Episode 8 The Adventure Show


Episode 8

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Hello and a very warm welcome to The Adventure Show.

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This month, we're at the Strathpuffer 2014, and with

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over 500 competitors, this promises to be the biggest Puffer ever.

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And unusually this year conditions are fairly mild,

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so no snow and ice for the competitors to deal with.

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They'll have to deal with lots and lots of mud.

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The Puffer course can get very, very churned up.

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It is muddy and it will get really muddy.

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This is one of the toughest mountain bike races on the planet.

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It's ridden continuously over 24 hours,

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17 of which are in the dead of the Scottish winter's night.

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There's something about riding mountain bikes in the dark.

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It's just like you're on a different planet.

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Hopefully I keep going through the dark bit -

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the three, four, five o'clock. It's quite special when you're up there

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and you see the Highlands in the mist, and the sun coming up.

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I promise I'll get back on the bike in just a few moments!

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Now, I think of myself as an outdoors kind of person.

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And I have tried this event a couple of times in the past.

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On you go. Good effort.

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Look at that. He's flying! It's nine o'clock in the morning!

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We've been going for 22 hours and he's flying!

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He hit his head and he's been sick.

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I just went off. I don't know...

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I've been off the bike more than I've been on the bloody thing.

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I just keep falling off it.

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I think I've learned my lesson. But that's not the case for everyone.

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This year's Strathpuffer is full to capacity.

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But what goes on in the mind of the competitors

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during their most joyous and perhaps darkest moments?

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To find out, we have set up this.

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Our confession cam,

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where riders can come in and reveal all to the camera.

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Hi. I am the Monkey half of Ness and Monkeys.

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And the Monkey half has quit.

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Try to crack a smile.

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-Is this going to be on the telly, then?

-Aye.

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Awesome.

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And this month's Adventure Show

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explores more of the night-time than usual.

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Alan Rowan's been nicknamed the Moonwalker

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because he thinks the best time to explore our hills is in the dark.

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It's so quiet. You're on your own.

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And it's a different beauty than going walking during the day.

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Cameron McNeish on the other hand will be heading into our

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wintry mountains in the daylight and enjoying what they've got to offer.

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It's hard work in the snow.

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But hard graft in such beautiful surroundings never feels so bad.

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And we're off to one of the coldest

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and most extreme places in the world.

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Where some intrepid Scots are blazing a trail.

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And a very bizarre one at that.

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It was about minus 30.

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And the sun's just popped up over to the side here.

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It's risen slightly to minus 25.

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But first, to the Strathpuffer 24.

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The race starts at 10am on Saturday

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and finishes at 10am 24 hours later on the Sunday.

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You can compete as a quad, a pair or as a single.

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But whichever way you do this, it is a very tough race indeed.

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You've got to do it once. It's a rite of passage for a cyclist.

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I should know better cos I'm local. I've seen it all before.

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I said I'd never do it ever, but I've been sucked into it this year.

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I'm feeling my age this morning! Old and stiff.

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Maybe that's getting used to what I'm going to experience for the next

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30 hours or whatever.

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Absolutely torturous.

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But what a giggle.

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-How are we doing?

-Good? You?

-Terrible.

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We'll be keeping tabs on all the riders throughout the event,

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but we'll also be keeping a very close eye on some people

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who have volunteered to let us share in their struggle,

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like these people here, the Deeside Divas, Kirsty and Jayne.

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How are you feeling?

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Butterflies beginning to creep up in the stomach, but, yeah,

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we got some sleep last night I think, so getting ready to go.

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You both did the event last year, I understand.

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-So why have you come back?

-We're asking ourselves

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that question at the moment, actually, to be honest.

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I think, we did it as a quad last year and we did quite well

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last year, so we thought the next step must be to do it as a pair.

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So Kirsty and I both stupidly agreed that we would pair up together.

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We might be regretting it at three in the morning,

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but we think why not?

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There's a large contingent of riders from Aberdeenshire this year,

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and another team that's aiming for top spot is the Deeside Puffers.

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Ian Wilson was in the winning quad last year,

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and with the new line-up, he's back for more.

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This is my seventh. There's nothing else to do in January.

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I'm a time-trialist, so I've got a season coming up

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starting in March, and I just love it.

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There are other things to do in January, like, you know,

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sit and watch the telly, go to the pub, that kind of thing, you know?

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Strange folk do that kind of thing. You want to be out here in the mud.

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I'm pretty happy to give the mud, cold and wet a miss this year.

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Another cyclist who on her admission is a glutton for punishment

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is Morven Mackenzie-Fleming.

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It was her first Strathpuffer last year

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and she's riding once again as a soloist.

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It's amazing how much you need for 24 hours, isn't it?

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I've only been biking a couple of years, so I still am a beginner.

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But I've been doing more biking this year. Whether I've improved not...

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I don't think I've got any faster, but I keep trying!

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With just seconds to go to the start of this year's Puffer,

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it's the traditional piping in of the competitors

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before the Le Mans-style sprint to the bikes.

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This is it.

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Three... Two... One... Go!

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And here they come. The biggest Puffer yet. Over 500 competitors.

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Now it's all about picking up your bike and getting going.

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And look at that already.

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People are cycling into the back of the runners.

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It's just carnage at the start of the race! My goodness me!

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With such a huge amount of people, this is where people fall over.

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The last thing you want to do

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when you've been prepping for this race is fall over, break a bone.

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People are taking photographs, getting in the way.

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Supporters are getting in the way.

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Some are walking because it's a big 24-hour race,

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plenty of time to get things right.

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But you do not want to get things wrong at the start.

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So the fastest people all screaming up the hill, running away,

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getting their bikes away and getting away early.

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But it's a long, long race.

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-Have a marvellous time.

-I will!

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So, this is the ninth Strathpuffer event. All the quads are out fast.

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Obviously they can afford to burn a bit more on the first few rounds.

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And the sprint up the first hill is particularly difficult.

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So, 24 hours of graft ahead of everybody on the course.

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And the strategy is to try and learn as much of the technical part

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of the course as possible before it gets too dark.

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Hello there!

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They've got a few hours to do that, but not many.

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Hiya!

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As the racers head round the first lap,

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Alex Glasgow of Team Nevis Cycles takes an early lead for the quads.

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He's an experienced Puffer rider with a determination to win.

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But in the past things haven't always gone his way.

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Last time we did this, I remember standing here

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and I went for a warm-up along there

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and seriously got 20 yards along the road and met the ice.

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And went, "Oh, it's all going to go wrong." And it did.

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So, I'm a little bit more cautious of the whole thing,

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and talking to you guys this year.

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That's Alex Glasgow, first in.

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Absolutely flying on the first lap.

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And I make that less than 30 minutes. He is an absolute beast.

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He knows this course very, very well indeed.

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Almost caught us out there. He is so far ahead of the rest of the pack.

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They mean business. Look out for them.

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Second over the line for this first lap are the Deeside Puffers.

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So, it's a great start for them too.

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One down, seven to go!

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Nice ride.

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Loved the rock of it. Good circuit, actually. Very, very good.

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Meanwhile, in the pairs race, Phil Simcock's team came third last year.

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Today, he's completed his first lap in just 33 minutes.

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He's set the time to beat.

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You always come to a race to win it.

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But there's bound to be some really fast lads here. There always is.

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And fast girls as well.

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First couple of laps will be key, get out there fast,

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see what other people are doing and get your head down and go for it.

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In the female pairs,

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fastest round are the Deeside Divas, Kirsty Aitken and Jayne Taylor.

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That's Jayne, aiming for about 46, 47 minutes for her first lap.

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She'll battle back halfway up the hill and hand over to Kirsty.

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Smile!

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Really go for it. It's good.

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OK.

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-Enjoy!

-See you later!

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Right, warm clothes, I think. Quick change and go!

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I love it at this stage of the Strathpuffer.

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Everyone's smiling as they're coming in.

