2010 Endura Sleepless in the Saddle
What a weekend of racing that was! A dry and dusty Catton Park saw some scorching racing and plenty of determined performances. Patrick and his Pro-Velo team exceeded themselves with yet another fantasic event, which has received nothing but praise from riders.
Photos by Joolze Dymond | British Cycling
Well done to the winners - and that's all of you, whether you made the podium or not.
Results
Enthusiast Men
Expert Men
Expert Women
Female Pairs
Male Pairs
Mixed Pairs
Mixed Teams
Solo Men
Solo Women
Vets
We at Endura really enjoyed racing alongside you and meeting everyone that dropped into our tent to make use of the Scrappage Scheme or give us feedback on our products.
Want to know what it takes to ride a 24 hour solo? Read Dave Woods account of his Endura Sleepless in the Saddle.
The synchronicity of doing my first solo 24 hour race aged 48 wasn’t lost on me but I’m 47 this year and decided not to wait for the numbers to line up, you’re only middle aged once.
So which one? Already in a Mountain Mayhem team I decided Sleepless in the Saddle would be my best first solo bet, not as hilly as MM and having had some course improvements since my last visit in 2007. More importantly the timing was good falling 16 days after finishing Lands End to John o’ Groats on the road I should have the base fitness and sufficient rest before the race.
All went well with MM and LEJOG and I squeezed in a (much) shorter Brownbacks local race before SITS with no problems, assuming 24th from 34 isn’t a problem! No worries though I’m not a sprinter which is exactly why solo 24 hour racing appealed in the first place and why I find 24 hour team racing hard, I don’t warm up quickly. In fact I generally get my heart rate and breathing right just in time to hand over and cool down again. Horses for courses I guess and I’m no thoroughbred……….more of a carthorse.
Plan is work Thursday, travel to Catton Park Friday, sign on set up camp and do a practice lap, lie in Saturday then race from 2pm for 24 hours. Simple. The nuisance calls to my wife’s mobile from a withheld number throughout Thursday night were unwelcome and unpredictable, the Police helicopter hovering overhead was less unusual. It’s fair to say the “get lots of sleep before the race” part of my plan fell apart noisily and slightly bizarrely before Friday dawned. Dawn it did though and Nicky my pit bi…..erm wife of many years, Ivy the ageing Greyhound and I set of for the midlands Friday morning.
Friday was good, a little rain but we got a good trackside camping spot and a practice lap on my On One 456 Summer Season, the spare bike. Never designed as a race bike the 456 rode well but the hard and bumpy course would be tough on the booty of hardtail soloists. The Gary Fisher HiFi Pro would be my weapon of choice for the forthcoming battle. Friday night’s sleep in the tent could have been better with lorries trundling past through the night but could have been worse, see the last paragraph!
Race day! I faintly remember fiddling and fettling Saturday morning, attending the rider briefing and eating as much as I reasonably could then leaving the start line at 2pm to run in cycling shoes back to my bike. No rush here unless you’re quick enough to be at the front on the first lap you might as well be nearer the back, the guys and girls in the middle inevitably end up queuing at the first singletrack……….and so it came to pass. My slow start strategy paid off though and lap one queuing was minimal, so it begins.
It’s against the clock! I had to keep telling myself this on the early laps, yes I could stay with the fast guy who just came past but he’s in a team, I need to do 3 maybe 4 times as many laps as him so just let him go ok? OK? Got it. And I did get it, for 8 laps I circulated like a Hornby train set taking on food and drink from my glamorous assistant every 2 laps and lubing the chain every other stop I felt good an the dry hard and technical but not too hilly track. My lap times were consistent too showing I hadn’t started too hard, then it happened.
Quite suddenly and only a lap in to the dark I all but fell asleep on the bike! The combination of broken sleep before the race, darkness falling and the 60 or 70 miles already ridden just ganged up on me. I knew I wouldn’t finish if I didn’t sleep. Wheeling the bike in to the tent I apologised to Nicky and got in to bed fully dressed setting my alarm for 3 hours time.3 hours later I’m riding again but immediately conscious I should have eaten too, never mind get this lap over and then have a meal in the food tent.
I caught the slow guy with a 5 LED flashing red rear light in a long singletrack section. WHY? Why have a rear light when all riders have a powerful front light? Why have the damn thing on flashing mode? Why have it on if you know you’re slow, what do you think it’ll do to the inevitable rider behind? Hungry and desperate to get the flashing light out of my face I focussed on finding a way past and watched for a gap. I should have watched where I was going and then may have seen the exposed root at a jaunty angle to the narrow trail…………but didn’t. Mr flashy may well have been oblivious to my crash and to the other 3 riders, he’d quite a following, taking evasive action with varying degrees of success but I’m damn sure he caused it. Rear lights are bad in races, discuss?
