MUCKY NUTZ & THE BIKE MECHANIC JOINT VENTURE FOR 2010 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19

The Bike Mechanic Team has received sponsorship from UK-based cycling products design and manufacturing company Mucky Nutz for the 2010 season.

Mucky Nutz produce, amongst other products, the Bender Fender, a simple yet very effective and innovative mud guard that fits easily and neatly onto the rear of your forks.



Bike Radar loved it in a recent review concluding that the Bender Fender "proved consistently effective, keeping mud out of our eyes and off our bodies and bikes".

The Team will be using the products for the 2010 season, so look out for us at the events, and hopefully we won't be as muddy as we usually are. We look forward to working with Mucky Nutz to help promote their products.

THE BIKE MECHANIC ON S4C WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

The Bike Mechanic made it onto the television this week with an appearance on S4Cs series covering extreme sports, "Chwa!". The Chwa team were at this year's Original Source Mountain Mayhem covering the event and also following Wiggle rider Matt Page on his winning solo effort. As part of the programme I was given an interview explaining the rules, tactics and the excitement of the event.

Watch it for yourself on S4/Clic (The interview is at around 11m:30s). Or on YouTube:

CHEDDAR BIKE FEST 2009 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14

The Kona Cheddar Bike Fest was another very successful event for The Bike Mechanic Team which brought a few more podium places to finish the season on a high!

Results are as follows:

Huw : 3rd place in the 10-hour men's solo category
Anne : 2nd in the 10-hour women's solo category
Mark : 6th in the 10-hour men's solo category

Also riding for The Bike Mechanic Team this weekend were Zoe Frogbrook, who won the Women's Pairs category, and Scott Hodgskin, coming 10th in the Men's Pairs category. Hopefully they'll agree to ride for us on a permanent basis next year.

Full results can be found on TimeLaps.

Unfortunately Mark was put into the Men's Open Category at the last minute due to a lack of entries for the singlespeed category. Considering the gruelling course, the conditions, and being up against 28 other riders with a full compliment of gears, his 6th position is pretty amazing!

The course was as fun, but as tough as ever. I completed 26 laps, which amounted to 100km and 4,400m of ascent. The hot and sunny weather also added to the challenging conditions this year. I started off strong and was completing each lap in under 20 minutes, probably too fast as usual, but I felt comfortable. I had the pleasure of riding with Dave Buchanan from the Ironhorse-Extreme Race Team for the first 5 hours or so, and we were happily keeping pace and chatting with each other. Dave unfortunately dropped back and eventually had to call it a day, having not fully recovered from his previous 12-hour solo at the 12:12 TORQ in your sleep event just a couple of weeks ago.

After that I was alone, but was happily lapping consistently. The hot conditions and gruelling course started to take its toll however and I started struggling to keep motivation and my pace through the middle third of the race....

....enter the posse of riders and my support I had waiting for me in the pit area after each lap. A massive thanks to my wife Louisa, and Kim, who kept me topped up with liquids and food after each lap, and to Anne, Mark, Zoe and Scott when they weren't riding themselves. Special thanks go to Dave and Jo for staying with us and giving me encouragement, advice, updates on my position, and sometimes outright bullying (just kidding), to keep me going! I wouldn't have been able to finish without you all.

So a great finish to my, and the team's, season, which we can only hope to build on for next year!

HIGH ALTITUDE TRAINING TUESDAY, AUGUST 18

Haven't posted in a while. We've been high altitude....oh who am I kidding.... we've spent the week on holiday riding excellent, seemingly endless singletrack near Bourg St Maurice with Bike Village.

Bike Village, run by Sam and Lyndsey, offer a superb holiday of guided riding with full board and lodge in a small village called Landry, just outside Bourg St Maurice, ideally situated within reach of Les Arcs and La Plagne resorts and beyond.

The food's great, plenty of wine, great company, and the scenery isn't too bad either....





