24 hour road race anyone?

Bronzie

BC have announced plans for a 24-hour enduro road race to be held on a 9-mile closed road circuit on MOD land in Wales next July. Now where did I put my lights? :?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/si ... himano.asp

timoid.

I just don't see the appeal of these things.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Ha! ha! Me either, but there are plenty of nutters who do. It's like Everest.......

Bronzie

I can sort of understand 24-hour MTB enduros (when entered as a team, rather than solo, which is just plain masochism) - probably great fun blatting through the woods in the dark. But road racing, in the dark, in a bunch....................sounds like a recipe for disaster. The first aiders will be plenty busy that night I should think.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Well they manage it in Paris-Brest-Paris, but I agree - It's not my cup of tea.

vermooten

I expect some of the freakier contributers to ACF might be up for it.

nwallace

Is one of the "road" sections of Rad Am Ring 24-Hr?

It's the only way I can see me braving the Ring though right now i would struggle to do the minimum average :-(

OffTheBackAdam

Jeez, how boring!

ricadus

I rather do 24 hrs worth of racing spread over a week and thereby have afternoons free to relax by the hotel poolside.

oldwelshman

Hey Bronzie, I am trying to get Jim to enter a team for this
Will be fun. I presume it is a team event though not one rider racing 24 hours?
I will volunteer to do the first and last lap

Gavin Gilbert

Yes, I seen this and took issue with the 'First 24 Hour Road Race' given the Mersey Roads Club 24 Hour has been running since 1937 (and I think there were several others older than that, most famously the Catford 24 Hour)

I can see the organisers getting it wrong - but British Cycling?

As pointed out above, most tof he battle is with boredom. I tried the Mersey Roads in 2006 and was bitting my stem out of tedium after 18 hours - that's on a series of loops so I should imagine a single 9 mile circuit would drive you potty

Bronzie

Gavin Gilbert wrote:

the Mersey Roads Club 24 Hour has been running since 1937

Those are time trials............this is a road race (ie bunch race). Slightly different beast although how long it will stay together as a bunch is anyone's guess............will probably turn into a time trial by the end. Boredom will probably not be an issue, staying upright may be.

OldWelshMan - you need a team of 5 to enter, so just under 5 hours racing each. Do you know another 3 nutters that will enter with you and Jim?

oldwelshman

Have a couple of suspects, I just need to brainwash them a bit
I can't believe it would be 24 hours each as the ocurse is hard, you would die doing 24 hours on it
You rode most of it on the Dragon Last year.

speckybecky

Do you reckon you have to be super duper fit to do one of these, or will it be a bit like the mtb marathons? I'm reasonably fit, and have done the 24hr mtb events (even though I am more of a roady), but there is no way I am up there with good male cyclists.

Bronzie

It's going to be a very tough event on that sort of terrain doing approx 5 hours racing each. In a normal road race, if you are not fit enough to stay in the bunch, you may as well not bother continuing to ride once you've been dropped. But this event is a bit out there - can't see it staying together for too long and it'll probably end up with small groups riding round together. As riders change over, the group dynamics will change time and time again.

It's open to all categories from Elite to 4th, so no reason not to enter if you can get a team together. Not sure if there will be prizes for 1st all womens team, but I'd have thought it would be likely.