Entering my first MTB Marathon event.

[curlie467]

I have sent off my form this morning to enter the Ruthin event in september, i am a reasonably unfit newbie so will be doing the baby marathon, around 25 - 30kms.
Just going for a bit of fun and to see what it is all about really. Any advice or has anybody done similar events?

[Nick_F]

I've only done a couple, but the first thing I realised was that muddy waterbottles are't nice to drink from, so I'd recommend investing in a Camelbak, or at least some bottles with covers.

[Daveyraveygravey]

I haven't used a Camelbak, but I hate wearing rucksacks when I am on my bike; they make you sweat a lot more, so you need to drink more. Muddy water bottles aren't nice, but if the weather is ok that might not be a problem. And if your bottle is covered in mud, there is a good chance you will be too, so drinking a little more might not worry you too much.

30 kms will probably take about 2.5 hrs, depending on the terrain and the conditions, so you'll probably want to eat something half way round, if not more often. I am training up for a long ride and eveen though I think I am getting quite fit now, I still have to flog myself to get beyond 8 mph.

[militantmandy]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I haven't used a Camelbak, but I hate wearing rucksacks when I am on my bike; they make you sweat a lot more, so you need to drink more. Muddy water bottles aren't nice, but if the weather is ok that might not be a problem. And if your bottle is covered in mud, there is a good chance you will be too, so drinking a little more might not worry you too much.

30 kms will probably take about 2.5 hrs, depending on the terrain and the conditions, so you'll probably want to eat something half way round, if not more often. I am training up for a long ride and eveen though I think I am getting quite fit now, I still have to flog myself to get beyond 8 mph.

Surely you'd be mad to do any kind of competitive, long distance ride without a rucksack? Surely you have to bring spare tube\punp\water\few chocky bars etc at a minimum...?

[Daveyraveygravey]

I have a small saddle bag with some kit, and lots of pockets for the rest of it. The organisers say there are food stations along the route, but will check out exactly what that means.

[ewenm]

I much prefer using a rucksack and use adventure race/fell running ones for light weight, good ventilation and good design (current favourites are the offerings from Inov8 - they do a big bumbag with Camelbak-style horizontal bladder).

[markoc]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I haven't used a Camelbak, but I hate wearing rucksacks when I am on my bike; they make you sweat a lot more, so you need to drink more. Muddy water bottles aren't nice, but if the weather is ok that might not be a problem. And if your bottle is covered in mud, there is a good chance you will be too, so drinking a little more might not worry you too much.

30 kms will probably take about 2.5 hrs, depending on the terrain and the conditions, so you'll probably want to eat something half way round, if not more often. I am training up for a long ride and eveen though I think I am getting quite fit now, I still have to flog myself to get beyond 8 mph.

I hated the idea of a rucksack, so got a roadie camelbak. Smaller than the massive rucksacks you see about the place, and you really don't know it is there. I'm a convert! Probably holds 1.5L plus keys, change, a phone a tube and a couple of chewy bars. I find that this is plenty of water for a 3hr ride providing I'm hydrated properly at the start and then re-hydrate with something appropriate at the end.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Might look into that Mark, I have a small rucksack (more like a man pack!) but if I can buy my main meals and some liquids on the day I might have enough pockets to get away with it.

[Raven Flyer]

I have a Dakine Glacier and a Heli. The Glacier is a 4L rucksack with a Camelback and would be ideal for such a ride. You can get them for approx £35 in skiing/boarding shops, maybe less at this time of year.

They are very light and comfortable.

ETA - Plus its much more efficient to put the weight on the rider, not on the bike.

Edited by Raven Flyer on Wednesday 16th June 09:08