Saab Salomon Mountain Mayhem 24 hour race
Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Malvern Hills: 24-25 June 06
Mountain Trax entered two teams; "The Development Squad" in Elite and "The Support Crew" in Sport, plus Paul Howard in the hard as nails solo race. We have a report from Paul and from Warren on the team efforts, plus all the results and photos.
The Trials and Tribulations of a Solo Nutter
By Paul Howard.
Now I know that most readers will think soloists are some kind of superhuman machine with an arse of steel and a total disregard for their health!! Yeah you could be right, but I truly believe that many people could ride solo so long as you adopt good preparation, stick to a pacing policy and learn to ride through the hard times. So I hope my report goes someway to giving you an understanding if what it takes to "do a 24". If you are encouraged start off with a 12 hour first, they're only half as hard!
My early Friday arrival allowed for a gentle lap of the course to gauge where to eat and where to put the effort in for the biggest gains. At first sight I thought there wasn't much singletrack within the 7.8 mile lap but on reflection the course was an excellent balance of steady climbs, fast open sections and swooping singletrack with a very nice "flow" to it. For example riding Evans Spooky Woods the other way to last year as a very gradual descent was much more enjoyable. The highlight had to be Tim Flooks Final Fix, a near 1km descent to the finish always carried out at warp speed over some horrendous braking bumps, which the Scott Genius soaked up with aplomb. For those not in the know the bike is a lightweight full suspension machine with a carbon frame.
A very relaxed evening followed of eating and socialising with club mates and old rivals before turning in for an early night.
Saturday morning was spent preparing my pit table in the Solo marquee, chilling out and then performing a 20 minute warm-up to prep the body before the off. My preparation was to be key in reducing pit time as I take on an extra challenge over many soloists by not having a pit crew. So this year I'd done as much in advance as possible, simple things such as making up a flask of black coffee, cooking pasta and divvying it up into paper cups to carry in my pockets, and filling 15 bottles with energy drink.
Come 2pm there didn't seem to be a build-up to the gun as all of a sudden we were off in the running Le Mans start. As usual I ran steadily for all of four minutes careful not to get any leg burning lactic acid or be tripped up in the melee of 500 people before collecting my bike from the start area. Placing at this time means nothing so early on and I take it as an opportunity to ride myself in on the first lap and avoid the inevitable crashes, two of which happened right in front of me. The afternoon wore on uneventfully as lap after lap passed by. I stopped every lap to run into the pits to collect a fresh drinks bottle, food and occasionaly lube the chain. So actual lap times excluding pitting were steady between 44 and 47 minutes riding within my target heart rate zones and based on how the legs felt.
Just a couple of hiccups occurred: firstly, on exiting the Back On Track Brook - a stream crossing that became progressively deeper throughout the race giving you a right bootfull of water in the process - I got my front wheel sideways on a stupid little slippery rut on the way out. Fortunately I got away with a rather balletic manoeuvre of unclipping, jumping over the bars and laying the bike down in the mud - followed by some rather choice words! Although it wrenched my right shoulder some stretching soon made it fade. After this I made sure to take a better line to the left every time.
Secondly, there was one solid branch sticking out on entering a section of singletrack which I'd successfully avoided but one lap I got the line just inches wrong and whacked my right arm into it causing it to "go dead" instantly. A bit more stretching and shaking the blood around soon remedied it and it was soon forgotten about.
Only 23 hours and 50 minutes to go
[pic: Newpee.com]
On with the lights at 9pm and a quick look at race positions showed me hovering in the mid-twenties. I had been passing a lot of soloists each lap as they already looked to be paying the price for starting too fast.
A planned stop during the night came at lap 15 to change into fresh warm clothes. It was the only total lap time stretching over 1 hour, by just 13 seconds. The night laps were enjoyable as ever, I love night riding and do it all year round as trails take on a new dimension. Knowing to just keep it steady and be a little more careful in the difficult bits, no heroics, is always important. The dust floating in the air was accentuated by my helmet mounted light (a Light & Motion ARC Li-on if you're interested) and I considered just how much dust I was probably breathing in. It can't be good for you.
