Better later than ever!
Raced for the12 hjours solo with loads of ups and downs. Had very bad luck at the beginnning but later everything was better than I thought.
Arrived there day before, weather crap, some rain. After cleaning and lubing the bike I took it for tune up serrvice. Already had probs with a cheap set of jockey wheels and stuff around rear derailleur. So I didn't do a planned lap the day before and saved energy instead. Lap around 19km!
Ok, no rain and ready to go, after 20 minutes my rear hanger snapped (no replacement!) and had to finish the lap pushing and runnning or riding on downhill. Before finishing it the leaders had already done 2 laps. Frustrating!! Took it to the mech and we planned to convert into ss for the rest of the race. After a few minutes we realized it wouldn't work. Meanwhile I asked organizers for a spare bike or hire one...anything! Well, they lent me a brand new kinesis ht 29er for a couple of laps until mine was sorted, perfect size and big handlebars. Bike was as new and ready to ride. We changed pedals, number, garmin GPS etc...By the time I started my second lap 2h 40 minutes went by ( 1 lap wasted). Bike gave me zero problems. felt confident on any terrain and, as my bike was never ready to ride I rode the kinesis for the whole race. Total of 7 laps and finished 24th out of 49 in my cat. Really happy! Finished strong during night laps as well and already thinking of doing 24h solo next year. But we'll see...
I thought the course was fairly easy, not much mud, more fireroad than Id wanted, some excellent singletrack bits for the 7 stanes course and perfect organization! Not as many people (few solo riders in total) compared to other big events where you can ride pairs, teams etc...
Want to demo a 29er? I wish mine was ready so I could've compared. came with same brakes and drivetrain, good rolling even on rooty uphill, twisty singletrack. Enjoyed!!
Nutrition was perfect, only during half the last lap, that I thought I'd eaten enough and was wrong.
Also enjoyed some moments sharing the course and talking with other riders
7 laps in 11 hours 14 min 13 seconds.
1st lap 2:39:06;
2nd lap 1:20:49;
3rd lap 1:25:37;
4th lap 1:32:03; (just before finish line I stopped to fit lights and some "real food"
5th lap 1:26:13; night
6th lap 1:23:33; night
7th lap 1:26:50 night
Link to strava ride:
http://app.strava.com/rides/newcastleto ... A4NTY%253D
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