well that was hard, still can’t feel my quads or feet! so happy to come 4th in 24hr solo! few weeks ago i wasn’t sure i’d cope with the whole race due to a longtime injury, but despite my hatred of mud and rain i got through it thanks to an incredible pitcrew!

How did you all protect your eyes? I had no end of problems, especially on the orange descent ( the waterlogged track) and the descent into the campsite. After 8 laps I couldn’t see, and had so much grit in my eyes it took 4 hours of flushing to get the right. Shame, as I gave up the 12 hour lead to an old nemesis!

I used glasses perched on the end of my nose for a bit, but couldn’t see area in front of the bike which was disconcerting. They annoyed me so I took them off.

St Johns ambulance did a great job of cleaning up – I don’t think I was their first customer.

I was in a team, so not too bad. Just cleaned my glasses with neat washing up liquid before each lap. My wife soloing had a clean pair for each wet lap, and then didn’t bother when it started to dry.

It was an issue. Had glasses in the daylight but they were covered in filth by the climb. In the daylight it was manageable because you could squint past it. In the dark I had to brave it, my eyes are still red today. The orange descent (good description btw) I had to just close one eye and hope. It was brakes off and hold on territory.

Mudguards. I had no problems at all, and only wiped my glasses clean a couple of times in 13 laps. Crudcatcher and race guard thing at the front, and big crudcatcher on the back.

I couldn’t understand why so few folk were using mudguards in those conditions. Having a vaguely dry, non gritty arse was a benefit too.

tlr – Member

I couldn’t understand why so few folk were using mudguards in those conditions. Having a vaguely dry, non gritty arse was a benefit too.

Yep. I even had someone shout at me (in a jokey manner) that I wasn’t dirty enough’…

I think part of it was that I didn’t go out as first rider for my team, so wasn’t picking up the spray from riders in front.
But, I had a front & rear crud guard, as well as a fender bender on my fork; that is the main thing that helps on the stretches like the long water-logged fire road traverse – the water/grit that would normally get flicked upwards/forwards that you end up riding into gets caught by the fender bender….

Still took my clear glasses off 2/3 round my second lap because the fine spots of rain on the lenses meant I could barely see where I was going!!

How did you all protect your eyes? I had no end of problems, especially on the orange descent ( the waterlogged track) and the descent into the campsite. After 8 laps I couldn’t see, and had so much grit in my eyes it took 4 hours of flushing to get the right

Glasses for protection, and washing up liquid to stop fogging. Also stopped a couple of times overnight to wash them in the river/puddles when they got too covered in mud.

I couldn’t understand why so few folk were using mudguards in those conditions

I saw a lot of people removing their mudguards as they were causing more clogging, that was mostly the closer fitting type though, if you have the right guards I’m sure it would have been an improvement, however a lot of the crap that got thrown into my face was from the back wheels of people in front and guards ‘aint gonna stop that!

It’s also massively speed dependant, the slower you go, the less gets sprayed and flicked up, there was a noticeable difference between the cleanliness of the pootlers Vs the quicker riders.

abaldie – Member
You know I said it wouldn’t be biblical…. I’m sorry.

I also apologise for mocking someone and saying it’s not Arizona!

Stumpy01 – you were camped diagonally across the hairpin from us. We had the event shelter and lots of loud Welsh kids.

Rocketdog – was it you that I demanded to know what was under your kilt?

wonny j – Member
Cottage return was an absolute blast in the wet.

The bombholes above it, not so much. Bit of a pinball machine in that you didn’t know which way it would spit you out.

I was mainly pitting for a 24hr rider but managed two laps – one in sticky mud, then after some rain another in the slop.

It was good seeing you again, funny coincidence, and thanks for helping out.

We all felt like we’d let you down by stopping at 4am, but two of us (Andy and me) could barely open our eyes because of grit. See you around Kilvey or wherever.

Great fun, though I hope its a little drier next year.

IdleJon – Member

Stumpy01 – you were camped diagonally across the hairpin from us. We had the event shelter and lots of loud Welsh kids.

Aha! You had the 3 girls on bikes?! We were impressed how they just seemed to be rising above the weather and having fun! I’m sure it wasn’t like that all weekend, but it’s how it looked from where we were!! Nice one.

We were mega lazy this year. We jacked it in after 2 laps each and cracked open some beers!
Our 10th year & probably our last. The weather never seems to be in our favour and it’s a long way to go to spend a weekend in a muddy field getting rained on – even though it is a good event!

Aha! You had the 3 girls on bikes?! We were impressed how they just seemed to be rising above the weather and having fun! I’m sure it wasn’t like that all weekend, but it’s how it looked from where we were!! Nice one.

That was us, and yes they did have great fun despite the weather. I was impressed by how well behaved they all were once we told them the dry tent routine ie you go anywhere near the tent other than to sleep and we’ll break your fingers. 😆

Rocketdog – was it you that I demanded to know what was under your kilt?

Possibly, i got asked that many times!

Thought you might. 😆

Thanks to the guys I left my bike with on Saturday afternoon when I had to go for an emergency dump.

12hr solo for me next year.

Was there only the one photographer there (the one linked on the Pivot FB page)? He managed to completely miss me, he got my mates at various points around the course though!

12 hour solo for me and it was a slog. My legs felt like somebody had stolen them at 3hrs in! We managed to rectify it with my missus shoving a pizza down my throat when I stopped to change a bottle. The issue I had was eating, my hands were so muddy that I couldn’t snack so had to be fed at the pit stops. In all I managed 13 laps, so we must have done something right.

I had to swap bikes after snapping a chain by the river and running back to the pits, however the spare didn’t have the small front mudguard and it made a huge difference to the amount of crud being thrown up on the long wet descents… my eyes were red raw the next morning and I still haven’t braved putting my contact lenses back in.

