Orange Tour De Ben Nevis 20th September 2014

This was my introductory race for my new Team Sponsor, Singletrack Bikes.

As I gathered my supplies before heading onto Fort William High street for registration, I asked a fellow racer to take a picture of me for one last social media input and tagged the Tour De Ben Nevis as the ‘toughest race of the season’.

Sitting here in the warmth of a cosy bed, cradling a lovely cup of tea with entertainment at my fingertips whilst reflecting on a season that is still two months away from finishing I still can’t think of any other race that has pushed me to the mental and physical limits that I endured for the five hours of riding 'the Tour'.

I was no stranger to the endurance battle that the tour lays out for its competitors, and was far from naive to the efforts I was going to have to apply to claim a reasonable standing with such a very high standard of riders in all categories.  I definitely had my work cut out for me.  I had completed the tour two years ago in a time of 7 hours and 6 minutes riding it on my Specialized Myka hard tail.  At this time I had had very little experience of racing never mind endurance racing and it was the first time in my life I hit the emotional and physical 'wall' whilst riding. I was ready to give up and cry at the time and since then I have been hoping to claim victory over the race that nearly broke me.

The route - appropriately named as the grey stuff in the middle is Ben Nevis

This time I had experience, a Pivot, fantastic Dare2B clothing, a higher level of fitness and a greater knowledge of what to pack and what to expect.  As prepared as I was there was still a huge level of uncertainty about what was about to happen.  The tour is different to my usual races as it takes competitors into the wilderness on a circular route for 72km around Ben Nevis.  The distance away from civilisation and the sense of isolation or helplessness if anything were to go wrong  set some unease in my mind; What if I hit the wall once more, but even further away from home?

Queen of the hill title makes Lochaber News

I put all this aside, brushed myself down from the emotionally challenging two days that Scotland had just overcome and decided to find my race face.

At registration I caught up with the usual No Fuss crowd, picked up my dibber and chatted with some Wheeler friends.  As I congratulated Hannah Barnes for her great efforts for the Enduro World Series I found a spectacular character with walking logo's attached to various limbs..

This guy later pulled out a 6 pack of bud half way round the course.  Legend!

Lochaber Pipe Band - Photo Courtesy of No Fuss Photography

At 10am we set off along Fort William high street to the triumphant sound of the Lochaber Pipe Band. We embarked on the first of many steep climbs up Achintore Road along to Lochan Lunn Da Bhra and then onto the West Highland Way to Stage 1 at Kinlochleven.  I don't know if it was the lingering lergie that seemed to be clouding my head that left me feeling antisocial but this race seemed to send me off in an internal world of contemplation. I ran through race tactics and questioned continuously how and when I should pace myself in order to save energy for the special stages.  

Stage 1 descent

I'm fairly familiar with the terrain of the Mamore mountains, but not too familiar with the loose ground that the Indian summer had created.  The ground was pretty skitie!  After Stage 1 we climbed back up the 300m to Mamore Lodge and toward Stage 2, another brutal and punishing climb to Loch Eil, which would see competitors gain another 300m.  I was growling like a fierce VO2 max monster and felt sorry for anyone who crossed my path fearing that the hound of the Baskervilles were on their tale.

Toward Stage 3 I rode alongside a couple of Cross country riders whilst admiring the stunning scenery of Loch Eilde and the Mamores. My mind slipped in and out of waves of thought as I contemplated the popularity of this funny race. 

Beautiful views and blue skies

The Tour de Ben Nevis could very well be the lovechild  of Enduro and Cross Country.  Like its cross country father its takes its competitors into an internal battle between physical and mental endurance, whilst its Enduro mother provides timed stages to compliment.  Both the complete duration of the course and special stages earn you points.  You gain points for every person you beat on each of the stages and the winner, surprisingly, is the person with the most at the finish line.  Understanding what kind of rider you are is imperative for a good result.  Are you an Enduro master who can make up the points on the special stages timed downhills or are you blistering athlete who can whizz round the track faster than anyone else and gain points that way.  Perhaps this slightly different and exciting format is why the tour stands out as a popular race. It attracts a great variety of riders especially the cross country, Enduro and trail riders who see it as a great day out perhaps wanting to set some goals and conquer a massive challenge in a beautiful explorative environment.  

Anyway back to the race!  Approaching the special stage where you had to hike a bike up a hill with some soggy feet I  took a few deep breaths and set off to give all I could.  It was hard to know if the traditional style of running would help or just to opt for the fell running approach of 'big steps very quickly'.  Either way the summit seemed unachievable for quite some time.  Even after the dedication of the fell runners gait to the top of the hill the stage continued. Down some tumbling and technical rocks a few muddy crossings and numerous arduous and harsh climbs, crossing the river toward the bothy and barbecue could not have came any sooner. 

