Ultra-endurance cycling challenges push the human body to its absolute limits, but when you throw in a romantic relationship and the scorching terrain of Spain’s Andalucian mountains, the stakes rise dramatically.
Badlands is an unsupported ultracycling gravel event, covering 800km +16.000m across the only deserts in Europe, the wild coast of Cabo de Gata and the highest Col in the continent, Pico Veleta at 3.396m
Once per year there is a common start for riders coming from all over the world, but it is not a race: Badlands is a personal challenge where you must complete the official route totally unsupported.
Riders travel through deserts at temperatures close to 40C but also overnight beyond 2.000m close to 0C.
Pro gravel cyclist Danni Shrosbree, 30 and Bradley Shenton, 32, a sales and brand manager emerged as the overall pairs’ winners of the Badlands 2024 endurance race. They navigated 53 hours and 30 minutes of relentless riding whilst surviving on just 10 minutes of sleep in a challenge that tested the strength of their relationship too.
“Brad did Badlands solo a year ago and the whole time I was watching him I was getting a bit jealous - even though he was telling me how horrendous it was,” says Shrosbree when describing the motivation for the pair to take on 800km unsupported ultra-cycling event through Europe’s only desert, Spain's Tabernas Desert.
For Shenton, the experience of previously riding Badlands had been a mixed one. “I said to myself I wouldn’t do it again - unless it was a different experience. But because, during ultra rides, you don't think about anything else, other than to just keep going I’d forgotten a lot of the pain. I told Danni we should do it together, so we could remind each other of the experience.”
Rehearsing on a Rat Run
“Our schedules leading up to Badlands were pretty hectic and I’d never done any night riding before,” says Shrosbree. “We managed to fit in a practice ride on the ‘Rat Run’ course through the New Forest. It really tested us. We were going through mud and bridleways, which were lined with stinging nettles. It was torture. When we checked Strava we saw the segment was called “Stinging Nettle Alley.” I remember Brad saying ‘I think after that you'll find Badlands is easier!’”
The pair had help with their fueling strategy from the Precision Fuel & Hydration team and had to plan for long stretches with no resupply. “We took around 40 hours’ worth of nutrition, mostly in the form of carb mix along with 60g sachets that were easy to carry and caffeine gels,” explains Shrosbree. “The other big thing was the hydration. It was really hot - the Wahoos were reading 40 degrees at critical points, and some riders pulled out during a section where you’re without water for about three hours.”
“We made sure to always have water and electrolytes in our packs, and carb mix in our bottles, so we could monitor how much we were taking in terms of carbs versus electrolytes,” she adds. “The Precision guys also gave us tips like taking a caffeine gel before taking a five-minute nap - it sounds crazy, but it wakes you up faster because the caffeine kicks in while you sleep.”
Challenges of Badlands
“Where normally you’d cover say 30k in an hour of a gravel race, at times we struggled to do 6 km in an hour,” says Shrosbree. “There was one climb alone that took us three hours.” At 90km into the race Shrosbree hit a rut during a treacherous descent.
“Brad hit it first and his bars slipped but I was quite close behind him, so before he had a chance to call it, I just hit it at speed,” she says. “My bars flipped all the way around and I had to commit to crashing into a ditch. I instinctively got up and checked the bike - and even though my elbow was pretty bashed up, I was just thinking; ‘The bike, the bike!’”
Shenton helped his partner straighten the bars but then discovered the rear mech was completely bent too. “We just said ‘let’s just ride and figure out the problems as we go,” he says. “Even though Danni’s bike was making the worst noise.”
On the next descent, Shrosbree’s Wahoo and front light snapped off. “We just put them in her bag and decided we’d fix it at the next water stop,” says Shenton. “Part of our training for this was going on six-hour rides without stopping. Neither of us faff around, we know that with ultras it’s all about the timing, so we only stop at our scheduled stops.”
Hallucinations kick in
Night time was especially testing. “It was pitch black, no moonlight and I was relying on the light cast by Brad’s bike to see where I was going,” says Shrosbree. “The descents were so technical that your eyes started messing with you - and because of the state of the rear mech, my chain kept flipping off, maybe 60 times across the whole race. Brad would turn his light on so I could quickly fix it. It really tested our patience.”
Both halves of the couple believe that less hardy pairings would have quit. “Honestly, if you’d heard the bike sound that Danni’s bike was making, after a minute you’d have headed to a bike shop. We had to listen to it for 50 hours,” says Shenton.
The pain of Shrosbree’s injury coupled with the sleep deprivation the pair were suffering from took their toll too. “My elbow was so swollen, I’d be hitting rocks on these fast descents and my eyes would stream with pain,” she says. “We both began to hallucinate too. At one point I thought I saw an amazing statue of Pinocchio among the rocks! It was hilarious but also dangerous and I kept shouting to myself to look at Brad’s rear light as the hallucinations started to override reality.”
The pair took short 5-minute power naps in a bid to combat the delirium. “It doesn’t sound like much,” says Shenton. “But when you’ve had no sleep it’s amazing what 5 minutes just lying by the side of the road can do for you. We’re both really stubborn and probably put off taking a rest because neither of us wanted to stop and say ‘I’m tired.’”
“There was a moment where Danni was just looking me square in the face and ordering me ‘Brad, take the caffeine gel’ even though I don’t like them, she knew I needed to take it to get through it.”
Training together, the pair insist, was key to keeping the communication flowing and tempers in check. “If you’re going to ride it with someone make sure you train with the person a lot, find out what annoys you both about each other - you don’t want to wait until the race to find that out” adds Shrosbree. “And understand that you’ll both be tired at different points, but you can’t let it get negative.”
There were some pinch yourself moments too, according to Shrosbree. “I saw landscapes that some people can only dream of seeing - the bike takes you to some of the most special parts of the world, like the only desert in Europe - it’s insane.”
