Even though I just live down the road from Kielder, I rarely go there. Yes, it is choc full of wilderness, big hills and huge views but… the riding (in my opinion) does not match the grandeur of the scenery. The man made trails are constructed from draggy, sandy dolomite which breaks down into gritty bike destroying sand. Please don’t misunderstand me; I appreciate the amount of work that has gone into building the trails and think the dedication shown by the Kielder Trail Reavers is exceptional. However, I think the material that has been used spoils otherwise well shaped trails.
Beside the man made trails, the natural sections in Kielder are grassy and boggy. And then there is the fireroad and doubletrack…. (take a deep breath… stop typing for minute).
OK, I’m back. I ‘don’t like’ fireroad (he says calmly). I particularly ‘don’t like’ fireroad in mountain bike races (he says through clenched teeth). The best rides I have had around Kielder have been on a CX bike, up the road from Morpeth, through the Forest Drive and home again. Lovely. Particularly with an inch of snow on the ground. I know all this to be true. So why did I enter the Kielder 100?
Well, like many other people no doubt, the event captured my imagination. It attracted a huge field. And unusually for a high profile event, it was just down the road for me. So despite deep down knowing that the course would be a mostly fireroad slog, I rolled up to registration on Friday night.
And then it all seemed like a good idea. Because my targets this year have been the Coast to Coast and the Worlds, I have not caught up with many of the entertaining ‘usual suspects’. It was great to have chat and the atmosphere at Kielder Castle was excellent.
I had decided to sleep in ‘The Volvo of Dreams’. (What a fantastic vehicle! I think they should sponsor me.) I was incredibly comfortable and, lying at a shallow reclined position, I could look out the window at the large full moon and the trees swaying and wooshing in the steady breeze. And I looked. And wondered. And tried to close my eyes. But the moon was so bright, it was like daylight. Balls! I have to be up at 5am for the 6:30 start. I started to worry about the prospect of 100 miles on no sleep. Which kept me awake. Balls again. And then I needed the toilet. And realised I had locked myself in the back due to the child lock. I was wide awake now and could feel a healthy morning heart beat in my chest. Aaargh!
Anyway, a bit like counting sheep, I counted the fireroad miles….. 1,2,3,4,5,….73. That did the trick! Zzzzzzzzzz…..
Five minutes later I woke up. And didn’t feel too bad. I got my swag together and headed up the bank to the start line. I got there quite early to secure a place up near the front. Which was nice because it meant that the midges had a good twenty minutes to feast and torment.
The race was started by a pacing car which paced us for about 2/3 miles…. bit excessive. When it finally pulled away the pace went through the roof. I had expected this because there were some Marathon specialists there and Ian Leitch with his super fast start strategy. A group of five hung tantalisingly close in front of me. I tried to close the gap but I was beyond redlining it and, as I was clear of the main bunch, just settled into a steady high pace. (I heard later that soon after two guys broke that group - the four had not worked together long).
I paired up with one or two different people whose company I thoroughly enjoyed and after the crazy start we settled in for the long haul. There has been a lot of rain here recently and, (between the fireroad sections) we ploughed through saturated deep cut double track. Absolutely soaked and thick with mud within minutes. Some pools swallowed my bike up to the hubs. This was going to be a long 100 miles…
There was the odd bit of decent man made trail though and it was here that I was making some time on some of the people that had settled around me. One guy, (with legs like tree trunks) by his own admission conceded that he could not handle a mountain bike as his background was road time trial. So a pattern emerged; I would gain 50m or more on any technical section. He would pull it back on the fire road. It was like a yo-yo effect.
We passed over Bloody Bush road to be greeted by a piper. Nice touch. Poor guy though; standing in the freezing drizzle and mist in a skirt. Visibility was down to about 50 metres… We then dropped down into Newcastleton and I must say I enjoyed it. There are some good fast swoopy sections and the ‘proper’ surface material was a stark contrast to the speed robbing trails of Kielder. After leaving Newcastleton, TT man caught me again. And we settled into a fireroad bash.
“So”, I asked, “What type of time trialling do you do?”. “24 hour road”, he replied. (I was interested). “What’s the furthest you’ve ridden?” “497 miles”, he said. Bugger. This guy isn’t going to fold…. He picked up the pace. I sat on his wheel. He picked up the pace again. I tried to sit on his wheel. He pulled away like he was on a motorbike. I sat up and pressed play on my MP3….
And then the truly hideous section began… it must have been about twenty miles of straight, flat (or gradually climbing) fireroad or completely non-technical doubletrack. TT boy would be at home with a cuppa by now….
The last twenty miles were a complete slog and mentally I had completely had enough. I was so bored. There was no technical interest. I was literally in no man’s land.
One amusing incident though. There was a short steepish fun descent with a grassy berm. I went to brake. And nothing happened. Evil Knievel style, I nose dived of the berm, missing all the trees etc… My pads were down to the backing plate… Oh well. Nearly there so I didn’t bother changing them. One more sketchy decent and the slog was over.
I came in 6th. To be honest, I’m not disappointed. The competition was very stiff. I was ten minutes behind Ian. He said he had expected to stick more time on me, as he felt he was faster this year. He concluded that I had got faster. A compliment from an excellent rider (particularly when he usually just takes the piss!). I also faded quite badly at about 5/6 hours. Whether this was not being recovered from the Worlds or the boredom playing tricks, I don’t know.
So what have I learned? (1) Don’t try to chase Marathon specialists of the start line; it’s a flogging to nothing. (2) Enter races that favour mountain bikers. The interplay between fitness and skills was so stark in the battle between myself and TT man.
However, I’m happy that entered I the Kielder 100 because it was a generally well organised and social event. But it’s horses for courses and this was not the course for me.