People often ask "When will you stop for a sleep? Surely you can't keep going." Well that's the whole point - to keep going. Personally I know that my body clock wants me to sleep at 11pm, so I made sure to drink a few cups of black coffee beforehand and a Red Bull to get through this period. There's plenty of time to sleep after the race ;-)
Another position check at dawn showed a move into 10th (target was top ten), the consistent night laps had paid off. Now the race was on. At 9am with five hours to go I recalled that's the length of my longest winter Base rides so knew to just keep turning over the pedals, eating and drinking, as the welcome warmth of the sunrise rejuvenated my tired body. Pit stops became a little longer now as I had to make up a drinks bottle every lap, but time on the bike was still in the region of 46 to 50 minutes. The race head in me now clicked into life as the timing guys told me I was now about 25 minutes down on ninth place. So with another five or six laps achievable I started whittling down the gap by a few minutes each lap working harder on the fast opening half to gain a lot of speed. Until lap 27 when the body went through a real weak moment at the start of the mile and half long Powerbar and Kenda climbs. I was running on empty. For the first time all race I couldn't keep the fluids down, nor any food as I began wretching. A kindly rider asked if I was ok, I could only respond with a slight nod but behind my sunglasses my eyes were streaming as I was ready to sit down by the track and curl up into a ball. I've been in this situation before in Enduros and knew that only mental tenacity could keep the wheels turning so lifted my head and focused on the hill ahead to look forward to the descents to the finish. Finally that lap was over at 1:05pm. That meant I could do a gentle 50 minuter returning at 1:55pm in readiness for a final lap. A pocketful of Jelly Babies and off I go. This is the stage in the race when something really weird happens. The whole ride becomes completely effortless, perhaps it's the adrenaline kicking in and the relief of knowing it will all be over soon.
Before the last singletrack the organisers had set up a lurkers point offering beer and cake for riders who did not wish to continue on past the 2pm finish or get another team rider out for a final lap. There must have been 40 people here already with ten minutes to go to the 2pm cutoff. I shout for them to clear the path as I'm on a mission to hammer that last sweet descent. Cheers of encouragement from fellow Berks On Bikes members lurking sent me on my way to arrive in the pits, collect a final bottle and walk through the timing tent at 1:58pm. More shouts from many friends and probable disbelief that I should even consider going out again spur me on to a bunny hopping frenzy down the start straight.
I was now just five minutes down on eighth place as someone had blown up and dropped out two laps earlier. Within a couple of miles I'd caught and passed him with congratulatory words to each other. The camaraderie between the soloists is like nothing I've ever experienced in any walk of life. We all know how the highs and lows can effect you, so try to motivate one another, and often ride laps together chatting to pass the time. I later found out it was Carl Hutchings, winner of the 2005 Alaskan Iditarod Trail, a 22 day 1100 mile race in the harshest of conditions, now that really does call for endurance. Apparently he only lives about 10 miles from me, small world eh?
So that was it, nearly job done. I knew I could cruise to the finish happy in the knowledge I'd tried my hardest and achieved my targets. The final few miles were a blur ridden with the biggest grin you could imagine, thanking the marshal's for their support along the way. And getting my 29th run at Tim Flooks Final Fix hitting the line spot-on all the way. Passing through the timing tent the crowd of BOB's and fellow Mountain Trax riders were lining the finish for a bunch of "high fives", excellent!! Pat Adams (the event organiser) gave his customary handshake and a brief chat, followed by Chipps (the course designer) giving me the remains of his beer, top bloke.
Yes if you were wondering, I felt like s**t afterwards!!
[pic: Newpee.com]
Sitting mud covered at the prizegiving munching through a baked potato and chilli I was struggling to stop the body shutting down completely. I was so close to both fainting and throwing up. Then they announced there would be prizes for the top ten Soloists. Well this was a total and utter shock, because in previous years awards only went to the top 3. So my spirits lifted again as I did "the Soloists funny walk" to the podium to collect my goodies for eighth place and the highest unsupported rider. My apologies go to Mountain Trax as I didn't have my team clothing on as this was all rather unexpected.
