Open5 Adventure Races [Archive]

MariaD

18th January 2008, 09:35 PM

You can do it for free if you want - I've got a voucher for a free ticket to give to anyone who hasn't done an Open5 Event before (as mentioned in this thread (http://www.goxplore.net/showthread.php?t=1869&highlight=open5)).

It says:

"To redeem the voucher... enter online in the normal way and pay the full amount. Post the voucher with the new competitor's name on the reverse to us, and on arrival of the voucher we will refund the paying card £23."

PM me your full name and I'll post it off if you want. I haven't signed up yet, but assuming I'm fit I'll be doing the March event too. Should be fun!

Malcolm L

20th January 2008, 04:01 PM

Doh! I paid the entrance fee all ready. Thats really kind of you Maria. No worries, it will give me motivation to work up to it.

I just realised that the river running right outside the front door of my flat in the centre of Leeds, next to the Armouries, is on the Trans-Pennine way. Did a 40 min run yesterday morning and was out in the countryside pretty quickly. There is a water mill museum right on the trail and I saw a woodpecker there today while cycling back from Swillington. There is a house there for rent which looks like it might hit the spot. It would be great to be able cycle in some days or there is also a station nearby. Not far to Wakefield for the London trains.

Can you recommend any books or other advice in getting started with adventure running. I really need to know more about orienteering as I've never done it. No idea what a transition is. I'm assuming that I can run/walk the whole thing without an MTB. Not sure the little wheels on my brompton would cope!

Thanks for all your help so far Maria. Much appreciated. You seem super knowledgable about all this stuff. Off to the climbing wall now.

M

MariaD

20th January 2008, 04:13 PM

It'll still work! You have to have paid already in order to use the voucher - they'll refund the cost if I just send it in. I don't know anyone else who'll use it, so you may as well.

The transition is the area where you start, change gear between disciplines and finish. You have to check in and out of transition using a 'dibber'. The transition is always attended, so it's safe to leave gear there.

You have to get at least 1 of the MTB controls to complete the race, but you can easily get 1 control on whatever bike you have to hand & then spend over 4 hours on the run/walk section (I know people who have done this).

I'm not super-knowledgable, btw, it's just that I've done one of these races before, so I know how they work. The format is pretty confusing to a beginner, so they certainly aren't stupid questions! Regarding books & advice - I don't know any books, but I have some advice:

The orienteering aspect of the race is very easy - if you're a competent hill-walker you shouldn't have a problem with it. To practice, run out into the countryside, pick a random spot on your map (i.e. the corner of a wall, a path junction) and try to get there. Repeat that a few times. It's harder on the bike because you move faster, but you can always stop.
Write to the Open5 Adventure people & they will send you examples of maps/control descriptions for previous races - I did this and found it helpful.
Take the uphills slowly - it's pretty easy to knacker yourself out & 5hrs is a long time. The super-elite guys sprint the whole thing, but for mere mortals run/walk is a good idea.
Take some proper food for transition. Personally, I take a small sandwich, a few cereal bars & a bottle of lucozade.
Take a waterproof with you - if the weather is bad they'll insist on it as mandatory kit
If you plan to do more than 1 bike control, get a map board for your bike & practice fitting it. Navigating without one is difficult - I bought one without checking it fitted my handlebars & broke it on the morning of the race. Doh!
Take 5 mins at the beginning of the race to sketch out possible routes & decide tactics - this does reap rewards. A permanent marker is handy for this, as the maps are laminated.
Take your transition kit in a large rucksack, as you may have to carry your kit there by bike (depends how far the transition/start area is from the registration place). Organise your transition stuff before you head off, so you know where everything is.
NOT ALL THE CONTROLS MARKED ON THE MAP ARE REAL. Check the control descriptions sheet before planning your route, as some are worth zero points and are not worth visiting.There's some useful info here (http://www.openadventure.com/open5/howitworks_1.htm)

Ingieuk

20th January 2008, 05:53 PM

That sounds like a great idea! Any tips with regards to kit to carry for the adventure race beginner maria?

I'd be more likely to do the majority of the controls by bike and a small number on foot, much more experience mountainbiking than running. Shall have to get some practice in!!!

