Catch Up With Richard Wilson

Like a lot of you, I’ve known Richard Wilson a long time through the sport of endurance mountain biking.  We share an enthusiasm for 24 hour mountain bike racing and Richard has been an ever present at the Chiller 24 over the year.  Richard is also passionate about ultra endurance riding and some of the challenges he has undertaken are just mind boggling to those of us who are broken after a one day gig!  Below he shares his thoughts on how he tackles epic challenges alongside 24 hour racing.  He’s a general all round great bloke and never fails to say hello and have a chat about life and all things going on in the world.  He does love a good political debate and gets particularly vocal when combined with whiskey (again, a shared passion).  Have a read of his answers to a range of questions.

As a rider of some seriously long distances such as the Great Divide, the Highland Trail 550 and many other multi day events, how do you manage to keep going when taking part?

It’s all about the pacing, and breaking it down into bite size chunks. You’ve got to consider the length of the event right from the start – no point for me in chasing after the young guns at the start. It’s always too easy to jump on a wheel that’s going past you a bit quicker. Resist!

I pretty much always ride with a power meter and heart rate monitor – I know my zones and work really hard to stay where I need to in the first few hours, not going into the red, and keeping a high cadence. It’s easy to burn your matches early on and then there’s no coming back from that. After half a day or so the pacing gets easier as the fatigue starts to build, and I find it easier to just sit and twiddle away, tapping it out and enjoying the ride.

Knowing where and when my feedstops are going to be – in 24hr circuit races, or multi-day events gives me the next bite size chunk. Cafe and Co-op in 30miles? There’s my next target.

I’ve done enough of these kind of events and races to know that I’ll go through pretty much the entire range of emotions at some point – elation and joy at being alive and riding my bike, to severe grumpiness and self loathing for being alive and riding my bike. Boredom and fear, Hunger and thirst to nausea. Countless WTF am I doing here?? moments. But I just try and remember that however I’m feeling at that moment, it’ll change soon, and that food and drink is usually the answer. And that I chose to be there, so suck it up.

When conditions are seriously grim, its often just a ‘live in the moment’ thing – one pedal stroke at a time, one foot in front of the other. And if it’s crappy for me, its crappy for everyone else too.

Which of the the multi day events have you found the hardest/most enjoyable and why?

They’re all enjoyable in their own ways – afterwards – and as hard as you want to make them. Lots of Type 2 fun.

I guess ‘satisfying’ would be a better way to describe them, and then it’s got to be the HT550 at the top of the list – a unique event. It’s a race I’ve started four times and finished twice. Both my successful rides were done as ITTs – following strict self-supported race rules and ethos, but ridden alone at a different time to the race. The 550 takes you to some truly wild places on some seriously bonkers trails. I remember standing at its most northerly point on the top of the Bealach Horn at dusk, looking around and seeing no one, and no trace of humans in any direction, but some massive storm clouds rolling in. That sharpened the mind somewhat and got me going fast down the near vertical bog that Alan Goldsmith pretends is a trail. Oddly I found the solo ITTs more satisfying as well as more challenging – in the actual race there are other riders around you; to get a gap on, to chase after, and mostly just to chat to – the motivation that can be taken from those just isn’t there when you’re racing nothing but the clock for five days. It has to come from yourself alone.

Another proper tough multi day event is Camille McMillan’s Frthr Elements – hundreds of miles of on/off road in the Scottish Highlands, in November. What could possibly go wrong? When Rich Rothwell says it’s tough you should seriously start to question your life choices. Standing around pre-start and having the dawning realisation that the 30 or so mostly bearded, all seriously whip-thin riders around just happened to include three ex – pros; all of whom had Grand Tour stage wins in their palmares. That really was a ‘WTF am I doing here?’ moment. But it’s a great event – I’m always at the back of the field, but – so far – I’ve always finished it.

We follow each other on Strava and it’s safe to say your weekly miles are pretty impressive, even in the depths of winter. Do you feel these consistent long rides are the key to your success?

Oh yes! They’re really important. Like everyone I’m a bit time crunched (despite only working a three day week), so my training has got a fair bit of high intensity, but long winter miles are really important. It builds that solid base so necessary for long events. And lets not forget; winter miles, means summer smiles. Riding through a dreary northern winter builds resilience – you get used to bad weather, wind, rain, sleet. So when you get that kind of weather in an event you know you can get your head down, and deal with it.

Have you got any tips for people who are looking to take on their own ultra cycling adventure?

