Kielder100 - Relative Newbie Entering

stevekav1

Hi folks,

Firstly, hello to you all. I've lurked about these forums in the past and found them very useful.

Myself and a friend are planning on signing up for the Kielder100. I can't speak for my mate, but I've never done an event like this, let alone any event at all. So I'm looking for some advice on training and equipment etc.

So a little background info - I'm 30 and in decent shape, I've got a stock Voodoo Bantu and this will be the bike I'll be using. Not much experience XC but I've been doing much more of it over the last six months. Me and my mate generally do a 20mile trek every other weekend (half canal path, half forest track). We're based in Edinburgh. I commute to work on the bike too - about 4 miles each way, all uphill to work in the morning in about 25 minutes and 20mins back down. I'm making a list of stuff I need to do or learn.

• Basic bike maintenance - esp. changing brake pads and tyres/tubes on the fly
• Increase my commute to about 10 miles each way
• Increase my endurance fitness - longer cycles XC at the weekends (starting at about 40mile round trips.
• Experiment with eating programmes for long rides

So I'm hoping you fine people can help me with this. I can't afford to swap bikes, but I will spec it up - so what kind of equipment would you recommend? Actually, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

We're going to do this for charity too, as an incentive to see it through to the bitter, painful end.

Thanks in advance!

Stephen

Eskimo427

I did Kielder in 2011 and was one of the 180 who finished.

The best advice I can give is this:

Try and up the number of miles to a lot more than you're doing. It took me 12 and a half hours to complete.

Use tyres which are tough and have good grip. A friend had to pull out due to his tyre being slashed on the slate.

Carry at least 2 pairs of brake pads and make sure they're the sintered type. My rear wore completely in the first 40 miles.

If you're planning on upgrading your bike for the event, replace the wheels. This will make the biggest single difference.

Have a good breakfast before setting off. There should be a food van which will sell you burgers etc before the race starts.

Wear clothing you know is comfortable and warm when wet.

Make sure your water bottle holder isn't warn and will hold the bottle. I've lost bottles during events and it's no fun.

Make sure you take all the mandatory kit with you when registering, it will be checked.

Did I mention do more miles.......?

Hope this helps and all the best. I'll see you there.

stevekav1

Hi Eskimo,

Cheers for your reply. Miles miles miles and miles... I know, I think this is the biggest thing for me. I need to figure out some commuting routes to push myself. The 4 miles each way I'm doing just now are just enough to get me warmed up.

I've already decided to use a back-pack hydration thingy instead of bottles. As for wheels and tyres and brake pads - what would be your suggestion? (I really have no idea...)

S.

Eskimo427

As you have a lot of time to get in some good training, I'd wait until nearer the time before deciding to use a hydration pack. The food stops aren't that far apart so you might be able to go between stops without additional water. My reason for saying this is having a litre and a bit of water on your back will get quite unconfortable after being on there for a few hours. I'd do all your training with a full one on your back, don't drink from it and see how you cope.

With regards to wheels and tyres that is down to how much you wish to spend. I bought a pair of wheels from here:
http://www.justridingalong.com/

with stans hubs and ZTR rims. They are very light and great for events. I'm not sure I want to do too much heavy riding on them, also I've found the bearings in the hubs not to be as protected as I'd like. The front and rears have been changed a few times.

The tyres I use are panracer fire xc pro 2.1 They may not be the best rolling tyres but I think they're a good trade off with how pucture proof they are. I've only ever had one fail and that was ripped on a sharp stone. I use them for all my events and they've been great.

Do you have any trail centres or forests within driving distance? I once drove a hundred miles to one and spent literaly from 9 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon riding around it. There a lot of good training info on here espicially in the road bike section.

Thanks