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First lap done, thinking, "That wasn't that bad!"

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Good, one lap in. 23 to go!

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Each lap here is 11km long.

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There's a mixture of forest roads,

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singletrack through the trees

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and those infamous technical sections.

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No wonder it's been voted

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one of the ten toughest mountain bike races in the world.

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It's harder than I thought it might be!

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The worst bit's got to be the second section fire road.

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You think you've done the boring bit already,

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then you go through a little bit of singletrack

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and then you've just got this kind of long climb.

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Getting there!

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Go on!

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Go on, woo! Go on!

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It's, like, downhill all the way.

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Fit as a fiddle, just easy!

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Really easy!

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Is that convincing?!

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Can I die now?

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Ah!

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I'm definitely concentrating!

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Feeling great, actually.

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I like it when you have to do a little bit of thinking

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cos it takes your mind off sort of the long hours, really.

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There's lots of lovely bits.

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Ooh!

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What's the course? Six miles long and about five miles in,

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it's all downhill to the finish.

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So that's the best bit. You get to that, you know

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you've done the lap. There's nothing between you -

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as long as you don't fall off - and the bottom.

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Wa-ay!

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In many ways, the Strathpuffer is three races in one

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with the disciplines, solo, pair and quad

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throwing up significantly different challenges,

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as Duncan found out yesterday

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when he rode the course with race organiser, Steve Macdonald.

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So, Steve, a long time ago

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I rode this as a sort of unsuccessful quad, and we had real difficulties

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with timing and eating and all the rest of it.

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Which is the most difficult of the disciplines?

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I think the pair is the most difficult

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because you never see your partner.

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All you're doing is handing over your dibber to him,

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and then he's off and then three quarters of an hour later,

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he's back again. You don't get time for sleep,

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you don't get time to fix your bike

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and if you want to let somebody down

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there's only one person to let down as well,

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so there's a lot of pressure on you in the pairs.

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With the quad and the pair, you are batting off someone.

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But as a solo, it really is a big psychological battle, isn't it?

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Yes, I think the guys that do well in the solos

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are from a different planet, really!

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The guys that do well stop for no more than five minutes

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every few hours. They just keep on rolling.

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And that's an extraordinary thing to be able to do anyway -

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to think about staying up for 24 hours

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but to keep motivating yourself to go and ride is something else.

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Yeah, and it must be so easy to stop because, again,

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you don't have any other team-mates that you're letting down.

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Even though this is the ninth Puffer, the jury is still out

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about whether being a soloist or part of a team

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is the best way to tackle the race.

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For me the quads are really competitive cos I think

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some of the good guys come out and try and compete

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against other good guys and it's a good opportunity to do that.

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It's something we get a chance to do.

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Four good guys competing against another four good guys.

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I like pairs.

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It's... Solo's too hard,

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cos you're just going round and round constantly.

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Quads, you don't get out enough

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and you're freezing cold, waiting for everybody to come back in.

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I think pairs is ideal.

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As long as you're not in the top three, trying to

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really race your way around it, you can use it

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as an event and just keep going at your own pace.

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Last year, I did pairs, this year I've done pairs.

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I did solo for two years before that, so...

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I probably won't come back next year!

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You have to, it's the tenth! The tenth anniversary.

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Is it? Don't say that, don't say that!

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We've already said we're going to have a year off!

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One competitor who knows this event inside out is Katy Boocock.

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She was one of the race founders and the winner

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of the first women's solo.

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This year, she's back in an all-female quad.

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Yay! Come on, Katy!

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Well done! OK, woo-hoo!

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How's it been going so far? You've done four laps

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and it's just over three hours into the race.

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And so we're very happy.

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And I've just ridden the first complete lap I've ever ridden

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without having to put my foot down.

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So pleased. That horrible Bridge of Thighs, I got over it!

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Conditions are clearly this year very unusual. It's very rideable.

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Yes, so it's the wussy Puffer this year, isn't it, really!

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You should be riding!

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-Yes, cos it's the wussy Puffer,

-I

-should be riding(!)

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It's amazing. Times for laps are very, very fast at this stage.

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However, you know it's a physical race. It goes on for a long time.

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Do you this think early euphoria,

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people putting in these fast lap times,

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might bite them in the backside later on?

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I think it'll bite ME in the backside, yes!

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In the middle of the night I'll think, "Why did I go so fast?!" Yes.

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First time I've ever done that.

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The competitors have been on the go for just over four hours

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and the fastest have already completed more than eight laps -

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that's 88km of off-road mountain biking.

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But this race is only just warming up.

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We'll be back with them shortly.

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First, though, we're heading out into the hills with Cameron McNeish.

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As a young teenager wandering the hills of the Campsies

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just north of Glasgow, I quite often

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would stand on the highest point there, Earl's Seat,

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and gaze north to the outline of Ben Lomond and think to myself,

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"One day, I'm going to climb that."

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And eventually, I did climb Ben Lomond.

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I gazed north again, as you do,

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and saw this great jumble of hills

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that seemed to choke off the northern end of Loch Lomond.

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And it was later I realised those were the Glen Falloch Hills,

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containing no less than seven Munros.

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I'm going to climb one of them, Cruach Ardrain, today.

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A good word of advice for anybody hill-walking in Scotland

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is to be very wary of any hill that contains the word "Cruach" in it.

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Because, quite literally, it means "a heap", which is not very flattering.

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But Cruach Ardrain actually means "the high-stacked heap",

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or some people translate it as "the high slopes".

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And it's a much better hill than its name suggests.

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It was on these Glen Falloch Hills that I first started

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to develop some youthful notions about what wilderness was.

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It was always exciting,

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leaving the head of Loch Lomond and all the trees,

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and coming into this bare landscape of upper Glen Falloch,

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with pine trees dotting the landscape and these high, gnarly hills behind.

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And for the young me, this was the epitome of wilderness.

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It's rather dank, misty day.

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But the forecast is good.

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And already I'm coming into a different landscape

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and the ground feels that little bit firmer,

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that bit more frozen, so I'm pretty confident that,

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by the time we get up onto the ridge,

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up on a little top called Grey Heights,

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that things will improve underfoot, and I'm hoping that this cloud

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will disappear and we'll get some blue skies

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and some sunshine. Fingers crossed.

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The early pioneers of the Scottish Mountaineering Club

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loved Cruach Ardrain, largely on account of its Y-shaped gully

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that's on the north side of the mountain.

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It seems to me that these early stalwarts weren't content

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with taking the easiest route up the hill, as we do today.

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They always looked out the most difficult,

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the most awkward way to climb a hill.

0:17:540:17:56

In May 1892, on this very mountain, William Naismith, himself a member

0:18:010:18:08

of the Scottish Mountaineering Club, devised a fairly simple rule of thumb

0:18:080:18:12

for working out how long it would take on your mountain walks.

0:18:120:18:16

It's become known as Naismith's Rule, or Naismith's Formula.

0:18:190:18:23

It's basically three miles an hour,

0:18:230:18:25

and half an hour for every thousand feet of ascent.

0:18:250:18:29

It works out surprisingly well and surprisingly accurate.

0:18:330:18:37

As you become more experienced,

0:18:380:18:40

you tend to work out what suits you personally,

0:18:400:18:43

and I know now that I take 15 minutes to walk a kilometre,

0:18:430:18:46

and I add on a minute for every ten metres of ascent.

0:18:460:18:50

It's hard work in the snow,

0:19:070:19:09

but hard graft in such beautiful surroundings...

0:19:090:19:12

..never feels so bad.

0:19:130:19:15

When the snow covers the hills like this, it is remarkably beautiful.

0:19:240:19:28

But also, our hilltops are the wildest parts of our wild land areas

0:19:280:19:33

and when the snow covers all the human-made tracks,

0:19:330:19:36

it's probably the closest we'll get in Scotland

0:19:360:19:39

to what you could call pristine wilderness.

