Here you go, a round up of some photos from Sleepless in the Saddle:
I’ll add more if I come across them. if you have any, then post a comment with a link to them.
SITS Course
The official results from Sleepless in the Saddle are available to download as Excel files on the Official Photographers website. Along of course with some really good photos. Hopefully more photos will be online soon and I’ll link to them when I find any.
Our teams lap times were:
Team 1 25 laps 24:23:03 Ystwyth Hillbillies
415 Ian Cowe 1 00:58:06
418 Martyn Teece-Round 2 00:49:53
417 Dan Field 3 01:02:18
416 Alan Cole 4 00:50:32
415 Ian Cowe 5 00:52:25
418 Martyn Teece-Round 6 00:48:03
417 Dan Field 7 01:03:21
416 Alan Cole 8 00:57:33
416 Alan Cole 9 00:58:30
415 Ian Cowe 10 00:58:19
415 Ian Cowe 11 01:04:05
418 Martyn Teece-Round 12 00:54:56
418 Martyn Teece-Round 13 00:53:30
417 Dan Field 14 01:16:48
417 Dan Field 15 01:18:57
416 Alan Cole 16 00:59:26
415 Ian Cowe 17 00:58:44
418 Martyn Teece-Round 18 00:49:18
417 Dan Field 19 01:10:05
416 Alan Cole 20 00:52:28
415 Ian Cowe 21 00:54:50
418 Martyn Teece-Round 22 00:47:23
417 Dan Field 23 01:11:33
416 Alan Cole 24 00:55:16
418 Martyn Teece-Round 25 00:56:44
Team 2 25 laps 24:23:03 Ystwyth Inbreds
585 Bernd Van Houten 1 01:06:50
584 Dave Reed 2 00:55:39
586 Gari 3 00:49:31
583 Guest rider 4 00:41:52
583 Guest rider 5 00:42:02
585 Bernd Van Houten 6 00:55:10
584 Dave Reed 7 00:45:34
586 Gari 8 00:51:42
586 Gari 9 00:53:09
586 Gari 10 01:03:05
585 Bernd Van Houten 11 01:01:42
585 Bernd Van Houten 12 01:05:35
584 Dave Reed 13 00:57:52
584 Dave Reed 14 00:58:36
586 Gari 15 02:04:34
586 Gari 16 00:58:04
585 Bernd Van Houten 17 01:02:28
585 Bernd Van Houten 18 01:09:48
584 Dave Reed 19 00:50:23
584 Dave Reed 20 00:56:42
586 Gari 21 00:50:00
583 Guest rider 22 00:45:16
585 Bernd Van Houten 23 01:00:55
584 Dave Reed 24 00:48:43
586 Gari 25 01:07:51
And if you want, you can click here to download a Google Earth file of the course.
As you know from my previous ‘Sleepless in the Saddle‘ post I’m back and not only survived, but had a good weekend. so here is how the race went from my point of view.
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, but my sore throat and cold had developed into full-blown flu-like symptoms, with a raging headache, cough and worst of all muscle aches all over my body, not ideal a few hours before starting a 24 hour mountain bike race.
Bike preparation
Bikes were prepared and team tactics discussed. I opted to go last in the team to hopefully give me some time to dose up on ibuprofen and paracetamol and feel a little better. So in our team, Ian went first and had to do the initial run on the first lap, followed by Martyn doing the second lap, Dan the third and I took up the back of the train.
I didn’t feel any better when my turn came around but couldn’t let the team down so just went out one lap at a time with the aim of simply completing the lap and then trying my best to fight off the cold. Anna was on hand at the end of most of my laps with food ready, drinks and clean clothes along with some support which was very much appreciated. She was really good at it too, somehow knowing just what I’d need. Fortunately the lap was only fairly short at around 7.5 miles so I was able to get around without expending too much energy.
