“You
do realise that the best weather window starts tomorrow…”
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| Support Crew T Shirts |
Tomorrow?!!! We were due to start our 36 hour “journey” on
Sunday and it was now Thursday morning. But I’m not ready, how can we possibly
reorganise all the logistics and support crew at this short notice? We had talked about needing to be flexible,
but is it possible to bring it forward by 2 days at this late notice?
“Have
a think about it and let me know” said the calm voice of Simon Usher, who was managing the support. “We can sort
out the logistics if you are mentally ready to ride”
I
paused for a moment. This was going to be the ride of my life, where I only had
one chance to do the South Downs Triple.
I noted all the important things that needed to be done in the next few
hours before the ride, then made my decision.
He
was right and I was ready - PANIC!
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| South Downs Way Route |
Everything
was a whir, there was so much to do and I had to scrounge an extra day and a
half off work. Getting home with my mind
in a spin I ran about pulling everything together. Looking at the weather forecast and the wind
direction – strong easterlies expected on Saturday – we also made the decision
to switch the start from Winchester to Eastbourne. This added significantly to the logistical
challenge. The whole of my spreadsheet
prep and the logistics had been planned based on a WEWE
(Winchester-Eastbourne-Winchester-Eastbourne) and now we were going to need to
re-plan for EWEW.
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| The Black Pig with all the gear |
Kate
Potter, from AQR Coaching, had been brilliant with my training and her
final prep instructions included a complete rest and a good night sleep before
the big day. Sorry Kate, I got no rest
and only about 4 hours sleep…
6am,
Friday morning, heading down to Eastbourne in Simon’s van (the Black Pig) with
Judy “Beer Babe”, who had dropped everything to help out with the Friday switch,
we altered the comprehensive check point schedule with all my requirements for
certain times. I like to be organised
well in advance - all these changes were not helping me to relax!
There
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| The new SDW start/finish at Eastbourne |
We
reached Eastbourne in good time. I got
myself ready while the minutes ticked forward to 8am - what was I was letting
myself in for? Then it happened. Judy
counted down, the camera clicked and the pedals started turning – This was it –
15 months in the making - there was no going back now – “look forward and go
for it”, I told myself.
The
new bridleway start for the South Downs Way at Eastbourne is now aligned with
the footpath route. It extends the route
by a mile, which was to be an extra 3 miles for me. Added to this, the first half mile is a 300
foot climb. With 34,000 feet of climbing to complete it doesn’t sound much, but
from a standing start it was hard.
Just
as I reached the top of the climb I heard a fateful hiss from the rear
tyre. A puncture within the first mile, this
wasn’t going well! Particularly as this
time while changing the tube, the tyre had one of those moments where you
needed 6 hands to fit it back on to the rim.
Back on the bike I felt I had to try to make up the lost time. My mind was all over the place and I couldn’t
get my heart rate down.
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| Climbing up to Bury |
Firle
was the first check point where Simon and Judy gave me a new spare tube,
checked I was OK and sent me on my way. It
was then that I started to enjoy myself – Why do the South Downs Way three
times? Well actually I love the views from the South Downs Way, especially
those overlooking Lewes, you can see for miles. In enduro races you spend all
that time going round the same course – and mainly in trees. Out here you can see for miles and miles.
It
took a while for me to properly calm myself and it probably wasn’t until Bury,
58 miles in, where I really felt settled into the ride. The trails were dry and fast – one of the
reasons to pull the ride ahead of the storm - and with the bonus of very few
people around I made good progress. As I
reached the QE2 Country Park, my average speed was steadily increasing.
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| Support Crew resting at QE2 Country Park |
The support crew were amazing, Anne Dickins and Roy (Beer Biker) had now joined the team – so now I had both the AQR endurance team and the Dark Star Brewery endurance team supporting me!
On
such a long ride I only monitor a few things. I set my Garmin to display my
heart rate, the overall average speed and my average speed since the last checkpoint. Most of the effort for completing such a
challenge is mental and I really didn’t want to be reminded how far in I
was. Using this simple information I could
pace myself without thinking about how many miles I had covered and how many
were left to go. I only focused ahead to
the next checkpoint, taking each section at a time. For the first leg to Winchester I needed an
overall average speed of 9.2mph – so that’s what I focused on and that’s what
kept me going.
