Challenge was completed on Sunday 19th September.

The start was amazing, riding in a peloton of 1,000 Mountainbikers through the streets of Ruthin as the locals lined the streets to cheer us off.

A steep 400m climb up tarmac into the hills and then off into the forest....

The first section of narrow downhill singletrack resulted in my first fall, as I nearly careered into one of the photographers at the side of the track. Unfortunately he was too busy getting out of the way to get a good picture.

As the ride proceeded into the open mountainside, the track got muddier and muddier, made worse by the fact we were following 900+ riders !

As with Grand Prix racing, choice of tyres is important and I rapidly realised I got that choice badly wrong. The fast-rolling summer tyres I had chosen (to minimise resistance and save my legs) had turned into smooth discs of  mud, and on steep downhills I was careeing around like a puppy on ice. I had three further falls during the day, but nothing serious and always with a soft landing.

Parts of the route were totally unrideable, with regular marathon riders saying they were the worst conditions they had ever seen. Pushing the bike was a bigger part of the day than we'd anticipated/hoped for.

Our group from Wotton-Under-Edge stayed together to the end, and with no mechanicals or injuries, we would overall say the day was very tiring but successful.

Very many thanks for your kind donations-click on the picture to the left for a few shots of the day.

 

----------Orginal challenge description below---------------------------

Along with four other similar lithe athletic youngsters, on the 19th September I am going to cycle over 75km off-road, with 2500m ascent ( the equivalent of pedalling my superlite bike (and body) up twice the height of Ben Nevis).

Despite my fine conditioning, this is going to be a hard day, at least 50% further than I've ever ridden before. IT'S GOING TO HURT A LOT !!

We are doing it to help raise funds for my son Robert's scout group (a registered charity),  we want to help them achieve their ambition to join 2500 scouts at an international camp in 2011. http://www.haarlemjamborette.nl

The scouts are a great bunch and they will also raise funds themselves. All the leaders are giving their time for free, so the least I can do is something like this to support them.

Any donation (large or small) will be gratefully received. It goes directly to this cause and rest assured I am paying all entry fees, travel and rehydration costs myself.