The route went on and on into the hills

Homeward bound and happy to have the hike a bike behind me I still had about 30Km to ride. I headed home as fast as my wee legs could go. I just wanted to get to the final special stage, Blue Crane.  The ride through the forest of Nevis Range lasted forever.  The distinctive and welcoming whistles of the marshalls for the Scottish Downhill Race at Nevis Range was like the sound of a Christmas choir.  Nearly there. 

I have never been so pleased to see Blue Crane but in classic Newman style this is where I managed to deck myself by failing to clip in and losing my feet resulting in me granulating my crotch on my rear wheel for a few metres. I was all over the place but I loved it.   

Stage 4 nearly home.

Back toward Fort William and while dibbing out I was so mentally gone that I nearly had a full blown conversation with a stranger, convinced she was my best friend Louise.

This little dude watched me do yoga.  

For the afternoon I wound down with the classic soup and sandwich, catching up with the Aviemore crew Nash and Ronan and reading over some celeb gossip in Closer Mag. Then some yoga on the Parade  and a fab dinner with my wheeler buddies and sharing stories of the day.  I then set off to prize giving thinking I may have made it to third place I was absolutely gobsmacked to find out that I had won!  

I reckon this was probably the best result I have ever achieved on my bike. Full results can be found here. 

Looking a bit stunned from the result
I'm very small too

With the Senior Male winner
also from Kinlcohleven, Gary MacDoanld

Thanks to the support of Singletrack Bikes and Dare2B 
and my awesome family for helping me with my daughter.

Thanks for another fantastic event No Fuss. 

A well deserved rest in the sunshine followed

Tweedlove Presents The Whyte Scottish Open Enduro "King and Queen of the Hill"

Entering the Tweed Green I felt a great sense of nostalgia upon seeing the rippling red of the Tweedlove flags, bringing back happy memories of past events in this, the holy grail of Scottish mountain biking valleys.  Joining the registration queue I spotted some of the usual Scottish Enduro faces and a fair few new ones. Listening to the excitement in the voices of the varied accents surrounding me it was obvious racers had journeyed from afar to claim their stake as the 'King and Queen' and that the Tweedlove events have earned their distinguished place in the UK race calendar.  Despite the weathers forecast for rain in the afternoon I, like most, had dressed in suitably unsuitable clothes for the kind of 'drizzle that sticks.'  Wearing flip flops and a hoodie I ran back to my car for some socks and a waterproof and to prepare the Pivot for another adventure.  I still have a wave excitement every time I open the boot of my car and see the beauty of the Pivot Mach 6 - that bike literally is sex on legs…well wheels!

I reacquainted with Eleana Melton, the massively talented young lass who clocks stupid fast times, and after convincing her to hang on until the West side crew were ready to depart we headed off a bit later than expected like a set of puppies released out to play for the afternoon.

The King and Queen is an enduro like any other but it places a level of pressure on the competitors to complete the whole course in 4 hours and 15 minutes, EWS stylee.  The target appeared a daunting prospect to many and checking my trusty Casio regularly I tried to provide my team with regular positive and reassuring updates as to whether or not we would return home within placed time constraint. 

Our first stop for stages 1 and 2 was the top of Peebles Cademuir hill, a place that I had never even heard of prior to the event,  and I made a mental note to take more time out during training to explore a bit more off the beaten track in future to expand my knowledge of this fantastic valley.

Rock strewn slalom on Stage 1 and the beautiful Pivot.

So happy to set off with the Pivot and my buddies I feasted my eyes on the myriad of trails bisecting the fireroad climb taking mental note for future adventures.  And holy isn't this place a little gold mine, firstly its was caked in late summer and autumnal goodness with a nice presence of mushrooms littering the outline of the dirt trails.   Despite being in the midst of a 'dry' Scottish summer the trails were being referred to all too often as 'greasy', so as I cycled into Stage 1 I was not expecting the loamy and steeply banked corners that flew at me through the dense forest.  It was even more exciting to re-enter the forest into a tight hard packed section that had so many handlebar checks my pinkies felt warm.

Stage 2 was just as much fun, but really fast and covered in the much discussed  'greasy goodness'.  Some gnarly features for the more adventurous rider adorned the course, in particular a drop that I seemed to waste about 30 minutes pondering over before deciding to leave for 'another day'. 

Heading over to Glentress and the climb up Janet's brae it was really evident that the secret to the tight deadline was to keep moving and eat little and often.  I had decided to wear one of my awesome Dare2b bike tops that had great back pockets to fill with food for race day.

