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stage_2_trail1

March 11th, 2010
Filed under: News, Team – by: Paul Errington 7:39 pm

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After a transition stage group ride yesterday of 50km with a healthy serving of both up and down we found ourselves in Gorka.. the old capital of Nepal.

Stage 2, Gorka to Besi Sahar, 60km… the days stage was sold as a half and half, jeep track and sealed tarmac rode.. on paper it didn’t sound too tough although with that much tarmac involved it was never going to be a singlspeed friendly day and best I could hope for was to minimise losses.

The day started with a descent of around 6-7km, not too rough but pretty rutted as rain has carved the surface into multiple channels to choose from… the jeep track flowed from reddish clay, to grass then into villages and back onto the familiar dusty brown surface of the last 2 days…

 
first_climb1

March 9th, 2010
Filed under: News, Team – by: Paul Errington 6:46 pm

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I never viewed my participation in this event as a ‘race’, I knew the local guys had the event sewn up as although we can match them on the flat and the climbs, when you limit the supply of oxygen we have no response.

So with this in mind I have no idea why I couldn’t sleep last night, I had my usual pre race nerves and spent most of the time going over what little I knew about what lay ahead. Everything usually feels better after the first stage…

 
singlespeed1

March 8th, 2010
Filed under: News, Team – by: Paul Errington 1:36 pm

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Not much to do at the moment but wait… I’m always worried of too much activity pre-race in case of any bike or body mishaps which would take me out the race before the first day begins. Instead today was spent building and checking my bike then taking a walk around the surrounding streets, the number of singlespeed bikes in Kathmandu is amazing… its not niche here it’s the norm. Fair enough most of those are rikshaws and the rest are ‘make do or mend’ modifications to keep a vital mode of transport working but all the same it’s making me feel better.

 
arrival1

March 8th, 2010
Filed under: News, Team – by: Paul Errington 11:49 am

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Before any International racing can take place there is always the worrying matter of getting there in the first place. Bikes have to be packed, gear has to be checked and double checked, you have to remember to smile extra nice at whoever is checking you in in the hope that they didn’t see you struggling to lift an overweight bike bag..

Well the first hurdle is over and I’m in Kathmandu.

 
Annapurna, the centre of the Yak Attack route in Nepal

March 3rd, 2010
Filed under: Team, Uncategorized – by: Paul Errington 12:31 pm

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The spare room bed is again covered in gear waiting to be packed into the bag… jerseys are folded, energy bars have been organised and spares have been accounted for. I’m now 2 days away from leaving for the next challenge.. the highest race in the world.. Yak Attack, organised by Phil Evans of Extreme World Challenges. (http://www.extremeworldchallenges.com)

I’m getting pretty good at this packing lark now… well I hope I am… I’m finding it hard as always to get excited about what lies ahead and I know I won’t relax until me, my bike and my luggage are safely in Kathmandu.

But every now and then between the constant organising I get a chance to look forward to the riding ahead… this is the roof of the world.. riding unlike anything I have done to date.. not only will I have to battle the competition, the climbs, pushing the single gear I am going to have to get involved with a totally new problem… altitude… can I literally breathe thin air?? 2 weeks from now I guess I’ll have an answer.

This will be the first outing in anger for the TiO titanium singlespeed I’ve been nurturing in my garage for months… its very light and fast so at least I have no bike worries… and with DT providing some suspension forks for the trip it’s going to be sheer luxury.

 
 
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