It took me a long time to adjust to moving to the uk from south africa, but one trait of Britishness that ive come to really love, is the joy of a good old ridiculous sufferfest. Take the Strathpuffer, a 24 hour mountain bike race, but, not content with that being hard enough, they decided to hold it in January, arguably one of the worst weather months in the uk and boasting around 17 hours of dark. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an event that sells out within hours.

This year I only put myself on the waiting list at the end of October, having been injured. Id reconciled myself to the fact i wasn’t going to get an entry when, with two weeks to go, i got offered a place! A lot of last minute bike fettling and baking saw me head up the road to join the long cold queue to gain the all important parking pass to allow entry to the site.

Another great British tradition that fits perfectly with the Strathpuffer is weather forecast watching. Everyone has their favorite forecast and the debate in the build up to the event is often highly entertaining. Will it be icy, will it snow, should i bring ice spikers, will i need every set of water proofs i own and several sets of spare brake pads? In the end the weather has a funny way of changing at the last minute and catching everyone off guard. This year was no exception with snowfall two days before and temperatures dropping way below forecast (at least my favorite forecast 😉 )

Unsupported soloing comes with all the challenges of self sufficiency. In previous years the challenge has been keeping drive trains and brakes working. This year, for me it was staying hydrated. A few cold nights in the van and most of my water was well on its way to freezing. Filling my flasks before the start and thinking I was being really clever by adding isotonic energy drink to my bottles in the hopes it wouldn’t freeze, I wasn’t too worried. At 4am id used all my flask water and everything else was frozen solid. Working out id peed twice in the last 30hours, I was sat on the step of my van chipping ice from my jetboil to try and melt some water to drink. Possibly not the most efficient way to race!

The cold had a big impact in other ways, food that seemed so tasty and had been selected as easy to eat with a high moisture content froze. Try eating solid boiled potatoes at two in the morning. My rice balls followed suit and even pizza developed a certain crunch.

The course in a 24 develops and changes as hundreds of tires fly over the same lines. Each lap is different and this year about 70% of the course required a lot of concentration just to stay rubberside down, never mind go fast. Thing improved after those with ice spikers put them on as this seemed to break up the ice and rough things up. The course improved further after the usual night time exodus, only the most determined riders sitting turning circles through the darkness. The night was stunning, it sparkled, crisp, glittering, crunchy under the moon. The riding became fluid and sublime, dont touch your brakes and it will be fine.

The dawn lap arrived with a flurry of emotions. To survive the night, to have made it through, intact, mentally and physically is one of the best feelings. Now you know you will finish, you have seen it through. You have fought the demons and won. That positivity marred as the beautiful peace and anonymity of the dark is shattered as the course wakes up, and those who have slept through, arrive for a few aggressive final laps. It often these last hours where i find the overtaking deteriorates and the riding becomes scary. Bars clipped, tempers fray, the mud becomes polished as folk start skidding about everywhere. This year the rain on ice added a spiciness that, 22 hours in, we could have all done without. Testing to the end.

This was my third solo, my first truly unsupported. However between friends cheering me on as they sped past and the wonderful, amazing, incredible marshals it never felt lonely or got too tough out there. Thank you to everyone who offered support, who had a chat on their way past or just past nicely. And well done to all those solos who survived the night with me.

Results are here . One day i will make top 10, this year i was happy with a chilled ride to second place female and 19th solo overall.