Individual Time Trials
The concept of an Individual Time Trial (ITT) is that it’s a single stage event with the clock never stopping until you finish and that you follow the given route under your own steam but may use publicly available facilities.
The ruleset is pretty simple:
- Complete the entire route, under your own power – no drafting
- Be completely self-supported throughout the ride – absolutely no support crews, absolutely no gear sharing
- Only use commercial services that are available to all challengers – no private resupply, no private lodging
- If you have to leave the route, you must re-join it at the exactly same spot
- No caches of any kind
- No pre-arranged support, which means before you begin your ride – e.g. booking a B&B, arranging to meet a vehicle
- No travel by any motorised means during your ride – by all means do so if necessary, but understand if you do your attempt is over
As time has gone on some routes, particularly around the 300km mark have gone from most people stopping for at least a few hours rest to them being done in one single effort. That’s a result both of people being fitter and there being better knowledge about the routes themselves and how to approach them.
For more info head over to Selfsupported.net where there’s more info on both the routes below and others in the UK.
The Yorkshire Dales 300
The closest ITT to where I live so one on which I had most prior knowledge of the trails. That meant I didn’t see it as being as difficult as others made out. On reflection it’s pretty tough with a lot of ascent.
The general tone of the route isn’t too hard, there’s only one really difficult descent (into Gunnerside Gill) which is about 300m long and another couple of rough descents, but the remainder might be considered suitable for a gravel bike. You’d only lose a couple of minutes on those descents if you walked them.
There’s no longer a group start since the organiser, Stuart Rider, moved away from the area.
The Cairngorms Loop
I haven’t actually completed the Cairngorms Loop though I have done all the route. I’ve tried the group start twice but bad weather the first time and a bit of “Can’t be bothered” on the second attempt has led to two DNFs.
The Lakeland 200
A biking counterpart to the Bob Graham Round, this is, mile for mile, one of the hardest ITTs in the UK, the fastest time is only three hours quicker than that for the 50% longer Cairngorms Loop. There’s a lot of hike-a-bike.
I completed this on a very windy couple of days in 2022 to become only the second person to have completed both this and the Bob Graham.
The Highland Trail 550
This is the premier UK mountain bike (or gravel bike if you feel that way inclined) ITT. The group start takes place towards the end of May each year in Tyndrum. From where fast trails along with some sublime singletrack lead almost to the very top of Scotland before returning via sections of ever increasing difficulty down the west coast with the queen stage being the traverse of the Great Wilderness of Fisherfield.
The group start is invitation only, you have to prove to the organiser, Alan Goldsmith, that you are capable of handling yourself over multiple days and basically don’t need your hand holding when things go wrong.
By the time the call for entrants for the 2017 edition came round in November 2016 I felt I was ready. I sent my palmares off to Alan and somewhat worryingly he said “Yes”
And so on 26th May 2017 I stood with around 50 other riders at the start line in Tyndrum. Ready for a great adventure.
One thing to note about the HT550 is that Alan regularly changes the route. I’m not sure if this is so that there isn’t an actual “official route” or it is just to use different trails. But the 2017 route was substantially different to that being followed now.
The Peak 200
A little further south is the Peak District. Having done the HT550, Ian Fitz decided that The Peak needed its own ITT so he came up with this route.
Somewhat like The Peak itself, it’s a route of two distinct halves.
Not a successful attempt but interesting nonetheless.
The Northumbrian
Not a well known one this. In fact I think it’s only had two successful completions which were by the pair to come up with it.
Worked out and put together in 2017 by Philip Addyman, who’s no slouch, just he and Stuart Cowperthwaite are known to have completed it though a number have done it with variations to avoid the firing ranges.
Cath and I decided to try it one December. We didn’t finish it.
The Trans-Cambrian
One of the early ITTs. I did this as one of my final training rides for the HT550 in April 2017