HT550 Race Wrap Up

Annie's back in Tyndrum 🥳

Day 4 - HT550 2021

Podium complete! 🥈🥉

Liam Glen wins the 2021 HT550!

Hello Day 3

To Fisherfield and beyond

Here comes the rain

Into the second night

While we were snoozin'

## Women's podium complete

Earlier this morning Ruth rolled in so we now have a complete women's podium.

Emma Holgate finishes in a provisional time of __5D 22H 59M__ 🥈

Ruth Crewe finishses in a provisional time of __6D 18H 56M__ 🥉

Andrea Rodgers' dot hasn't moved for 12 hours but throughout this race there have been issues with her tracker. I have no doubt she's smiling her way around the rest of the route and I certainly look forward to hearing all about her tales when she's back home.

## Post-race thoughts unravel

A number of the riders have taken to social media to post about their thougths and feelings in the days after they dismounted their bikes. I encourage you to read them - their words certainly put the herculean effort into perspective and despite the speed and perceived ease at which they race, it's certainly a different tale when they speak of their experiences. Also don't forget to read the comments from fellow riders: the respect, camaraderie is making me tear up (doesn't take much!) 🥺

### Liam Glen
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPcS2vaBr97/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPcS2vaBr97/)

### Andrew Hutcheson
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYFf6GhpMU/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPYFf6GhpMU/)

### James Hayden
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPWZQ3BBOck/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPWZQ3BBOck/)

### Josh Ibbett
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPV4KR8BCvT/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPV4KR8BCvT/)

### Rich Rothwell
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPX3bP3B7W7/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPX3bP3B7W7/)

Some of my favourite post-race updates have been from the riders who've scratched. [Dawn](https://www.instagram.com/dawnmtb/)'s especially have been really poignant and struck a cord with me.

[Shell](https://www.instagram.com/shellonthewrongsideofthehill/) and [Alan](https://www.instagram.com/ht550alan/) have been on a real adventure, which I love. Just because you take yourself out of the race, it doesn't mean you can't have a great time and learn from your experiences.

## That's all folks

I'd like to say a huge, huge thank you to everyone who has followed my updates throughout this race. I came into it with such huge enthusiasm and respect for this race and I wondered if I'd be able to do it justice.

The feedback I've had has been wonderful and I appreciate it so much, so thank you to everyone who offered their wisdom, experience and photos. Markus Stitz, Rich Seipp, Ian Fitz and everyone else who chipped in along the way. The dotwatchers who sent me their photos out in the wild either via instagram or reaching out to me personally - thank you! To Beccy and El who sent me almost "live" updates throughout the race - I couldn't have brought the dots to life without you.

And of course to Alan, without whom we wouldn't have this amazing race to commentate and ride. The hours that go into putting on something like this are many.

Finally to the riders: your determination, strength and resilience is not lost on me or those who've tuned in throughout the last week. I hope you can sit back and appreciate your efforts whether you finished or not. It's such a huge undertaking and you should be proud.

I hope I've managed to give you a glimpse of just how incredible this race and its community is. I'm in awe of every single person who got to the start line let alone the finish!

See you next year!

P.s. quick edit just to acknowledge that there are still 3 riders out there. Send all your positive vibes to them as they continue their huge feat of endurance!

I am super stoked to report that Annie Le has crossed the line in Tyndrum! She finished this year's Highland Trail 550 in a provisional time of 5D 8H 35M. Her tracker didn't update for yonks so I got my helpers to report back!

She's the first woman to finish this year's race. What's amazing is she appears to have got better and better throughout this race and she pushed on overnight and created a huge gap between her and Emma.

Scroll fast now if you don't like feet: Annie's have been soaked for just about the entire duration of this ride and they're...interesting!

![Annie's feet HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1LDqTXNMYVMTgZtxnnZwdM/ec56ddcc633df69626302dfd652a14d8/image0__1_.jpeg)

## Top 10 complete

We now have our top 10 of the 2021 HT550 and everyone looks to be doing really rather well considering. I am told however, that Steve Waters is nursing a case of Shermer's Neck so I hope he's taking good care of himself. He can bask in the knowledge he beat his 2019 ITT time by over a day, which he should be really happy about!

![Lars Steve Phil HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7m2QIBCWnKD4rJERtRgXN5/27983fda566a518790eeaeef21974a18/191974324_483755542875028_8556830946198885318_n.jpg)

All's well that ends well/with beer!