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| Turn point in Winchester |
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| A quick leg massage |
The
descent into Winchester felt great. I
was riding fast and my legs were feeling strong. I have blogged previously about the dynamic
core work I had done with Anne Dickins and the coaching from Kate
Potter. I had ridden this faster, but
never felt this strong. Outside one
house stood a family who asked my name then cheered me on. They had been following my progress on the
Endomondo live GPS trail and came out to greet me. This was such a nice surprise!
I
was carrying a Samsung Galaxy Ace phone running the Endomondo App where anyone
could see my progress. I had also fitted
an external battery charging pack but I actually hadn’t intended it to go this public
– it was mainly for my support crew and close friends – so I was initially unaware
of the impact of my ride; people were apparently glued to the blue line slowly
moving across their screen. With someone even checking up on me during a
meeting at work. My crew reported some
of the comments on the Singletrack forum, which eventually ran into 8 pages as
the word spread. This virtual support
was amazing and uplifting.
And back again
Turning
around in Winchester at 18:08 was just 20 minutes slower than my personal best
for the South Downs Way. One leg down,
let’s go back to Eastbourne!
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| Exposure Lights |
As
the daylight disappeared I flicked on my Exposure 6 Pack. USE had kindly loaned
me 6 Pack and JoyStick lights for the event – one of many kind gestures, but
when the mist came down and the trail was indistinct, it became invaluable. I have no idea how I would have coped without
their brightest product - it was almost like riding in daylight.
Setting
off from Bury around midnight, there were a couple of bike lights twinkling
down the trail. It was a pleasure to see
Rory Hitchens and Frazer Clifford who had come out to find me. We rode for a while then JP also joined
us. Long solo rides have their
challenges and it was nice to have some company. In true tradition, though, they left me to
set the pace and open all the gates.
They
peeled off around 2am and still feeling strong, I powered into the night,
cresting more hills and clocking up miles.
That core stability training was clearly paying off. I was starting to have a few pains –
particularly in my hands – but my legs just kept going.
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| Fog |
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| Focused |
The
batteries on my iPod packed up and my spare for some reason was not
working. The wildlife had to put up with
my terrible singing as I sped past disturbing the tranquillity of their sleep.
It
wasn’t long before the silhouettes of the trees could be seen and the dawn
chorus filled the air. Had I really been
riding all night?
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| Flying |
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| Finished the Double |
Climbing
the long ascent after the A27, thick fog appeared. Visibility dropped to just 20 metres,
flicking the 6 Pack onto full beam extended my vision to an essential 50
metres. Navigation in these open areas
is very difficult in thick fog. During
the last minute panic I had forgotten to load the SDW route into my GPS. Resorting to memory and looking carefully at
the grass, I stayed on the trail. I
discovered that the yellow buttercups don’t grow on the trial, therefore
staying away from the buttercups kept me on track.
Time
was ticking on and I needed to be in Eastbourne. With a sub 23 hour South Downs Double in
mind, I pushed on hard. Remembering to
go to the new start/end point, I raced down the hill to the SDW marker.
22:55
hours for a South Downs Double. This was
fantastic; it put me 3rd on the leader board for the fastest
supported Double. I was elated! And that
could have been where it all ended… but I was going to get back on the bike and
ride all the way back to Winchester. I
had no idea just how hard that was going to be…
And there once more
Setting
off back to Winchester is where a new chapter of the history book starts. No one had ever tried going beyond the
Double. For my safety, the support crew
insisted someone was with me on this last leg back to Winchester. Riding beyond 24 hours is a bit unknown, so
extra precautions were taken. Jerry Hill,
an experienced sports doctor, also joined us at Eastbourne and gave me a
medical check up before letting me back on the bike.
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| Firle |
I
climbed the tough hill out of Eastbourne for the final time – it was
torture. My stomach was all over the
place. I felt drained and my sanity fought with my determination. Firle seemed a million miles away and I
needed to see the support crew sooner.
Simon Usher, now in riding gear, was to be my first support rider and
called ahead to made the necessary arrangements.
Finding
a bench at Jevlington, I lay down for a rest.
I had pushed to get that sub 23 hour double and it was clearly taking
its toll. Turning back was already
playing with my mind. Jerry was
brilliant and confirmation that I was medically OK was what I needed and soon I
was back on the bike.