Thanks,
Rich

MariaD

20th January 2008, 06:07 PM

The mandatory kit list is this:

Whistle
FA Kit
Mobile phone
Money for phone
Foil blanket
Bike helmetAnd I would add this:

Permanent marker
Compass
Spare inner tube & pump
Watch
MP3 player (I find it helps me run, but not everyone would agree)
Food, water, energy drinks (Jelly Babies are good to eat on the run)
Thin hat & gloves (in winter)
Showerproof & waterproof jacket (decide which to wear on the day)
Fell/trail shoes & shoes that are comfy for cycling
Appropriate clothing (in winter this would be a long sleeved top, warmish tights & possibly a thin mid-layer for the bike section)
Map board for bike
Big rucsack for transition storage & little rucksack to wear during event
Clean clothes for afterwards!You need a Sport Ident dibber to record the controls you've visited, but these can be hired on the day for £2.50. Hot tea & chocolate is usually provided for free after the event.

I should probably get training, shouldn't I? And invest in a new map board (one that actually fits my bike this time).

Malcolm L

21st January 2008, 01:44 PM

That's brilliant. My full name is Malcolm Leick and the entry number seems to be 2454. Payment ref number is 2102

I'm now wondering whether I have missed something. Do you have to ride AND run, or can you just run. If it's the former I'm going to have to get a bike, which sounds like a good excuse to buy one.

I'll give the company a call to find out more as you suggest.

If you do the race let me know and we can say hello before you run off into the sun in a blaze of glory. I did another 40min run in the pouring rain this morning. I just popped out at lunch time and the tow path is now underwater. There are police all along the river bank and the canal and river are merging! Might be time to get my canoe out.

Thanks very much again for your help. Malcolm

MariaD

21st January 2008, 02:22 PM

Blaze of glory? Slow, gentle plod more like!

I'm really not very fast, honest! I do it for the enjoyment, which is lucky because I'm never going to win any prizes. You can hire a bike on the day if you need to - they will direct you to the nearest hire place.

The weather's horrendous here as well (Rotherham). Lots of roads in this area are closed, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get home okay. During the summer's flooding I spent up to 4hrs trying to get to work.

Special_K

21st January 2008, 02:46 PM

Yup, same here just down the road from you in Wath upon Dearne Maria.

Some of the local roads seem to be closed and school's don't seem to be able to cope either. Hope the river/canal in Leeds can cope as I am supposed to be there tomorrow and could do without the headache of having to paddle into the office.

MariaD

21st January 2008, 03:38 PM

The main roads through Leeds were all okay on my way to work this morning. It's rained a lot since then though...

MariaD

22nd January 2008, 06:25 PM

Just so you know, I'm posting the voucher tomorrow - the £23 should come through at some point in the next couple of weeks, I imagine.

Malcolm L

22nd January 2008, 09:06 PM

That's brilliant Maria. Thank you so much, and thanks for the advice on the bike hire.

I've (I@ve) realised that the down side of my morning runs (so to speak) is feeling knackered for the rest of the day! Hopefully this will ease off when my body gets over the shock of being shaken and stirred at the crack of 7.30 ish. I'm trying to run every other day and get to the climbing wall a couple of times a week.

Do you ever get to the climbing wall in Leeds? Weekday evenings are jam packed but Saturday and Sunday are good if the weather is too dire for anything else. You have time for a good warm up on easier routes before the harder stuff.

I was talking to someone yesterday who lives in Ilkley and she goes running on the moor too. She too was enthusing about the joys of commuting into Leeds and then onto London.

Have a good day tomorrow.

Malcolm

MariaD

23rd January 2008, 10:41 AM

the shock of being shaken and stirred at the crack of 7.30 ish

I wish I could get up that late! By 7:30 I'm normally heading towards Sheffield on the M1. If I were to try morning runs, I would have to get up at 5am, which is optimistic to say the least. Every time I've decided to do one, I've set my alarm and then promptly ignored it when it goes off!

I don't use the Leeds Wall - in fact, I've never used any climbing wall! I won't be living in this neck of the woods for much longer, anyway. I'm currently house-hunting in the Hebden Bridge area and looking forward to the prospect of fell runs and crags on my doorstep!

Malcolm L

23rd January 2008, 03:46 PM

Sounds brilliant. Hope you find somewhere good.

I managed a 6.30 run this morning and took a pack with most of the stuff I would need to carry on the day. It's getting easier, which is great and I don't feel quite so knackered today. Although I did snooze for while on the train down to London.

