Tour de Ben Nevis 2012

[BOBBY G]

Hi folks,

I have signed up for Tour de Ben Nevis this year. It will be my first time.

Anyone else doing it?

Anyone done it?...... was it brutal?.....any tips or advice?

Bob

[a11y_m]

Looked like one of the better events of last year but TBH this sort of thing doesn't interest me any more. Good luck!

I've done the likes of 10 Under the Ben events and 24-hr races in the past. Now if a race doesn't include a beer stop - aka singlespeed "races" - then I'm not interested...

[BOBBY G]

Ally,

Come on!!!

Stop being a woose.

You could do this easy.

[a11y_m]

Pass'portes Du Soliel: free beer, wine and French food at the stops
Singlespeed UK champs: beer stop
Singlespeed Worlds: beer stop

Tour de Ben Nevis? It's fecking-well sponsored by a whisky distillery yet I see no mention of a mid-ride dram!

[BOBBY G]

Are you an alcoholic?

[a11y_m]

BOBBY G said:

Are you an alcoholic?

Nah, Scottish

[ndg]

I'll be there, first time here too, looking forward to it!

[BOBBY G]

ndg said:

I'll be there, first time here too, looking forward to it!

Nice one!

I am on a strict training regime of eating pies.

Hope it pays off.

[ndg]

Funnily enough my training has been eating curry!

[theboymoon]

I did it last year...

AMAZING event

Not signed up yet only because its such a long schlep up from Brissle but very tempted.

A proper day out in the mountains, tough, fun, good banter on the way round. The descent into Kinlochleven properly sorts the men from the boys, the river crossing is funny and the hike-a-bike absolute hell.

I got the worst cramp ever about 5 hours in.

The last few kms into Fort Bill feel amazing and the beers that night are the best I have ever tasted!

If you are thinking about this one, cannot recommend it highly enough

I came in 88th/320 last year and felt pretty happy with that, the fast boys were way way ahead

[BOBBY G]

Thanks for the info.... how much "hike-a-bike" is there?
That sounds torrid!

[deckster]

Did it last year, and for some bizarre, inexplicable reason I find myself entered again this year. Not quite sure how that happened; I blame the beer.

To be fair - it was somewhat awesome. The initial climb was painful, the Kinlochleven descent would have been great had I not punctured at the top; the haul up the to next loch was embarrassing; the river crossing actually a bit of an anticlimax being only knee-deep rather than waist-deep. The rest is a bit of a blur although I can confirm that the hike-a-bike was 60 minutes of hell. But, somehow, finishing was a good enough feeling that I'm strangely looking forward to it this year.

[AndrewEH1]

I might be entering this year.

Need to sort a few things on my Five and get a little bit fitter!

[BOBBY G]

Thanks for the info so far guys, it is good hearing peoples stories of experiences.

This hike-a-bike bit worries me (even more than big torrid hills)I am not used to this form of exercise!!