Thanks also to the riders who always make my kids weekend by taking their offered sweets and allowing them to squirt you with their water pistols… they are still telling me now about what the riders do and say to them etc, so thanks for all being great with them…

See you all again next year…

Thanks also to the riders who always make my kids weekend by taking their offered sweets and allowing them to squirt you with their water pistols… they are still telling me now about what the riders do and say to them etc, so thanks for all being great with them…

Thank your kids for this because it livens up the grass sections, even if I was not really in the mood for water pistols this year!

The kids with the water pistols were one of the few opportunities to clean your eyes!

Haha, cheers, I’ll pass it on…

Although the water pistols were good at cleaning chains, cassettes and mechs..

We had a pair of inflatable paddling pools, filled with rainwater from the van awnings, great for re-filling dirtworkers, and also sitting in to clean off and washing clothes off between laps 🙂

Saw those paddling pools, bloody good idea! I always let the kids have a go with their pistols. They asked if I wanted a bike clean, I wished them luck!

It’s tough being a solo on your own for 12 in those conditions (I’d never attempt 24 on my own in rain). Having to stop and get your own food and drink whilst literally covered in thick dripping mud was harder than I thought it would be.

When my brakes finally broke I couldn’t muster the will to clean myself and the bike enough to try and sort it.

You guys in teams have some great support. It makes my weekend seeing extended families sharing out the jobs. Grandma occupying the kids, grandad jetwashing the bike, and on several occasions, the rider, partners handing hot food. It’s brilliant to watch as you slog past.

Saw those paddling pools, bloody good idea

They were, we mocked our friend when he said he was brining them but they turned out to be one of the best and most useful campsite additions ever!

Hats off to you Picton for going solo unsupported, I;ve raced solo numerous times in the past and without my wife there to handle logistics it would have all just fallen apart!

You guys in teams have some great support. It makes my weekend seeing extended families sharing out the jobs.

It is totally what makes it all work. We had a 24hr mens team and a 12hr women’s team running concurrently, along with a small gaggle of children, no ‘dedicated’ support as everyone there was also racing, but everyone was pitching in helping out, feeding, suppyling drinks, washing peoples bikes (and the people!), helping with mechanicals etc.

Really is a team effort at these events and it just makes it so much more fun and enjoyable.

My bottom bracket has completely seized. Took it into the bike shop and they broke their allen key trying to get the cranks off…

My new shoes to replace my old ones (which ended up in a skip in Newnham Park) should be arriving soon. New chain is also on order.

Racing in the British summer is expensive! Fun though!

Similar on my bike, all pads to the metal, rear needs bleeding, headset rusty, bottom bracket making a scraping noise, lovely white grips and saddle now stained brown. Forks… God knows but hoping an oil change is enough or I have to send them to England.

Spent the day cleaning orange mud out of the bike. It was EVERYWHERE! Swooped tyres, some new brake pads and now we’re heading up to the Ard Rock. Modern MTB are fantastic, love it. 8)

My first endurance event since a Mountain Mayhem mud fest at Eastnor park in 2004, after which I stopped riding for the next 12 years! was dreading the thought of riding in claggy mud for 12hours when I saw the forecast but loved it, great course and atmosphere, can’t wait for next year. Not so sure my 2003 Santa Cruz Blur will still be around then after spending so long submerged in Newham mud though

Yeah, a bit of kit attrition here too. Orange mud everywhere. 3 sets of pads done and a reba air seal has gone. I can see the appeal of laufs right now.

Has anyone else had ‘stomach’ problems after the weekend? A load of people I know have been rather unwell since Pivot. Something to do with 24 hours of eating mud and god knows what else? I escaped it fortunately, but it sounds pretty nasty.

Yep I’ve been a bit ‘ropey’ this week… I feel worse after 12hrs this year than 24 last year..

I think it’s probably the amount of mud and rubbish we were ingesting whilst trying to eat and drink? I was trying to clean my bottle with the first mouthful by spraying it back out and getting fed at pit stops. But it doesn’t seem to have helped too much!!

Has anyone else had ‘stomach’ problems after the weekend? A load of people I know have been rather unwell since Pivot. Something to do with 24 hours of eating mud and god knows what else?

Yep, not properly upset tum but not right for a couple of days after, my Wife was actually a bit unwell on the Saturday night/Sunday morning, might have eaten too much grotty mud and water 🙁

And as above, bikes have suffered somewhat too!

andywnpt – Member
My first endurance event since a Mountain Mayhem mud fest at Eastnor park in 2004, after which I stopped riding for the next 12 years! was dreading the thought of riding in claggy mud for 12hours when I saw the forecast but loved it, great course and atmosphere, can’t wait for next year. Not so sure my 2003 Santa Cruz Blur will still be around then after spending so long submerged in Newham mud though

Waves!! Was good to meet you – maybe we’ll be in the same team next year not just camped next to each other. 🙂

Has anyone else had ‘stomach’ problems after the weekend?

No, and I ingested enough grit through my eyes alone… I’ve just had the normal absolute fatigue.

Did those complaining of stomach problems eat in the arena at all?

I’ve had a very bad stomach this week and still got it. Did not eat at the area. There was a lot of sheep and other poop on the field decent. Also the stream rose quite a bit which could have any type of nasties from the moors in it. I Get docs test back on Monday….should add, I’ve done loads of events through the years but as ever, regardless of how my stomach feels and how wet it was. 24/12 is still the best endurance mtb event.?

My stomach was iffy recently, I thought it was an attack of IBS, which I hadn’t had for fifteen years or so. I can’t remember if it was before or after the event though – time and space lose all meaning when you have baby induced sleep deprivation (amusingly he’s very recently started sleeping through, but I’m still waking up :/)