Bontrager 24/12

So then, the time came for my first 12 hour solo event. Feeling slightly nervous and not sure what I had got myself into I packed up from my new home in the Lake District to make the 6.5 hour journey down to Newnham Park, Plymouth.

I arrived at the race in the morning feeling excited and wanting to get stuck in. The race started on bikes so thankfully I didn't have to do the run at the beguinning, and after a 20 minute start loop the race fully kicked in and there was no getting out of it!

I had planned to stop at about 6ish, half way through the race to have a break, get some food and get my lights on ready for the evening. After completing five laps I pulled in for my break, my back had gone, my wrists were sore and my legs were beguinning to cramp. After a bacon sarnie and a much needed stretch I went back out with an aim to do 3 more laps.

During my 6th lap I hit a wall. My back had gone, my wrists were sore, I had cramp in both legs and no longer wanted to carry on. After pulling in at the arena, having another stretch and some food I felt better. Steph (my boyfriend) pulled my saddle forward allowing me to sit more upright, reducing the pain in my back and convinced me to head back out.

Having completed 8 laps I finished in 4th position. This was a position I was happy with for my first solo event. I learnt alot from this race and know now areas I can improve on and hopefully be a better and faster endurance rider.

I'm now looking forward to my first 24 hour solo event at Sleepless in the Saddle on the 6th/7th August, if I thought the 12 hour was bad I dread to think what that will be like!

Mountain Mayhem

This weekend was Mountain Mayhem, one of the hardest enduro events in the country. To kick off the years racing I competed in the sport mixed team "We are Family", consisting of my dad, sister, brother and brother in law.

With a reasonably tough course it was going to be a hard race, I went out third and managed to get the rainy lap which turned the course into a slippy mud bath however I managed to prevent some near crashes and got round feeling strong. My next lap started at half 9, lights were now needed in all the wooded sections however it had now dried up allowing me to post a quicker lap time. After returning to the tent for some food I managed to gain a sneeky hour or so of sleep and then went out for my 2am lap. I love the night laps, they always seem to go so much quicker as you can only focus on what's right in front of you, technical sections are also a bit sketchier which is always fun.

I finished the race with a good morning lap, with the smell of bacon in the campsite getting me round the course nicely. It was a brilliant race again this year, with lots of good banter between all the riders and a good atmosphere all round. Also a good presence of titanium bikes which is always nice!

Mayhem's set me up nicely for the rest of the years racing and helped me set my sites on my first 24 hour race  at Sleepless in the Saddle in August. Will update you all with photos from the weekend later on in the week.

Thanks for reading x

Latest photos

jenny_middlehurst's photostream on Flickr.

First post!!

Hello all and welcome to my blog, this is intended to keep you up to date with my riding and racing throughout the season. My first race review will follow Mountain Mayhem, my first 24 hour race of the season on the 18th/19th June.

Ill try to keep you up to date as much as possible with reviews and photos.

Thanks for reading x