What an amazing weekend.
I did my first lap at 7.00pm, as both my kids said I should really do a sighter lap, and they were right. There was really no comparison to last years course.
My next two (back to back) laps started at 10.00pm, although my relative lack of pace and difficulty climbing on the second of the two was later explained when I realised I had almost no air left in the rear tyre... DOH!
Our fastest rider (my son) was consistently putting in 37 to 39 minute laps; the sub 30 folks.... just awesome.
Anyway, great success all the way round, including the few traders who stayed open for the whole 24 hours, fair play.
I'm driving down the M5, lots of cars coming the other way with mtbikes on top, numbers still attached.
Many, many more to follow. Pics.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/salsaboy/sets/72157645348074923/
tang - Member
Last one with wiggle as sponsor. Not last mayhem
It'll never be that dry again , so dusty! 🙂
Great weekend got 2nd in the sport men team cat. Good course plenty of passing places and the prizes weren't too bad:-)
It needs turning into some sort of bike "festival". Wiggle kill it with their restrictions on who can sell what, who can put banners up etc. It needs a beer tent and bands or the Diprose brothers disco in the woods to come back. There is no buzz in the main arena these days.
The course was great this year, as was the weather, and I'd like to say a big thank you to Patrick and Gatcombe Park.
It does seem to be far lower key than it ever used to. Spiralling entry fees coupled with less 'event' and the history of weather can't help.
Great weekend though, course was great fun, I'm not convinced how much better than last year it would've been in the wet, but luckily not an issue! I stopped at Membury services on the m4 and there were literally dozens of cars festooned with MM bikes!
Great weekend, my first solo, managed 23 laps.
I thought the course was better than eastnor and certainly looked better suited to the wet.
Who managed to not touch the bakes on the rooty corner halfway through the red bull section? I bottled it every time!
It was a great weekend, thanks to the weather and our brilliant MCS club riders who did excellently. As a spectator it was a pleasure to see pretty much everyone smiling and chilling in the sunshine.
It needs turning into some sort of bike "festival". Wiggle kill it with their restrictions on who can sell what, who can put banners up etc. It needs a beer tent and bands or the Diprose brothers disco in the woods to come back. There is no buzz in the main arena these days.
The course was great this year, as was the weather, and I'd like to say a big thank you to Patrick and Gatcombe Park.
^ Totally. It definitely has lacked that 'festival' atmosphere ever since Wiggle took over with their iron-clad-sponsorship. I am glad to hear they will not be involved next year. MM is a fantastic event, with a great history, but it could easily be destroyed by bad commercial sponsorship.
Does anyone know the photography company that were there, I know they won't be ready yet.??
Just re-read my post. I am tired lol.
Awesome weekend for the Loco Racing team, male open 5th, amazing riding 😀
Thanks to the retrobike guys letting us have a little plot on the end of their area on the corner at the top of the campsite climb
Loved it. My 9th Mayhem and for me the most fun, rideable course design that I can recall.
Thanks to Pat and the team, the marshals, course design team and HRH for allowing us to play.
Does anyone know the photography company that were there, I know they won't be ready yet.??
Well I was there but I wouldn't call me a company.. armature maybe... 🙂
[url= http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/album/680009 ]part one[/url] loading here, more to come.
First time solo here. Managed 20 laps but the last two were hellish and ridden completely on auto-pilot. Course was great I thought, much better than last year. Once you got to know it you could stay off the brakes on a lot of the corners, like the one on the Red Bull descent mentioned above, and at the bottom of the field about halfway round.
Only down point is getting home to discover to my horror that my bloody useless garmin corrupted the gps log 👿
+100 on the need for a beer-tent and entertainment. Don't understand that and seems a massive missed opportunity.
good weekend and all
couple of moans
timing mat - what was that all about, f'ing it was not a running event
arena - seems to be deserted of any stands worth visiting and I wish I hoofed the rugby ball the wiggle lot were chucking out of the county
team categories - appears to be a free for all, whats the difference between sport and open, or is it just a way of people saying they have won something they really haven't cos they were in the "easier" cat
Only down point is getting home to discover to my horror that my bloody useless garmin corrupted the gps log
Probably recoverable - get yourself First Object XML Editor, you may well be able to fix it. Send me the file if you want me to have a look.
team categories - appears to be a free for all, whats the difference between sport and open, or is it just a way of people saying they have won something they really haven't cos they were in the "easier" cat
Agree that the team options are daft, if you have any Expert or Elite riders then you have to enter Open, but actually if you ignore the first couple of teams (comprised of Elite riders) the two are usually pretty close. Pointless differentiating really, or rename open Elite and make it clear that it's for the fastest guys.
timing mat - what was that all about, f'ing it was not a running event
Tell me about it. I finished to discover the chip hadn't registered my last 5 laps and had to haggle with the timing guy (who was actually very helpful to be fair). Funny when he asked me what my lap times were between 2 and 6am. Told him I didn't have a clue due to sleep deprivation and caffeine overload 🙂 You'd think timing would be one of the easier things to sort out for an event like this.