I must just add congratulations to Mountain Trax customer Lorraine Staley competing in her first Solo 24 hour. We met in the solo marquee finding ourselves pitted next door and encouraged each other through the event. Lorraine completed an outstanding 19 laps finishing 4th women, which would have placed her 42nd in the Mens competition. All whilst maintaining her blood-sugar levels as a diabetic.
So that's it for another year. Or is it? I have entered the Bontrager TwentyFour/12 in mid-July, again in the Solo 24 hour category. But right now I'm not sure if I can actually face it, we'll see, there's two weeks of recovery rides to enjoy then one week of speed work and tapering beforehand. Perhaps I'll see you there.
Many thanks to: Mountain Trax for the Scott Genius and all their support, Matt Hart at TORQ Fitness for his coaching this year, and Schwalbe for the fast rolling Smart Sam tyres.
Laps: 29
Position: 8th of 110
Elapsed Time: 24h 46m 19s
Riding Time: 23h 8m 30s
Distance: 225 miles
Average speed: 9.6mph
Ascent: approx 28500 feet
Full results for all Solo Men »
Lap Number Rider Time Speed 1 2067 Paul Howard 00:51:33 8.73 mph / 14.05 km/h 2 2067 Paul Howard 00:44:41 10.07 mph / 16.21 km/h 3 2067 Paul Howard 00:45:55 9.80 mph / 15.77 km/h 4 2067 Paul Howard 00:46:43 9.63 mph / 15.50 km/h 5 2067 Paul Howard 00:44:47 10.05 mph / 16.17 km/h 6 2067 Paul Howard 00:48:06 9.36 mph / 15.06 km/h 7 2067 Paul Howard 00:45:33 9.88 mph / 15.90 km/h 8 2067 Paul Howard 00:45:50 9.82 mph / 15.80 km/h 9 2067 Paul Howard 00:52:50 8.52 mph / 13.71 km/h 10 2067 Paul Howard 00:48:35 9.26 mph / 14.91 km/h 11 2067 Paul Howard 00:48:23 9.30 mph / 14.97 km/h 12 2067 Paul Howard 00:53:52 8.35 mph / 13.44 km/h 13 2067 Paul Howard 00:56:28 7.97 mph / 12.83 km/h 14 2067 Paul Howard 00:49:52 9.02 mph / 14.52 km/h 15 2067 Paul Howard 01:00:13 7.47 mph / 12.03 km/h 16 2067 Paul Howard 00:58:51 7.65 mph / 12.31 km/h 17 2067 Paul Howard 00:54:41 8.23 mph / 13.24 km/h 18 2067 Paul Howard 00:50:27 8.92 mph / 14.35 km/h 19 2067 Paul Howard 00:53:05 8.48 mph / 13.64 km/h 20 2067 Paul Howard 00:48:53 9.21 mph / 14.81 km/h 21 2067 Paul Howard 00:53:12 8.46 mph / 13.61 km/h 22 2067 Paul Howard 00:57:00 7.89 mph / 12.71 km/h 23 2067 Paul Howard 00:50:03 8.99 mph / 14.47 km/h 24 2067 Paul Howard 00:52:39 8.55 mph / 13.76 km/h 25 2067 Paul Howard 00:52:31 8.57 mph / 13.79 km/h 26 2067 Paul Howard 00:54:45 8.22 mph / 13.23 km/h 27 2067 Paul Howard 00:57:51 7.78 mph / 12.52 km/h 28 2067 Paul Howard 00:49:19 9.12 mph / 14.68 km/h 29 2067 Paul Howard 00:49:41 9.06 mph / 14.58 km/h
Rider Laps Best Average Worst Paul Howard 29 00:44:41
(10.07 mph / 16.21 km/h)00:51:15
(8.78 mph / 14.13 km/h)01:00:13
(7.47 mph / 12.03 km/h)
Team Report
By Warren Bates.
