As you tucked in to your Sunday roast yesterday you might have spared a thought for James Cracknell and Jerone Walters. While it may have been chicken and all the trimmings for you, it was energy gels, pears and Muller Rice for them as, at 3.50pm, they found themselves 634.5 miles into an 842 mile tandem record attempt from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
With weeks of prep, night time training rides and a logistical mountain already in the bag, James and Jerone set off on Rocket 2 at 3am on Saturday morning aiming to beat the existing Road Records Association time of 50 hours, 14 mins and 25 seconds. 45 years ago, Pete Swinden and John Withers secured themselves the top spot riding a Hobbs USWB track tandem which, Pete’s son told us today, was run on a freewheel and cost £12.
Rocket 2
James and Jerone were riding Rocket 2, based on a Terry Dolan frame custom-built for David Harmon and Magnus Backstedt, who will take on their own RRA record – the 25 mile – in the coming months. For those asking how the tandem came to be named Rocket 2, it’s simple; Rocket 1, also a Terry Dolan bespoke design, came first.
Setting off in the dark but heading into the hottest October sun ever recorded, James and Jerone made good progress through Cornwall and Devon, up to Gloucestershire and the Midlands past the first of 110 RRA observers stationed along the route. As they travelled north to the Lake District in the dark, the clock ticked over the first 24 hour mark.
Knowing that, being 24 hours in, you’re only half way there is a tough mental challenge and the riders did drop back from the schedule during the night, as the rain – and temperatures – began to fall. But sunrise over the Borders brought a trip to the supermarket for the support cars and fresh supplies of Haribo, and Rocket 2 was again making good progress up the A9, which leads to John O’Groats.
Minor drama
There was minor drama in the shape of a puncture, then the need to replace a crank near the Forth Bridge, but Macdonald Cycles in Edinburgh came to the rescue with their knowledge of tandems and, most importantly, a 175mm right hand side, square tapered axle crank for the front.
With the organising crew updating Twitter frequently and also using Map My Tracks to provide live feeds, mileage countdowns, calories burnt and a map, in the first 24 hours over 10,000 people logged on. Map My Tracks can be found at rocket2.mapmytracks.com and Rocket 2 can be followed on Twitter via @Project7Racing or using the hashtag #Rocket2.
One other thing; James & Jerone chose to raise money on the ride for the Headway Brain Injury Association, who gave James and his family invaluable support and guidance following his well documented accident in 2010. James said; “Without Headway’s support I would not be making this record attempt. They reach so many families and teach them how to understand and deal with the obvious, and more subtle, effects of brain injury. With their help, my family and I have been able to rebuild our lives together”. Donations to Headway can be made via the link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/rocket2
Record attempt latest:
For the safety of the riders, the attempt was called off at 01:15 hrs last night with 68 miles remaining