Not normally on that side of the race tape but was nice to take my camera and get a few photos in the sun. Will stick a full [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/james_hphotos/sets/72157645299686401/ ]gallery up on Flickr[/url] later (a few hundred images!) but a few initial favorites below.
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3902/14461456496_dc450ac950_c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/james_hphotos/14461456496/ ]IMG_8405[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/james_hphotos/ ]J_Hphotos[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2905/14484554255_79cab15758.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/james_hphotos/14484554255/ ]IMG_8833[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/james_hphotos/ ]J_Hphotos[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3840/14483305942_9c98ecfdbf_c.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/james_hphotos/14483305942/ ]IMG_8881[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/james_hphotos/ ]J_Hphotos[/url], on Flickr
Graat weekend had by all of 'team fubar' it was a cracking weekend, we had lots of riders out! I did it solo myself the support around the course was brilliant. Whole team agreed that track side camping was brilliant lots of support, people offering beers, kids with water pistols and balloons! Definitely needs more atmosphere around the arena though! Hopefully all the positive comments will bring people back to mayhem
i liked the fast finish this time too, last year was nearly all uphill to the arena but this time once you got up the last grassy climb it was like a lap of honour around the campsite with beer & red bull hand ups, water squirters, the jump of doom and on one lap a very attractive lady who was very skilled with a hoola hoop!
That's a great pic of one of our riders above! Thank you
What a great weekend.
Loved the course and it struck a good balance between being fun, challenging enough and rideable for most. Maybe less climbing in the last 1/3 mind as so many were walking.
Such an amazing battle for Open Male team with my Pivot Boompods buddies. George and his Salsa team really made it very special. Racing hard for 24 hours and in the end it came down to just a handful of seconds, absolutely incredible!
Such a close solo mens race too, only 4 minutes there I think? Nice work by Jason Miles.
Roll on next year with a more amenable sponsor and hopefully back at Gatcombe.
A few more pics added.
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/salsaboy/sets/72157645348074923/ ]Here[/url]
Like mtbmatt said, exciting racing down to the wire, and if it's at Gatcombe I'll be going again.
@grahamh I had to double take when I visited your gallery as I am the first rider on there! Thanks for the photos, they're always appreciated!
Big thumbs up from me. Definitely enjoyed it a lot more than last year, the course was a lot more manageable, the dusty conditions made it really fast. I was happy with my lap times (sub 39's) but seeing one of the fast dudes doing a sub 30 opening lap almost made me vomit, god knows how they manage it.
First time solo and managed 19 laps.
Was last place after 10 minutes due to a blown inner tube!
Enjoyed the course, particularly the red bull run and the last rocky(ish) one.
Downsides: arena was bleak and they shut the loos whilst the prize giving was on!! Not a bright move.
Well done all: it might have been dry but it was pretty tough.
What an awesome event.
The course rode in well; the descents were a mixture of fast fire road (but a line developed so it was more fun than that sounds) and the singletrack got better when absolutely hooning it at full speed. The climbs were sensible too. A much better lap all round.
It's really not that expensive. £65 each for 3 nights camping, water, showers, loos, bike wash oh and all the stuff you need to put on a race. Compare that to se other outdoor sports eg triathlon and also to the cost of bike parts!! An amazing weekend's entertainment for less than the price of a pair of tyres.
The facilities were amazing - masses of showers, loos etc. The campsite is huge - loads of space and 1.3km of trackside camping which made a massive difference. Totally agreed on the better end to the lap - whizzing down the campsite to end each lap was brilliant.
