As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to look back on the events this year. As ever, it is the stories from the riders that stand out – both of triumph and disaster. From imploding bikes to food hygiene fails, our riders have seen it all.
Every rider tackles the challenges that are thrown at them during events in their own unique way. Of course, some methods are more effective than others. And some riders inadvertently create their own additional challenges, just to keep life interesting.
With this in mind, our very tongue-in-cheek awards are returning for 2024. Have a read through to be reminded of the weird and wonderful things that happened during our events this year.
TLC (Tender Loving Carbon) Award
Philippe Bechet (MOTM24)
We’ve all faced nurturing a complaining bike to the end of the ride, but Philippe took this to a new level during MOTM24 this year. He was only halfway around the route when he noticed that the threaded aluminium insert in one of his cranks was coming loose from the carbon body. Each push of that pedal made it worse.
Unsurprisingly, no bike shop in rural Wales was able to help, so he soon resigned himself to completing the route soft-pedalling on one side, unable to risk riding out of the saddle at all.
What followed was a long and slow second half of the route, with plenty of walking and a remarkable amount of self discipline. He eventually finished in first place, with his crank still intact and – more impressively – uninjured from the uneven effort.
The Heartbrake Award
Alexander Spoelstra (TPA24)
Mechanicals always make for great drama during events, but it is particularly heart-breaking when they significantly change someone’s result. We were grabbing a few final shots of Alexander at sunset, at the final checkpoint of TPA24, before he was supposed to ride a couple more hours to the finish and claim first place.
Instead, a routine brake pad change evolved into a fully seized front calliper in front of our lenses. Eventually, Alexander calmly accepted the inevitable and had to walk his bike back down to the nearby town of Cheltenham and wait for a bike shop to open. To his immense credit, he finished the next day in third place, with the final 45km taking him 16 hours…
Elevation Inflation Award
Lulu Sheard & Kit Menzies-Wilson (WWC24)
For many riders, Dunkery Beacon provides the first real test on the WWC route, with its savage gradients and long drag up to the top. Therefore, if you were to choose a part of the route to accidentally loop back over, it would ideally not be this section. Lulu and Kit, however, had other ideas.
Having camped on Exmoor in the dark, their shared (yes, you read that correctly) bike computer rerouted them and they ended up repeating the top half of Dunkery Beacon, as well as the following climb back up to Exmoor. By the time they realised, it was too late. Despite this, they recovered admirably and still finished in a speedy 3.5 days!
A Ride of Two Halves Award
Sam Gorman (TPA24)
One minute, you’re powering up Hardknott Pass with legs of steel, the next you’re staring at your bike lying on the ground looking like someone tried to draw it from memory. Sound familiar? Hopefully not, unless your Sam Gorman.
Sam was cruising along the route during TPA24, having just ticked off the last of the climbs in the Lakes, when his fork crown decided to fail catastrophically. Fortunately, he was unharmed, but his bike was another matter entirely. It was completely unrideable, leaving him with no option but to scratch and face the unenviably task of somehow getting it home using public transport.
The Marginal Aims Award
Sean Parrett (WWC24)
We hear some very unusual strategies during our events, but each individual has their own way to approach these kind of challenges. Some people keep these strategies to themselves, but Sean Parrett wasted no time sharing one of his at the finish of WWC24.
The secret to his success was apparently his commitment to rolling comfort breaks, keeping stopped time to a minimum. There are some obvious disadvantages, but at least the logic seems relatively sound. Or at least it does until you learn that he was riding in a pair with Jess, who definitely wasn’t employing the same strategy…
The Breakfast and Bed Award
Linda Farczadi (MOTM24)
Stating you’re going to ride in “holiday mode” is a brave statement at the start of any event, let alone one that takes in 900 kilometres of Wales’s rough stuff. However, Linda is no stranger to challenging rides and made a good start to her plan to complete MOTM24 within five days, staying at pre-booked hotels every night.
You know what they say about the best laid plans though. Fast forward several days and Linda found herself arriving at her hotel in the aptly named Paincastle at 7:30 in the morning. The bemused but welcoming owner served her breakfast upon arrival, before allowing her a much needed sleep before check out.
