Detours, illness and the Colorado Trail race

Detours, illness and the Colorado Trail race

By Shaggy

Detours, illness, and the Colorado Trail Race, navigating obstacles on a rugged trail.

Done! That was amazing. Super hard.

5 days 15hrs and 10th place, I think. Very ill the first few days but got myself sorted and nailed all the hard sections to make up a lot of time. Shame I added some bonus miles, but it least it was a fun ride.

Lots of people asked about 10th place. It’s a bit complicated as there was a detour early on that some riders took and others didn’t. Joey and I came in joint 9th over the line but I think I get a bit added on as he rode the actual trail but I took the detour. I think the 8th on the tracker doesn’t include the 2 girls that beat me. Dunno, doesn’t really matter. Happy with that.

Just had breakfast with a bunch of the racers and bought some non-lycra clothing. Very content.

Bikepacking Bags

  • New

Forester Toploader Forester Toploader

Forester Toploader

Limited edition canister handlebar bag: UK made, weatherproof, 4L
£69.99

  • New

Forester Gravel Bag Forester Gravel Bag

Forester Gravel Bag

Limited edition handlebar bag with roll-top closure: UK made, weatherproof, 5L expandable capacity
£64.99

  • New

Forester Fuel Pod Forester Fuel Pod

Forester Fuel Pod

Limited edition top tube bag: UK made, weatherproof, available in 3 sizes
£44.99

  • New

Forester Fuel Pod Long Forester Fuel Pod Long

Forester Fuel Pod Long

Limited edition extra-long top tube bag: UK made, weatherproof, 1.25L
£54.99

Your next reads

Top 10 UK Bikepacking Adventures

Mountain biking expert and freelance writer Hannah Collingridge gives us her top 10 recommendations for UK bikepacking adventures. Hannah's guide t...
May 20, 2023

Bikepacking, an Eco-Friendly Approach

Itzi Aldecoa Tamayo tells us about her recent trip to Barcelona, reflecting on her approach to being more eco-friendly when bikepacking. I am not ...
June 08, 2023

Sturgeon Odyssey - Finale

You can only hold onto memories, those fleeting moments of time, knowing that - like the prized photo you leave on the wall - it will slowly bleach...
July 27, 2023

Back to Average

Ian Palmer, one of our Alpkiteers, tells the story of his return to racing after years out, and what that means in your 50s. After a brief foray in...
October 27, 2022

Off-Road Family Bikepacking

After a summer of nursery runs I decided to take Dadpacking to the next level. I plotted my young family’s first multi-day trailer touring trip. We...
May 24, 2023
Are You Tough Enough

Are You Tough Enough

Last Sunday in some nice warm conditions I raced the Army Cycling Union's - Are You Tough Enough event, in the 4 hours Single Speed category. The r...
July 22, 2013

Tom Seipp film wins

There we were amongst all the glitterati of outdoor folk at Kendal Mountain Festival, sneaking around keeping out the way and minding our own busin...
November 23, 2016
SET 2 RISE 2009 : 12 hour Enduro

SET 2 RISE 2009 : 12 hour Enduro

With my race calendar looking decidedly thin on the ground and a few previous weeks of getting hammered at shorter distance events I decided it was...
May 28, 2009

A festive bike ride

Over the Christmas break Alpkit customer Mark Fearn made sure he got out in the snow. "Where we live (at 1500 feet , right up in the corner of Cum...
January 22, 2015

Jenny Graham

Jenny holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest woman to circumnavigate the planet by bike. 18,000 miles unsupported in 124 days 11 hou...
April 21, 2022

Rovaniemi 150 - 2013 Mountain bike race

I slumped over my bike, head spinning and the taste of sick in my mouth. As I looked around in the snow-scape that surrounded me. There was no-one ...
March 08, 2013
Kielder 100 - a hard days work

Kielder 100 - a hard days work

Everything is bigger and better in America (apparently). they drive bigger cars. have bigger houses. eat bigger burgers and until the people at sip...
September 08, 2009

Stu Taylor

Stu Taylor a seasoned self-supported endurance rider on the bike packing circuit, having completed most of the epic gruelling events such as the Si...
January 17, 2020

Electrify your ride with the all new Shimano GRX2 Di2 groupset

Be among the first in the world to ride Shimano's NEW GRX2 Di2. Seamless and reliable shifting, a clean wireless cockpit, and heaps of customisation options. Available on our award-winning Camino Ti and our new Sedona gravel race bike. With finance and Cycle to Work options available.
May 23, 2024

Going coast to coast

Earlier this year the Alpkit Foundation was pleased to support a project involving a group of five residents from the Amber Foundation that would c...
December 22, 2016

Huffing and Puffing: A Strathpuffer story of endurance

After our introduction to Strathpuffer in 2018, we couldn't wait to head back up North for the 2019 edition of this legendary 24hr mountain bike ra...
January 25, 2019
Back to bike school