The actual race was insane - we were changing the lead with Pivot for the entire race. It came down to the last 2 laps - I started the laps with our team 3mins down in 2nd place and had 1hr 2mins to do 2 laps before the cutoff and send our team out again to chase. Sadly I couldn't quite do it and did the 2 laps in 1hr 3mins. The encouragement from spectators and riders on course was amazing - people seemed aware of how close it was. The actual time gap to 1st was less than a minute after 24hrs. Absolutely nuts. Couldn't lose to a nicer bunch of guys though.
Hopefully the loss of wiggle will mean more expo again like there was in the old days at Eastnor. The massive demo sessions always seemed a good idea - I think it was possible to demo just about anything at mayhem back then.
Thanks to all involved for what continues to be the best weekend of my race calendar all year and see you all in 2015,
GB
Loved the course and it struck a good balance between being fun, challenging enough and rideable for most. Maybe less climbing in the last 1/3 mind as so many were walking.
I thought it was one of the best courses I've seen at any mountain mayhem, great fun even if I wouldn't really mind if there was less climbing! Nice to go again after a 3 year break and get the best weather ever too 🙂
Really enjoyed this event, my first one for about 6 years of this kind.
Managed 7 laps to bring our team home.
Unfortunately the other team consisted of one guy who had his borrowed bike stolen, one of at least six that were taken at about 4 am on Sunday morning!! Right before he was due two night laps, so they failed to complete, as they were all pretty much spent anyway!
I was fitter than at any other MM i'd done, so that helped my enjoyment - i was pleasantly surprised by the course, I'd have liked a couple more singletrack sections, but i loved the short sharp climbs where your skills and fitness were tested, especially the off camber one before the final decent.
Good job all around by Pat and the team.
as a first time Mayhemer I thought it was an incredible event.
the course was a great combination of different types of riding so all credit to the course builders/ designers. although I did swear at the tougher climbs a few times.
abiding memories for me will be:
- the massive crescent moon at dusk over the grassy bank
- the smell of wild garlic at 4am shortly followed by the smell of the swamp!
- something running through the woods alongside at 1am - maybe a fox?
- the little kicker on the approach to the arena - I couldn't help but speed up and jump over it every time
- how much respect every person who does it solo deserves - proper hardcore.
Hope to be back in a few years time to give that a go myself.
This was our second go at it, enjoyed last year but the weather put the kybosh on it - I thought this year was ace, fast and flowing, nothing too scary but plenty of fun and challenging downhills. Great atmosphere on and off the course, the scenery as you go round is lovely and even the animal sounds at nice were ace. I didn't clear all the climbs (and I was sick to bloody death of pushing the bike) cause I didn't want to just blow myself out (I ain't in good form, and my form's not great form even when it IS in good form), but there was nothing that I could point at and say "that shouldn't have been there". If I could add things to the impossible magic wishlist it would be to switch the course so the bulk of the climbing was in the first half instead of the second (which was what the profile suggests on the actual website), but there you go.
It was sufficiently good that there was some talk of us not doing it next year, because it surely couldn't get any better than this year - that's how good it was.
Well done mtbmatt, Pivot must be pretty happy with their UK riders at the moment! Mike Hall in the US TransAm and is Ed Pickup also on Pivot or just a bike choice co-incidence?
gee you and your team were tremendous, I thought after 3 laps on Saturday in that heat I was toast, but Rory kept our spirits high.
I enjoyed the course and so much respect to all the slower riders who always let us pass with no dramas, always thanked them and encouraged on the climbs.
A battle royale for sure.
Paul - Pivot Boompod All Stars
- how much respect every person who does it solo deserves - proper hardcore.
Outside of actually being at the event, a little voice in the back of my head says "that would be a cool, really challenging thing to do". At the event, I couldn't even consider it. I don't have enough kudos to give to soloists as much as they deserve.
Outside of actually being at the event, a little voice in the back of my head says "that would be a cool, really challenging thing to do". At the event, I couldn't even consider it. I don't have enough kudos to give to soloists as much as they deserve.
I kind of said jokingly I'd love to have a crack at it solo after a couple of attempts as a team of 4 - I didn't realise the guys I was with were listening seriously?!
First solo this year - much better course for it than last year, and weather played a massive part in me doing ok (if it was a little too hot at times!!!)
Definitely going solo again next year, had a target this year which I exceeded - so setting next years target already!
Really great time this year, much better atmosphere - and having proper trackside camping made all the difference - the support from everyone cheering you on makes it worthwhile to dig deep when you feel your legs just can't take anymore!
