Oliver Hayward Wins All Points North 2023

Rookie Returnees

The Main Event

Ben Bollans

Caroline Reuter

Altaf Hussain

Louise Mainwaring

Tom Long

Matthew Amper-West

Philip Cunningham

Ian Nightingale

Sarah Lewthwaite

Adam Fenton

Jo Britton

Amy Powell

Heidi Shepherd

Sean Morris

Lindsey Bonner

Adam Batty

Rob Gloyns

Hannah Price

Lucy Cook

Shona Virden

Mark Nicholson

Lily  Beaven

Jacob Kay

Hugh Spear

Jon Peatman

Gill Crane

Ahmad Moftah

Karen Radband

Daisy Ash

Howard Parsons-Hewes

Alice Hudson

Simon Mowles

Alastair Webb

Kira Samide

Helen Gibson

Oliver Shaw

Charles Elliott

Heather Driscoll

David Hitch

Jenni Myers

Claire  Wheeler

Philippa Rose

Steve Saunders

Paul Winder

Charlotte Hartwell

James Gill & Laura Probert

Veerle Lenaerts

Katelijne Vayssier

Kirsty Bunning

Rachel Limbert

Diane Winterburn

Jenny Grindrod

Michelle Mackey

Derrick Riley

Oliver Hayward

Tom Downes

Jonathan Loveday

Lucas Cortini Oliveira

Hamish Carrick

Alex Armstrong

Mark Turnbull

Patrick Dewick

Maria Holdcroft

Daniel Bannister

Christopher Murkin

Joe Le Sage

Simon Wright

Rob Hyde

Stephen Kennedy

Richard Edwards

Jordan Matthews

Mike Collins

Andy Connelly

Mark Smith

Raymond Cox

Karl Somers

Thomas Brandi

James McCall

David McNamara

Saz Harris

Luca Holland

Dan Mitchell

Graham Fereday

Stefan Thomas-Bache

Sebastien Nolens

Michael Porter

Ryan McGlen

Sam Gorman

Aleksander  Wanowski

Nick Pettit

Stephen Langham

Sjors Hegger

Sandy Meek

Richard Lake

Neil Connett

Dan Whittaker

Ben Adams

Charles Beasley

Nathan Willett

Nikki Ray

Marcus McEwan

Jelmer Vernooij

Usman Omar

Jon Hicken

Tracy Makin

Ailsa Beck

Nick Cooper

Joe Hancock

Ailish Graham

Joseph Dyball

Chris Skelhorn

Ian King

Oliver Poynton

Barry Clay

Henry Chesney

Ian To & Ingeborg Oie

Piper Fowler-Wright

Richard Sanderson

Clare Liley

Alan Parkinson

Jessica Golding

Daniel Ambrose

Alice  Rance

Rebecca Ladyman

Alice Clews-Smith

Anouk Wolters

Arne Wolters

Kitty Dennis

Kevin Stuart

# And Done!

With the finisher’s meal on Monday night and the final few riders rolling across the finish line this afternoon, it’s a good time to bring the Dotwatcher commentary to a close! 

![APN Meal](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/shcNqleasO1fHA9toGf0I/4e4b60fa6be1a13bb3a3ee148dda00b5/_XT47415.jpg)

129 racers set off at various times from Wednesday all the way up to Friday evening, with 86 of them making it around all 10 control points. At the pointy end of the 72H Solo competition we had riders averaging over 500 km a day, while in the Rookie category we had riders who turned it into a 5-night epic. It’s safe to say the most fatigued out of everyone will be the organisers, who have put in a huge shift this week and the months leading up to the event to make sure everything ran smoothly, so hats off to them. We can see from the [heatmap](https://www2.followmychallenge.com/live/all-points-north-2023/heatmap/ "APN Heatmap") the more common navigational choices (and the odd detour) over the course of the event- we’ll definitely have riders comparing routes to see how they could have saved some time or avoided 20% inclines. 

![APN Heatmap](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5skkfX80QWSXJKSGKLLskk/e6f162c7891657c060d3c45f9c791edc/APN_Heatmap.png)

## Reflection

> From our end it was a big success - especially the new rookie early-start format, which meant that we had a really good mix of riders from both categories at the party. It doesn’t matter whether it’s taken them 120 hours to get around or 50 hours, they still have a shared experience and this format allows them to come together   at the finish to celebrate and swap their stories. I can’t think of any other timed event where this scenario occurs. I’m one of those riders who usually finishes races way after the party is over and everyone’s gone home and I’ve been trying to think of a way to make this experience better for people for a long time. I think we’ve cracked it.- Ang, event organiser. 

