Make the most of your time in the Alps (Photo Chris McIntosh / Flowmtb)

Every summer, hoards of British mountain bikers flock to the French Alps for a dose of chairlift-assisted gravity riding, with many focusing their trips around popular events like the Megavalanche, the massively insane mass start downhill race at Alpe d’Huez.

There’s so much riding in the Alps though, and much of it designed for every level of rider, from beginner to advanced. From the downhill focus of Morzine to the high quality technical singletrack at other resorts, there really is something for everyone. And most of it with gravity on your side (which makes a change). So let the chairlift take the strain and enjoy the descending.

Hurtling down mountains on rock strewn tracks requires a few changes to your approach. With hundreds of metres of altitude to play with, chairlifts taking the strain and the hot sunny weather, it’s a good recipe for the best riding you’ll ever experience.

And with the ease of getting from the UK to the French Alps, it’s no surprise many make the annual pilgrimage.

On the bike

Bikes, bikes, bikes

The riding in the Alps is very different to the UK. Extremely rocky terrain almost demands long travel, so something in the 140/160mm region at both ends would be the ideal bike. Although that’s not to stop you riding something with less travel, or a long-forked hardtail.

The most important thing is to ride a bike that you’re comfortable on. But if you’ve got the choice, the current generation of 160mm travel machines are perfectly suited to hammering away all week in the French Alps; light enough for riding technical singletrack and capable enough to have fun on the downhill tracks.

Whatever bike you take out there though, you’re going to have fun. It’s worth making a few changes to ensure you do have fun and don’t spend too much time beside the trail fixing a mechanical.

Tyres

Wider tyres, 2.3/2.4in, provided your fork and frame can take them – would be a good investment. Look for gravity/downhill tyres with a robust carcass, dual ply, beefy sidewalls and a softer tread compound. There’s such a vast range of tyre choice that we don’t have room here to go into detail.

We would set them up tubeless, but failing that a thicker downhill tube will be harder to puncture. And treat your bike to some new tyres if yours are half worn.

Brakes

Ensure your brakes are in proper working order. You’ll be doing a LOT of braking in the Alps, so you don’t want them to let you down. Or worse, fail on you. So bleed them if they’re even a little squishy, and ensure you’ve bedded in a nice new set of pads before heading out.

Don’t forget to take some spares with you, they can be expensive or hard to track down in the French resorts.

Suspension

Now is the time to get your forks and shock serviced before going away. You want them to be in perfect working order. Make sure to correctly set the sag on both, and remember that the body armour, full face and loaded hydration pack all add to the weight. Take that into account when setting up. Other than that, you can run the same settings as you would in the UK. Some prefer to go a little softer, and as you’ll be hitting stuff harder, a little more rebound can be dialled in.

Frame protection

Add some clear tape to the downtube to prevent rocks scratching it, and wrap an old inner tube around the chainstays on the driveside to stop the chain slapping against the metal, damaging your paintwork and making a load of noise.

Spares

Your bike will take a hammering. So take some spares, including spare tyres, plenty of tubes, a spare chain and/or spare links, spare brake pads and a spare rear mech hanger.

Off the bike

It’s not just your bike that needs setting up. There’s plenty of kit you’ll need yourself.

Body armour

Riding all day, every day for a week ups the chances that you’ll take a tumble at some point. With the increased speeds any crash is likely to be a harder impact than what you might be used to at home. So get yourself a full face helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and a back protector.

Some may prefer to wear less padding; others will want to ensure every part of the body is padded up. Knee pads are the bare minimum, and how much you wear is down to personal preference. We’d advise, especially if it’s your first time in the Alps, to err on the side of caution.

Crashing out and injuring yourself on the first day is a very realistic proposition – body armour can be the difference between sitting out recovering for a couple of days or getting straight back up and on your bike.

Eyewear

Goggles are preferable if you’re focusing on downhill riding and will be wearing a full face helmet, otherwise your favourite pair of sunglasses will do the trick. It’s likely to be brilliant sunshine all week, so pick a pair with darker lenses to keep the glare down.

Tools

It’s necessary to be self sufficient out on the mountain. So you want to carry all the tools you would need to fix your bike in the event of a mechanical mishap. Clearly we’re not suggesting you carry around a bottom bracket removal tool or anything, but a high quality multi-tool, chain breaker and zip ties should see you well in most cases.

Clothing

Although it is most likely to be hot and sunny, it’s not a bad idea to take some wet weather clothing so that, if it does rain, you can still ride. It can also get nippy at the top of the mountains so a lightweight jacket you can carry in your backpack is a good idea.

Take some pain killers

Your body can get sore after a few days of hammering down the mountain! It’s well worth taking a medical kit too in case you need to attend to any cuts and scrapes.

Travel insurance

Make sure you’re covered for your week out there.

A large hydration pack, with enough storage space for carrying spare body armour when you’re not wearing it.

And finally, suntan lotion

Heading south to the Alps doesn’t guarantee good weather but, fingers crossed, there’s a high chance you’ll enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures, so make sure you pack suntan lotion.

Flowmtb

Introducing our newest contributor, Josh Ibbett is the current South Downs Way Double record holder and is aiming for the top spot this season. And he’ll be keeping us updated every turn of the pedal.

So it looks like my blog has hit mainstream cycling media! The guys at Bikemagic have been incredibly supportive to me over the past few years so when I was presented with the opportunity to write a blog for the website I was more than happy to accept. Hopefully I can provide an insight into my crazy cycling life and show you what it takes to ‘chase the dream’.

I guess the best way for me to start is to give an short introduction about my self and an overview of the year ahead. This year will be my 10th season of racing. I started racing cross-country when I was 14 in 2002 and to be honest I was rubbish!

