Hmmm remembering the pain from the last 24hr solo I questioned for a moment why I was doing another one but then it came to me...I liked the pain. There is no logical reason to ride this sort of thing other than to try and beat other silly people who also think it's a good idea and too really push the boundaries to try and find your limits, the ultimate test of endurance-why else?
If your really short like me then a running start is never good especially in spd's. I started on the front of the line and managed to stay in the top quarter as we mounted our bikes. First lap craziness followed and I really had to reign myself in and remember this is a long game. After a few laps I found my pace and started to focus on getting the fluids and fuel in.
This course seemed to have a fair amount of climbing some of it quite steep, it was really dry for the majority of it even some dust. Braking bumps were giving my arms a beating but I guess with this amount of traffic braking bumps are inevitable
I was looking forward to the night it brings an air of dread to most but I really like the complete feeling of solitude and you have to get your skills perfect, no room for errors in the darkness. Not forgetting the amazing sunset it reminds me why I love to ride.
As dawn broke early, around 4am, realising you have 10hrs left is quite grim but I got my head down and rode through it and it hurt, a lot!The last few laps required some stern words to myself and just to keep moving was becoming quite an effort.
Carla and I finished together and for once I was happy to stop pedalling. Would I do it again? Hell yeah!!

Having been chosen as part of the team relay Mountain mayhem was finally here and I was really excited.
The morning of mayhem arrived. Off I went to sign on then pre rode the course. It had rained a bit at night so changing my tyres may have been a possibility. The course was great; good climbs, fast single track, open fire track and a few techy sections. After completing one lap I decided to change my front tyre to Kenda Nevegal and leave the rear one Small block eight.
A quick stroll around the arena, we met a few of our sponsors, Kenda tyres and Osprey hydraulics and had a quick chat before the race started.
Before starting we had a team meeting to discuss the break down of laps and how many we were doing etc. Once this was finalised it was time to race! I was chosen to start, which included a half-mile run!!
I was on the start line 30mins early with teammate Ricky who was competing in the 24hour solo!! I was getting more and more excited and had a huge adrenaline rush. Thousands of competitors were at the start ready to race.
The horn went and off we ran. The route was pretty basic but quite difficult running in mountain bike shoes! In to the transition area, I grabbed my bike, ran to the mount line and off I rode. He first lap was really fun-there were ques entering parts of the single track in the woods because there were so many riders! It was quite amusing in a way as well.
It took me just over an hour to complete an 8.8mile lap including the run. My teammate Rachel was ready in the transition area as I was riding into the arena. I passed the baton to her, and then off she went to complete her lap.
I had a couple hours break before I was next to go so went back to the team tent to relax. The atmosphere was great and we were already leading the Open Women’s team category, which was great. But we had another 23hours of racing yet to be done!!
It was very close the first few laps into the race, but we were slowly, gradually increasing the time between 2nd place and us.

Preparation for events like these is a priority. Taking on as much fuel as possible through out the day and night was essential to keep energy levels up. Spare kit in case the weather/temp changes especially at nighttime is key.
Riding at night time/early morning was great fun. Some marshals had music playing in their tents and were so encouraging through the tough parts of the race. Riders had Christmas lights wrapped around their bikes, others had bells and even some were on Uni cycles!!!
Three quarters into the race I was up and ready to rock on and get some laps under my belt and gain some more time on the other team. At this point we were leading by 28 minutes. The sun was shining, music was playing, we were winning what more could you want in a race. I stayed as focussed as possible and tried not to let lack of sleep take over me. That lap was completed in a reasonable time and we were still in the lead by quite a way.
The team were so encouraging I wanted to go out and do more laps, but I did have to wait my turn.
With an hour until 24hours of racing was complete, I was able to get in another lap and finish it for the team. Team mate Rickie was also winning and leading by 2 laps which was amazing! I caught her on the final part of the course so we decided to finish together. As we rode in to the arena everyone was lined up along the barriers cheering and clapping. I was so proud at that moment and pleased that we were in one piece and had two wins.
We collected medals at the finish line a rode back to the team tent and handed them out.
Out of the whole 24hours the team only had 2 mechanicals, which is very good going! We couldn’t have asked for better weather, dry and sunny by day chilly but clear sky at night!
Thank you to Weldtite for their support through out the whole weekend and also to the best team, WXC Mountain Bike Team UK for all their hard work and effort.
Bring on Mayhem 2011!!

Stolen Bikes

Fifteen bikes – worth approximately £40,000 – were stolen from the Margam park campsite between Saturday evening and Sunday morning.

Team Mechanic Mike Jenner said: “Our team were unfortunate enough to lose two bikes. Both bikes were locked down and hidden away in the team area with two of the team sleeping no more than six foot from the bikes.”

“Can you all please keep an eye out for the following bikes:

“One was a Moda Encore Medium (17.5 inch) carbon hardtail. Had a Garmin fitted, full XT group, Magura Marta in Black, Magura Durin 100R in white, American Classic White wheelset with tubeless Kenda tyres, Blue Bike Pure headset spacer on top of the Barelli stem, and the name ’Cait Elliot’ with the Irish National flag on stickers on both side of the frame.

