1 Amazing downhill
• About 85miles
• 1 Knackered granny ring :-(
• Many pints (4 different pubs)
• 1 Pot noodle
• 2 Porridge
• Great banter
• 1 dead sheep
• Lots of dead moles
• 1 Sore Kidney (Stupid fall)

Loved it, Type 1 fun this time (most of the time)

Elfsteden - hurdy gurdy - sore bum Tocht

Instead of the Welsh Ride Thing this year I am in Holland (well The Netherlands really) for the 100th Elf & a bit of a family holiday.

The 'Elf' is a bike ride that goes through 11 cities in the province of Friesland. It's 240km long (about 150 miles) and around 15000 cyclists on all manner of bikes do it. This will be my 4th time. We do the ride because Sarah's Dad has been doing it for a while now (it's Duncan's 18th time and we think he's the most entered Brit) but the main reason we came this time was because it was his friend Danny's 10th time which is considered quite a milestone (well 1500 milestones). It's a fun ride and this year is the 100th year so was set to be a bit more fun that your average 150 miles in day on a bike affair.

As you ride through the towns and villages, bunting is up, little stalls appear, bands play, people get dressed up and sit out of the front of their houses and cheer you on. (Most are drinking beer even at 6am, it's a Dutch bank holiday) all this to watch the 1000s of bikes go by. It makes for a superb atmosphere and Dutch are all a bit mental and they are united by their love of bikes.

So then what of our ride? Well we started at 5:30, 4 of us on highly efficient carbon miles munchers (Duncan, Clayton, Danny & Me) and 2 on a hired Dutch cast iron tandem that had seen better days (Ian & Nina)

The first 50 miles went by in a alright way, not quick enough but alright, I was enjoying it but not quite in the groove yet. For the first few checkpoints we stuck with Ian & Nina on the Tandem but their pace was just too slow and I feared that I might not complete if I stuck with them.

At 9am we reached the first psychological milestone of Dokkum, 60 miles done! (I know 60 miles before 9am!) We fanny'ed around for too long here and didn't leave until nearly 9:30. Next major stop was Bolsward for lunch. I got to Bolswsrd about 11am and had lost Duncan & Clayton. I hung around for a bit and the wondered up to where Sarah and the girls where meeting us. I didn't expect them to be there but they were and it was so nice to see them. I had a bit of lunch but I struggled with it and I was eager to set off again. We heard at this point the tandem & Danny who had stuck with them was over an hour and a half behind us already.

Time to kick on for the second half (the course is a big figure of eight Bolsward Start - North loop - Bolsward Lunch - South loop - Bolsward Finish). I prefer the second half, the towns are smaller & prettier, they are more frequent and after lunch most of the supporters are proper pissed so the shouts and cheers are louder. By now I was in the groove and really enjoying the ride, my legs felt good, my saddle was comfy and I was so pleased that I was feeling good despite a distinct lack of training and it just made me feel even better. 100 miles flew by and by the time we hit the notorious dyke section. Holland may be flat but it does have some killer headwinds and the dyke has really exposed double killer headwinds! Even so I was still feeling good and comfortable to push 17mph into to the wind. Clayton and Duncan didn't look happy but took turns on the front grumbling. I turned round to see that about 200 other riders had latched on and we were towing them along the dyke. Soon enough we went through the last few checkpoints and cycled into the finish. Sarah and the girls were waiting with flowers and it was time to pick up our medals.

150 miles, 11 hours 35 mins.

Of Mice and Men, a bit of Tolkien, A five mile push, loneliness, darkness and the worlds loudest snoring man.

30th December 2011.

The best laid schemes of mice and men,
often go awry,
and leave us nought but grief an' pain

I suppose I kinda instigated the idea of a last trip of 2011. After missing the BB200, the Winter Bivi and knowing I'll miss the Mach 'n' Back in Jan I was feeling a bit miffed and it seemed like a chance for me to get one last trip in before 2012.

So it was set an overnight trip to the Moel Prysgau Bothy in mid Wales. I packed accordingly and left my tarp at home. (I also in the rush left my map & Aquapak at home as well)

As I was travelling in from a couple of 4 star luxury spa nights away so I said I'd make my own way up to the Bothy and meet the others there.

