Kielder 100

skaffen

Anyone here doing the Kielder 100 in a few weeks time?

Feeling OK about it at the moment but I've got a nagging feeling I'm a bit underprepared, probably not the best time to try and get into training with a 6 month old in the house.

Still, can do 50 miles in just under 5 hours and I've been doing decent weekly mileage, so fingers crossed.

Wish there was a route plan available though, would feel a bit better if I could see how bad the course is and be able to plan the ride a bit. Can't find anything about this year's course though (and even previous year's routes available online are a bit sketchy).

Broonster

skaffen wrote:

Anyone here doing the Kielder 100 in a few weeks time?

Me! And I'm kacking my pants! :shock:

shartlan

Yeah, I'm doing it. I have also not been able to get proper training done (a 4 month old in the house). I have just had my work commute to do (15 miles total at day!!), so I just do it as fast as I can and have started running it over the last month. I have also supplemented in some fell runs. I'm feeling pretty fit but have no idea how I will be fair on a 100 mile circuit - I have no bench mark to measure it by - I guess I will just have to take the pain, lol.

skaffen

Broonster wrote:

Me! And I'm kacking my pants!

Good to know I'm not the only one

shartlan wrote:

I have no bench mark to measure it by - I guess I will just have to take the pain, lol.

I know what you mean, I do 30-40 mile rides at least once a week and have done the odd longer ones, but haven't got too near 100 miles really. I've read a few forum posts around from people who've done it before, and half of them say that it was fine and that they didn't do any specific training and the other half say that it nearly killed them.

The other problem is that I'm really not a morning person, so the 6:30 start is going to be interesting :shock:

shartlan

I've read a few forum posts around from people who've done it before, and half of them say that it was fine and that they didn't do any specific training and the other half say that it nearly killed them.


That actually makes me feel a little better. I know i can take some pain over a single day and before doing Glentress Black route I read many similar posts by people saying it was hard and the hills nearly killed them, but when I did it I thought it was a piece of piss really. I did it in under 3 hrs and so did the red and blue, as well, in the same day. However, there's a big difference between that and a 100 mile. It will certainly be interesting!

bluehelmet

Broonster wrote:

skaffen wrote:

Anyone here doing the Kielder 100 in a few weeks time?

Me! And I'm kacking my pants! :shock:

+1.

Have been doing a 40 miler at Kielder at least once a month and lots of road work on the commute but still think I might not make the last time cut off.

Here's the 2010 route map from someone's GPS.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/22583858

Lots of fireroad but it may be slightly different this year as we've built a few new sections (I'm in the Kielder Trail Reavers). Hoping to get in to a nice paced group (~9-10mph average) and help each other round.

Tip : don't forget the Avon skin so soft - it's still midgie season and they'll be out in force with that much flesh on display...

Broonster

Well, I've done as much training as I'm gonna get done, other than a ride this weekend. Won't be anything too harsh mind you, since it's so close to the K100 - probably just go for a gentle-ish road ride for 3 or 4 hours.

My last warm-up event was yesterday: the Ken Laidlaw road sportive starting/finishing in Hawick (with a feedstation in Newcastleton!). It was 105 miles and a very hilly route which I managed in 6hr 36min and felt pretty good all the way round. Whilst it was obviously all on-road, it should (hopefully!) hold me in good stead for next weekend.

The main thing for me is that I seem to have my nutrition & refueling sorted and have found the right foods/products to eat and established when to eat them.

Other than that, I'll be crossing my fingers & hoping for the best!

boneyjoe

Hi guys. Also signed up for this. Based in London and did Selkirk CRC last year, so thought I'd take it on. Training has gone ok, but I think once we go beyond about 5hrs or so anything can happen! Probably my biggest worry is how the knees, back and neck will hold up... Looking forward to it though!

boneyjoe

Regarding food / drink for the race, I see there's an option of 'bag drops' to collect at feed stations 1, 2 and 4. Has this worked OK in practice, and are they easy/quick to collect at the stations?

