Kielder 100 - epic in every way

In 2011 I finished 2nd in my first attempt at the Kielder 100, in what was probably my most miserable day on a bike. Ever. It rained all day, I was well prepared though as I was all wrapped up in a nice waterproof coat. Well, I was until I put it back in the car moments before the start as everyone convinced me I'd get too hot...Last time I listen to other people! I finished the race so cold I was unable to shift gears and had to ask someone to unlock my car for me...So maybe I should have questioned my sanity for just coming back. 

Everything about the Kielder 100 is epic. For a start it's 370 miles from sunny Southampton. And then there's the race, 100 miles, off road. That's not to be messed with. It does start in a castle though which is pretty cool. This year though the outlook was at least dry and being a week later hopefully the midges would have cleared off for some winter sun. I was pretty motivated too. I've been aiming for the UK endurance series title for much of the year but with only three results on the board and four to count I couldn't afford to mess this up as my main challenger, Rich Rothwell was only a couple of points behind. 

The 4.30am wake up call was pretty uncool, the only bonus is it probably affected me less than others as having a hyperactive 2 year old means I'm quite used to early mornings now. Lining up behind the lead truck, the smell of diesel and fear filled the air,  Joolze snapped away from the back of the truck and we cruised along the fireroads in the "neutralised" section. As always some people decided they had to be at the front, right now. I chilled out and drifted back a few places knowing it was a long day. The truck peeled off and it was like an F1 restart as we smashed it up a fireroad like our lives depended on it. Very quickly a front group formed and this was soon whittled down to five, last year's winner Ben Thomas, Rourke Croeser, Giles Drake, Tom Stewart and me. Rourke was the dark horse, U23 South African national champ and 18th in the U23 worlds, er so he's quite quick then! 

We were all taking turns on the front and the pace was kept high. Five became 4 after around 30 miles as we lost Tom out the back. About 10 miles later Ben had disappeared too, word was it was a puncture though actually a broken chain was the culprit. Ben was last years winner and had been looking super strong so I felt pretty gutted for him. Kielder's a tough course on both bike and body though. Get in the wrong rut and suddenly you're axle deep in goop whilst those on the other side of the track cruise merrily off into the distance. Although a lot is on forest fire road there's plenty of rocks which mean punctures are always a risk. Sometimes you just run out of luck though.

Crossing the border, dancing to piper's tune Thanks to Joolze Dymond for the picture. Photo copyright Joolze Dymond

Rourke was looking ominously strong, drifting up the climbs with annoying ease and hammering the twisty bits of singletrack. I was still feeling good though and began to apply the pressure as we made our way up to the bagpiper on the Scottish border - one of the many touches which makes the event so special. I kept the pressure on all the way to the feed at Newcastleton but Giles and Rourke kept coming back. Rourke was looking a bit tired, I think the distance was beginning to weigh on his mind more than anything else. I tore through the singletrack at the trail centre, pretending I was Luke on a speeder bike, use the force Luke! And don't brake on the board walk, its slippy you know! Well 8 hours is a long time and you have to keep yourself amused somehow. Big ringing it up a rise shortly after finally saw Rourke tailed off and the lead group was reduced to me and Giles. We agreed to work together in the knowledge that a podium finish was very likely. I then started to pay for my efforts big time, I managed to hide it well and thankfully there was a long tail wind section which allowed me to recover a bit. A couple of gels and a cheeky handful of magic jelly beans from a feed and I was feeling much better.

After the last feed with around 12 miles to go we entered a section of slippy, muddy double track. I put the pressure on without fully attacking but as we turned back onto the fire road I had a gap. At this stage it's every man for himself so I put my head down and as they say "dug in". I took out my secret weapon -  a caffeinated gel, being a non-coffee drinker, caffeine has quite an effect on me, much like a small child and green Skittles! I pushed on along the fireroad my legs a blur but something wasn't right, at first I felt my legs were going soft but turned out it was my rear tyre.. This seemed like the ultimate injustice, after 90 miles of not putting a wheel wrong (apart from falling off the boardwalk after the piper, but we don't need to bring that up) surely I wasn't about to lose the Kielder with a flat tyre on a fire road?! My mind raced through the options - stop and put a tube in, with a gap of about 30 seconds at this stage this seemed like a Bad Plan. Stop and put some CO2 in, maybe but if Giles caught me it was game over..keep going and hope everything will be ok... yep I went for option C! On the fireroad it was ok and it seemed to have stopped going down, on the downhills though I felt every rock smack onto the rim. Definitely suboptimal! I crept down the techy descents at walking pace and then smashed every climb, the caffeine and adrenaline pushing me on, faster, faster! I flew up the climb of Simon's Tester pushing as hard as I could. I remembered this last bit well as I'd ridden it loads the day after Kielder the year before, shame then that I was reduced to a slow crawl on some of the best descents of the day! Turning into the last descent I knew that it was pretty much in the bag, the feeling was immense. Relief mixed with elation. This race had been in my thoughts for ages and although I'd dreamt of winning I'm not sure I really fully believed I could. Crossing the line I gave it the full two arm salute, whilst being careful not to bin it into the finishing arch, that wouldn't look pro!

Crossing the line, I was all smiles. Thanks to Joolze Dymond for the picture.  Photo copyright Joolze Dymond

I'd taken the win in 7h 52, setting a new course record by 4 minutes. The adrenaline soon left though and I felt a little light headed, I realised how hard I'd been pushing the last 10 miles. Giles came in second around 3 minutes back with Rourke about another 7 minutes back in third. The win also sealed the overall in the Endurance Series so all in all the perfect day, nicely finished off with two cheese burgers back at the castle. A big, big thank you to SIP events for putting on this amazing event, to the piper for his tunes, the marshalls for cheering every rider on and Montane and all the other event sponsors for their very generous support.

The final podium, thanks to Ben Thomas for the picture

All this wouldn't be possible without the amazing support from my sponsors and family.  So step forward Cannondale, Fizik, Kim Skene for all the "good" pain, my parents for all their support since they first put me on blue Husky bike in our drive many, many years ago and my amazing wife Jules for putting up with me.

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