But now it's back to a few weeks more training before the Kona Cheddar Bike Fest on the 12th September, where Mark, Anne and myself will be riding in the 10-hour solo categories.

LÔN LAS CYMRU CHALLENGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 1

Aled and Gwylim Hopkin from Llanharry, will begin their 5-day, 254 mile journey through Wales next week on Monday 3rd August.

Starting in Holyhead, the Lôn Las Cymru trail follows Route 8 of the National Cycle Network and takes in some of Wales’ most breathtaking scenery, riding across three mountain ranges and finally ending in Cardiff Bay.

So far, they have raised over £1,100 for the Gareth Thomas Memorial Fund, and will be raising awareness of Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), a charity that works towards raising awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and campaigns for proactive screening of young people. It offers help and support to those who have suffered a loss, provides medical information, carries out Mobile Cardiac Screening and ECG Testing Programmes within local communities and contributes to medical research.

If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, please visit their Just Giving site.

Good luck to you both, and I hope you have great time doing it for such a worthy cause. Pob lwc!

PODIUMS AT PLYMPTON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

The Bike Mechanic Team are back from the Bontrager Twentyfour12 with a couple more well-earned podium places!

Mark and I came 2nd in the Men's 24-hour Pairs category, completing 29 laps (a total of 406km!), Anne came 2nd in the Veteran Women's 12-hour Solo category and Jon completed his very first 24-hour solo event and came 22nd. Full results are on the TimeLaps website.

Both Mark and I have worked hard this year to improve on our fitness, speed and endurance, after a few years of "just riding", entering events, and doing fairly well. Mark had already realised that his efforts were paying off by his victory with Andrew in the 12-hour singlespeed category at the Bristol Bike Fest, but up until the weekend, I was still waiting to see whether my efforts were worth it.

The course for the Twentyfour12 at Newnham Park was new to us and after a practice lap on Friday I knew we were in for a good event, even if it was a pretty hard 14km route, with about 340m climbing, including a steep tarmac climb at the start and the brutally steep, loose "Clif Bar" Climb around 9km in to the course. There was plenty to look forward to though with some fast singletrack descents and some nice rooty technical sections through the woodland.

I had the pleasure of lining up at the start line this time, and managed to get a good position up near the front. The pace for the first lap was fast, for a 24-hour event anyway, and I knew I couldn't keep it up, but it was hard not to get caught up in it. As it happens it gained us a very high position right from the start, and with Mark also putting in some very fast laps, we saw ourselves anywhere between 2nd and 4th for the first few hours of the race. After Mark punctured on Lap 10, we fell a couple of places to 6th but it was early days and we didn't panic.

By keeping our pace up we managed to climb back up to 3rd and from then on a very exciting battle started between us and the BikeShed/Bath University Team for 2nd place. We were as much as 16 minutes behind them after 8 hours, but we clawed our way back and with 6 hours to go we were just 22 seconds behind them. We knew after a while that a podium position for us was relatively safe as we were a couple of laps ahead of 4th position, so as long as we kept riding, we'd be ok. First place was pretty much decided as the Back on Track team were 2 laps ahead.

The time came to decide whether to settle down and see what happened and settle for 3rd, but hope for a 2nd, or to push it and fight for a 2nd place. I've hoped for a podium position for a long time, and during one lap I decided, why settle for 3rd when 2nd was within our capabilities? Our lap times weren't slowing down, my legs felt fine and Mark seemed to be in high spirits, so we went for it.

The tail end of the event was a bit of a blur for me, but all I was aware of was that we were eating away at the time difference for 2nd place after each lap. We finally passed the Bikeshed\Bath University team with less than 1.5 hours to go. Determined to not let that lead go, we gained 15 minutes on the team in 3 laps! I wasn't aware of this at the time, and when my time came to go out and complete the final "glory lap", I pushed as hard as I could. Normally, the final lap is a time to enjoy, take in the atmosphere, thank the marshals on your way around, and roll over the line.