All the marshals and spectators who encouraged and cheered us all on - THANK YOU! - you were amazing
Another team that had a great time here, despite a couple dramatic moments that included a carbon frame, wheel and handlebar being destroyed in a single accident, and a dislocated finger in another 'moment'. Pretty chuffed with our finishing position as well!
Course was really good fit for the event, trackside camping really added to the atmosphere, and a special thanks to the guys from Lezyne who let a pair of us sit in their trackside tent and keep warm in the early hours while we were doing alternate laps.
Said immediately after "never again solo".
Now think that with some support at camp (totally solo this year) I might get a couple more laps in. Oh, and a 32T front chainring!!
This made I chuckle. Sat having a bacon and egg roll and a brew outside the catering tent yesterday morning after my penultimate stint, heard a couple of chaps chatting to a passing paramedic, who said that someone had set a new lap record that morning - apparently it had been around 29 minutes at close of play Saturday, but he'd heard someone had done a 19 (nineteen) minute lap early on Sunday. The paramedic finished the conversation and moved on, and I looked at the two guys, and they looked at me, and we all just went...
"Nah, not having that." 🙂
Maybe you had to be there. 🙁
"Unfortunately the other team consisted of one guy who had his borrowed bike stolen, one of at least six that were taken at about 4 am on Sunday morning!!"
What!! You are saying bikes were stolen form the camp site?
Do you have anymore details?
Pete,
The race wasn't far from Brizzle; the epicentre of bike theft. I'd figured they'd be a few scrotes attracted to the place. Hope the riders get some resolution.
Echo the comments above, brilliant course, first half was actually very fun, especially the fast corners!
Overall a fantastic event, and agree with Gee regarding good value! A weekend away with a race for £65!
Back doing Solo for me and I really enjoyed it, although not having a support crew was harder then I thought! Managed to bag 10th though 🙂
Solo winner doing 33 laps though, amazing.
I should clarify that I don't think it's bad value in the least (hence I keep doing it!), but it does cost more than it did when there was a lot more stuff there. I remember in 2005 there was the London Philarmonic performing, and we've had fireworks and all sorts.
I met a guy who was pushing a singlespeed up one of the short steep grassy bits and I remarked that I didn't really think it was a singlespeed course, and he said he didn't either but he'd had his Tallboy nicked. They'd also lost another bike from his team, and he thought some others had gone too. Sucks.
Our team had two bikes stolenaround 3am Sunday.
Santa Cruz TallBoy carbon, suitably blinged up; Mavic Crossmax ST, Thomson bits etc.
Kinesis Maxlight - 10 yrs old. This one was found dumped in amongst another teams bikes at bottom of Campsite C. Guess they realised tiwas f***ed! Luckily they didnt spot the £800 Lupines on it. Every cloud etc etc.
The exit point from the arena seems to have been bottom corner of the field in ths area - quiet and close to road for the whtie Ford Transit connect that was spotted here around this time.......
So...........
If any one offers you a SC TallBoy, or other top end carbon bike, please ask lots of questions!
That was me pushing the single speed!
Rode it the next lap - the anger had replaced the sick feeling. One of my fastest laps actually!
On the bike theft thing.
I was talking to another solo rider in the solo tent (which was empty bar me and two others) and he said he had to stop, and when I asked why, he said he had just left his bike in the tent to go to teh toilet, came back and it wasn't there 🙁 Gutted for him!
First time Mayhem for me, as part of a mixed team - gutted to hear of bikes being nicked 🙁
Thought the whole thing was awesome - the course was brilliant (though the climbs in the second half were a real killer when tired!), the track through the campsite was great for a morale boost especially as the second straight was slightly downhill, and the general atmosphere was amazing. Chronic hayfever attack and nasty leg cramps in between laps meant I didn't get as much out of the event as I'd have liked, and only managed 5 laps - at least the climbs were wide enough that the fast guys could get past those of us who had to resort to pushing!
I'll echo the comments about the toilets closing early though, could have done with them being open until after prize-giving, but a minor niggle really.
Just after my fourth lap I just wanted it to be over, now I'm looking forward to next year...!
I was talking to another solo rider in the solo tent (which was empty bar me and two others) and he said he had to stop, and when I asked why, he said he had just left his bike in the tent to go to the toilet, came back and it wasn't there Gutted for him!