24 hours doesn't seem so long when you're sitting at work. I mean I have done 15-hour shifts with relative ease before. How difficult can it be to ride a bike for 24 hours, divided by 4 people? What? Only 6 hours. Pah!
As usual Dean and Ben arrived at the race first on Friday; camp was set with the always-friendly BOB club. Dean is the most prepared person I know other than my fiancee Catherine, and she is clearly female! Dean had spoken to some friends who had all said the mountain mayhem course at Eastnor castle was much easier than last year's. Splendid we thought.
I arrived later on Friday, with the remainder of the team due to arrive Saturday morning. We got everything out of the car into the evening sun, and set up camp. We then got down to eating plenty of carbs and drinking plenty of fluid, while also having a look around the event village with all the trade stands and shiny things.
A not too early start on Saturday was pleasant enough with the early morning sun making the tent roasting by 7am. We knew it was going to be a warm weekend. Dean and Ben had stayed in a local holiday inn on Friday night, so preparation started in earnest when they arrived followed shortly by Chris, John, Andy, Calum, and Mervyn. The teams were signed on, numbers on bikes and everybody ready and raring to go with more than an hour to spare before the start.
2pm see the crazy beginning of the 24hours, with a short run to try and string the riders out before they pick up bikes and head for the hills. The Mountain Trax Development Squad was lead out by Andy, who was running like a looney to try and get a good start. He said he wasn't a runner beforehand, but we had our doubts after seeing him turn a clean pair of heals to a few runners in trainers. The order from there on out was to be, myself, followed by Ben, followed by Dean. Although we had made a tactical decision in the morning to pair up and do two laps each in pairs before handing over to the second pair, thus allowing us more time to rest between stints. Or so we thought!
Andy hands the batton to Warren amongst the melee of waiting riders
[pic: Newpee.com]
The Mountain Trax Support Crew consisted of Chris, Catherine, Mervyn and John, and the riding was to be in that order. Chris therefore had the pleasure of the run, and took it in his footballers stride. The Support Crew wisely opted for the traditional one lap each approach, with the plan to go for two laps come the evening to allow more time for sleep.
Chris puts his football skills to good use,
but running before a bike race is still stupid!
[pic: Newpee.com]
After two goes around with the maverick pairs approach, and the thought of then moving to doing three laps each during the night, the Development Squad was wondering if this line of attack was indeed wise. We all started to feel weary, knowing we had some time yet to ride. The night laps were fun, especially as many people were sleeping, meaning the singletrack was quieter, and of those who were riding, not many had seemingly ridden at night much.
The night did not seem to slow many people down, especially Catherine in the Support Crew who set her fastest time in the dark. There was virtually no dew on the ground, and the trails continued to ride well.
A long night of riding, which felt like a night and a day, was soon broken by the warm sunrise. Everything always seems better in the morning. All the time we were all looking out for Paul, who was yet again proving what a hero he is and completing the race not only solo, but also un-supported. We all felt strongly for him and tried to cheer as loudly as possible whenever we saw him.
The last few laps went like a blur as they always do, with the Development Squad opting to change back to one lap each to try to get some quicker laps back in. This proved to be a bit easier for most, apart from Dean who was still feeling it from his night laps with no sleep and had to take a lap off. With some quick planning it seemed that I would be completing the last lap unless I could put in a sub-30 minute lap, therefore I would be completing the race for the Development Squad.
Catherine
[pic: Newpee.com]
The Support Crew also had some hiccups during the night, with Chris arriving late for his changeover with Catherine, meaning she had to complete two laps in a row. Previously unplanned, this meant the others had some more rest, but also meant that she would have to complete the last lap of the race. All this after having a monster of a crash at the bottom of the Tim Flookes descent, bad enough to twist a pair of Fox Float suspension forks, and cover her arms and legs in scratches and bruises.
The last lap seemed to take forever for me and Catherine, but finally we crossed the lap counter for the last time.
John was the most consistent lapper of both teams, closely followed by Ben and Andy. Andy set the fastest lap, and Merv the slowest (ah ha! beaten by a girl!).
