Endura Sleepless in the Saddle
24-Hour Enduro
Catton Park - 9-10 August 2008
Report & Pics: Joolze Dymond
Results: Download 3mb xls file
Left: Endura's shorts amnesty was a huge success - Right, the army seemed to cope well with the conditions
"Mud, mud glorious mud, nothing quite like it for cooling the blood?So follow me follow, down to the hollow and there let us wallow in glorious mud!!"
I'm pretty sure that I could hear Flanders and Swann being hummed by many competitors throughout the event as they slipped, slid, slithered and occasionally turned a pedal on their way round the 9th edition of Sleepless in the Saddle, or should that now be renamed Slippery out of the Saddle!!!
It started well with hundreds of competitors taking advantage of the event's title sponsor, clothing manufacturer, Endura's offer of a shorts amnesty, where you could trade in old baggies for a pair of spanking shiny new shorts. Soon the exchange bin was overflowing with mishaps of fashion from over the years! Friday night saw thousands of riders and supporters pour into the campsite ready for the task in hand, 24 hours of fun and frolics at good old Catton Park, with maybe a few beers thrown in for good luck to drown out the impending weather forecast!
Come Saturday morning and the outlook wasn't too bad with the threatening rain seemingly holding off: fingers were crossed and prayers were offered, but to no avail. British summer it seems does not want to play ball! Near race time as the riders started to colonize the start line, umbrellas were as abundant as bikes as the feared rain came down in bucket loads. Still undeterred, hundreds lined up, smiles beaming, a rash of brightly coloured lycra, keen to get out onto the trails. Little did they know what lay ahead!
Couple of classic nightime Sleepless shots
At 2pm the race was off in earnest with the initial LeMan's style run launching riders in full flight, a few tumbles along the way got some competitors used to how the laps would pan out?
The RAF once more flew into the start arena first, picking up their bike, keen to get a good head start on the Army. The rest of the pack followed them close behind as they flowed into the arena desperately trying to remember where they left their bikes, before heading for the trails.
The 8-mile course was a mixture, (to begin with) of sinuous singletrack threading through the trees, tracks outlining the edges of wheat fields, coupled with a few technical bomb holes and fast chutes. In the dry this circuit would have been completed in about 40 mins. In the wet, well it varied as riders picked the best lines they could. As the race continued, those sinuous threads soon turned to massive motorways as riders sought out the most traction.
As it continued to rain the trail was ridable, with the mud a slippery, moist, fun-filled experience, however by 4pm the rain stopped and the mud started to turn into glue that just clung to everybody & everything! Soon it was hard to distinguish who was who, as rider, after rider returned looking like they'd been dipped in chocolate. Still you knew they were enjoying it as the blinding contrast of white teeth against the muddy coatings were plentiful.
It would be fascinating to know how many miles bikes were carried for over the weekend as they clogged solid and refused to move another wheelturn
In true British bulldog spirit, the riders continued, digging deeper (quite literally at times!) to get round the course as best they could, to keep their teams' and pairs' dreams alive! It was a test of grit and determination against the worse the British summer could throw at them. Throughout the day and into the night a familiar pattern emerged, it would rain making the going easier, and then it would stop, turning the trails into glutinous bike traps. Even if the event resembled an episode of It's a Knockout at times, the riders persevered: enduro racing is after all a test of determination as well as fitness and this was one of the harshest tests yet!
As dawn broke, the course was littered with the debris of rear mechs, and it seemed as if one side of the course had suddenly become much hillier than the other, through riders stopping and shedding the thick mud on their bikes, but there were no broken spirits and the weather started to look as if it might just be on our side at last, glimpses of blue skies gave hope that the mud would at last be conquered.
For long periods it was a distinctly monochrome world of mud, rain, clouds and then darkness
With the race nearing the closing stages, parts of the course began to dry out and riders at last could experience the fun as the trails were at last riding as they should do. The race eventually finished under warm blue skies with the sun shining benevolently down as Pat Adams stood under the arch shaking each and every hand of all the competitors as they crossed the line, congratulating them on their overcoming of adversity, winners all of them!!!
Once again out of all the competitors it has to be the solo riders that earn the greatest respect for attempting to battle through their demons as well as the tricky conditions to compete in such a stressful event, add onto that some truly awful conditions and all the soloists, regardless of where they finished need a huge round of applause. However the biggest slap on the back has to go to Matt Page, who despite all the odds recorded a staggering 20 laps to take the win, finishing in a much stronger and better state than he did 2 years ago at the same event. Richard Rothwell fought well with 17 laps placing him 2nd and David Powell did enough with his 16 laps to take 3rd.
On the start - if only they'd known what was facing them!
Jo Evans was delighted after her monumental effort in the conditions to take the win in the women's solo with a cracking 13 laps, with Carolyn Binns happy in 2nd with a creditable 12 laps, while Scottish CX rider Jac Strachan was just delighted to have finished her first 24hr solo and to have reached the podium, despite blistered feet, through so much walking!
