Ultracycling

Anything about entry fee yet? Nada in the race manual or on Instagram. Looks cool, figuring out how to get there without flying will be fun.

It's on the website, but registration seems to have closed already.

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Cheers! Already registered to be on the safe side, now need to see if I can get the time off...

Ultracyclist James Hayden on mental strength, unfinished business and conscious cycling

Good article, after the horrible error in the first sentence!

Yeah I did tell them, hopefully they'll alter. Bit awkward but sure people realise I didn't say that.

TransAlba...had a look in this thread and no been mentioned for 4 years. Anyone done it?

Won't be doing it this year but feel I should make a point of it next year (if its on) being a Jock n all. I think Scotland deserves one of these big races, TA doesn't seem to get much attention. Perhaps some questionable road choices but its a legit ol' effort adding the weather, fuelling issues and midges to the mix especially.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30978547

the weather

I think thats what put me off

There's only been one proper TransAlba, in 2019.

The second one went ahead in 2022 with some of the participants who'd entered the 2020 event and no new ones, and virtually zero publicity and no interest from dotwatching peeps.

Their website is quite good, but why do they make it so hard to work out the date of the event?
https://www.transalbarace.com/new-site

It would be so much more fun if it wasn't in peak midge season, maybe end of May so there is a lot of light as well. Isn't the weather up there usually best aorund then?

Isn't the weather up there usually best aorund then?

Possibly.

The 10-14 days of summer are hard to judge but the warmer the rain the better. I think springish would be best though, you're right.

@grams Can only assume the organisers are happy with what it is which is fair enough, must be a lot of work. You're right though, no publicity. I had to google to discover Scotland had an ultra of some description and I live here. Then again, Covid.

I was interested to see what the Race Across peeps came up with for the Race Across the UK....but nope, no luck there.

Anyway, overall I think the TransAlba is good as is. Niche.

My old boss puts this race on. He works as a regional manager/director and has a wee kid so it’s pretty impressive that he still manages to organise the race with the help of just two other media people.

I was going to ride it this year but it clashes with PBP training and other commitments I have. I’d love to enter next year though.

He’s very passionate about it so I’m sure it’s an awesome event!

The midges aren’t a problem if you keep moving ;)

Thats good to hear, seems like organising these things is quite a thankless task.

This years dates seemed to be released quite late, unless I just missed it, so can't squeeze it in but I'll make a point of being available next year all being well.

Quite an interesting read. I'm sure other dotwatchers will have got this in their inbox:

https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/roundtable-mandatory-rest-periods-part-1

I can't remember why I opened this page, so it could've come from this thread, but anyway...

https://theradavist.com/ultra-distance-plastic-resistance-pledge/

I'm into this, it's something I've thought about a few times on various audaxes etc. 100-odd riders all buying a plastic volvic once every 100km soon adds up.

Hardest bit in my head is those garage stops at 2am when you've run out of water and there's no toilet with tap, but might join in with this.

Yeah, I need to read it.

With less racing, I've been slowly weening myself off pre-packaged energy stuff, when I do buy powders and liquids it's typically the biggest bags or bottle I can find, we often carry bagels in foil instead of bars, etc. but we also use a shitload of plastic even still.
I'm currently using 1kg maltodextrin and 1kg fructose powders but they're still sent in plastic bags so not sure of a way around that other than ditching the sugar water altogether.

Reminds me of the 2020GBDuro (?) that riders had to take all food along. Saw this in the article:

The GBDURO ‘23 rule #6 in their entry manual specifically states that you must: “Carry all non-biodegradable waste packaging to the end of each stage – This rule is designed to reduce the amount of single-use plastic we generate.”

I've been using Bulk as their stuff is in compostable bags. I have mixed feelings about this as 'compostable' only works if you have a really good compost heap, and most people don't. I do, and even so it takes fucking ages to break down.

That was a cool experiment but also a pretty big barrier to entry.

At least it gets people thinking about their consumption. Really we need companies that make all the packaging pay for its cleanup instead of blaming the people that have no choice but to buy food covered in plastic. In some cases, plastic can reduce food waste, so it's not all evil. There's got to be a balance. Not everyone has access to a garden or a greengrocers or has time to cook yada yada.

Yes, agree. Getting people to focus on [plastic bags] is a great way to distract them from having a revolution and actually changing things in a meaningful way.

GBDuro was fun to dotwatch. Much harder on the slower guys who need to carry more days' supplies - which makes them slower, so they need even more supplies, etc....
Probably there is a minimum speed, below which it is impossible to carry enough to complete the course!

Tips on riding 1000km straight while being a fat shit? @hippy?

That's a pretty large topic (pun intended).

Do you have more specific requirements, otherwise my answer is keep pedaling until you reach 1000km making sure you eat and drink enough to finish.