Do it! Maybe just start with a long distance multi day route – all the fun without the race pressure.

And choose carefully. My first one was the Turin – Nice Rally; stunning scenery, sunshine, pizza, beer, great coffee and ice cream. What’s not to like??

Closer to home, Rich Rothwell’s ‘The Land Between’ is a great introduction to the sport. Recommended.

Pack light – but not too light, any one can be cold and uncomfy. Remember, ‘Light Is Right’ – until it goes wrong.

You have been involved in the Chiller 24 many times. Were you about the early winter ones? How did you find them?
Yes Barry, I do remember the early ones. I’m still having therapy. They were properly tough!! I remember the weather varied from freezing rain low down on the course, through the sleet and up into horizontal snow on the top fire road. Slush and mud under the wheels. Nice.

All the Cold Brew races are a bit special, a bit different, but those early Chillers were next level -definitely type 2.5 fun. It was usually a good month before you’d admit to yourself that yes, you’d do it again next year.

24 hour racing is a specific type of race. What is your strategy?

Again its the pacing, breaking it down into chunks and nutrition. Lap at a time. Keep the nutrition going in – before you think you need it.I dont tend to try racing other people – I race my race, at the pace I want to and try not to get sucked into battles with other riders – until the last lap or two, then you can start to really empty the tank. Finishing that last lap, crossing the line for the last time going flat out (even if its pretty slow by then!) is just the best feeling!

You’re in the V50 category and yet you’re still so consistently fast. How do you keep the injuries away?

The older I’ve got the more I’ve listened to my body. I’ve learnt, usually the painful way, not to push through sickness or minor niggles. Stop training, rest lots, eat well and recover. I once raced the 3 Peaks ‘cross race with ‘a bit of a cold’. In the days after I felt like Id been run over by a truck. Never again. Training ill, or even worse racing, is at best ineffective and at worst can be seriously damaging to your health.

I also really prioritise sleep and good nutrition. I’m vegetarian, and over the years I’ve learnt a lot about food and nutrition in general as well as particularly for endurance events. I work very hard to eat well all the time to maximise my training and recovery.

Gym work is critical, and my amazing coach, Sally – Ironsallycoaching.com – has constantly, gently pushed me into doing more and more gym work and it really pays off. Its not just about miles on the bike! Sally’s coaching has transformed how I train, and in the results I’ve obtained. She constantly monitors me and watches for the tell tale signs of illness or fatigue, and changes my training accordingly. Her coaching has been a much better investment than a new set of wheels!!

Would you recommend 24 hour mountain bike racing to others?

Hell yeah! Everyone should do one sometime! Sadly 24hr racing seems to have been going through a bit of a dip in popularity in recent years, as Grrrravel riding has taken off. But seriously, surely there’s only so much gravel fireroad you can enjoy?

Hopefully, with the likes of the Kielder Chiller, and Strathpuffer still going strong there’s a base for a much needed resurgence.

24hr racing can be done solo, but the other categories also offer different challenges .- I’ve raced in all of them over the years and they’re very different. Whilst I love the solo challenge, pairs is the hardest, and there’s nothing quite like a fast quads team – absolutely battering yourself for single laps, obsessively watching the time gaps between yourselves and the other teams. Brilliant fun, and very different from plodding around in zone 1 & 2!

What are your plans for 2026 as you’re bound to have something crazy lined up?

Actually, it’ll probably be a bit of a ‘hiatus year’ as I’ve got a huge backlog of home-stuff to deal with. Having said that, I’ve already done ‘Puffer this year – it was a tough one! – and there are other things on the cards.
Chiller, obviously, and I’ll be riding The Source to Sea event which travels around Gods own County. Great event. Frthr Scotland again, cant stay away. And I’ll be riding Rich Rothwell’s Land Between – its a great route and I’ll be riding it with a Southerner friend so it’ll be fun to introduce him to the, err, questionable delights of Whitley Bay, as well as glorious Northumberland!

Hammers 8…? That’s up to you Barry!

I’m also planning on a long bikepacking route up in Scotland with my son, Caleb. We did the Badger Divide a couple of years ago and he loved it despite some shocking weather, and hitting all the cafes at the wrong times. The Pictish Trail looks really good, and we haven’t been that far north yet! Hes 14 now so he can carry a bit more of his own damn kit this time.
2027 might be a bigger year for me – Ill be Vet 60 and I’m planning on having a bit more time to train and race by then…