I’ve been helping organise a 12 hour endurance race in the local area for a few weeks now. It’s in response to all the big endurance events gradually moving in a southerly direction. It’s a case of “if you’re not happy with it, do something about it”. So we are, and we’re going head to head with the big boys with the help of some decent sponsors. After loads of emails and discussions about, “yeh that’d be good” and “just think if we could do that..”, it actually looks like this is actually going to actually happen.

We’ve got the sponsorship, we’ve a nominated charity, the course is almost final – we’re waiting for the nod from a million or so people at the council/United Utils/Foresry Commission and we’ve got catering.

“Hit The North” will be a 12 hour enduro in July 2008. The course starts at Giant’s Seat, down through the woods and then towards 13 arches. A big loop then a climb and singletrack section in Philips Park. After a big dowhhill there’s a mental gravel weight-over-the-front-wheel-stay off the brakes racetrack section before returning to the camp site where there’s going to be a proper timing text with transponders, ‘puters, the lot.

Andy, Vince and me are aiming at the moment for 500-ish riders – 400 in teams of 4, some pairs and some solo places. Come the autumn, we should be pretty much ready to start the marketing and publicity and the payment/registration will be via the On One website.

He’ll have a stall on the day selling spares and bikes plus there could be a demo fleet for helping them wallets to come out.

The start of the course is an absolute humdinger and is probably the fastest, swoopiest section of woodland singletrack in the area. We might have an issue with hundreds of riders all aiming for the same 3 foot gap in the trees, but we’ll sort that.

Here’s what it looks like today – it’s a truly beautiful stretch of singletrack that can bite if you’re not concentrating…

We’ve arranged and costed full marshalling, showers, bogs and ambulances. The campsite folk (Giant’s Seat) are really enthusiastic. We had a meeting with the commitee last night.
We’ve even booked a DJ who’ll play acid house music for the full 12 hours.

Me and Michael went out earlier to ride the course and he’s giving it the thumbs up…why is it though that he’s got to launch off EVERYTHING? He’s saving me a packet on tyres though, he’ll never wear his out cos he spends most of the ride airborne!

 Apart from that, I’ve been taking it easy recently in prep for the Fred Whitton next weekend (gulp!). Oh, I broke a few square metres of concrete earlier to make way for a lawn, so that’s perhaps not taking it easy but it beats cleaning the oven.  Tomorrow Michael and I will be test flying the new power kite. Come on!