So far today, two riders have made it home and potentially by the time I finish writing this report, another person will be across the line.

### Josh Ibbett finishes in a provisional time of 4D 0H 18M

A solid race from Josh who was up and down the leaderboard throughout his time around the course. Later on in the race he confessed he was having dynamo/battery issues which made navigation and lighting slightly more complex than it needed to be. He could have done with Gary Davies' paper maps!

## Jim Higgins 10 miles out

5th place looks like it'll go to Jim Higgins. His home trails have done well for him during this race and it's been a pleasure to track his dot throughout.

## Annie and Emma stop for a chat

![Emma Annie HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6kGz2J5uHBVoQ64CPpaeOr/1b3ec0b130db9adfb87c24b77f482567/Emma_Annie_HT550_2021.jpg)

Those of you who have raced a bikepacking event will know just how great the camaraderie is between all the riders. You're all racing together and want to beat each other, but when it comes down to it, there's nothing like stopping for a chat and shooting the breeze. Looking forward to seeing how Annie Le and Emma Holgate vie for position over the next day or so. Very exciting!

## Mike Debernado bids farewell

![Mike Debernardo HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3t2PD2Sbv4DRuAcSHZi0yk/cf338c85a32f4a17a0788ad6747eea50/Screenshot_2021-05-26_at_21.04.13.png)

Mike's had to call it a day despite being so close to finishing. One of the perils of races like this, I suppose. He's featured regularly in the top 10 and we wish him the best and an even bigger return next year perhaps.

## Big day for finishers tomorrow

The two Steves and Gary have a shift to put in before reach Tyndrum tomorrow. Steve Chapman and Gary may finish in the wee hours if they keep on chugging into the night - will they, or won't they?

Phil Clarke, John Fettis, Mike Toyn and Lars Henning are then the next bunch who may need to sprint for the 10th place on the leaderboard at the rate they're going!

All will be revealed tomorrow - I'll see you then!

I debated staying up last night for the podium to come in but I'm glad I managed to get some sleep after all the excitement of yesterday. I'm delighted to wake up and see we now have a complete podium.

### Andrew Hutcheson finishes in a provisional time of 3D 17H 19M 🥈

### James Hayden finishes in a provisional time of 3D 18H 58M 🥉

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of these two because they came in at 2:14am and 3:53am respectively. This is the thing about unsupported bike races: there's no crowd to cheer you in at all hours of the day. Hopefully, I can get some race intel from my spies on the ground up there later today.

James posted a video on Instagram saying he was happy to have finished in under 4 days.

## Josh Ibbett <10 miles from base

Next on the horizon just beyond Tyndrum is Josh Ibbett. He doesn't look to have rested all that much overnight. I guess at this stage in the race you just keep going because it's nearly over. I'm looking forward to what he has to say about the race and I think he'll have a small group of fans waiting for him with a big fry up from the Real Food Cafe.

Will his coach Rich Rothwell finish 5th? We'll have to wait and see!

## A note on Yann

As I mentioned in my race preview, this edition of the race was dedicated to Yann Thomas, a French rider who had planned to race this year but who sadly passed away in March. He owned a bike workshop and was a skilled framebuilder, so much so that he built his own bike for the occasion.

Alan sent me a picture of his bike which you can see below. Look even more closely and you'll see it's a singlespeed. I think Yann will be made up that a singlespeed rider took victory this year. (Thanks Markus for your eagle-eyed detective work here!).

![Yann HT550 bike](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6sotmJbqA5EYV5RzNYpkXK/94506a954d3e86561b594499261be6ff/Yann_HT550_bike.jpg)

That's all for now, I'll be back this evening (got a busy day at work today!) for more finish line fun and a look at what's been going on elsewhere.

There are two spots remaining on the podium right now and with a pretty solid lead, they look like they may belong to Andrew Hutcheson and James Hayden respectively. Stranger things have happened though and I don't want to jinx anything so let's leave it open for the next few hours, hey!

![Rup Hoyland HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4gO8B5DzC3x6dynkZlRRVx/db0745260788110146f605eeb193bf22/191507775_3965078950279250_6055930748755194608_n.jpg)

As we know, conditions have been pretty, shall we say, biblical? [These chaps](https://www.instagram.com/rup_hoyland/) set off on the route a day after the mass start and they're updating their social media when they're not chin deep in rivers. It puts the feat of these racers in perspective: every single one of them is absolute nails.