Oh no. I left my bike outside the same loos at about 4am and never imagined it would be nicked. Guess I was just lucky it wasn't. They should really sort out the security. How hard would it be to lock the campsite down during the event to stop any thieves getting away? It's bigger than a small music festival yet has much less security even though there's 10s of thousands of pounds of hardware easily accessible to thieves. If it was a question of paying an extra £20 for an entry I'd happily pay it.
Awful to hear about bikes being stolen. I left my bike outside the loos etc and it never occurred to me that it might not be there when I came out 😐
This was my 3rd mayhem as a mixed team of 5 and I loved it!! I thought the course was fab and personally didn't mind the climbs - they hurt, but were a proper challenge which I enjoyed!! The atmosphere after the last climb on the home run back through the campsite was ace, loved that, although riding through at about 6am and smelling all the bacon sarnies on the go was torture!!
Security were on all gates through the night. It appears that they parked outside and exited via a quiet corner into a neighbours land, targeted for sure. Needless to say its a total downer for all the riders. Rich, I came down from HQ to have a look and combed all the neighbours plot plus all the hedges with no luck.
Our second crack at MM and a resounding thumbs up. Loved the course, a huge improvement on last year. For one thing, I didn't have to walk 30% of it.
Some random thoughts/sights: dawn breaking over the campsite, with the moon hovering above was just awsome when seen from the bottom of the valley. I stopped at the bottom of the valley to get a photo; speeding down hill with a deer running alongside me (it veered off and scared the sh1t out of a marshall); the sound of Hendrix floating across the lake at about 11pm; my cage and waterbottle rattling off and under my bike on the Red Bull; my team mate falling from the high path down past the low path at the top of the meadow.
Look, there's dawn. 'Hi Dawn', 'Hello boys!'
One other thing (apart from the bikes being knicked, which is p1ss poor). MTB is not a racially diverse sport is it?
I went for a shower after my night laps and a guy told me there'd been bikes nicked. Walking past the main gate there was a guy getting very sweary with the two security people who were there. Came back from my shower and said guy was now outside of the gate... & still very sweary.
Couldn't work out if he was a very upset competitor who'd had his bike nicked or someone who they were suspicious of.
<rumour>The security staff weren't on the gate when the bikes were nicked overnight</rumour> I was told that buy the guy who told me about the thefts and had just been stood with "sweary bloke". If that's true that's shocking.
As for the event, it's amazing what some great weather can do. All the course was rideable for a lot more riders this year, but I don't think it would have been any better than last year if it had rained.
There were some much better sections this year; like "Singletrack singlestack" and some of the shorter descents that added to the fun, as did some of the small jumps around the course. If it's at Gatcombe next year you'd hope they get even more leeway to explore the woods with some dedicated trails. There was still too much height loss on fire roads though for my liking.
It'll be a shame to loose Wiggle's funding (no idea how big the cheque they write is) but it's a soulless start area. They were back with the van with 20 items.
The trackside camping was brilliant. Abuse & encouragement in equal measure and the slightly downhill ride in to the finish makes you feel so much better at the end of a knackering lap.
Brilliant atmosphere out on course as well. Chatted to quite a few solo riders along the way and props to the guy on his 20th lap at about 10 am in some red shop kit who said "I'm dead"...he looked it but he kept plugging away.
I think I'll return next year (I think that was my sixth) but if it rains it'll be 2013 (or God forbid 2012) all over again.
However the biggest problem for me was the lack of the tartiflette van. Can we get some burritos next year, and the beer tent!?
Overall, in the words of Tom Paulin "I thought it was great". (wearing appropriately rose-tinted sunny weather spectacles, and because of the atmosphere and course improvements).
I don't think it would have been any better than last year if it had rained.
Mmm, the steep climbs were shorter in the main, and a lot more doable. I agree there would have been lots of walking for many had it rained, but definitely an improvement.
Fantastic Weekend at Mayhem with Guesting for Salsa Factory racing.
Camping by the top of the final climb back to the campsite-Ace.
Getting a flipflop tan-Cracking
Crashing on Dewy Grass at 2am at 50Kph -Sore Now
Being in the race for the win for 24hrs with the largest gap between us and Pivot-Boompods being 7 mins -Sweet
Everyone I asked to move over moved over ( THANKS, huge appreciation for that!)
And 2nd in Open Men by 1min 30... Agonising but fantastic.
Generally buzzing and the showers were always working and warm!
Bruce
@ mikertroid
I was just seeking clarification. I am not surprised in the slightest unfortunately.
I live locally so will keep an eye out in case it was local scrotes as opposed to Bristol imports.
