Rockcliffe ’n’ roll
The 2023 Frontier 300’s single-day format, with a 300km distance, 4,200m of elevation and a 50:50 gravel/freeway decrease up, makes for a very early begin – between 4.15am and 4.45am. I used to be up an hour prior to this to pack up my tent and digest a bowl of in a single day oats.
I made it to the beginning line on the early aspect of this departure window and watched as my fellow riders labored their method by their pre-ride rituals forward of what could also be, for many, a dawn-till-dusk journey.
Truly, the sky was merely interested by turning its lights on after I obtained rolling.
In my early-morning state, I’d forgotten that the beginning proper was a few minutes further alongside the freeway in Rockcliffe, alongside its lovely seaside.
Shortly after, the route took a difficult appropriate up a fast, steep monitor and the primary part of gravel started.
Irrespective of having executed numerous DIY gravel rides via preparation, this was my first organised gravel occasion. I had little thought what to anticipate, earlier the route being half on tarmac and half off-road.
I had a suggest transferring velocity in concepts with a view to end in daylight, though this may merely be nudged alongside by a surfeit of straightforward kilometres.
Nonetheless, I’d furthermore outlined merely ending as my ‘good’ end consequence.
Solely 10km into the journey, we had been handled to a spectacular dawn, and it was troublesome to not get caught up inside the stunning location and the enormity of the accountability at hand.
This may be my longest journey nevertheless and it was truly a journey into the unknown, on account of I knew nothing regarding the place I used to be set to journey.
No stranger to endurance occasions, I set out in time-honoured mannequin: paying little to no consideration to pacing.
That obtained proper right here as soon as extra to chunk me in a barely referring to mannequin, with the primary twinges of cramp at solely 40km.
I’d already punctured my tubeless tyres by that time, pinching the tyre with the same consequence as a ‘snakebite’ puncture in a tube.
There was one gap contained in the tread and one near the bead, out of which sealant obtained proper right here gushing like a breaking dam.
I assumed-about utilizing plugs, nonetheless I’d must make use of all of my provides and there was no assure it could hold.
As a substitute, I used the primary of my three inside tubes and a few CO2 canisters, on account of the primary of these appeared to go off prior to it was utterly put in contained in the adaptor.
It was furthermore all via this cease that I realised I’d left my hand pump on my workbench at residence. Not a standard begin to the journey.
This break in play took longer than envisaged; I had come to a standstill subsequent to a fork inside the hearth freeway, the place the course took the less-obvious and tougher-to-negotiate right-hand flip.
I spent as heaps time pointing riders throughout the relevant route as I did tending to my bike’s inflationary components.
We handed by forests, cities and villages that may most likely be acquainted to many mountain bikers – Dalbeattie, Mabie, Ae. The terrain was troublesome, with extremely efficient climbs and twisting descents punctuated by freeway sections designed for quick restoration after rattling over kilometres of the highly effective stuff.
Up so far, I’d been descending confidently, not taking dangers nonetheless maximising momentum into subsequent climbs by staying off the brakes the place attainable.
That each one went mistaken shortly after 70km when my entrance wheel hit one issue I hadn’t noticed and triggered my tyre, now with a tube in, to go pop, approaching a nook, on free gravel. Intuition and blind luck saved me upright.
Fortunately, the mannequin new tube went in with little downside and, as rapidly as a result of the adrenaline had worn off, I used to be beneath method as quickly as further.