0:19:390:19:42

Quite often nowadays we'll hear people say,

0:19:590:20:03

"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."

0:20:030:20:07

But the truth of the matter is that sometimes, in the Scottish mountains,

0:20:070:20:12

the weather is so bad it's just not compatible with human life,

0:20:120:20:16

no matter how well you're equipped in the latest hi tech clothing.

0:20:160:20:19

It's quite good to remember that in winter we need more layers.

0:20:210:20:25

We need extra layers just because the weather is that bit colder.

0:20:250:20:28

We need stronger boots and we need to carry an ice axe and crampons

0:20:310:20:34

so there are extra things to say but, at the end of the day,

0:20:340:20:37

we shouldn't have to rely on equipment.

0:20:370:20:40

It's much more important to rely on knowledge

0:20:410:20:44

and knowing what the weather's going to do and having the awareness

0:20:440:20:47

to get off the hill if the weather begins to look really bad.

0:20:470:20:50

Oh, it's quite tough today.

0:21:060:21:08

Probably due to the soft snow conditions.

0:21:080:21:11

And I've been hoping that I'll be rewarded with a fantastic view

0:21:110:21:14

from the summit.

0:21:140:21:15

But it's not to be, I'm afraid.

0:21:170:21:19

You pays your money, you takes your chance on a day like this

0:21:190:21:22

when the cloud is coming and going.

0:21:220:21:24

But, anyway, Cruach Ardrain, a great little hill.

0:21:250:21:29

I'm kind of tempted to hang about here for a wee while in the hope

0:21:290:21:32

that the mist will clear and give me a view but you can never tell.

0:21:320:21:36

So, thanks very much for joining me on this hill walk anyway,

0:21:380:21:42

and I hope to see you next time.

0:21:420:21:44

In a scene slightly more reminiscent of Apocalypse Now than

0:21:560:22:00

a mountain bike event, welcome back to the Strathpuffer 24.

0:22:000:22:04

The night-riding is fully under way

0:22:040:22:06

but the riders still have bags of energy but a long, long way to go.

0:22:060:22:10

Sight. Hopefully all the training will pay off.

0:22:110:22:15

We saw the course in the daylight once and then you go out at night

0:22:150:22:18

and it's like a totally different route.

0:22:180:22:19

It's impossible to see what's coming. But it does keep...

0:22:190:22:22

It keeps you on your toes.

0:22:220:22:24

Night-riding, you've got limited vision,

0:22:240:22:27

so you can't really see what obstacles are going to come

0:22:270:22:29

your way so I suppose you've got to float a bit more on your bike, be

0:22:290:22:33

a bit more loose so any obstacles, you can just get over them, really.

0:22:330:22:37

I'm confused. What's happening here?

0:22:370:22:40

Just trying to keep plodding away just now. Still a long way to go.

0:22:400:22:44

-So we'll see how it goes.

-And the body's feeling fine?

-Ah, brand-new!

0:22:440:22:48

LAUGHTER

0:22:480:22:50

-Good luck.

-Cheers.

0:22:500:22:51

Keith Forsyth is an experienced Strathpuffer rider.

0:22:510:22:55

Competing as a soloist this year, he's aiming for the top spot

0:22:550:22:59

and started the race at a cracking pace.

0:22:590:23:02

Well, the course was running really well.

0:23:020:23:04

It was running really fast

0:23:040:23:06

and you've got to make hay while the sun shines, haven't you?

0:23:060:23:08

So I think we got something like ten in before it got dark.

0:23:080:23:11

Keith's got fierce competition, however,

0:23:110:23:14

and the battle is now on with last year's winner Jason Miles.

0:23:140:23:17

The first four hours, four or five hours,

0:23:170:23:21

Keith Forsyth set just a ridiculous pace and we were

0:23:210:23:25

kind of tearing chunks out of each other for a couple of hours.

0:23:250:23:29

I was looking at the results from last year

0:23:290:23:31

and I think Jason had got eight in or something before dark

0:23:310:23:34

and I was kind of thinking, "Right, well, the conditions are bit better.

0:23:340:23:37

"Maybe we'll get nine." But it was just...

0:23:370:23:39

I think we were under 40 minutes.

0:23:390:23:42

I just left him to it.

0:23:420:23:43

I thought, "I can't carry on at this speed."

0:23:430:23:46

And, sort of inevitably, it kind of...

0:23:460:23:50

He ended up kind of sat down for a little while.

0:23:500:23:53

However, this is not just a two-way battle.

0:23:530:23:57

Motorbike racer Guy Martin is no stranger to speed

0:23:570:24:00

and he's very much in contention.

0:24:000:24:03

Last year was my first ever 24-hour solo. That was tough.

0:24:030:24:08

-That was tough because I just was not prepared.

-Yeah.

0:24:080:24:11

Well, I'd done as much as I could, training-wise

0:24:110:24:15

and preparation-wise,

0:24:150:24:16

but nothing prepares you for the Strathpuffer 24-hour. Nothing.

0:24:160:24:19

So, finished fourth last year

0:24:190:24:21

but I was just a shell of a man at the end of it.

0:24:210:24:24

Meanwhile, the fight is on in the quad events, too.

0:24:240:24:28

After a great start from Nevis Cycles,

0:24:280:24:30

a new team from the Midlands, Flatout Cycles,

0:24:300:24:33

has pushed into the lead and they're setting an amazingly fast pace.

0:24:330:24:38

A few of the guys showed me their race. It looked really, really cool.

0:24:380:24:42

I entered it a while ago and you think, "Oh, yeah, it's

0:24:420:24:45

"not going to be that hard." But then when you get here, it's real...

0:24:450:24:47

It's real tough.

0:24:470:24:49

I think all these mountain bike endurance events are always just

0:24:490:24:52

dead friendly and it's not about winning or anything like that.

0:24:520:24:55

It's just about coming and enjoying it.

0:24:550:24:57

It's about riding your own race.

0:24:570:24:59

Yeah, and just pushing yourself as hard as you can go.

0:24:590:25:01

There's always going to be a million people better than you somewhere

0:25:010:25:04

else. It's not like beating people.

0:25:040:25:06

It's about finding that kind of new level of pushing yourself.

0:25:060:25:10

I hate this bit.

0:25:100:25:11

Night-time riding for a lot of people -

0:25:110:25:13

I used to do a lot of it - is very sort of therapeutic and relaxing.

0:25:130:25:16

Yeah, it can be really, really cool.

0:25:160:25:18

Coming down to this fire road it's kind of...

0:25:180:25:21

the descents are quite safe and flowing.

0:25:210:25:23

You get a real nice sense of speed. In my head,

0:25:230:25:25

I had an image of it being pan-flat kind of thing for some reason.

0:25:250:25:29

-It's Scotland, though, isn't it?

-Yeah, yeah. It's real cool.

0:25:290:25:33

A recent generation of high-powered lights have revolutionised

0:25:350:25:40

night-riding, but it's still a full-on experience

0:25:400:25:43

and one that requires great skill.

0:25:430:25:46

It just changes the complete atmosphere.

0:25:460:25:48

You have to focus a lot more on what you're doing.

0:25:480:25:51

It really concentrates

0:25:510:25:52

and I think it gets you away from everything else.

0:25:520:25:54

We've done some night-rides during the week.

0:25:540:25:56

You know, get away from work and you just go on a night-ride

0:25:560:26:00

and because it is that sort of intense

0:26:000:26:03

you have to really switch on, you can't do it half-heartedly.

0:26:030:26:06

-How are we doing?

-Good. You?

-Aye, not too bad.

0:26:060:26:08

It's brilliant. I love night-riding.

0:26:080:26:10

I like it better than riding in the day.

0:26:100:26:12

You have to absolutely focus on what you're doing and that's it.

0:26:120:26:15

There's nothing else. You can't think of anything else,

0:26:150:26:18

especially on those big rocks at the top there.

