The Event
A chance to ride from one end of a country to the other whilst conquering some sizeable peaks along the way. The
46.6 mile (75 km) route of the Isle of Man Sleepwell Hotels End to End Challenge incorporates
4,900 ft (1,500 metres) of climbing with a thrilling mixture of fast fire roads, sweeping moorland paths, country lanes and forest singletrack. You’ll also experience stunning views and great support from the local spectators, whilst you gain a real sense of satisfaction as you make your way from the northern most to southern most points of the island. A full range of rider abilites are represented, a small number of top riders make the trip, but most of the field is made up of weekend riders just looking to complete the challenge and enjoy themselves while having a laugh with likeminded mountain bikers. The course is usually completed within 3 hours for the leaders and anything up to 6 hours for the more relaxed riders. The event is a challenge but times are provided and category, as well as spot prizes awarded.
The first Isle of Man End 2 End was held in 1996 and with this being the 14th running of the event, the Manx Mountain Bike Club have learnt a lot about how to make sure you, and the other 1000 riders, have a great time and go home wanting to do it all over again.
Further details can be found on The Isle of Man End to End website.
Also, this video gives a good introduction as to what we'll face.
This years event was held on Sunday 13th September 2009.
Preparations
So, my last biking event before I leave England for a new life in Finland! It
would be accurate to say that this was to be a "party holiday" more than a
"fitness holiday" given my impending departure. In any case though, I had never
been to The Isle of Man before and had never taken part in an off-road biking
event. When this event was suggested to me by Woz, Daz, Asquith and Andy, I must
admit it did have a great deal of appeal.
After a drive up north to get the ferry, we had a short trip across the Irish Sea to Douglas on The Isle of Man. Our hotel was not far away, and after we were settled, it was time for a meal and a few beers.
The Team
The team of us who were to take in this event were as follows (from left to right: Andy Bryant, Steve Asquith, Darren "Daz" Pollard, Warren "Woz" Foy and me). Those smiles will soon be disappearing!
Race Day
We were up nice and early for race day! A fry up was consumed at the hotel
and I must admit to not feeling my sharpest, as the previous evening had included
a curry and 8 or 9 pints of beer.... After breakfast, we had a short cycle to a
rendevouz point where our bikes would be loaded onto lorries and we would get on
a bus to the north of the island. It was on the bus that we were to get a taster
of the scenery and hills we were to be facing through the day!
Once we arrived at the northern part of the island it was just a case of waiting for the several lorries to catch up and finding our bikes as they were being unloaded. It was just after we collected our bikes that Andy and I had realised we had forgotten our water bottles. Worst still, there was nowhere we could find at the start area where we could get a supply of water for the journey. Oh dear! We had no choice to ride out the first part of the race and collect some water from the first checkpoint. All in all, our preparations prior to the start had been appalling. Would that come back to bite us?
The start area was filling up with the 800 or 900 other riders and it would not be long before we were set off. At 10am, we were all off together along a small
country lane! After just a few miles, Foy and Asquith were left behind and Daz,
Andy and I formed our own mini group as we set a good early pace. In fact, the
first few miles seemed relatively kind - all were on-road and it seemed that
most of the hills were pointing downwards.
It was at around 10 miles (16 km) that we were to leave the nice comforting roads for the rough and wild terrain. Immediately after turning off the road the first major climb loomed. This was tough, not just because the hills were steep but because the terrain was so rough and in some places, very sticky. In fact, it was not long before competitors, including us, were getting off and pushing. Even in my lowest gear, it just seemed impossible to keep my feet off the ground! It was around this point that Daz began to move forward into the distance from Andy and me.
It
wasn't long before dehydration started to kick in, not just for me, but for
Andy too. We were both longing for the first checkpoint which didn't come. It
was just hill after hill and the course was as tough as anything I had
encountered before. After a while, I was moving ahead of Andy, who it seemed was
suffering slightly more than me. After a rocky and dangerous descent down one
hill, I spotted what I thought was an ice cream van! However, as I came closer,
I realised it was just an ambulance! My mind was beginning to play tricks on me
now. Luckily, just past the ambulance and round a corner, the first checkpoint
was suddenly presented to me. I gulped down water and waited for Andy to catch
up. However, Andy never came, which was a bit of a shock to me as I figured he
wouldn't be too far behind me. But maybe he had already gone past me? Neither
one of us would have probably noticed anyway!