I am also insanely jealous of the views [Lars Henning](https://www.instagram.com/larsmarshandlebars/) has been treated to today. I mean...come on...look at THAT.

![Lars Henning HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4g3V5g4PqPu9pDZpevC5ED/627d137fe96becacef5f7d7a286f7a81/190883053_189962932996556_7979259729986762749_n.jpg)

## Andrea points her compass south

[https://twitter.com/cyclingtiger/status/1397266180432334860?s=20](https://twitter.com/cyclingtiger/status/1397266180432334860?s=20)

Great news from the back of the race: Andrea is moving in a forwards direction. I can't emphasise how much of a feat of endurance it is to be a rider in the midpack and beyond. These riders are out there longer than anyone else, often pushing well out of their comfort zone than many others and it takes a lot of mental grit and determination to continue. I'm looknig forward to seeing Andrea roll into Tyndrum again.

## Dawn touches base post-scratch

Dawn's had a lot of experience entering the HT550 and this year she had to scratch again. She posted this shortly after:

[https://www.instagram.com/p/CPS_x_xhLMV/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CPS_x_xhLMV/)

## Flurry of riders through CP5

It's been a busy day over at Ledmore Junction with 14 riders passing through (and counting) today which is great to see. It signifies the end of a pretty horrible section of the route. Beccy Waters sent through a few pics earlier. Reports from riders suggest it's been BOG CENTRAL this year and incredibly slow going over this section (average time between CP4 and CP5 is 17 hours).

![Jim Higgins CP5 HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3D4wBDzhtNiFflOhFdsNuA/df7ac285a4028276bf83e65ee2bd2d2c/WhatsApp_Image_2021-05-25_at_16.08.25.jpeg)
*Jim Higgins*

![Views CP5 HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4TNalXS6GDURUYD5YNSoH8/4dbfea7a4e885499b0662bf480bdbe9a/WhatsApp_Image_2021-05-25_at_16.08.26.jpeg)

## Alan and Shell hatch a plan

![Hatching plans Alan and Shell HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7nvxeoUhVqDzXfbD1rTz4G/dd4a9be2e892fc5b7cb85c1c5b95eca9/WhatsApp_Image_2021-05-25_at_16.08.27.jpeg)

Shell and Alan look like they're up to no good, don't they? They met in earlier and I'm sure Shell will have thanked Alan for such a lovely route 😬

## Annie and Emma ~ 15 miles apart

The race for the women's podium continues as Annie and Emma complete the latter part of the middle loop around Fisherfield. Annie is through the checkpoint but Emma is a couple of miles away having stopped for over an hour now.

Javi caught up with third placed woman Ruth Crewe earlier at every long-distance cyclist's favourite spot: a petrol station!

![Ruth Crewe HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/gy4DLzxTDHPeIQFU5IveK/7370f8f331d8d6f0cff034b31d6b972c/190854118_464972127937557_788312318493404246_n.jpg)

## Fisherfield and Torridon await for the midpack

It'll be a busy day through CP6 and CP7 tomorrow, so I'll report back in the morning with the completed podium (hopefully!) and any changes overnight. I look forward to it!

## More spreadsheet nerdery to come

I'm going to try my hand at analysing some of the data in the coming days. [Tom Vincent](https://www.instagram.com/_slart1bartfast_/) DM'd me on instagram with a cunning plan so let's see how my data analysis skills are. I make no promises!

Elsewhere on day 3

Everybody's favourite singlespeed rigid MTB rider Liam Glen has won this year's HT550 in a provisional time of __3D 10H 55M__.

He becomes the first person to win the HT550 twice and he has also broken the singlespeed record by 11 hours.

Not only that but conditions were *minging* for a lot of the first half of the race and riders haven't had the benefit of bothies throughout the whole route.

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/g9582DNuQppxC" width="480" height="270" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/hero0fwar-karmawhore-rhyming-g9582DNuQppxC">via GIPHY</a></p>

Someone get that man a beer and a chippy tea! Big, big congratulations. I am so delighted for him and what an absolute privilege it's been to bring this race to life. It's not over and I'll do a little update a bit later on so you know what went on elsewhere.

