Mersey Roads 24 2021

[Karla]

The startsheet is out

A slightly reduced field of 75 riders this year, after the event has regularly attracted up to 100 riders the last few years.

People of note:

05 Phil/McNasty tandem at 05
14 One of my former clubmates, who will hopefully do excellently well without beating my club record 
36 Adam Kinsey, who lists his club as Audax UK.  Do we know him?
40 Zigzag is making a return!  PLF Rimas!
55 Doug Hart, who will hopefully find the extra 0.4 miles to top his 499.6 from last time 
62 Cygnet - who I don't think had a great race last time so ride like the wind this time 
63 is Chris Murray, who will hopefully add to her comp record by becoming the first woman ever to break the 20 mph barrier
64 is Hoppo, who we all know and either love or else love to let wind us up
65 is Shoobs, of the 2:57:58 100 mile fame
66 is T0by!!!
68 is Chris Hall, who took 2nd place in the AUK standings from me by a mile last time 
70 is Rob, much missed of this parish
75 is 24HourMaths

I'll be there doing marshal duties so I look forward to seeing you all! 

[cygnet]

I'm going to be last on the road before I get to Prees!

36 is αdαmsκι, n'est Pas?

[Ian H]

I might have to volunteer, if I can get a berth for the weekend with my old friend.

[αdαmsκι]

Oh God no. 24 hours riding in circles ain't for me.

Adam Kinsey = akin. https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=2146

[Peter]

One who will be there in spirit only is Damon.  Karla, if you search Bing for pictures of Damon, you actually come up very early - or you did when I looked.

[cygnet]

Oh God no. 24 hours riding in circles ain't for me.

Adam Kinsey = akin. https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=2146

Oops, apologies to both!

[Karla]

One who will be there in spirit only is Damon.  Karla, if you search Bing for pictures of Damon, you actually come up very early - or you did when I looked.

Indeed, the event won't be quite the same without him around 

[24hourmaths]

Looking forward to it... but very sad that it ESL won't be there 

I won't ever forget our banter just before the start about my lucky orange socks:

2015 Mersey Roads 24 Hour by Damon Peacock

[FifeingEejit]

21 - Revelinhio (sp)
46 - Was the AUK awards person for a bit and had a controversially failed attempt at RAAM a couple of years back

[Jethro]

No Teethgrinder this year!  (Steve Abraham)

[scarlet]

I'm off #67, it'll be my first go at the 24h.

[24hourmaths]

No Teethgrinder this year!  (Steve Abraham)

I did try and persuade him... now we only have a team of two 

I'm off #67, it'll be my first go at the 24h.

I shall probably see you at the start - I hope you have a great ride, and enjoy the experience 

[scarlet]

Thanks, will look forward to saying hello. And I'll try very hard to remember to enjoy it, but if you come past, would you just remind me? On the off-chance I have forgotten...

[felstedrider]

Thanks, will look forward to saying hello. And I'll try very hard to remember to enjoy it, but if you come past, would you just remind me? On the off-chance I have forgotten...

When.

[cygnet]

New Finishing Circuit. Avoids the bastard hill heading west on Wrexham Road 

[Wowbagger]

Akin is, or was, a Southend lad. He was in my daughter's class at primary school and apparently I taught him chess. I bumped into him at the bike racks at Waitrose a few years ago and we got chatting. It turned out that he had ridden past me when he was on the Brian Chapman a short while before and I was just pottering around mid-Wales with a tent. We were approaching Builth Wells at the time. He said he thought he recognised me but was in a bit of a hurry.

Small world.

[akin]

Just over a week to go. Will be my first time after years of putting entering off. The prospect of 24hr out of the house on the bike have never felt so appealing. Looking forward to trying to enjoy the process and will intend on saying hello and encouraging all those that pass me.

Starting to put together some guidance for my small crew. Any advice on how to get the best out of the support you have? Anything I can do to make their life easier on the day and ultimately keep me on the bike as long as possible. Any tips, thoughts or ideas from the old hands would be welcome.

Looking forward to it... but very sad that it ESL won't be there 

Really sad to hear the news about Damon. I didn't know him well but had been on plenty of Audax's with him filming. His video's and documenting of the 24hr are what brought it to my attention and maintained my desire to enter it one day. Sadly, when I finally do he wont be there filming and marshalling, but he will definitely be in my thoughts.

