Hi Debs,

Sounds good to me and I will be there. Just hope its better weather then the sundowner ride last year.

Like the sound of cake and coffee too ……

Jax

4 hour at 9.30am and 2 hour 11.30pm

Sounds good to me I will be there. hopefully with a better idea of my fitness and VO2max following my week at Bath Uni!

getting loads of interest! The Thursday eve before we will be riding the course if anyone wants to try it out! Be great to see you there Callum!

Jax and I rode the course today (1 week head-start is my minimum), clocked it at just over 5 and half miles.

Did some gardening on the way - but looks like someone else has been out clearing some of the route already.

Definitely a good idea to ride it the Thu evening before just to check it's still clear and get an idea of where the muddy sections are. Seemed to be muddiest at the furthest part of the route where it dips down into the dale, but that track's always like that. Rest of the route was occassionally soft but OK to ride.

Rode the outside ridge on the way home…. now THAT's muddy - really chewed up at the moment, but luckily not part of the plan for next week.

i'll be there, should be good. and yes please mark. what time will it need to be picked up

Callum

Well strong winds and rain tomorrow but the challenge will go ahead. Please be up there for about 9am. if a large group i will send people off in small groups, just keep a note of your start time. the sun should be out by mid day so bring some food and a hot drink and we can get together afterwards ! Remember to bring enough water, fuel, spares foe a 4 hour ride. You can refuel each lap ! see you there.

Yes see you there.  Will be a good club event I am sure…..rumour is 30 riders??!! All wanting to ride with Debbie.. so this is the sequel to Debbie does Dalby…Debbie does Broxa?

Has anyone finished cleaning their bike yet?

Well it's over. Debbie's Challenge is done. finished. The route was the same one i used for the Dusk til Dawn ride was May. Those with good memories will remember that even tho it was wonderful weather for several weeks leading up to it on the night, it rained, there was fog, it was cold. Today was very similar except we had a strong head wind and one other little treat, MUD, GLORIOUS MUD! In total we had 24 riders out. Some doing the full 4 hours , others 2 or 3 hours. It meant we had a real mix of abilities. Mike Thompson was the fastest and managed an amazing 7 laps, Too Tall Tom was next with 6, then Ruth with 5.7, then me with 5 and then a fair few 4 laps and many more. Too Tall Tom has put the results in a graph and Dan will post them on the site. If you look at the average speed that will give a better comparison. Capt Mark, Nic TEF, and (no surprises here) Hackness Mike, took a wrong turning due to the wind blowing the signs the wrong way! It added i would guess about 6 to 8 mins onto their first lap. I know there was a few mechanicals, Dan and Langdale Richard with broken chains, Matt and Philip Travolta, (i think)  with punctures, but as far as i am aware no accidents which is great considering the conditions! I guess that for many it would have been their first experience of riding laps, often on their own and it was great to see so many doing the full 4 hours. That shows real stamina. Joining us for the first time was 'Lovely Lou' a friend of Ruth's. I think she enjoyed herself! I rode my first lap chasing a few, then my 2nd on my own, Garth and i fought it out on my 3rd lap and then Capt Mark joined me on my 4th to ensure i wasn't slacking! Finally my last lap, it was wonderful as i ticked off the course. I didn't see anyone except Mike as he lapped me for the 2nd time and then Ruth cut short her 6th lap to finish with me. It was over! Many thanks to all who made it happen, everyone who rode, helped with the marking out the course, bringing in the signs, and finally, Sally and Helen, (Dan and Philip Travolta's better halfs) who sat and got very cold for nearly 5 hours so we could know just how many laps we did! Thanks girls!

Dan has kindly placed some photos of the event in the picture gallery. So tho you can see 9 on the home page a full set of 40 are in the gallery. Many thanks to Matt the camera for taking them! Tom and i have had great fun making up captions . The best shot, ie the worst is, in my modest opinion one of me. Tom's comment is not really printable, i think  ”I want my mummy” is rather suitable. Matt, you will be hearing from my solicitor. You promised me you would photo shot it! I bet all of you who missed the event will be eager to join us next time eh?!