Off down the wall tonight. It doesn't have the beauty of a real crag but it's a good way of staying fit and tuned up over the winter. I spent quite a lot of time at the wall in Nottingham last Winter and in the Spring did my first ever e1 which I was pleased with. I also try and do coaching sessions with Lucy Creamer from time to time. She is very good at analysing technique and giving tips on how to improve. She had me going up and down the same route half a dozen times last year, trying the same moves in different ways to understand how even small changes in body position could make big differences to the amount of energy needed to move though a sequence. We tried to organise a session outdoors but the weather was just consistently crap for most of the year. Very frustrating!

Hope to organise something again with her soon. I'm never going to be more than pretty average at climbing but it really helped me improve and get more fun out of what I can do.

MariaD

23rd January 2008, 04:16 PM

We've seen a few nice places, but need to get our house finished off & sold before we make an offer. It's a gorgeous area though. The pictures below are the views from a couple of the houses we're considering - it's right in the heart of the pennines.

The pack isn't particularly heavy - you can leave most of the food, bike stuff & spare clothing in transition, so you only carry what you need on the run (jacket; hat/gloves; compass/map; whistle; FA kit; mobile; money; foil blanket; marker pen; watch; MP3 & drinks).

Don't carry a big FA kit - the website lists the bare minimum they expect you to carry, so just stick the specified items in a sandwich bag.

Malcolm L

10th March 2008, 09:00 AM

Had a brilliant time and managed to clock up 285 points in the process. Not too bad considering the training problems. (someone managed to get -15!) The high scores of 500+ were awesome. :eek:

I was halfway to the first target when I came across someone hunting for a control in the wrong place, another Malcolm. We teamed up for the rest of the event (the Mad Malcolms). Turned out he was a war cameraman for Fox news. It was his first adventure race for 10 years and like me he had just got his MTB.

After some leg sapping hill climbing out of Pately Bridge we had some great sections through woods and high speed descents on single track. Wow, I loved it! First time I had ridden anything like that. I seem to have a nack for flying recklessly down tracks, its going up that kills.

We lost about half and hour when we took a wrong turn and got competely disorientated, grunting up a hill with everyone else hurtling down in the opposite direction. :mad:

We only did 4 of the running controls, the last one being a gut sucking ascent up a very steep muddy track with not a lot of time left. I took off coming down, making the most of gravity and coming in with 12 mins to spare

Not bad given our lost half hour, and the fact that I stopped twice to lend people my pump (another 15 mins gone). The second chap had one, but had it set up for the wrong valves. Duh! The first one was my compadre Mad Malc 2 with a squidgy back end.

The calf was fine, or maybe it was just masked by the fact that everything else hurt, and that I downed some ibuprofen in transition. A really enjoyable day and not a bad outcome given the problems with training (i.e lack of). :D

Thanks for letting me know about the Open 5 Maria, and for the voucher. I'll definitely be up for the next one in May so maybe see you there

Ingieuk

10th March 2008, 10:16 AM

Great!! Awww im gutted i didn't do it, but I only yesterday managed to get the oil seals for my MTB breaks fitted (excusues, excuses....i know...:D).

Sounds like you had great fun, I'm definatly gonna have to have a go at the one in May even if it is in the middle of my exams (eh up here come the excuses again!)

Fast singletrack is a joyous thing! Theres loads of really good mountainbiking in North York moors and the yorkshire dales. The best guidebook I've found are the vertebrate ones - they arn't cheap (£15) but are cirtainly worth it.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Rich

ishepster

10th March 2008, 11:22 AM

Well done Malcolm.

Can't make up my mind whether that sounds fun or hell but I am glad you enjoyed it.

Malcolm L

10th March 2008, 05:57 PM

Thanks guys. I'll definitely check out the N Yorks guide books Rich. There was actually a few moments when I was bombing down the hill that I thought...wow..this is more fun than climbing!

Only problem was when I stopped halfway down to recover my map and compass. When I got back on the bike I was off again before I got my shoes into the clips and the bike was bouncing around so much my legs were flying off and my bum took a good hammering on the saddle. Still made me laugh though.

The map was slightly over sized for the Miry map board so I couldn't close the cover at one end. This was OK until I turned the map board so that the open end faced back (to keep it in heading North). Then with all the violent movement of the bars, back and forwards over the bumps, the map and compass came out a couple of times. Just needs a bit of tape to stop that happening.

I gave the bike a good wash last night and will be spraying the chain tonight. Is there anything else I should be checking? I've never had hydraulic brakes before. You can also change the rebound setting on the forks but I've no idea why I would use this. Locking the forks "on and off" on the fly was really handy for switching from tarmac to tracks.