I decided to move on after waiting for 5 or 10 minutes. Although the water
was gratefully accepted, it didn't seem to help at this stage. I was still
feeling rough and more steep and rocky hills followed. After walking up many of
them, I decided to sit and have a rest at the top of one. I was sitting there
for around 10 minutes, when just over the brow of the hill came Andy! He raised
a smile and a chuckle as he saw me hunched on a tuft of grass next to the track.
He stopped here with me briefly as we made some phone calls to see how everyone
else was getting on. Woz was still behind us but Andy was sure that Asquith had
passed him some time ago. I hadn't seen him, but it could be possible that he
had gone past me too!
Andy and I set off again at a very conservative pace. Several short stops
continued and it was at this point that I was not actually sure if I was able to
finish it! Soon, Asquith came up behind us - he hadn't come past us previously
after all, but had been gradually catching us up. We all cycled together briefly
before we were presented with the final checkpoint. Andy and I arrived just
before Asquith and immediately stuffed our faces with flapjacks and energy
drinks - anything to try and pull us out of this slumber. We stopped here for
around half an hour - Asquith had moved on 20 minutes or so before we decided to
continue. Andy and I were beginning to get concerned that Foy would be coming
past us next and that we would be fighting out last place in our group! The last
checkpoint was less than 10 miles before the end. We knew now that we didn't
have too much longer left. We had already conceded that Asquith would get to the finish
line before us too.
However, after leaving that last checkpoint, some energy levels began to return! The further we progressed, the more positively the uphill tasks were being challenged. Just 2 or 3 miles (4 km) from the finish and we were back on the road and had left the rough stuff behind. We got to what we figured was the last hill as the distant sounds of a crowd and a loudspeaker came into play. Andy moved off ahead of me although I was not too far behind him. The last hill seemed to go on for quite a way, but eventually the signs pointed to a field on the left where the finishing line was no more than 100 m away! It was at this point I saw a group of three cyclists where I decided I would push on to try and get past. I was making good progress and as I passed this group, I looked across at one of them and saw that it was Asquith! I laughed and said my goodbyes to him as I sped off past him! To say he was a little gutted at the end that both Andy and I had passed him in the final few metres was an understatement!
Immediately after crossing the line, we found that Daz was already there, as we expected.
He had finished well over an hour in front of us with a very impressive time. Andy
finished second, a minute and a half ahead of me, who finished JUST 7 seconds
ahead of Asquith. Just under an hour later, Foy came through the finishing line
pulling a wheelie.
Results
So, in the end I finished in 689th place out of the 831 hardy souls who made it to the end with a time of 5 hours 51 minutes and 31 seconds. Here is a summary of the results from our team:
| Overall position | Team member | Time |
| 283 | Daz | 4:28:59 |
| 684 | Bryant | 5:50:08 |
| 689 | Me | 5:51:31 |
| 690 | Asquith | 5:51:38 |
| 804 | Foy | 6:45:22 |
And if you fancy seeing the full results, they can be found
here
Conclusion
Okay, let's start with the negatives (just so I can end on a positive note!)..... My preparation was really bad for this event. Turning up with a hangover and not having any water for the first couple of hours made this a real struggle. It taught me a few lessons, that much I can be sure of! As such, I must say, I did not enjoy the race as I should have done.
But, let's end on the positives..... this was my first off-road cycle event. In fact, I had hardly done any off-road cycling at all before this - certainly not as rough as this type of terrain. Therefore, this was a new experience for me and I had certainly thrown myself in at the deep end! In addition, there was some wonderful scenery (when I was able lift my head to look at it) and it was an adventure to a new place that I had never been before.