With no bike damage and only a little body fluid oozing from my kneeI finished lap 9 and got myself outside a lot of pasta and coffee, bliss. Then in to the night and double figures but with a strategy change, stopping every lap for a few minutes to stretch and eat but never long enough to cool down and lose my mojo. This worked for me and the laps mounted up as batteries were changed and dawn crept up.
Loads of riders offered verbal encouragement and even a pat on the back on seeing my soloist sticker on the seatpost, it’s a nice feeling and does help a tired rider, thanks everyone! Fellow soloists would ride with me awhile and have the same conversations, “how many laps?”, “How’s your bum?” that kind of thing. Repetitive yes but the camaraderie is genuine and heartfelt ……and it doesn’t hurt to know who’s ahead and behind as the finish approaches.
And so it goes, the sun’s fully up now and so long as I keep the calories going in and my chain and bum lubed the laps keep getting churned out. Knowing the course intimately I’m smooth and have the best lines well sorted, my times are consistent again and I’m working the track and gravity to my advantage only pushing hard when absolutely necessary. A team rider who I’ve heard puffing and panting and mashing gears compliments me for riding as quickly as him 20 hours in. I smile and thank him I know how he feels, I’ve been that rider several times pushing too hard on cold legs trying to fast lap for my team mates but being matched effortlessly by a smooth warmed up soloist. Having the boot on the other foot felt good, really good!
Lap 17 starts with just over an hour to go. Pace myself and lurk before the finish so I cross the line after 2pm or lift my pace just a little so I cross before 2 and can get an 18th lap in? No contest I came to race and if I can get 18 in I will. A couple of soloists riding together chat to me briefly, the elder (younger than me!) one is on ten laps the younger one and I have seen each other many times, he asks first “dude are we gonna have to sprint?” I tell him I’m on 17 going for 18 and he smiles “22 going for 23”, no sprinting for us then! Soon I’m on my own again leaving these two lapping a little slower and I’ve 20 minutes to spare when I cross the line. Snack, stretch and chat to Nicky for a few minutes then lap 18.
It’s warm and dry and this is certainly the last lap, 2pm will come and go while I’m out, so why not kick it a bit? Passing people over 24 hours in is addictive and I keep getting a fix, there’s another one let’s have him, and another. Endorphins, adrenalin and a little sun induced melatonin are a heady mix and I’m hooked, sure my legs hurt but I can stand it for a few more minutes. There’s Nicky and a small crowd where the course passes the back of the campsite, would they like a wheelie? Of course they would and I’m cheered and applauded, “blimey and he’s a soloist!” says one. COOL!
Thirty minutes later I’m crossing the line and shaking hands with Pat Adams the organiser of Sleepless for the last ten years, there’s a big crowd now and all finishers are getting a big cheer. It’s a feeling I truly can’t describe. Nicky comes out of the crowd and we walk back to the tent together, pushing the bike I can’t sit on it a minute longer.
Did I win? Not by a long way 29th from 92 male soloists and 5th from the 13 of those in the veterans sub category. Will I come back and do it again? Yes, undoubtedly. I still won’t win if I learn from the mistakes I made this year, in fact I’ll never win I’m not that good but I know I did my best and that’s more than enough.
Words and photos by Dave Wood
Introducing the 2010 Endura Sleepless in the Saddle Scrappage Scheme
As in the last two years of Sleepless in the Saddle, Endura will be offering riders a special deal. For this years rendition, Endura are offering riders our brand new, recession busting weather based Scrappage Scheme.
If the sun should shine - trade in your old knackered pair of sunglasses for a pair of spanking new light reactive performance Endura glasses at half price. Double glazing for your minces, keeping unwanted photons, mud and other flying objects out of your eyes, helping you ride round stuff that you'd ride into without them.
When it inevitably rains - trade in your old battered and bruised baggies for a brand new half price pair of MT500 Spray Baggy Shorts, so good that they won a 2009 Eurobike Award.
See them as the mutant offspring of a pair of waterproof trousers and a pair of high performance trail riding baggy shorts. Putting the Endura into Endurance riding.
This offer will be on a first come, first served basis and is open to holders of a Endura Sleepless in the Saddle 2010 number board and is limited to one pair of shorts OR one pair of glasses per rider. Come and see Endura in the main arena from Friday evening onwards and look out for us when we're out racing alongside you during the event.
Sleepless in the Saddle has been seen by many as the little brother of Mountain Mayhem, it’s brought to you with the same enthusiasm and attention to detail but with a more relaxed and intimate feel.
The event has also for many years been regarded traditionally as the end of season celebration of Cross Country racing in the UK. Endura have watched closely as this festival has developed both in stature and atmosphere and now they are delighted to be able to be part of it all. This event brings together riders from all walks of life and all abilities and the union of cooperation and competition reflects the Endura ethos of riding for everybody.
Endura will not only be sponsoring the event but aim to get fully involved by taking part in the event itself. We'll be following up our popular short and glove amnesties with another innovative promotion - keep your eyes peeled in the press for details of what will be on offer at SitS 2010.
For more information please see ProVelo Support's website.