r/ultracycling

I finished Bright Midnight this year and have been meaning to post about it because I think Justinas is getting so many things right with this event, and I’d love to see more like it.

Obviously the landscape is a huge part of what makes this event special. Norway is ridiculous. But honestly my biggest takeaway wasn't the scenery. It was the people and the atmosphere around the event.

There is something really refreshing about Bright Midnight. Ultra racing seems to be getting more commercialized these days, and this felt like the opposite. Justinas, who organizes it, seems very intentional about keeping the event focused on the riders and the community. It felt much more like a group of people coming together for a really hard adventure than a commercial race. There was a great mix of people in it to win it but just as many looking to finish. 

There were plenty of great moments and plenty of moments where I was questioning my life choices, so I ended up writing a pretty detailed account of the whole experience. Partly because I wanted to share it, but mostly because I wanted somewhere to keep all the little details that I'd otherwise forget.

A few things that surprised me about the route:

• The route is a challenge, but I still think it is quite manageable. There isn't a huge amount of technical riding, so you don't need incredible bike-handling skills.
• The distance and elevation are big, but the cutoff gives you enough time to break it down into manageable chunks if you choose.
• The amount of daylight makes a massive difference. There are no real overnight shifts, which I found made the whole thing considerably more manageable.
• The resupply options were also better than I expected, both in terms of the number of options and their opening hours. Including 24hr self service stores.

One thing I really wanted to mention is the women's field. Justinas had been working on increasing women's participation well before registration opened, and I have a good friend who was one of the women involved in helping figure out how to make that initiative work.

It was really cool to see that actually translate into the event. Nearly half of the field was women, which was pretty refreshing to see in an ultra cycling event.

For anyone thinking about doing it next year, it looks like men’s and pairs entries are already sold out, but there are still women's entries available and as a community we should make sure all of those places get filled.

Happy to answer questions about the route, bike setup, resupply, logistics, or just what the experience was like. You can also read my write ups on my blog which cover an overview of the event, a gear breakdown and a full ride report post. 

https://www.byvelo.com/post/the-bright-midnight-ultra-racing-in-its-purest-form