I set off up the Elan Valley in the rain, past the spectacular reservoirs, at times it hammered down so hard it made me feel like I was directly under them! (it should be noted that for some reason I had put shorts on.) As I followed the tarmac all was well, moist but well. Once the tarmac road had ended my route was to follow a simple bridleway along the side of a nice looking stream for about 6-7 miles, it would take me to the front door of the bothy. 6-7 miles on a bike? 30mins, maybe an hour tops. I reckoned that I'd be first at the bothy, lighting the fire and welcoming the others as they arrived with hot coffee and hugs. Things however, did not go to plan.

Dead marshes
As I left the tarmac I couldn't make out where the bridleway started, no obvious tracks or way-marking, I was a little more confused than my normal state of perpetual confusion, no matter I had a copy of the map on my phone, the only problem was keeping it dry whilst looking at it in monsoon conditions. It showed the Bridleway following the stream and looked simple enough. Basically follow the stream for about 5 miles to the forest, how hard could that be? After 10 mins of faff I was off, not on a track but following a general direction and doing okay. Then it all went wrong, very very, wrong!

"Dreary and wearisome. Cold, clammy winter still held sway in this forsaken country. The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of the sullen waters. Dead grasses and rotting reeds loomed up in the mists like ragged shadows of long forgotten summers."

I soon could not ride, in fact I could barely push, it turns out that the bridleway I had chosen goes through a fucking massive swamp! 2 foot tall clumps of grassy reedy stuff covered the ground and the babbling brook of a stream as indicated on the map was an angry raging torrent branching off in multiple directions. The bike was heavy with all the gear on and the only real way to make forward progress was to carry it on my back. Occasionally I'd find and push along some sheep engineered tracks which whilst lifting my spirits usually only lasted  no more than a few yards.

Every other step I was sinking to my thighs in saturated ground, at one point my leg came out of the mud dark reddy brown and I wondered if I'd just stepped through a rotting sheep. On I went trying to pick out the clumps of grass to prevent sinking and failing miserably (I went over more than a few times). I was constantly referring to my (getting wetter and wetter) iPhone praying Apple had designed some moisture redundancy into my only map source. I had to cross dozens of streams and ford the raging torrent (which went over my waist) twice!

Once again I had ignored the fact that bridleways in remote Wales are generally complete shit and totally un-rideable on a bike! (I may have also been told this, but as usual, I applied pig ignorance to advice offered)

As I carried on each step toying with the fact this is far too hard  and too slow and that maybe I should head back, hit the tarmac and get safe. Light would fade soon and rather than being first there I now had to face up to the fact that I would be lucky to make it at all. The ground around looked bleak with no natural shelters, no tarp, no map and no where dry to lie down either. I pushed on determined to make the tree line before dark though.

2 miles in, 3 to go to the forest, 2 back to the road,
3 up, 2 to go,3 back,
4 up and oh it's dark but at least I can a faint outline of trees through the dark and the mist.

At no point was I really worried, honest!, I had a big warm sleeping bag, a waterproof bivi bag, fuel and food, I could use my Thermarest bed as a sort of boat come floatation device on the sodden ground, never was it a proper problem, it just would have been a long long night. (A tarp would have been nice though.)

It's dark at four
The light went completely at about 4:30pm but I'd just managed to reach the edge of the forest. The Bothy was about 1.5km away now as the crow flies but I was proper knackered and drenched to the skin. If I stopped I'd get cold fast. It was at this point, exhausted, I started doing dumb stuff.

Dumb stuff #1
I'd lost the non existent bridleway but found the forest. So eager to get to the tress I climbed the fence and thought I'll just walk straight through until I hit a fire road. In the forest it was pitch black now and rather than bog it was bog, puddles, branches and roots. I must have gone 300m into the forest when a better more sensible voice told me I could get lost pretty quickly dong this and that I should stop, turn back, go back to the fence and follow it. Even non existent Bridleways have gates. This I did, found the gate and just as before no obvious bridleway presented itself on the other side of the gate just a boggy gap through the trees.

