Shimano Sleepless in the Saddle 2002



Photos can be found here and results here

Last weekend, Trentham Gardens in Stoke-on-Trent played host to the second 24-hour event of the mountain biking season.  Needless to say, we were there...
A week before the race, Andy Cockburn, Si Adams, Bart Hallmark and myself were ready to take on this event, full of confidence gained from competing in the similar Red Bull Mountain Mayhem earlier in the Summer.  However, disaster struck when Bart injured his knee at the Brecon Beast (on his way to an excellent 10th place finish).  Dan Holland thankfully offered to replace him at the shortest of notice, even though he'd never ridden at night before.  Thanks again, Dan :-)
Having all arrived at the campsite by the Saturday morning, things were looking good for the team.  The weather was beautiful, the course was mostly dry and we had Bart on hand as team organiser/mechanic/cook/all round helpful bloke.  The Le Mans style start kicked the race off at 2pm, and before long we'd all had a bite at the fast, entertaining course.  In contrast to the Red Bull (which was a little dull in places), the 8 1/2 mile lap had plenty to offer, including a generous helping of singletrack and several tricky downhill sections.  It became apparent as the light faded all too quickly that the evenings are really drawing in now - would our light sets go the distance?  Er, no...
Si was the first casualty of the darkness as his borrowed Lumicycles died halfway round a lap, leaving him to finish with just his headtorch.  Andy was to follow soon after, his Lumicycles suffering a similar fate.  Both Dan and myself escaped just about unscathed, with our home-made setups.  Regardless of lighting, no-one was feeling too great as the night wore on and 2pm on Sunday seemed further away than ever.  To make matters worse, the course was starting to cut up and get really slimy in places, resulting in more than a few crashes.  Still, dawn eventually decided to break and with it spirits rose a touch.  Throughout the morning the course became drier, and with the end in sight we all gave a final effort which lasted right through 'til 2pm.
In the end, we finished 15th from 162 teams in the Senior Men's category.  Well done to Team Specialized Happy Starfish, who we were lucky enough to share a campsite with.  Their line-up included CUCC old boys Shane Slater and Chris Jones, and they posted an impressive 33rd from 89 mixed teams.
A fantastic event, then - maybe even better than the Red Bull.  Roll on next year :-)

Jon Ellis