Twentyfour12 how was it for you?

@Jamesp. Quite possibly but as I'd just ridden for 16 hours non stop and was trying to get some kip. It was also as I said before 4am! And one of the team I was with had also been to see your team at 1 am for the same reason. The rules are clear, if I was a bit abrupt or rude which I probably was then tough really.

If he should be on here can I just say thank you to the chap on the straight bit of course by the campsite – just past the small bridge.

I had a major chain-down-the-back-of-the-cassette problem there and he very kindly helped me get it back out so I could finish the lap.

Hope I didn't use too much foul language as I was getting a bit frustrated 🙄

Was a cracking event and having done three years of the 12 hour race we may give the 'real thing' a go next year.

Hey Gary – I think it was you that instigated the racing thing! The last few hours hurt a lot but was somehow gaining a position a lap, so kept sliding around. Hope your side isn't that sore after your off just before the cliff climb.

Thanks to the guy who changed the battery on my light at around 3, my fingers couldn't pull the leads apart. Also thanks to Steve (gearfreak/castle bikes) and Cat for those energy gels which just about got me to the end.

Phil – kinda works both ways. 
  
I thought you were unnecessarily rude (rules or no rules) which doesn't make you the best advocate for your business either. I wouldn't book a skills course with you after that outburst – and you probably don't care anyway.   

Anyway, I think I enjoyed it now the pain has subsided a bit. Now where should I display that wooden plate?

its a bit blurry, but top marks to crispybacon for getting this……

this was my last lap….22 hours after i landed on my head 😀

Darren, you had a great race, looking at the times I think I had you until literally the last couple of laps! I could have snuck one more in as I came round at 11:50 but I was ready to cry by then LOL!

See you at the 24 Solo champs next year? 😉

Whats next guys?
Similar enduro type events coming up in devon (or nearby)?

itching to get back out there already 😀

JamesP – Member
Afraid he's not. Perhaps it was the manner you asked?

Maybe you and your team should think of others and not be selfish. Getting attitude because you have Pi$$ed someone off by running a generator when you are not supposed to is not really that suprising. Particularly during a 24hour event when people are fatigued, need rest and are metally challenging themselves… or maybe that is your excuse for being inconsiderate in the first instance 🙂

I also heard your genny and thought it was out of order.

Despite all though was an incredible weekend, awesome course and a great feel for a newcomer to enduros. Will be back next year.

Particularly during a 24hour event when people are fatigued, need rest and are metally challenging themselves

James did a 24 pair, and was more 'fatigued' than pretty much anyone else I saw! I must say I was with West Drayton, and didn't even notice the generator, but I wasn't aware of the rules, I thought that was the point of the quiet camping? Perhaps it was a simple misunderstanding!

James must say cracking effort by you and Ste 🙂 24 pairs winners oooooooohhh

put my solo efforts to shame….

Great event shame the weather couldn't play fair ;-/

Cracking race, loved the course, especially when it got wet. Lack of motivation to change tyres meant our whole team were riding on Crossmark/Ignitor combo's till daylight, worked OK till the mud started to thicken and mud tyres became the only choice.

Folk on the course were great, apart from that one guy on the descent down to the RH hairpin at the marshall point, who insisted I would only have to wait 'a second' till the fireroad. I counted 35, so about 15 more than it you'd let me past, ya mincer!

Martyn's excuse making on the podium for the second and third place teams was pretty funny, almost like it's amazing that a team can come from Scotland and beat some big names. Maybe it's just they don't expect us to be the best at looking after our health and making sure our bikes don't break halfway round a lap.

We'll likely be back next year, doing a rain dance.

Similar enduro type events coming up in devon (or nearby)?

Newnham 60 at the end of September. Off-road sportive around Newnham and up onto Dartmoor. Coincides with the National XC and floodlit SW cyclocross on the day before. Should be a good weekend.

There's also the last round of the SW xc series (Okehampton, 15th August) if you fancy something a bit shorter?

Great event and I really enjoyed my 1am lap in the mud, although taking it slow to eliminate any possibility of a fall.

Unfortunatley all three of our team suffered knackered rear mechs, my hanger snapping somehow on the first climb on only my second lap – managed to resize the chain but still walked plenty of what turned out to be a 2.5hr lap. Come 5am and a few hours sleep the other guys ended up taking their bikes for a long walk on consecutive laps after inflicting some serious damage and by 9am i didn't fancy risking my new mech so we called it quits.

Cracking course. What I like about Bonty 24/12 is that they listen to the riders to make the course a proper riders course. The course was fully rideable and the muddy rooty sections were great fun.

Especially when you contrast the Bonty course with Mayhem. I have done three Mayhems (solo) and the I would say Mayhem is more tiring/tough because of the climbing but Bonty is more fun with more technical sections in. IMO this year Mayhem was oversubscribed and if it had rained it would have meant walking around 30% – 50% of the course easy no matter how good your technical skills are as faster riders will be held up by less confident riders walking. By illustration the first wooded section of Mayhem was a complete WTF moment…

The Bonty coure was sloppy but held up fantastically so this post is a big thank you to the course designers for making it fun. The mix of singletrack and fireroad/passing points was also spot on.

Won't be doing Mayhem next year, I will be spending my money on another Bonty entry!

The SSMM clag was one of the reasons I built up an alfined hardtail and I'm glad I took that with me to 24/12 instead of the lrs, the 12-3am slot was particularly tricky as all I could think of was to ration myself so I had the fine motor control required to scoot down the muddier sections.

Really chuffed that I managed all my little self set challenges too.

No dabs/stops on a lap.
1 lap under 1 hour.
2 consectutive night laps before my lights died.
4 laps (managed 5).

Really enjoyed the company, did my best to stay out of the faster peoples way (always moved too soon at night though) and give plenty of room to the few I passed.

Mucho kudos to Jonny, who was once again recruited to the team and gave us a much needed respite as two of our faster team members had to drop out. His bouncy cheerful appearence in the morning gave me the will to go out on a final (in fact our final) lap and give it socks.

Cheers sponging machine, can anyone enter the xc series?
Also fancy the brecon beast 😀

Yep. Details HERE

There's also EXMOOR EXPLORER in a couple of weeks.

spot on cheers, i work at haldon so had better enter the fully sussed stuff.
entered brecon beast too… sweet!
thanks

What do you do at Haldon?

This was how 24-12 was for me: http://www.cyclistno1.co.uk/blog/amateur-mtb-marathon-gary-rode-24.htm

And cracking pic from Joolze, was actually making a little hip jump out of this but I've not quite taken off when the shutter went…

It went well for me, managed to catch up with lots of friends, stayed off a bike all weekend and didn't really miss taking part.

Well perhaps a little bit!

We even got ON THE TELLY[/url], innit.

GaryLake – excellent write up! Well done on the result & the money raised!!

Ah, it was you who kept asking how Julie was going, we were like 'who is that bloke? Does anyone know him?' Small world eh.

I canned my 24-hour solo after about ten hours, was going well but made a strategic decision to be alive for SITS plus my right leg hurt from someone thoughtfully knocking me off coming through the camp site. Yes, you were 'a bit close', I thought that was pretty obvious given that we were both left in a tangled heap of bike and rider after you ran into my handlebar… Never mind.

BWD: yeah, when you get used to seeing the same people each lap it gets amazingly distressing when you stop seeing them, it's like it becomes part of your routine…

Yep, I know what you mean. I seemed to spend a lot of time chatting to women soloists for some reason. Blokes seems less inclined to talk. Anyway, good ride, mate, and a nice write-up.

Sounds like you were a more sane man than me – still hurt so much!