Great fun

We surprised ourselves coming 3rd in the "very prestigious" Male 6s 40+ category. For 3 of the guys on our team it was their first MTB event ever.

Everyone rode well with smooth transitions, consistent lap times and no flats or mechanicals.

It was very exciting as we were keeping up with the results and swapping places between 3rd and 4th for most of the 24 hours with the guys from the Helensburgh Offroad Cycling Club. It came down to the last lap - we sent out one of our slower riders with a 3 minute head start and they sent out their fastest rider so we were waiting around at the finish to see who came in first. Lucky for us their rider got two punctures so came in 9 minutes after our rider.

Track was great - about 19 kms with about 350m of gradual climbing - some good techy sections, tight switchbacks and fun fast flowing downhill sections back into transition (not that silly section last year where you came in and then climbed out again in another small loop). Much better than last year as everyone was well spaced out, no conga lines up the mountain and there were plenty of overtaking opportunities. Weather was very mild - didn't need arm / leg warmers or extra layers during the night. Atmosphere was very friendly on the track and in the village.