Can anyone recommend a good intro to MTB that I could read that would cover all this stuff.

Cheers. Malc

Malcolm L

10th March 2008, 06:21 PM

I just got the guides for the South Dales and Dark Peak for £20 off Amazon inc P&P. It looks like there is a bit of info on setting the bike up etc too.

Malc

Ingieuk

10th March 2008, 07:06 PM

£20 for two guides?! That's a steal! Think I'll be getting on amazon!

The guides are great with nice touches like the Top 10 downhills, Top 10 climbs and Top 10 singletrack. The routes are split into classics, epics, enduros and killers. Theres a little about the right kit, night riding, mountain rescue etc too. There are harvey maps in the book with route profiles so you know where your going to start feeling the burn!

What manufacturer's brakes are they?

Hydraulic brakes require very little maintenance usually, most (if not all) are self adjusting so you won't have to adjust them. I've had problems recently as when I got the pads changed by the local bike shop they didn't put any copper slip grease on the back of the pads (NOT THE FRONT!!) where they meet the piston and so one pad+ piston on both the front and back had fused together in it's housing and wouldn't move.

Just make sure you check the pads every now and again. I have a set of Avid Juicy 5's on which you can see through the top of the calliper to see how much material is left on the pads. Pads usually come in sintered and organic, sintered are generally harder and suited to wet, winter conditions, they also take longer to bed in. Organics are softer, taking a shorter time to bed in (as I understand it)A small warning, disc pads can wear out very quickly or they can last for years, for instance my first set lasted 6 months, the second set lasted 2 weeks of muddy, wet riding with long descents. As long as you keep an eye on them you'll be fine!

The rebound adjusts how quickly the fork extends after being compressed, it differs for different trails, rider weights, conditions. Though I've never adjusted mine since i got it, mainly cos I'd probably get it wrong! Just jumped on it and went!

Have fun!

Rich

Malcolm L

10th March 2008, 07:20 PM

Cheers Rich. That's very helpful. I have the same brakes so I will keep an eye on them. Evans do a first service free once things have bedded down so I'll probably take it in quite soon for the once over.

Amazon is pretty good for prices. You can buy new or used. Both the guides I bought were new but still a great price.

I noticed that some used books from the States are ex-library complete with date stamps, so I hope they haven't been stolen!

Malc

Ingieuk

10th March 2008, 07:33 PM

That seems a good idea to me. I couldn't beleive the increase in stopping power when i got hydraulics, it just gets better too as the pads slowly bed in!

http://www.trailguides.co.uk/ This is a good site for some superb guides IMO, they're based in Darlington just round the corner from me i believe, they do some great mountainbiking routes over dales and moors etc but they also do trail running ones and some walking ones. I've done the Hob Hole route which i found great, though i was completly wasted by the end of it! I've bought a second one also but i can't remember which one now. The guide consits of hand drawn sketches of the most important sections of the route (turnings, drops etc)drawn on waterproof card along with an overveiw and extra info, plus ziplock bags to put each card in. I found them easy to follow and enjoyable.

Rich

MariaD

10th March 2008, 08:14 PM

Fantastic - really good to hear you enjoyed it! It's a very friendly event & sounds like you got a decent result (the people who get 500+ just aren't human!).

I'll definitely be at the one in May, so I'll see you there. I'll be concentrating on the running though, so I'll probably only pick up a few bike controls & do the rest on foot. I started training this afternoon by, er... going swimming. (I'm going for a run tomorrow though - I'm getting stuck into training for the Alps now I've booked a crevasse rescue course in April)

Malcolm L

11th March 2008, 06:54 PM

Brilliant...but swimming across the Lakes is surely cheating. I'm going to start easing myself back into running now that the calf seems okay. There was a micro-navigation section on the course on Sunday which we never got to.

I forgot to say that the Open 5 "staff" were really helpful and welcoming and took time out to explain the ropes to all the newbies, so it was a really good introduction to the scene. Some of the participants looked seriously hardcore which was a bit intimidating at the start...but meeting a fellow traveller with a similar state of fitness and ambition really helped make the day more enjoyable.

Hope to see lots of GoExplorers at the May event.

MariaD

18th May 2008, 08:16 PM

I actually managed to complete the whole race today without injuring myself, tearing any muscles or getting hypothermic (pretty miraculous, I know!).