Back to bike school

A month ago Jim asked me if a wanted to go on a Jumps and Drops mnt bike course at Llandegla, my initial thoughts were that I didn’t really need to...
June 30, 2008
Forced to Rethink

Forced to Rethink

It’s strange how things turn out sometimes isn’t it? Since our last post for Alpkit we’ve cycled down through Spain, crossed via ferry from Malaga ...
March 07, 2011

Phatboys MTB Club

Dave Borthwick got in touch, he runs a mountain bike club in the Scottish Highlands. Here's a snippet of what they get upto- "Our club meets every ...
March 20, 2017

Emma Pooley

We’re absolutely thrilled to have Emma Pooley on the Sonder bike team! Emma Pooley is one of Great Britain’s most respected and successful road cyc...
October 23, 2020

Jenny Graham on Instagram vs. Reality

Text by Jenny Graham. Pictures by Johny Cook. My Sonder Camino was loaded with all my bike-packing favourites as I left my home in the Highlands of...
June 01, 2022

Adventure Pedlars - A company born out of a 20,000km bike ride:

Adventure Pedlars - A company born out of a 20,000km bike ride: Back in 2012, Pete & Alice McNeil set out from the Peak District on a Honeymoon...
June 27, 2016

Katie Tunn

Katie is an artist and amateur marine conservationist who moved from London to the Isle of Skye in 2015 in pursuit of a lifestyle more in tune with...
January 17, 2020

BOB 2013

This year, The Depot: Nottingham will be hosting the fourth Battle of Britain. The much anticipated bouldering competition is set to place at The D...
October 15, 2013

Pedalling The Planet - 10 Days In

18,000 miles around the world, 100 days, 19 year old Bournemouth University student Vedangi Kulkarni is 10 days into pedalling the planet and we've...
July 27, 2018

A Blacka Moor Dig Day

Helping support trail maintenance as part of a co-operation between outdoor users and environmental groups to look after our natural places.
November 04, 2020

Winter Miles For...

We chatted to Alpkiteer Ian Palmer about how his winter training. He promises us that it's a lot more fun than it sounds! It's the starting point o...
December 16, 2022

Goodnight 2020 campout by Stu Taylor

Inspired by Bikepacking.com I decided that their Good Night 2020 camp out was the perfect adventure tonic I needed to get me out during this strang...
May 09, 2017

Neil Cottam

Mechanical Engineer, mountain biker, Outdoorist, and traveller with a penchant for the offbeat or unusual. Blogger, tree Hugger, bookworm, earthlin...
May 10, 2020

Holiday vs New Bike?

‘So Hannah, what will it be, a holiday or a tandem?' Easy answer for my bike mad seven year old. A trip to Alpkit HQ for a demo, emails to address ...
February 21, 2018

When Jack met Vera

When Jack met Vera. One March morning, I met up with Sonder rider Vera Ngosi-Sambrook for a ride on some Welsh singletrack near Cardiff. The weathe...
March 22, 2023

A Calling to the Arctic, part 2

We see snowmobiles in the darkness, parked off the trail, and then head torches suddenly blind my poor night vision. Check point 5: the furthest po...
March 06, 2018

Mountain Mayhem

In usual fashion the 69er crew rocked up to the Mountain Mayhem site near Ledbury, in glorious weather – after getting our base set up (we chucked ...
June 27, 2008

Unexpected turns and hidden talents

Thanks toBobfor getting in touch with us and sharing his tale of twists and turns in the road. The whole team has been inspired by the tale. This ...
April 17, 2019

MTB Marathon Round 4

The MTB Marathon Series has come to a close after a spectacular fourth and final round at the weekend. Set in the Hope Valley, on Alpkit home turf,...
September 05, 2017

Après-adventure training interview

Back in November, some of the Alpkit team went on an excursion to the Peak District to embark on some bike packing training. Led by Hathersage Stor...
January 02, 2019

Scott Swalling

Mountain and gravel biker, rock and ice climber. Sometime skier, prefer off-piste and ski mountaineering (average at both). Ultimately love being o...
December 17, 2020

Race around Britain - by handbike

Alpkiteer Mel Nicholls has set off on her latest ultra endurance challenge and record-attempt, taking on her Race Around Britain - The Long Road Ho...
August 19, 2021

A sturgeon odyssey

One Average Spoke; just an average bloke. Cycling across Eurasia for sturgeon. We hear back on Matt's first part of a journey that would end up bei...
June 22, 2023

Wheel Potential

We can't quite put our fingers on what it is about cycling that gives us that feeling of exhilaration; but whether we're blasting it down the hills...
June 01, 2017

Trusty Kit

Stu sent us these lovely words, thanks Stu! "Hullo Alpkit folks! Just returned from a fab weekend away down to Swanage in Dorset to meet 2 proper l...
July 19, 2017