I still remember my first race very clearly, it was an round of the Eastern Region series at Thetford Forest and I was so nervous that I false started so we were all were called back. Then when we finally set off I was pretty pathetic and finished near the back of the field. Fortunately I didn’t just give up there and then. Something made me want more so once again I lined up at the next round of the series, this time armed with new SPD pedals. Surely I would be so much quicker this time! I managed not to false start which was progress, however I did managed to miss my pedal, loose my balance and fall off just after the start line while all the other kids laughed at me as they rode away.

This experience still didn’t dampen my enthusiasm so the following year I entered the first round of the National Points Series this time as a youth. The start was OK and the race satisfactory, I believe I finished 23rd which was OK for me. I even survived the pisstaking that my race number attracted. It was 911 and I was adamant that it was good as Porsche 911′s were fast cars. Everyone else thought it was more amusing to compare it to the American emergency services number though.

So after that first Nationals race the bug truly bit me. My parents then began carting me around the country racing for the rest of my time at school. I progressed steadily and made it consistently into the top 10 as a first year junior as well as spending a few years on the British Cycling Talent Team.

Then I blew it. I raced too much, trained too hard, fried my brain at school too much, didn’t eat enough and imploded. My second year as a junior was miserable and I pretty much stopped racing for a year. Luckily this coincided with starting university so I was soon able to distract myself from bikes with alcohol and dancing.

Gradually my desire to ride and race again returned as did my fitness. I was now living in Cardiff and suddenly had proper mountain bike trails right on my door step, a far cry from flat Cambridgeshire where I grew up. Gradually I developed bike handling skills and confidence and most importantly the love of riding returned. The summer of my second year at uni was the best.

People had been nagging me to try an enduro for quite a while so finally I gave in a took part in the Torchbearer 12h at Twentyfour12. I rode those 12-hours as hard as I could, it seemed totally effortless and made total sense to me. I won the race which helped and from that moment forward Josh the enduro racer was born.

Since that race I have gradually built my enduro experience and fitness up and have collected a couple of decent results in the process. I won my first solo 24-hour at Relentless24, then came close to pulling of a shock victory at the National 24-hour championships in 2010 (my second 24hr race). Ultimately inexperience cost me that day and I faded to 3rd place but now had the confidence that I could become the top UK enduro racer (a goal which I am still working at).

Last year wasn’t the greatest for me race wise but I did manage to set a new record for the South Downs Double which kind of made up for it.

So 2012 is set to be a big year for me. I’m going it alone sponsorwise this year and have managed to put together a great set of sponsors who have committed to support me with product and equipment through out the year. I’m very happy to be officially riding for Santa Cruz UK. I have ridden the Tallboy to all of my best results and love it to bits. The fact that I will now have a shiny new Tallboy to race on plus a Highball hardtail makes me a very lucky bike rider.

The North Face will also be providing me with their brilliant kit. There will be no excuses for getting out in every type of weather now. USE and Exposure lights have kindly agreed to provide me finishing kits for my bike and their excellent range of lights so I can see in the dark. They are also very understanding employers and enable me to be flexible with time off so that I am able to train and race. Thanks guys!

I will also be rolling on some pretty cool equipment. Reynolds will be providing me with their new XC29er wheel set, its super stiff, light, looks awesome and makes a satisfying echoey clunk when you shift gears (very important). No wheelset is complete with out some good tyres and thankfully Schwalbe will be helping me with the best rubber going.

Nutrition is key for any race and they guys at Torq have agreed to continue supporting me into 2012. I can’t wait to pop a caffeine gel at hour 18 of a 24hr race… its magic! Lezyne will be providing me with tools and pumps to keep my shiny new bikes in good working order and to keep those Schwable tyres pumped up.

All bikes need a little bit of bling on them and I am lucky enough to have a bling sponsor too. Mt Zoom will be helping me with some nice shiny light bits. These are the bits that make all the difference as every one know that red things go faster!I’m hoping not to crash too much but accidents do happen.

Kask helmets will be making sure my head doesn’t damage the floor too much if I do crash. I will also be keeping things smooth with Juice lubes chain lube and Chapeau Chamoix cream.

Here’s a quick video to show case my sponsors (note: I avoided showing the application of Chapeau chamoix cream!)

2012 promo from Josh Ibbett on Vimeo.

So now that I’ve announced all these wonderful sponsors what am I going to do? Well the schedule is pretty full already. Racing kicks off with a couple of stage races. I will be returning to Spain for the week long Andalucia Bike race at the end of February before jetting off to South Africa for the Cape Epic at the end of March. I will be racing these races in a pair with super quick (and fellow Santa Cruz rider) Ben Thomas. Hopefully I can keep up with him.

Upon my return from South Africa will will once again have a crack at the National 24hour champs. Fingers crossed I can recover, 3rd time lucky! After that I will build up to my first solo attempt at Mountain Mayhem, lets just hope the sun stays out.

So that’s enough of my ramblings for now. Next week I head off to Gran Canaria for 10 days hard training. I will report back once I have a sun tan!

Josh Ibbett

In this new series we’re asking  some of the UK’s most recognised mountain bikers to share their winter riding tips. Winter presents a challenge to all mountain bikers, but hopefully we can learn some valuable lessons.

The first contribution is from top enduro racer Rich Rothwell. Over to you Rich:

I actually quite enjoy winter. Firstly, you know what you’re going to get. It’s not like our tantalising ‘summers’ which never seem to quite materialise, or do so in short frustrating gasps. I love the slightly gothic atmosphere of winter and, once out there probably enjoy the scenery more than the summer.

