Lindsay McCrae, 48, is a relative newcomer to road biking, having started racing only in 2014, but he has certainly made his mark in endurance cycling events in Scotland where he lives and increasingly around the world. Here he describes his 24-hour Revolve24 Circuit Challenge in 2018 in which he covered 433 miles and ascended 37,000 feet.
Revolve24 stages a series of cycling races at Brand’s Hatch each September. They include individual rides and relays for pairs and teams of 4, 6 and 8 riders, held over 6 hours and 12 hours, and - their premium event – 24 hours. In the 24 Hour Circuit Challenge, cyclists ride as many laps as they can of the 2.4 mile circuit in 24 hours. Revolve24 stages a similar event at the Bend Motorsport Park near Adelaide in South Australia. See more about Revolve24.
Lindsay McCrae rode a J.Laverack J.ACK titanium bike in the 2018 event. Having placed second in Bikingman Portugal 2019, he will be riding Bikingman Oman in February 2020. You can follow adventures on Instagram and Strava.
First a bit of Form
I’ve known the outdoors forever. I grew up on a Highland estate in Argyll, on the west coast of Scotland and I was a recreational mountain biker for many years. The longest ride I did in those days was when I was away working in Chile. In 2005 I headed up to the TransRockies Challenge in Canada. The race no longer exists, but at 600 miles over 6 days it was billed as the toughest MTB race of its time. I finished the race and enjoyed it but didn’t take things further at that stage.
I moved back to Scotland to work in Inverness and in January 2014 I bought a road bike on the Cycle to Work scheme and then I took part in some local sportives over that summer, Basically I got the bug. In 2015 I entered some longer races and did ok. Interestingly, I also tried some shorter British Cycling races, but I found I was less suited to them. The longer the race, it seemed, the better I would do. So I carried on entering longer races, including some multi day events, and started training specifically for them. I won several, including The 3 Pistes and Tour of The Highlands, arguably Scotland’s hardest sportives.
Why Revolve24?
In 2017 I decided I should really test my theory that I was an endurance racer, so I looked for events that would do this, though finding races longer than a few hours was difficult. There are almost none apart from 12 or 24hr time trials. I looked at these, but the training and equipment is very specific.
I came up with Rat Race’s City to Summit Ultra Duathlon (running and cycling from Edinburgh to Ben Nevis), which I managed to win by half an hour, in some pretty atrocious conditions (only 50% of the field finished the race). And then I heard about Revolve24. The logistics were simple (especially on my own with no support) and it was easy getting to.
I took 3rd place at Revolve24 in 2017, equalling the old course record, which I was very happy with. My results were a bit of a surprise to be honest, as I was competing in an international field of very good athletes; certainly better than anyone I had raced against to date. They confirmed I was ok at the longer events. I was lucky enough to win free entry to the next year in the raffle, so this became my main focus for training for 2018.
What was Revolve24 like in 2018?
I put slightly more pressure on myself on my second outing – in 2017 there was no real expectation, just to finish - whereas in 2018 I wanted to do well, possibly even win it. I had a much better idea of what was required and what strategies did and didn’t work. The forecast was to be sunny and dry but with a gusty wind for most of the event.
Unlike the first year when I was truly “solo”, there were a few familiar faces in the pits in 2018. I had a friend in the 12hr race and I knew the guys from Laverack Bikes, who were there with another competitor on one of their bikes.
It was nice to see them, though it is somewhat fleeting - once you start - you are out on track for the vast majority of time. It can be quite a solitary race. I was only in the pits for 3 refuelling stops of around 15min each over the 24hrs. Out on the track you do see the same faces again and again, but due to different strategies, speeds and the teams in the different races, you never interact with anyone more than the occasional nod or “How’s it going?”
What sort of training did you do?
Riding. Lots of it. I covered 10,000 miles in the year (including races). Often this broke down to short turbo sessions in the garage, of 1-2 hrs 3-4 times during the week and longer rides of 2-4 hrs at the weekend, with the very occasional ride of 5-6 hrs, though these were few and far between and more to practice nutrition strategies than training the legs. Once you go over 4 hrs you pass the point of diminishing returns. This is where you are building up additional fatigue for no real benefit to fitness, taking longer to recover and train properly again.
I attended a talk by ultra endurance cycling legend Mark Beaumont about his various challenges. He talked about riding the North Coast 500, a 518 mile scenic route around the coast of Scotland, starting and finishing at Inverness castle, and it got it into my head: “Couldn’t I do that…? Living in Inverness, wouldn’t it be logistically easy?” A seed was planted. When I discussed it with an old school friend, he offered to be car support if I wanted to give it a try. Unfortunately, a typical Scottish summer ensued and very few of the gaps in the weather landed on a weekend.