“The other was a Moda Canon Small (17 inch) carbon full suspension
Full XT group, Magura Marta in Red, Magura Durin 100R in White, American Classic White wheelset with Kenda tyres, Blue Bike Pure heasdset spacer and the name ’Carla Haines’ with the English National flag on stickers on both sides of the frame.”

50k Enduro - By Carla Haines

I was really excited for this event as I have always enjoyed competing in them. My mum dad and sister were also racing which I was pleased about.
I woke up at 7am again and packed my drink and equipment in my Osprey bag, which I was going to wear for the race. My calf was still a a little stiff but the previous night I freezed it, warmed it up and stretched.
I made my way over to the team tent and to find out that my team mates (Cait Elliot) and my bike had been stolen that night!! At first I thought they were having me on, but the look on everyones faces told me different. I didn’t know how react so I went back to my parents and just burst into tears. I was angry and upset. These thieves don’t know how much these bikes mean to us riders. I then found out that at least 8 other bikes had been stolen that night.
There was a whole different atmosphere around the arena which was fair on the organisers and competitors.
My mind felt so exhausted hearing the news.I was definitely not in race mode. 20 minutes before the race my coach and James from Weldtite the teams sponser found both me and Cait a bike to race on!!
I was really pleased and excited. It was a last minute rush to get ready but I managed to get a position very near the front. The gun went and so did all of us riders. I had a really good start and stayed up there for quite a bit. There was long steep rocky climb near the beginning which I knew I was good at so I passed a few people who decided to walk up it.
I was riding with two juniors at this point Nat Jarvis (Colnago Skins) and Bruce Dalton (Sherwood Pines). I was quite chuffed to be riding with them as they are pretty nippy riders. There was one female I was aiming to beat (Ruby Miller, Forza Race Team). I was quite near her around the course and at one point passed her on descent. She is a very good climber and passed me on the final long climb which took you right to the top of the mountains. There were a few really good descents were I could gain on her which I did. Unfortunately Jarvis had my problem on the first lap, his chain snapped to had to stop which was a shame.
When finishing my first lap of 25km I could see that Miller was only about 30 seconds to a minute in front of me, which pushed me on. Dalton had stopped to get a second bottle and by this point I was quite a way ahead. I stayed slightly back on the first climb but could see that she was tiring. Once at the top descending down I passed her again. After that there was no sign of her. On the climbs I stayed behind a male that was good so that I could gain a little bit of time.
Once reaching the summit of the last hill it was the point where I accelerated and I had about 20-30 minutes to go. It was the hardest part of the lap but had a huge adrenaline rush because I was in 3rd position. I didn’t want to get too overconfident so concentrated on my riding all the way to the finsh, going hard on my strengths and even harder on my weaknesses.
I got to the finish in one piece and was so pleased with my performance. I definitely made up for the previous days race, but that was now out of my mind.

My team mate Cait got 2nd! Two podiums in one weekend...oustanding!

BMBS rd 3 by Cait Elliot

Due to flight difficulties I arrived at Margam late Friday night, missing the practice day, so I intended to get up early and do a lap before the race at 10am. However, I woke up to heavy rain at 5am, which continued all day, so I decided it was better to stay dry, warming up on the turbo-trainer and racing the course blind. It probably didn’t matter too much since the trails changed so much from their dry, dusty condition the day before.
There was a strong field of international riders braving the cold and wet to line up at the start. I had a terrible start, my handlebars got tangled with another rider and I had to fight to stop myself being wrestled to the ground. Luckily I stayed upright and there was a fairly long open section before we hit a single-track climb, so I was able to make up lost time. By the top of the climb I’d managed to move up to 5th place, and since I had no idea what was coming up on the course, there was an extra incentive to stick to the wheel of the person in front.
Conditions were treacherous, it was raining, and the trails had turned to thick, slippery mud making it very difficult to have any kind of control over the bike. In between were several long fire road climbs, which suited me well. By the end of the first lap I was in 4th, following Lee Craigie and Lilly Mathews, and feeling strong. The conditions made the descents very slow and awkward, I had a few moments of sliding down steep banks on my behind, but at least there was time to recover before the next hard climb. On lap two, Lilly stopped with mechanical trouble so I got ahead into 3rd, gritting my teeth to try and take advantage and put some time into her.
It didn’t last too long though, by lap four she was on my tail, and got ahead as I got stuck behind a junior dabbing on a narrow kicker. I caught her again on a climb and it was a bit of a cat and mouse game for a lap. On the last lap someone shouted that I had a 12 second gap, but soon after the track looped back on itself and I saw her several minutes behind, having had a puncture. I’d been preparing myself to try and kill it on the last nasty climb so it was a bit of a relief got get such a lead. I couldn’t believe my luck, all I had to do was hold my position and I’d be on the podium. The mud was getting harder to deal with, there were a couple of steep banks where I decided sliding down off the bike in a damage limitation effort was the best approach, but other than that I quite enjoyed the trails.


At the bottom of the final descent I glanced back and saw British national champion Sue Clarke not far behind so had to put my head down and power across and windswept muddy field to get to the finish. I finished 3rd, first podium in a UCI race, so really delighted with that. Big thanks to WXC for all their support thankfully didn’t need to use the tech zone! I enjoyed riding my newly pimped bike – brand new forks and brakes from Magura were really nice.