Here are my personal tips for helping you tackle the hardest bit (getting out the door in the first place!).

1. Think about where you ride

In the winter when I fancy a big ride, I tend to head to places like the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District because many of the rock based trails drain so well. Saying this though, it’s a great time of year to sharpen up your wet conditions skills; we live in a country that is often damp, slippery, and soggy and it’s good to practice in these conditions, especially if you are entering any races or events in the so called ‘summer’.

Many trails are also quieter in the colder months meaning fewer interruptions on that classic descent you’ve whipped yourself up for… A great reason to get out there in the winter!

2. Invest in a good set of lights

Powerful lights with decent run times open up a whole new world of winter riding opportunities. Get the best you can afford; like any essential bit of kit the initial investment will be forgotten when you’re happily churning out the miles this winter and the next.

Also, if you have to cover any road sections, always use two rear lights in case one fails. Even if you think you will be home before dark always carry, at the least, emergency ‘get me seen’ lights.

3. Waterproof or windproof? Choose carefully…

Often, a Pertex jacket or similar is a much better choice than a waterproof. Resistant to light rain and sometimes preferable in showers due to the high breathability, I use mine much more than my waterproof.

In the really cold weather, I find that a heavy duty Merino base layer and a Pertex shell is the most breathable combination and very warm due to the fact that the base layer doesn’t ‘wet out’ and cool you down.

If I am on a long winter ride and there is the chance of getting wet / very sweaty, I carry a spare base layer and change it mid ride – this gives a massive boost of warmth and comfort!

4. Get some waterproof shorts – mudguard-u-wear

Years ago, I cut the lower legs off a pair of waterproof trousers. My friends mocked me, pointed, and laughed. “All the kids will be wearing them soon” I retorted.

Well who’s laughing now eh? (The people who have gone on to make them as a profitable endeavour probably). Anyway, I’m not bitter; such a fantastic idea! Keeps your arse dry and grit free without your legs getting all clammy and hot like they do with full length waterproof trousers.

At the same time they keep your body very warm because they keep your large leg muscles dry and toasty. And it’s often not rain that is the problem; protection from ground water is one of the big winter challenges both on and off-road. My waterproof shorts are always in the bottom of my bag in the winter months and I often reach for them, particularly on big descents.

5. Give yourself some aims

It doesn’t necessarily need to be race or event orientated. It could be to practice riding slippery roots or rocks.

Set some weekends aside to go to some places you’ve never ridden before. Visit some friends and ride their local trails. Loose X number of kilos by Spring. But of course it could be event biased and if it is, the previous ideas may also be constructive.

Either way, doing something different or trying to improve in some way is very motivating. It’s the stuff that gets you out of bed early on a cold dark morning to realise that the winter aint so bad after all….

Thanks to Rich for his top advice. Find out more about Rich at his website www.richyroth.com

Do you agree? Have you say in the comments box below or in this forum thread.

Go on,  scare yourself: The 2012 Absa Cape Epic route has been announced.

Fear is a great motivator. It makes waking up in the morning a little more interesting. Apparently, because of our larger hippocampus (the bit of brain responsible for memory) women register unpleasantness with greater vividness than men; and sharing geography with the Amygdala (the bit of brain responsible for fear), fear and unpleasantness have a lot in common. (Don’t quote me on any of this, I stopped taking science courses about age 17.)

People develop fears as a result of learning: like being afraid of the dark because there’s a movie that tells us to be afraid of the dark. (Or rather, not to be, but their logic just doesn’t hold.) It can also be a result of a traumatic experience: You get bitten by a goose as a child and just like that, waterfowl are evil.

There are cultural fears: these are the fears propagated and amplified through media myths… like being afraid of terrorists or clowns. These sometimes lead to phobias, whereby basic human rationality drops out the window and the whole world will end if you eat a piece of banana. For example.

And then there’s the fear that comes from learning the route of the 2012 Absa Cape Epic. Not a classic fear, this fear is nestled in nicely with adrenaline and self-esteem and all sorts of other confusing chemical reactions.

Having never done a mountain bike race before, I have almost nothing to compare this route to. The greatest distance I’ve ever done on a bike in a single day was 330 km on a road bike, riding between Seattle and Portland. It was fairly flat. There was no rain. It wasn’t very hot out. So this fear is palpable.

Claire and I will be riding each stage as a duo, and unlike road racing, the group will separate fairly quickly so we’ll likely be pretty much out on our own for most of the stages.

The Prologue: By far the tamest of the stages at only 27km and with 800m of climbing, this  team time trial will also be one of the fastest stages with each team going out guns blazing to secure better seeding times the following day. I fully expect we’ll go out too hard.

Stage 1: The first of the big stages at 115km and 2350m of climbing, this Robertson to Robertson loop is going to be a very tough one. The first of the three climbs of the day is 3km covered in loose boulders and gets up to 25% justifying all the running over the coming months. (You won’t find us running around Wimbledon Common carrying our Scott Sparks on our shoulders just for *fun*….)

Stage 2: Another Robertson to Robertson 119km and 1650m climbing, this is supposed to be one of the prettier stages. “A geologist’s paradise” or somesuch. Not sure we’ll notice.

Stage 3: Just for fun, the longest stage in Absa Cape Epic history (!) at 147km and 2900m of climbing between Robertson and Caledon, this stage will be the hardest ride of our lives. Up and down several tricky climbs and fast descents over big loose rocks and shale… I’ve worked out that if we can survive this, we might just qualify as “climbers” when the road season commences. Note the ‘if’.