0:26:180:26:21

You live in your own little bubble of lights and,

0:26:230:26:26

especially on this course, you're thinking about the next gear change.

0:26:260:26:29

Cos you're changing gear frequently, very much so when you get tired.

0:26:290:26:33

You learn to ride by feel quite a bit,

0:26:330:26:35

when you're riding in the dark so if you practise a lot I think

0:26:350:26:38

it improves your balance quite a bit as well.

0:26:380:26:40

It's odd cos every now and then

0:26:400:26:41

you'll be in a big group of people and then they'll either

0:26:410:26:44

drop behind or get in front and you're just out in the middle of

0:26:440:26:47

nowhere on your own with this tiny patch of light sat in front,

0:26:470:26:50

and then you plod away up the fire road and you turn onto

0:26:500:26:52

the single track and it's just like chaos has been unleashed.

0:26:520:26:55

There's people everywhere, bikes on the side,

0:26:550:26:57

people behind you, people in front

0:26:570:26:59

and you're trying to get through the rocks at the same time and it's...

0:26:590:27:02

It does keep you going, it really does.

0:27:020:27:04

It keeps the adrenaline up and I think that's what gets you through the night.

0:27:040:27:07

-Cheers. Hey. Right, have a good one.

-See you later.

-Enjoy.

0:27:070:27:11

-Cheers.

-Well done.

0:27:120:27:14

-So, how was that?

-That one was pretty tough, yeah.

0:27:150:27:19

Still feeling like we can go out for one more

0:27:190:27:21

and I think if we just keep on saying, "One more, one more,

0:27:210:27:25

"one more," and seeing where we end up at ten o'clock tomorrow.

0:27:250:27:29

In the women's pairs race,

0:27:320:27:34

the Deeside Divas have led from the start.

0:27:340:27:36

Now they're making the most of the night-riding.

0:27:360:27:39

They're well ahead of their nearest rivals

0:27:390:27:41

and currently in tenth place overall.

0:27:410:27:44

I actually like being out there with no other riders about.

0:27:440:27:48

You can concentrate on the route.

0:27:480:27:49

When you've got people tagging in behind you to try and get past, it's

0:27:490:27:54

a bit off-putting but I kind of like just going for it in the peace.

0:27:540:27:58

Coming through.

0:27:580:27:59

The bridge is coming up.

0:28:010:28:04

I bashed my knee. A bit of blood, a bit of bruising,

0:28:070:28:10

but apart from that we've been doing OK.

0:28:100:28:13

Beginning to... A bit tired now.

0:28:130:28:15

The laps are taking a little bit longer now.

0:28:160:28:19

Can't see a thing.

0:28:190:28:20

You do kind of get into... Get into a bit of a zone

0:28:220:28:25

and you begin to know where all the key points are.

0:28:250:28:28

You've made it to the skeleton, tick.

0:28:280:28:30

You've made it to the bench, tick.

0:28:300:28:32

So we've been doing just one lap each and I think we're going

0:28:320:28:36

to keep that up probably for the next at least few laps

0:28:360:28:39

and then from there we might do a couple of double laps each

0:28:390:28:43

so that we can get a bit of a sleep.

0:28:430:28:45

-Coming through.

-No bother.

0:28:460:28:48

-Well done.

-This is my eighth.

-Eight?

-Yeah. You?

-Seven.

0:28:510:28:56

Getting tired.

0:28:590:29:01

Having competed last year in the winning female quad, Kirsty Aitken

0:29:020:29:06

and Jayne Taylor know exactly what's required in this event.

0:29:060:29:11

We met up with them the evening before the race as they made their

0:29:110:29:14

final preparations after a day's work and a last training run.

0:29:140:29:18

It's taken a lot of juggling between work schedules and stuff like that.

0:29:180:29:22

Yeah, it's been a busy week, a busy couple of weeks.

0:29:220:29:25

Just looking out kit as well.

0:29:250:29:27

Sourcing kit, checking you've got enough lights and things like that.

0:29:270:29:31

It's sometimes quite difficult to find like-minded females

0:29:330:29:36

but we're quite lucky in the club that we are in.

0:29:360:29:39

It was through the Deeside Thistles that we kind of

0:29:390:29:42

got to know each other, so we started going out, doing a bit

0:29:420:29:45

of mountain biking, evening cycles then thought about the Puffer.

0:29:450:29:50

Organisation is really, really important, isn't it?

0:29:510:29:54

We put a shopping list together. A massive, big shop done on Sunday.

0:29:540:29:57

And just hoping it's done for the right amount of kit.

0:29:570:30:01

We've got a big pot of pasta getting cooked tonight.

0:30:030:30:06

We have got lots of sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.

0:30:060:30:10

Hundreds of Jelly Babies.

0:30:100:30:12

Hundreds of Jelly Babies. All sorts. You name it.

0:30:120:30:15

It's just all sort of quite carbohydrate-heavy stuff

0:30:150:30:18

and stuff that we like.

0:30:180:30:19

I think we found out last year it doesn't matter how

0:30:190:30:22

much stuff you think is meant to be good for you -

0:30:220:30:24

if you don't like it, at three in the morning you won't want to eat

0:30:240:30:27

it but you need to find something that you do want to eat.

0:30:270:30:31

-And I may find that I don't eat pasta again for a few months.

-Yeah.

0:30:310:30:34

I'll eat it throughout the night.

0:30:340:30:36

Back at the Strathpuffer, we're now well into the wee, small hours.

0:30:400:30:44

It's a time when any problem is magnified

0:30:440:30:46

and the lack of sleep is taking its toll.

0:30:460:30:50

-You OK?

-Aye. Cheers.

0:30:540:30:55

Hello. I'm Alistair. Number 405 in a quad.

0:30:580:31:03

I'd just like to say that is the hardest thing I've ever done.

0:31:060:31:10

Now I'm going to finish my Mars bar.

0:31:100:31:13

My name is Ben.

0:31:130:31:14

Three don'ts of the Strathpuffer.

0:31:160:31:18

Don't sign up the week before.

0:31:180:31:21

Don't do it single speed.

0:31:210:31:23

And don't let your mate finish on you.

0:31:230:31:28

You know you are, Gibbins.

0:31:280:31:30

Hi, my name's Mark Hanlon. I don't know what I'm doing here.

0:31:340:31:38

Never done anything like this in my life. Thought it looked great fun.

0:31:380:31:42

Conned into it. It's not for rank amateurs like me.

0:31:420:31:46

It's for guys who know what they're doing.

0:31:460:31:48

-You must be sadists.

-Are you talking about us or you?

-You.

0:31:480:31:53

-How are you getting on?

-We're masochists.

0:31:530:31:56

No falls until this lap and now it's two.

0:31:570:32:00

You're doing good.

0:32:000:32:01

-Doesn't feel like it.

-You're doing great.

0:32:010:32:04

HE SIGHS

0:32:070:32:09

Well, it's just gone three o'clock in the morning

0:32:100:32:14

and I came back in and there was nobody there to meet me

0:32:140:32:19

so I went back to the camper van and they're all asleep.

0:32:190:32:21

So I woke them up and said, "Who's going next?"

0:32:210:32:24

And they all told me to go away.

0:32:240:32:26

So I've got a cup of tea and a burger.

0:32:260:32:28

Hi. I'm Yvonne. 202B.

0:32:300:32:35

I got two punctures, two laps in a row

0:32:350:32:39

and then my quick release got jammed up with silt.

0:32:390:32:41

I couldn't get it back on.

0:32:410:32:43

I didn't have any spare tools with me so I had to go beg,

0:32:430:32:45

borrow and steal from people in tents.

0:32:450:32:48

Thank you, people who gave me them. We were an hour and a half down.

0:32:480:32:51

We were a whole lap down. So we're up. We're now two laps up.

0:32:510:32:55

And, quite frankly, I'm tired. So I'm going to have an hour's sleep

0:32:550:32:58

and then we'll see what happens with our team and then we'll

0:32:580:33:01

decide if we're going to do some more or not. Bye.

