Three peaks by bike: Prep and kit check
The Three Peaks challenge is an iconic event in the UK, people try to climb the tallest mountain in each of Wales, England and Scotland in as little time as possible, usually under 24 hours driving to the base of each mountain. It was during lockdown 2.0 when I was looking for a goal to set myself so that I could remain motivated through the winter months. Some digging revealed that there was a long history of tackling the three peaks by bike and the current record was held by Ross Malpass. his 2017 attempt was completed in a time of 37hours 33mins. You can read about his efforts here.
By now the route was fairly standardised and would cover a total of around 680km on the road bike and 40km or so “running” up the hills. The only major alteration is that I will be traversing Scafell starting in Langdale and heading down to Seathwaite. This will cut out about 20km of riding which is not to be sniffed at. All of the routes can be found on my strava page here. The event is fully supported so I will have the luxury of a crew following me in the Hunt van and a support runner up the mountains.
Having had a clear idea of what was required of me I had a solid six months to prepare myself, one of my primary targets was to build my running fitness back up to where it was when I was racing triathlon. A spring marathon seemed like a good idea as a mid-way point and gauge of form so I booked myself into the Dorney marathon. The build up to this was solid and structured and whilst I was running a good amount the majority of my work was still on the bike. Running a 2:28 confirmed that I was in the best running form of my life.
Since Dorney I have been focussing getting time in the saddle and vertical meters gained running. Early starts and late evenings allowed me to stick to around 15 hours a week or so training which I was pleased with. I even managed to sneak a few days up in snowdonia to recce and get some photos up Snowdon. Two weeks ago I raced the TrailX off road Duathlon which entailed a 10km trail run, 21km XC MTB and 7km trail run to finish. Unfortunately I came off the bike overtaking someone and ended up in A&E to get 11 stitches in my knee and arm. maybe not the wisest move. Nonetheless, I won the event and felt fast. The downside was that I had to take a complete week off to let everything heal. Whilst this could have been worse I didn’t exactly come at the right time. Either way, I am fully recovered now and ready to go.
The Three peaks will be my first event to be fully supported so preparing my kit was different to normal and I have been able to pack everything that I could possibly need rather than the bare minimum.
Arguably the most important kit is the bike and I will be using a Mason Definition with Ultegra Di2 fitted out with Hunt Limitless 48 wheelset.. My front end is from Deda, most notably, I’ll be using Deda’s new Jet One Clip on aerobars which are both super fast and comfy. Full spec list below.
Fingers crossed the weather will be on my side and I will be able to wear the DHB Aeron skinsuit but if the weather turns or during the night Ill have plenty of spare DHB kit to keep me warm and dry. Out on the run I have packed a couple of pairs of shoes so I can switch it up if needed as well as poles to reduce the impact on my legs and allow me to use my upper body to help.
Nutrition is probably the other main concern, an event of this length is just on the limit of what I can do off mostly simple sugars so I will be mixing it up the plan is to consume 80-90 grams of carbohydrates an hour which will consist of a gel, a bar and bottle of drink mix all from my nutrition sponsor Rawvelo as well as one other thing, be that a sandwich, some crisps or if i’m lucky some marzipan. This is what I have been practicing and my stomach can take it no bother. I also have some freezedried meals from Firepot that might be needed to get me through the night. Like with all of my kit I have done my best to keep it super organised so that it makes finding things in a hurry as as quick as possible.
The other key item is my Spot tracker, needed both to validate the record but also so that people can follow me. You can find the tracking page in the “Event tracking” tab at the top or by using this URL.
https://angus-young.co.uk/event-tracking
Feel free to share it with anyone who may be interested and if I pass by you a wave and a cheer would be greatly appreciated :)
Full klit list:
The bike:
Frame: Mason Definition 56cm lens blue.
Groupset: Shimano Ultegra di2 with 52/36 chainrings 11/32 cassette
Wheels: Hunt Limitless 48 with Ceramicspeed bearings
Tyres: Continental GP5000TL 28mm set up tubeless with Stans Race sealant.
Brakes: Shimano Ultegra hydraulic calipers with 160/140mm Dura ace rotors
Cockpit: Deda zero100 100mm stem, Deda zero100 42cm Bars, Deda Jet One Clip on aerobars.
Pedals: Favero Assioma Duo powermeter.
Saddle: Dash Strike
Seatpost: Mason Penta
Lights: Daytime Exposure Trace/TraceR, Night Exposure Sixpack, Toro, Diablo
Clothing from DHB
Aeron LAB Skinsuit
Aeron LAB shoes
Rain Defence jersey
Assorted baselayers x6
Aeron LAB All winter softshell jersey
Aeron LAB Equinox jersey
Aeron insulated gillet
Tempo FLT waterproof jacket
Aeron mitts, with Elastic interface padding :)
Polartech winter gloves x2
Arm and leg warmers
Buff
Polartech winter cap
Winter bib tights
Aeron Ultra jersey
Aeron Ultra bib shorts
A load of socks
Garmin 530
Garmin HRM-Pro heartrate strap
Kask protone helmet
Julbo Ultimate reactive sunglasses
The Run
Shoes: Salomon Speedcross 5/ On Running Cloudventure peak
LEKI carbon microtrail poles.
DHB ultra hydration pack with Salomon soft flasks
Clothing from DHB
Aeron Run Leggings x2
Aeron liner shorts x3
Aeron ultra tshirt
Aero long sleeve tshirt
Aeron tshirt
Aeron run socks
Run cap
buff
Run fleece
Mountain hardware waterproof (heavy but you never know)
Emergency blanket, small first aid kit etc
Lube
Garmin Fenix 5 plus watch
Nutrition:
Rawvelo Bars assorted flavours x40
Rawvelo gels assorted x60
Rawvelo drink mix 4 packs
Marzipan
Firepot meals x4
250g Columbian Coffee beans + grinder/clever dripper
Chocolate bars assorted
Crisps assorted
Wraps,
Bannanas, apples
Coke
winegums, jelly babies, m&ms etc
Misc
Spot tracker
Jerry can
Gopro
first aid kit
walkie talkies
large thermos
pump
dryrobe
all the chargers and batteries
bike maintenance kit
What have I missed off?