Bikes of Solstice Sprint 2024

Paul Jennings

Age: 50

Cap number: 150

Location: Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Bike: Mason Resolution

Key items of kit: Mudguards… always mudguards! Ultegra mechanical groupset (50/34 & 11/32). Handbuilt wheels: Hope hubs and DT Swiss GR531 rims. A saddle with a hole to enable Gilbert the Gooch to breathe. Aero bars for the win. Garmin 1030 to keep me on track. GoPro to document all the Donkeys I spot along the route. Exposure lights front and rear (no need for the dynamo hub in the picture as the days will be long and nights short on this ride). A mixture of Apidura and Altura bikepacking bags, mainly full of food and gooch cream. And a set of Rotor cranks (which, embarrassingly, aren’t level in the photo) because no one likes it when your Shimano cranks disintegrate.

Annie Dixey

Age: 31

Cap number: 74

Location: Winchester, UK

Bike: Reilly T325d - which I've only had for 6 weeks, built up from the parts of my old bike which tragically snapped 8 weeks ago. A mixture of sram etap components, Reynolds AR41s and pirelli p zero 30mm tyres.

Key items of kit: All my tools are kept in the apidura down tube bag. My saddle bag has my waterproofs, warm clothes, emergency sleep system and electronics. Apidura top tube bag mostly for food, and an extra snack pouch for constant access.

Leo Hemsted

Age: 34

Cap number: 131

Location: London

Bike: Condor Bivio Odyssey in audax mode - Son dynamo on a Hope/H Plus Son wheelset, and full kinesis metal mudguards. 105 di2 so that I have something to forget to charge, and a 36T bailout cassette that still wont be enough.

Key items of kit: A bag cocktail of Apidura, Wizard Works, Ortlieb, and Decathlon. Shout out the £25 decathlon top tube bag in particular. Kit wise, nothing too exciting except for a lot of mini pork pies, an inflatable pillow, and an iPod classic that I've not been able to sync since 2013 so I can listen to some of my old dubious music taste without any stupid spotify algorithms to distract me.

Sam Wilson

Age: 32

Cap number: 118

Location: London

Bike: Supersix Evo

Key items of kit: Garmin 1040, Exposure Strada and blaze with back up battery powered Cat-Eye Omni’s. Cuktech fast charge 10000mah battery, minix 65w chargers and phone. Tools, toiletries and layers depending on the weather. Emergency bivvy bag, decathlon Matt and sleeping bag liner. Fingers crossed for a tailwind all round.

Matthew Clarke

Age: 54

Cap number: 26

Location: Bonnybridge, Scotland

Bike: Focus Cayo (used to be a 105 triple)

Key items of kit: Profile Designs cockpit SRAM 1x 34T and 11-42 Mavic Krysium running GP5000 & tubes Tailfin Aero rear with Apidura top tube bag Exposure Strada SB Garmin 530 Alpkit Hunka & Bag Thermarest NeoAir

Chris Treaise

Age: 51

Cap number: EX20 1UN

Location: Okehampton, Devon, UK

Bike: Mason SLR

Key items of kit: Here is my Mason SLR, 11 speed GRX, 31 - 34 gears, Hunt wheels and running nice big 38mm Rene Herse for comfort along with profile aero bars, changing the saddle to my Brooks Cambium. Mix of Tailfin rear rack and bag, Restrap Race top tube and frame bag and a front canister bag. Lights by Raveman, Hammerhead Computer, two battery banks which hopefully will be enough but with a plug charger in case. Sleep kit - Outdoors research Bivvy, Sea to summit bag and mat, and a small inflatable cushion. Clothing - Depends on the weather, but spare shorts, waterproof coat as its Wales.

Jason Austin

Age: 51

Cap number: 25

Location: Northallerton Northyorkshire

Bike: My bike is a 2020 Trek Domane Sl5. 11 spd Compact chainset 50/34 with 34 cassette. Aelous 35mm carbon wheelset with Bontrager 32mm AW3 Tyres.

Key items of kit: My bike will be kitted out with Yorkshires very own Restrap's bags since I am from Yorkshire after all. Consisting of a Cannister bag/TopTube Race Bag and a 8l Saddlebag (not sponsored). To Navigate I be using a Garmin 1030+. I'll also be using a hydration vest. Fueling iam using Stykr products(not sponsored). Looking forward to my biggest challenge today.

Rupert Robinson

Age: 52

Cap number: 65

Location: Hove

Bike: Kinesis Aithein Disc

Key items of kit: Tailfin & Extensions. Lezyne lights.

Jason Gaines-Burrill

Age: 45

Cap number: 157

Location: Hampshire

Bike: Terra Firma

Key items of kit: Titanium Terra Firma custom adventure road bike with profile T4 aero bars. Shimano 105 mechanical drive chain. All the bike bags are from restrap and include 14L saddle bag, frame bag, top tube bag and canister bag.