If, like me, you’ve had serious FOMO while watching these dots traverse the country over the past week then set some reminders, clear your calendars and we’ll all meet at the start line for [All Points North 2024](https://www.allpointsnorth.cc/ "All Points North link"). 

![APN Meal 2](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1knZNUVKvBlMJrklXfvnqT/7a5961e41690582847ae0da75fb3283e/_XT52480.jpg)


All Points North 2023 Wrap Up


![APN Selfie](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5EWV1Yy10NOh4hQ0PXXtEF/90d2fdc6b1892dedea60ad4d39a95730/IMG_20230529_175120.jpg)

# Update

With only a couple of hours until the finishers meal, we’ve seen a steady stream of riders reach the finish line at the Heeley Institute. Sitting behind a laptop all day on a sunny bank holiday wouldn’t normally be a good thing, but seeing all the dots come in and all the positive posts shared on social media has made it a fun day for me. Here’s hoping everyone enjoys the food and drink tonight and shares a story or two! With 129 riders setting off, 46 riders have already finised, with another 37 having scratched. 

![APN Finishers Beer](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5oiFHoMCs7wbVjZMDN0OtY/a7a8bf1af5fcf81f188b482f4be8b531/IMG_20230529_175132.jpg)

## Where’s Sebi?
Sebastien Nolens is just about onto the home straight, on course to tick off the three control points of Easingwold, Helmsley and Filey Brigg, before the home straight back to Sheffield. It’s not been easy sailing: there may or may not have been a comparison with some of the climbs in the Yorkshire Dales to the Muur van Geraardsbergen… And an attack from some rogue birds… but more fuel for the upcoming film based on this adventure. 

![APN Seb](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/lKijnzYXZ5DA5fptMshB9/14004d2552d2c75b694a82bcc6684b5f/350341134_774613350819880_7978891494024499596_n.jpg)

### Meals on Wheels
Jacob Kay, who is just about to finish, has been sharing his fine dining experiences over on Instagram. Hopefully the carbs and emergency coke helped him with the final stretch! ![APN Chips](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2xGn1CieKvjKNrt4pZYIt7/b2d4451a717b63825a8582f3e89d4006/IMG_20230529_175044.jpg) ![APN Coke](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2kWnxFGR5ntJDpfdUTYiGQ/a9c7e3339e9c4b1a4351c88927493d40/IMG_20230529_175100.jpg)


Monday Evening News

# The Morning After
## Rookie Solo
Tom Long arrived at the Heeley Institute just after 9pm on Sunday, covering all 10 control points in 1099 km over 80 hours. He was followed closely by Jo Britton, then Amy Powell, Heidi Shepherd and finally Adam Fenton, who touched down at 2:27am. We’re still waiting on our first Rookie pair to arrive, but they’re on the way!

![APN Pairs Screenshot](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4UUFP5eFr2uY2CiVPATab9/a5e6e52620da4c8679a6a32d8cdce939/IMG_20230529_115818.jpg)

## 72H Solo
We have over 10 finishers back at this point. The contest between first and second was dramatic up until almost the final pedal stroke, with Tom Downes finishing only 15 minutes behind Oliver. That works out at 1085 km in just over 47 hours of riding. 

Jonathan Loveday was third rider back, then Lucas Cortini Oliveira fourth. Stephen Kennedy, in 15th, looks to have covered the least distance out of all the solo finishers so far, in 1020 km. 

Maria Holdcroft is the first female finisher in 60 hours and 20 minutes. 
![Maria Holdcroft Finishing](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7gzf6Z5nm0fN6qJdai97Lm/76c0f9de1ae2697ae635faa9ec43e382/WhatsApp_Image_2023-05-29_at_09.04.16__1_.jpeg)

### 72H Pairs
We’ve had 4 pairs roll into the finish so far in the 72H category, with the tandem pair of Ian To and Ingeborg Oie finishing in 49 hours and 52m. Only an hour behind we had Piper Fowler-Wight and Richard Sanderson. 

![APN Finished Pair](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4Lp6qRL9Q3rfWw8caafzQm/226a6ff209083e2f787a399f5f19ac7c/IMG_20230529_115755.jpg)


Monday Morning Update

# With a final time of 46 hours and 50 minutes. 

# 72H Leaders
I mentioned in the last update that there hadn’t been an obvious route from Filey Brigg to Sheffield (or vice versa) all week, and that is playing out before our eyes now with our two 72H leaders. 

The short version- Tom Downes is using main roads and Oliver Hayward is using country lanes. 