The pictures look good. Looks likes it was a it damp

Well who is ready for the next 'Debbie's Challenge?' It will take place on Sunday 13th March. Same route , nearly! Also an extra challenge. As before you can start at 9.30am  for 4 hours, or 11.30 for 2 hours, though that is only a guide line. However by hugh demand, well Mark says i have too!, there will be also  be a 6 hour challenge. Start time 8am and 2 options here. Ride for 6 hours or share the joy and do a mini Mayhem practice. Find a partner and take it in turns to ride laps. I have booked warm dry weather, a gentle breeze just so we don't get too hot and there will be no MUD ! Let me know if you are up for the challenge!

Well only a few days to go until my next Challenge. The weather is so much better, the ground is drying out well, so no excuses! Who is up for it? Let me know! Quite a few doing 6 hours, Keith doing support, i am sure there will be cakes! remember you can do as much or as little as you want. We will do again at the end of the summer so an ideal event to see how you improve over the summer! Great training for Enduro 6, mayhem, keilder 100 etc etc! Be there!

great nick. Will post on sat re time to be there. But for 8am need to be there and ready for pre ride briefing by 750am ideally

 A fair few have entered, one or two planning to make a decision on the morning! Times are, 6 hour, be there by 7.45, 4 hour , 915, 2 hour, 11.15. Keith is manning the check point from 8am and Jax and her mum, Annette will be there from  12 with cakes! Please leave any snacks with keith. Keith will give you a number and make a note of your lap times. The route will be sign posted. Remember it is not a race but a personal challenge and as Broxa is popular with walkers please slow down when passing them. The windy sunny weather this week is perfect for drying out the trails and met-check says dry but cold on Sunday. Perfect! 

I will be there for the 2 hours.

Good day out in the forest today. Warmer, drier, less windy and less muddy than last time. Many thanks to Keith for standing in the cold for four hours doing timing duties while we all raced around getting hot.

We went around the opposite way this time. I'm not sure if it was easier overall or just the conditions were better, but I think lap times were a bit lower. Mine were.

Well done to everyone who did six hours. You must be crackers!  I did 3 laps like last time, got a bit achy, thought of doing 4 or 5 laps, decided not to, and stopped. I'll only be racing for 90-120 minutes at a time during the summer - and often much less than that - so didn't feel bad about bailing on Mayhem style mileage. 

Russ the Pliers did some trail clearing en route, using a saw that he had handy (like you do). Squeak and Anvil Nick turned up on a tandem, which I think got bogged down a bit in the thick mud. A friend of Squeak's turned up on a singlespeed, which must have been purgatory in the muddy sections. Singlespeeds are nice but only when you can keep them rolling. 

I saw a few people en route. Squeak and Nick embedded in mud, Debbie at the crossover point, Orange 5 Matt on a fireroad, Paul Marr giving it some on a nice and new looking Specialized, Nigel, and Squeak's singlespeeding friend (I passed him, he passed me, then I passed him). Oh, and also Matt the Camera walking up the steep climb (I was walking too, though), and Too Tall Tom reaching for some ibuprofen at the checkpoint, before heading out again. That's dedication. 

Must've accidentally set the Garmin to record the end of each lap at 5 miles, so its lap data is all messed up. But it said that for the whole distance (i.e. 3 actual laps), the distance was 16.68 miles, with 1,096 feet (about three hundred metres of climbing). Average speed 9.1mph, max speed 25.6mph (on a flat fireroad - get in), average heart rate 167bpm. Time taken was 1:50:25 by its reckoning, so that's about 36:40 or so a lap, I think. 

Thanks for a good morning out, I speak for the 3 Squires attending when I say we all had a really fun ride. My stoker, thanks Nick, take a bow, was game for a laugh on his 1st ever tandem ride. Not a bad leap into the unknown as he was very good indeed.

Once we had set the tandem up after our first shatteringly difficult lap it was a lot easier. A pair of Surley Pugsley tyres would mean less sinking without a trace into the mud, but the downhill section was scarily fast by the last lap and the whole rig got some good air. I'm not sure if Nick saw the downhill with his eyes screwed shut, but we were in one piece at the end.

My special guest was Mark, the winner of the 2009 Rollapaluza event at Dalby (what a competition history). His legs need reconditioning for SS riding, but I'm confident of a good performance from him when we go to the Belgian Singlespeed champs next month. Drinking that is, not sure on the riding.

Lorraines energy food was excellent. I asked her for the recipe and was taken into her confidence. I'm sure she won't mind me sharing it;

'whatever I could find in the cupboard'.

Roll on the dry weather and the next one.

Now iv got all the mud out of my eyes i have realized that the fastest lap was our own Nic TEF! Well done Nic!