Strathpuffer24

A 24 hour race in Highlands of Scotland in the depths of winter was always going to require lots of batteries for lights, warm clothes and stamina. At least I had 2 of these bases covered.

Categories were for solo riders, pairs, and quads. Somehow we managed to enter a team of 3. The course was praised by all and roughly consisted of a fire road climb, a lot of mud (there really was a lot), and as sweet a singletrack descent as you could imagine. This final thrill filled downhill through the trees past the campsite somehow made the rest of the lap, including the mud, worthwhile.

Being overtaken...again. This was not the muddy part of the course.

We were going strongly and were well placed in the quad category despite there only being 3 of us. Disaster struck sometime around dusk when Roddy fell off and broke his collar bone. Paul and I managed to keep going until 4am when bodies and bikes were both broken - Paul had to bodge a singlespeed after his rear mech broke off at the highest point of the course in the middle of the nighht.

The change over point sometime during the 18 hours of darkness

Dawn eventually arrived and with it some renewed energy and now sharing my bike we managed 3 more laps before the finish and a respectable placing.

This was an excellent event; well organised, a superb course and a lot of luck with the weather - the mud even froze solid for a while. There is already talk of next year. How short my memory is.

Last updated: 22/03/06