Hi Tom thanks for the great videos. In 2024 I like you am doing the Atlas mountains race. It's my first ultra, and I would just like to finish. I am going to try some gravel racing and some Audax rides. See you, Morocco.
A nice way to start (hopefully 😂), ‘just like to finish’ is still a mega achievement and it is also my ambition. Look forward to seeing you emerge from behind a rock or wolfing down an omelette in the middle of no where!
Funnily enough I found your channel when looking for reviews of the Thermarest mat you got... because I'm prepping kit etc to do the Pan Celtic Race in July! Enjoying some of the videos, hopefully they'll be useful in my planning!
Thank you. Let me know if you have any questions. One of the reasons I got the new mat is due to a very cold night I had on the pan Celtic! Heading to Scotland this year I would want one with some insulation like the thermarest I have now brought. Good luck with your prep, it’s an amazing event!
@@CycleXplorer Yeah exactly. Planning on tent (Alpkit Soloist) over bivvy because a) I’m too tall for most decent bivvys like the OR Helium, b) I’m aiming to get round not win, so good rest is a priority and c) midgies! How many hours a week do you train? Lack of time with work and kids is my limiting factor!
@@stevehaskew throwing your hat in the ring is a big achievement, finishing it even more so. Just by looking after yourself (with the right gear) will see you passing people that rocket off and put themselves in a hole. Probably been averaging around 13 hours a week, some of that is gym time also. Just try to use my time wisely, more interval based sessions in the week due to work, a medium length/reasonably high intensity ride Saturday and a longer one Sunday is probably typical for me. I did do a training week video, which probably had slightly more volume. I’m now only a few weeks from an event so trying to get the balance right and will soon taper down to make sure I’m fresh for it. It’s hard to train for these things (from my perspective) and it normally takes me a day or 2 to get in the right frame of mind when I start. I normally begin with panic, question why I’m there, worry how much longer it is and then I finally find my rhythm, settle in and ‘enjoy’. That’s something that’s taken a while to know how to deal with those initial feelings and worries! Expect to be happy one moment and crying the next 🫣
Incredible. Not sure how you speak and ride at the same time ! How long did your 100miles take compared to a road bike ? My goals are not quite to your fitness levels ! Just 3 times a week some hiit exercise or to get my heart rate up as well as doing what makes me happy .
It took about 6 hours, which was probably only about 30mins slower than if I’d done it on the road bike, which surprised me quite a bit! Sounds like you got some good aims there. Maybe an event later in the rear to have something to work towards?
Cheers. I’ve not done the Dorset Divide. But I think the Southern Divide will feel more like a journey, going from a-b if that’s your sort of thing. But that makes the logistics slightly more challenging, compared to starting and finishing in 1 place. Either way you get to go through Dorset!
I guess youve completed the atlas race now 💪 thats interesting how you were only about 30min slower for this route on your hardtail thats really good. Im goung to attempt the great british escapades in june . I got another event on my mind in october but inbetween would like to do sdw in 2days and thinking of the riding the norfolk bikepack route and always been on my mind for 2 moor way on mtb 🙂
I have indeed returned from the Atlas Mountain Race. It was incredible, hard and stunning. I have some footage so will be cobbling together a video soon! The GBE is a great event - just be careful as it is a bit of a gateway drug... I hope you enjoy it. Sounds like some nice plans forming, SDW in 2 days is probably a good balance of challenge vs enjoyment. Any questions about GBE or SDW feel free to ask. I've ridden the GBE twice and SDW quite a few times now.
Great video - thanks. I'm now inspired to get out for long distance on a mountain bike! You mention you have some fast rolling tyres on your mtb. What make /model have you gone for?
Go for it! I used Vittoria Mezcal tyres, not great in sloppy mud but good on gravel. On the road they roll well too as they kind of have a solid middle ridge. What are you using at the moment?
@@CycleXplorer Currently road training on Schwalbe Hurricanes (29 x 2.25). Plan to move to Mezcals for Southern Divide in May. Good to get your vote of confidence on the Mezcals!
@@andrew8840 yup, used them on the southern divide in September. Worked really well, there was some rain and boggy patches but lots of fast gravel and tarmac.
Yes in 1996-my mate snapped his bars in the high atlas, so we used a broom handle and he rode with it all the way back to Spain ha ha You’ll have a great time, just don’t say you’ll have a look at the carpets….
That sounds like a challenge but for a worthy course. I think as long as you're comfortable on the bike you should be okay, if a little crazy 😝 I'd try and do a few 'longer' rides than normal to make sure you're okay comfort wise. Nothing worse than getting half way through to find you're getting a really sore knee! When is the ride?
@@CycleXplorer Thanks. No set date yet but sometime in summer so have plenty of time to get some training in. Just going to try and raise a bit of cash in memory of my mother in law who recently passed away due to a quite rare bacterial infection. Take care Neil
@@nh8383 sorry to hear that, I hope the challenge goes well. A bit of training will go a long way to get you to the end and some determination will do the rest. Best of luck.
