Dumb Run Done

[feathersandfractals]

Well, the short version is: we made it.

This was year five of the Dumb Run, hence DRV. Of those five years, we’ve made it to St Andrews twice. Given that DRIV was a non-starter, that gives us a success rate of about the same as K2 summit attempts.

It is best described as an interesting year, I think. There was the damp, still, midge-infested start at Dumbarton Castle, where we were convinced it was going to be just the three of us before I received the welcome text message saying that another couple of riders were sheltering from the rain down the road. Then the first puncture as we hit Stirling Road, barely 2 miles into the ride. The border collie chasing us up the Auchencarroch Road, barking right behind me on my blind side and scaring me so much I nearly fell off my bike; and Munky doing enough of a dog impression a minute later to give me another fright.

We had unexpected encouragement from the nightlife, when we are more used to heckling and occasional hurled stones. We didn’t get lost in Cumbernauld. THE COFFEE MACHINE HAD BEEN REPLACED. My gods. Actual hot coffee. Will’s singing through Linlithgow had to be heard to be believed (sorry, Linlithgow). We made pretty good time through the first half, notwithstanding the fact that I hadn’t done a ride of more than 35 miles in the last two years. I wasn’t left with no legs and lungs made of cream cheese. This was partially a result of Munky’s welcome pacing on the gentle side, and riding Peregrine the Pinarello instead of the fixed; nevertheless I was relieved that I wasn’t a shuddering, weeping heap by Falkirk.

At the Forth Road Bridge we met up with Dave Holliday, got our jelly baby shot and watched the sun turn the sky into molten copper over the Forth Bridge before winding onwards to the Wild Bean Cafe at Dalgety Bay for supplies.

Then through Fife, which is always bigger than expected, losing Scoosh at Largo because of time commitments and nearly losing Dave H near Crail when his rear wheel decided to throw five spokes, dropping our pace even further. We hit St Andrews after 10am, 200km after we started. Frood was there with beer and edibles and we all collapsed on the grass in the blazing sunshine.

It was a good year, although I think it’s the last I’ll be doing a Mother Hen impersonation. In future there will be a stiff warning at the start that anyone haring off into the distance will be expected to take responsibility for themselves rather than having someone chase after them if they miss a turn. There are route sheets for a reason, after all. I think I might also have to warn anyone thinking of joining in towards the end rather than doing the whole ride that people who have been up all night riding across country, especially in wet weather, tend not to be at the brightest and cheeriest first thing in the morning. It’s okay when everyone is in the same boat, but I suspect it’s rather off-putting for someone coming late to the party. My endurance was remarkably good, all things considered, so I am very pleased on that score.

Thanks to:

• Will for the singing and the mood boosts;
• Andy for the MTFU hipflask (dude, you so rock) and the P-P-P-POWAH;
• HLaB for sticking with us at what must have been a painfully slow pace for him;
• Scoosh for making me paranoid about my saddle height and defending me from Mr Angry;
• DaveH for getting up at 3am to do something silly; and
• Especially massive thanks to Frood for the support.

Here’s to Dumb Run VI. Dumbarton Castle, 20:00 (8pm), Saturday June 23rd 2012.

Originally published at Singularity. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/puzzle_/]

Yeah!!

Maybe tempted.....maybe :)

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

You should. It's a hoot!

[thudthwacker.livejournal.com]

Well done, youse guys!

And, as a strictly academic question: how long a ride would you recommend a novice be able to do before attempting something on the scale of the Dumb Run?

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

The Dumb Run is an odd one -- calum has just done the Edinburgh to St Andrews as a relative newbie, so he would be a good person to talk to about going from beginner to distance eater -- for me it is so long ago I don't remember.

Generally speaking I reckon that after 40 miles the rest is mental. It's about how long you can sit on your bike without your arse feeling like it's about to burst into some sort of friction fire, and making sure you eat and drink enough. These long-distance events are all very aerobic, with only small sections of anaerobic, and they're not high effort. Later on I'll post my HR trace so you can see what I mean.

the Dumb Run isn't hard because it's long. It's hard because of the weather, and this year it didn't seem all that hard at all. My legs were fine at the end, and I've not ridden more than 35 miles in 2 years. The difference is I know I can do it. Someone who hasn't done that distance before, especially overnight when your bodyclock plays tricks on you, would find it a lot harder and it's got nothing to do with fitness. I had to warn people that between 1am and 3am I get very grumpy and emotional and not to worry about it.

So I suppose if you can do 30 - 40 miles with a few hills (nothing major) in there, then you'd be fine.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Aye. Cycling is unlike running in that the bike does the hard work, not your poor battered ankles and knees, so you can just spend more time on it and go more distance. Comfort, fuel/fluids and headology are the defining points (unless you want to go fast).

I dimly recall my first century run-up was (from a commuting base) a 40-miler, then a 60, then an 80, then the 120 of the ride itself.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

That was fun. And next time, I'll deploy the chemical weapons against the haemophagic little airborne feckers, too.

Also, Predator Facial = as gross as you think it should be. :)