0:33:010:33:03

Every rider who wants to be successful in the Puffer

0:33:050:33:08

needs a plan.

0:33:080:33:09

It requires the three Ss - skill, strategy and stamina.

0:33:090:33:14

Whether you're out there to win or just to complete the course, it's

0:33:140:33:18

hard to anticipate an experience like this.

0:33:180:33:21

How do you possibly train for a 24-hour race?

0:33:210:33:23

There's four of us

0:33:230:33:25

so we've done a lap each first to see it in daylight

0:33:250:33:28

and then we do two laps each so we can come back here, relax,

0:33:280:33:31

get a bite to eat and that sort of thing. Just trying to keep fuelled.

0:33:310:33:34

Try and get an hour's sleep if possible,

0:33:340:33:36

which hasn't really happened, and keep plodding away like that.

0:33:360:33:39

And so far, so good. We're all still going at the moment.

0:33:390:33:42

I might just walk this bit.

0:33:420:33:44

The guys that do this all the time can possibly prepare for it

0:33:450:33:47

but I don't really know

0:33:470:33:49

if your average Joe can understand how you prepare for something

0:33:490:33:52

like this and, you know, you can ride as much as you want and

0:33:520:33:55

probably try and do some training rides.

0:33:550:33:57

I've tried to do some training rides late at night to try

0:33:570:34:00

and prepare for it but you'll never know

0:34:000:34:02

until you get into the situation to see how your body will react.

0:34:020:34:05

So much for assistance! Four laps yous've been out here.

0:34:050:34:08

Sorry. We're lost.

0:34:080:34:09

LAUGHTER

0:34:090:34:10

I've got a strategy, got a nutrition strategy involving cheese

0:34:100:34:14

scones and croissants and bits of malt loaf and stuff like that.

0:34:140:34:18

Hopefully that'll see me through.

0:34:180:34:20

Woefully ill-prepared and unfit.

0:34:200:34:22

It's that time of night, isn't it?

0:34:220:34:24

A team of four so I can't complain too bitterly.

0:34:240:34:28

I want to get to the end. That's my first objective.

0:34:280:34:30

Second objective's not to sleep and then the third objective is to

0:34:300:34:34

complete a set figure of laps in my head,

0:34:340:34:37

that I'm not going to disclose at the moment.

0:34:370:34:40

How are you doing, all right?

0:34:400:34:42

-Yeah. Tired.

-Struggling now. Really struggling.

0:34:420:34:46

-You're doing brilliant.

-Thanks, man, cheers.

0:34:460:34:49

Sleep pattern - what's that?!

0:34:490:34:51

I actually did get about an hour earlier on when Rob was out.

0:34:510:34:56

And we all sort of just conked out

0:34:560:34:57

and that's the first time I've ever managed to sleep, really.

0:34:570:35:00

-How are we doing?

-Good. You?

-Terrible.

0:35:000:35:03

Slowing a bit now.

0:35:030:35:05

As the riders continue their way round and round the course,

0:35:060:35:10

we're taking a short break from the action here

0:35:100:35:12

at the 2014 Strathpuffer 24

0:35:120:35:15

but we're not leaving the night-time behind.

0:35:150:35:18

It's one in the morning -

0:35:260:35:28

not the normal time most people take a walk up a Scottish mountain.

0:35:280:35:32

Alan Rowan is an exception.

0:35:320:35:35

Former journalist, often working well into the night,

0:35:350:35:38

he devised a strategy to enable him to get out into the hills.

0:35:380:35:42

It started off because there wasn't enough hours in the day.

0:35:420:35:44

I had such a busy job, young family,

0:35:440:35:47

couldn't find the time to do as many hills as I wanted.

0:35:470:35:50

Especially the further away ones.

0:35:500:35:52

And I thought, "Well, if you work 9-5, you don't

0:35:520:35:55

go home at five o'clock and go to your bed," so I was finishing at

0:35:550:35:59

midnight and still sitting up at six in the morning reading or whatever,

0:35:590:36:03

not getting to sleep. So I thought I could use that time.

0:36:030:36:06

The idea at that point was to drive up maybe two or two

0:36:080:36:12

and half hours to somewhere like Fort William or further, have a

0:36:120:36:15

sleep in the car and climb a couple of mountains at seven in the morning.

0:36:150:36:18

But, of course, once I got there it was just so beautiful

0:36:180:36:22

so I just got out and got started and, after you've done it a couple

0:36:220:36:27

of times, like every thing else, it becomes almost like an addiction.

0:36:270:36:31

It's so quiet, you're on your own,

0:36:320:36:35

and it's a different beauty than going walking during the day.

0:36:350:36:39

Using long-exposure photography,

0:36:390:36:41

it's possible to chart Alan's route up the mountain

0:36:410:36:44

he's chosen for tonight's walk - Schiehallion in Perthshire.

0:36:440:36:47

Famous hill, of course, which is

0:36:480:36:50

where they measured the weight of the Earth.

0:36:500:36:53

This was the mountain they used,

0:36:530:36:54

apparently because it's a regular mountain shape.

0:36:540:36:57

If you look at it from one end, it's a pyramid

0:36:570:37:00

and if you look at it from the other end, it's this long, long whale-back.

0:37:000:37:03

If you're out during the day, sometimes, if it's a good day,

0:37:090:37:12

you've got the view right from the start

0:37:120:37:15

and there's no surprises in it.

0:37:150:37:17

Whereas if you're coming at night, you're walking into the light.

0:37:170:37:20

You're walking into a sunrise and suddenly everything appears.

0:37:200:37:24

It's like these days... It's like

0:37:240:37:25

days when you go out and it's cloudy and everything blows away.

0:37:250:37:28

They're more spectacular days than when you just go out

0:37:280:37:31

and it's beautiful all day. It's like getting a present, you know,

0:37:310:37:34

and suddenly opening it and it's something fantastic

0:37:340:37:37

instead of having it just sitting there when you go in.

0:37:370:37:40

Well, the path is getting quite icy now and it's slipping quite

0:37:460:37:52

a bit so I think it's time for crampons on for a little bit.

0:37:520:37:55

I don't think it's the sort of thing you can suddenly decide to do

0:37:590:38:02

one day and just head out if you haven't...

0:38:020:38:04

If your navigation isn't good

0:38:040:38:05

and you're not confident about where you're going.

0:38:050:38:08

It seemed like common sense to me. It probably is...

0:38:100:38:13

It probably is a bit strange to a lot of people.

0:38:130:38:16

I did this for... Solid for 15, 16 years, big chains of hills as well,

0:38:190:38:25

away for eight and nine hours,

0:38:250:38:27

and never really had a problem with any of it.

0:38:270:38:30

Part of that is probably some good luck but a lot of it is down to

0:38:310:38:35

planning and just, you know, doing the right things.

0:38:350:38:38

Don't take ridiculous chances.

0:38:380:38:40

I mean, if you're going out on your own in the winter, don't go

0:38:400:38:43

and do north faces.

0:38:430:38:44

Don't do things that involve huge river crossings, that sort of thing.

0:38:440:38:47

It's just common sense.

0:38:470:38:49

When I used to decide I was going away that night,

0:38:510:38:54

everybody else would be going away to get their cars to go home

0:38:540:38:56

and I would disappear into one of the offices, change like Superman

0:38:560:38:59

and come out with hill-walking gear, head in the car the opposite

0:38:590:39:02

direction and they all say, "Oh, you're crazy."

0:39:020:39:05

And then you come in the next day and you're so refreshed.

0:39:050:39:12

There's almost a smugness.

0:39:120:39:14

Despite not having any sleep, you feel fit and healthy.

0:39:150:39:18

The other guys are coming in having sat up watching TV till

0:39:180:39:21

six in the morning, looking terrible. And you come in with this rosy glow.

