Battle on the Beach 2018

Start line photo by San Kapil

WAAHHH! 

That’ll be the start then. 

Nearly 1000 riders running, shoving, carrying and slewing through the soft sand. My third year racing single speed and the single speed title to defend. A strong breeze blows from the south east up the beach, pushing the geared riders to speeds that a roadie would be proud of. I spin the cranks on my Kona Private Jake at dizzying velocity and glance at my watch to check heart rate, it's well into the red. Hordes of geared riders stream past me at speeds I cannot hope to match. Keep the cadence up and catch them on the single track. The headwind on the return is welcome, it slows the geared riders and I plough up the middle through the tufty grass on the double track to make up places lost on the beach.

Lap 2

I sprint for the cameras through the start/finish and with the sea on my left, head along the beach. A geared rider who I recently passed on a single track section mocks me and a couple of other riders because he is now going faster. Well done mate. 

With the exception of this poor soul the atmosphere and other riders are fantastic, my son Arran gets a tow down the beach from a rider who spots him spinning away on his singlespeed and shouts 'get on my wheel!' It's riders like that who keep us making the pilgrimage from Yorkshire each year. That along with the impeccable organisation by ACycling makes this event one of the few that we return to year after year.

Half way down the 10k expanse of beach I become aware of a strange calm. No rumbling fat bike tyres, no shouting riders and no wind noise; just a silent 130 RPM maelstrom of legs and cranks, spring sun, waves crashing. Blissful focus, lost in the moment.

Lap 3

Both wheels slide on the tarmac start finish straight adding more adrenaline to the already unaccustomedly high levels coursing through my veins. I lap a few steadier riders before descending on to the beach for the last time. Nearly there, don't give up yet I remind myself. Within sight of the MOD tower at the end of the beach I grab the rear most wheel of a threesome who are making better progress than me. Running through soft sand to exit the beach I thank the lead rider for the tow and get on with the serious job of picking more riders off. There's more space now and I can maintain a better pace on the return to the finish. I pick a few more riders off and peer through the trees hoping to see tents, a sign that the finish is near. Only a few more minutes and I hear the rumble of drums, the last few hundred metres of singletrack and I sprint to the finish line past one more rider. Done.

Just over a minute behind the winning single speeder, but quicker than last year and good training to boot. Now when's my next race? I think I enjoyed that.

Occasionally I get my race on

Gear:

Kona Private Jake Singlespeed running 44T x 19T
Hunt 4 Season Gravel Wheels shod with Schwalbe 38mm G-One Bite tubeless tyres
Genetic bars
TRP Hylex brakes
SRAM Force cranks