![APN 72H Detour](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/34uDt8JlWDcJ3gdPoafNS4/67bad346db57e5c4a6a9fa3599fd2e7d/APN_72H_Detour.png)

Oliver still holds a slight lead but seems to have found himself at a dead end today- we can see from the tracker that he’s had to turn around and go back down a road. There isn’t much to go on but from Google Maps it looks like he’s found himself on the wrong side of someone’s gate and has had to go the long way round. Not a huge distance but it could be important. 

![APN Gate](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2nUddSaEb1hLMaM2en5kp0/c0424c6d858877adc417e73febcb974a/APN_Gate.png)

They both have about 100 km left to go. I don’t know if my emotions can take this after the drama in the Giro yesterday. 


Race Lead Update

# 72H Riders
We have a race on our hands! After a weekend of riding bikes our leading solo riders, Oliver Hayward and Tom Downes, are almost neck and neck heading towards their final control point of Filey Brigg. There’s probably only about 12 km between them, it’s that close. There hasn’t been an obvious route from that control at Scarborough to Sheffield yet, so we could see that gap close (Oliver is light blue, Tom dark blue in the chart below) over the course of the day. We should see them both at the Heeley Institute by dinner time tonight if they keep up the pace! 

![APN Chart](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7tCG5WSCFzzNrEga1nudOK/3b937230ee03159f7f70eedd80c79e54/APN_Chart.png)

Jonathan Loveday is only 1 control behind, with Hamish Carrick only a little further back still. 

Our leading anticlockwise rider, Rob Hyde, does look to be reaping the benefits of his unique route choice and is cruising around the Lake District as we speak, not far from Wasdale Head! 

All the leaders in the solo category seem to have taken their mandatory 3-hour rest, with the majority deciding to recharge from around 10pm until 1am. 

![APN Sleep chart](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6MhX5Dpr2n92c4V4vty8Zm/1ab99a8a0ebb9d24945dadc6894a1502/APN_Sleep.png)

Our leading pair Richard and Piper are being hotly pursued by the tandem of Ian and Ingeborg. Both pairs have reached 7 of the controls and will be looking forward to the run in back to Sheffield. 

![APN Piper Pair](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7jZfonrnbJqBbyIgWQQKrs/5770b0d2214098876205e0b4d724ed35/WhatsApp_Image_2023-05-28_at_12.03.27.jpeg)

Outside of the men it looks as though Maria is leading the charge, with them closing in on the Dales Bike Centre. Early pace setter Saz Harris, who is heading counter clockwise, has ran into a little knee trouble and is taking a more measured approach on the way to Long Meg and then the Lake District. 

## Sebi Update
Our part time cyclist, part time flower delivery man Sebastien Nolens is 4 control points in and has crossed the border into Scotland, heading towards Norham Castle. He decided to take the now cult shortcut of gravel after Wasdale Head, which he says saved him 40km but added a bit of hike-a-bike into the mix. The evening involved a bunk house with 4 moustachioed bikers. At worst this will make a great film. 

![APN Gravel Detour](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6IQwdPKVd0EDDIQucx1Ro/05d80333b4c787d12a3e22d026fbfda0/349931122_933119151091021_6445125116796756994_n.jpg)

### Rookie Riders
With final timings a little more complicated to work out for the remaining Rookie Riders, we’ll continue to chart people as they make it to the finish line. It is very busy on the east coast today in both categories, as Tom Long and Jo Britton make their way towards the final control point of Filey Brigg! 

The Dales Bike Centre is the place to be this Sunday afternoon, with the pairs of Rachel/Kirsty and Diane/Jenny having all arrived this morning. 

![APN Dales Pair](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1lmWuT4gqvGVYpoGIPxOsD/8f0799d3441bff4bb34f1b07cf8ab5f5/WhatsApp_Image_2023-05-28_at_12.03.29.jpeg)

### Still To Come
A scratch update. More fine roadside dining. And a thrilling conclusion to the 72H race! Watch this space. 


Sunday Afternoon Update

# First Riders Back
We have the first riders back at HQ! Caroline Reuter arrived at the finish at 4:53 am and set up camp around the back of Heeley Institute. Ben Dollans arrived at the finish line just after 6am. Ben is leading the Rookie category right now, but with riders having set off afterwards there could be some movement in the final standings. 

![APN Rookie Routes](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1VfHD03lzXnu7QYhXrAywV/79d58bc8a5ad05364152df8c60aa7939/APN_Rookie_Routes.png)

Both riders set off on Thursday, with Caroline departing at 9am and Ben at 3pm. Although they both decided on the clockwise route, we can see from the map (Ben in red, Caroline in blue) that there were some differences in how they plotted their way around the country.

