48hrs of Mountain Mayhem
Sprawling somewhere between a comedy of errors and a well oiled machine Mountain Mayhem may have been wet and grey but as usual was the highlight of our riding calendar so far. Here's our Adrian with his quick reminder.
Day 1:
10pm: Arrive late completely worn out after a punishing week in the office... Quick recce of the expo reveals a whacking big motorhome on our pitch. Just time to get the tents up before total darkness and the rain comes in...
11.30pm: Time for the BBQ to meet meat, and for us to meet Team Whippet…
Scott 'Captain' Forbes still sidelined with a broken kneecap is reduced to a support role and lending his bike out! Typically for BA was frugal with the brews!
Dan 'Sketchy' Cook CTC hardman, Cyclocross Legend and NPS Vets rider who used his wealth of experience to judge the Mayhem course 'Sketchy!'
Dave 'Borrowed Ride' Maloney'- Sheffield lad and allround good bloke. Good job Scott remembered his bike- Dave's Borrowing it!
James 'Toddy' Todd - Knows the peaks like the back of his hand and requlary rips Stevo's legs off - hoodwinked into packing vans under the pretence of getting a lift… oh, P.S Toddy - your driving!
Adrian '5 Weekends in a Row'- loaded on out of date gels and ready to take on the big guns at their own game!
Day 2:
6am: The rain's stopped but the ground has that 'should have packed wellies' look about it.
6.30am: Summon the power of Pat Addams to evict squatters from our pitch
7.15am: Reverse Airstream trying not to wipe out Superstar and Bloc sunglasses
7.30am: Get a 9meter stand set up with 20 bikes in double quick time. (thanks for helping Scott- hope your breakfast was nice Chris). No rider weight limit on this Whippet...
9am: Busy, Busy, Busy…. Stand packed with people with Whippet, Carbon 456, Carbon 29ers and Titus frames top of the pops. First (of many) Carbon Flickers spotted- this years favourite passtime.
10am: Toddy makes the mistake of admitting to having done a 'bit of fell running' in the past - thats the first lap run sorted then.
10.30am: James is dispatched on a tour of Eastnor Castle Deer park to try and find a mobile signal to update Facebook and Twitter... The combined technical might of Apple and Orange conspired against us.
11am: Time to make Scotts Bike fit Dave- and make the brakes work!
11.15am A visit to the registration tent to get Dean, (who only wanted some spares for his whippet) a race number - having been press ganged into riding in exchange for a bottle cage for his Whippet.
11.59.47 Time to talk tactics…. Toddy 1st, Dan Cook 2nd, Dave 3rd, Dean 4th… repeat for 24hrs or until you break.
12pm They're off!!!!
1.07pm: First 36er unicyclist spotted. Stevo telexed with next big frame design idea.
4pm: The stand remains busy- thanks to all of you who popped by, especially the Lurcher who loved our Lurcher and we loved the sight of them two together...
As the race pounds on through the showers were impressed with the number of On-One's about, especially the XC Whippet. Not seen this many in 1 place outside of Belle Vue.
7pm: Time to sneak a lap in for Adrian. Plastecine mud, Slippy decsents, great bit through the camp site complete with brick jump! Then the climb begins…..
9pm: All hands on deck to pack the stand away for the night and time to find James 'I do flats' some Pedals
10pm: Has Chris gone to bed?
12 midnight: As the Team continue to lap at a decent pace James is back from a lap. The only pedals we had were MKS Sylvan Track pedals, With no toe straps, in the dark… Still beat Adrian's time… and most of the team!
3am: Whilst Chris, James, Adrian and the On-One luvvies get some kip the Team continue in force, with Toddy turning in a very repectible 1hr06 in the pitch black.
Day 3
A fantastic dawn and a sunny start...
7am: Get the Stand Back up. Chris, did you really go back to bed?
9am: The race continues apace, Adrian Sneaks another lap in and despite gel for breakfast can't match James time…
11am: The tables are turned in the On-One Watt bike challenge though... with Adrian showing the world who's the real daddy here....
12pm Race End. Planet X / On-One team returned 23 laps to finish 8th in category.
All the Whippets performed flawlessly- not even a puncture... nothing!
While the winners get Tea and Medals we have Race HQ and the expo stand to pack away, and haul the the van and Airstream northwards. And give Toddy that overdue lift!
Thats over 48hrs of Mayhem!
See you next time, check out the Flikr gallery below, you might very well see yourself!
Adrian
20 June 2011
Comments
Have all the 18" Carbon 29er Race frames gone? Cheers.
what happened to the large size carbon 29er?
Thanks for that, I guess I'll have to be patient and keep an eye out. The 18 inch Race is too small for me at a guess, I'm 6'3", with a 33.5" inside leg and ride a 20" 456. Shame.
Hi Alan, we are currently having some issues with the factory and currently I can't give you an exact eta- though I'd say late autumn as an idea. This is frustrating, and we are doing our very best to bring it forward. Price will be under £700 for frame and forks. Will get pics of the frames up online soon- in the meantime we do have 50 more 18 inch Carbon 29er Race frames arriving soon....
Hi guys, any idea on costs of frame and forks for the Lurcher? Also, when do you expect to be able to accept pre-orders? And do you have any pictures of the expected colourways? The Lime green sounds fantastic!
Yes, the Lurcher is the swap-out drop-out version of the Carbon 29er Race (which due to production issues has had to be cancelled before fully going into production. The Lurcher has the same geometry and many of the same features- plus a much more affordable price tag... It will be an awesome frame that's for sure...
Thanks for the info JonB, I think I might have misunderstood some of the posts/rumours about the Lurcher. Is the Lurcher not the carbon 29er swappable drop-out frame? If not wants the info o nthe 29er carbon swap-out frame?
Hi Warren. Yes, all sizes (16, 18, 19.5, 21) are now ordered in black/orange, black/black, black/lime green and black/white (single speed only). They were due end of August / start of September but due to a number of issues it's looking like unfortunately delivery may be delayed into the Autumn. We'll keep you posted and hopefully we will see them in September as planned.
Any further details on the Lurcher? DH wrote ....there will be 19.5" and 21" Lurcher frames available early September, pre-order August.... I'm 6'2" normally ride a 20" 26er - which would be best to pre-order?
Cheers Owen, we'd love to go to that, but can't as it clashes with our ownOn-One Hundred Mountain Marathon Weekend: http://www.purplemountain.co.uk/on-one-hundred-mountain-marathon/ Maybe next year...
Great report! Loving the Lurcher. Any plans to come to the Twentyfour12?
Hi Alan, there will be 19.5" and 21" Lurcher frames available early September, pre-order August....
Love the look of the Lurcher. When is it going to be available in a L/Xl frame to buy/pre-order? I ride a 20" 456, so assume I'll need something similar....?
Excellent weekend of riding and support, thanks for the opportunity to ride in your team and meet a great bunch of guys - hardest bottle cage I earn t!
Of the team of Sumo riders, 2 were on Tinbreds and 2 were on Whippets - all singlespeed. A great event on great bikes - cheers.
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There are some more 18" Race 29ers on their way... No exact date yet due to continuing supplier issues I'm afraid- will keep you posted.