Stage 4: Though I’m thinking this should be a relative walk in the park at *only* 105km and 2600m of climbing, apparently this is going to be a very tough stage of exposure to scorching sun, brutal technical climbing and winding narrow singletrack.

Stage 5: 119km and 2350m of climbing between Calendon and Oak Valley, this is supposed to be the singletrack-heaven stage with some (much needed) “flowing” trails and stunner views.

Stage 6: As we come into the closing stages of the race, the 85km and 2200m of climbing are going to be deceptively hard. Luckily, there is 30km of steady dual track riding through the Cape Nature Reserve and as we ride into the finish, the looming peak of Groenlandberg will appear.

Stage 7: Between Oak Valley and Lourensford, we’ll finish the race with this 65km, 1350m stage of singletrack. We’ll be absolutely ruined by then. But apparently there are going to be some stunning views. Hence the need for a head-cam. We might not actually fully appreciate it until the wine tasting commences the following day.

Read about the Absa Cape Epic 2012 route here.

www.cape-epic.com

And now we can reveal the winners! Congratulations to…

First prize: Trevor Toulson for his ‘Dalby Red Route‘ route

Second prize: Rob Sutherland for his ‘Loughrigg and Ironkeld‘

Third prize: Conrad Clayton for ‘A circular route into the Cheviots out of Wooler‘

Trevor Toulson wins a Viewranger app for a compatible phone loaded with 1:50K mapping for the entire UK (Eng, Wales, Scotland & NI), 1 x powermonkey-eXplorer solar/secondary battery and an AQUAPAC  Stormproof™ Padded Drybag to keep your phone dry and protected.

That’s not all, Trevor Toulson will get to ride their winning route with the BM Editor and it’ll be filmed to feature on Mpora.com.

Meanwhile, Rob Sutherland wins a Viewranger app for a compatible phone plus his choice of 1:50K mapping region (ie Eng or Wales or  Scot or NI), and an AQUAPAC  Small Armband Case.

Conrad Clayton gets his hands on a Viewranger app with his choice of 1:50K mapping region (ie Eng or Wales or  Scot or NI) and a AQUAPAC  Small Stormproof™ Pouch.

Miss out? You’ve got another chance to win

But, fear not, this marks the end of only the second in a series of three Viewranger competitions. Click hereto find out how to submit your trail to enter September’s contest.

Sharing your route couldn’t be simpler. First you just need to register, free, at my.ViewRanger.com, then once you’ve done that you can simply upload your route from any GPS device you’re using.

Make sure you tag the route with #BikeMagicTSC so we can see it.

I’ve only started riding off-road recently, though, and I’ve realised I’m getting funny looks. Do I look like a roadie who has just borrowed her mate’s uber bike and falls off riding up hill?

Ok, most of that sentence is true – but I don’t want people shooting me glances and whispering about it…

Anyway, after a few weeks riding on the trails, here’s my guide to looking like a roadie and sticking out like a sore thumb.

1. Get rid of your helmet peak

Shielding the sun, rain, mud and leaves from your delicate eyes is playing it too safe. Go crazy and risk riding down a trail with one eye shut stinging from dirt that flicked into it.

2. White socks

Slap on a pair of gleaming white socks. You’re only going to cycle through mud and dirt, maybe a murky puddle or two. Why not stain them up real good, so they go grey and look like something your grandad wears.

3. Aero

Saving milliseconds is key to your weekend trail ride! After all, those fat tyres and uneven trails are going to slow you down a treat. Slap on a figure hugging jersey, designed to only be comfortable in an aero tuck.

4. Go bag less

Why ever would I carry a rucksack? Shock pump, inner tubes, chain tool, water bladder, a slice of cake, wallet, keys, phone and mini pump? Surely that can all be stuffed into your jersey pockets to bounce precariously up and down your back as you fly down a bit of singletrack.

5. Arm warmers

Roadies love an arm warmer, especially in the spring and autumn. You’ll have to keep stopping to pull them back up, which will get quite frustrating, and your friends will probably leave you. But hey, your arms will be warm.

This cracking video demonstrates the awesome skills of Jason’s 12-year-old son Josh. Take a look and prepare to be impressed.

Jason and Josh Gibb from Walter Yi on Vimeo.

Breaking the South Downs double record is something I had been dreaming of for quite a while. It’s been a long time in the making and the actual ride itself represented a very small amount of the total time invested in the record.

I had been considering the double as far back as last summer but it wasn’t until I moved down to Brighton in March this year that the plans and preparation really took off. My first ride on the South Downs had me hooked and I knew right there and then that I wanted to record.

The Downs are an incredible place, stunning views of the coast on one side and inland on the other. The south east is a very densely populated and busy area but as soon as you climb up onto the Downs you enter a bubble of peace and tranquillity where you can be alone with your thoughts, away from the stresses of real life and, most importantly, enjoy riding your bike.

Ian Leitch set the record of 18 hours, three minutes back in 2009 so to me this was the benchmark I had to beat. I knew that when Ian set the record he was really on form. Ian is much faster than me over the shorter distances and has a better power to weight ratio than me on the climbs so I decided that it would take some smarter thinking to get the better of him.

There are three main areas which I gave attention when planning the double: learning the route, equipment choice and nutrition.

My thinking was slightly different to those who had gone before me. I was going to go as light as possible on equipment, while maintaining reliability, taking exactly what nutrition I needed for my maximum target time (18 hours) and play it safe. Avoiding mechanicals, bonking and navigational errors was going to give me a better time.

Here’s how I addressed each area:

Navigation
Equipment
Nutrition

Navigation

Navigating is a huge part of doing the double. Unlike a 24-hour race, where you just have to follow the tapes, the double puts you out there alone. You have to be able to follow the route under fatigue, great exertion and, at some points, when it’s dark.