They say "no liquids" for the bag drops, but I presume this means bottles, and that gels will be ok?

And is there energy drink avail at the Newcastleton station? Lots of food listed on the website, plus tea, coffee etc, but no mention of this.

Many thanks!

skaffen

bluehelmet wrote:

Lots of fireroad but it may be slightly different this year as we've built a few new sections (I'm in the Kielder Trail Reavers). Hoping to get in to a nice paced group (~9-10mph average) and help each other round.

That's my plan as well, I can keep ~10mph average up over the terrain around here and there's some pretty steep bits kicking about, so I think it'll be alright, I've just never done anything quite this long...

What are the trails up at Kielder like? Rocky, muddy, tree roots? Have had the Racing Ralphs on the bike the last few weeks but if there's any serious mud about they're hopeless, so was thinking about putting the Mud-Xs back on.

Broonster wrote:

The main thing for me is that I seem to have my nutrition & refueling sorted and have found the right foods/products to eat and established when to eat them.

I know what you mean, I think I've actually moved away from gels a bit the past few rides and the main food is going to be sandwiches, some fruit and an electrolyte drink. Have avoided things like bread in the past because I thought it would be too heavy on my stomach, but they actually seem to be working really well for me.

Anyway, we'll all know in a week and a day

tubaonwheels

I thought last year that I could average 10mph okay, mmm did not quite understand the severity of the course. Was still averaging around 10mph at 70 miles but fatigue kicked in and it dropped to 8.5ish by the finish. Don't under estimate the course.
Good luck to you all though and hope you achieve your goals.

PS Food wise, in the end I was stuffing any old crap down

shartlan

Well, now I'm scared!!
Everyone seems to have a reasonable degree of experience with these races, even if they are not as long as this.

This is my first ever bike race, only ever done a couple of single day mountain marathons before (running) and they were around 10 yrs ago.

I have been reading up on my nutrition and hydration and I have a strategy, (mainly fluid nutrition supplemented by flapjack type foods), but as this is my first, it will be interesting to see how this works. I will also be starting to seriously carb load from about Tuesday onwards

While I'm pretty fit my preparation has not been the best for this kind of distance and pretty poor over the past two weeks (will only do one more commute on the bike this week). Over the past few months I have had to get the endurance training from running rather than riding, so not sure how this will affect me.

Any comments/advice from those with some experience would be very welcome.
Also, what is a realistic time for a reasonably fit first timer?
I was hoping for near 10hrs but have no idea if this is actually realistic (may be more 12hrs)

xcmad

Prep going ok, did 155m on road last weekend, out for a few more tomorrow off-road and then a 50m road commute Wed. If anything, arms and shoulders feel a bit tired

Mind you, been looking round the house for the past hour for a whistle..

skaffen

tubaonwheels wrote:

Don't under estimate the course.

Any hints as to what the course is like? Many steep sections or is it more gradual climbing/descent?

shartlan wrote:

Well, now I'm scared!!
Everyone seems to have a reasonable degree of experience with these races, even if they are not as long as this.

I have never done anything like this, so you're not alone!

shartlan wrote:

I have been reading up on my nutrition and hydration and I have a strategy, (mainly fluid nutrition supplemented by flapjack type foods), but as this is my first, it will be interesting to see how this works. I will also be starting to seriously carb load from about Tuesday onwards

I've been trying out different food quite a bit, and stocking up on carbs during the rides seems to work well for me. I think it's going to be sandwiches and fruit for me mostly, probably the High5 electrolyte drink as well (mainly because I got enough for about 6 months free with CRC orders!). I will use the odd gel in between to keep going, but I've got to be careful with those as if I have them as frequently as some people seem to I tend to crash quite badly after the initial burst of energy. I think the most sensible advice is to just keep to what you normally eat, if you try something different on the day you could find that it doesn't work or disagrees with your stomach.

shartlan wrote:

I was hoping for near 10hrs but have no idea if this is actually realistic (may be more 12hrs)

I would be overjoyed with 10 hours! I don't know the terrain at all, if there's long flat(ish) sections then that might be possible, but I'll be assuming to average around 8mph once it gets past 50miles, so I think 12 hours is more likely for me (and I'd be pretty happy with that).