It turned out that he had ridden past me when he was on the Brian Chapman a short while before and I was just pottering around mid-Wales with a tent. We were approaching Builth Wells at the time. He said he thought he recognised me but was in a bit of a hurry.

I hope for your sake that you wont be pottering around around the A roads between Wrexham and Telford, far less scenic, but ill be sure to give a wave if you are. 

[Feanor]

Recently heard that the Jurczyk / Berwick tandem are a DNS this year.

All the best, and hope to see you on the start line again in the future.

[Karla]

Just over a week to go. Will be my first time after years of putting entering off. The prospect of 24hr out of the house on the bike have never felt so appealing. Looking forward to trying to enjoy the process and will intend on saying hello and encouraging all those that pass me.

Starting to put together some guidance for my small crew. Any advice on how to get the best out of the support you have? Anything I can do to make their life easier on the day and ultimately keep me on the bike as long as possible. Any tips, thoughts or ideas from the old hands would be welcome.

Looking forward to it... but very sad that it ESL won't be there 

Really sad to hear the news about Damon. I didn't know him well but had been on plenty of Audax's with him filming. His video's and documenting of the 24hr are what brought it to my attention and maintained my desire to enter it one day. Sadly, when I finally do he wont be there filming and marshalling, but he will definitely be in my thoughts.

It turned out that he had ridden past me when he was on the Brian Chapman a short while before and I was just pottering around mid-Wales with a tent. We were approaching Builth Wells at the time. He said he thought he recognised me but was in a bit of a hurry.

I hope for your sake that you wont be pottering around around the A roads between Wrexham and Telford, far less scenic, but ill be sure to give a wave if you are. 

Have your supporters done this before or are they virgins?

1) Work out what sort of times you think you'll be round and tell them when to expect you.
2) Write out what food and drink you'll want each time.
3) Write out a crib sheet of things you're likely to shout ("Warm jersey!", "Just gels from now!", "Big bottles!", "Tea!", ... )
4) Tell them where you want them to go on each circuit.
5) Send them a couple of Damon's videos so they know what they're letting themselves in for!

[akin]

First time for the helpers too. Primed them with videos and general expectations of what it will be like.

Thanks for the extra tips,

I’ve been sorting a map of the circuits and Google street view of where I want them to ideally be  if we don’t get a recce in.

Suppose a schedule with different times including quicker and slower than expected will save them constant arithmetic.

Trying to plan enough to not leave things to chance and avoid wasting any time unnecessarily, but equally can’t plan for every permutation.

Do you get a single race number? Thinking about having to switch it to warmer clothing.

[Karla]

You should get two sets of race numbers.

Practice hand-ups with your support crew before the start.  Unless you have a particularly recognisable lighting setup, call your name/number out when you're approaching them at night so they know you're coming.

[Kim]

Practice hand-ups with your support crew before the start.  Unless you have a particularly recognisable lighting setup, call your name/number out when you're approaching them at night so they know you're coming.

One trick used to good effect by the pedal car racers is having a momentary-action switch that kills the front lights in a convenient position on the handlebars, so that they can be blinked on approach to the relevant pit.

Implementation left as an exercise for the reader.

[Frank9755]

When I did it with a supporter I gave him a green torch to shine so I could see where he was at night.  It worked well - but only because no-one else was doing it.

Certainly practice hand-ups.

Have a really clear food and drink schedule so they know exactly what to give you when - even down to numbering bottles.  Have everything mixed and sorted before so they only need to hand you stuff.

Also share broad objectives so they can reality check stuff - eg you want to have 300 calories in every hour.

Make sure they have your schedule so they know how fast you will be going at different times.

Talk to them about how you expect to be at different points, hence what emotional support you are likely to benefit from.  eg do you want jokes at 4am or not?

[akin]

Thanks for all the tips.

Put together a bunch of guidance along with maps, schedules and lap times at different speeds to aid them. Thought through helper roles and what is needed when I stop to switch layers and put on lights etc. Want them to be prepared to avoid delays. Tried to offer broad principles of the carbs and liquid per hour as well as some contingency plans.

Finalising the method for finding each other in the dark, possibly lights and something audible at a distance…

[Delph Cyclist]

I've volunteered to help and you'll find me in the Unsupported Riders' Tent at Prees Island throughout the night.  Do come along to say "hi", just to make sure I'm still awake.  I'll have a couple of airbeds and blankets if you want a lie down.  I might even wake you after 30 minutes (or whatever).  I'll also take my portable toilet!