Alastair Humphreys

Alastair Humphreys is a British Adventurer, Author and Blogger. He spent over 4 years cycling round the world, a journey of 46,000 miles through 60...
May 31, 2019

Join us at the Sonder May Bank Holiday Demo weekend at Glentress

Join Us for the Sonder Bank Holiday Demo Weekend at Glentress! Think mountain biking has had its day? Think again! The thrill of the ride is very m...
April 25, 2024

Focus with Steve Bate now available to rent

Steve Bate is a Paralympic cyclist and a member of our Alpkiteer team. Last year Chris Prescott of Dark Sky Media decided to tell his story. The fi...
December 03, 2018

In the Frame Update

Since we first caught up with Joe he has been cracking on with his preparation for his upcoming In the Frame challenge. a 450 mile journey, startin...
July 29, 2013

Sonder Storybook 2019 Comp Now Open

Do you like exploring trails and back roads on your Camino? What about hitting the trails and pushing the limits on your Transmitter? Maybe you pre...
June 07, 2019

Mountain Bikepacking

My name is Benji Haworth. I've been getting away with being a freelance photographer and writer for a few years now. I specialise in mountain bike ...
February 19, 2013

Vin's Battle on the Beach 2014 MTB race

A successful contest between MTB, Fat-Bike, and ‘Cross bikes on a gem of a course where the venue offered something for all types of rider, spectat...
March 19, 2014

Twentyfour12 2013

On the 26th July, Dan and I packed the van and headed for Newham Park, Plymouth for the Bontrager Twentyfour12, Dan as my new pitch manager for the...
August 12, 2013

Strathpuffer 2016 Mountain bike race

We met Rich and Tom last year when took on the infamous Strathpuffer 24hr mountain bike race. Well they returned for another year as Tom sets his s...
January 26, 2016

Preparing for Rovaniemi 150

I look at the forecast, it reads -19. All sorts of thoughts run through my mind about what it will feel like on the start line in just under a week...
February 13, 2018

A Calling to the Arctic, part 1

I tell Ibrahim to turn on the GoPro, and I turn my head and watch bikers, skiers, and runners disappearing past us up the frozen river in the flat ...
March 06, 2018

Rara Hurrah

On his extended visit to Nepal,Neil Cottam starts by heading into the trickier to reach Rara National Park. A familiar cacophony of sounds greeted ...
October 24, 2016

A helping hand for Helping Paws

A few months back my friend Phil Evans came up with the hare-brained idea that it might be good to do something hare-brained to raise some money fo...
May 12, 2018

Liam's MTB Marathon

Living on the edge of the Peak District, I have a plethora of great trails at my disposal. In fact, with the bridleways and old railway lines of No...
June 04, 2018

Detours, illness and the Colorado Trail race

Done! That was amazing. Super hard. 5 days 15hrs and 10th place, I think. Very ill the first few days but got myself sorted and nailed all the hard...
August 22, 2011

A Winter's Training Tale Part 1

In early December, a group of our Support and Store Heroes went on a wintry training adventure with our Sonder and Alpkit Product Design Teams. Day...
December 20, 2017

Rich And Tom Seipp

A father and son team taking on adventures. Minipips is Tom, a boy who loves cycling. He takes his dad Rich, he too enjoys riding bikes and other o...
May 10, 2020

Yoga for Adventure Cyclists

A March holiday to northern Spain turned into 6 weeks of enforced lockdown for Adventure Pedlars’ Pete and Alice McNeil. With their bookings calend...
April 29, 2020

Giving time on a bike

Life Cycle UK is a charity with a mission “to get more people cycling, to transform lives and the environment.” from repairing old bikes, helping p...
November 26, 2020

Mel Nicholls

Mel Nicholls is a Sonder rider and Alpkiteer. 2008 saw an end to her marathon and adventure racing goals when a stroke turned her focus down a para...
January 17, 2020

Dan Milner

Dan Milner is mature enough to remember, and be nostalgic about, Sony Walkmans, rigid mountain bikes and red telephone boxes. Most people will know...
May 10, 2020

Riding all the OS Maps

In 2022, Mark Wedgwood achieved the unique feat of cycling 7,300 miles across all 204 OS Landranger maps - in numerically ascending order. I am fas...
April 21, 2023

The Essence of Adventure | Moments of Kindness

We asked our customers to share with us their moments of kindness in the outdoors. Here's one from Matt who ended up staying mid-cycle tour in a st...
November 23, 2022

When Jack met Stu

One wet windy March morning I met with Stu Taylor in the Wheelbase Carpark in Staveley. His head was upright, he has been letting his neck recover,...
April 08, 2023

Sturgeon Odyssey - the middly bit

Following on from the start of his journey, Matt gets stuck into the next stage of his sturgeon odyssey. "Intentionally or not we carve out so litt...
July 12, 2023

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

3 - 1 =