Ruthin CRC marathon and #September100

Well, it would appear that I have ridden my bike 3 times this month...
Yes, 3 times, and it is already the 21st! Kielder 100 made for a good ride out so didn't get out apart from a blast for the usual Wednesday night ride, busy for the next weekend, knackered for the next Wednesday night ride and doing some bike fettling and then it was Ruthin.

Still, it seems to have worked, as you may have noticed if you go to Singletrackworld (and read everything) or noticed on here, I finished it!

Only saw the tail end motorbikes/quads as I started the final climb, turns out I was DFL but blazed crawled past the food stop without stopping (no need) and passed a guy on the way up. Actually rode with him for a while but once we got to some of the more draggy grassy stuff at the end I wanted to keep a rhythm I was comfy with so slowly pulled away.

Then I caught another guy on the descent through the woods! Pulled him in from a long way back, flew down the end of the descent, pounded along the road, and he passed me on the little rise actually in Ruthin, so I "let" him finish ahead of me.

But I finished it, all. I have been the last on the road before, but didn't complete the whole distance, have been cut off at time checks before but this time it was every last soggy, slippy, greasy, spongey mile. And I loved it all (almost).

Walking into the river to scrape off the mud before showering in the campervan was simply a bonus :-)

#September100 ride and another Jones XR rear gets torn...

Well, a quick thrash last night has gone to prove I probably could/should have gone quicker at the weekend in Kielder but hey ho, next year will be different as I think I have already said.

Nothing hugely technical last night but some proper hills to scale and some rough stuff to come back down. One nadgery little chute has still got me buggered though. I have ridden it, wildly and barely (well, not really at all) in control, all 15-20 feet of it, ages ago on my hardtail, but now...
It just spooks me, bit damp, bit uneven, few rocks that stick up just enough to stop you, no real line through so some rock attacking required but I keep bloody stopping at the top! My head says to itself on the way "come on, you can do this just ride it" but my body slows to a stop and I am too close to start and clip in, turning round and having another go just doesn't occur to me, so I get off and stumble down.
Bugger, bottled it again.
Then I take in out on the fast rough track further down, get load of confidence back and wish we were back at the top so I could show it who is boss (safe in the knowledge that we are not going back up).

This time however the brutal slamming through the rocks blasted a neat hole in the side of my shiny second hand Jones XR rear. Damn. Went with a bang it did, oh yea, though it might hold up for a few moments as I slowed gently but I was instantly crashing through the rocks on the rim at what the GPS reliably informs me was 21.9 mph. An odd sensation, but the rim survived ok and a tube had me back on my way again soon enough. At least it gave me another 13.2 miles towards #September100 and the encouragement to get to Ruthin for the Merida CRC marathon in a week or so's time.

So, what repair kit for tubeless tyres then?

Well, back on-line with a #k100 and #september100 update...

Well the Kielder 100 was a long hard slog, it just wasn't long enough.
By that I mean I only got to the first cutoff, missed it by 19 minutes.

It was however an awesome ride, some great singletrack bits, they were however a little rough to be blasting down, I did anyway and as a result pretty much knackered my legs after each one but they were worth it.

The initial climbs were as deceptive as they were beautiful, huge vistas unveiling themselves from the mist, riders fading back into the cloud, and we had obviously got loads of the climbing out of the way early right?
Well, somehow it seemed we could climb for a vertical mile or two, descend for a minute or two, then climb, again, for ages.

Had a great chat with loads of people, a laugh with someone at every stop and some fun chasing the second place guy down the final descent, man he was quick for a guy that had dome an extra 44 miles, in the same time! :-)

Still, it gave me a great start in the #september100 I suppose...

Next year will be different, I will declare it now, top half placing, I will decide at the end if that is of finishers or starters ;-)