BHF SouthDowns 100

diy

Did anyone else do the BHF Southdowns Way 100 yesterday? Lowest turn out for years. About 250 did the 65/100 and about 200 did the 35 mile course. I wonder if they will keep organising it with these kind of numbers.

I did it with a mate yesterday an epic ride - almost perfect weather apart from a significant head wind.

colstar

I was there and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It's the biggest off road ride i've attempted so far...

Bit saddle sore today, but otherwise no complaints.

diy

Did you do the 100? It was the first time for ages that you couldn't see a stream or riders out in front and behind. Though it was a bit more interesting once we picked up the 35 milers.

Shackster

I did the 100 with two mates and I thought that the car park at the start was busier than when I'd done it in 2011.

Saw plenty of people throughout although it obviously thinned out as we went along - we had rests totalling about 3 hours! :shock: actual moving time was about 11.5 hours.

We were only really doing it because one of our number hadn't finished it on two previous occasions - in 2010 because of ridiculous heat and headwind causing severe dehydration/heat exhaustion, and in 2011 (the June one, I believe you were there diy?), we all failed due to the mud in the first 35 and getting lost in the fog on Firle Beacon!

Two years passing had dulled the memory of the effort this requires. Needless to say now we've all finished it I don't think we'll be doing it again!! It really is stupidly hard.

ALSO - anyone stay in the Holiday Inn the night before? I had to fight to get our bikes into the hotel, even though I'd specifically said we needed ground floor rooms to accommodate bikes (and they hadn't warned us of their new rule). Apparently the new manager(ess) has banned bikes from the hotel on account of 'terrible' damage done by bikes 'leaking oil everywhere' and damaging walls - fair enough, but warn people in advance! In the end the duty manager relented and let us store them in a corridor behind reception. I found it ironic as we wheeled them in that the pre-Olympic publicity signs featuring bikes were stacked up in a store room adjacent! :roll:

diy

Thats interesting we must have been early birds. We left about 5:30, moving time according to strava 10:49. We also stopped far too many times but that is the challenge of doing it with mates. Yes this is the 4th or 5th year I have done it.

Seems to be an annual pilgrimage, each year I hope to do it quicker and each year something conspires to stop that. My mate was suffering from exhaustion so we had to keep pumping him with gels for quite a while at the 65 mark. We were told we were in the first 50, but another 10 passed us by the time we got going again. Made some of it back, but its not a race.

This was the first year I didn't feel like walking in the last 20.

colstar

I was riding alone and set off at about 05:45. Riding time was about 11.5 with about 40 minutes of stops.

I actually found 30-65 miles to be the hardest. I think it was because there still seemed a huge distance ahead. After Alfriston, apart from aching neck and shoulders, it seemed to pass by really quickly.

I walked up the end of Amberley mount and that daft little hill a few miles before Butser.

I would definitely ride it again next year and try to knock a bit of time off. I would also defintely want some new forks! I was riding my Kona Firemountain with Rockshox Dart 1s. When I bought it (2011) i hadn't really ridden for a few years and didn't want to spend too much. That was a mistake! I would love to buy something a bit higher up the range, but budget just won't allow it at the moment.

Huge respect to everyone that finished.

plasma_man

Just looked at the route on biketoaster, mega respect for finishing that, looks like a monster. I thought my 77km Iron Bikes I do were pretty tough but twice the distance on a MTB, insane!

Shackster

The stupid thing is that although I've said never again above, I already know I will.

YeehaaMcgee

diy wrote:

Did anyone else do the BHF Southdowns Way 100 yesterday? Lowest turn out for years. About 250 did the 65/100 and about 200 did the 35 mile course. I wonder if they will keep organising it with these kind of numbers.

A few events this month have had fairly low turnouts, I reckon it's because of the heat.

diy

Pretty sure I will do it again too. Will probably be selfish and do it solo. The 40-60 is quite hard as it starts getting tough but you are only half way. With the 65 on you can kid yourself that you are nearly there. The confusing bit is being passed by a few 35ers as you look at their pace and think wtf how can he still ride at that pace. Then you notice the lack of cow and sheep poo all over them and realise.