2023 Subscriptions thejanullrichdietplan Posted September 25, 2015 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions PaulL Posted September 26, 2015 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Don't get lost! Best of luck Davie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions iain couttie Posted September 26, 2015 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 We will be watching now, remember pain is your friend  Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions iain couttie Posted September 27, 2015 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 We'll done davie was keeping an eye on you. Â Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavieB Posted September 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Thanks for the words of encouragement chaps, appreciated. A strange beast indeed is the 3 peaks but one I would definitely do again.  Standing on the start line I got talking to a bunch of fellow first timers and we basically surmised that we had no idea what to expect. Anyways the race started and the first road section was predictably rapid, I started pretty near the back as I wanted to avoid the macho nonsense and just drifted forward from one group to the next without really extending myself and felt not too bad at all. After 5 miles the off-road started with the first sections being rideable if you attacked some of the boggier sections but finding a line did prove difficult at times. I should have heeded a lesson here which I never learned 'till far too late in the day, that being at all times remount if possible even if it is for 50 yards it is quicker than carrying and would have taken minutes of my time. The first real portage is reached at Simon's fell and I felt surprising good on the climb, again finding clear space was a wee bit difficult but I did move further up the field on the ascent, which tops out with a very step section where you are pretty much on all fours. The bad news when you reach the top is this is not one of the "peaks" merely a precursor to the Whernisde ascent via some riding/portage over the moors. Whernside itself is again steep and rocky towards the top, the descent is not too bad but encountered first downhill issue of the day as my hands kept sliding on the hoods (as usual for summer riding I don't wear gloves or mitts - more on this later!) which was a bit disconcerting!  On to the Ingleborough climb and again felt surprisingly decent on the portaged ascent, my main tactic for the walking parts was to never stop no matter how slow the pace got, it later on got very slow but I figured if I stopped on the climbing sections I would never get started again. Ingleborough was steep at the top with flagstone steps laid into the hill, I actually took the time to look around going up and the view was absolutely stunning in the sunshine. The descent took in moors, bogs and flagstone sections and is where I hit my second problem of the day when my front brake pad locked on - couldn't quite figure it out but kind of freed it up by brute force and pushing the lever open only for it to happen again, had to stop and adjust the pads probably costing me 10 minutes and as I was still unsure as to the root cause I was very wary of using front brakes from that point on which came back to haunt me later on.  Off the 2nd of the peaks there is a road transition where I discovered sucking on my camelback was producing no effect so second enforced stop of the day was at Horton-on-Ribblesdale where the lady at a wee coffee shop was good enough to give me a refill, a mile down the road the police stopped us after a road crash - probably another 8 or so  minutes down between these two stoppages. Felt not too bad on the road sections pushing a decent gear at decent speed and onto Penyghent - which is a complete and utter sod! The climb is straight up and straight back down and when you turn onto it the faster guys are coming down at absolutely suicidal pace...crazy stuff!  The first part is rideable and the last part is just long and a real grind with bike on shoulder, again I just kept plodding up, never stopping and was still passing people. At the top you turn and go back down, descent is very steep and a mix of gravel, rocks, and moor land, I had a 'mare on the way down as didn't trust my front brakes and my hands were really getting sore (no gloves!) making control difficult, people were passing me all the time which was demoralising as this was supposed to be the easy bit. Anyway got to the bottom in one piece which by that stage was the only priority and the last 2 miles or so is a road section back to the start point.  Again felt (surprisingly) good and was making good pace catching a few on the road, looked down at my hoods and noticed a big gap in the bar tape and hoods in funny position and it finally dawned on me why my front brakes had been jammed on - with the rough terrain the hoods had been shoved down the drops, tightening the cables and clamping the brakes on ....doh! Anyways powered onto the end and crossed the line in just over 5 hours feeling not too bad tbh.  I don't really obsess too much about times but it would have been good to break the 5 hour barrier which is a kind of cut-off point between OK and an also-ran in the official timings. I reckon with a fair wind and no mechanicals / descending demons I think a 4:45 would have been achievable - something to aim for next year.  Cheers, Davie iain couttie, PaulL, P McDonald and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2023 Subscriptions thejanullrichdietplan Posted September 29, 2015 2023 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 well done sounds like an epic day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Michael Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Great stuff. Sounds like fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2024 Subscriptions Darryl Gunson Posted September 29, 2015 2024 Subscriptions Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 Great stuff Davie. All that training in Lochwinnoch woods paid off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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