0:39:210:39:27

Once or twice somebody's even said to me,

0:39:270:39:29

"How do you manage to get a suntan

0:39:290:39:31

"when it's been raining here all night?" Because I was above the rain.

0:39:310:39:35

It's the best feeling in the world. It always is.

0:39:350:39:38

You come up and you see this, the light at this time in the morning.

0:39:380:39:41

It's amazing. And the snow as well.

0:39:410:39:44

It all wind-blasted and the colours it's adding, it's incredible.

0:39:440:39:49

You just can't... You couldn't buy that, you know.

0:39:500:39:54

Do the hard work in the dark, get the sunrise, sit up here

0:39:540:39:57

and have your breakfast for a couple of hours. You can't beat it.

0:39:570:40:00

Sometimes it makes you think you're the only person left in the world.

0:40:000:40:04

And if you'd like to explore our mountains at night

0:40:060:40:09

but are unsure if you have the right skills,

0:40:090:40:11

don't forget there are many mountain instructors who can help you.

0:40:110:40:15

Just remember - be careful.

0:40:150:40:17

The Adventure Show can't afford to lose you.

0:40:170:40:19

And if you want to find out more about Alan

0:40:190:40:22

and everything else on the programme, follow us on Facebook.

0:40:220:40:26

From Highland Perthshire, let's go east.

0:40:340:40:37

This is Mongolia,

0:40:370:40:40

one of the coldest and most extreme places on the planet.

0:40:400:40:43

It's winter and the temperature is minus 40 degrees at night

0:40:430:40:47

and only marginally warmer in the day. So why are we here?

0:40:470:40:53

It's simple, really.

0:40:530:40:55

A group of Scottish adventurers want to do something new.

0:40:550:40:59

They're about to play the very first game of what they're

0:40:590:41:02

calling the Wild Golf World Series.

0:41:020:41:05

Doglegger!

0:41:050:41:06

This, rough as it may seem, is a nine-hole course.

0:41:060:41:10

It's golf but not as we know it.

0:41:100:41:13

There are no fairways, greens, and even teeing off isn't easy.

0:41:130:41:18

We had a look over the course yesterday

0:41:190:41:21

and it became very apparent that the ground is extremely frozen

0:41:210:41:25

and holes aren't readily available so we're using

0:41:250:41:28

a mixture of marmot holes, holes in the rock, cracks in the rock.

0:41:280:41:32

We have a problem here.

0:41:320:41:34

I don't how I'm going to hit it

0:41:340:41:36

because I have to putt it like a hammer. I'm going to try.

0:41:360:41:40

Oh, no.

0:41:400:41:42

Also, of course, you can't get tees in the ground so we've

0:41:420:41:45

played around with a variety of improvised tees.

0:41:450:41:49

I think the best we've settled on was a sliced onion.

0:41:490:41:52

Adventurers from South Africa

0:41:520:41:53

and Italy have joined the Scots to explore this harsh but starkly

0:41:530:41:57

beautiful country and to make their own little bit of history.

0:41:570:42:02

Wild golf is the brainchild of Glasgow-based explorer David Scott,

0:42:020:42:07

who is also the honorary consul of Mongolia.

0:42:070:42:10

I've been coming out to Mongolia for just over 11 years.

0:42:100:42:14

Some of the things I think are apparent to everybody who comes here

0:42:140:42:17

are the similarities between Scottish people and Mongolian people.

0:42:170:42:21

Both spoilt with beautiful countryside.

0:42:210:42:24

The weather can be pretty extreme and I think that draws people in

0:42:240:42:27

and gets them together in the gers and the hospitality is superb here.

0:42:270:42:32

The Mongolian people have adapted to living here over centuries.

0:42:320:42:36

In winter, their yurts are a haven of warmth.

0:42:360:42:40

You forget how cold it is outside.

0:42:400:42:42

Oh, that looks delicious. Delicious.

0:42:430:42:46

It's tournament day

0:42:490:42:50

and whilst golf purists may look on with horror, it's time

0:42:500:42:53

for these competitors to pit their skills against this environment.

0:42:530:42:58

Jurgens Schoemin is a South African who has

0:42:580:43:00

travelled around the world but this is his first trip to Mongolia.

0:43:000:43:04

We don't have snow in South Africa so to play in these circumstances,

0:43:050:43:10

I think one needs to have kind of a...extreme sense of humour just

0:43:100:43:17

to enjoy this beautiful environment, playing golf in these circumstances.

0:43:170:43:21

Lovely.

0:43:210:43:23

John McKnight is a roofer from Glasgow.

0:43:230:43:26

He's got two advantages.

0:43:260:43:28

He's married into a Mongolian family and he's a keen golfer.

0:43:280:43:32

Even so, he's finding this course a challenge.

0:43:320:43:36

It's really wild.

0:43:360:43:37

It's the most wild golf I've ever played in my life. But really nice.

0:43:370:43:42

Really nice.

0:43:420:43:43

The other Scot is no stranger to this country either.

0:43:440:43:47

Gordon Adam won the 140-mile Gobi Challenge in 2007.

0:43:470:43:52

He's an accomplished runner

0:43:520:43:54

but he's less sure about his golfing ability. Especially here.

0:43:540:43:59

There's cold golf courses around the world but nobody,

0:43:590:44:01

I don't think, has taken it out into the middle of nowhere.

0:44:010:44:04

So I'm sure we must be the first.

0:44:040:44:06

Certainly the first Scot in Mongolia playing golf, wearing a kilt.

0:44:060:44:10

-Oh.

-Nice. Nice.

0:44:100:44:13

Representing Italy is Robert Atwater.

0:44:130:44:16

He's visited this country numerous times including

0:44:160:44:19

a number of winter expeditions.

0:44:190:44:22

He doesn't underestimate the difficulties of hitting a ball

0:44:220:44:25

when it's minus 35.

0:44:250:44:28

This is very hard to do here in Mongolia. It's very cold.

0:44:280:44:32

Very hard to see the ball. But so far, so good.

0:44:320:44:38

Because this is the future of extreme golf.

0:44:380:44:41

Bella Italia.

0:44:410:44:43

LAUGHTER

0:44:430:44:46

Hey!

0:44:470:44:48

There's a lot of pressure here because Italy have putted.

0:44:480:44:51

They're in the hole already so Scotland has to hold its end up.

0:44:510:44:56

So, here we go.

0:44:560:44:57

-Yes.

-No.

-No?

0:44:570:45:00

The temperature is still way below freezing, yet the competition

0:45:000:45:04

is hotting up. And those national characteristics are coming out.

0:45:040:45:09

There's growing rivalry between our Gordon Adam

0:45:090:45:12

and Italy's Robert Atwater.

0:45:120:45:14

-Yeah!

-A bit of catching up. It's all going to go my way now.

0:45:170:45:20

I can feel it.

0:45:200:45:22

-Better.

-What a shot!

-Italia!

0:45:240:45:27

Scotland now has to be very, very careful, eh?

0:45:280:45:31

-Because I'm getting very close.

-Oh, look at that.

0:45:320:45:36

I think it's the highest score wins. That's the good news.

0:45:360:45:40

So I think I'm doing OK.

0:45:400:45:42

We are going to make an alliance for victory.

0:45:430:45:46

South Africa and Italy.

0:45:460:45:48

-Yes! Yes!

-We beat them!

-Yes, yes, yes, yes!

0:45:480:45:52

Robert and Gordon are battling it out for third place.

0:45:520:45:56

Meanwhile, at the top of the leaderboard, there is

0:45:560:45:58

a tussle between Glasgow's John McKnight and Jurgens Schoemin.

0:45:580:46:02

The Scots, I think, they try their best but I think we will

0:46:020:46:06

show them where we are coming from and that is Africa.

0:46:060:46:10

Yes!

0:46:100:46:11

-Yes!

-This is it. Final hole. Two shots up. But it's not finished yet.

0:46:140:46:20

I have to put this in. Then South Africa will be in the lead.