The South Downs way is a way marked route but quite often the signs can be easily missed, even in the daylight and especially at speed! Mike Cotty missed a turn during his record breaking ride which cost him about 10 minutes. Pre-riding and learning the route is essential, one small navigational error could be the difference between beating the record or not or even making the magic 24-hour mark which allows entry into the exclusive South Downs Double club.

I’m lucky enough to live in Brighton which made learning the route much easier as it’s less than 30 minutes from my house up onto the ridge. I was able to cover the whole length of the Downs with three big out and back recce rides.

The first is the classic Eastbourne and back route – the staple long ride of many a Brighton local. The Eastbourne end of the Downs is my favourite. It contains the longer climbs and has incredible views of the coast. I hit this end of the route at sunrise during my attempt and the memories of the sunrise will stay with me forever.

The second recce ride I did was from Devils Dyke to Cocking. This has a number of short but super-steep climbs as well as some faster sections where it is easy to miss a couple of turns.

The third big section I researched was Cocking to Winchester. This involved a bit of a drive to the start but I was able to cover lots of ground as this end of the Downs is very fast. Navigation here is critical as there is one section around Old Winchester Hill where there are two options due to some land ownership issues. It’s widely acknowledged by riders who have ridden the double that riding up Old Winchester on the road is the best option, plus its marginally quicker.

It’s also good to get as much advice as possible off people who have ridden the double before. I had many long conversations with single speed record holder Rob Dean about the route and he highlighted the potentially tricky parts to keep an eye on. This advice was invaluable and was a real help. I was also in contact with double riders Ian Leitch, Rob Lee and Mike Cotty at various points during my preparation, as well as receiving plenty of sound advice from Rory Hitchens, who has ridden the South Downs his whole life.

There are a couple of other little tricks I used to memorise the route. I got hold of all the OS maps which cover the South Downs Way, laid them all out in order and highlighted the route. This was a great technique to visualise each section and how they all link together, although the fact that the maps were longer than my kitchen when laid out in order was somewhat intimidating!

The other priceless resource that I used was the Bike Downs website. This has a turn-by-turn guide to the whole of the Downs, complete with photos of all the main junctions. I looked at the website before each recce ride so that when I came to a major junction I automatically knew which direction to go with out relying on the way markers.

Taps are another important aspect of the double as they are the only source of water available. It’s important to remember all the tap locations as dehydration has been the downfall of many riders. On a sunny day the white chalky tracks reflect the sun back up at you, making it even hotter (remember to wear sun cream too, even when starting at midnight!). When I finished my double the back of my shirt was stained white with salt, an indication that I was sweating pretty well! Therefore learning the tap stops and staying hydrated is imperative.

Equipment

The equipment I chose for the double was a balance between light weight and reliability. There is 7,620m of climbing in total so it’s important to have a light bike to help on the climbs, but equally it needs to be strong enough to withstand the downhills and general wear that a 200-mile off-road ride causes. My bike of choice was the Santa Cruz Tallboy – a bike I love. I’m a complete convert to 29er wheels and the combination of this and the 100mm full suspension travel makes this the perfect bike for long distance rides and races.

Fitted to the Tallboy I had some Fox F29 Terra Logic forks, brilliant for climbing and one less thing to think about (I’ve forgotten to turn the lockout off so many times!), an XT groupset pimped out with a KCNC chain and Mt Zoom jockey wheels, and a set of Stans NoTubes Crest rims built onto Superstar components hubs with Sapim spokes. Tyre choice was also particularly important. I chose Maxxis Crossmarks on the advice of Rob Dean as he’s over 90kg and managed not to puncture on the notorious South Downs flint during his single speed double, so I figured these would be a good choice.

I was keen to carry the minimum amount of equipment possible in order to save weight. I also wanted to make sure that all this weight was mounted on the bike. All previous double riders had gone with a hydration pack to carry food, drink and tools but I’m a racer at heart and hate wearing bags on my back while I ride so decided to try and avoid them at all costs. This would mean travelling light which would help climbing and save energy while having the additional bonus of keeping me cooler.

I figured that two 750ml Torq bottles would be enough to get me through the ride. There is a long section from Cocking to Winchester where there are no public taps to refill from so I needed to be able to carry enough water for 30 miles, the rest of the route has enough taps to be able to use a single bottle. I mounted these on Mt Zoom titanium bottle cages, one on the frame and one on a triathlon style saddle mount. The cages are super light (and come with pretty red bolts!) and also grip really well, essential for the double as a dropped bottle could spell disaster.

The double is an unsupported ride so I had to be able to fix and mechanical issues by myself. Rory from Upgrade Bikes kindly supported me with some Lezyne products for the ride. I used a Lezyne Alloy Drive pump mounted to a bottle cage mount. This proved invaluable when I punctured with 30 miles to go and I was fixed and away in no time. I also had a Lezyne Caddy saddle pack which contained a Lezyne stainless steel V10 multi tool, some quick patches, a tyre boot and a couple of CO2 canisters.

In hindsight I wouldn’t have taken the CO2 canisters as when I came to use them I was so tired that I couldn’t grip them well enough to unscrew them and release the gas! The pump was hardly any slower anyway… lesson learnt! I also took two inner tubes, one taped under the stem and one taped to the seat post. It was a risk only taking 2 tubes (Ian punctured six times during his ride) but I figured if I punctured twice I’d probably not make the record anyway. I also took a small bottle of chain lube and a chain quick link and taped them under my ‘bars.