Tony Clare

Age: 46

Cap number: 20

Location: Cropredy, UK

Bike: J.Laverack Slate Ti

Key items of kit: Castelli hydration jersey with Evoc 1.5L bladder plus Evoc 1.5L bladder in Rusjan frame bag. I'm prioritising water and food carrying capacity this year so I can keep my stops to a minimum.

Zpacks tarp and Alpkit Kloke bivvy to give me plenty of options of where to sleep no matter what the weather is like.

PHD down jacket and trousers.

20,000mAh Elecjet graphene powerbank, which re-charges super fast.

Wahoo Roam V2 and Exposure Toro to keep me on track day and night.

Not forgetting the gold chain for the extra watts ;-)

Thomas Dutton

Age: 26

Cap number: 68

Location: Kenilworth

Bike: Pinnacle Arkose Gravel Bike

Key items of kit: Restrap galore. Outdoor research bivvy.Tubeless with inserts

Matt Whittle

Age: 32

Cap number: 71

Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Bike: Open U.P.

Key items of kit: Wheels - Hunt carbon 50s Groupset -SRAM Rival with 46x33 and 10-36 cassette Restrap stem bag, frame bag, top tube bag, saddle bag and race musette. Lights - exposure Strada, Garmin varia plus a exposure link helmet light and back up bontrager flare/ion 200. Saddle is a ISM 50. Deda parabolica aero bars with risers and zipp xplr bar and zipp stem. Garmin 1040 solar. The main feature is Homer Simpson and Kristy the clown valve caps from brick caps.

Nick Livermore

Age: 33

Cap number: 130

Location: Bristol, UK

Bike: Cannondale CAAD13

Key items of kit: Not an awful lot. An excellent Alpkit handlebar bag with the essentials. Top tube bag stuffed with an Irish whiskey cake.

Martin McShane

Age: 67

Cap number: 51

Location: Shireoaks

Bike: Cannondale Synapse

Key items of kit: Not my first choice of bike as I think some toe rag stole my beautiful Stayer frame I had ordered - from the incompetent clutches of UPS. :(
However, with the obligatory Tailfin aeropack and top tube bag, Ortleib half frame bag, Alpkit food pouches and Restrap aero bar bag I have spread my bets on future sponsorship ;) Ultegra Di2 but with a sneaky 11-36 cassette to offer some help with the hills. Expsoure light for the front MaXx-D Mk13 for when the daylight fades (will it need recharging?)

Brad Harsant

Age: 53

Cap number: 43

Location: Oxford

Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp, Rival eTap AXS, groupset with 10-36 rear 46-33 front. Hunt 4 Season front wheel with Son Dynamo Hub powering Exposure Revo front light & DT Swiss R470 rear. Continental GP500 30mm with tubes, Profile Design Aero Bar with 50mm risers Garmin 1030 plus

Key items of kit: Apidura Handlebar Bag - which holds night time clothing, down jacket, baselayer, spare kit ( i am expecting rain) Topeak Top Tube Bag - Phone & power bank Restrap Race pouch - for all things snack related Apidura Frame Bag - Toolkit & 2x inner tubes, spare AXS battery, toiletries, first aid kit, spare front light exposure joystick & knog rear light, power leads, spare power bank 10000mAh, ABUS bike lock Apidura Rear Saddle Pack 17L - Sleep system which consists of Alpkit Elan bivvy, Sea to Summit ultra light mattress, sleeping bag, silk liner & pillow, flip flops to enjoy that flat ground even if its for 10 mins. Extras - 2ltr camelbak & musette bag

Ryan MacGillivray

Age: 34

Cap number: 6

Location: London

Bike: Fairlight Strael 3.0

Key items of kit: Cyclite aerobag, SON dynamo and front/rear lights, Exposure Strada, Redshift Aerobars

Gary Smith

Age: 43

Cap number: 92

Location: Malvern, UK

Bike: Boardman CX Team 2014, Scribe wide+ 50mm wheels Shimano 105/GRX mix groupset with 50/34, 11-40t cassette Profile design aerobars with 60mm risers Schwalbe Pro one 32 mm tubeless tires

Key items of kit: Aeropack spider rack and bag for sleep kit Frame bag for electrics Topeak small saddle bag for tools and spares Front end dry bag mounted in line with frame (every little aero counts) on aerobars using a fork cage. Top tube bag and stem bag for snacks Garmin 530, Moon lights

Si Woodhams

Age: 37

Cap number: 136

Location: Canterbury, UK

Bike: Vitus Substance CRS

Key items of kit: Magicshine front and rear lights (last for days!) Mixture of Cyclite, Apidura and Restrap bags for all the food and equipment storage.

