Riding 100 Miles on a Mountain Bike | My Ultra Cycling Goals for 2024

Today I am riding 100 miles on my mountain bike.

But why I hear you ask?

Watch this video and all will become clear.

In the video I set out my ambitions and plans for 2024.

I’m interested to hear what you have planned for 2024, leave your aims, goals and interesting looking events in the comments below.

The ride included the Bournemouth Jubilee Wheelers 75 mile reliability ride, which takes place every January, starting in Dorset.

There is a 100 mile event (the last in the series) in February. Visit the Club’s website to find out more:

“Winter Series” Rides 2023-24

@AtlasMountainRace
Solstice Sprint
Dorset Divide
South Downs Double

#cycling #bikepacking #adventure

Don’t you just love January starting in the dark so today I’m doing 100 miles on my mountain bike and you might be asking why would anyone want to do that well if you watch this video you’ll find out why but before we get into the why it’s the

What of today and today I’m riding out to the Bournemouth Jubilee wheelers 75 M reliability ride out of the four rides the 75 is probably the hardest with some pretty big Hills Fring for good measure although it’s the hardest is probably my favorite event taken in some of the best

Roads of North Dorset in southern Wilshire I’ve only ever read any event on the road bike so I have no idea how long this is going to take and the other question will be is how long I can actually keep up with a group of guys I

Normally ride with on my arrow mountain bike it’s now raining it was not supposed to rain this isn’t what I wanted literally sat directly under this rain cloud that just seems to be following me leave me alone yeah the last week or so down there in the South

Been ridiculously wet if you saw any my YouTube short videos about my festive 500 attempts you have seen the last few days pretty much solid rain so I’d just like to have a nice dry day for once that’s all I’m asking all that rain Cloud’s back again I think I’m going to

Cross straight underneath it Al I’m on my mountain bike is not the slowest mountain bike in the world it’s got airrow bars it’s got some fast Rolling Tires and it’s a hard tail as well so I’ve rid about half an hour now average speed is about 16.8 which I expect is

Going to decrease quite a bit over the course of the ride as it’s going to get a little bit Winder and as I say there are some big Hills to come rain clouds still causing issues I mean it’s basically blue all around the raincloud apart from the bit that I’m

Underneath had to get back to why I’m riding a mountain bike for 100 Mil today I’m going to chck through some of my goals and the events I’ve entered for 2024 working back from the summer to next month and that’ll kind of reveal why I’m doing a longdistance ride on my

Mountain bike just rolling up to the sign on for the third time this winter so I’ve signed in and I’ve headed off slightly before everyone else we’ll see how long it takes them to catch me I’m sure it won’t be that long but it might give me a chance of riding with someone

For at least a few minutes later on sun is starting to come out in wimbor town center because of some quite bad flooding we’ve been advised to take a detour up the main road out of windborn rather than down a road called The Cow Grove but it does mean we get to go

Through a really nice Avenue of trees look at that some awesome trees the sun coming out in the distance so that’s the detour done we’re now back on track on the 75 course proper and to get back to my goals for the year working back from

Summer I’d like to have a go again at the South down double which is something I rode in 2021 the South Downs double is riding the souths way in both directions in less than 24 hours fully self-supported so you got to carry your own food and equipment to see you

Through that time period the distance is about 200 M and there’s about 8,000 M of climbing and something like 200 gates to open and close I managed to do it in 2021 in about 22 hours was 19 hours of ride time and somehow 3 hours of faing

About but now I’ve got a bit more experience at riding Ultras I’d like to give it another Go Hopefully improve the ride time but massively cut down that fast and non- ride time and maybe get underneath the 20 hour mark today’s snake pack includes some Lindor chocolates from

Christmas just coming down into blanford we’re on to the first climb now up and out of blanford I imagine I might be caught by the top my fourth goal is the Dorset divide which takes place in July it’s about 330 Mi mix of Road and off-road I think it calls itself a

Gravel race starting in portlandville and taking a huge chunk of riding indors it not sure how I’ll approach it yet but I think like one of those ones are just doing one stint without any sleep I’m quite looking forward to the fact that it’s so close to home there’s hardly any

Travel to get there and there’ll big good chunk of it on familiar roads and trails just hope the weather is better than last year’s where it chucked it down for a good deal of the event just gone over the first moderate climb and haven’t been caught

Yet M one’s behind me and now drop down into the valley and then we go up what’s probably the biggest climb of the whole ride that looks like a Windows desktop heading towards probably the biggest climb of the ride and and I really do think I’ll be caught but before I do

Goal number three and that’s the Soler Sprint in June it’s a 1,000 km Road Ultra starting in Warick don’t know a huge amount about the event as yet other than the distance and that it’s a fixed route whereas previously it was a case of making your own route between

