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NEWS
24hr
race
25/26th
June
2004
Anticipation
was
high,
after
all
it
was
June,
the
weathers
always
fine
in
June.
Sadly
our
optimism
was
misplaced
&
it
p****d
down.
The
purpose
of
the
weekend
was
to
cycle
continuously
around
a
10mile
lap
for
24hrs,
in
the
depths
of
Herefordshire
at
Eastnor
castle
nr
Ledbury.
This
has
fond
memories
for
Simon
and
I
as
it
was
host
to
the
Malvern
classic,
which
was
the
first
big
off
road
racing
event
way
back
when
mountain
biking
first
began
to
happen
&
we
used
to
frequent
here
each
year.
Including
the
very
first
one
where
lake
jumping
was
a
spontaneous
happening
&
all
the
more
fun
for
it.
Anyway
I
digress.
We
had
four
teams
entered,
all
organised
by
Paul
Davies
who
happens
to
work
for
Panasonic.
Hence
the
team
name
Panasonic/Nirvana
Cycles.Two
Vet
teams
&
2
expert.
Training
had
been
hard
&
at
times
surreptitious,
with
George
being
spotted
on
at
least
2
occasions
putting
in
the
hours
whilst
saying
"he'd
not
had
time."
Word
on
the
street
was
that
Northern
dave
was
flying
&
hopes
were
high
for
the
Vets
A
team
(Richard,Dave,Huw,John).
Unfortunately,
this
race
wasn't
for
the
faint
hearted
&
after
ONE
lap
three
members
of
the
Vets
A
team
decided
to
pull
out
leaving
John
the
Mechanic
to
continue
heroically
as
a
solo
rider.
The
words
men,
boys,
sort
springs
to
mind.
John
rode
the
entire
race
solo,
even
putting
the
transponders
on
from
the
other
members
to
register
a
minimum
of
2
laps
per
person
to
qualify
for
a
time
&
position.
Cometh
the
hour
cometh
the
man!!
Conditions
were
horrendous
with
bikes
being
so
caked
in
mud
they
must
have
doubled
in
weight,
gear
changing
became
a
luxury.
The
other
three
teams
manfully
coped
with
the
conditions
to
finish
15th,56th
&
148th
see
www.ssmm.co.uk
for
results.
There
were
a few
crashes
but
no
serious
injuries.
The
nightime
riding
was
a
serious
hazard
with
lots
of
riders
choosing
to
rest
for
a
few
hours
over
this
period
especially
the
Solo's.
However,
come
Sunday
the
sun
poked
it's
head
out
&
the
trail
began
to
dry
out
&
things
became
a
little
easier.
Simon
&
Mike
the
diver
put
in
sterling
work
keeping
the
BBQ
going,
feeding
the
riders
&
maintaining
the
bikes.
Although
the
sight
of
them
chilling
out
in
their
chairs
enjoying
some
delightful
stella's
& a
bottle
of
rioja
may
have
caused
just
a
few
"we
picked
the
short
straw"
mumblings
from
the
wet,
muddy
&
tired
riders.
Well
done
to
all
those
who
took
part,
especially
John
the
mechanic
&
thanks
to
Paul
for
all
the
effort
he
put
in.
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