![Caroline APN](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/7ulhuALC5KJSkJIPUcOGzX/e507785120bd7c96ce7af4abac4a44b3/WhatsApp_Image_2023-05-28_at_07.44.48.jpeg)
Ben finished in 2d 15h 5m, while Caroline was 2d 19h 40m. Ben had 1 hour more off the bike but in the end travelled 80km less!

## Rookie Update
The rest of the pack are now making their way through Yorkshire, so we’ll hopefully see a steady stream of Rookie finishers in the next day- maybe even less if any riders really push on. 


## Rookie Riders
There is a lot to recap. We’ll start with the pointy end of the race. 

Caroline Reuter could close out this evening having reached all 10 control points. Since setting off she’s covered almost 850 km, with a moving time of 79%. In fact up until now her longest time off the bike has been just under 90 minutes. Ben Dollans is about one control point behind, also heading in the clockwise direction. Howard, our first rider off on Wednesday and one of the few to head east as a first port of call, will be entering the Lake District by this evening- we’ll see how much he’s kept in the tank. The majority of riders have reached the furthest away control of Norham Castle and are now navigating their way down the country. 

Our leading pairs are remarkably close together, despite setting off in different directions. Both Rachel/Kirsty and Veerle/Katelijne have covered just under 700 km since setting off- although the former are a control point ahead and the latter are just about to enter the Lakes. 

## 72H Riders
The last of our clockwise riders seem to be entering the Lake District now, with a bunch already safely through onto the Long Meg control. Racing towards Norham Castle we have Oliver Hayward, who has decided on the cross-border approach. He is another rider who has been very efficient so far, stopping for less than an hour since the Friday night departure. Hot on his heels though we have Tom Downes and Mark Turnbull. Charles Beasley leads the way for riders deciding that the Winters Gibbet control point is the best direction to go first on the way to Norham Castle. 

Rob Hyde is technically ahead on the tracking software, thanks to a route choice that we haven’t seen attempted yet. After heading east and then back to the Dales Bike Centre, he carried on across the country towards the Long Meg control. He’s now heading north-east towards Winters Gibbet, then onto Norham Castle. It does mean he’ll need to come back via the Lakes, but he could now possibly cut out some climbing when he does return. I might be overthinking it. Watch that dot. 

![APN 72H Route](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6Hi8LlzkV3sbTFvkpMlZiD/1023a60f8c2b361db80308f2ee7ba691/APN_72H_Route.png)
Karl Somers is the furthest along the road for those sticking purely to the east coast and is taking a pretty direct line through Newcastle. Saz Harris isn’t far behind though and has moved up until the top 10. At least one rider has followed the gravel detour after Wasdale Head, with Kevin Stuart deciding he’d like to make this an all-road adventure. 

![APN Tandem](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/47DStjZePxl6iN3fpVezcf/56b5ed7f0b416ff68b8c5f0e82bb56c6/DSC03129.JPG)

In the pairs category, Piper Fowler-Wright and Richard Sanderson have just crossed the border into Scotland as they head towards control number 5. Not far behind we have the tandem pair of Ian and Ingeborg who have made it through the Lake District and are setting a very impressive moving speed in the process, averaging 27 KM/H when not stopped. 
![Piper Fowler-Wright Mechanical](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3Asowte42weD9rHvOC687A/95d41b0e20874dea60c91d6510ecddb6/IMG_20230527_153410.jpg)

### Seb Update
Seb, who it turns out helped his new truck driver friend deliver 6 palettes of flowers to Nottingham, set off from Sheffield at about 2:30am. He’s just about to reach the Wasdale Head control where he’ll catch up with a contingent of 72H riders still navigating the Lakes. 

![APN Flower Delivery](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4lCvkq8ZAbY0wgwFkJc7BY/4341228215d73d2f0a03c782d2e55f44/350130871_1917651421925678_3749739448577072200_n.jpg)

It looks as though we have 11 riders scratched so far, just under 10% of those having set off. 

### Life on the road
I promised another round of mishaps, and here we are. Lindsey Bonner lost a pedal but managed to find a Halfords store just before closing time last night, who managed to help out. Jacob Kay is down a cleat after wearing down his current set. 

![APN Pedal](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4cRIzbHXRCaiJ5X5SfFMic/76a4af863569c345586837b2ded1316d/IMG_20230527_152102.jpg)
With the hot weather continuing the real challenge will be to consume enough food and drink over the course of the ride. Some riders are handling it better than others- we can see Daniel Ambrose enjoying a power nap after consuming all the sugar available at a control point. Likewise, Nikki Ray has struggled with a combination of the conditions and parcours but is still pushing on. 