Andy
[pic: Newpee.com]
Here are a few comments from Ben:
"All I need to say is that I loved every minute of Mountain Mayhem other than getting a flat tyre on my first lap coming down the White Lightening descent!! The course was good and I felt strong going up the Kenda climb considering I hadn't been on my bike since the 4th of June because of exams!!!! The Tim Flooks downhill at the end of the course was amazing when there wasn't much traffic. On my second to last lap I had Oli Beckingsale behind me most of the way down the Tim Flooks decent which was good fun trying to keep fast enough to keep him behind me. I hadn't done any night riding for a couple of years but my night laps were really really enjoyable."
Elite: Mountain Trax Development Squad
Laps: 37
Elapsed Time: 24h 6m 54s
Position: 16th of 20
Full results for all Elite teams »
Lap Number Rider Time Speed 1 28 Andy Parsons 00:38:13 11.77 mph / 18.95 km/h 2 27 Warren Bates 00:36:52 12.21 mph / 19.64 km/h 3 28 Andy Parsons 00:35:42 12.61 mph / 20.29 km/h 4 27 Warren Bates 00:39:17 11.46 mph / 18.44 km/h 5 25 Ben Thomas 00:36:08 12.45 mph / 20.04 km/h 6 26 Dean Morgan 00:36:30 12.33 mph / 19.84 km/h 7 25 Ben Thomas 00:39:47 11.31 mph / 18.20 km/h 8 26 Dean Morgan 00:37:23 12.04 mph / 19.37 km/h 9 28 Andy Parsons 00:34:58 12.87 mph / 20.71 km/h 10 27 Warren Bates 00:38:42 11.63 mph / 18.71 km/h 11 28 Andy Parsons 00:35:59 12.51 mph / 20.13 km/h 12 27 Warren Bates 00:40:26 11.13 mph / 17.91 km/h 13 25 Ben Thomas 00:36:42 12.26 mph / 19.73 km/h 14 26 Dean Morgan 00:38:37 11.65 mph / 18.75 km/h 15 25 Ben Thomas 00:39:56 11.27 mph / 18.14 km/h 16 26 Dean Morgan 00:39:26 11.41 mph / 18.37 km/h 17 28 Andy Parsons 00:37:17 12.07 mph / 19.42 km/h 18 27 Warren Bates 00:42:51 10.50 mph / 16.90 km/h 19 28 Andy Parsons 00:40:03 11.24 mph / 18.08 km/h 20 27 Warren Bates 00:46:10 9.75 mph / 15.69 km/h 21 28 Andy Parsons 00:39:36 11.36 mph / 18.29 km/h 22 27 Warren Bates 00:45:33 9.88 mph / 15.90 km/h 23 25 Ben Thomas 00:41:00 10.98 mph / 17.66 km/h 24 26 Dean Morgan 00:38:00 11.84 mph / 19.06 km/h 25 25 Ben Thomas 00:40:53 11.01 mph / 17.71 km/h 26 26 Dean Morgan 00:39:37 11.36 mph / 18.28 km/h 27 25 Ben Thomas 00:38:57 11.55 mph / 18.59 km/h 28 26 Dean Morgan 00:42:28 10.60 mph / 17.05 km/h 29 28 Andy Parsons 00:38:34 11.67 mph / 18.78 km/h 30 27 Warren Bates 00:38:36 11.66 mph / 18.76 km/h 31 25 Ben Thomas 00:38:09 11.80 mph / 18.98 km/h 32 28 Andy Parsons 00:38:42 11.63 mph / 18.71 km/h 33 27 Warren Bates 00:41:47 10.77 mph / 17.33 km/h 34 25 Ben Thomas 00:36:29 12.33 mph / 19.85 km/h 35 26 Dean Morgan 00:39:17 11.46 mph / 18.44 km/h 36 28 Andy Parsons 00:37:58 11.85 mph / 19.07 km/h 37 27 Warren Bates 00:40:19 11.16 mph / 17.96 km/h
Rider Laps Best Average Worst Andy Parsons 10 00:34:58
(12.87 mph / 20.71 km/h)00:37:42
(11.94 mph / 19.21 km/h)00:40:03
(11.24 mph / 18.08 km/h)Warren Bates 10 00:36:52