It was the hardest I've ever ridden and I'm thrilled at what we achieved. The 24-hour pairs event is arguably the most difficult and demanding of the categories, due to the fast pace of the top teams and very little rest between laps. The event and our position will be something I will never forget.

A massive thanks goes to Mark for being an awesome team mate and for the encouraging notes he left me at team HQ! I hardly saw him during the event, which made it a pretty lonely event in terms of being with your team mate. However the few words shared at the change-over after each lap were enough to know how each of us felt and make each other push hard and keep going.

A huge thanks also goes to our support once again. We couldn't do it without Lou and Charlotte, and this weekend we also had Karen, who was looking after Kieran (who also completed his first 24-hour solo event, and crossed the line with Jon with an equal number of laps).

PLAYING THE WAITING GAME WEDNESDAY, JULY 22

It feels like I'm playing the waiting game at the moment and it has been like that for a few weeks. The Bontrager Twentyfour12 seems to have been "just around the corner" for months, and there's still 4 days to go before the start. Add trying to keep up with the riding and training during this changeable, ok, wet, weather, I must admit that my motivation and enthusiasm has dwindled at times. However I returned to an old favourite this evening and rode the trail where it all began for me a few years ago, and where I got my first taste of mountain biking.

That trail of course, is Penhydd at Afan Argoed, and I've come to realise that every time my motivation to get out and ride fades, that's the place I go to to get me going again. After the Mountain Mayhem in June and the seemingly endless periods of rain we've had, and having to ride day in day out in the wet conditions, I have found it hard to motivate myself to get out and train. However, today, even though the weather was grim, I decided to go back and ride around Penhydd, and for some reason it made me remember why I do what I do once more.

It's not the longest, hardest, gnarliest, fastest of trails. It's not a "natural" ride, and you don't need a map to find your way around. It hasn't got the newest jumps and bumps or tabletops or berms either. It's just fun. For me, it's a classic trail. And tonight I even managed to make it longer and include some hill intervals as part of this week's training plan.

It also reminds me to take a step back, away from the hype, the magazines, the forums and racing and remember why I ride a bike. It's to get exercise, to enjoy the scenery, the fresh air, to be with your mates (was alone today, apart from Hamish the dog, but he doesn't say much), but above all else, to have fun.

So while I am sat here, I find myself looking forward to the weekend's racing and my enthusiasm has returned. Thanks to riding Penhydd.

A MEMORABLE MAYHEM WEDNESDAY, JULY 15

The results are in and The Bike Mechanic Team came in a very respectable 30th place in the Sport Men's Category, out of a total of 229 teams, completing 25 laps in 24 hours and 7 seconds!

This year the course was 14km long with 350m of climbing, making it a pretty tough course. The Kenda Climb was once again in attendance - a brutal 150m climb over a distance of 1.8km, which consisted of a rutted grassy climb to start, then a steep gravel road climb and then onto some singletrack - plenty to keep the legs and mind occupied. There were a few interesting descents to make it worth the climbs, although some would disagree!

The weather forecast looked good for the weekend with just a few showers, so everything was crossed in Team HQ that we didn't get a repeat of Mountain Mayhem 2008. After a steady practice lap on Friday, the traditional pre-race preparations got underway - BBQ, some light refreshment and socialising with friends who had gathered in our little tent village for the weekend.

Saturday morning came with the seemingly endless wait for the 2pm start, giving plenty of time for the pre-race nerves to kick in. With some light showers during the night came the inevitable mud and after seeing some riders come back from their practice laps covered in sticky mud, panic set in. Did I have the right tyres? Did I have enough clothes? Would it be a repeat of last year's nightmare? So many questions, and so much time to think about all the answers.

Finally it was time for the starting line-up. We decided between us that Mark should do the Le Mans style run and start this year. Mark being the stronger runner would get a headstart from the main pack of riders and give us a strong, fast, first lap. And with a storming 56 minute first lap, the plan worked, and it was time for me to take the second lap in 51 minutes. We were on to a strong start and with Andrew and Jon following on with 56 and 55 minute laps, I had a feeling that things were looking good for the Team.

