Crikey! I bet your team were a bit concerned but maybe a little bit “well if she’s still out there, that means I don’t have to go”. At least you can carry the ickle isalbike, but the sumo’s – that’s got to be a tough gig.

Nice one for sticking it out. I promise not to mention it again 😉

rider photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketdog/sets/72157630266372948/

Mrs toast that’s just freekin awsum.

Fair play to you. 😀

Results?

Blimey, Ive never seen mud like that at Mayhem before, well done anyone who rode around in it ! 😯

Absolutely fantastic!! ( i think!)
Well done all of you!

May be tempted myself in a few years 😀

Took some pictures, at the start on the slippy corner down at the swamp where we had a message board. The looks on some of their faces were priceless. The surprise/shock/horror was pretty awesome!.
I also took some of the last riders coming into the finishing straight with about 2 minutes to go. I’ve listed those i could identify by their numbers here but the ones at the finish were often too muddy.

Facebook album

Stripped leggings and mohican, Sumos, Tutu lady, Team Naan, 1099 1501 1060 1067 325 1099 747 2302 112 568 441 797 1912 901 2691 1611 1700 1940 2379 1860 1070 619 2566 1044 474 40 163 2152 2676 116 596 1465 288 1527 1318 575 1707 200 1200 2004 115 779 183 115 8 106 170 908 121 149 1983 13

Well done to all those who ventured out on their bikes, especially those who kept going in terrible conditions.

Fair play Mrs. Toast…

I did 2 laps, one last night in 1hr 40 when the conditions were pretty horrific (which I was quite chuffed with, though I reckon I could have shaved 5 mins off it if I’d really pushed myself, but our team was nowhere as 2 of them had already ripped their rear mechs off).

The 2nd one, I started at 10:15am this morning. Figured I’d go out, and try and get a properly quick one in, then just lurk on the start/finish straight. Bumped into a friend who was riding solo though, and was in real pain, but another lap would mean she potentially got on the podium. So 2 of us nursed her round, took us 3hr 30mins but we nursed her round (with copious amounts of swearing and some crying on her part, and a huge amount of being understanding on our part). She got her 3rd place, and after she’d calmed down (and swore at Pat!!!), she was pretty bloody delighted with her efforts! And to be honest I’m glad, as if I’d gone out and done a 1hr 45ish lap this morning, we’d not have finished any higher anyway…

Oh, and I’ve just got home and I’m a bit sunburnt! Dunno where you other guys have been all weekend 😉

As for full sus and XTR at Mayhem… Can only say this much… Bring 2 bikes! If it’s muddy, you need a rigid bike, and preferably a rigid singlespeed. I quickly fitted my rigid forks to my hardtail yesterday lunchtime, and 1.8″ mud tyres, and went off to try and buy a SS kit (which despite both Superstar and On One being there, nobody was selling, so I nursed my 1×10 round). Rigid made much more sense, and the descents weren’t any hairier for it, in fact I reckon I had more control…

Oh, and forgotten the name of the guy I rode most of my night lap with (white bike, couldn’t see what under the mud), but seriously… Fair play… You got some skills on the downs fella, cos I was overtaking everyone else, and you sailed past me each time!

Bumped into a friend who was riding solo though, and was in real pain, but another lap would mean she potentially got on the podium. So 2 of us nursed her round, took us 3hr 30mins but we nursed her round (with copious amounts of swearing and some crying on her part, and a huge amount of being understanding on our part). She got her 3rd place, and after she’d calmed down (and swore at Pat!!!), she was pretty bloody delighted with her efforts

Wow – fantastic. Now that’s what you call friendship.

Well done Mrs. Toast 🙂
I think we need to discuss forming a team for next year- as I too have perfected a very similar race technic!!!! Didn’t make it to Mayhem this year but last year someone actually offered to carry my bike for me so I could get down a downhill section – I was at the time using the cling to a tree while I let everyone else past technic!!!!!
You should be very proud – bet there weren’t many others managed two hours in the dark without lights!

I like to think that I actually placed pretty highly – see, it’s an endurance race, and I endured a lap for nearly six hours. All the people doing faster race times were having to do more laps to do more endurance. Therefore, I am more efficent. THAT’S SCIENCE!

Anyway, getting dangerously back on topic…

Sumos!

Poor sod who completely knackered his bike, so took a shortcut:

That is fooking RIDIK!!

if it was so bad why does everyone appear to be smiling here?

rOcKeTdOg – Member

rider photos here http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketdog/sets/72157630266372948/

geat photo album mr dog 😀

not only did I get overtaken by Team Sumo and a unicyclist, I was overtaken by Team Islabike on their 16″ wheel dandy pony.

To be fair I overtook quite a lot of people onwith my unicycle, and Team Islabike were actually going pretty fast, so I’m sure you’re far from alone with that experience. Well done for persevering.

Mrs Toast [quote] I did get a liquorice allsort from a friendly unicyclist though[/quote] I think I cycled past you just as he offered, you didn’t seem to keen at first! 8)

Wow – fantastic. Now that’s what you call friendship.

I had nothing to gain, she had everything to gain, so made sense. Just did what most other people would do for any of their friends too I reckon…

if it was so bad why does everyone appear to be smiling here?

Cos as this thread points out, judging by those that have posted so far, most of the miserable buggers who can’t ride in the mud went home early… Everyone else stayed and enjoyed it! The mud is a great leveller to an extent, cos when you’re pushing up a climb next to a Hope team rider, having a chat with him, when his team are in the lead, but he can’t physically get up the climb either cos there’s no traction! You meet a lot of people you otherwise might not that way. I know from past experience, all the climbs are doable for me on a single 32T ring up front, but when you just can’t get any traction even with a skinny mud tyre, everyone is in the same boat having to walk up most of the climbs, and the descents become even more fun than normal!

