Official 2013 Mountain Mayhem team thread

James, I think RC35's with 45mm of travel only just qualify as suspension, but I will take the hit on the 2 x 10, although it could have been 1 x 10 for all the gears I used!

Posted on the aftermath thread already but for West Mids...

Dave in his one piece Proflex spandex was wrong on many levels, he did incur ridicule from the PA in the main arena which was well deserved. Good work on ignoring medical advice and carrying on with a strapped up back and a torn hamstring, I don't think I was very convincing when car park claire was asking if you should be doing it

Well done to the 10 man team - great result and thanks to Neilm for the captaincy and to Dave for taking my place (does leaving the 10 man to go solo count as piking? hope not or I'll never get off the piking leader board!!)

Grumbling about the course aside I enjoyed it, but it could have been so much better with some simple changes - thanks to Dave for convincing me to take up the solo challenge, I'd do it again. Probably. Only if RB are there in force and track side.

Some pics from the interweb:

Retro:

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/2167 ... bum/412143

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/2167 ... bum/412143

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/2168 ... bum/412359

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/2168 ... bum/412359

Modern moment of weakness in the night:

http://www.ipernity.com/doc/dylbic/2168 ... bum/412359

I love that last pic of you on the Yeti, the fact that your gloves match the saddle bag just completes the ensemble perfectly.

In my opinion, giving up the cushy number of a 10 man team place for the purgatory of a solo effort should give you extra minus points, thereby wiping out any previous piking points and giving you a healthy lead.... but that's up to Dave.

EDIT:

Just to add a serious note for a moment. I keep seeing posts both here and on STW about the trackside campsite. I know a couple of the lads asked Pat about this on Saturday, and I caught a tiny bit of the reply, but as a horse rider and aspirant 3 day eventer I can tell you that at Gatcombe it will never happen, as the campsite IS the eventing course (you will have spotted jumps here and there), and so over the years a small fortune will have been spent on that land to get that lovely firm and even ground that we all pitched our tents on. Can you imagine the damage that 24 hours of narrow tyred cycling would do to that surface? Can you then imagine how much it would cost Pat to repair that damage? That is why they were all sh*tting themselves when they spotted The Intruder.

I'm sure there is a compromise that can be reached, even if it is just some spectator / heckler stands at strategically placed points on the course, but don't hold your breath for trackside camping at Gatcombe.

With regard to the course, I would think it was perfect for retro bikers, I for one was always pushing my bikes up hills and ending up in places not really suitable for bikes BITD. All this single track and man made trails have made us soft and suspension has made us softer, although I do admit to using a flex.!!

It was so much easier than last year!

Great pics of Lee riding the course from memory:

http://singletrackworld.com/rider-galle ... ?image=775

http://singletrackworld.com/rider-galle ... ?image=581