Mark At The Strathpuffer 24 Hour
21 January 2008
The Strathpuffer Mountain Bike race was truly an event to remember! It almost didn't happen at all. The winds picked up the night before the race and blew over the (steel) marquee leaving a rubble pile of lights, banners, and gear. And the rains made the road into the starting line impassable. So, a local farmer and his tractor pulled all the cars, trucks, and caravans up into the field. The race was delayed by a few hours but it eventually started. Of course, John and I were still organizing a place for our gear so we sort of missed the start of the race.

No worries though. We cycled down the hill as the main pack of bikers were attempting to get up the first hill. It was a solid sheet of ice, so it was treacherous to even walk it. Riding was impossible. We quickly caught up to the mayhem.

The Strathpuffer 24 is a lap race. Teams of four, pairs, and the nutty solos all ride laps for 24 hours. Whoever does the most laps wins. One lap was about 11km (6.67 miles). The lap was a great track contains two big uphills, a sweet (mostly dry!) downhill, a fair bit of ice, and a veritable ton of mud! As the day wore on, the track became more and more rideable as the multitude of bikers melted a nice 6 inch wide strip in the icy bits. Of course, it was dark by 4:30pm so then it got less rideable. By morning, it would have been rideable again - except that the mud puddles were now deep enough to swallow a bike whole - rider included.

John and I did the race solo, but with no intention of riding for the entire event. I had a nice nap (a kip here) for about 6.5 hours! It would have been grand if it'd been - oh say - above freezing. Still, 6.5 hours of shivering in a summer sleeping bag beats 6.5 hours of shivering around the muddy track.

My most memorable moment came on lap two. I'd rented a bike for the event so I wouldn't have to bring one across. Well, in the U.K., not only do they drive on the left, but they also swap the front and rear brakes on bicycles. So the right hand is the FRONT brake. Tapping the front brake on a tight muddy corner isn't ever the right thing to do. It left me face down in 6 inches of mud (see pictures below). Luckily?, it was soft mud.

It turned out to be a great event. The winds died down. It mostly didn't rain, and the track was big fun to ride. In the end, I did 11 laps - about 74 miles, had several shots of whiskey to keep warm, and trashed a perfectly good rental bike. I can hardly wait for next year's event!


Mark Finishing A Lap


Mark Warming Up By The Fire


Where'd All This Mud Come From?


Our Tranisition Area


Sure Is Muddy


Still Muddy And Loving It