Gloucester is even closer by the way.
Had a great weekend, my 9th mayhem in a team of 4 and this year with 3 newbies. We al had a great time, course was better than last year but this mat have been due to the weather, some of the fireroad climbs got quite slippy in places. Agree with the lack of festival atmosphere comments posted, gutted for those that had bikes nicked. Trackside camping was definitely a boost but was a bit disappointed that there was no-one cheering you on over the jump of doom, did it on all of my 7 laps without as much as a whimper from the campers 😥 and where were the inflatable dolls seen at the Eastnor events by the jump of doom, always made me chuckle. I did hear a rock covers band playing somewhere on an evening lap but never saw any sign of them, sounded ok too. May even be tempted to do it again next year now...
Trackside camping was definitely a boost but was a bit disappointed that there was no-one cheering you on over the jump of doom, did it on all of my 7 laps without as much as a whimper from the campers
I'm at risk of becoming a full on moaner now (which is totally unfair, as it was a great event), but I thought that too! In fact whilst team mates had all the beer, water pistols, heckling etc I barely heard anything from anyone whilst riding through the campsite! Even the Retrobike lot were just sat there watching people in silence when I went past, they're losing their touch! 🙂
missnotax - MemberAwful to hear about bikes being stolen. I left my bike outside the loos etc and it never occurred to me that it might not be there when I came out
If I was a bike thief, I'd get some lycra and just pick bikes up from races, it'd be so easy. Or even trailcentres etc. Just look like you belong and nobody will ever suspect. But even knowing that I still leave my bike lying around at races.
targeted for sure
it never occurred to me that it might not be there when I came out
RE bike thefts - every well publicized open-air bike show, event etc that I've been at in the last few years has been targeted and after one loss of bikes we went back over CCTV with security and saw the 'bloke that did look a little out of place but I wasn't sure, didn't say anything at the time' wheeling 2 pricey bikes off site.
They're targeting events and are bold as brass and they don't look like stereotype chavvy thieves. Be wary, please.
There were also thefts from cars, someone close to us (I was with one of the guys who had his bike nicked) had his wallet taken from his car and I was also told someone had lights and other items taken from their cars. Not sure if the cars were locked, but still a sad state of affairs
anyone know when the results are out?
If I was a bike thief, I'd get some lycra and just pick bikes up from races, it'd be so easy. Or even trailcentres etc. Just look like you belong and nobody will ever suspect. But even knowing that I still leave my bike lying around at races.
I was at a sportive where someone had a Dogma stolen outside sign-on - security were alerted and they spotted someone driving off the site with it half sticking out, the rozzers caught a chap wearing cycling gear. Just rocked up, waited till no-one was looking and boom.
There was never a moment over the weekend at our camp that bikes were left or vehicles left open without someone being around. Sucks that we have to think like this. 🙁
Bearing in mind that about a week ago a team riding a triathlon for Help for Heroes had all their gear nicked in Gloucestershire, I thought it would be (sadly) inevitable that bikes would get pinched overnight. The security seemed good but with people cruising around on bikes all day and night, in casual gear and lycra, there's no real way for them to spot the racers from the supporters and the thieves, I rode my bike in both lycra and casual clothes through the campsite and I'm sure plenty of other racers did too.
I only have one criticism regarding the climbs and that's that the people pushing were often on the smoothest line. The climb which had claggy mud on the right hand side had one small clear line up the left, but every time I went up it I had to go into the clag to get past the people walking their bikes. I also had a couple of occasions of people walking two abreast on the narrow sections which didn't make it very fun. I was able to ride them all anyway, just slightly slower than I would have liked to at times. Apart from that the course was absolutely perfect.
Jonxmack - Agree with that yes.
I had another great year, first time as a team of ten,
Snapped my chain on my first lap at the top of the redbull 🙁 None of the stalls had a chain I could fit on so borrowed a bike for the rest of my laps.
Enjoyed the course very much, The first of mt practice laps on the SS I rode almost all only slipped on the grass "hump" in the meadow on the right hander. 2nd lap pushed more due to traffic.
Didn't manage to get track side camping but was only a tent away from the course and sat on the horsey jumps on the last right hand bend of the campsite heckling.
Was great, well done to all involved.
One of my best Mayhems - excellent course and excellent weather.