0:46:230:46:27

Oh!

0:46:270:46:30

CHEERING

0:46:310:46:34

-You are the winner.

-Freedom!

0:46:340:46:35

So, after nine holes of what is almost certainly the most

0:46:370:46:40

extreme game of golf ever played, we can be proud of the winner.

0:46:400:46:45

Experience has paid off for Glaswegian John McKnight.

0:46:450:46:49

I'd just like to thank David Scott for inviting me. It was really nice.

0:46:500:46:56

But a bit wild!

0:46:560:46:57

Welcome back to the Strathpuffer.

0:47:070:47:09

The 17 long, lonely, gruelling hours of darkness are almost over.

0:47:090:47:13

It's quarter to eight in the morning,

0:47:130:47:15

just over two hours left in this year's race.

0:47:150:47:17

And already we know that every single record, in terms of laps

0:47:170:47:21

completed, in every single category will be broken,

0:47:210:47:25

and, in some cases, smashed.

0:47:250:47:27

In the men's quad race, last year's winner, the Deeside Puffers,

0:47:280:47:32

have currently completed 32 laps and are lying in fourth place.

0:47:320:47:37

I think there's a real good quality of teams.

0:47:370:47:39

I wonder, last year, if people saw the weather and just thought, "Right,

0:47:390:47:42

"we're not going to do it,"

0:47:420:47:44

which is why we had a result cos we don't mind riding in it.

0:47:440:47:46

But we've done eight laps. We did eight laps by I think half past five.

0:47:460:47:51

I've never done more than eight so we have been working hard.

0:47:510:47:54

In second, Team Nevis Cycles have completed 36 laps -

0:47:550:48:00

the total for last year's winners.

0:48:000:48:02

But even with that amazing performance,

0:48:020:48:04

they are currently two laps behind the leaders.

0:48:040:48:07

We are just doing what we can and we can't go any faster.

0:48:070:48:11

We're putting it all out. That's fine. We're just accepting it.

0:48:110:48:16

They're so far down the road

0:48:160:48:17

so we are just sort of relaxed in our position at the moment.

0:48:170:48:21

The current leaders, Flatout Cycles, are living up to their name.

0:48:250:48:29

On their first ever Strathpuffer, they've already completed 38 laps.

0:48:290:48:33

It's just trying to keep it together on all the kind of technical bits,

0:48:330:48:37

all the rocks so you don't slash your tyre.

0:48:370:48:39

And as soon as you hit any climb or anything like that,

0:48:390:48:41

that's the time to kind of open the taps

0:48:410:48:43

and give it everything you've got cos that's where you'll lose

0:48:430:48:45

and make up time, really, and don't take any risks trying to make

0:48:450:48:49

up time on the rocky bits at the top.

0:48:490:48:51

In the men's solos, Keith Forsyth is suffering from his

0:48:510:48:55

overenthusiastic start, when he set a great pace straight from the off.

0:48:550:49:00

I hit the wall a little bit early on and I think it was the top

0:49:000:49:04

section where it's really rough on the rocks and just becomes Purgatory.

0:49:040:49:08

Overnight, you're just getting...

0:49:080:49:09

Ramming into rocks and you're getting knocked off-line

0:49:090:49:12

and it's really, really sapping.

0:49:120:49:14

-I could've just lain down on the ground and slept.

-Go on!

0:49:140:49:18

This means the battle for the top spot for the solos is now on

0:49:180:49:22

between motorbike racer Guy Martin and last year's winner Jason Miles.

0:49:220:49:26

Jason knows he's up against the stiffest of competition.

0:49:260:49:30

Guy's a phenomenal athlete and he's got quite a lot of mental

0:49:300:49:33

fortitude and drive, so he's ideally suited to this kind of thing so...

0:49:330:49:39

And he doesn't tend to get grumpy like I do.

0:49:390:49:43

I was horrendous.

0:49:430:49:44

In the women's pairs, the Deeside Divas have a commanding lead

0:49:440:49:48

but they are still finding it tough.

0:49:480:49:51

It's just been absolutely brutal.

0:49:510:49:55

My upper body's just feeling shocked from just the impact of all

0:49:550:49:59

the rocks and I'm making mistakes here, there and everywhere,

0:49:590:50:03

so I think now it's just a case of survival rather than even

0:50:030:50:06

looking at any lap times.

0:50:060:50:08

We're just going for it, just to keep on going round

0:50:080:50:11

and round as many times as we can.

0:50:110:50:13

The dark is really quite demoralising

0:50:130:50:16

and it's been quite a long time going round in the dark so looking

0:50:160:50:19

forward, definitely, to seeing the sun come up.

0:50:190:50:22

By this stage in the race, both body and mind are suffering.

0:50:220:50:27

You talk to the trees or your bike

0:50:270:50:29

or anything that will talk back to you.

0:50:290:50:32

And when it does start talking back to you,

0:50:320:50:34

that's when you start to worry.

0:50:340:50:35

You get these horrible lows. I'm focusing on that dawn lap

0:50:350:50:40

and hopefully when the sun comes up you get

0:50:400:50:42

a sort of feeling of elation, and that'll carry you through.

0:50:420:50:45

Just take it one chunk at a time.

0:50:450:50:47

Just think that, "Well, I've got this next little bit to do

0:50:470:50:50

"and that'll be it ticked off one more time," and then just think

0:50:500:50:53

of the next wee bit and just keep ticking off

0:50:530:50:55

one little bit at a time.

0:50:550:50:56

Don't think, "I've got another six laps to do,"

0:50:560:50:58

or another three laps, just think,

0:50:580:51:00

"Right, just the next bit, just the next bit," and all the little

0:51:000:51:03

bits will just add up, and before you know it you're round that lap.

0:51:030:51:06

-How you doing? All right?

-I'm pretty burst.

0:51:060:51:09

The uphills, I must admit, I'm having to get out my seat

0:51:090:51:11

and really grit my teeth to get up some of these hills.

0:51:110:51:14

So, so far, I've not had to get off the bike

0:51:140:51:16

and I'm determined not to get off the bike at all.

0:51:160:51:19

So, yeah, it's basically just head down.

0:51:190:51:22

You've just got to keep your head down. That's all I'm doing.

0:51:220:51:25

And, you know, so far,

0:51:250:51:27

no-one's overtaking me on the lap, which is good.

0:51:270:51:31

Chains stuck. It's knackered now.

0:51:310:51:34

As the sun rises and the riders finally leave the darkness behind,

0:51:350:51:39

it's easy to see that this event

0:51:390:51:42

is about much more than just the racing.

0:51:420:51:44

It's the best feeling in the world.

0:51:440:51:46

You know, the best lap in the Puffer is when the light comes up.

0:51:460:51:49

It's like... You can understand why cavemen dug that kind of thing.

0:51:490:51:53

This is excellent. This is great fun. The sun's nearly coming up.

0:51:550:51:59

One of the race marshals, Howard Swindell, was inspired to

0:51:590:52:02

capture the spirit of the Puffer in song.

0:52:020:52:05

# If you like to ride your bike

0:52:050:52:07

# If winter cycling's what you like

0:52:070:52:09

# If you love to ride through rain and hail

0:52:090:52:12

# The freezing wind of a northern gale

0:52:120:52:14

# The place for you to go, I guess

0:52:140:52:16

# Is heading north from Inverness

0:52:160:52:18

# Over the Kessock Bridge you go

0:52:180:52:20

# Through drifting deeps of snow

0:52:200:52:22

# To ride the Strathpuffer

0:52:220:52:24

# Oh, there's no race tougher

0:52:240:52:27

# If you pass up the chance to ride it, you're a duffer

0:52:270:52:31

# Just ride the Strathpuffer

0:52:310:52:33

# It'll make you suffer

0:52:330:52:35

# No, the tracks and the roads just won't get any rougher

0:52:350:52:39

# So find yourself some buddies who

0:52:390:52:42

# Are maybe just as mad as you

0:52:420:52:44

# Who don't mind riding through snow and ice

0:52:440:52:46

# And think that blizzards are quite nice

0:52:460:52:49

# Go and get your entry in

0:52:490:52:51

# It's probable that you won't win

0:52:510:52:53

# But you'll have a night you won't forget

0:52:530:52:55

# You'll get frozen, filthy and wet when you ride the Strathpuffer. #

0:52:550:52:58

I've been involved in marshalling the Strathpuffer for the last few years.