Cheryl Reid

Age: 42

Cap number: 5

Location: Oxford, UK

Bike: Genesis Croix de Fer Ti XS GRX components (mix 810 and 600) 46-30 chain rings, 11-40 cassette, 165 cranks SON Dynamo, Sinewave Revolution USB charger

Key items of kit: Saddle and top tube bag (Apidura) Handlebar bag (Ortlieb) for extensive snacking No sleeping gear - hotels only! Furry cheerleader (Sylvie)

Richard Lam

Age: 56

Cap number: 81

Location: London, UK

Bike: Giant Defy Advanced 1 with superlight handbuilt (Arkane wheelworks) wheels built onto Carbon-Ti hubs (1100g the pair), Continental GP5000 AS tyres, 32mm just for that little bit of extra protection, Shimano Di2 105 with a compact chainset and a 36 at the rear to help with the hills, shimano XTR spd pedals, Garmin 1040 solar to navigate, Exposure RS strada to light the way with a Ravemen CR1000 as a back up, Lezyne rear light

Key items of kit: Tailfin top tube bag to carry lotions, snacks, Tailfin rack and AP20 bag to hold a Vango F10 superlight tent, neoair sleep mat and sea to summit sleep bag. Hoping that I dont use these but day 2 options look limited! change of kit and washbag inside. Cyclite framepack holds the tools/spares in lower compartment, and main compartment has raingear. Key kit item is the Albion Cargo vest with a bladder and plenty of space to store food, etc for night rides.

George Knuff

Age: 36

Cap number: 35

Location: London

Bike: Orro Terra-C

Key items of kit: GRX 1x - 11-50 Stayer Wheels Schwalbe pro one 34mm tyres Apidura Bags

Matt Jarvis

Age: 49

Cap number: 40

Location: Oxford

Bike: Dolan GXT Titanium Gravel Disc

Key items of kit: Peanut butter bars

Stefan Powell

Age: 47

Cap number: 41

Location: Isle of Wight

Bike: Northroad Cycles Explorer Bespoke Design

Key items of kit: Northroad Explorer, Tailfin kit, Profile Design Bars, Wahoo Roam, Ravemen 1400 and Me 😂

Tom Stocker

Age: 35

Cap number: 24

Location: New Forest

Bike: Specialized Roubaix

Key items of kit: Tailfin with all my gear including sleep kit and extra layers. Aero bars for cruising comfort. An exposure light to guide the way.

Gaspar Rodriguez

Cap number: 109

Location: Amsterdam

Bike: 3T Exploro Racemax

Key items of kit: GRX Restrap Let's go.

Maria Holdcroft

Age: 29

Cap number: 115

Location: Banbury, UK

Bike: Handsling A1R0evo frameset, Parcours Strade wheels/Continental AS TR tubeless tyres (28mm), Shimano 105 Di2 12sp gearing

Key items of kit: Handsling Integrated Race Tri bar has some neat features - integrated Garmin and light mounts, and the central spacer stack leaves more room than normal on the handlebars for bag/light attachments. Topeak tubular bar bag is nice and rigid and gives easy access to extra snacks, electronics and layers, while Apidura seat pack holds things less regularly needed. A large top tube bag and stem bag for more snacks, and the SKS Anywhere bottle cage mount paired with Lezyne side load cages allows for carrying nearly 3l of water on a relatively small frame.

Jen Wheeldon

Age: 49

Cap number: 106

Location: Oxford

Bike: Reilly Gradient Ti

Key items of kit: Old school i-pod

Jacob McGuire

Age: 34

Cap number: 31

Location: Farnborough, UK

Bike: Orro Venturi, Shimano 105 11 Speed, Prime Carbon Aero Wheels

Key items of kit: Tailfin Aeropack & Downtube pack, Restrap Race Top Tube Bag, Salomon vest, Moon Lights, Alpkit Kloke Bivvy, Thermarest Uberlite pad, a borrowed sleeping bag, Wahoo Bolt, sony wired headphones

Jake Brewer

Age: 41

Cap number: 116

Location: Bristol

Bike: Reilly Gradient Ti (aka Sgt. Reilly) with SRAM AXS Mullet setup: 40T (oval) x 10-52T. ALT Cycles TOR 50mm wheels with 32mm Panaracer GravelKing Semi-Slick+ (tubeless)

Key items of kit: Apidura bags all-around. Food pouch up front (between TT bars), Top-tube pouch for battery banks and cables, Frame bag for tools, basic toiletries, extra layers and additional food. 3 x bottles for around 2L of water incase I need it. Saddle bag for warm layers such as a puffy jacket, leg warmers, etc. Mixture of clothes I'm wearing, but the Albion ABR1 Pocket bibs are definitely key. Exposure lights all-round. Gooi mielies! 🇿🇦