Broonster

xcmad wrote:

Mind you, been looking round the house for the past hour for a whistle..

I've still got that to look forward to in the next day or so! I've got 2 of the bloody things in the house somewhere, but haven't laid eyes on them for a couple of years. It's looking like a trip into the dreaded under-stairs cupboard for me.....

tubaonwheels

Long flattish sections? Don't remember any of them.
I remember it felt as though I was climbing all the time. Height was lost so quickly that you were onto the next climb.
Lots of steeep climbs, also long drags - particularly a really long one after 70 odd miles that looks as though it's flat but you still can't generate any speed at all!

We are all different though. I remember loads moaning about the rough singletrack before reaching Scottish border, but I quite liked it.
I suppose you just have to take it as you find it, eat and drink regularly, try not to hang around too long at CP's and try to enjoy it.

shartlan

Do they actually ever publish or give you a course map? or at least give the ascent/descent stats?

Tank-slapper

And just to add to the fun - the forecast is for pouring rain all day Friday, all Friday night and all day Saturday. Nice.

boneyjoe

The 09 profile and Map Route are at:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.p ... er=1254464

And here's one from last year:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/47804028

If this is your first proper race, I'd say just try to ensure you eat and drink properly/enough, and ride fast enough to make the cut-offs in good time. You'll really have outdone yourself to finish the course. With such a large field + wet weather, there'll probably be a very high number of DNFs this year...

bluehelmet

skaffen wrote:

What are the trails up at Kielder like? Rocky, muddy, tree roots? Have had the Racing Ralphs on the bike the last few weeks but if there's any serious mud about they're hopeless, so was thinking about putting the Mud-Xs back on.

The majority of it's going to be on the fireroads which are stone with hard pack sandy earth on top (mostly) so if it's been raining lots there may be a nice layer of gloop on top. The man made stuff varies from nice and smooth on the Osprey blue trail to very rocky on the reds (Lonesome Pine / Bloody Bush / Deadwater). There will also be a few off piste sections through the trees thrown in which'll probably be muddy. I've done some training up there on a pair of Rocket Rons but have decided to go with my Kenda Tubeless SB8's for the added sidewall protection. Mud X's would be overkill IMO but choice is yours.

tubaonwheels wrote:

. I remember loads moaning about the rough singletrack before reaching Scottish border, but I quite liked it.

That'll be The Final Countdown on the Bloody Bush trail then? We've done some improvements on that to improve the flow of the corners but not the trail surface. It's one of my main bugbears and I keep suggesting a new surface as it's crap. In good news the last downhill back to Kielder on last years course has been resurfaced so it's smooth now.

skaffen wrote:

...I don't know the terrain at all, if there's long flat(ish) sections then that might be possible...

Nope, none of them... It's either up or down with only the severity of gradient changing.

Eskimo427

can anyone tell me if lights are needed and do they really check everyones kit?

Thanks

Broonster

Eskimo427 wrote:

can anyone tell me if lights are needed and do they really check everyones kit?

Thanks

Don't think lights are needed from what I can gather. Mind you, depends on when you plan on finishing!

Not sure about the kit checking either. But I'd plan on taking it anyway - it's there for a reason and if things did go tits up, it's for your benefit and nobody else's at the end of the day. It's not really anything that you wouldn't normally carry on a 100-mile ride out in the oolies though, is it?

AndyD2574

Dont need lights fella but they DO check kit as you sign in so make sure you are prepared.
Rode this last year and it is TOUGH!!

Hard course and loads of midges......wee biting bastards!!

Great crack and really well organised.

Doing it again this year......must be mental!!

Eskimo427

Thanks for the replies gents.

