The 360: first year done

The first 360 is done.

I must admit, I am still pretty knackered. I had every intention of writing this yesterday, but no chance. I spent most of the day on the sofa watching rubbish telly and gently wondering what had happened to my legs.

But what a weekend.

We had 15 starters and 8 finishers, and every single rider who finished came in under 24 hours. That was always the target, so to have all finishers inside the time limit, and with a decent margin, is a pretty amazing result.

First home was Alex Mair in 21 hours 21 minutes, which is, frankly, properly phenomenal.

He was followed by Grant Bateman, Jason Robinson, David Knee and James Wright, with all five riders coming in within 27 minutes of each other. That is a seriously impressive front end to the ride.

I eventually set off about half an hour after everyone else, having stayed behind to finish the start-line admin and get everyone zapped out. Generously, I gave the field a head start. Less generously, this meant I spent the rest of the day chasing my own event.

I came in 6th in 22 hours 52 minutes. For a good part of the second half I rode on and off with Michael Williams, both of us taking turns to drag the other along, complain quietly and keep moving. The results make it look slightly odd, as Michael finished later in 23 hours 20 minutes, but that was very much the pattern of the day. Riders yo-yoed, regrouped, split up again, arrived at café stops as others were leaving, and generally leapfrogged each other around London.

That was one of the nicest parts of the ride. I think I managed to see pretty much everyone at some point out on the route.

Jarek Kubacki brought it home on his mountain bike in 23 hours, which is a fine bit of stubbornness, and Michael Williams was final finisher in 23 hours 20 minutes.

So, 8 finishers. All sub-24. Huge congratulations to everyone who made it round.

Results

The ride that bit back

The 360 was always meant to be a challenge. Not a race in the traditional sense, but definitely a ride that needs managing. It is 360km around London, largely off-road, self-supported, with enough climbing, surfaces, route-finding and small decisions to keep everyone honest.

It is not just about strength and brutality. It is about knowing yourself. Knowing what you can do. Planning your stops. Keeping them long enough to recover, but short enough not to lose the day. Finding water. Finding food. Keeping moving. Pushing yourself just that little bit further than is truly comfortable.

I must have drunk about five gallons.

Off-road distance bites differently. A fast 100km is one thing. A full loop around London, through the night, across bridleways, heaths, woods, lanes, towpaths and the occasional comedy grass trench is another thing entirely.

There was a healthy slab of Type 2 fun in there. Type 2 weight, perhaps.

Some sections were flying. Some were slow and fiddly. Some bridleways were immaculate. Others were very much expressing themselves. There were also a couple of surprise closures, which is one of the realities of a long off-road route. You can ride something one week and find it closed the next.

But overall, it worked. The route had teeth, but it also had flow. The dots kept moving. People kept pushing on. And Greenwich slowly started pulling everyone back in.

The ones who didn’t finish

A big part of an event like this is knowing when to stop. The DNFs are not failures. They are part of the story, and most of them still rode a very long way.

Sam Ridgley made it to Reigate, which is still a very solid ride and a proper chunk of the opening section.

Pete Noble went off the start line like it was a ten-mile time trial rather than a 360km loop of London, and for a good while it looked like it might just work. If there had been a Maidenhead dash, he may well have won it.

Lloyd Collier made it to Camberley, having caused a certain amount of jealousy by sending a photograph of himself eating an ice cream while others were still chewing through the route. His WhatsApp probably summed it up best: “That’ll probably do.” Also, I still suspect the Hawaiian shirt played a role.

Ben Sheils had a properly adventurous ride. He posted a very good picture of a corner shop called The Lost Mary, which felt worryingly appropriate, then suffered a nasty fall on a descent. Later, while the two of us were riding and yakking through Bracknell, we both managed to fall into a rabbit hole, which was every bit as graceful as it sounds.

Pete Houghton was steady Pete. He rode consistently, and I had money on him to finish, although possibly somewhere beyond the 24-hour mark. Unfortunately his light stopped working, which is a pretty final problem once night arrives. I think he still made it to around 100 miles, somewhere in the Camberley area, which is a big ride by any normal measure.

Jim Leach came off in the woods before Toys Hill and called it there. His message summed it up better than I could: he would be fine, but he was not going to risk it. Sensible, and exactly the right call.

James Keen had the slightly ambitious target of being home for lunch on Saturday. He is doing an event in Norway this weekend, so The 360 was effectively a slightly ridiculous taper ride. He got back for lunch, which I suppose means the plan worked. I hope it proves to be good preparation for Norway.

To everyone who started and didn’t finish, huge respect. Guildford, Reigate, Camberley, Maidenhead and beyond are all proper rides on this route. Scratching sensibly is part of self-supported riding. Getting yourself home in one piece matters.

Dot-watching becomes part of the event

The trackers made a big difference.

Over the weekend, The 360 tracking page had more than 600 views, so someone was definitely watching you lot go round London. Probably several someones.

Dot-watching is strangely addictive, and it added a whole extra layer to the event.

For riders, it meant there was always a little glowing breadcrumb moving somewhere on the map. For people at home, it turned the ride into a slow-motion, mildly obsessive spectator sport. Dots paused at garages. Dots got stuck in forests. Dots moved suspiciously quickly. Dots disappeared into the night and then reappeared somewhere near the Thames.

It made the event feel bigger than just the riders on the road. It gave the whole thing a pulse.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who entered, started, finished, scratched sensibly, followed the dots, sent messages, took photos, ate ice cream, found corner shops, fell into rabbit holes, or helped turn The 360 from an idea into a real event.

Congratulations again to all the finishers, especially Alex Mair for a genuinely brilliant winning ride.

The first 360 is done.

The 360 returns on 19–20 June 2027. Entries are open →