The 20th anniversary of the iconic Mountain Mayhem 24 hour mountain bike endurance event will be one to remember, not least because it was announced today it will be the last – of its kind that is.
Mountain Mayhem was, in 1998, the first ever 24 hour mountain bike endurance event in the UK. After 20 years it has achieved the accolade of being the longest running 24 hour mountain bike endurance event in the world. It is the event that has inspired other 24 hour MTB events across the UK and Europe, but none of them were ever quite Mountain Mayhem:
“I think when you are the first of something is makes it special, unique. We are proud that Mountain Mayhem has been the must ride event for so many” said Patrick Adams, inductee of the British Cycling Hall of Fame and creator of Mountain Mayhem.
“Little did we know 20 years ago, when my business partner, Jill Greenfield and I embarked on our first ever Mayhem for Red Bull at Trentham Gardens that we would still be here 20 years later. Over the years, Mountain Mayhem has evolved from an event for serious riders and professionals to what it is today, a celebration of cycling, a festival of family fun. The young guys who rode it 20 years ago now have children riding. It’s fantastic to see.”
The evolution of Mountain Mayhem over 20 years is the catalyst for the decision to end the event as we know it this year: “When we created Mountain Mayhem it was a first. Now after 20 years we want to build on our foundations. That’s why we have decided to create another first. There will still be a Mountain Mayhem, but one that is completely different to anything anyone in mountain biking has seen before.”
Exactly what the new Mountain Mayhem will be is still under wraps, but for the last ever Mountain Mayhem in its current guise expect an event to remember with lots of fantastic things planned for the whole family. Headline sponsors GO Outdoors are excited “We feel honoured to be title sponsors of this ‘last’ Mountain Mayhem. As we have for the last three years, we are pulling out all the stops to make it truly the best ever.” Media sponsor, Singletrack, itself began life in 2001 but whose creators have been involved with Mayhem from the start, are also determined that Mayhem as we know it will go out with a bang “Mayhem has been around longer than we have. Like so many we have grown up with it. Trust us, Mayhem 20 will go out in style. Just can’t wait to see what the new era Mountain Mayhem will look like.”
There are still apparently a few places left and, judging by the ‘I really must do Mayhem again’ mumblings among our friends, it looks like there’ll be a rush to get in while Mayhem is still Mayhem. Full details and entries can be found here: www.mountain-mayhem.com