Checking in

Checking in again to say hello. From my last post I've had a 7th place (Vet) result in the London Beastway round 4 and a disappointing 26th place finish at the 12 Hour race at Bristol Bikefest. Bristol was an amazing course and the weather was perfect. The course was super fast and flowing. If you add climbing like the Boyne 24 hour course with flowing rocky downhills similar to Pontiac Lake that was the course. The Hei Hei was the perfect bike! Unfortunately we lost a rider before the race and started with 3. Then one of my team mates broke his Specialized frame on his second lap. I doubled up while he tried to get something worked out but it was unfixable. He ended up borrowing demo bikes and rode mine on the last lap but we just lost too much time to the other teams. After riding 3 other bikes though my team mate pulled his best time of the day on my Kona (on his last lap). He was amazed at how much faster it was than the other big name rides he tried on the day. Kona did well at the event winning competitive pairs (Torq Kona) and the competitive team (Paligap Kona - UK Kona sponsered team).

Next race for me is next weekend for a 24 hour race called Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, UK . It's the biggest mountain bike event in the UK with 450 teams and 2500 riders in the race. They bill it as the world's largest 24 hour race Yes... ought to be interesting in the woods at night with 450 other teams on the course at the same time. I am not a big fan of 24 hour events but I'm helping a team out that lost a rider. Since it's supposed to be the Iceman of the UK thought it was worth the pain to say I've done it.

http://www.mountainmayhem.org/index.php

Look for me at the Tour de France prologue and stage 1 in London on July 7-8th. I'll ride down to the event and be on the side of the course wearing my KMR kit in case you see the team colors. Back in the states July 9th - 23rd and looking forward to riding with everyone!

Jim