(12.21 mph / 19.64 km/h)00:41:03
(10.96 mph / 17.64 km/h)00:46:10
(9.75 mph / 15.69 km/h)Ben Thomas 9 00:36:08
(12.45 mph / 20.04 km/h)00:38:40
(11.64 mph / 18.73 km/h)00:41:00
(10.98 mph / 17.66 km/h)Dean Morgan 8 00:36:30
(12.33 mph / 19.84 km/h)00:38:54
(11.56 mph / 18.61 km/h)00:42:28
(10.60 mph / 17.05 km/h)
Sport: Mountain Trax Support Crew
Laps: 29
Elapsed Time: 24h 40m 50s
Position: 142nd of 245
Full results for all Sport teams »
Lap Number Rider Time Speed 1 238 Christian White 00:46:06 9.76 mph / 15.71 km/h 2 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 00:54:13 8.30 mph / 13.36 km/h 3 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:47:51 9.40 mph / 15.13 km/h 4 237 John Newport 00:41:49 10.76 mph / 17.32 km/h 5 238 Christian White 00:42:17 10.64 mph / 17.13 km/h 6 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 00:51:44 8.70 mph / 14.00 km/h 7 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:46:36 9.66 mph / 15.54 km/h 8 237 John Newport 00:41:37 10.81 mph / 17.40 km/h 9 238 Christian White 00:43:40 10.31 mph / 16.58 km/h 10 238 Christian White 00:52:32 8.57 mph / 13.79 km/h 11 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:58:48 7.65 mph / 12.32 km/h 12 240 Mervyn Dempsey 01:06:04 6.81 mph / 10.96 km/h 13 237 John Newport 00:44:46 10.05 mph / 16.18 km/h 14 237 John Newport 00:46:10 9.75 mph / 15.69 km/h 15 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 00:52:22 8.59 mph / 13.83 km/h 16 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 01:02:12 7.23 mph / 11.64 km/h 17 238 Christian White 00:47:18 9.51 mph / 15.31 km/h 18 238 Christian White 00:55:48 8.06 mph / 12.98 km/h 19 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:56:47 7.92 mph / 12.75 km/h 20 237 John Newport 00:45:30 9.89 mph / 15.92 km/h 21 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 00:52:38 8.55 mph / 13.76 km/h 22 238 Christian White 00:45:16 9.94 mph / 16.00 km/h 23 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:54:11 8.31 mph / 13.37 km/h 24 237 John Newport 00:43:37 10.32 mph / 16.60 km/h 25 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 00:55:35 8.10 mph / 13.03 km/h 26 238 Christian White 01:02:01 7.26 mph / 11.68 km/h 27 240 Mervyn Dempsey 00:56:01 8.03 mph / 12.93 km/h 28 237 John Newport 00:43:04 10.45 mph / 16.82 km/h 29 239 Catherine Tytherleigh 01:04:17 7.00 mph / 11.27 km/h
Rider Laps Best Average Worst Christian White 8 00:42:17
(10.64 mph / 17.13 km/h)00:49:22
(9.11 mph / 14.67 km/h)01:02:01
(7.26 mph / 11.68 km/h)Catherine Tytherleigh 7 00:51:44
(8.70 mph / 14.00 km/h)00:56:08
(8.01 mph / 12.90 km/h)01:04:17
(7.00 mph / 11.27 km/h)Mervyn Dempsey 7 00:46:36
(9.66 mph / 15.54 km/h)00:55:11
(8.15 mph / 13.12 km/h)01:06:04
(6.81 mph / 10.96 km/h)John Newport 7 00:41:37
(10.81 mph / 17.40 km/h)00:43:47
(10.28 mph / 16.54 km/h)00:46:10
(9.75 mph / 15.69 km/h)