I hate to start this in a very cliche way but OMGGGG THIS RACE IS SO GOOD.

Liam has just cruised on down the Caledonian Canal on the Great Glen Way. I'll setup a petition shortly after he finishes the race about renaming this section to "The Great Liam Glen Way" I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you?

He has a lead of over 50 miles at the moment and he's currently in Fort William getting a warm beverage from a high street coffee chain as I type.

I've received some great pics of James Hayden and Josh Ibbett through Dornie Stores this morning. James and Andrew are mere millimetres apart from one another making it a nailbiting race for second place. 

<https://twitter.com/gear_ratio/status/1397138059553132545?s=20>

## Singlespeed or bust

As we know, Liam is riding a singlespeed rigid mountain bike which makes my poor noodle arms quiver at the mere thought. However, the HT550 has a long history with singlespeed riders.

Why would you choose a singlespeed bike over gears? Well, I asked none other than fellow singlespeeder Markus who explained the benefits. "In those minging conditions you have a distinct advantage," he said. "No chain suck, no derailleur failure etc. and the climbs you can ride are faster or as fast as on a geared bike – you are riding consistently. On the downhills there's not much different, the only section on gears which is faster is the Caledonian Canal section."

Do you fancy switching your comfortable 22-speed full-suspension MTB for a rigid singlespeed beast of a bike like the Stooge Scrambler?

Tom Rowntree was the first rider to win the HT550 on a SS bike back in 2015. Javi Murchante then took the record in 2018. Isla Rowntree was the first woman to complete the route on a SS bike, however she did this as an ITT rather than as part of the race. Hands up if you want Alexandera Houchin to have a go? *raises both hands excitedly*

## Fort William to Tyndrum

All that stands between Liam and the finish line in Tyndrum is the West Highland Way.

<https://twitter.com/reizkultur/status/1397172762930782211?s=20>

I just want to be there when it's sunny and beautiful. Can't say I'm envious of the riders pedalling in what they have done over the course of the last 24 hours.

## Course record in doubt but not impossible

So I've done my maths again. Of course I have. Or more to the point, Google Sheets has done the maths for me. Liam has to make it back to Tyndrum by 19:17 to snatch the course record off Neil Beltchenko. He currently has just less than 35 miles to go but some pretty big climbs/pushes within it. Trackleaders estimates his arrival at 19:40 based on the data recorded so far, so he's going to have to spin in a big way to shave 20 mins off! 7 miles per hour doesn't sound like a lot but when you're pushing and navigating rough terrain, it really doesn't take much.

## See you at the finish!!

We're going to try and instagram live the finish line later. Beccy Waters will be at the Real Food Cafe waiting for Liam alongside his awesome girlfriend, fellow rad bike rider and one of my best pals Eleanor Jaskowska (she toured the southern loop over the weekend - nails!).

Follow [DotWatcher](https://www.instagram.com/dotwatcher.cc/) to see the action in real time! I'll be back a bit later (obviously) too.

Inside the final 50 miles

I was going to post just before bed last night but nothing much was happening as far as I could see, so I thought I'd wait until this morning. As I was drifting off to the land of nod, it looks like James Hayden was resting up in Kinlochewe. At first I thought his tracker was running low on batteries but I think he'd have figured out in that time. He ended up stopping for around 7 hours yesterday: at a guess, a couple of hours eating, faffing, warming up etc. then a handful of hours asleep.

Josh and Andrew swooped in like soggy eagles on bicycles pausing for refuelling at the Gorse Bush Cafe before Josh took off leaving Andrew to sort himself out shortly after. At this point Liam was almost 30 miles up the road/trail/track homing in on Loch Long.

The rain looks like it subsided overnight which made for good progress for most riders.

## Lars loses his way

![Lars Henning wrong way HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1qx4fU3F2tBviTjCJvEsSB/cff0287c9942dfee7311008392f7bf27/ezgif.com-gif-maker__3_.gif)

Looks like a harmless mistake thankfully and I can imagine it's easy to do under the night sky when you've been out in the weather for 2 days already.

## Shell's detour

![Shell's detour HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7qP9Eam8gRwjTvVFgrQDyu/e83a772f6fc140ab05be8449a596c0bf/Screenshot_2021-05-24_at_22.20.21.png)

Shell took an interesting route from Lochinver yesterday which made me raise my eyebrows. He has this morning confirmed he's scratched from the race and will just have a nice time on his way back to Tyndrum.