With just 4 extra laps than the incredible Matt Page, the Salsa Factory racing team, took the honours in the expert men's race, a good 2 laps ahead of Team Mule bar, while Team Tarty Bikes just held off Guernsey Velo Club to hold onto 3rd. Despite little competition in the expert women's race the Salsa Factory Racing team rode well to rack up 15 laps to take the podium spot with pride. Team leader Sara Flatt, also helped uphold the honour of her team by picking up the Exposure Lights prize of Queen of the Night, by recording the fastest female night lap.
It was a much closer battle in the sports men category, with 6 teams all in the hunt as they fought their way through the darkest moments. It was however the Angry Bears who emerged from the mud fueled race triumphant with 23 laps to take the win. Just behind with the same number of laps but nearly 3/4 of an hour down were the Amber Valley Massive. Then it was the remaining 4 teams who all picked up 22 laps fighting it out for bronze. That position finally went to Clee Cycles after out maneuvering Army B, who in turn just snuck past the Mountain Beavers, with less than a 3 mins margin!
Nobody seemed to escape a few moments like this as tiredness and slippery mud combined to dap energy and morale
The ladies of Keswick Cycles added to their jersey collection from Mayhem by picking up yet another set of winners jerseys in the Sports Women's category taking the win with a massive 18 laps. Rivals Pink Heifers did one better than Mayhem by taking 2nd, despite a number of mechanicals, the Gritty Kitty's took 3rd.
A massive 84 teams contested the mixed team category, but it was the boys and girl of Team Yeti/Goldtec who picked up the win with 23 laps and also team rider Martin Brookes made it a double by picking up his second set of lights by recording the fastest night lap, achieving the title of Exposure lights King of the Night twice in just the space of 2 weeks! In the tightest of finishes, after a competitive 22 laps Team Sludge narrowly took 2nd from Army Cycling A team by just 15 secs!!!
But by Sunday lunchtime, things were looking a whole lot better and drier underwheel too
It was a pretty close battle in the men's pairs with the top 3 teams all recording 19 laps, but it was the Jock & Geordie pairing of Rod Towart & Brian Harrison, who took the top step, whilst just 10 mins later Pete Jenkins & Tom Fenton claimed 2nd and just another 13 later The Monkey Mafia crew, Elliot Dinsdale & Mark Leyland took 3rd.
Jennie Lester & Adela Carter, obviously knew what to expect as they chose their name for the women's pairs and the aptly Beamish Oddsox Babes in Mud won the women's pairs by 4 laps. Team Bionicon, featuring Ruth Dyson & Elaine Burroughs took 2nd while the West Yorkshire Rough Riders, Sarah Minchin & Julie Jagger took 3rd.
Mud tyres and patience were the order of the day......and especially the night
In the mixed pairs Grasshopper team Ian & Kali Taylor racked up 17 laps to take the win, 1 lap clear of rivals Lady & The Gimp - Oliver Young & Jo Cardwell, who in turn had 1 lap advantage over team Hendry - Nadine & Paul.
With a combined age of over 160 years, the veterans riders of Lichfield CCC Night Owls, clearly showed that age is just a number as they took a comfortable win in the vets team sub category with a cracking 22 laps under their belts. Team Pedal Revolution took 2nd whilst Eager Beaver Racing just held off their rivals Banjo Cycles HRT by less than 3 mins to take 3rd.
As riders headed home to soak their weary bodies and their mud soaked clothes, the feeling amongst most was that despite the awful weather, the bike clogging & breaking mud, they actually had a brilliant time! Even in the depth of the night as riders stumbled and slithered their way round, humour was quite high, even those that stood and shouted in a tourettes stylee at random trees, soon found the funny side! Hopefully next year we'll be treated to a hot dry summer but then it would be half as much fun, now would it!
Riders' Comments:
Chris Duncan - Endura
We were very happy with the event, we did over 200 hundred shorts in the amnesty and we'll be taking them all home to sell on eBay?. No only joking they'll go to textile recycling. The highlights of the event - well for the team that was getting back into it again after losing our enthusiasm as our bikes began to break, oh and another highlight was being 10th at one point too, but we slipped to 41st, sleep was more important. Not bad with two broken bikes. In the end we were using the 2 remaining bikes between us all. The mud was character building! Everyone here were very much Endura people, we enjoyed it and we'll be back!
James Cooper - Army Mixed
The Army had 3 teams in this year's SITS in total; a sports men's team, and 2 mixed teams, we almost had a female team, which would have been a first for us, unfortunately one of the ladies dropped out at the last minute.The conditions were pretty grim, but it was good fun, it's always good fun! Don't get me wrong it was hard, but then it's as hard for everyone, it was tough, but our wet weather plan worked well for us. To be honest we're used to mud and getting on and doing it.