0:52:580:53:01

I've never actually done it yet. So I'm a bit of a duffer.

0:53:010:53:03

I should do it. I'd quite like to.

0:53:030:53:05

And I thought it was a good song to try and get some good rhymes into.

0:53:050:53:10

-What can rhyme with Strathpuffer? That was...

-Duffer.

0:53:100:53:13

-Duffer was definitely one of them, yeah.

-And tougher.

-And suffer.

0:53:130:53:18

With ten o'clock fast approaching, the race for this year,

0:53:180:53:22

at least, is nearly over.

0:53:220:53:24

All around the course, end-of-race fever is catching on.

0:53:240:53:28

Last lap! Whoo!

0:53:280:53:30

Last lap, hooray!

0:53:300:53:31

We're trying to get another one lap in,

0:53:340:53:36

-if I can get in before ten.

-You'll be all right.

-Go for it.

-Surviving.

0:53:360:53:42

-Last lap. I'll get there.

-Started training on the 6th of January.

0:53:430:53:47

-Who said it couldn't be done?

-Almost done.

0:53:480:53:53

No-one can be more relieved to see the finish line than Jason Miles.

0:53:530:53:57

He's completed more laps than anyone in the history of this race.

0:53:570:54:02

What an achievement.

0:54:020:54:04

And there he is. Here's Jason coming in.

0:54:040:54:07

Quite extraordinary. 31 laps.

0:54:070:54:11

Smashing the record set by him last year and, my goodness me,

0:54:110:54:16

look at the state of him. He is absolutely burst. Sensational stuff.

0:54:160:54:23

I said it was really hard last time

0:54:230:54:25

but that was probably one of the hardest things I've done.

0:54:250:54:29

But glad I've won. Yeah.

0:54:290:54:32

So, last year you did 28. This year you've done 31.

0:54:320:54:35

Back next year, get to 35 or something?

0:54:350:54:37

65, I think. Yeah. I don't know.

0:54:370:54:41

Wrong time to be asking me if I'm coming back next year.

0:54:410:54:45

It's the tenth anniversary next year, isn't it? Yeah. Well, maybe. Maybe.

0:54:450:54:49

It seems there'll be no stopping Jason Miles.

0:54:490:54:52

But, into second place and just one lap behind,

0:54:520:54:56

Guy Martin has had an amazing race.

0:54:560:54:59

You were pushing Jason all the way at the end there.

0:54:590:55:01

-You must have known how tight it was.

-Well, Jason...

0:55:010:55:03

Cos he's been helping me with my training, Jason has.

0:55:030:55:06

He's been helping me... How long's Jason been helping me with training?

0:55:060:55:09

-What, the last year or so?

-Yeah.

-About last year or so. So, yeah.

0:55:090:55:13

He'd have been gutted if I beat him. But he was single speed.

0:55:130:55:16

-He was single speed.

-But second place is not bad.

-It'll do. It'll do.

0:55:160:55:21

And in the quads, another record has fallen.

0:55:210:55:24

Flatout Cycles didn't know what to expect at the start

0:55:240:55:27

but they've completed 43 laps, two ahead of their nearest rivals.

0:55:270:55:32

We knew we had a fairly good team

0:55:320:55:34

but you never can underestimate anybody in a race like this.

0:55:340:55:38

It's much harder than...

0:55:380:55:40

Everyone says it's hard but, like everyone says,

0:55:400:55:42

until you've done it, you don't realise how grim it's going to be.

0:55:420:55:45

At three in the morning it was... We were all sitting in the van.

0:55:450:55:48

In our van was a bit of a state, wasn't it?

0:55:480:55:51

-We were all sitting there.

-Hugging an oil radiator.

0:55:510:55:53

Shivering, yeah, yeah. It was pretty cold.

0:55:530:55:56

Leading the field in the women's pairs, the Deeside Divas have

0:55:560:56:00

completed 27 laps to come in first for the women and tenth overall.

0:56:000:56:05

Very chuffed. Really pleased with that.

0:56:050:56:08

Just got a real buzz just coming down that last descent and thinking,

0:56:080:56:11

"Wow, we've done it." I think if anybody had said to us before today

0:56:110:56:16

that we would have managed 27 laps I would have probably laughed at them.

0:56:160:56:19

We thought we were aiming pretty high for going 22

0:56:190:56:22

and then we upped it to 24,

0:56:220:56:23

-and then 26, and she went out...

-Knocked a last one in in the end.

0:56:230:56:26

So, yeah, really pleased with that. It's been a really good race.

0:56:260:56:30

Really good race, yeah. Chuffed with that.

0:56:300:56:32

-So, top of the podium and breaking the record as well.

-Really? Oh, wow.

0:56:320:56:35

-We didn't know that.

-For girls.

0:56:350:56:37

-Yeah, for a female pair, you've broken the record.

-Amazing.

0:56:370:56:41

-Yeah, that's... Yeah, just absolutely buzzing.

-Oh, well, we can retire now.

0:56:410:56:45

-Well, I can.

-We'll retire on a high.

0:56:450:56:48

So, confirmation of all those results.

0:56:480:56:51

For the women, Morven Mackenzie-Fleming

0:56:510:56:54

was the first soloist, with 15 laps.

0:56:540:56:56

The Deeside pair of Kirsty Aitken and Jayne Taylor

0:56:560:56:59

achieved a hugely impressive 27 laps.

0:56:590:57:03

While Velocity Cafe were the first in the quads with 29.

0:57:030:57:07

-It was amazing.

-Brilliant.

0:57:070:57:08

Yeah, it was exactly like I'd imagined it to be, actually, yeah.

0:57:080:57:12

Really good craic. Much better craic than I'd thought.

0:57:120:57:15

I had the least rest I've ever had in a quad team

0:57:150:57:17

cos these guys kept going out and coming back very quickly.

0:57:170:57:20

The adrenaline's buzzing so much that you don't want...

0:57:200:57:23

You can't sleep anyway so you ride, you get in, you eat

0:57:230:57:25

and then you put your head down and try and sleep but you don't.

0:57:250:57:28

In the men's competition, for the solos, Jason Miles managed

0:57:280:57:32

to defend his last year's win to complete a staggering 31 laps.

0:57:320:57:37

In the pairs, Phil Simcock and Rich Rothwell

0:57:370:57:40

led from start to finish, with a total of 36 laps.

0:57:400:57:44

While in the quads, Flatout Cycles completed an epic 43 laps.

0:57:440:57:49

But coming first isn't the main reason they're here.

0:57:490:57:53

The win is like icing on the cake but if I'd come tenth

0:57:530:57:56

and tried as hard as I did,

0:57:560:57:58

I'd still be dead pleased that you've given it your best.

0:57:580:58:02

Well, that's it for this month's Adventure Show.

0:58:020:58:04

Congratulations to all our record-breaking winners.

0:58:040:58:08

This is the last event of this series

0:58:080:58:10

but we do have one more programme following someone who is

0:58:100:58:13

perhaps Scotland's most famous living landscape photographer.

0:58:130:58:16

In search of that perfect image, Colin Prior

0:58:160:58:20

takes on a project which is perhaps his most ambitious to date.

0:58:200:58:24

Please join us for that if you can.

0:58:240:58:26

In the meantime, from all of us here at the Strathpuffer,

0:58:260:58:28

thank you so much for your company. Bye for now.

0:58:280:58:31

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