17th June 2019
GBDURO | 2,000km Self-supported Gravel Time Trial.
WHAT IS IT?
#GBDURO19 is a self-supported bikepacking enduro from Land's End to John O'Groats on road, gravel, singletrack, and everything in between. It's organised by the prolific, for-the-planet focused, bikepacking collective known as The Racing Collective. It follows a newly plotted route known as GB Divide.
The GB Divide is a ~2,000km self-supported gravel bikepacking Individual Time Trail (ITT) route from Land's End to John O'Groats taking in some of the best riding and scenery the UK has to offer.
This route reminds ourselves that we don't have travel far to have an adventure; not every trip has to start with a flight.
WHAT'S IT LIKE AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
The GB Divide route will be ridden for the first time in full in June 2019 by 30 pioneers under The Racing Collective's GBDURO, a mass start setting out from Land's End on the Saturday after summer solstice each year. After a few tweaks, the route will be made available by 1 Jan 2020 to anyone who wants to give it a go.
We love fast flowing tracks but we are not allergic to road and if it's a choice between a rutted bridleway or road, we choose road. So in terms of riding time, it's probably 50:50 road:off-road.
As partly attributed to our little island's bucolic history, most of the 'off-road' is doubletrack. This means you'll want a bike setup to roll with speed, but can manage the rough stuff. Adventure bikes with minimum 700C x 35mm tyres could be ideal...but it is the best? We know that a lot of the route has been recce'd on Bokehs - this could be great option.
GBDuro embraces the peerless versatility of 'Gravel' bikes to cover huge distances on both new roads and ancient ways, immersing riders in the rich and unique history that has shaped the British Isles.
The 'enduro' element of GBDuro lies in its timing. The 2000km route is segmented into 4 timed stages. Simple: the rider with the lowest combined time after 4 stages comes first. The time in between these stages will be for community and communion.
The enduro format means that the clock stops when a rider enters the checkpoint and starts again when they leave. This gives riders the time to share tales and drinks around the campfire at the three checkpoints en route, whilst also addressing sleep deprivation issues which hang over the ultraracing community.
There are 4 pioneering MASONites riding the inaugural GBDuro. Philippa Battye (Bokeh), Angus Young (Bokeh), Mark Tillett (BokehTI) and Miles Resso (Bokeh). For Philippa and Miles, this race will see them some familiar ground as they've played key rolls behind the scenes in making this whole thing happen. So, we think it's super cool that they're actually riding it too! Angus is the most recent and very welcome addition to the MASONbarn, having joined us a few months ago and now a crucial member of the team. He's handy on a bike with a competitive multi-sport background, and a definite dot to watch. Mark is a long-term customer of ours and one of the original adopters of our BokehTi. His plans for ultra-racing are in their youth still, as he's working towards TourDivide, and starting out with GBDuro is a serious effort worthy of respect.
Over the next few days we'll catch up with some of the riders to delve into the details of GBDuro.
WHAT IS THERE TO SEE ON THE ROUTE?
A route covering the length of the British Isles; in a lifetime one would experience a minutiae of its beauty. Such is the richness of our diverse isle.
But, our good friends over at Komoot have made it possible to see a few of the highlights of the GB Divide route, and plan your own adventure there.
Check out a few of the highlights on Komoot's page HERE.
DOTWATCHING
You can watch all the dots (racers) of GBDuro on The Racing Collective's dedicated webpage. There are a few big names up on the leaderboard already - the field for 2019 looks super strong.
Tracking here --> https://www.theracingcollective.com/gbduro.html#
We'll do our best to update our social media with regular race updates, so please stay connected to our IG in particular.
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