I first heard about FURTHER ELEMENTS in January 2023 , as I’m singed up for Camille McMillan's (the main man behind the whole Further thing) newsletter.
What got me in was the date, as I really like riding on the edge of Autumn and Winter, the place, as I have never been to Scotland really but always wanted to be there. And the last thing was how it was advertised, that it was going to be built mostly from the road sections with necessary off-road connections between them.
I knew Camille’s other events from the stories, media, and social media, and I do realize what they look like, and what they have included. I didn’t check it on my own skin but generally, I could imagine lots of very bad roads, hike-a-bike, bike carrying, slow going, river crossing and some relentless stuff, so-called “art for the sake of art only”.
I didn’t really want that, but the slogan behind Further Elements, “There will be a lot of roads” was buying me in. Don't get me wrong here, I do like the hard stuff. I ride a lot in terrain where there is no other option than simply walk it, but if I was going to see Scotland for such a short race, I simply wanted it to be as much enjoyable, as the 500 km in one go can be.
And also, having a chance to see Further, meet Camille, and simply be part of something new, sounded interesting, and I did sign up.
An interesting format, with required gear and kit was implemented. All of us had to camp outside, the night before the race start, and by doing this we assured Camille, that we are ready for another camp out on the course.
I really liked that, even if I went for minimalistic option, and chose a bivvi setup with not the warmest sleeping bag. I simply didn't have anything else in hand, and I have to admit, that I didn't sleep like a baby.
But the whole thing got us riders a little bit closer together, before the race even started.
First some data and a short race recap
I finished as third rider home, rode 460km, climbed 6592m and all of that took me 31H25M.
It was 4 hours and 40 minutes behind Neil Phillips and Laurens Ten Dam, who finished the race first being awarded a draw.
How did it go in detail?
Well, it was a short race, and because of that it was fast. We started as a group, following a truck of the organization, and after some minutes we were let go to ride on our own.
We all could feel the excitement and a call for a proper adventure, as both, the weather forecast, and the route we have been given, weren't promising a nice and easy ride across the Cairngorms, Scotland.
The gravel was smooth at first and the fast boys set up a super strong pace from the very beginning.
Neil and Laurens started smashing the gravel, so I was like: “OK, I have to push hard to keep up with them”. But, as hard as it is to say, I definitely didn’t have it with me that morning, and simply couldn’t keep up to stay in for the win.
The silly but painful fact was that I did put on too many layers at the start and I had to stop after 20 minutes or so, to take off some clothing, as I was boiling. A rookie mistake.
Everybody was super excited about how cold it was last night and how wet Scotland is at the moment, and I definitely took this to my head too much, and didn't calculate the 300+ wats on the clock at the beginning of the race. Hehe.. anyway, that was when I lost contact with them, and from there I was only trying to catch up.
After an hour of chasing, I managed to have my eyes on the fast group, but as they were all riding together for some time, and the headwind was super strong, there was no chance for me to catch and join them and after midday, I was done.
I had to compose myself and simply continue, hoping for a better time later on.
The first hours it wasn't rainy, and that was the best time in the whole race to enjoy the amazing landscape we were going into. I was forcing my race focused mind to stop worrying about the position, but instead simply enjoying the ride as much as I could.
The rain came in the evening and it was strong, cold, solid, and from that moment never really ending untill the finish line.
I had my first stop during the race, on km180 in a Co-op, where nearly everybody stopped. I had a coffee, a few sandwiches, changed my base layer and this was when I noticed my SPOT GPS tracker wasn’t blinking. I was trying to fix it, changing batteries etc, but it died for good. I’ve changed my base layer for winter conditions and added a winter jacket, under my rain shell.
The night brought me fresh power, the weather got worse and that was when my time came and I did manage to climb up positions, back to the podium.
It wasn’t an easy ride at all, but I have to admit that I felt good during the night. I was crossing the Cairngorms, without much knowledge about what’s the landscape around me.
The weather for the ride was as expected. It was raining a lot, and I could easily call these extreme conditions.
The UK MET office set up a yellow weather warning in the area we were passing through, so it was definitely a hard one. Some roads were flooded, some I had to go around, one bridge was closed, and we had to use some nasty detours, where riding on a gravel bike was nearly impossible.
It was still beautiful, and with a special mindset it could be even called, fun. This is how I survived all the hard, boggy, flooded and dangerous sections. Because of the love to what we call adventure riding.
A bit over halfway my Shimano Di2 stopped shifting, I connected it to the power bank and finished the route with a cable plugged in. It was hard to keep the cable plugged in on the rough terrain. I had to stop here and there to fix it. It was pretty annoying.
After the sunrise on my second stop, at km348 where I had another sandwich stop, I added an extra base layer to the whole setup, and at km 460, after 31 hours of rain and cold, I had the following layers on me:
- two base layers
- a warm jersey
- a winter jacket
- a rain jacket
and I was pretty pleased with my body temperature regulation. The key to success with this type of weather and also the type of clothing that I’m using is that you have to keep moving. This is when the garments are working.
I was happy to be on the finish line!
The route impressions
If you would like to hear about how the track/the route was like, I have to admit that you'll better be ready for hard and rough stuff rather than some premium gravel roads with a lot of tarmac.
But you know what, it was great, especially if you enjoy adventure riding, crazy stuff, surprising yourself, laughing about the struggles and challenging your perseverance. Yes, it was a track to remember.
I already mentioned multiple river crossings right? Actually, I loved them and they are really justified when you are building the loop. If there is a river on the way, you have to cross it at some point.
It was simply fun. Crazy fun, but fun.
When I say that the route was rough I meant the tough stuff, rocky and “slow-steep” downhills, bogs and marshlands crossing, or super bad double tracks, are better suited for mountain bikes rather than gravel. I did push my bike with 35C Pirelli Cinturato M tires at some sections, and I’m really surprised that they did endured everything that they faced. Definitely plan 45+ tires if you are willing to go for this route.
I'm happy that I gave Further a shot, and I did laugh in some places about what Camille prepared for us. I came to Scotland for an adventure race and definitely I had one there!
And just to add, what I dear the most from the whole experience, was the time spent near the finish line, in the Corrour Station House. The place, the house stuff, the area is so good, and the stay was simply the best.
Everybody has to visit this spot at some point in live.
Yes, I definitely enjoyed Scotland!
As promised, my race kit list:
All clothing was frome the Mille GT long-distance series set up with all the accessories from Assos of Switzerland, including Mille GT EVO winter jacket and a Mille GT Thermo Rain Shell Pants.
The sleeping setup was BIVVI, silk liner, jungle back from Snugpack with a super old mat from Alpkit. I didn’t use sleeping gear but it was compulsory to have it during the ride, so I just carried it in the Apidura Expedition 9L saddle pack.
Spare tubes, tools, a small medic kit, and an emergency blanket I was carrying in my Assos Spider Bag.
My Apidura frame pack was packed with race food (snickers, M&Ms, squeezed fruits), and some little electronics like an EU-UK adapter, Di2 charger, small power bank, and spare AA batteries for my Garmin Etrex.
Here is the ride if interested
and here the event page
and if you enjoyed the read and would like to help me to write more stuff like that, you can simply get me a coffee
Thank in advance!
Piko