I started my ride from Winchester at midnight so the first 6-7 hours of the ride would be in the dark. Lights are essential and this is an area I figured I could save some weight. The setup I decided to use was two Exposure Diablos, one mounted on my helmet and one mounted on the bars. I had them both on the low setting which lasts for 10 hours, but used the bar mounted light in conjunction with a single cell piggyback battery. This gave me the option to switch to the high setting for the tricky downhills. I also used a Exposure Flare rear light to enable me to be seen from behind on the few road sections.

In terms of clothing, I wore my Torq team kit, a light base layer to keep the chill off during the night and some arm warmers. I also carried a very light weight gillet in my saddlepack just in case of emergencies. I decided against wearing knee warmers during the night as this would require a stop to remove them and also I wouldn’t have anywhere to store them. Instead I used some warm up oil to keep the chill off (and make my legs look faster!)

My helmet was a Torq team issue Limar Ultralight (in matching orange, of course) and a pair of Lake shoes (in pimp white for extra speed). I also took a phone and a tenner in the saddlepack just in case (you are out there on your own after all) and my iPod Shuffle for some extra motivation later on in the ride.

Nutrition

You can have all the best equipment in the world but if you don’t have the fuel to keep going then you are doomed. I’ve been lucky enough to ride on the Torq Performance Team for 2011 and have had access to the best nutrition products and advice.

I had many a conversation with Torq owner Matt Hart about the best strategy for the double. Through 24-hour racing I know that I can go for most of the race on energy drinks and energy gels alone. The strategy that Matt suggested was to get as many calories as possible through energy drinks as it provides a better energy:weight ration, i.e I can get more calories from 10g of drink powder than 10g of energy gel

So for the ride I took 18 zip lock bags of Torq Energy powder (half orange and half the new Vanilla pod flavour) and a 25 Torq Energy gels, plus 4 ginger flavoured Torq bars to nibble on and keep hunger at bay. I chose the ginger bar as ginger has the effect of soothing a bad stomach, something which can happen when relying on sweet energy products for so long. I also started the ride with two bottles of Torq Energy ready mixed and downed a Torq gel and a Torq caffeine gel in the half-hour before I set off. This way I knew that I had enough energy for the first hour. I calculated that this would be enough calories for me to survive for 18hours before I would run out of energy and blow (an added incentive to beat the record!).

This lightweight food strategy also meant that a bag was not required. I stored all the powder for my outward bound leg in my left jersey pocket, the gels for the outwards bound leg in the middle pocket and the return leg powder in the right rear pocket. My return leg gels were all taped to the top tube. This meant that it was more weight that wasn’t carried on my body and also meant that I wouldn’t have to reach around and dig in my rear pockets when I was tired at the end of the ride, therefore minimising the risk of crashing.

One of the rules of the double is that you take all your rubbish with you to the finish. As I had no pocket space for the first 100miles I stuck the rubbish up my short legs and up my jersey. As soon as I’d finished all the gels in my pocket I moved all the rubbish into there as it can be a bit uncomfortable riding with a sticky gel rapper up your shorts!

Bringing it all together…

I think my preparation played a key part in beating the record. I knew exactly what I needed to do and when, where everything was and which way to go. My physical preparation was less than ideal. I hardly touched the bike in the month before the ride as I managed to pick up a cold which totally wiped me out. It was a last minute decision to have a crack at the record upon returning from a trip to Italy. I certainly wasn’t as fit as Ian when he broke the record but I was lucky with the weather and the trail was mostly dry apart from a few muddy sections at the Winchester end. Most importantly, my careful strategy paid off. Getting good weather is key so the best plan is to set a 10-day period to do the double and as soon as the weather is good and trails are dry, go for it!

The most important thing, however, is to enjoy the experience. Whether you are going for the record, aiming to beat 24 hours or just trying to complete the distance  make sure you soak it all in as it’s a pretty incredible experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

I hope these tips inspire someone else to have a crack at the record. It can be done faster and it would be great to see it beaten (if only to give me an excuse to do it again). It’s such a good thing to do and I’d encourage anyone to give it a go just for the hell of it!

If anyone wants more advice, feel free to get in touch through my blog (www.joshibbett.com) or on Twitter (@j_ibbett). I’d be happy to help.

The South Downs Way, a 100 mile bridleway route along the historic South Downs from Winchester to Eastbourne, the Neolithic version of a motorway.

There’s 3810m of climbing in the 100 miles and hardly an inch of flat. For years the challenge has been to ride the length of the Downs. But then some endurance cyclists, a few brain cells short of the full complement, decided to try and ride it both ways non-stop. 200 miles with a mighty 7620m of climbing packed into the folded contours of the route.

Then some slightly more crazed cyclists decided to ride the whole length of the Downs and back unsupported, carrying all their food and equipment for the ride apart from water which was collected from the public taps en route. Then the challenge was the do this in under 24-hours, which was soon achieved.

The problem with setting times for long distances is there is always another more competitive endurance cyclist in the wings willing to try and beat it. Thus the problem escalated. More cyclists tried the double and the record tumbled and tumbled, down to the record of 18h 3m 12s, set by Ian Leitch in 2009.

Then a young and even more ambitious cyclist decided that he would quite like to break the record. Me!

The double record has been in my sights since I moved down to Brighton in the spring. I quickly fell in love with the South Downs, the long rides, big views, the peace and quiet. So not wanting to do things by half I decided the best thing to do would be to do a double: really quickly.

So at the stroke of midnight on Thursday 22^nd September, I headed out from the shadow of King Alfred’s statue in Winchester on my attempt at the record.

