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Dave-The-Trike
Dave-The-Trike Explains The Fascination of 24-Houring
 On the week-end of July 28/29 2002, the hottest week-end of the year, I competed in the Mersey Roads Club National 24-Hour Championship, an annual cycle time-trial that starts just outside Chester.
I was delighted with my 343.01 miles, particularly allowing the incredible temperatures experienced on the few sunny days of the summer; as the temperature touched 30 degrees C during the daytime, riders were having serious problems with de-hydration which I found made eating solid food rather difficult towards the end of the race (thank Heaven for bananas & tinned rice).
Spare a thought for the following riders: Gethin Butler rode an 800 km (497 mile) touring event (London to Edinburgh) a week before the 24; he won this year with 486 miles having suffered badly from the heat, compared with last years figures of 509 miles. Since then, Gethin has set a new Land's End - John O'Groats record (840 miles) of 1 day 20 hrs 4 min and a new 1000 mile record of 2 days 7 hrs 53 min. These records were part of the same ride and were completed with near continuous rain and a very unhelpful wind. Lynn Taylor, fastest lady with 423 miles, set a new Land's End - John O'Groats record of 2 days 5 hrs 48 min one day before Gethin's ride, but with far worse weather.
 A man known in the cycling world as Seamus McNasty, aka George Berwick from Wormit in Fife, was riding his 40th 24 Hour race (he won the event in 1974 with 455 miles); he finished a 1400 km (870 mile) touring event (London-Edinburgh-London) 3 days before covering 352 miles in the 24. Gareth Gregory, who spent the two days before the race cycling the 190 miles from his home in Port Talbot to the start; after 17 hours of racing, he became delirious from the heat and so was ushered to the nearest feeding station where he was given food, drink, and a nice comfy bed. 5 hours later he woke up and continued the race to end up with 241 miles. He spent the next two days cycling back to Port Talbot.
There was one important item omitted from the official report on the 24-hour race..
The route was centred on the village of Tern Hill, and about a mile south of it was an insignificant green field. I passed it six times in all during that terribly hot week-end
The first time that I went past, I noticed a cow in the middle of the field; it looked a little odd lying there on its left side, its right feet barely touching the ground. The thought crossed my mind that it might be a trifle dead
A few hours later, the cow seemed to be growing; its right feet were now about a foot from the ground, and there was a faint aroma reaching the roadway. This new information seemed to support my earlier hypothesis, that its condition was indeed probably terminal
By the third pass, the legs were horizontal, and the aroma was no longer faint. At this stage in the proceedings, I was still concentrating on my rate of progress and so the animal only presented a minor distraction
I couldn't see the cow when I went past at 3:00 am, but its presence was evident; it was at this stage that I realised that the feeding station was unfortunately close by. It wasn't that the aroma travelled that far, but that the memory of it did.
The last time I saw the cow was at 10:00 am on Sunday morning, the day was warming up nicely and, by now, the beast's right legs were pointing upwards at an angle of about 30 degrees to the horizontal and she was looking decidedly obese. While the aroma was discernible within a range of about a mile, it was only really offensive for about a quarter of a mile. I was by now desperately hungry and so had to stop for a final helping of rice pudding and to take on board sufficient bananas to see me through the final four hours
Although my planned route home the next day was through Tern Hill I decided that a detour was in order.
I'd like to think someone does something about the poor animal before next year, it could be quite high by then. (I do hope you all enjoyed your lunch.)
Frequently Asked Questions About Trikes & Their Riders- Can you ride a bike?
Yes. The only trike riders I know of who can’t are disabled, but even most of the disabled riders can manage a bike if they have to - Is a trike faster than a bike?
A bike is much lighter, more rigid and more aerodynamic than a trike, these are the three characteristics of a racing bike that make it so expensive. In a race like this a bike will travel about 10% (34 miles) further than trike for the same effort. Surprisingly, a trike is also much more difficult to balance and steer, but it is also much more fun to ride.
Frequently Asked Questions About 24-hour Races- Do you ride a 24 hour race in groups?
No, riders start at one-minute intervals and the rules strictly forbid riding with any one else. Accompanying cars are also not allowed, although helpers (on foot) are allowed to hand up food to riders as they pass and may then travel to the next meeting point by car. I find that I don't need to have a team of helpers as the organisers hand up plenty of food and drink; there are even two marquees where you can send anything that you might need during the race, such as a change of clothes, and where you can have a "proper" sit-down feed. - Do you stop for a sleep?
No, but I do stop at dusk (after about eight hours) for a sit-down feed, a change of clothing and to put lights on the trike; that takes up to half an hour. Once it starts to warm up in the morning I stop again for food, another change of clothes and to remove the lights; this takes much less time than the evening stop. I may also stop two or three times more for food although nearly all the food and drink is handed up and consumed as I ride. Total time spent off the trike is normally less than an hour - How do they know how far you have cycled?
The course is made up of circuits with all the sections individually measured before the start. Riders move on to the next circuit when they reach a time limit, so the faster riders complete more circuits than the slower ones. After about 22 hours you end up on a 12 mile finishing circuit which has time-keeper every two miles; the first time-keeper you pass after your 24 hours has finished tells you to stop and they use the times at which you pass the last two time-keepers to work out where you were when your time ran out. It's then simple arithmetic to calculate how far each rider has travelled - Isn't it very painful?
Not really, I'm used to riding long distances, often covering 50 miles in the evening after work. Modern saddles are padded with gel so you shouldn't get saddle sore, and provided you start off at a sensible (slow) speed you won't "hit the wall" as marathon runners do. I find the only bad part is riding the three of four miles back from my finishing point to the event head-quarters after the race is over. The morning after I ride about 15 gentle miles to stop the muscles from getting stiff and sore - Do you really enjoy riding these races?
Yes! There are usually about 50 riders competing and most of them have two or three people as personal helpers. Then there are about 200 marshals to keep you on course, all those who hand up food and man the sit-down feeding stations as well as all the spectators. Most of them I know, either personally, or because they used to be good racing cyclists, and most of them will know me. Everybody is very friendly and helpful so there is a fantastic atmosphere during the race
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