Then, about a month before Revolve, the weather looked like it might improve enough for an attempt. It would be an excellent opportunity to see how the body and mind handled such a distance and time in the saddle. On the Thursday we agreed to go for it and on Friday night my friend drove up from Edinburgh. We set off at 8am the following morning. It went pretty well for the first half, until I turned east at Durness and hit a headwind – which lasted for 120 miles, all the way to John O Groats. My spirits lifted a bit as I turned south, homeward bound, but then the last 3 hours were marked with biblical rain. It was easier to relate to mentally because I was on familiar roads, but it was tough mentally and physically all the way to the end. I finally finished it in a total of 33.5 hrs, just 2hrs short of the current fastest time. However, this did confirm that I could do the distance and also what I could eat through the various phases. I found out that food in the first 10 hrs differ vastly from the last 10 hrs. Important info!
I also changed to an LCHF diet (Low Carb Healthy Fat). This helped me to adapt to burning fat as a fuel at a race pace. As I found I could not ingest enough food/fuel to fully balance off what I was burning. Therefore I could effectively “under eat” and not hit the dreaded wall and bonk.
What strategies did you have during the event?
Initially the plan was to stop every 5 hours as I thought I could carry enough food and water for just this length of time. But as I got 5 hours in I realised I still had a little water and food left, so I eked it out to 6 hours. I decided that if I could replicate this throughout, I could save time by cutting one stop, so that’s what I did. I knew the pace I had to hold and tried hard to maintain it. Once or twice I found myself trying to keep up with other solo racers (easily identified by their race numbers) - I was panicking slightly that they were lapping me - but I forced myself to forget them and slowed to my race pace again so I didn’t go into the red.
For food I had a mix of oat bars for early on and then moved onto softer foods like 33 Shake Chai seed pouches. I had some precooked meatballs and yogurt drink for a quick splash and dash during pit stops. Electrolyte tablets for my bottles. I didn’t use any gels or high GI supplements/foods.
Physical vs Mental
One of the hardest things is to hold back in the opening hours. After all the training and tapering before the event you feel fresh and hyped up and want to blast it. This, combined with the presence of riders moving faster on shorter races and relay teams, encourages you to go for it. You have to fight the urge to “race” them. Ideally you want to start at a pace that you can sustain all the way from the first to last lap. Initially this can feel like you are just trundling round and that you could go so much quicker. But go too fast and you will blow up at some point, meaning you’ll slow down to a crawl or you will have to take an extended stop.
I found a few key moments are harder mentally. Like reaching halfway. It wasn’t a “Yay! I’m halfway” moment; it was more like “Oh s*it, I still have 12 hours to go!”
Riding through the night can be strange too, as you only really have the corners of the track as reference points to gauge your progress. In the darkness there is less stimulation on the slower parts of the track, so your mind can begin to wander. But then you hit a fast descent and your senses spring back into life as you focus wide eyed on the beam of light from your headlight, looking for the apex of the next corner looming up in the darkness.
What was most challenging moment?
The weather was a big factor. It was pretty hot at times. And that, coupled with a head wind on the back straight, which was also a slight drag uphill, made it tough going. And because the track is relatively short you are on that section a lot. In my case, 189 times to be exact.
And the best moment?
As I was out on track most of the time, I did not check my position on the leader board. I knew I had been lapped, so I thought I was possibly in fourth. But on my last stop I asked one of the Revolve staff in the pits what position I was. Her answer was a surprising second. A couple of riders had blown up during the night and had to stop for a sleep and refuel to recover. So, I headed out with a new found flush of energy, determined to catch first place. This lasted about a lap, when I realised I had to return to my allotted pace if I was going to make it to the end in one piece. With four hrs to go my friend started shouting from the pit lane as I passed by, telling me my relative position to first. The leader was stopping much more often and getting slower, while I was maintaining my pace. I decided that if I could just keep going, I might actually win. And that’s how it played out. I won the event by 8 laps. Incidentally my friend won the 12hr race. So a good day all round.
What did you learn?
The right bike and fit is vital in endurance cycling: comfort is king! Big thanks to the guys at Laverack for producing such a good bike.
Otherwise pacing is everything. Just keep the pedals turning and stay on plan. Keep faff to a minimum during stops, as time will disappear rapidly if you don’t. The body is an amazing thing.
