I’ve just had a look at
http://www.singletrackworld.com/article.php?sid=146&mode=&order=0&thold=0
and the unicycle.com factory team managed in the mixed class to beat two
teams ( Norfolk’n’Good & Sweet Bulls of Fire) and acheived more laps than
two teams in the mens sport class ( Zip Valley racing & Snuffle Munchers).
This is good.
A brief run down of the weekend follows friday lunch time, Paul and I
arrive on site and bag the same campsite as we have had for the last two
years as Unicycle HQ.I went for a short muni and met Aidrian Ward ( yes he
of Marin design fame) and he admits to being a unicycle owner as well as
racing on a single speed.
Mid afternoon The Gibbses and Joe and Mark W arrive, tents go up and
eventully the 6 of us head out on an inspection lap. The lap goes rather
slowly and we are in two groups of three by half way round , finding some
of the terrain very hard going all of us are relieved to see a stretch of
tarmac inviting us to spin it a bit. Claire unfortunatly span it a bit to
fast and came off badly, hitting her head and forcing her to drop out of
the race after a trip to A&E in an ambulance for super glue to a very
bloody wound. The rest of us abandoned our inspection to walk the Gibbes
cokers back to base, so on saturday afternoon the exact route of the
course was known to none of either team.
During the evening Miark and Roger showed up with camper van and team
shirts, not terriby fetching red numbers with our team names on the back
and a cycle racer style. Still it gave a uniform look and fitted in with
all the other team cycle shirts around.
Saturday morning dawned and we still didn’t have all the teams on site,
Simon arrived mid morning and Mark R just made it in time after arriving
from Germany late on friday night. Down at the rider briefing with our red
shirts and a trio of Coker riders still standing agaist each other we cut
quite a dash and were filmed by the TV crew so look out for the programe
some time in the summer on C4. Roger and Paul Gibbs lined up for the
running start while Claire Gibbs and I held onto cokers in the paddock ,
the rest and an assortment of surporters got to watch the race start and
took lots of pictures , I hope they will put some of them up soon.
Both Roger and Paul got good time on the first lap, Roger slightly faster
than Paul and so set the trend that continued with the Factory team
gennerally faster than the workshop team. By night the strain of only
having four riders was teling on the workshop team and the factory team
gained a lap on them. with only four their rest periods were shorter and
it is a tough ride . During the night parts of the course became very
misty, the lake sections were erie with your light showing a shaft of
dancing water droplets more clearly than the ground ahead.
Dawn came, and the sun got hot, by 7.30 am Paul G was getting sun burnt!
The workshop team were geting very tired and elected to take it easyier .
We were all having problems getting enough food and water down us, the
intense heat didn’t help , all over the campsite people were feeling
quesey and exhusted sluming in what ever shade they could find under
canopies or vehicles, we were no different. Joe apparently took a snoze
under Mark Rs car.
My third and final lap came along late morning, I set out not certain if
any one would do another lap after me for the fatory team, and knowing
that Mark R was already out on his lap with a muni, the final rider for
the workshop team. That lap was my favorite, I enjoyed it so much more
than the first two, the bumpy fields seemed more manageable, the knarly
desents more fun. Miark decided he would do a 4th lap and I handed over
the baton at 12.30 with a big grin on my face. At this point I had a look
at the results and saw that at 22 hrs we ( the factory team) were 99th out
of 101 , we were beating a two wheeled team as well as the depleted
workshop team. The grin got bigger.
Miark belted around his 4th lap and was soon phoning to say he was just a
mile or so from the finish. Paul G and Claire went outto meet him and keep
him company for his 10 minute lurk till the 2pm klaxon would signal the
end of the race. At 10 to 2 they came back, Miark they said, had gone off
to do another lap.
His 5th lap , a double lap and in the blazing heat of the early afternoon,
we all declared him MAD and then set about getting water and crisps to
stratigic places on the course for him to fuel up on while he rode. Miark
finally crossed the finish line 25 hours and 11 minutes after Roger had
crossed the start line. With his 5th lap he had brought the factory team
total up to 17 laps, edgeing us above two bike teams with 16 laps each.
I’d like to thank all the unicycle team members for their part in the
acheievment of two unicycle teams compleating the Red Bull Mountain Mayhem
24 endurance event. Last year there was just one team entered secretly,
this year two entered openly, a place kept for one and found for the other
even after other teams had been turned away. Next year… whos up for it
next year. I am.
sarah
Thank You
Claire Gibbs, Paul Gibbs, Mark Ruston, Joe Marshall & Mark Wiggins of the
workshop team. Paul Selwood, Roger Davis, sarah miller , Simon Green way
and Miark beck of the factory team. Alan, Leo, Caroline, Rocket and Brad
our surport crew who made up energy drink, played word games and re built
unicycles.
–
Euro-cycle 2001 20 - 22 July Plymouth UK A european unicycle convention
http://www.eurocycle.org