## State of play today

With 90 miles to go and riding on 2.5 hours' sleep, Liam's almost at the foot of the pylon climb - the last climb before descending into Fort Augustus where I imagine he'll grab a few more items of food before pushing on.

The section out of Fort Augustus is flat along a canal. As Markus says below, this is just about the only opportunity his rivals will have to catch him since he'll have a disadvantage on his SS along this section.

[https://twitter.com/reizkultur/status/1397074899869609989?s=20](https://twitter.com/reizkultur/status/1397074899869609989?s=20)

Josh Ibbett has lost contact with the virtual podium as it stands after slow movement for him last night. I don't doubt he'll manage to make up at least some ground to bridge the gap between them, though. Currently, he's getting a feed at the Strathcarron Hotel.

## All smiles for Emma

![Emma Holgate Jack Wright HT550 1](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/20Hj1rn0qgtUBZVAa604Te/1c81a269db7aebc71f4e5ee93bf00c78/Emma_Holgate_Jack_Wright_HT550_1.jpg)

Dot watcher Jack Wright managed to jump on his bike yesterday to catch a few of the riders near Lochinver. He met up with Annie Le, Phil Clarke and Emma Holgate and said they were all in good spirits but that the three behind were struggling a little.

## Will records be broken?

To beat Neil's FKT of 3 days 10 hours and 22 minutes, Liam has to be back in Tyndrum before 19:17 today.

To beat Javi Murchante's singlespeed record of 3 days 21 hours and 55 minutes, he needs to be back in Tyndrum by Wednesday at 06:50.

Based on his trackleaders average moving speed of 8.7mph, that leaves 11 hours of riding remaining which brings him to the finish line at approximately 19:00. He will of course stop at some point and maybe parts of the trail won't be as rideable as previous years meaning he may slow. Neil's route was different to this route so a course record is obviously a bit different each year.

All said, it's tantalisingly close to being a course record this year and at the very least, he'll smash Javi's record which is awesome!

Let's see what happens today - an exciting day ahead!

Mother Nature came out to play today but she played nasty and the weather has been certified minging out there by all accounts. Poolewe provided well-earned respite for Liam this morning as he took 20 mins or so to resupply before jumping back on his wheels again to the Tollie Path. He had a ca. 10 mile lead on James Hayden at this point and safe in the knowledge the latter had a big ol' climb to push up to get to Fisherfield. James didn't stop for long in Poolewe and carried on his chase.

![Liam Glen Fisherfield HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5lUs3i6pRa5xaKcbG9Yzxp/8fefec2eab1e0eacec12945294c045f0/WhatsApp_Image_2021-05-24_at_18.26.21__1_.jpeg)
*Liam Glen coming out of Fisherfield*

Josh has been having tracker issues again which meant it looked like he'd falled asleep for a while but I am pretty confident he entered stealth mode and rode nearby Andrew Hutcheson. They both paused at Poolewe for refreshments and, I imagine, warmth. At the time of writing, they're still there an hour and a half after arriving. Hope all's well.

This new section doesn't appear to be as rideable as the previous route - riders are taking a very long time to complete this particular section. This could be due to the trail, weather, fatigue or a combination of all three of course. The conditions under which Neil set the record pace were quite different (dry and warmer) than we're seeing today. That said, Liam is still in very good stead to beat [Javi Merchante](https://www.instagram.com/javi_murchante/)'s singlespeed record of 3 days 21 hours and 55 minutes.

Speaking of Javi...he's been hunting down riders today in Lochinver and managed to stumble upon John Fettis, Lars Henning, Mike Toyn and Mike Sheldrake.

![John Fettis Lars Henning HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/56VxR0yEmZEg8wcT7vasjr/03bc089d0acd51ff0c6c5cd8389ad2d6/189818127_475389577063947_1372852808595378243_n.jpg)

![Mike Toyn Mike Sheldrake HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5hUSfia0LVKhpd4ip9YV7L/748bf80fb608614760de9081c49865a8/190734135_216747420031013_4191619740499966868_n.jpg)

## Another singlespeed contender?

In Javi's post about bumping into Shell, it was also revealed that he's taking a leaf out of Liam's book and has had to go singlespeed. I don't know if he'll get his rear mech fixed en route (paging Nevis Cycles!) or continue SS but at least he was able to fix it and ride on.

