The Rules
1st Rule of Hell of the North West, the organisers are the boss, any changes/leniency is at their call, that said, this isn’t a race.
The event, this is a self supported road event on a fixed route, you must ride the entire route and carry everything you need to complete the challenge, anything extra must be bought from a shop/café, no bag drops are allowed.
Leaving the route, if you leave the route you must inform event control where you’re leaving and inform event control as you enter where you departed, even if your detour is longer, you must return to where you departed. The only 2 towns you’re allowed to leave the route to travel through are Ambleside and Keswick.
If a road is closed, take a timestamped image, send it to event organisers and detour around, deciding to inform others about such a detour is up to yourself.
The route will be given out around two weeks prior to departure for you to study and the route is roughly accurate on the ride with GPS link currently available.
Accommodation. You can pre-book accommodation, however, this must be publicly available to everyone, a mates house for example is not allowed. Sleeping is allowed in any publicly available accommodation, be this a B&B, Hotel, Campsite or rough sleeping.
Riding, this is a solo personal challenge; however, as this is a mass depart event group riding and drafting will be allowed. Riders will be departed in groups of 10 at 10 minute intervals
The bike
Your bike must be roadworthy, contain at least two road legal lights both at the front and at the back (4 in total).
eBikes are allowed, however we feel this will be more of a hindrance than a help, most have a range of 100 miles and weigh quite a bit.
In the interest of UK weather showers, mudguards aren’t compulsory however we do advise having them fitted.
Reflective tape, we strongly advocate the use of reflective tape on your bike/bags to aid in visibility, some will be available at the start.
There will be a bike shop open and informed of the event (The Green Jersey, Taylor St, Clitheroe 01200 427630) should you need any last minute repairs/spares.
Helmets
Without starting a helmet debate, no helmet no ride.
Minimum gear
There is no minimum required list, the riders on the event we feel are experienced enough to know what they are letting themselves in for, however, we will require a “high visibility” garment to be worn during night hours. We won’t be checking the legality of this garment, nor the compliance of wearing it, you’ll be expected to wear said garment upon departure. You’ll also need a survival bag or a bivi bag.
A first aid kit is recommended and also carrying larger bags to carry more food and visit less shops.
Insurance
As requested in the event screening, you must have your own insurance from the likes of British cycling, we will be checking upon sign on, no insurance, no ride.
GPS tracking
GPS Trackers will be provided for the event.
A word of warning, your GPS until will quite possible crash at the area around Bolton Abbey, keep an eye on your unit and a simple off and on will fix this.
Quitting and self reliance
This is a self supported event, any quitting will require you to make your own way back to Longridge, we won’t pick you up. If you do scratch, please let us know ASAP.
What we will advise is, don’t scratch at night, or first thing in the morning, have a break, eat, get warm, take some painkillers if you’re sore and then see about carrying on.
Any medical attention will require you to seek your own assistance. Any mechanical problems will require you to fix it/seek own assistance.
If you see another rider down, we will expect you to check they’re OK, if you see another rider going in the opposite direction, we will expect you to;
A, check you’re going in the right direction
B, If yes to A, laugh at said rider and carry on, if no to A, swear and turn around, if you catch up to the rider, pretend you dropped something….
Compulsory break.
In the interest of your own safety you’re required to take a mandatory minimum 3 hour break at some point during the event. You must message HQ to let them know you’re stopping for your 3 hour break and when you’re starting again.
Checkpoints:
We will have a brevet card with questions and will require photo uploads as proof of passage along with your GPS tracker. The photo must be time stamped and sent to us as soon as possible. We won’t be checking for cheating as this is a personal challenge set out to adults.
If you DNS or drop out prior to the start, a refund or partial refund will be decided by the event organiser and is not guaranteed.
DIY the event
Riders can start at any point on the course, but must ride it in the correct direction and finish where they started.
Riders must buy a paper from the day they’re starting and use this on selfies at checkpoints.
Riders must email their intention to DIY the event a week prior to setting off so we can post instructions out.