I once again toyed with my options, I could hunker down here for the night, the trees offer a bit of shelter but still no dry ground was apparent. I could bin the bike and walk, the bike had been a complete hindrance since I left tarmac. In the end bloody mindedness saw through and I pushed on through the boggy gap until I hit a fire road.

Dumb stuff #2

So happy to be on fire road I just set off loving the fact I could make quick progress on my bike, I zipped along in the dark with a second wind. Sensible voice then kicked in! Best check your direction it said, so I did and I'd cycled about 2k the wrong way! Pillock! .

Lights a hoy!
Once in the forest and checking my wet phone I had to wind around some fire road and then use a short cut through to get to the bothy. I wound my way round the tracks and eventually saw car lights across the valley I then saw the window lit up of a building. Anyway after a bit I found the way through to the Bothy (well Memory Map on my iPhone did).

As wet as an otters pocket but oh so happy to be there and so very very relieved. Stuart came out to meet me after taking bets on whether I'd land or not, I don't know who won?

The fire was going, the snug was warm, the bothy was in good nick and it's amazing how a bit rehydrated food, coffee and good company can make it all worth while.

That night I was so exhausted I could have slept through an earthquake (This I've done before when I was in San Francisco) but for some reason I didn't sleep that well?

Things I leant:
Don't rely on electronic GPS (a second map source should be carried as a backup)
If you leave a bit of kit at home you'll end up really needing it
The bridleway from Elan valley to Moel Prysgau Bothy is spectacularly bleak and unridealbe
Taylor's mate snores very loud
Always listen to Ian when it comes to routes in Wales
Moel Prysgau Bothy is very nice and the MBA do good work
Homemade custard based dehydrated desserts don't really work
Somebody somewhere makes Titanium hip flasks
Stuart is retired
iPhones can get surprisingly wet and still work
MemoryMap is expensive but very good

Wildcat Gear review

Custom Frame bag (Leopard)
Handlebar harness (Mountain Lion)

Until I met Ian & Taylor on a Singletrack Winter Bivi all of my bike packing had been done with cheap generic bags strapped to my bike and rucksacks. I had used beam racks, eBay cheapo frame bags and dry bags strapped to the handlebars with (spot them a mile off) Gelert Rainbow straps.

I had always fancied some of the Revelate gear but lead times, import duty and the pure faff of buying from the States put me off.

Anyway as we sipped Whisky at -2c (not -10 as some claim) the Welsh Ride Thing was mentioned and as soon as I set my mind on that I knew that some proper gear would be needed (although a trailer can be used). Ian's wife Beth had made him (and Taylor) a rather nifty framebag and as more Whisky was consumed we talked about a name for a fledgling company. Despite my marketing background and far superior suggestions it seems Wildcat was chosen.

I ordered my Framebag straight away, I made a cardboard template of the inside of my Scandal frame marked up with cable guides, bottle mounts, etc. Sent it to Wales and one week later a perfectly fitting frame bag arrived.

I'm no seamstress but the bag is so well made and so well thought out. The inside is yellow so you can see your stuff inside. None of the seams are left, they all have a nice bit sewn over them. It's made out of some super lightweight material. The zips are waterproof and it has a little hood thing to park it in.

I've now done several trips with my frame bag, it's had a tough life, it's been covered in mud, submerged in water (with me and the bike), carried bike packing gear and used for the odd emergency shop (beer). It just works really well and is well made by some very nice people who know bikes and carrying stuff on them. If you want a custom frame bag I can't see how you can beat it.

As I was so impressed with my frame bag as soon as I heard that a handlebar harness mount type thing was being prototyped I got my order in. As before it arrived quickly and although it took me a few minutes to work it out (excellent pictorial instructions helped) the faff of fitting it was worthwhile. The Mountain Lion is a work of genius! It holds a dry bag onto your bars away from the head tube with enough room for cables. Once fitted you can clip your dry bag in and out in seconds and when you're piling down some rocky descent that's enough to eject a £40 travel tap from a bottle cage your Mountain Lion held drybag doesn't move an inch. There is a surprisingly useful bit of elastic on the top for gloves and once again it's super well made and nice and light.

I've been really impressed by both of my Wildcat purchases, well made, really well thought out and made in sunny Wales, can't wait to get my hands on the next bit of kit they come up with?
www.wildcatgear.co.uk