Sam from Cumbria was in his first 3 Peak race. Little did he know it would be the wettest
roughest race in 30 years! Read his report below and a few photos. Sam placed 2nd Junior – well done!
Having a film crew in your kitchen filming you eating porridge at
6:40 in the morning is not exactly a stress free way to start your first
attempt at theThreePeaks, but it was what I agreed to when ITV
approached me about participating in the making of feature on the Three
Peaks Cyclocross. I was the youngest person in the race and they thought
it would be interesting to follow my training and race. They had taken
me training with Rob Jebb and after I picked up his bike I knew I was at
a distinct disadvantage with my 23 lbs bike and if I was going to get a
good time in the 3 peaks I was going to have to set about making it a
bit lighter. The obvious improvement was lighter wheels but as a
mountain biker I knew that I was hard on wheels and they needed to be
tough. After some research I discovered Strada and they were able to
recommend a combination of Velocity A23 rims, Hope hubs and Sapim spokes
which would give a relatively light wheel but which was also strong and
gave a comfortable ride. When the wheels arrived the spokes did not
have the normal thud when flicked, but rang out with a musical tone. I
was impressed, but not as much as when I tried them, the bike felt so
much lighter and rolled beautifully and I knew straight away that they
were a big improvement on any other wheel I had ever tried. I was really
impressed. I began to really look forward to the race.
If the crew were worried about filming in the rain and high winds
then they certainly weren’t as worried as I was about riding in it! But
they breed us hard in the north and the adrenalin kept me enthusiastic.
The drizzle turned to hard rain as we set off and it set the scene for
the day. The wind and rain was hard and it was a constant battle to try
and keep the bike on my shoulder on Simon Fell and I was glad when I
could start the descent to Cold Cotes. This is where a background of
mountain biking really made a difference and I managed to overtake a few
people on the descent. I was feeling good. Unfortunately Rob Jebb had
forgotten to mention the bog at the checkpoint and as my wheel sunk
beyond its axle I slowly went over the handle bars. Still the rain meant
that the mud was washed off fairly quickly!
I was still feeling good and as I turned off onto the minor road to
Whernside I was in high spirits. It didn’t last long. A deep pot hole
hidden within one of the many puddles caught me out and I hit the tarmac
at 21 mph. I bounced 3 m along the road pivoting on my shoulder and
banging my head on the road. A supporter picked me and my bike up. They
kindly straightened my handle bars as I tried to straighten my vision.
The pain in my shoulder was huge, my head swam and I realised the vision
in my left eye was distinctly strange, blurring and swirling around. I
thought it was just the rain to start with, but then I realised the
blurred vision was a fixture. This was not good and if I had been able
to think straight I would have realised I had slight concussion, but I
was being filmed by ITV, I couldn’t just give up!.
I tried to get myself together for a few minutes and find the
strength to carry on, unfortunately I felt too removed from reality to
be able to warn the next rider who also came a cropper in the obscured
pot hole. It was then that I realised just how fantastic my wheels were,
they were still true, but the pot hole had buckled the wheel of the
next rider. Whoever you are, I am sorry, I wish I had been able to warn
you. It was then that I knew I had to continue, my wheels hadn’t failed
and neither could I.
Whernside was hard, really hard, the wind and rain lashed against me,
trying to rip the bike from my shoulder. My left eye refused to focus,
my head felt like it had been run over and the pain in my shoulder and
legs was starting to build. I can’t even remember the descent; instinct
took over and it’s a miracle I didn’t come off. My worried parents were
awaiting me at Ribblehead and had already guessed that something must
have gone wrong. I had to be a bit economical with the truth to be
allowed to continue and played down the crash but the dents in my helmet
and my pale pallor gave it away. A new set of dry warm gloves and some
flapjack gave me a new lease of life and I set off again. The road
passed without mishap, but the cobbles on the bridleway to Pen Y Ghent
really played havoc with my aches and pains and I could feel every bump
shuddering through my bruised shoulder and head.
The winds on Pen y Ghent had reached 50 mph as I stumbled and crawled
up the summit. I had never known such pain, but adrenalin is a
marvellous thing and before too long I was on my final descent.
Unfortunately the relief didn’t last long as if to add insult to my
injuries, I punctured. It was my slowest tube change ever, my hands
shook and the wind whipped the tube out of my hands, painfully slapping
it against my face. Eventually I was off, and on another descent that my
mind has chosen to forget. I can’t even remember the much photographed
deep pond, all I knew was that I wasn’t going to ride it, if I had
fallen in it I would never have got up!
I eventually got back in just under five hours, over an hour later
than I aimed for, but for some unknown reason The Three Peaks had
already got me hooked and I have shall have to return next year! After
all I have the perfect wheels that are raring to do another endless pain
ridden lap (but I am going to run them tubeless next time!) All I need
now is a light frame to go with them! Looks like I need a Saturday job,
it’s just as well the Three Peaks is on a Sunday!
Footnote: after all that, ITV don’t know whether they will be able to use the footage as the cameras kept fogging up!