I would love to be half as fit as Shell when I'm his age. I also love his lust for life and I had the privilege of interviewing him at a Transcontinental chat in Sheffield last year. He's always up to something and always open to sharing his wisdom.

Anyway what I'm getting at is that you've got to keep the wheels turning and keep having fun while you're at it. He was 45th through CP1 and he's now 15th through CP5. The race isn't over until you get to the finish line. Just keep moving forwards and you never know what might happen!

## Soggy scratched riders

Unfortunately Alan Goldsmith and Dawn Anderson are today's two scratches so far. Alan seems safe and well at the Kylesku Bridge Hotel and I presume is now dotwatching with us. I'm unsure why Dawn scratched but I'll allocate at least a little bit of the blame to the elements.

## Coming up...

With the frontrunners beginning to make their way up the Tollie Path, I'm beginning to realise why they appear to be riding a little more slowly. Markus Stitz shared a picture of the trail with me from when it was included in the 2014/2015 edition.

![Tollie Path HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/35VfoSXa6tv3o80rnuIsN6/b7f7f4b913857e1cfe93983551a68858/14361247413_a27c6d57c5_c.jpg)

Looks like another hike-a-bike 🥴

## Torridon to Fort Augustus 🍕

[https://twitter.com/reizkultur/status/1396839151840997380?s=20](https://twitter.com/reizkultur/status/1396839151840997380?s=20)

Liam has been stopped just 0.4 miles from the Torridon checkpoint and I was going to wait until he got there for me to post this but his tracker's just greyed out and my dinner's nearly ready!

I'll leave the description of this next section to Mike Toyn from his [very detailed route review from 2019](https://dotwatcher.cc/race/highland-trail-550-2019?reverse=true&post=4HM3sS0dUuup6uIPffb8jT#4HM3sS0dUuup6uIPffb8jT).

*"The next rendezvous with hike-a-bike comes at Kintail after Dornie with the long drag to the head of Glen Affric...which is the longest in Scotland and takes the riders down a good doubletrack towards Tomich. If a few dots appear to have gone off route here: don’t worry, they have probably gone to the hotel there for a bite to eat to fuel themselves for the pylon climb and the section of General Wade’s Military Road into Fort Augustus. The descent into town is great and riders will roll back into Fort Augustus with a grin on their faces and most dots will stop here for resupply."*

## Further reading

While you wait for my next update which may or may not be later tonight depending on how exciting it gets, I recommend reading Markus' recount of the 2019 race [here](http://markusstitz.com/2019/07/minor-obstacles/).

Meine deutsche Freunde können auch [diese Artikel von Martin Ruf](https://highlandsmtb.de/htr550/) über seine HT550 Erfahrungen lesen. 🇩🇪

I don't mean to brag but I'm glad I slept in my nice warm bed last night because by all accounts the rain is persisting on riders which made for slow progress especially at night.

![weather night 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4dFnCA4W0Hbiyo1Mxth2pn/3260a8cdf6fd7d656f32bd003b905fe2/Screenshot_2021-05-24_at_07.24.12.png)

There's been a solid cloud of rain hanging over the highlands for almost 12 hours now and it shows no signs of buzzing off elsewhere throughout today. Met Office reports that Fort William is forecast for >88% chance of rain before retreating to 60-70% chance at at 21:00.

![Night 2 HT550 2021](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Rwg6xvJYDRCH1lNyUbHSo/73c76f43a7dfebdb85b69f6e1d493ebe/ezgif.com-gif-maker__2_.gif)

So let's have a look how last night played out:
- __Josh__ took a nap on the shores of Loch Borralan for a solid 5 hours by the look of it.
- __James Hayden__ opted for a 2 hour power nap at the Oykel Bridge Hotel having overtaken Josh by doing so. While there, he saw Chris Johnstone who is still forging ahead in a northerly direction.
- Hard to tell if __Liam__ slept because his tracker wasn't firing as many points as usual. Race flow shows he didn't move a lot at around mile 329 but then he reaches Ullapool where I can't imagine it's a buzzing metropolis at 2am on a Monday morning. I don't think he's caught any winks...
- __Rich Rothwell__ looks to have continued through the night with no obvious stopping points. My spreadsheet says he took around 3 hours longer than the top 3 riders to ride from Bealach Horn to Ledmore Junction.
- __James McIntosh__ has unfortunately scratched from the race.
- __Andrew Hutcheson__ is now neck-and-neck with Josh Ibbett on his way to Ullapool. FYI Andrew sometimes rides singlespeed (like Liam) - I wonder if he's happy to have chosen gears...

