Had a great event and came in just over 12 hours – had a nightmare 16 miles in when my rear tubeless blew out and I couldn't get the valve out for love nor money as the little valve ring had sealed tight :-(. Luckily Ian – Number 155 – stopped and loaned me his pliers. Top Man! By then I had been eaten alive by midgies and I am now a deformed swollen mess. . . and then to cap it all my front tyre got ripped just before Newcastleton so thanks to Swinnertons for my new Mud X – saved my race that did! Great conditions, excellent atmosphere and roll on next year! Well done to everyone who took part too!

I will be there late afternoon with my black and grey XTC and huge relief – had a horrible week at work with the threat of having to worl the weekend too. See you all on the line!

G

Specialized Sauserwind 1.8's front and rear. Still praying for good weather :-)

Hmmmm. Had a good weekend and some nice training rides there, now have flu symptom so early to bed for me :-)

I rode for a few hours around Bedgebury for a quick spin – massively busy but enjoyed it loads.

Haven't really had the time to get some serious rides in so have just been doing 30 – 40 mile road rides and some 30 mile off road rides. Am now officially worried as I'd normally do 50 – 60 mile off road rides before something like the Kielder. Oh well – nothing grovelling up the hills and being sick loads won't help ;-)

Very true on the micro climate – just pack wet and dry weather gear and you should be fine! :-)

I'm a reasonably fit MTB'er and I am overweight (I have 4 kilos of fat I don't need but hide it well as I'm 6'2) and that's because because I eat and drink too much – age just makes it easier to get cuddlier. Well, that and the rioja . . . . Simples! No excuses here. Well, right up until I get to the halfway point on the kielder 100 and I'll have thought of some by then :-)

Nice Bike! Didn't the preston's chuck loads of riders over the bars due to the front shock position???

If it's any help last year I tracked 7245ft of climbing in the first 60 miles and 3920ft in the last 41 miles, roughly 120ft per mile of climbing per mile before the newcastleton food stop and 95ish feet per mile afterwards. It's all generally hard and this year is meant to be harder and perhaps on a different route – so you know what to expect! Do use the bag drops for food though – I didn't last year and paid for it before the newcastleton stop.

The last big climb is 4 miles long and gains some 800ft in that distance, then it's 4 miles of nearly plain sailing home down the hill. Just keep turning the pedals. . . . Good luck and see you on the start line!

p.s. I really like Sara's style – no messing. Top lady!

Haven't had much time free to get lots of miles in or lots of distance – am going to try and rack those up in the next couple of weeks and hope for the best! Also manic with work either side of the race which isn't looking good :-(

Awful injuries and premature death aside, My Giant XTC carbon is great after a couple of years riding, the Ritchey carbon post is also great. I've had a carbon road bike (specialized tarmac) with carbon seat post and FSA K-wing carbon bars and no problems in four years.

Only problem I did have was with bar ends – crashed at mayhem when a chap took me out on a corner and the bar end snapped the EC90 bars clean off. Last carbon MTB bars I bought – alloy for me now!

Hi,

Just got a new front rim for it and called it quits there – they're still in the garage and I've not used them since! Fair play on the hope point – I bought a set of Pro 2 hubs with XR400 rims and they're fab – no worries on those wheels!

I'm now having to work this weekend so am sadly out of this :-(

If anyone wants a solo place PM in profile . . . . . . .

I don't think Schleck can beat Contador anyway but it's poor form to attack the yellow jersey when they have a mechanical . . . . . .

An update would be very welcome XC-Steve! Can't believe it's raining after the past few weeks of great weather . . . . . .

I really like the GX2 ones – super comfy but they do get a little sore on the thumbs after a while.

I had a 130bhp and 6 speed box and it was lovely – I preferred it to the 115bhp 5 speed car as I also dive a lot – the power is notable when carrying very heavy loads. I'd also go for that option if you intend to drive on the motorway a lot!

It's a great event – great for soloing too. There's a lovely vibe on the course and whilst it's a real challenge I think it's better than SITS or Mayhem for all weather riding. I did the river crossing 16 times and my boots had to go through the washing machine 4 times before they stopped smelling. I cannot wait for this years event!

I prefer daily disposables – easy and cheap to get rid of if there's a problem and pretty comfy too. I always wear glasses with them though for protection. Highly recommended!

Fair play – he's as tough as nails finishing 2 stages with that knackered elbow, and it's a shame he's out of the GC. Still a bit weird though!

Crikey Tim – if it's not a dodgy pedal it's a dodgy knee! Hope it gets better soon!

p.s. Am riding on a hard tail – full sus not needed unless the course has changed massively :-)

Mayhem 2010:

I loved:
The spectators – what an amazing bunch! Especially those cheering the soloists!
The Marshalls – chap at the top of the penultimate climb was awesome.
The guy playing guitar – rode past when he was singing wonderwall – really atmospheric and what a top bloke for that. Respect.
The course – very hard and very worthy.
The Mayhem Spirit – nothing else like it – back for more next year. Maybe in a team for a change though :-)

I didn't like:
The woods – not good riding in sticky mud – lucky it was dry or that would be like the somme.
My race – couple of mechanicals, bit of exhaustion and a very packed up tummy for a few hours made it my worst 24 yet and one bad race in 12 isn't tooooo bad. Roll on Bonty 24/12!

Other than that – AWESOME event.

Am soloing again this year Tim – really looking forward to it!!!!!

buzzlightyear – good thinking!!!!

Am riding this year on my 12th solo 24 hour race and praying for good weather :-) Will take 1.5 black shark mud's just in case though . . .

Very disappointing all round. It's hard to keep a chilled event without strict secutity but it may be needed soon. Sympathies to all those who've had bikes nicked.

6 bikes nicked? OMG. Really sorry to see that – thieving gits. Great atmosphere apart from that – I have to say that IMHO it's the best event in the UK for good fun, a tough course and a great atmosphere. Not to mention the rather distinctive pink suit :-)

My polar logged 5.3 miles and 360 feet of climbing per lap. AWESOME course even though it was a bit of a kidney shaker – can't ride well in the the heat though – and I have blisters on my hands from holding on over the rough stuff. Ouch!

mrmo – really sorry to see the bad news. Hope it works out for you soon.

I'm doing 12 hour solo on Saturday and have also entered 6 hour solo Sunday – for a laugh, and to see how I do on Sunday! All good practice for Mayhem's solo effort this year :-)

absolutely – best weather of the century up there! And that was the only time I'll ever turn a cake down Joolze :-)

Some brilliant pictures there Joolze – thank you!

Me too. Just hoping for good weather!

Ah – bit of a catch there. If it's any consolation I couldn't get hold of a shimano piston and seal kit as they don't make them :-(

njee20 – outstanding effort!!! I feel slightly better now :-)

XT are good if looked after but Hope win hands down IMHO on costumer service, longevity and that lovely clicky noise they make! They're more expensive but really, really worth it – hope hoops are fab.

Rammstein – Benzine from Volkerball. Awesome!

I've got 2009 Reba's on my full sus and 2010 SID forks on my hardtail and they are both great! For price got for Reba, SID's are more expensive but I prefer the SID for racing and the reba for general trail stuff.

I love my Ergon GX2 grips. They are simply awesome for longer rides! I agree with wwaswas on the elbow dropping, but I find that they help me with steering in singletrack. It's just a bit of a change to your riding style, that's all!