Original Source

Sleepless In The Saddle

So this is our second attempt at a 24 hour bike race for 2010. After ORIGINAL SOURCE Mountain Mayhem in June, SITS 2010 proved yet again to be a faster, less technical and definitely a less exhausting course.

For two years running we have been successful with dry weather and hard trails at Sleepless, and it proved to be a very fast course as a result. I was in a mixed team of 5 this year, and we managed a total of 26 laps. Originally entering as a Mens Enthusiast team of 4, We invited Sinead to join our team as she was coming down for the weekend with our another of our team members. Relatively new to mountain biking Sinead blew us all away managing to complete 4 laps with an impressive 1:17 for her fastest lap.

In total, Team Original Source had 13 riders at SITS this year, with a team of 5, a team of 4, a pair and 2 soloists. While this was Steve’s 3rd solo ride, having completed OSMM solo twice, this was Si’s first attempt to ride solo.

Si had one of those unforgettable experiences at this event. Around midnight, about a mile into his 6th lap, there was a mighty bang heard on the course, causing the race marshalls to duck for cover. Fortunately, it wasn’t a local farmer hunting mountain bikers, but unfortunately for Si he did have a blowout on his back wheel that had shredded his tyre. Not wanting to be disqualified, Si continued through the night on foot carrying his bike for the remaining 6.5 miles, getting back to the finish line around 2am. By which time, he was a broken exhausted man and decided to call it a night and get some rest.

If you’ve ever fancied the idea of trying endurance racing, SITS is definitely a great place to start. If your worried that ORIGINAL SOURCE Mountain Mayhem maybe to difficult, then I would say try SITS first and then you will definitely get the bug to do more. I am looking forward to 2011 already.