After
Firle I was curious to see someone taking photos of me. It turned out to be Simon Catmur – a local
who had also been tracking my progress on Endomondo and the Singletrack
forum. The crew had invited friends to
join in and keep an eye on me. He kindly
rode with us for a while, which helped from the safety point of view. Steve
Golding also appeared from nowhere, taking photos. There seemed to be a big interest in what I
was doing… which I must admit baffled me… I still consider myself as a bit of a
novice on the bike and had previously only ridden two 24 hour events. You will
know if you have read my other blogs that only 5 years ago a long ride for me
was 30 miles. I knew little about heart rates and training regimes. I set the
South Downs Triple challenge not just to see if it was possible, but to see if
an ordinary bloke can do it.
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| Meeting Josh while Anne tapes up my knee |
My
hands were really suffering so extra padding was put in my gloves. My left knee also started to twinge and Anne decided to tape it early, just to be on the safe side. Otherwise my legs were still strong and kept moving.
Roy “BeerBiker” was incredible. Using his knowledge of the South Downs he guided the support crew to the check points and found time to pop up in odd places to meet me. When passing him at Ditchling, he kindly handed me a 99 ice cream, it was just what I needed on the hot day. Thanks Roy.
Reaching
Saddlescombe, it was a real pleasure to meet Josh Ibbett, the South Downs
Double record holder. He kindly produced
some much needed Torq Energy drink – I had discovered I no longer liked my
normal favourite and decided that the only one I could stomach was vanilla
Torq!
More
surprises came in the form of Mark Raffield from Redhill CC popping up to say
hello, then Jo Burt and friends rode with me for a while. Jim Russell also rode with me at some
point. It was so uplifting to see these
people want to help me on my journey.
Descending
down to Steyning, I felt completely knackered.
I had covered 240 miles with 60 more to go. At this point it was clear the 36 hour target
was more than unlikely. My fuelling
wasn’t going well and I was getting wobbly on the bike. I decided to take a ten minute rest. Lying
down at the checkpoint, my body temperature quickly dropped and dark thoughts
were trying to enter my mind. Jerry and
Anne were superb. I can’t remember what
they did, but hot tea, cake, space blankets and the combined expertise of two
professionals and I was soon back on the bike.
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| Dave, Ant & Rachel join in to help |
Setting
short goals, I made it to Bury where Dave Brothers was waiting to ride with me
to the finish. Also Ant Jordan and
Rachel Sokal (the rest of the AQR endurance team) arrived to provide fresh
energy for the support crew.
What
happened next is a bit of a blur. My
legs kept going round, I followed the trail and I opened gates, but my mental
capacity was dwindling. Somewhere along the way Lydia Gould joined us, which
was another surprise, but it was only when I reached the QE2 Country Park I
knew that a Winchester finish would be possible.
Just
before Winchester I received an amazing surprise. My family had come down to see me at the last
check point. This was lovely as normally
they are rather sceptical of my cycling adventures ;-) It was also arranged that my son Dan would
ride the last mile with me into Winchester, which was wonderful.
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| Cheers Alfred |
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| It's official, I've finished |
Downing
a For Goodness Shake at the final checkpoint, my recovery process started early
– it was so good to taste something normal! Then with emotions running high I
set off. The last 3 miles dragged on and
on and on. The heavy rain that had
prompted the rushed start had finally arrived.
I wanted to push it, but I kept hearing Ant saying, “Be careful, don’t
over do it!” I was so close, but I had to take his advice.
Reaching
the King Alfred Statue in Winchester was fantastic. 300 miles, 34,700 feet of
climbing and 37:04 hours from when I first left Eastbourne was an amazing
experience. The whole support crew and
my family were there to welcome me in and the South Downs Triple had been conquered. Yes - the Triple is possible. Yes – even for an ordinary bloke.
The end
But
that’s not quite true. It is only
possible for an ordinary bloke when he is blessed with an incredibly strong
support crew. They had a mighty
challenge just to get to all the check points throughout the 37 hours, let
alone to keep me going. All the
additional riders and supporters where also a real boost, and the huge interest
from virtual onlookers was overwhelming.
It would be great for a couple of charities to benefit from my efforts;
A
massive thanks to everyone involved. I
am sure this won’t be the last South Downs Triple. The bar has been set at 37
hours and 4 minutes – go for it!
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| The Team |
Thanks to Anne Dickins, Roy McNeill and Steve Golding for the photos.
