Just read that Rob Dean made the halfway point in 8:35.

Current overall record is 18 hours I think so he could be on for a new one?

Oh, and he's riding singlespeed…

I dunno if its 8:35 half way he's likely to slow in the second half, but good work to him regardless.

Out of interest where is it being covered?

Blimey! Mike Cotty actually went *FASTER* on his return journey IIRC!

These endurance boys are made of strong stuff.

Tim

Go Rob go wooohoooo

Seeing as its rob itll be on bike magic i assume. seems to have really stepped up to the plate with that time on ss ! Keep it going !

and it's daylight for the return leg!

I think he'll have finished by now – he got to halfway at about 11 last night.

he's singlespeeding/ed it as well, hasn't he?

he's quite tough for a short-arse 😀

I do think he gains an unfair leverage advantage that the rest of us lack.

He's in and has set the fastest SS time and the 2nd fastest SDW double time with 18hrs 41mins 59secs – incredible.

Wow. Cracking ride!

Well done you…

That's a bit good really isn't it!

Cheers guys

I had no idea that that fast was possible on a SS! The previous record was 23:20:32! Set off with a 22hr in mind, then revised to 21, and by the return leg decided to try and aim for sub 20, was a bit shocked by the time. I had a blast, and the sunrise was fantastic, riding through it with the trails to myself was a treat, not to mention two badgers and two barn owls spotted – yay!

I can't recommend a single SDW highly enough as a day out, and would encourage everyone to try a SDD – with a bit of planning an assisted SDD (kit, food, lights handed at all the road crossings by a mate in a car meaning the rider can go super light) should be pretty accessible for anyone brave!

All the credit really goes to the ipod for playing my special SDD playlist I made the night before in the perfect order! (oh, or maybe to Sabreen Hitchens at Active Physio in Brighton for being the best physio in the world :D)

Rob,

Assume you rode the superfly in singlespeed mode? Or did you tweak the tallboy? what gearing were you running?

Perfect night for it – work dictates that my ATTEMPTS will be limited to weekends along with plenty of others at this time of year

wwaswas – leverage advantage, maybe, but try hauling me up the hills and I think you'll discover it's an advantage my love of pies+cake more than offsets 😉 (compensated for by good old-fashioned stubbornness and a love of riding my bike a long way)

🙂

How are the legs and back?

Where's the write-up, I very much enjoyed the West Highland Way ride blog (we chatted briefly at Clic24 after your pal had set off at midnight).

Well done!

Well done you!

I'm going to try for one way on Sunday. I hope my knee holds up.

Ti29er – I think you're confusing me with Santacruz rider Rob Lee

Legs and back are fine all the same, cheers, when I saw how fast I was going I backed off a bit so I didn't blow up, so they're relatively well looked after

Karinofnine – Enjoy it! It's a "must do" day out for any UK rider IMHO, and a great day out it is too. Don't forget that, if you're not doing it unassisted (also referred to as "alpine" in the official double records) like I was, there's an ice cream van at Ditchling Beacon and a great deli/pie shop in Alfrison 🙂 I, sadly had to ride past both of these so timed my ride to make sure as much as possible was shut so I didn't miss out!

Knee problems? Snap! Get yourself to Sabreen, mine has been fine this year, not a squeak, and that was a pretty damn good test I just gave it! Oh, and say I sent you 😉

Is she Rory's wife?

I have a meniscal tear and other ligament damage which is leaking fluid into a big and growing cyst in/around my knee. I need to get it aspirated in the short term and operated on in the long term. I just want to do one more long ride first… in case I am off the bike for a while.

Good work

Well done.

Karinofnine – Yes she's Rory's wife, but mainly she runs her own Physio clinic. I went to her on reputation for my knee, not due to the Rory connection, and the progress she's made has been truly astonishing (the time speaks for itself!)

Sorry to hear your knee's not having so much fun, knees are a rubbish design aren't they!

Well done Rob – I came out to see you around Southease last night to show you around the temporary footbridge (in case you didn't know the main bridge was up). However, I suspect that you'd been long gone by the time I got to the filthy farm to see you.

Great effort and I reckon you're SS record will stand for a long time.
Kinda makes up for Exposure24 and OSMM by some way I reckon – you were due some good fortune.

Rob, great result there! I have done the SDW one way on a SS that was enough of challenge! Both directions sub 19hrs time is phenomenal.

For geeky curiosity what did you ride, 26er or 29er and what ratio?

yeah,cmon Rob..what ratio you stud.

Loving the way you bounce back
solo 24-set 2 rise
mayhem-sdw ss record ….. respect.

Fantastic result…congratulations. 😀

Still intend to do the SDW in a day but, for me, its not the energy levels but the physical discomfort of being in the saddle for so long. Still going to do it though…threads like this are good inspiration.

well done Rob – it's fantastic riding on the SDW at the moment.

Cheers Napalm – I found my way around the footbridge OK thanks luckily, maybe it was the helping vibes, they do say it's the thought that counts!

This was just OSMM make-up, I did Set2Rise 12hr solo the week after 24hrs of exposure illness disappointment, and won it, which was pretty good compensation for that one!

For the record I was running a 29er, with my gearing at 32:18 (equivalent to 32:16 on 26" wheels) as that's what was fitted to the bike and that's all I own and all I've ever ridden with. Luckily it seemed to work just fine 😉

Amazing job, Mr Dean, hats off!

I've got to echo that the SDW is a brilliant day (or weekend) out.

I can't imagine getting up some of the wickedly steep bits in 32:16, though. Was it quicker to run up any of it, Rob, or is what's possible on bike further away from me than I thought? 🙂

Run? I DON'T do running! 😉

I walked about 3 sections on the way out, but lots of slow pedal turning gurning was in evidence, lots more on the way back as I was well ahead of where I expected to be and wanted to keep a lid on my efforts so I made sure I brought it home safely.

With fresh legs (and without having to have some legs left for the remaining 150miles!) it's ALL rideable, specially if there's a bet on for a pork pie 😉

Lordy.

So who are you collecting the pork pie from then?

There's also the other semi 2 way option if you're Brighton / Worthing based and not such an endurance hero.

Devils Dyke to Eastbourne and back
OR Devil's Dyke to Hampshire and back

buit you only get half a pork pie 😆

and you don't have to worry about getting the train home afterwards either.

Eastbourne & back is a good long roll along the downs – and you get to go past the pie shop in Alfiston TWICE!!! (panic not, there's an ice cream shop too)

Would others have ridden with you had you made it known here that you were riding? Or were you looking for a solitary ride?

Apologies for mixing you up with the other Rob! Is yours the General Lee?

11th July is the date pencilled in for a 1 way Winch to Eastbourne attempt for me. Did the 44 mile Wiggle ride in 4hr 25min last week, and have done Winch to Amberly in 6 1/2 hours before.
Well done for setting a new record and moving the goal posts for SS riders a long way.

Were all the taps working as a matter of interest?
STM

Hi Ti29er – I enjoy a solitary ride for these big jaunts, but a bit of company is always pleasant for the odd hour here and there. I do enjoy having the Downs all to myself from late evening through to mid-morning though. The company sometimes has an issue keeping up too 😉

Oh, and after a hundred or so miles, doing 8:35 pace, I'm not much of a talker!

Yes, mine is indeed the General Lee, and an unbelievably incredible bike it is too

Oh, and all the taps were working, except the one at the Adur river crossing, but there's one at the Truleigh Hill youth hostel immediately aferwards, so its not a problem if you're going W-E

hats off Robdeanhove. The kind of ride I don't think I could ever do.