Ascent,Descent,Repeat -84 hours riding a bike up a hill without sleep.... why?
Mark Brocklehurst
Learning from life, adapting to challenges and holding true to my values
So at 6am on Wednesday 16th August 2017 my buddy Colin and I will set off on the most ridiculous and outrageous bike ride we could dream up, and guess what… about 84 hours later we are destined to own a few bonkers cycling records that most folk wouldn't comprehend or be remotely interested in replicating!
The ultimate goal is to ride the bike up and down a quiet hill just outside our home town of Bolton (Lancashire, England) and rack up 116,000ft of climb in a continuous 500 miles sufferfest. This would be the equivalent of 4 x Mt Everest (see everesting below) and 20,000ft more than anyone else has ever attempted, not hard to see why eh!
We reckon it is probably the longest anyone has ever ridden a bike without sleep before but who knows or even cares....... I did make enquiries with the nice folks at Guinness Book of Records but they said they held no such data and wouldn’t be able to ratify any such madness, they did say however that if I wanted to stick 40 olives up my nostrils whilst inverted they would be all over it..... I will stick with my lifelong theory that Guinness is for drinking and not reasoning with!
Why on earth would you want to do such a thing....... Well to start with we are raising some cash to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable children of our town, we do this by donating to Bolton Lads & Girls Club’s Mentoring team and they in turn help turn the lives around of some desperate 8-12 year old potential shining stars.
Putting the fundraising to one side the rationale for why becomes a bit sketchier, though the thought of setting a first at 56 (Colin 51) does rock my boat. I got the crazy shit bug a few years back and way before I complete a challenge I’m already contemplating what the next one is. I love the idea that most things are possible when you put your mind to the task, where there’s a will there’s a way.
Apparently my body shape & composition isn't ideal for this type of challenge, no shit Sherlock!
I surround myself with people who can make stuff happen. I get all my training, nutrition and performance testing from Dr Colin Robertson and his team at the University of Bolton. It includes all the normal training schedules you’d expect plus some proper weird science, for example UV light therapy that is designed to trick your brain into thinking its daytime, fingers crossed the theory works over three consecutive nights.
Anyone doing ultra endurance events will tell you that the mental side of the challenge is massive and shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s reported to be about 80% of the problem (or solution) so for this reason I have been working with Joe O’Connor aka The Transformer. Now this really is weird stuff but you know what, it works for me! I have banished the word “Try” from my vocabulary and use a number of chants and virtual anchors that I drop to make me invincible. During a recent week in the Dolomites I used it to great effect on a challenging schedule and it paid dividends. One amusing trick is to visualise my head superimposed on Chris Froome’s body whilst attacking Contador on Mt Ventoux, it works providing you don’t mix it up and put Froomey’s head on my 90kg carcass!
I mentioned Colin, my wingman and training partner who just goes along with anything I suggest. I do all the research and planning and Colin just shows up without complaining or questions, he’s extremely relaxed about anything so I might suggest we stick olives up our nostrils to test him out.
We have a great support team on hand to make sure everything is taken care for us whilst on the ride. This includes family, friends and a team from the University of Bolton plus Team Bolton Lads & Girls Club. We also have lots of local riders who come over and do a bit of buddy up riding, we even persuaded two chaps to do their own Everest whilst all the support is in place. When we did a trial run last year people we had never met turned out to cheer us on or ride a few laps which is a real tonic as the hours tick by.
Everesting by the way is a challenge organised by the nutters at Hells 500, bottom line is you ride your bike up a hill until you’ve racked up 29,029ft (8,848m). During our test run last year I managed 42,000ft and the plan was hatched. https://www.everesting.cc/
Fuelling such a long ride is of paramount importance, it’s far too long to do on gels and power bars so most of what we will eat is proper food, we even have treats built in so there is something to look forward to. When it’s all over I will do a post event blog on what we used and how well it all worked.
So if you’re in the North West of England anytime between 16-19th August be sure to pop over to Anglezarke Hill, Rivington near Bolton (PR6 9DQ) and cheer us on.
Ascent Descent Repeat.....
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mark-brocklehurst6
Working alongside business owners to boost profits, manage their time better, and enjoy developing and growing their business. Business Coaching since 2007.
7 年Whether you complete the challenge or not Mark what you do is still inspiring. Another adventure. Another story. Making the most of what you have. Well done.
Learning from life, adapting to challenges and holding true to my values
7 年Well despite amazing support I had to abort the challenge after 22 hours of riding and only the single Everest. I was way ahead of schedule when at 11pm the heavens opened and we were surrounded by a near biblical display of sheet lightning & thunder. The strikes where a few miles away but the temperature plummeted & I struggled to stay warm. I carried on until my planned break at 2am but stopping only made me feel colder. I got changed a few times & went back out but by now a cold, wet & tired self started to have second thoughts. It took me a further two hours to make the call & abort. Initially I was desperately upset & wallowed in self pity along with a feelings of failure embarrassment. I snapped out of this only a few hours later when I heard of the terrible events in Barcelona, my situation seemed inconsequential & so I stopped bleating. Now after a few days I reflect that I probably could have carried on until the morning & then through the next day but who really knows. It's a lot easier to make coherent plans when your wide awake, dry & warm. So the hill isn't going anywhere & I'm still as determined as ever to complete what I set out to do. I said to a friend that luck wouldn't play a part in my challenge, oops!
Helping investors buy, let, control and manage their property assets
7 年Wow, I struggle with brickworks!! This is an awesome challenge. I'll definitely get over to check it out!
Pre Sales Technical Consultant at Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems Ltd.
7 年Good luck Mark and Colin, will try and commute past the route to give you some support (not bringing my bike though!)