Mark Davis

Age: 61

Cap number: 91

Location: Christ's Hospital, England

Bike: Specialized Aethos

Key items of kit: SRAM Rival Groupset with SRAM Blips, Profile Airstrike bars, Reynolds wheels, Continental GP 5000 tyres, Wahoo Element 2, Nitecore power bank, Apidura Racing and Ortlieb bags, Exposure Toro and Strada lights,

Oliver Northern

Age: 43

Cap number: 90

Location: Gravesend

Bike: Fairlight Secan

Key items of kit: Tailfin for sleep kit and spare warm jacket.

Big bottles, Wales might be sunny 🌞

Restrap frame bag for electrics, tools etc...

Topeak top loader for food.

Benjamin James

Age: 38

Cap number: 57

Location: Warwickshire

Bike: Fairlight Strael Carbon Wheels with SON dynamo, 11 speed shimano mechanical disc brakes, aero bars, Garmin Edge, Schwalbe tyres and MTB shoes/pedals, Sella Italia saddle

Key items of kit: Apidura bags and Musette and Restrap top tube bag, bivvy kit, Exposure lights front and back, warm kit, spares, electricals

Saz Harris

Age: 33

Cap number: 54

Location: Warwickshire

Bike: Kinesis G2 Sector R26 wheelset with Panaracer GravelKing slick 700 x 32 (with tubes, because I didn't get round to setting them up tubeless. Wish me luck lol)

Key items of kit: Apidura 9L saddle bag for sleep system and layers Alpkit roll bag for quick access to the toolkit, first aid kit, and waterproof jacket StraightCut Design frame bag for lots of snacks and suncream Feed bag (no idea where it's from) for even more snacks and an emergency fizzy drink!

Lights are lezyne and exposure, power is coming from 2 power banks, and I'll be navigating with a Garmin 530 edge.

Julien Roissard

Age: 35

Cap number: 100

Location: Saint-Sulpice, France

Bike: Aloueta frame handcrafted in Savoie, France Stem handcrafted by Aloueta Campagnolo Ekar 40dts with cassette 9-42dts Shimano ES600 pedals Wheels with Mavic Cosmic SL32 and Erase rear hub / Son 28 front hub Hutchinson Blackbird TL 30mm tires

Key items of kit: Sinewave Beacon front light Son rear light Helmut bags Garmin Edge 820

Nicolas Roissard

Age: 30

Cap number: 100

Location: Saint-sulpice, France

Bike: Steel bespoke bike made by Aloueta. Beast RX40 rims laced up with DT Swiss 240 hubs and Sapim spokes. Campagnolo Chorus 2x12 groupset with 50-34 crankset and 11-34 cassette. SMP F30si saddle.

Key items of kit: At the front: Apidura Racing Handlebar Pack (5L) to carry mainly food and small items I need rapidly. 2 bags of chalk slightly modified to be used as food pouch.

At the rear : Apidura Racing Saddle Pack (7L) to carry mainly clothes.

Russell Coleman

Age: 51

Cap number: 55

Location: West Malvern

Bike: Colnago G3-X

Key items of kit: Apidura Aerobag / top tube (bolt-on)/ frame bag (3L). Aeroe Spider rack and bag.

John Wilson

Age: 42

Cap number: 34

Location: Bristol, UK

Bike: Giant Defy with a mix of Ultegra /GRX mechanical groupset running 50/34 and 11-40t cassette. Zipp 404 firecrest wheels paired with 32mm conti GP5000 STR setup tubeless. Profile design aerobars with 50mm risers.

Key items of kit: Apidura saddle and frame packs containing extra clothing, tools/spares, power bank, emergency bivy and an ultralight sleeping bag. Topeak toptube bag with phone, tracker and food. Front light is an Exposure Strada SB, rear light Exposure Tracer with a spare so I can swap them over.

Liz

Age: 43

Cap number: 17

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Bike: Condor steel lightweight tourer with GRX600 gear set and dynamo hub

Key items of kit: SP dynamo with Exposure lights and USB charger. Ortleib pannier for ease of use and because it's a classic. Small stuffed bee on my rack for good luck!

Matthew Vickers

Age: 30

Cap number: 11

Location: Rotherham

Bike: Trek Emonda Slr7

Key items of kit: Apidura Top Tube bag 2L Apidura Race pack bag 5l Wahoo Roam Rapha down Jacket Gortex Jacket Merino Arm&Leg Warmers Gloves Foil Blanket Tools & Spares Exposure Lights 2 Front 1 Rear Endless amounts of flapjack Styrkr hydration