BearBones 200
Llanbrynmair in Mid-Wales is the starting location for one of the more unusual challenges in the UK. Every year Stuart Wright creates a route of around 200Km and invites a crazy coterie of mountain bikers turn up to challenge themselves over that route in whatever weather that year throws at them.
It should be noted that Stuart’s idea of a bike route and that of many others don’t necessarily align!
It’s rather hard to define just what the BB200 (and more recently the 300km version) are. They aren’t “races”, but equally they aren’t something to take lightly. They also aren’t “time trials” but they do have a time element in that to be “successful” you need to return to the community centre from where you started within 36hrs.
For that effort you get a green badge. Return within 28hrs and you get a blue badge. For those fit enough, returning within 24hrs of setting off sees you the proud owner of a black badge. The 300km challenge is slightly different in that you simply have 36hrs to get back and gain an orange badge.
Somewhat curiously, gaining a blue badge is reckoned to be the least likely: if you are quick enough that you can bivy AND finish within 28hrs then you are likely to be able to finish in under 24hrs without bivvying and thus gain a black badge.
The challenge follows the standard ITT rules. However the start is staggered, partly to avoid any “race” connotations, you may depart at any time between 0700 and 0900.
Due to the BB200 taking place on the same weekend as the Bob Graham Club’s biennial dinner I have only been able to attempt the BB200 on even numbered years. To date I have done five BB200s and one BB300 achieving four black badges, one green one and an orange one.
- The 2016 edition was my first event. This is commonly held to be one of the faster routes.
- The wet one two years later was somewhat different. The first ten hours or so were brutal with some serious river crossings.
- The Brecon Beacons in 2020 had to deal with Covid restrictions which forced a rethink with riders being allowed to start whenever they wanted during the month of October and start wherever on the loop they wanted.