It was a wonderful day for it, although I'm a bit annoyed with myself for messing up my tactics re: timing. I overestimated how far I could cover on the bike & underestimated how far I could cover on the run, meaning that I finished with an hour to spare, but wasn't near enough any controls to use that hour usefully. I could have scored more, but hey - it's something to work on next time! Predictably, Malcolm beat me easily, repeating his score of 285 points.

Also - it was announced at the prize giving that the next series of Open5 races will be on the first Sunday of the month in Nov 08, Dec 08, Feb 09, Mar 09 & Apr 09. It would be great to see some more Goxplorers there, so get training! You don't need to be superhuman - just have a decent sense of humour* and be reasonably fit.

*One of the controls today involved wading through a river balanced on a mossy rock ledge, so you do need to be prepared for surprises!

Ingieuk

18th May 2008, 09:14 PM

I wanted to be there, even woke up this morning thinking ...hmmm if only.... and it looked a great day, but wednesday heralded the start of my exams so my life is on hold for a while, till 19th june. After which I'm free!!!! (till 21st of september)

Good to hear you guys have enjoyed it though, if a little green with envy!

MariaD

19th May 2008, 05:46 PM

Woohoo - I've just found out I didn't come last in my category! I was 8th out of 9. Weirdly, the female solo category is always tiny compared to the other categories but dominated by seriously quick people.

I reckon that if I hadn't messed up my tactics and wasted an hour by finishing too early I would have got about 250+, so that's what I'm going aim for next time. The points scores on the controls were skewed towards the MTB section though, which isn't my strongest discipline. The total for all 16 MTB controls came to 360 pts (mean = 22.5 pts/control), whereas the total for the 14 run controls came to just 240 pts (mean = 17.1 pts/control). Yes, I'm a geek, I know...

Marmot

19th May 2008, 08:27 PM

well done on the placement, good stuff
id say i was envious, but im not! dont think id give it a go - too apathetic

MariaD

19th May 2008, 08:32 PM

Next time I'll aim to come 7th!

You really should do one - it's a good laugh, regardless of the knackeredness factor!

I've just noticed these as well... (http://www.questars.co.uk/) Now they are down south (well south of me anyway) and they are more expensive, but they look fun. I'm in the Alps for the July one, but I reckon I'll consider doing the September one. I've not kayaked in well over a decade though, so I may not be any good at that stage!

(Malcolm - would you be up for this? I'd want to do it solo (we have different strengths anyway - I'm much better at the running than the biking), but it'd be nice to know someone there!)

MariaD

19th May 2008, 08:36 PM

Whoah - just realised where Pubeck is! Dorset? No way I'm travelling that far just for a race - I'll find something closer to home instead...

There's also ACE Races (http://www.aceraces.co.uk/), but they're all the way down south as well. How can a race be properly 'adventurous' if it's in the south-east? It's an oxymoron, surely?

Malcolm L

20th May 2008, 05:15 PM

Ha..so now your telling me that mathematics means I had an easier time of it! Well I'd have to say that some of the downhill MTB sections were wicked. One path in particular people were advised not to try going up, but I guess some people didn't read the pre-race instructions as I still saw a few people sweating and heaving their bikes up the 700ft of ascent over half a mile of rock, bog and rough stuff in . (A lot easier going down)

I lost time on a couple of navigational errors and ended up having to heave my bike over walls and across fields to get back on track again. And those fine leg scratches I showed you Maria came from when I had to force myself through a re-enforced hedgerow when the alleged bridleway failed to show up! Fortunately I was on foot by then.

I actually came in just over 20 mins early, but if I had tried for another control and not made it back on time the points start dropping off and I was also pretty knackered by then.

I noticed that you were 2 mins faster out of transition than me Maria so well done on the Ferrari pit-stop. Must have been that extra banana I had.

Great fun and others should definitely try it or something similar.

Looking forward to the walk whenever it happens. I'm (I@m) in the Alps August 12-16th so don't make it then! In the meantime I have to work on my running as its close to rubbish.

MariaD

20th May 2008, 07:13 PM

I thought my transition time was rubbish! I took 10:58, whereas at the one I did last year I took 6:58 - a whole 4 mins quicker! However, it was January & snowing, so not the kind of weather to stand around in.

Some of the hills on the run stage were pretty tough too though. There was one descent that was so steep it was actually painful - I kept praying for it to flatten out but it just went on and on....

