"How many of you remember standing on the start line at the first Mountain Mayhem - with it pouring with rain?  There was an atmosphere of apprehension, the anticipation of the first 24 hour mountain bike race in the UK. Once we were racing everyone was wearing out V-brake pads after just one lap, sliding in the mud, running out of clean dry clothes. The local shops were taking pads off of their new bikes to sell.  You would think that this would put people off the idea of 24 hour racing - but no it was THE event of the mountain bike season and has been for the past 10 years”

Barrie Clarke

 

FOOD

Food, food and more food. Anything that makes your tummy happy! Though, from a purely performance point of view, porridge, pasta, protein drinks and bars and fruits are great choices to keep those legs spinning! Make sure you’ve tried your choice of foods before hand. No point stocking up with bananas if you hate them just cos someone mentioned they might make you go faster! There will be of course a huge selection of energy specific food stuffs available on site in the Mayhem Village.


DRINKS

Drinking water will be freely available from various bowsers we’ll have on site, but we still recommend you bring your own merely as a convenience.

SIS will be on site providing free bottle refills for the race. There is no alcohol/beer sold in the park. If you do fancy having a party, just be sensitive to the people around you. Remember, some will have young families and some will just want a good night’s kip before the race. Not everyone will want to hear your rendition of ‘I Will Survive’ at 3 in the morning even if it is quite good...


BIKE PARTS

Put it this way: If it can break, it probably will, so it's a good idea to have a replacement handy! We'll have various retailers on site selling parts, tubes, and tyres, whatever you need. But we recommend back up wheels, tyres, tubes, derailleur and chains at the least. And an extra bike is always nice... just in case.


TOOLS

Bring a good assortment of tools, plus the knowledge to use them. Shimano will be on hand to provide emergency support but please, please come prepared. Get your bike checked out and prepped well in advance of the race.


CAMPING GEAR

Tent, sleeping bag, pad, blankets, camp stove (open campfires are NOT allowed!), chairs, table, lights. If you do bring a generator please be sensitive to fellow competitors. Oh and on that point, please make sure your generator has cooled down BEFORE you try filling it... the fireworks will be nice for some but not for others...


CLOTHES

Bring just about every pair of cycling shorts you own. Nothing's worse than having to pull on a cold, wet pair of bike shorts at 3 am. Lots of jerseys are good too. The temperature can change quite a bit,especially at night, so bring warm riding clothes for after dark, and warm clothes to relax in after your lap.

Oh and don’t forget the waterproofs… just in case.


OTHER

Use common sense. Bring what you want, but please bring a bin bag to put your used cycling gear in and another for all the stuff you don’t want to take home. There will be plenty of skips to leave behind all the stuff you don’t want, please use them!

Although the toilets will be regularly maintained throughout the duration, extra toilet paper isn’t a bad idea. Some other cool things we've seen people bring include: patio heaters, baby wipes, gazebos, sunscreen, torches, 2-way radios, water bottles, gloves, and a fully stocked bar!


PETS

We know, they're little members of the family, even if they are pretty hairy. If you must bring your pet, please keep it on a lead and under control. And when nature calls, bring some plastic bags to pick up after them. The race is hard enough without having to watch out for ‘little presents’.

MM