Fewer people there/more compact site compared to my previous Mayhem (Eastnoor 2010), and good showers/toilets! BUT dissapointed with the lack of trade stands. Very surprised not to see SRAM etc in attendance - do they not want to come OR is this something to do with Wiggle/overpriced fees to attend?
Someone said earlier 'last year for Wiggle sponsoring' - is this true?
The bike our friend had nicked was a Spesh Camber 29er, red/white
only reason our other team mates wasn't was because he had a lock around it, so they couldn't ride away with it, so they left it dumped the other side of the camp.
Apparently they were chased by someone, but got away.
The van had been turned away at the entrance, otherwise it would have been a case of them getting away with a lot more bikes!
My bike was placed in the boot of my car after each lap.
I heard there was a guy by us who had his wallet stolen from his tent too!
They were wearing hi-viz's apparently to try and blend in!
Anyone know when the results are due?
Echo all the praise already mentioned but must thank the guys doing the free bike repairs/servicing. My youngest lad 7yrs old brought his little Kona but the rear brake fell apart whilst I was racing he rode up to the service guys who fixed it for him then he went on his own & bought some lock on grips for it brought them back & asked his mum if she could put them on - she couldn't but suggested going back to the 'bike fixer men' and ask them if they could do it & she gave him some money. He went up & they fitted his grips for him for free, they made a little 7yr old boy very happy who then rode round campsite all day on his bike cheering his dad on when he could - that's why I love Mayhem.
One other thing (apart from the bikes being knicked, which is p1ss poor). MTB is not a racially diverse sport is it?
I wondered about that this weekend - very much a 'white middle class men with a smattering of women' crowd. With plenty of disposable income judging by the number of VW Transporters around the place (yes, I know there will be someone on a £10 bike from 1990 who rode 100 miles there because they couldn't afford the train fare but I'm talking generally).
I'm pretty sceptical of schemes to 'encourage' members of ethnic minorities etc to take part - my thinking is, it's open to all and all are welcome so why force it - but it's interesting to wonder why it is......
Fantastic event, totally destroyed me, rode in a team of four, no idea how the soloists manage to keep going and some of them go so fast. Course was excellent, and fellow racers were superb, some friendly banter whilst waiting in transition and on track. Loved the climbs, and the descents were technical enough without feeling it belonged on a downhill course. The owls tweeting and shreeking in the middle of the night were a pleasant sound to hear, could only imagine they were on with get off my land in but that might have been tiredness kicking in. There was a guy riding, playing music from somewhere on his person, had to chuckle as I got to him he was playing I'm so excited, just couldn't help but join in the singing whilst blasting past.
Can't wait to go again, that was addictive.
There was a guy riding, playing music
one of the soloists - saw him a few times - playing lots of 80s classics. I couldn't help but sing along!
I always enjoy Mayhem regardless of the course/the weather/the race.
It's always a great excuse to get together with mates, chill out, drink beer and ride your bike.
I thought this years course was good. Mayhem is never going to be the most technical of courses but this one was great for racing. The singletrack that was there was fun but still allowed for passing. Not 100% convinced that Gatcombe is any more weatherproof than Eastnor but fortunately with the glorious sunshine we didn't have to find out.
But to be part of such an epic, epic battle for the win with Gee, Al and the other Salsa guys was truly mind blowing. 24 hours of racing without being able to ease off for any of it!
Going out for your last lap, 23 hours in, knowing that Gee is only a couple of minutes behind, turning himself inside out to catch you, certainly gets the adrenalin going. Still buzzing from it now...
An awesome weekend!
[url=
Boompods Racing[/url]
Just seen the fastest lap in ten man was 27:43.
HOW THE F***?!
Just seen the fastest lap in ten man was 27:43.HOW THE F***?!
Did you see who it was though? Olympic athletes are often relatively handy 😉
Respect to Kevin Smith, with a Red Bull section time of 3hrs 42.
Respect to Kevin Smith, with a Red Bull section time of 3hrs 42.
I thought that. Sounds like a bad day on the bike. 🙁
34/80 in Sport Men, not bad considering we were a man down - top half was our aim.
10 laps, average of 44 mins per lap - I'll take that 🙂
Interesting to see that the Sport Men and Open Men categories are pretty similar.
Always are, hence the stupidity of having both!
They need to rename open "elite men/women", making it obvious it's for the quickest teams (which it ostensibly is, as you're not allowed any expert/elite riders in sport. As it is you get a couple of elite teams at the top of open, then most people really don't know which to enter!