The 28hr Project
So what is the T28P?
The 28hour project are decentralised ultra-cycling races designed to connect communities across the world. Teams, pairs, and solo riders have three races to join with different goals to achieve, choosing bike, route and strategy, anywhere in the world.
The three races are a 12 hour warm up race in May, and elevation gain 28hour race in June and a 28hour ultra distance race in September. This blog focuses on this year’s September race. 9am your time until 1pm the next day. How much can you cover?
Having attempted this last year, I was keen to spend more time moving and less time faffing during the 28 hours where I covered 554km (344 miles). My goal this year was to hit 600km choosing a loop from home that had a flattish finish and took in some areas I hadn’t ridden before with the aim of returning home around 22/23 hours in.
#the28hproject MISSION
SET A CLEAR GOAL
VISUALIZE IT
BRAKE IT DOWN
CONNECT WITH YOURSELF
REMEMBER WHY
KILLER PLAYLIST
CELEBRATE MILESTONES
STAY MINDFUL
VARIETY IS THE KEY
MOST IMPORTANT -> POSITIVE SELF-TALK
Is the #GameChanger
Is none of our business what route you choose.
We don't care about your strategy.
Just make it happen 🏴☠️
www.t28p.com/ultracycling
Such a cool idea! This is the brainchild of Jordi Gabarron who is based in Barcelona, Spain.
You can choose any type of bike inside or outside, although doing 28 hours on a turbo seems mind numbingly hard, riders have opted to do this in the past.
I headed out from home at 9am, which was hard having been up for a few hours as you want to get going early but everyone must start at 9am their local time wherever you were in the world. I set off exactly on time and made my way north to Guildford, where at 70km I turned West and headed towards Farnham.
The roads had been familiar to me up until this point and heading towards Winchester and Salisbury I was on mostly new small back roads. Komoot had certainly chosen quiet roads with minimal cars.
Points are awarded for the rider that covers the most distance over the 28 hours. So, 25 points for a win + 10 points and 24 points + 5points for second and so on. There are also incentives, like an extra 10 points if you hit 200km in 8 hours and I was trying to hit this target. It was very warm and even though I pushed towards the 8 hours, I did manage to cover off 201.5km in this time and was around Boyton near Warminster.
As mentioned, the roads and small hamlets I passed through were quiet, but this left virtually no refuel stops and after the effort above I had run out of fluid and had to make a small detour to a service station for replenishment.
This made me feel much better as I’d only covered another 30km in the next hour and a half over the hilliest part of the route and at 9 and a half hours in I started to head south via Castle Carey. South Barrow and Marston Magna towards Yeovil.
It was now properly dark, and my lights were on as well as a high viz gilet. Still no need to put on the jacket or the leg and arm warmers I was carrying as it was still warm. As I approached Yeovil I found a shop and stocked up for the night shift not knowing when I would get the next opportunity to do so. It was now 9pm, 12 hours in and 284.5km covered.
After Yeovil the roads became very small and dark again until I hit Blandford Forum, a place I’d done some night rides through before, so I felt I was heading east towards home and a flatter terrain. Great for the mind when doing ultra distance races, kind of knowing where you are. This was halfway around the 14 hour mark. 330km ridden.
Skirting through Christchurch I was flagging a little and was craving some hot food as I hadn’t had any during the ride so far and fortunately for me, I spotted a well-known fast-food place offering 24-hour service that I could stop at. Here I mixed with some friendly night club goers. It took a little while for my order, but it was worth the wait, and I was pleased I had taken the decision to stop. It was still warm at nearly 1am so I ate outside and then quickly carried on.
At Lyndhurst I decided to have 10 mins and stopped in a bus stop for a little rest. I had been riding through the New Forest. This was around 2am and nearly 400km in.
With the New Forest there are cattle grids and if any of you have done a long stint in the saddle these can play havoc with your saddle sores!
Southampton was next as I felt I was on the home leg. Flat through Fareham and Havant would lead me into Chichester and across the River Arun into Littlehampton. The sun was starting to show its face and this felt good. You know the night is done and you can see much better than before despite being tired. It is certainly a game changer when the morning sun is out, it’s like you forget the night shift.
Chichester and Worthing soon came by as I knew these roads well. Onto the cycle path along the coast which was flat and I was hoping for the general tailwind to push me home but it wasn’t strong this morning. People and traffic were starting to build up but I was pleased at the distance and time it had taken me.
I arrived home as the sun was coming up into Brighton & Hove covering off just over 500km in around 22.5 hours. It was time to get a shower and change for the remaining few hours. I think I spent around an hour at home eating and changing, taking the bags off the bike before I headed back out around 9am. The plan was to stick to the coast keeping it flat and grind away the remaining 4 hours. It was now heating up nicely and was in the mid-twenties and the coast was getting busy with people and cars coming to the beach. I hadn’t really thought about traffic having a relatively traffic fee route so far and this became slightly annoying as it would make me frequently slow down or stop.
Basin road is a dead-end road along the sea front near Shoreham harbour and as this is flat and having used this road last year it seemed the right option to do again, not really having to think about where to go – just to ride. I saw a few people I knew and stopped for a chat and then realising how achy my legs where I bided farewell to carry on. I must keep going. So close to home, it was calling and defiantly making it harder to concentrate on completing the time. Note to self – if I do this again net year, make a bigger loop so there is no temptation to jack it in early as I’m right near home!
As the roads got busier, I extended the ride along the coast heading to Rottingdean and back to Worthing as it was so busy, and I just wanted to keep moving. I did this a further three times just to ‘waste’ sometime and headed back home to be finished outside the house at 1pm on the dot.
I managed 602km and to date this was my 5th longest ride and I was pleased to finish this year in 2nd position.
You can view Rupert's route on Komoot and Strava.
Congratulations on another top finish (Editor)