My first lap was a fairly respectable 50 minutes 39 seconds and my fastest of the weekend, although if I had been feeling 100% I think I could have knocked a few minutes off that as I never really pushed myself. The course had dried out quite a bit from yesterday as well which made the going easier. Although it was still pretty slippery on the rooty sections and the mud was really sticky making the going tough in places.
We had decided to each do two laps in a row overnight to allow the others to have more rest time so the next time I was due to go out at around 9pm was to be my double lap run. I took these really easy but managed to stay under an hour for each one. Everyones times were slower overnight. I also had a lap at around 4am. I didn’t get any sleep at all during my rest period, but the lack of sleep didn’t really bother me. The 4am lap was pretty slow though mainly because the course was now very slippery and sticky (yep, both at the same time!) with the overnight dew and it was also very misty out there so I could barely see the course. Everyone was tip-toeing around trying to spot the course markers and not miss turnings etc.
All was running smoothly with our team, but the other Ystwyth team had some problems overnight. Gari finished his 2 lap stint to find no one there ready for the changeover so he went off again for a third lap and then later on Dave finished his lap and also found no one there so ended up returning to camp to wake Gari up loosing them about an hour in the process.
My turn came around again at about 9am and I had a nice easy lap in the early morning sunshine and I was feeling a little better. I still didn’t push it but my time was back down to 52 minutes. My 6th and final lap came around at about 12.30pm and I had intended to take it really easy, but I had a flat tyre early on in the lap and had to stop to pump it up a couple of times. In order to stay below my 1 hour time I had to go a little harder towards the end. I also had an incident when I let someone pass me and he knocked my handlebars sending me flying into a spiky branch sticking out of a tree which scratched my arm and hit my chest. I was pretty lucky that I wasn’t going any faster as it could easily have impaled me. As it was it just hurt and I now have a very swollen and very blue nipple!
After that lap it was just one more lap by Martyn and the 24 hours was up.
Overall for first timers that weren’t ever considering ‘competing’ we did OK. 25 laps in total in a time of 24:23:03 putting us 64th out of 122 teams. Mind you, the top team did 36 laps! More results from Sleepless in the Saddle 2009 here, and Sleepless in the Saddle Photos here.
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- Bike preparation
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- Ian setting off on his first lap
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- First lap run
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- Gari and Martyn on the final lap
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- Changeover
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- Dave
Me at the bottom of the first descent
Well, I survived! We’ve just got back from the Sleepless in the Saddle 24 hour mountain bike race in Catton Park, Derbyshire and I think all of the Ystwyth-MTB team members and supporters had a good time.
Anna, Morgan and I set off on Friday morning and arrived at the campsite around midday. The sore throat that I had oinb Thrusday was now a sore throat and bunged up sinuses but I was hoping to get rid of the cold by Saturday afternoon. The Teece-Rounds and Dan were already there so we set up our tent and gazebo that was to act as team HQ and then chilled for most of the afternoon watching the field fill up with tents of all shapes and sizes. Those teams that were experienced at such things came well prepared with marquee style tents to act as bike workshops and kitchens, tape to cordon off their area of the field etc.
Dan, Martyn and I then headed off for an easy ride around the course to see what it was like. Muddy would be one word to sum it up, but it wasn’t too bad really. No real hills, just a couple of little inclines, and no mad descents. There was one very slippery, rooty descent in the first mile that caught us (and many others) out and the sections through the woods were very rooty and slippery too, but the final couple of miles was actually quite enjoyable. Bernd, Gari and Ian then arrived at dusk with the final team member Dave due to arrive on Saturday morning.
Bike Wash
I’ll post a little bit about the actual race in a separate post, but Saturday dawned bright and sunny, I felt terrible but as a team we did OK and all enjoyed it. The organisation was really good, the toilets and showers were kept clean and with plenty of hot water and Muc-off provided a free bike-wash station that was constantly in use. USE Exposure Lights were on hand with a stall offering free battery charging for lights which I had to use a couple of times and everything seemed to run smoothly which made for an enjoyable weekend.