Stage 3 started off in the famous Spooky Woods and then headed onto Brown Trout.  It was a long stage with a lot of pedalling and great cornering.  It was definitely going to be a lung buster that was for sure. I really enjoyed Brown Trout, another new delight, and was so  happy to find yet another fun trail in the mecca that is Glentress.

Stage 4 consisted of the final stage used at the EWS, a long descent from the top of Glentress all the way down to Peebles.  The start of it is so fast its literally a matter of holding on and hoping for the best. This doesn't last for long though as some tough climbs will send even the fittest of folk into a VO2 max.

  

 Views of the valley 

Heading back to the event village I witnessed a sunlit game of cricket with some peaceful onlookers, quite a contrast from the vigorous and forceful rugby game that we cycled past earlier, and also the children s football match where parents lined the side of the pitch supporting their offspring. I'm sure someone mentioned a duatholon happening too, the valley rarely sits idle.

A reflective spot to watch some cricket

Race Day

It was a funny event to start on race day with a few people casually mentioning that I was 'the girl to win', and despite taking the compliment graciously I started to feel the pressure and nerves building.  Reverting back to the ideas of my 'effort goals' that to complete the course 'without a mechanical and to keep my runs clean'  I pulled myself together and resumed to being more than happy to just hang out with some friends and have a good time

I always feel so much better when I finish the first stage and after reassuring myself to follow Andy Weir from Ridelines advice that I need to focus on my breathing.  I thought it all went fairly well, despite a wee off after clipping a tree and a few too many dabs of the super grabby XT's, but I felt so much calmer with a run bagged.

After the push up/climb for Stage 2 sweat was dripping clean and clear from my head.  After composing myself and a cheeky mopping of my brow from the exertion of this Indiana Jones moment I was able to relax and get ready to bag another stage.  

Stage 2 was the one that I wanted to get behind me.  I had decided to let the red mist decide if I would 'drop or not' on yesterdays nemesis. I wasn't feeling particularly smooth until I entered a forest road transition and I heard Emma Guy shout 'lift your eyes, lift your eyes" instantly I looked up and entered a new world of vision and felt so much better - Thanks Emma! 

The day carried on, with me and the gang supporting one another, catching up at the refuelling station, feeling the heat of the sun that had burnt through the cloud, sharing stories of our conquests and misdemeanors and keeping each other motivated and strong.

Stage 3 and 4 went well. I loved the Tweedlove fairy at the start of stage 3.  I even cleared some of the tables in Spooky woods and my love for the Pivot quadrupled on the descent of Stage 4. Wow does that bike love to blast (I caught myself saying it aloud, 'this is really fast!!') as I became one and released the potential of the Pivot.  

Fellow rider checking out the fairy

At the bottom of Stage 4 waiting for some friends to finish I witnessed the most fantastic bale of the day, a fellow West Coast rider skidded out at the dib station and caught one of the marshals who then ejected in a lateral motion down the river bank, smiling thankfully the whole way, in what could have been a pretty nasty one.

After that it was back to the event village to find out I was sitting first with a 2 minute lead, and my friend Nicola Fell was coming behind me in 2nd!  I spent most of the afternoon waiting for riders to return, and noticed Thom Mitchell doing the same, until Chris Ball arrived and claimed the throne with a hugely impressive time of 22.23.  I then caught up with Andy Barlow who looked dry as a bone and mud free, apparently the trails were bone dry in the afternoon...Doh!   Crawford Carrick Anderson came 2nd overall with another run tightly under the 23-minute line.

Lots of families out and about getting involved

So I was crowned as Mountain Bike Royalty alongside Chris Ball, the Director of EWS and a legend of Enduro really.  I indulged in the customary spraying Proseco over the valley children who are becoming the Tweedlove Podium roadies.  Thanks to Tweedlove for a fantastic event and if you fancy an enduro next year, this one is a great one on the calendar.

 Prosecco patter on the podium

1st - Roslynn Newman, 2nd- Gill Davies, 3rd - Nicola Fell

Lots of awesome prizes!

I won some fantastic prizes including my Endura shirt, a beautiful Tweed flat cap and an Osprey back pack, which is the best designed bag I have ever encountered in my years of biking.  These guys have thought of everything to cater for your mountain bike needs; from an inbuilt fold out tool bag organiser, storage compartments for snack bars, and water bottles, helmet carrier, and the easiest accessible and refillable water holder.  If you need a new backpack, check out Osprey. 

Eleana Melton at Tweedlove

Full Results can be found here.