Everybody shagged out I guess 😀

the first rule of Puffer is you don’t speak of Puffer?

only news i’ve had was

Bloody Baltic! They came 3rd. Another podium for st andrews 🙂

i should have been there, bloody exams 👿

(‘they’ being luke B, oli young, jo cardwell and another lad from st andrews)

We were 37th out of the Fours.

Team Scrambled Legs.

Good job I didn’t have too far to drive home.

The weather was good until the darkness fell, then it went downhill from there. Cycling at 3am in the sleet after an hours sleep, will I look back at that lap with fond memories one day?

I wish I hadn’t gone to sleep at all, I was much better the rest of the time when I stayed awake.

It was a good race though, it is great being able to instently see what you lap times are.

Innes

Can I say a big thanks to the 2pure / nightrider crew – for who it was a 24hr marathon of charging , mending and lending lights? And Mike the kilted mechanic who was on hand for free to fix yer bike? and the physios?

I was there suporting the aforementioned St Andrews / Mlehworld decidedly mixed crew

TJ, it’s ‘Neil’ the delightful, hairy, kilted spanner monkey.

Thanks to 2Pure/Nightrider for the lights I used. I was really impressed with the set I was using, the MOAB I think. I’ve always sworn by my Lumis, but this equalled them in power and were more user friendly.

jojoA1 – Member

TJ, it’s ‘Neil’ the delightful, hairy, kilted spanner monkey.

Thanks to 2Pure/Nightrider for the lights I used. I was really impressed with the set I was using, the MOAB I think. I’ve always sworn by my Lumis, but this equalled them in power and were more user friendly.

Will you be buying some then?

am planning on writing something for on-one, when some inspiration appears.

was bloody good fun i thought – the course was at it’s best (less annoying stodge, more swoopiness, still the nice techy sections, no stupid sheet ice)*

the marshalls around the course were brilliant, god knows how they stayed so cheerful and helpful stood around in that weather!

*actually, i’m a bit annoyed about there being no ice as i’d bought studded tyre especially

the marshalls around the course were brilliant, god knows how they stayed so cheerful and helpful stood around in that weather!

scottish use tennants super t and buckfast to stay warm

I may well be buying some Druidh. I was that impressed 🙂

I liked the lack of endless mud and the sheet ice that scared me witless last year, but I would have liked more technical descent. Hey ho, you can’t have everything though!

The thing with the puffer is that it’s not the riding that’s the challenge, it’s the bits inbetween if you’re in a team. I intensely dislike getting changed out of wet stuff in cold and uncomfortable conditions. The solution would be to go solo and not get changed very often. I did enter as a solo, but my lack of training due to endless colds over the winter put paid to that effort. I’ve also sworn “never again”. Got the 1,2,3 set of cups so I should be happy to let it lie….

agree with jojo…event though we made 9th out of the 4’s with 30 laps, im thinking next yr to have a bash at solo, its the waiting around getting cold (even with down jkt and trousers on!)that saps the energy and enthusiasm….i recon i could beat ‘shaggy’ john’s 27 laps solo on a SS…yeh right!!

great event, course held up sort of, and i gotta admit, i really liked the blizzard conditions

The bad weather makes it more of an adventure than a slog I reckon. Needs the course to hold up for bad weather not to turn it into misery though. (and the course really did hold up well, IMO, compared to previous years).

it was great, the weather was fine really, considering the forecast, the 3 laps i did back to back at 6 am were truly magical. moon out, snow everywhere, and then daybreak.
The fast decent at the end was brilliant, and i thought the rest of the course was good too, a good mix of fireroad and singletrack, not too much mud, and great views (when it was light)
my moab light unit was knackered too, so took it to the 2pure guys who gave me a replacement, and have now taken mine to get it mended, brilliant service.
i’ll be back next year, no way will i be doing it solo though, been there tried, that, got very bored going round in a circle, how shaggy did 27 laps i have no idea, what did he have going round in his head.

My first 24hr, or MTB race of any kind for that matter. Really enjoyed it and we were 8th. in the quads. Loved the course, especially the climbs and that final swooping descent.
We had a nice encampment on the outside of the first fire road bend, with warm motorhomes which made it all bearable.
I could have done without the run at the start though, especially in winter SPD boots and on shonky 52 year old knees.
We all said ‘never again’, but you never know..

Pretty much as jojoa1 and hungry monkey really- very happy with 3rd and a 34 minute lap despite no training since October- woops! No real stories or disasters- I had a smiley face on for the whole thing. Thanks to whoever shouted that I looked fresh at 7am!

Racing was good, competition was stiff and organisation great (the prize giving was even when they said it would be!). Course was a bit meh, but you can’t have it all.

Big thanks to Niterider/2pure for the use of a Moab lightset which kept me and a team mate going all night without a battery change until late morning.

glad you all liked the lights – it’ll cost you though! 😉

Oh, alright then. Get your trousers off.

Were these lights so bright the aliens abducted you rolf? 34 min lap and 62 min the next?

Ahem. That was 40 then 62. And that was because I was a silly bugger and didn’t eat enough.

2Pure, was it the Moab I was using? What do they retail for? Anyone want to buy some Lumis?…

£550 weren’t it?

Is that including the bike wallah service where they run round sweeping the trail in front of you?

I wrote my bit on mtb-borders.com still to knackered to think straight. Drive back to ‘burgh then work on monday. Happy with posting 9th in mixed 4s and 30th overall (you may touch him). Was in definite never again mode until i realised that if we kept all laps sub 1hr (so only a little faster) we’d have kicked up a few places.

Just recovered from a delighted 14th solo (14laps)

Really enjoyed the course (and its my local too), the last descent was a blast and looked forward to it every lap. And the mud at the end was challenging but again enjoyable, especially when cleared with no dabs!!

I’ll be back again next year. Top marks to the organisers and marshall’s and red poppy for some excellent scoff.

Our first ever 24 hour race (we had 2 teams in) and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Weather wasn’t too bad really, and it was very well organised. Riding through the snow at 6 o’clock on Sunday morning while absolutely shattered and yet still loving every second is something that’ll stay with me a long time.

Top marks to the marshalls and the other folk out cheering at all hours of the night, especially the caravan near the top pumping out Led Zepplin.

Great weekend and we’re now looking at maybe doing SIS later in the summer, then Puffer again next year. It was funny the next day but in the space of a few hours the chat went from being about how hard it was to how we could squeeze in extra laps the next time!

You did well Alek. I can’t believe you were able to do 14 laps solo, and just a couple of years ago you were racing fun races with us in the XC races. You did look worn out at the end though.

Innes

A hint to all these people on about doing SITS- it’s not a lot of fun. Both me and Jo did it in the summer and were on the verge of pulling out. It’s muddy, it’s shitty, it’s a push and a slog and it’s boring. Relentless is much more fun, and also probably a lot less of a drive for you!

a great event! brilliant organization and ever cheerful marshals. still haven’t finished unpacking but am already planning for next year! and if you’re reading this, thank you big kilted spanner man, you’re ace 🙂

Kevonakona – funny, I could have sworn that I was driving and you were catching zzzzzzs all the way home. 😀

Innes……..worn-out is the under-statement of the year (so far!!!)

Still washing stuff.

House still a tip with all the gear from the campervan.

Bikes still dirty.

Cracked rib still sore.

Smile not gone yet….

Just noticed that the freebie Clif bars they gave away are 7 months out of date! Hope they’re OK to eat still..