Further East can best be described as a grass roots cycle event. Everything is super chilled and low key, from the registration process to the start venue which involves camping in Camille’s garden the night before the start. Camille McMillan is the brain child behind the event and having run Further races in the Pyrenees for some years he launched Further East in the UK in September 2021.
The 400 mile route was developed by Josh Ibbett who has all the local knowledge of the byways and bridle paths around the region on which we were to ride. An equal mix of road and off-road riding meant most riders were on gravel bikes with an array of different tyres, bags and equipment. For some of the 22 riders this was a non-stop ride, for others including myself there would need to be an overnight stop.
It wasn’t long after the 05:00 start that the first off road section began — a Roman road heading straight for Cambridge. With very little rain in the days before the race the conditions were mostly dry but for the early morning dew. That meant the grassy byways were quite slippy. Less than an hour into the ride and I found myself horizontal on the ground having clipped the side of the track with my front wheel. Fortunately, it was a soft landing on grass and no damage done to bike or rider — this time!
Sunrise was around 6 a.m. and by then Cambridge was behind us and we were starting to see what was in store: wide open landscapes with plenty of grassy tracks to sap energy from the legs.
For the first few hours I had been riding with some of the other riders in the race but by the time I arrived at St Neots, some 100 km into the route, I was riding solo. After a quick pit stop to fill up bottles and get more food I was back on the bike with my next stop planned in Bedford 90 kilometres further down the road.
The route covers a vast range of surfaces from country roads to canal paths as well as plenty of riding on field margins over grass, gravel, mud and sand. One of the important tasks to keep on top of on these sorts of rides is to stay on route. Sounds simple but as the day goes on and you get more tired it’s really quite easy to miss a turn and go shooting past only to have to double back on yourself wasting more time and energy.
It was mid-afternoon when I was riding down a lovely gravel track that looked like it went on for quite some way. I was in the zone and failed to notice the sharp left turn my bike computer was telling me to take rather than continuing on the gravel track. At the last second I thought I could make the turn but the laws of physics had other plans and my front wheel went out from under me on the loose gravel. I landed directly on my elbow and knee and at first glance it seemed like I got away with it. Nothing more than some torn clothing and dust. It wasn’t until a few miles later that I realised I’d cut open my elbow. After some road side first aid involving a handkerchief and tape I was on my way again.
By the time the sun was setting I was 245 km (152 miles) into the race and had been riding for 14 hours. I had been trying to keep on top of my nutrition and hydration knowing that in previous rides I had got these very wrong. By now the early signs of nausea were present so I decided to take it a little easier but soon after the sun had set I started to find it really difficult to put any sort of effort into my riding. No doubt my body trying to tell me that it needed a break.
I had planned to ride to the half way mark at 320 km (200 miles) before stopping for some sleep but my body seemed to have other plans.
With the fatigue, and nausea, my progress had slowed to around 12 kph (8 mph) and on that basis I would not get to my planned half way point until around 1 a.m. some five hours away. It was very clear that tiredness had kicked in and I was going to need to stop well before the half way point. Knowing that there weren’t really any resources available at the half way mark during the middle of the night it was an easy decision to find somewhere in Market Harborough to sleep for a few hours.
Market Harborough is 278 km (173 miles) into the race route — not quite half way but close. I arrived around 22:30 after riding since 05:00 that morning not feeling too great. The hope was that a few hours sleep would reset the body and I’d be on my way again.
As it turns out Market Harborough was to be the end of the race for me. Not long after getting into the hotel room I found myself with my head down the toilet making a mess of the place! Although I’d been feeling ill while I was riding it I never felt like I needed to be sick — strange that when you give in the body does it’s own thing.
After a few hours sleep it was apparent that I was still not in good shape so I decided to scratch from the race.
I look back on this now and wonder if I could have continued the next day. I sometimes think I could have but then I remember how I felt and that there was still 350 km (220 miles) to go the next day. It was disappointing to finish off the ride this way but there is unfinished business so I’ll be back out on those grippy byways another year to find out what the rest of the route has to offer.
Many thanks to Camille for putting on the event and giving me the opportunity to ride it. It was certainly another memory-maker of an event!
The race was won by Neil Philips in 28 hours. Neil rode pretty much solo on the front of the race without any meaningful breaks. Chapeau! Josh Ibbett (31 hrs) rode in second with Simon Richardson (33 hrs) taking third.
Of the 22 starters there were 14 finishers and 8 (including me) that scratched. The last rider to finish came in at 51 hours.
More details of my ride are on Map My Tracks.