Checkpoints it’s one I probably try and like to race and be quick minimal sleep and just see how long it takes really so that’s goal number three the current goal is just to get up and over this line turnworth hill I think that’s what hill it’s called but if I’ve got that

Wrong let me know in the comments below and can kind of see we got another mile and a half uphill and it really kicks up at the last half mile now onto that steep bit nearing the summit then we have a ridiculously steep downhill the other side where I think the mountain

Bike will be more fun than the road bike oh that’s the summit and it’s Oakford Hill not turnworth saw a little sign back there not being caught just yet big views across Dorset 20% descent oh here we go woo may this is where it gets a bit

Hairy on the road bike bit twisty and turning think I’m just about to be caught look back and I can see a big group behind me hey been getting a nice tow from the group into the headwind but we’re heading towards the climb up to sha B so

We’ll see how long I can maintain my time with this free speed see it partway up the steepest climb but not quite there yet one final kick it to go into sharpsbury oh we’re up into shawbury that was not very fun nearly through sh spry not regrouped I thought it was

Going to regroup but hopefully regroup in a minute and we have a better group to ride through eal Valley just smashing down some lindle just being torturously hanging off the back here on The Descent out sharpsbury hopefully I can just about hang on get a bit of a tow through the valley

Halfway just over 3 hours in currently doing 26 mph slowly getting dropped mountain bike coming into its prime oh this is hard there’s a group just ahead and I think these guys are trying to catch him we’re what cool dropped and in no man’s land pretty much

Back on my own again now well I am on my own again but that was a nice little hour with the group pushed me on a bit I think about nearly 18 mph average speed but my legs are starting to sting on the climbs a bit

Now probably went a bit too hard while they’re trying to chase down that other group but now it’s probably a good opportunity to tell you about goal number two and the reason I’m riding a mountain bike today for about 100 miles is because in about 4 time I’m off to

Morocco to do the Atlas mountain race which is a 1300 km off-road epic in Morocco starting in maresh and finishing on the coast it’s completely out of my comfort zone I’ve never ridden something like that before desert mountains potentially hot temperatures potentially cold I’m not going there to try and be super

Competitive because to be quite Frank I’ll have no chance unless I have no sleep and even then I probably wouldn’t be a to keep up so want to do it reasonably quickly but also most importantly have a good time remember the experience and hopefully see some stunning scenery there Alice there just

Being a little teased just up the road hovering there but I don’t think I quite got the legs to close it down I’m just going to eat some more Lindor and enjoy myself I think it’s time to break open the gel from the snack pack just going through broad

Chalk sort of have a little bit of a rolling road now and then another climb out of Kum bisit where I guess they might be caught by the group that’s behind somewhere Alis there just up there just out of sight but not very far away another little groups came past but

Fared seemed to get on the front and start hitting it hard so I couldn’t stay with him I think it’s trying to chase down alist there oh I would have loved the little tow along here this proper tough little headwind so somewhere along the line I forgot about goal number one

The most important one and that’s to not take things too serious serously enjoy myself live in the moment and really save the experience these events bring so that’s my goals what are your goals let me know below and also share any events that you think sound interesting

We’re now going to be doing the climb out Kon biset coming the other way it’s a lovely smooth sweeping descent but going uphill is a bit of a grind up at a rather busy road does feature some of the smoothest tarmac in Wiltshire probably used up the whole of the

Resurfacing budget for the next decade flagging is showing the wind is going uphill can’t complain about that W that’s the top of bit one of the last moderate climbs of the ride a nice mile or two of downhill and then probably about another 15 miles back to

The headquarters for some cake and maybe some bacon some rather damp roads back on some familiar roads now the Bournemouth Jubilee wheeler Saturday training route but I have forgotten there are a couple of little climbs on the way back to wimbor climb out at cranbourn done now onto the main road

Back down to wimbor at another 7 and 1 half miles if I was it with a group this road would be very fast just had a bit of a hunger prang smashed down about four cial bars and the rest of the M Lindor hopefully enough to see me back

To the HQ which is probably about 5 miles away now just a mile from the headquarters now but it’s all uphill nearly there oh and there’s the Oasis of the reef f up with bacon on the way home about 10 Mi to get to the ton but it is very cold

It’s only 5° now it’s been pretty chilly all day and the wind making it feel probably more like zero stopping for the bacon was nice but it’s made me pretty chilly now for anyone that says my 100 miles on the mountain bike don’t count cuz it’s on the road I’m now on the

Castom and Trailway heading home so there is a bit of off-road so that’s nearly 100 miles probably going to have to do a little loop around the road near home take it up to that magic three digigit number as I said put your aims and goals for 2024 in the comments

Below and any events you think myself and others should check out finally best wishes for the year ahead