I had been super nervous all day, shaky hands and all. I knew my preparation was good. I had the bike for the job; full suspension 29ers are the way to go for this kind of stupidity (big orange ones are even better!). I had the route dialled in my mind, my nutrition plan sorted and was travelling light compared to all the previous attempts – I had no rucksack, all my food and equipment was stored on the bike frame or in my jersey pockets.

The reason I was so nervous was a lack of confidence over my form. I had trained hard over summer, including regular recces of the route and had planned a block of three hard races to get in top shape. Unfortunately I managed to get ill and missed all my end of season races and pretty much not ride my bike. In actual fact I had all but written off the double for this year and if it wasn’t for a snap decision upon returning from an awesome trip to Italy a week previously I wouldn’t have started it.

I planned to ride myself into it gradually. The first few miles are off-road which allowed plenty of time to warm up. The only difficulties encountered in the opening miles were avoiding a policeman who was exposed by my Exposure Lights weeing in the bushes!

I was very conscious of my fitness, or lack of (so I thought), so was keen to hold back at the start. I knew I would struggle on the steep climbs in the middle of the route so wanted to save some energy for them. I was also running a minimal lighting set up to save weight. An Exposure Diablo on low setting on my helmet plus another Diablo on my bars with an additional single cell Piggy Back Battery to allow me to flick between low and high to the tricky fast descents.

The plan was to ride smart; when Ian set the record he was on incredible form but suffered from six punctures costing huge amounts of time. My plan was to take the descents at a controlled pace aiming to avoid flints and therefore punctures, not hit out too hard on the first leg then push harder on the return and try to get as close as possible to my outward bound leg on the way home.

The nutrition plan was simple too. One Torq gel and one bottle of Torq of energy per hour plus a few Torq bars (four to be precise) to keep hunger at bay during the course of the ride.

The main dangers of the early stages of the ride were avoiding wildlife and keeping awake. Staying awake wasn’t too much of an issue; I was wired on Torq Caffeine gels. Avoiding wildlife however was not so easy. I saw a number of badgers early on which all luckily scuttled into the bushes as they saw me coming. There were big herds of deer out but again they soon sprung for cover when I came along destroying the peace on my bike.

The main issue was the rabbits. Rabbits have an annoying habit of freezing in your lights and then hopping for cover at the very last minute, usually right into your path. For this reason I tried to leave a bit of a gap between me and the edges of the path to avoid and suicidal rabbits wrapping themselves around my spokes and taking me down.

This plan worked fairly well apart from one incident on the super fast farm track descent down to the first tap at Cocking. I was travelling at 30 miles an hour in the middle of the track when a rabbit launched itself at my bike. It timed it to perfection though as it managed to miss the spokes and became just another slight bump for the 29ers wheels to roll over. It was a close call and could have ended in disaster so I took it as a sacrificial sign from the double gods to slow down and be careful.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. My mind started to wander around witching hour, just before dawn. By this point I had been awake since 8am the previous day so was feeling a bit jaded.

The first glimmers of dawn began to appear as I passed around Brighton, perfect timing as it gave me a boost just as I was thinking of my nice warm bed only 15 minutes away. As I reached Ditchling Beacon I heard my name being called; Brighton legends Rory Hitchens and Charlie Eustace had got out of bed super early to cheer me on and shoot some photos and video. It was a huge mental boost and my mind focused back on the task. The section from Ditchling Beacon to Eastbourne is my favourite of the downs, a series of four gradual 5-10 minute climbs interspersed with long ridge sections and massive views in either direction. I hit Kingston ridge at sunrise and that will be a memory that will stay with me forever. From high upon the ridge I could see the Downs silhouetted by the rising sun, the tops of which seemed to be floating on a sea of mist.

I ticked off each climb one by one in my head, encouraged by Charlie and Rory and still feeling strong. I hit the turn in 8 hours 27 minutes, a little behind my schedule and 24 minutes behind Ian’s record time. But I was confident that I could avoid problems and keep the pace up for a strong return leg. I reset my clock, the return leg was what counted and I was classing it as a separate ride. I had nine and a half hours to get back, a slight south westerly wind and was feeling strong as I pedalled back up the hill from the turn with Rory’s words ringing in my ears: “It’s not about the ride…. It’s about the ride back!”

After the turn I was suddenly back in my racing zone. Having not turned a pedal in anger since July my mind was not entirely hungry for pain and suffering on the way out. But once I hit the turn and had a target time it was on, I put my head down and pedalled. Suddenly I was thinking about times, doing maths in my head , working out how fast I could go, what I needed to do. I desperately wanted to go sub-17 hours so I figured it was possible if I matched my outward time, so thought I’d give it a good go. I don’t think this was entirely realistic looking back at it, but hey what harm was there in trying?

The return leg was going well. I made it back to Ditchling Beacon feeling super strong. Tap stops were quick, I was organised, I knew what drink I wanted and where it was and even where the individual bag was in my pocket. I didn’t stop for more than a minute at any taps. This was a key part of my strategy; keep eating, keep moving and don’t stop. I think due to lack of sleep I even may have explained to a rather bemused cow on Kingston Ridge that I had to keep ‘MOOOving’. It entertained me anyway.

Once I reached Devils Dyke I treated myself to my iPod. Now the tunes were on I was going to smash it. I figured 6 hours back from there would be a good time so I locked in on the target and cracked on. Things were going well, the bike was holding up, no punctures, nutrition good, hydrated, legs a little sore on the steep climbs but that was to be expected.

