Battle on the Beach!

Battle on the Beach (BotB) is a 45k bike race that takes place in Pembrey Country Park, near Swansea. The 2017 race took part on the 26th of March. The race is run over 3 15k laps, the first 5k of each lap being along the beach. There are 850 places, and the event usually sells out in 24 hours, entries open on midnight on new years day. So, guess what I was doing when others were letting off fireworks and steam! Its also the British Fat Bike Championships, however whilst there were a large number of fatties present riders could also be seen on mountain bikes of every shape, including a few really ancient frames (mid 90s Orange P7 for one) and a large number of cross bikes.

The week before I found rather stressfull. I had a lot of packing to do, not just sorting out clothes but digging out the tipi and camping gear, which was scattered about the house and loft as we haven't camped for a very long time. I also had to check the bike over, fitting new brake pads and stripping and re-greasing the rear hub, which really needs new bearings after a Peak District winter but I didn't have time to source any so a dollop of grease had to suffice. I also changed the rear tyre, swapping the On-One Floater for a Schwalbe Jumbo Jim, which is lighter and faster rolling (at the expense of some grip).

The journey down, although a steady drive, took us about 5 hours. Its at times like that when I start to think about selling the Landy and buying a small van. A van would be practical and cheaper to run, but I know that I'd miss owning a Landrover, even if mine is slowly falling apart.The Landy is happiest at 50-60mph on the motorway, so I'm losing about 15-20mph over a car or van, which adds up on long journeys.

On arriving at the campsite the first job was to let out the dogs! Then the important business of erecting the tipi could start, despite not having used for a few years we managed to remember how;

Kettle on, beds made then Dani had to disappear for a marshalls meeting. As she wasn't riding Dani decided that marshalling would be a good way to spend her time. So, tea drunk, biscuits eaten, camp set up, time for a ride, or in Dani's case a run along the beach and through part of the course. I went and had a play on the beach;

On Saturday night a time trial had been organised on a shortened course. I didn't take part but did watch the start where Dani did her first marshalling stint;

After a jolly nice wood fired pizza we returned to camp and rather boringly went to bed at 10. Well, we were both tired, too tired in fact to enjoy the beer that I packed. We knew the campsite would be busy and noisy, but in fact the revellers weren't overly zealous so we enjoyed a decent nights sleep under canvas.

Sunday morning started with Dani walking the dogs on the beach whilst I boiled water on the Trangia, ready for Aldi's finest instant porridge. which is actually quite nice. Dani dissappeared off to her marshalling position whilst I drank more tea and prepared myself for my race (which mainly comprised of checking tyre pressures, chatting to folk and drinking more tea). Then the time came to head over to the start.

Not knowing what to expect when 800+ riders try to set off at the same time I decided early on to stay near the back of the bunch. We were funneled between barriers on the entrance to the beach, and being close to the back I didn't hear the start horn. Some riders in front moved forward so I did as well, in fact it wasn't until I was nearing the beach that I realised that the race had actually started.

We moved off the hard path and onto the beach, through a patch of soft sand at first until we reached firmer ground. The beach for the most part was hard packed, and fast! As I moved along I saw a couple of early DNFs, one rider on the ground (broken collerbone apparently) and another sat watching who I later found out had ripped a tyre on a shell. According to my Garmin I was moving at 28kph on the sand, which I though was rather good until I later found out that the Dutch leaders were clocked doing 28mph!

Yes I was carrying a camera! Which I managed to use on the fly.
Coming off the beach we again hit soft sand, then onto grassy sandy doubletrack. This was actually the worst section of the course, being bumpy, lumpy and just generally uncomfortable. However on the first lap there was enough banter between us riders to take our minds off the ground. Into the woods we went, soon hitting the first singletrack section. Hitting is perhaps not the right word to use, it was in fact a queue as we hit a bottleneck. Still, we had time to chat, exchanging pleasantries with Team Sumo. Yes, 3 riders did the entire 45k race in Sumo suits.

There was plenty of singletrack to enjoy along with some short sharp climbs. I saw Dani at her marshall point, she had started to worry as I didn't come through as quickly as she expected and she'd heard on the radio about the accident on the beach at the start. Soon we were out of the woods and onto the grassy marquee area where we went through the finish line and followed tarmac back to the beach and onto another lap;

Did I mention that the race leaders, from Holland, lapped me whilst I was in the woods, still on my first lap? We heard the shout 'leaders' and then they were past. Of course I was lapped several more times, but without the shouting.
On the second lap I was riding well, the course and more importantly the ground conditions were becoming familiar, and I rode with a big smile on my face. Through the finish line again and back onto the beach I went for the third and last time.
The third lap took a different route about halfway into the woods, so that the leaders could have a clear run at the end. I crossed the line in 440th overall place (183rd in my class, vet male 40-49) with a time of 2:23:06, a result that I'm very happy with.

Afterwards I met up with Dani, and we ate a lot of pizza!

The drive home was rather tiring, and again it took us about 5 hours. My calves were burning from lactic acid, which made driving quite uncomfortable especially when you're holding the accellerater in the same position for hours on end. Still, we eventually got home, emptied the Landy, drank tea, ate more pizza and went to bed for a well earned rest.

Would I do it again? Yes yes and yes again!!! I had a fantastic time, well you would wouldn't you, riding a bike on the beach and through the woods in superb weather with loads of other like minded folk. I'll be back next year for sure.

Paul.