Saab Salomon Mountain Mayhem
Eastnor Castle: 25-26 June 05
Paul Howard once again took the Solo option along with 100 like minded fools in this demanding race.
My preparation this year had been good but in the week preceding the event I really didn't feel as ready as in previous years, so made a bigger effort to relax and just do short very light rides to and from work. But come race day, once I'd moved to the Solo marquee and fitted the mud tyres Chris had kindly brought along at short notice I started focusing on the job in hand and felt ready to ride (for a flippin long time!).
23 hours 58 minutes to go!
Finally I was underway. Many times I heard shouts of encouragement from my fellow Mountain Trax riders, BOB members and so many other friends, it really helped me to dig deep as I went through so many emotions in 24 hours. At the start it's trepidation turning to controlled excitement, to feeling like quitting after just 6 hours when I wasn't able to eat very well on the bike and was getting twinges of cramp, to the warming sunrise on Sunday morning when I'm calculating how many more laps I can squeeze in before 2pm, and finally - considering how I might get a top ten finish next year!
The course and arena were a big improvement over last year. There was a lot more singletrack although we always seemed to be going up, so I made the most of the few descents and hammered every one as fast as possible, making sure to always jump out of the bombhole to cheers of the baying crowd. As for hearing the Pink Panther theme being played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, that just had me in fits of laughter as I crawled up the Kenda climb for the umpteenth time.
It was definitely my hardest Solo race yet. I was disappointed at having to take much longer pit stops than planned (total of 4 hours downtime, that's another 2 laps!) to eat proper solid food more often but had I not done so I'd have blown up in no time. On a positive note I was happy with my actual lap times (excluding pit stops) consistently turning out 1hr20m to 1hr30m, except for a pinch flat puncture on the first lap and a bad night lap (1hr 45m) when only a midway Red Bull stop could keep me awake.
Thanks to all the team at Mountain Trax for your support. So next year, hmmm what to do? The solo bug is infectious... till then thanks for reading.
Statistics
Position: 16th Solo
Riding time: 19hrs 56m
Distance: 137 miles