We continued lapping in sub-hour times until the early hours of the morning when we had some rain, which created some sticky and others slippery sections around the course. Nevertheless, the course remained rideable, and mostly enjoyable.

Once mid morning came, we were on the home straight and we knew we were in for a strong finish. With 3 hours to go, we calculated that if we were quick we would be able to squeeze an extra lap in at the end, but it would be tight. What we didn't appreciate was how tight it was going to be. After Jon's fast last lap the time on the official clock said 23h:07m:08s, meaning Mark would need to complete a sub 53 minute lap. His fastest lap was 50 minutes 42 seconds, so we knew he could do it, but could he do it after already completing 6 fast laps? Our race was on and he set off at blistering pace out of the arena. I was already dressed and ready to ride, and when we saw Mark pass the halfway point on the Kenda climb in 25 minutes, it was time to go and wait in the arena.

It was probably the longest 5 minutes of my life, watching the clock count down to 24 hours. Each tick got steadily louder and all I could focus on was the final corner and straight of the course, looking out for any sign of Mark. Then all of a sudden he appeared and was sprinting towards the change-over point, but it was too late, the hooter went, just as Mark came within 10 metres of the line. The look of disappointment on his face was devastating to see, but he had given it everything, and had finished in style!

The Mayhem this year will not be forgotten in a hurry, and for me, it was one of the best. The Team were excellent, and thanks for all their hard work, not only completing the laps in quick times, but also for being great team mates and friends. Huge thanks go to our support, Louisa and Charlotte, and Anne who joined us for the weekend!

As well as a good performance from The Bike Mechanic Team, there were even better results from good friends of ours. Matt Page, riding for Focus/Wiggle finally realised his dream of winning the 24-hour Solo Men's Category, and even proposed to his fiancé Nia at the finish line! And also, congratulations to Jo Evans, who came 2nd in the 24-hour Solo Women's Category.

Full results can be found on the Original Source Mountain Mayhem website.

MEDIA TARTS WEDNESDAY, JULY 15

Getting recognition on The Bike Mechanic Blog and Bike Radar wasn't enough for our winning singlespeed pairs, Mark and Andrew. They've just made it onto today's edition of The Merthyr Express (Page 47!). They'll be wanting an agent next.

VICTORY AT THE 2009 KONA BRISTOL BIKE FEST WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5

Mark and Andrew, riding for The Bike Mechanic stormed to victory over the weekend at the 2009 Kona Bristol Bikefest, to claim the Men's 12-hour Singlespeed Competition title, completing 17 laps, and winning by a 2 lap margin.

Huw and Jon, also completing 17 laps, finished in a very impressive 8th place in the Men's 12-hour Pairs Competition.

Also, Anne earned another podium position, coming 3rd, riding in the 12-hour Solo Veteran Womens Category.

Full results can be found on www.timelaps.co.uk

So fantastic results for us all! Mark and myself have raced in the Pairs Category for a number of years, but this was Andrew and Jon's first taste of pairs racing.

It was The Bike Mechanic Team's first visit to the Bristol Bikefest so the 10km course was all new to us. It didn't fail to impress however, with long sections of fast twisting singletrack, slippery roots and rocky descents as well as a couple of tough climbs. The race started very wet but as the day wore on, it got steadily drier. We all avoided any major incidents, although I suffered a very annoying 15 minute delay during my 3rd lap with a puncture, 4 broken spokes and a bent rear mech.

I have uploaded the data from my Garmin Edge 705 onto my Motion Based pages for those who love stats and figures.

Congratulations to everyone, and as the 2 pairs from this weekend join to become a team of 4 for the 2009 Original Source Mountain Mayhem in under a fortnight, we should make a very strong team for the Men's 24-hour Competition.