## Grupetto spotted in the wild

Dot Watcher [John Williamson](https://www.instagram.com/bigtalljohnny/) went out with his camera and got some amazing images of riders further back in the field.

![ht550 grupetto](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/34SadB7mALdmFLnpAV89vw/234d7b67fbe355f63151e4e649aa4e72/190487530_815941019317750_1004900687684871567_n.jpg)
Pictured here is the wonderful Mike Toyn up the front, Crispin Hoult on his fatbike (he's the rider with a goat in his Bikes Of HT550 entry!) and a couple of unidentified riders behind. Apologies I don't know their names.

## On the menu for today

A new section up to Fisherfield and out of Poolewe beckons for riders today.

<iframe src="https://ridewithgps.com/embeds?type=route&id=36145986&metricUnits=true&sampleGraph=true" style="width: 1px; min-width: 100%; height: 700px; border: none;" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Many of you will be familiar with the Postman's Path but that's out for this year and instead riders will take the Tollie Path to Kinlochlewe.

Liam is (of course!) already finding his way around this uncharted territory with James Hayden within 10 miles of his rear wheel. James is ascending while Liam has just crested the short pull to the top. From there, they descend down to Loch na Sealga intersecting with the Cape Wrath Trail. Riders will see Shenavall Bothy nearby which they cannot use for shelter from the elements that'll follow them here.

<p style="font-size: 0.9rem;font-style: italic;"><img style="display: block;" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Track_to_Shenavall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1309951.jpg" alt="File:Track to Shenavall - geograph.org.uk - 1309951.jpg"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14036404">"File:Track to Shenavall - geograph.org.uk - 1309951.jpg"</a><span> by <a href="https://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/26074">Tom Richardson</a></span> is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0?ref=ccsearch&atype=html" style="margin-right: 5px;">CC BY-SA 2.0</a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0?ref=ccsearch&atype=html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="display: inline-block;white-space: none;margin-top: 2px;margin-left: 3px;height: 22px !important;"><img style="height: inherit;margin-right: 3px;display: inline-block;" src="https://search.creativecommons.org/static/img/cc_icon.svg?image_id=f1a9ce10-a2ef-4b29-8c4b-453e2b900f70" /><img style="height: inherit;margin-right: 3px;display: inline-block;" src="https://search.creativecommons.org/static/img/cc-by_icon.svg" /><img style="height: inherit;margin-right: 3px;display: inline-block;" src="https://search.creativecommons.org/static/img/cc-sa_icon.svg" /></a></p>

It's a big ol' climb/hike-a-bike up to Fisherfield from there as the riders summit the 5th highest point of the race.

[Markus Stitz](https://www.twitter.com/reizkultur) of Bikepacking Scotland kindly sent through some images so you can continue your vicarious lives (you might also have to pretend it's sunny too!).

![Fisherfield 1 Markus Stitz](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3u6Jm9wwlxBbM2bCr6ybS2/9428ce6c4db0503faf6684fbf56bb768/Fisherfield_1_Markus_Stitz.jpg)

## The pink dots

I haven't heard from Andrea since her last update and her dot hasn't moved for 13 hours. Could be trouble with it again...or it's drowned in the 1000 puddles she's ridden through overnight.

[https://twitter.com/TrepidExplorer/status/1396540046967255055?s=20](https://twitter.com/TrepidExplorer/status/1396540046967255055?s=20)

All bar just a couple of riders are now on the Northern Loop or they've completed it. Annie Le is 5 miles ahead of Emma Holgate so there's no real change to the women's field.

## Happy dotwatching!

I have to work today (boo!), so I'll try and update later this afternoon/evening. If you spot anything, let me know on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/thisisgrace) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/thisisgrace_). I'll keep the spreadsheet up to date as much as I can too.

A race designed to prep organiser Alan Goldsmith for the Colorado Trail Race has become the flagship UK MTB bikepacking race. With hours of hike-a-bike and the most unpredictable weather the British Isles have to offer, the HT550 is a race that cannot be missed.

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Highland Trail 550 2021

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