I really need to work on my downhill MTBing - I'm just too much of a wuss to really let go & pick up speed. I can't believe you think that a 700ft descent over half a mile would be "easy to come down"! I guess that's another thing I need to to train at for next time, as well as my tactics. Whereabouts do you practice your MTBing?

To train on the tactics side of things I'm going to go out into areas I don't know well, pick 4 or 5 random points to visit & then see how long it takes me to cover the ground. If I do that on lots of varied hilly terrain, it should give me a better idea of how much time to allocate to the different controls in future.

How knackered are you feeling, btw? I went out for a speedwork session with my club this evening & was pitifully slow. I felt basically okay, but my legs just didn't have enough strength to keep up the kind of pace I'd usually do.

(The photos are up on Sleepmonsters, by the way, but I didn't see a single one of me :()

Malcolm L

20th May 2008, 09:08 PM

Hey there is one of me under the bridge! I cant believe how many people ended up in the water.

Yes I'm feeling pretty knackered too. I did my 16 mile round trip cycle to work today and I was feeling very uninspired by the time I got to the one and only hill, the small one that climbs from the river up into Swillington. I even stopped for a chocolate bar at the bottom. Tonight all I've done is planted some lettuce, fed the fish and watered the plants. Couldn't even be bothered to cook!

I'm still utterly gob smacked with the people that come in with 500+ points. They must be gods from another dimension, defying the laws of physics and biology!

I'm really not very experienced at technical MTB at all so most of my learning is gained on the race, apart from doing about 9K of the red run at Dalby forest once in a hail storm. Dalby is actually brilliant and they also run MTB courses which I've contemplated doing. The trick seems to be that if you have enough momentum, you just keep going forward over virtually anything. Just hang your bum off the back of the seat and go for it. The technical stuff seems to be more about balance as sometime you virtually come to a standstill. Its all relative, I'm sure people who are more experienced than me would think I was a slug on wheels but I seemed to be keeping up and overtaking people on full suss bikes and just kept being amazed at the battering the bike would take without me or the bike falling to bits. One of the scary things about Dalby is the number of sharp pointy tree stumps to impale yourself on if you do come off. Risk assessments obviously went out of the window when they built the course. Has anyone here done the Black run and lived????

I still haven't used the MTB guide books I got for the Dales and the Peak but I will definitely do so over the summer. I've also got a couple of mates with MTBs who are much more experienced than me that I will try and tag along on with. Let me know if you want to practise in the Dales sometime. Maybe there are some more experienced riders here that would give us some tips.

I like it much more than running because of the speed and technical stuff, and the distance travelled. Running just seems like hard work although I guess off road you can get to some great places.

MariaD

21st May 2008, 05:16 PM

Maybe I could try doing the course - I might look into it.

Wirth running, the uphills are miserable, you just dig in, look at the floor & keep going, but the gentle downhills & undulating bits with good views are ace - it feels like you're flying.

MariaD

24th May 2008, 01:55 PM

Hmmm....

http://www.darkandwhite.co.uk/challenge-events-outdoor-activities.asp?race_id=186

Re: the MTBing - I've been looking at the possibility of investing in a new bike. I currently ride a pretty shoddy £250 affair (Malcolm will testify to this!) with V-brakes, and I think one of the things that stops me letting go downhill is the fact that I know I've only got V-brakes to stop me. There seem to be a fair few decent bikes in the £500 - £750 range, so I might trade up later this year...

MariaD

3rd June 2008, 03:56 PM

Entries are open for the next series. (http://www.openadventure.com/open5/) Go on, you know you want to!

Malcolm L

3rd June 2008, 05:12 PM

Hmm. I got the newsletter today too. Intrigued by the thought of the 12hr event but it's coming up fast and I have slowed down a bit since the last event. Cycling to work took a temporary backseat after I got a 500cc scooter the weekend before last. Great fun, apart from when I came off going round a mini-roundabout in the pouring rain. £120 for a new wing mirror (ouch) but thankfully only my ego was injured. Felt really bad cos the guy I bought it off had treasured it lovingly since he bought it new two years ago.

Managed a short half hour run last night, and got soaked cycling in this morning.

Definitely under hydrated on the last Open 5. I was reading Chris Ryan's SAS fitness book yesterday and realised I had drunk a tiny fraction of what he recommends for working out. 250ml for 4 and half hours of sweating is not good!

November seems a long way off for the next Open 5. I wonder why they focus them all on the winter/spring. Too hot for the rest of the year maybe, or other events going on.