I was certainly grinning whilst I was out on the bike each time anyway. Being cold and wet waiting around for handovers, not so great…

Some smiling riders:

DSC_1283 by brf, on Flickr

DSC_1299 by brf, on Flickr

DSC_2011 by brf, on Flickr

Jo Page by brf, on Flickr

Jenn Hopkins by brf, on Flickr

I think I cycled past you just as he offered, you didn’t seem to keen at first!

I thought that I didn’t like liquorice, but turns out they’re pretty good on a rainy hill after a few hours of riding! 😀

if it was so bad why does everyone appear to be smiling here?

It reaches that point of being so bad that’s it’s beyond parody. You’re there, you’re in the same boat as everyone else so there’s really no point in kicking off about it.

By and large, everyone looks out for everyone else, everyone has the same sense of “aren’t we mad?!” so having actually gone there, you just get on with it.

Having said that, I’ve done most of the MM’s but am I glad I gave this year a miss!

Anyone know what the results were this year? Interested to know what hardened riders were out there 😉

Mate Luke finished 4th in the male solo, and he’s a bit mental.

Me at 11:50 this morning.

2 hrs and 15minutes for a lap !!!!

Bloody grim is about the best way to describe it

Mayhem 2012 by eastham_david, on Flickr

Anyone know what the results were this year?

I’ve been told Mark Spratt won the solo with Dan le 5th* in second.

*Now re branded as Dan the 2nd. 😀

Well done lads outstanding effort from both of you.

Conditions not too bad for riding. 4:30 this morning was better than 6:30 last night as my bike didn’t gain weight and I knew where the course went. Lefty was a good choice as less to catch the clag. I’m FUBAR tonight with sore legs. Probably not the best year to do my first race & my first endurance event. I’m 50 this year so I thought I’d give it a go.

A month off the bike was not the best prep on reflection. Any pics of 2192 out there?

We did 10 laps between the 5 of us for the full distance for the TROG C team. I had fun too.

Re the comments about Eastnor only allowing natural trails, will the course actually recover before next year? I think there might be a few deer getting trench foot!

the trail will recover in less than a month or so normally, depending on weather.
The trail is rerouted each year, re-using maybe 60% each year.

That was a good workout 😆 Never ridden in mud like that, quite thankful for the rain from 11pm till around 3am and think I put in my quickest lap then, soon as it dried out on my last it wasn’t fun! Having said that I did enjoy the event.

Not a great start, and my first two laps I snapped two rear mechs! Fixed and went back out again, funnily enough, despite running half a lap both time, I didn’t loose that much time, which I think says alot about the mud!

Great effort from all riders who rode through!

Interesting to see the results, last time we checked we were 7th in teams. 16 laps in total (4 each)

Nice shots RD, thanks for the snaps (247)

A few snaps…

Up there with 2004…

My comments at end of lap 1 – “3 parts torture, 3 parts hilarity”

There were some genuinely fun sections. Many singletrack sections were raceable. The track on the back side of the obelisk was like a river bed during the night time rainstorm. The downhill to the arena was more like motoX. Pity about the sections in the campsite – they were shite and pointless.

Came back wrecked but grinning from every lap.

Muddy but fun and so glad I didnt spend money on mud tyres – it made little to no difference surely?

Muddy, wet, windy and bonkers – loved it

As you can tell here;
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mayhem-a-first-timer-says-thanks

lol

The trail is rerouted each year, re-using maybe 60% each year.

No it wasn’t, was yard for yard the same as last year!

Any pics of 2192 out there?

You can have a look here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/sets/72157630256241270/

I’m not sure I have the stamina to add rider numbers to all 1600 of them…

No it wasn’t, was yard for yard the same as last year!

fair enough. I didnt ride it this year as it seemed a bit unfair to ride on Friday whilst pristine 😉
From what I saw fo it it seemed to differ a fair bit from the last couple of times I rode it – 2010 and 2009. The woods and a couple of the climbs are usually consistent, its usually the bits though the bracken banks around the back of the obelisk that they vary.
This year they didnt use the double track climb from the deer gate to the obelisk which they did in ’10 (or was it ’09?) for example.

it was hard but I rode it in 2008 and I thought it was easier this year because of trail choices .

done the first lap and it was okish , second lap at 7pm and first part was brilliant , second not so good . third lap at 3am and it wa sokish again .

the rain made the mud more liquid and rideable , but it started to dry in the morning and went sticky again .

Anyone know how well the phatt bikes got on?

DSC_2400 by brf, on Flickr

Well despite some negative comments I have to say I really enjoyed it.
I went into the event knowing the conditions were likely to be muddy and prepared accordingly both mentally and bike/spares.

I enjoyed every lap, 99% of it was rideable up until the last few laps and then it became more tyre/mud clearance dependant.

I’ve done every Mayhem at Eastnor and the muddier ones are the more memorable. Yes they are hard, can be miserable but you dig deep and find out what you are capable of.

Well done to everyone who stuck it out to the end.

Anyone know how well the phatt bikes got on?

I did 6 laps on that bike. Was nice to have fun at one of these things for once instead of trying to get 20+ laps and ramming gels down my neck continually.

In case you’re wondering, the bike was hilariously good fun. Best in really wet mud, point it downhill, hold on and giggle like a loon.

Loved it. Was sad to give it back (and I only got my hands on it 30 mins before the start of the race).

but no pay dirt terra? 😉

Me and @terrahawk had a bet. He won. I’m very happy. So’s he 🙂

I did 6 laps on that bike.

Respect for doing 6 on a SS.

I thought it was a ten lap challenge? You easy lay, Brant….

I thought it was a ten lap challenge?

number of laps was not specified. six not good enough?