It's great for us, in terms of team building and of course taking our mind off our job. The worst part of the weekend had to be my last lap, for the team, it was the rain and seeing the course cut up like it did, we lost a bit morale there, but we just got on with it. The best part of the weekend has to be coming 3rd in our mixed category and winning the inter services category too. We'll be back next year for def, unfortunately I won't be here as I'll be out in Iraq by then, so my organising duties will be taken over by another.
The crabbing sideways slide was a skill honed to perfection by many riders during the event
Sara Flatt - The Queen of the Night
That was a real surprise and it's fantastic. I was riding very steadily, I don't like walking and keeping on the bike was the best option for me. I went out about 10.30pm, before it got really gloopy and horrible. It started to rain while I was out there and then Anna went out and she got the worst of it, so I was lucky with some good timing. The worst moment of the weekend? The moment we realised we were all going to get really wet and very muddy, it was warm so that was a good thing. The highlight had to be this morning with the course drying out and every lap we went out and knew it was riding faster so we got some really nice laps in towards the end which made it all worth while.
Pink Heifers - 2nd women
Yeah we had a great time, it was tough at times out there though, especially during the night but yeah it was good fun. When it started raining and the course got all gloopy our thoughts went back to Mayhem this year where we had some training for this, anyway we stuck it out and got on with it. The best part of the weekend for us was the finish! The worse part has to be all the mechanicals that we suffered, 2 broken mechs, 1 broken saddle, and a couple of very heavy bikes. We finished 2nd though which is excellent.
The two faces of Sleepless - it was that kind of event
Lisa Wayman - The clown
It definitely helped me getting through the mud dressed as a clown, just by the sheer stupidness of it all. My shoes were about 2 stone each by the time I finished. I unfortunately crashed on one of my laps (not the one dressed as a clown) and came off leaving me with a pretty sore knee. I was riding with my team the Wafty Crankers. I did the clown thing as a dare, it was my first 24 hr and I thought yeah why not. The highlight of my weekend is people shouting out things like 'Stop clowning about!' and 'Do you know any jokes?' and 'Where's your water pistol?' I did have one joke - 'what does a tortoise do on a motorway? About 1 mile an hour!' I shared it with a bloke on the course and he would not speak to me and I think I upset one person out there by riding past him dressed as a clown! I'll be back next year, oh and I'll think I'll be dressed as a nun!
Martin Brookes - King of the Night
It's funny I've picked up 2 Kings of the Night now; it must be all the night riding I've been doing of late. I did fancy my chances of picking this up here after winning it at Twentyfour/12 but when I saw the mud I thought I'd have no chance. It turned from a bike race to a running race, but the team did pretty well, despite 2 broken mechs. Highlight of the race was the 2pm finish! And the worse part was the broken mechs and crawling out of bed to find it pouring with more rain. But despite it all it was great fun!
Jac Starchan - 3rd solo
Parts of the race were fun, though ask me tomorrow and I'll probably say it was all fun. My feet and suffering so much after all the walking, I have so many blisters. I heard so many things about riding SITS in the rain that I should have been prepared. I managed 11 laps in the end and I'm really pleased with this being my first 24 solo, I'm quite pleased with that and I did it on singlespeed too. I had a few dark moments, one bad one at about 3 am when I serious started to question why I was doing this, but my excellent support crew, of Shaggy, Mel and my partner Chris were fantastic and forced me to go back out and I'm glad they did. Just finishing was a highlight, as it was my first one I wasn't sure I'd be able to do that, but yes just finishing was excellent to get on the podium was a bonus. Will I do it again?? I'm not sure ask me tomorrow!
Matt Page - 1st Solo
I don't know where I got my energy from this morning; I just kept going and seemed to have endless energy. I had a nightmare on the second lap, I didn't have my mud tyres on and my wheels were just clogging up and I couldn't push my bike and I just thought I've another 23 hrs of this, I wasn't looking forward to it! After that I picked it up and started to enjoy it.
It rates as the worse one I have ever done, as every other one I've done there has been some period of dry, but here there was just mud for the full 24hrs. Highlight has to be the last lap, being able to enjoy the course and the realisation of what I've done, I was really pleased. There weren't any worse parts, not really, well maybe the first couple of laps might have been a nightmare but I ended up enjoying myself. I'm not sure what's happening next year; I'm aiming to go to the worlds so that will be my focus.
Jo Evans - 1st Solo lady
I'm shattered, but it was really good, well I can say that now I've finished! This is the first race I've ever won so I'm dead pleased really. I'm quite good in mud; a stubborn slow pace suits me. I was hoping for rain all the way through, I was a bit depressed when it stopped and then it got mucky and then it rained again and I had to go through the mucky phase again, I really enjoyed it. I couldn't have done it without Dave my partner, Matt pages mum and Neil from Wiggle, I'm really pleased. The highlight for me was getting down the tricky descent where people were waiting at the bottom; I did it every time apart from 1 when I had chain suck. Lows were from 6am this morning, I just felt ill?. I enjoyed it though and I'll be back!!!