Great British Brake Off Award
James Gill (TPA24 & WWC24)
Some riders choose gels, some graze on nuts and some stick to a steady supply of Haribo to power their feats of endurance. James Gill is much more of a traditionalist, turning his fuelling during WWC24 and TPA24 into a celebration of British cuisine.
During WWC24, we found him sitting on top of Dunkery Beacon staring lovingly at a pasty that he was devouring, having (by his own admission) bonked spectacularly. Then, during TPA24, he began his epic 500-kilometre attack fuelled by malt loaf, before stocking up for the night ride with an enormous portion of chips, which powered him to the finish.
Won’t Maki That Mistake Again Award
Sanjay Laidlaw (WWC24)
These events are all about testing limits, but there are some limits that you don’t really want to test, such as the lifespan of warm sushi. Unfortunately, Sanjay Laidlaw decided to do just this during WWC24. Having picked up some supermarket sushi early on the first day, he left it to fester – his words – in his frame bag in the sun, before wolfing it down for dinner in Porlock.
By sunset, he was chucking up his guts in spectacular fashion. After some time to recover, he bravely tried to ride on, but eventually the food poisoning got the better of him and he was forced to scratch. Kudos to Sanjay for sharing the sushi story with us though and for being able to chuckle at his own misfortune!
Bus Pass, My A*se Award
Charles Hyatt (TPA24)
Age is but a number and Charles Hyatt proved just that during TPA24. With the most life experience of any rider to have taken part in our events, Charles set out with a plan to simply make the cut off on Saturday evening. But even this is a challenge for all but the strongest riders.
His task was made harder by stormy weather, a broken cycle computer and fallen trees blocking his way. But on the final day, he put in a huge effort and – powered by a helpful tailwind – he was able to cruise the final few hours, finishing with time to spare.
This Guy Can Award
Nick Hodgson (WWC24)
Last year, we awarded Nick with the Marginal Gains award for his uncompromising commitment to tinned goods when it came to fuelling. This year, we did spot him with a can of Ambrosia in Tavistock, but it seems that for most part he managed to avoid lugging several kilos of canned food up the steepest climbs in the south west.
What we did spot, however, was that he managed to sneak into the top 10 finishers, rising from 13th place last year to 8th place this year. Whether this is connected to his changed approach, we’ll never know. But Nick is returning in 2025, so we’ll find out whether the tin cans are now truly a thing of the past.
Public Right of Wee Award
Molly Weaver (TPA24)
We’re all familiar with that feeling of a full bladder while riding a bike – it’s not pleasant. However, public conveniences are few and far between in the UK, so you have to make do when on the road. With this in mind, Molly Weaver found a quiet field to irrigate just before Hardknott Pass.
However, upon leaving the field, she was confronted by an irate farmer, who berated her “for weeing in his field”. Quite what damage he thought she had done is unclear, but it’s not like people choose to wee in a field just for fun. Either way, Molly channelled her annoyance productively and proceeded to cruise up Hardknott with ease.
Kim-marriage Bay Award
Alison Dockney & James Scrivener (WWC24)
For most riders, the addition of the Kimmeridge Bay checkpoint for WWC24 was simply a scenic addition to the route. But for Alison and James, it had a much greater significance. They returned in August of this year to get married there, following some pre-wedding festivities that apparently included a hill climb. And they will be back in 2025, having signed up for WWC again!
Two Wise Men Award
Jon Cox & James Page (TPA24)
For some people, the adventure continues after the finish of an event. This was the case for Jon and James, having finished TPA24 close to midnight. Such was their euphoria at being on the home stretch, they hadn’t booked any accommodation, despite it being the bank holiday weekend.
A quick Google search showed them their options were almost non-existent, but they headed to the closest hotel hoping to get lucky. However, they arrived to find there was no room at the inn. Fortunately, the night porter took pity on them and allowed them to sleep in reception. The only caveat was they had to be gone by the time his manager appeared in the morning!
Finally…
Thank you to all the riders who took part in our events this year. There were lots of stories that we couldn’t squeeze in and doubtless many more that we never even found out about. We look forward to seeing many of you at our events in 2025!