![APN Pair](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5b9JPa00Ybg3EYPwIgi9VD/080ddb7c8497f60c89a0c1f7b1b15cc5/IMG_20230527_153424.jpg)

I’ve seen a lot of roadside lunches over the course of the week- pies, sausage rolls, special fried rice, cake… but this could be the standout so far from Ailsa Beck: big baguette, green pepper, soft cheese. Channeling the early Tour de France icons. 

![APN Roadside Lunch](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5Ejb2LMFuL7xaPFc4ZQAkb/58690af0619e54824ad8e26b30581a9c/IMG_20230527_153454.jpg)


Afternoon News

# Breakfast News
With just about 12 hours since they departed, we’ve seen some big distances covered overnight!

Of the riders going clockwise, 20+ have made it to the Lakes control point of Wasdale head. Everyone has decided against the now infamous ‘Alice Gravel Shortcut’, so far at least. 

Charles Beasley set a fierce pace overnight, with only 7 minutes of down time since leaving Sheffield, and is fast approaching Keswick and then the Long Meg control. 

The clockwise route includes our other tandem riders. With everyone leaving at the same time on Friday, there was a lot of time to ogle bikes as riders checked in, and the bike of Ian To and Ingeborg Oie got a lot of attention. [If you’ve not already read it, there’s a Bikes of All Points North article that showcases some of the steeds. ](https://dotwatcher.cc/feature/bikes-of-all-points-north-2023 "Bikes of All Points North 2023")

![APN-Elite-Tandem](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/V6ankdyuKmnFVgOutEV4f/f348118f741a39315d9ae33d39e26de5/APN-Elite-Tandem.jpg)

The leader in the clubhouse is currently Nick Cooper, who chose to head towards the Dales Bike Centre after the first two controls and is in the Lake District as we speak. Not far behind on the same route we have Lucas Cortini Oliveira. 

Rob Hyde is furthest along the counter clockwise loop, having reached Filey Brigg at 4:30am and the following two control points not long after. He’s also covered the most distance- 300km. Saz Harris has also followed that route and looks to be the pace setter outside of the men, smashing out 250km and 3 controls over Friday night. Nikki Ray isn’t far behind on the leaderboard and will be reaching her third control of Wasdale Head very soon. 

![APN-Saz](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2tgQVu82t272elKXK4FyLm/9d8a63ed555ea0bc182907c8d4074230/APN-Saz.jpg)

Every pair has chosen the same direction, heading towards the Lake District first. 

## Seb Update

... Seb made it! 

I will get a much more comprehensive report together and update everyone on the Rookie Riders (something has fallen off another bike) this afternoon, but first I am going to ride my own bike. 


Saturday Morning Update

# Friday Night Lights
And they’re off! Just as our Rookie Riders are coalescing at the top of the country, the 72-Hour Riders are leaving Sheffield en masse. On paper it looks to be a very competitive race: the highest placed returning rider from last year is Karl Sommers, who finished 8th in 2022 with a time of 69 hours. 9th place Hamish Carrick is also back. On the women’s side, 3rd place finisher Nikki Ray is the highest placed returnee. So at this point, anyone's race. 

Straight off the bat, I didn’t foresee anyone going south from Sheffield, but Ben Adams has thrown a curveball by heading in that direction first (albeit only very slightly south), then to the Manchester area. The split seems to be similar to what we’ve seen all week, with the majority heading west, a few heading east and one or two deciding to head directly north.  While a lot of the action so far has focussed on route planning, now sleep schedules will play a big part. What sort of distances will we see covered by this time tomorrow. 

![APN Hitchhiker Sign](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3zXVeAAGfqoOWfd3RjlZaq/888f47c2fb0b2a0c4175c9fb6421f84f/347414794_969707137686415_8968616539547172553_n.jpg)

Sebastien Nolens has already had the adventure of a lifetime and he’s not even made the start line yet. The list is not limited to: a cancelled train, a rejection on Eurostar, a missed ferry, an extortionate taxi trip… But he has somehow made it to the UK and found a Dutch truck driver who’s willing to give him a lift to sheffield. He’ll be setting off a little later than everyone but at least he’s on the way! 


Louis Moorehead

All Points North - APN 2023 Tracking + Commentary: Northern England's free route race offers a dotwatcher's delight as riders meander between the 10 checkpoints on the rugged and exposed countryside of The North. 

All Points North - APN 2023 Tracking

Northern England's free route race offers a dotwatcher's delight as riders meander between the 10 checkpoints on the rugged and exposed countryside of The North. This year's edition includes some out-and-back checkpoints and some unavoidable tough climbs.

All Points North 2023

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All Points North 2023

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