I do intend on taking all the kit and I appreciate the reasons for it, I was just wondering when they checked it. At least I now know to take it all with me when I register.

bluehelmet

AndyD2574 wrote:

Hard course and loads of midges......wee biting bastards!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Avon Skin so Soft (spray on oil type) - most of the FC workers use it. It really works but you do smell a bit girly. If you haven't got any The Bike Place in Kielder sells it.

They've changed the cut off times on the website from TBC to proper ones now:

http://www.sip-events.co.uk/kielder-time.html

51 miles at 1:30pm
62 miles at 3:00pm
78 miles at 4:45pm

EDIT - I swear those times were showing this morning but now the website's gone back to showing T.B.C times...

skaffen

Thanks for all the extra info everyone, nice just not to be quite as much in the dark!

For the people who have done it before, are two pairs of spare pads enough for the race? I've seen a few people say that the place eats brake pads, but taking three pair seemed overkill...

bluehelmet wrote:

Mud X's would be overkill IMO but choice is yours.

Everything else on the bike is so light that when it's wet I tend to sacrifice a little more weight and rolling resistance for grip to be honest. They're excellent for climbing in gloop as well and if the weather reports are accurate then that's looking like it may be a benefit

bluehelmet

^ Fair enough - the forecast is improving daily but looks like it'll still be wet at times.

As far as brake pads go I guess it depends on the pads and conditions on the day. The soil up there does have a high sand content but I use sintered pads in my Juicy 3's and ride up there at least once a month and change pads maybe once a year. Saying that I'm not usually riding with 900 odd other people and all the dust that'll kick up... I'm sticking new pads in though in case it's wet as that'll make them wear quicker... hoping I don't have to change them either.

So, take 2 just to be sure..

I'm sitting firmly on the fence here!

skaffen

bluehelmet wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Avon Skin so Soft (spray on oil type) - most of the FC workers use it. It really works but you do smell a bit girly.

Funnily enough my wife picked some of that up for me. She did DofE and guiding back at school and she used to use it. The first thing she said was that I shouldn't worry if it sounded a bit girly There's an offer on at the moment where you get a free travel bottle if you buy a big bottle, handy for topping-up round the course.

bluehelmet wrote:

EDIT - I swear those times were showing this morning but now the website's gone back to showing T.B.C times...

They were definitely there at one point, checked when I saw your post to see if anything else was up (my wife's volunteering and also doesn't have a clue what she is doing and where!).

bluehelmet wrote:

Fair enough - the forecast is improving daily but looks like it'll still be wet at times.

Indeed, BBC is saying dry Friday and Saturday, and 20 degrees. Wondering about keeping the Racing Ralphs on now...

Tank-slapper

Just calculated the average cut-off time speeds from the race start:

1) 1:30pm 51 miles - 7.3mph (11.7km/hr)

2) 3:00pm 62 miles - 7.3 mph (11.7km/hr); between 1) and 2) = same speed

3) 4:45pm 78 miles - 7.6 mph (12.2km/hr); between 2) and 3) = 9.1 mph (14.6km/hr)


For Saturday, the Met Office gives dry but cloudy, 18C, 15mph wind with 31mph gusts. Better than the earlier forecast, but a drop in wind speed would be nice. I'm sticking with the Ralphs.

AndyD2574

BRUTAL!

Broonster

AndyD2574 wrote:

BRUTAL!

That is pretty much how I've described it to folk who don't know about the race. Jeez, even my wife who was marshaling thought it was bad in those conditions and she was just standing around, doing her marshal thing!

I guess the guys that finished deserve even more credit, compared to doing it in 'normal' conditions. Me? I bailed at the 62 mile point at Newcastleton, having chewed my way through 2 new sets of brake pads and down to bare metal again at that point. I was there about 10 mins before the cut-off, but didn't really give me any time to get new pads fitted by the Tech Station and have some fuel, so I called time. Physically I was actually okay (not sure about mentally?!). Hopefully it'll be better weather for my second attempt next year.

Did I just say 'next year'?! :shock: