All Points North 2022 Race Report
All Points North 2021 was the first ultra-distance race I had completed, so I’m not sure if it was the lure of a local race or if it was because I wanted to finish stronger than last year. Either way, as soon as registrations opened, I knew I wanted to attempt the All Points North 2022 event.
Once again, the checkpoints were stubbornly & unevenly located at the most awkward of locations around the north of England. As a local, this race takes me to parts of the North I wouldn’t otherwise visit. The beauty, or main challenge, of All Points North 2022 is that you must plan your own route in its entirety – there is no fixed parcour. Its 10 checkpoints, the rest is up to you. Long & flat or short & hilly? It doesn’t matter how confident in you are in your route, once you start chatting before the race, you’ll end up questioning yourself – a bit like before an exam at school, you know, that kid who everyone assumes to be the clever one who knows everything!
The graphic, courtesy of All Points North, shows just how much each of the riders routes differ.
At approximately 1’000km, with multiple categories to suit individual ambition, All Points North makes for a fantastic introduction to ultra-distance racing. In the ‘solo’ category, you have those who will see it as their ‘A’ race for the year & those using it as springboard for other targets later in the year; whereas in the rookie category, you have those riding without race pressure – whether they’re new to long distance riding, or looking for a new individual challenge. I love this event for those reasons, how it brings people together & the folks at A Different Gear create a welcoming, vibrant atmosphere.
Pre-Race
I had several ‘A’ races in mind for 2022, so I guess I wasn’t really sure if this fell into the B or even C category – the fact the dates ended up 15 days before the Hope1000 meant it fell firmly into the C category. When I planned my calendar, I wasn’t sure what the Covid19 restrictions would be for traveling overseas. I was hedging my bets that travel to Switzerland in June would be unimpeded – APN22 would therefore have become an ‘A’ race if I couldn’t get to Switzerland.
Spring was quite a tricky time for me. I had trained really well over winter, getting lots of long slow endurance rides in; high volume and low intensity. I began turning the screw and increasing that intensity into early spring ahead of the Dales Divide, where unfortunately I aggravated what I felt was only a small niggle.
I recall only too well what happened in the 2021 Dales Divide, I pushed too hard for too long & lost 3 months of riding all summer. I wasn’t up for doing that again, nor was I up for calling my Dad & asking for a lift home again! I’ve learned just how much ultra-distance can take out of you, that you can’t race it nearly as frequently as short format events. You’re either 100% there or not at all, racing at 95% will only accelerate damage to the underlying problem.
I got what I wanted out of the Dales Divide; some racing in the legs. It was only 150km, but 150km against some top riders under race conditions is valuable experience. I could gauge where my performance was at & what I didn’t like about my bike/equipment set up. I was very happy with my physical condition (niggles aside!) & identified a few tweaks to make to my kit choices, so all in all, a grand day out. I’d quote some motivational bollocks about how we learn more from failure etc., but yeah, everything’s a lesson if you learn & take action from it.
My main goals for All Points North 2022 were similar; a sounding board for my route planning choices & equipment ahead of TransPyrenees later in the year – a road race that follows similar principles of planning your own route. What the Dales Divide didn’t give me was any experience racing at night, with a light weight, front-of-race oriented set up. That said, the primary goal was not to get injured after spending a few weeks focusing on physio & repair!
Race
All week the forecast had been fantastic ahead of the race weekend. I set off to Sheffield in good spirits, excited to meet other riders & be in an environment surrounded by like minds. Naturally when I arrived & got talking, it became apparent very quickly that all the talk was about the weather & which way to go about the route.
The forecast had changed. The western side of the country was due to get battered by rain overnight. I had planned my route to tackle the western checkpoints & all the big climbs first. To change or not to change was the big debate. I had planned my kit, my sleep & resupply strategy around this route choice & predicted weather. Experience tells me last minute changes rarely work out; better to stick to the plan & work with variables within your control.
A Different Gear court yard becomes a hive of activity on the afternoon before the race; the sound of freehubs, kit & route debates, brews drunk & carbs consumed! This pre-race environment is one of my favourite aspects of ultra-distance racing, meeting friends new & old.
Since the All Points North 2022 event was to take place in June, rather than September (2021 event was rescheduled due to Covid), the daylight hours would be significantly increased. I therefore opted to drop the dynamo & run battery powered lights. At approximately 1000km, 48 hours was my target time – therefore I didn’t much in way of battery power to maintain 2x front & rear lights, my GPS & phone.
8pm soon rolled around. The race out of Sheffield is a hectic game of cat & mouse, people criss-crossing routes. Following your own GPS rather than taillights isn’t easy! I headed north west, back towards Hebden Bridge & up to Pendle Hill as my first CP. How ridiculous, I live 10km from Pendle Hill – I ride over it most days on my commute! The last few weeks I’d been deliberately leaving my steel toe capped safety shoes, laptop & just about anything else heavy in my panniers for additional resistance training – naturally this climb up Pendle was somewhat easier!
I was on my home roads – as well as I know these roads, I had to remember it was still 900km & 9 more checkpoints worth of racing in front of me. The drizzle had started at the top of Pendle & was getting progressively heavier as I made my way across the Dales to Skyreholme. Most riders took the A59 here as a faster route – as a local, I hate riding on that road. Its lethal enough in daylight with its 60mph limit on single lanes & blind bends. In the dark, in the wet; no thanks. The event organisers discourage riding certain roads, the A66 being the main one. I would implore the organisers to completely ban certain roads, like Lost Dot do with the Transcontinental & TransPyrenees.
Getting to the location of the checkpoints is one thing, actually finding them is another! The race manual provides GPS coordinates of the checkpoint, the brevet card issued on race day then has a question which must be answered. The question relates to a landmark at the checkpoint. When you’re tired, fatigued & probably cold or wet, these fairly simple questions become a chore. In a race that doesn’t enforce mandatory sleep breaks, I think this mental challenge is a brilliant way of understanding whether you’re in a fit enough state to continue riding, or if you need a rest.
8 hours into the race & the rain was properly coming down. I made the decision to get some sleep in Kettlewell before I became too wet & cold, then continue 90mins later at first light. The audaxers amongst you will know of the shelter next to the Kettlewell public toilet! I rolled out my inertia x-frame sleeping pad, pulled on my insulated jacket & wrapped myself in an reflective emergency blanket. Not glamorous, but it works.
At first light, it wasn’t any drier – but I had retained much of my warmth. I began the climb up Kidstones, aiming for the Semerwater checkpoint. I wouldn’t say in my element at this point, but comfortable. I’ve ridden through the night before, I knew the roads & well, as a northerner, acclimatised to the weather. The route over the to Lakes was uninteresting, the world hadn’t woken up yet & it was still raining. My route choice brought me into Windermere & would take me over Wrynose via the Langdales.
From my kayaking days I know Ulpha is about the most awkward place to get to in the North West. It also has a superb rain catchment area, meaning the Duddon & Esk come up pretty quick – great for whitewater kayaking, not so much for ultra-distance road racing! I’d often heard Wrynose from the east is harder than Hardknott from the west; I can confirm its fair comparison. Whilst Hardknott has bends with 30%+ ramps, Wrynose (from the east) doesn’t have bends – it’s just a long, gradual pain in the backside which gets steeper as you get more tired! The checkpoint at Ulpha meant I got to experience the delights of Wrynose from both sides, as it was also the easiest way to go north from that checkpoint. It still hadn’t stopped raining.
It was heading over Dunmail Raise, past Thirlmere where the negative thoughts started creeping in. It was Friday the 3rd of June, Navad 1000 started in 15 days’ time on the 18th June. I had raced all night, covering nearly 400km & over 6000m elevation in the rain, in the dark, under race conditions. I was mindful that recovery from big efforts takes longer – the bigger the effort, the more recovery.
I’d spent a few weeks recovering from aggravation of underlying niggles & had a big ‘A’ race, one which I was financially invested in, only two weeks later meant I was considering scratching. I don’t like to scratch, not when I know I can continue. But from Penrith my route headed up into the Scottish borders to Bamburgh Castle – as much as I wanted to ride up there, should my underlying niggles resurface, its about the hardest place to get home from!
My Dad probably would’ve told me where to go had I asked for a lift from there.
I wasn’t happy about it, but the lure of a train from Penrith to Sheffield was too enticing. I had got what I wanted to out of the race & could leave without injuries resurfacing. I had satisfied my race objectives. I didn’t like that it was 2/2 DNF’s in 2022. I was conflicted, whether I should be contempt with what I’d gained in experience, or disappointed in what I lacked in finishing.
I guess being process oriented, learning & developing is better than obtaining a goal. Chasing goals can lead to taking shortcuts, ignoring what your body is telling you in pursuit of pushing to do what it takes to finish. Circumstantially, I made the decision I felt most appropriate. Needless to say, I’ll make sure in future that my event calendar is better planned!
Thoughts
One of the main things I’d taken away from All Points North 2022 is that 2x drivetrains are stupid. Top end speed isn’t needed in ultra-distance; if you’re going at 35kph+, you don’t need to expend extra effort to go any faster. Front derailleurs are the fiddliest things to fix – if I can get same the same, if not better, low-end gears to suit my high cadence pedalling & with less to maintain, why wouldn’t I go 1x with a wide rage rear cassette.
Aerobars were something I wish I’d experimented with in this race. In last year’s APN event, I suffered with numbness in my outermost fingers & toes from constant pressure on the same contact points. Its not so much the aero gains, but the comfort from offering a different position & therefore pressure release. I had solved the foot problem with new shoes & custom insoles from Matt Hallam. I would later find on Hope 1000 that I hadn’t solved it in my hands.
My biggest regret from the All Points North 2022 event is that I didn’t pack a heavier set up, one that was more touring focussed, such that I could ride slower for longer & simply enjoy touring the route. I’d done the hard bit with the climbs in the Dales & was looking forward to riding along the east coast. I haven’t deleted my route files; maybe its an audax type thing that I’ll come back to.