Former double record holder (and man behind www.southdownsdouble.net) Neil Newell popped up a couple of times to offer some words of encouragement which was again greatly appreciated as the loneliness of the ride was beginning to set in by that point. It’s worth noting that this is a huge factor. In 24 hour races there is always someone to speak to, you get looked after in the pits you get a clean bike, fresh kit, warm food, but out on the double it’s just you and your bike. You carry everything you need on your body and bike and most importantly the thoughts to keep going in your head. It’s a whole new challenge.

As I reached Cocking once more I was beginning to get tired both physically and mentally. It takes a lot of mental power to think about times, food, navigating and avoiding flints, rock and wild life and 15 hours of cycling certainly begins to hurt the legs especially the series of steep climbs leading to Cocking. Thankfully John and Tom from Exposure lights had popped out to see me and cheer me on which was once again a huge boost and very much appreciated.

Over the top of the Cocking climb there are a few miles of rutted farm track. I was keeping to the middle avoiding flint where I could still stick to the conservative ride plan. Suddenly there was a group of riders coming in the opposite direction and I had a momentary lack of concentration as I decided which rut to pass them in.

“PSSSSSSSSS!” Bugger a puncture. I survived all the loose flinty descents and then on a muddy track, the one second I lost concentration I hit the only sharp flint in sight. My legs were sore so I decided to sit on the track whilst I pumped up the tyre and I was up and running within 5 minutes.

However, that’s when the problems began. As soon as I stood up and began to pedal I was faced with a slight dilemma… there appeared to be three of everything. I think my body got quite angry with me when I decided to stop and sit down after 15 hours constant pedalling and started to shut down. All the blood had suddenly been removed from my head to go and mend the damage so once I started up again I was all over the shop.

My mind was strong still but I just couldn’t concentrate. In the end I just picked the middle of the three things in my vision, aimed for it and hoped for the best. The short steep climb up to Harting Down was horrific, I was weaving all over the place, falling off the trail and unaware of anything or anyone outside of my tunnel vision. I’m pretty sure I passed a number of walkers and riders on those climbs that all said Hello but I was unable to form the words to reply. All I could think was keep eating, keep moving and don’t stop.

I broke the route into sections and set a finish line at the top of Butser Hill. I knew if I got up there in one piece I’d get back ok. My legs were beginning to break but I made it up Butser with some good self motivation swear words and roars of disgust that I’m stupid enough to do these things.

After Butser Hill it’s just 20 miles left with no serious climbs to speak of. I had two gels, a bar and a bottle of energy drink, so necked a gel and told myself I had enough calories to get me back. 2 hours to do 20 miles and still break the record so get on with it. I pushed as hard as I could on the flats, went as fast as I could on the descent without risking another puncture and crawled up the few small hills left.

As soon as the gradient tipped above 10% my legs stopped working and I was pinned in first gear. I kept skipping to the high tempo songs on my iPod to keep my rhythm up and buried myself. I was trying to work out how long it would take to get back. For some reason my inadequate mental arithmetic wasn’t up to scratch at that particular time so I was convinced I had blown it and would only just scrape a record. This just made me push even harder, I couldn’t suffer like that for the last 3 hours and not get the record.

Slowly the landmarks and miles ticked by and I dug deep, deeper than I think I’ve ever dug before. I certainly learnt how to really hurt myself in those last 20 miles. Finally I hit Cheesefoot Head and the end of the off road sections, all that remained was a quick blast into Winchester on the road. I think I knew I had the record by that point but I still blasted it as hard as I physically could.

I made the turn into Winchester and sprinted full gas towards King Alfred, totally broken. I didn’t feel any emotion, my brain was so tired. Torq team mate Lydia Gould and Exposure’s John Cookson were there to meet me and I asked John if I had the record expecting him to tell me I was 1 or 2 minutes quicker. To my surprise he said I was 16 minutes quicker.

17 hours 47 minutes and 30 seconds.

I was relieved more than anything but also a little disappointed. I was feeling so strong for so long and on for a faster time but the last 3 hours proved a bit too long.

In the few days since the ride it’s finally settled in.

I’ve had huge amounts of messages of support which I am extremely grateful for and now that my name is officially recorded as the South Downs Double record holder I can finally let a smile out. The experience was so magical and surreal that I didn’t believe it really happened for a while. But now I do and it’s a great feeling and I’m extremely proud to be recorded in the history books alongside those other enduro nutters.

Now it’s time to start plotting a sub-17 hour attempt…

Finally I have to thank everyone who has supported me, given me advice and encouragement, in particular Rory Hitchens, Charlie Eustace, Neil Newell, John and Tom from Exposure lights for their shouts of encouragement. Lydia Gould for letting me park at her house and seeing me off at midnight, the guys from Torq for providing the energy to keep me going, Exposure Lights for lighting the way at night and Lezyne for helping me inflate that tyre so quick and also Rob Dean for all the help with the route planning. I’m sure there’s some other people I need to thank but I can’t remember right know so thanks anyway you know who you are.

Right, racing season over, which way to the pub…

Josh Ibbett

Josh Ibbett has just smashed the South Downs Way Double record, recording a staggering time of 17h 47m 30s for the 200 mile route from Winchester to Eastbourne and back.

As Bikemagic readers will know, the South Downs Double (SDD) has attracted the attention of many of the UK’s fastest enduro racers. And as a result, the time has continued to tumble. For a while now the current record of 18h 3m 12s, set by Ian Leitch, has gone unchallenged since 2009.

But that has gone out of the window tonight as young Josh picked the perfect weather window for his successful attempt, and blew the record out of the water. Congratulations on the ride Josh.

We’ll have more on this record ride next week, for now Josh needs to sink a few beers and some pizza and let it all sink in over the weekend

Thanks to Rory Hitchens for the great photos.

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