There were plenty of people out on the course shouting words of encouragement and ringing cow-bells etc. To all those who were out there doing that, especially through the depths of the night, we do appreciate it.
Crazy Unicyclist
Some people were obviously doing the race solo which is pretty mad. Thankfully the weather was good otherwise I’d imagine a 24 hour solo mountain bike race there would have been horrendous as the course would turn into the stickiest, muddiest, slipperiest hell on earth imaginable! So hats off to those who did it solo, especially the crazy fool who did it solo on a unicycle!
I think everyone on our teams enjoyed themselves, I did despite feeling terrible for the whole weekend. I also hope that the supporters who came along for the weekend enjoyed it too. I was certainly glad that Anna was there and she did a great job helping out with changeovers, cooking, charging lights etc. for me. Hopefully in between that and the normal child care responsibilities she managed to find time to enjoy herself as well.
Everyone else headed hom on the Sunday afternoon, but Anna, Morgan and I stayed the night so that we could have a leisurely drive home on Sunday. Of course, it rained so we ended up packing up in the rain!
Well, after a week on the Isle of Man and ne real training I can’t really say that I’m ready for this weekend. I think I have most of the things that I need for Sleepless in the Saddle, and most of my team seem ready so I just hope my fitness doesn’t let me (or them) down.
Ystwyth MTB Club are fielding two teams:
The Ystwyth inbreds: Jon Baker, Dave Reed, Bernd Van Houten & Rhodri Morris
and the Ystwyth Hillbillies: Ian Cowe, Martyn Teece-Round, Me & Dan Field
Unfortunately the In-bred team has two casualties Jon and Rhodri (both knee injuries), which leaves Bernd and Dave and potentially a guy from Scotland who Ian Cowe knows. Hopefully we’ll find someone else too. If not we may end up in two teams of 3.
The race is 24 hours around a circuit in Catton Park, Derbyshire, but other than that I know very little about it. As part of a team we’ll do a lap each and then hand over relay style to the next team member and keep going like that for 24 hours. Last years race was awful with horrible muddy conditions so I’m hoping for something a little drier this weekend. Although whatever the weather I don’t really feel that well prepared.
Should be a good weekend camping with lots of like minded people though so I am looking forward to it.
If you’re going and participating then good luck, enjoy, and I may see you there.
Trail Shorts
I’ve just received some Specialized Trail shorts that I bought online in preparation for Sleepless in The Saddle. I’ve just tried them on and they look fine but it seems as though the inbuilt liner is designed so that you can see it above the outer shorts in true ‘teenager-style pants showing fashion’! I suppose the photo from Specialized did show this!
It looks as though I shall be sporting teenager style pants on the trails! If only my cycling ability and the body within the shorts were those of a teenager too.
Don’t want to worry anyone (least of all myself), but it is only 38 days to Sleepless in the Saddle 2009. For those who don’t know, it is a 24 hour mountain bike race around Catton Park in Derbyshire and as a I’m a glutton for punishment I’ve signed up to do it.
Sounds hardcore, but I should point out that I’ll be doing it as part of a team, not solo, but even so, riding a lap in the early hours of the morning whilst sleep deprived through potential mud and pouring rain will probably be quite a test!
SO, those of you who are experts at this sort of thing, what do I need to buy to make life a little easier. I’m going to make sure I have enough fresh sets of cycling kit (shorts and top) for each stint on the bike. I shall take a job lot of wet wipes to keep me fresh between laps.
I already have a tent, mattress and sleeping bag (although I doubt that I’ll get any sleep). I will take a chair and might take a gazebo for the team to chill out under and will of course take some energy drinks, haribo fangtastics and such like to keep my energy up. An iPod may come in handy and some warm comfortable clothes for hanging around in.
What else will I need? (Don’t worry I won’t forget my bikes!). Does anyone have a little tips that they want to share? I’m going to need all the help I can get!
