Team Strudel

The goal for 2012!

2011-10-11T09:37:00.002+01:00

Brighton Big Dog 2011

2011-08-23T14:07:00.000+01:00

Damian Sell, 6th - 6hr solo

I have competed in all 3 Brighton Big dogs! yeah! It's the best event of the year. After last years mud fest this year the sun was out and the trails were perfect. The course has a lot of ups which means you are rewarded with some amazing downs. With the dry conditions it was like a high speed slalom between trees - awesome! Doing it solo is always a pacing game and it becomes a master class of hitting your braking points, holding speed and putting in the smoothest lap possible. I had a proper lean 2 laps in the middle where my body just felt dead, the dappled sun through the trees was acting like a strobe making my head spin. A big dose of liquid and gels and jelly babies seemed to sort me out and my last lap was as quick as my first! Check out the Garmin stats! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/108185271 2,363m of climbing! Thanks to all the organisers - esp Nigel Fosket and Rory Hitchens. Even better than last year!

Are You Touch Enough 6hrs Enduro

2011-07-05T09:08:00.004+01:00

©Guy Swarbrick http://www.flickr.com/photos/swarbrick/

Another year and another AYTE! The course was tweaked a little this year to make it better than ever, good work organiser Si Panter! As usual it lived up to the are you tough enough title! Pic sequence of Damo riding to 7th in the 6hr catagory.

2011-06-30T13:44:00.000+01:00

Erlestoke 12

2011-06-08T09:06:00.000+01:00

WE GOT 2nd!!! Check out Mule adventure page

Mule Bar Strudel At The Evans Cycles Summer Catalogue Shoot

2011-05-11T15:47:00.004+01:00

Mule Bar Strudel rider was busy Shooting for the Summer catalogue for Evans Cycles...
Check out a behind the sceens look at the shoot.....

Look out for the Catalogue in the comming months!

http://blog.evanscycles.com/mountain_biking/26-vs-29ers-catalogue-shoot-behind-the-scenes/

Thetford Forest enduro and Gorrick Spring Series round 3

2011-03-07T12:12:00.003Z

A few races to catch up on. Its been two weekends in a row for me, firstly the Thetford enduro. It was my first time to Thetford forest and as we drove in it looked like a small affair, but as the left hand side of the park came into view it revealed a massive turnout. I opted for the 2hr rather than the 4 hour, a result as the sun was out for much of the race. Not so if you did the 4hr, the heavens opened with some pretty big hail which then settled to heavy rain. The 4 hour finishers looked like they'd been through a mud fest haha. The forest is pretty flat which gave the big powerful riders the advantage and I couldn't hold the pace on the open drag strips, come the single track though and they were holding me up! The course also had a large amount of single track and overtaking was at places impossible. I had a good run and managed 23rd, ok result. I was armed with new MuleBar strudel gels testing out for the first time. Result = perfect top marks, a powerful kick with nice after taste, washed down with a sip of water.

Gorrick Spring series round3.
Really one to forget for me! I had nothing, struggled on the first two laps then proceeded circulating at a snails pace for the last two. I guess this can happen sometimes, maybe a accumulation of tiredness? Over doing the booze over the last few weeks? I don't know! I felt fine before and after but I just couldn't pedal like I know I can! This was a resurrected circuit for Gorrick and it was good tho very stop starty, largely single track and relentless. To be honest its was so relentless its all a blur of action and I can't really single out any section! Maybe because I wasn't right it was all just too hard! Its 2 weeks until the next Gorrick so fingers crossed things will come good again.

2011-01-26T15:55:00.000Z

The Final Round of Brass Monkeys. I managed to have a little motorbike crash on some ice a few weeks ago, I landed on my shoulder and its been giving me jip ever since. My tactic was to hit the nuerofen and take it steady. Of course I totally forgot to bring any and from the off the pace was fast too fast for me to keep up with the leaders. This last round has the most amount of climbing at near 1000ft per lap and yep there did seem to be endless climbs but it was also muddy. After the last 2 rounds where mud tires really weren't necessary I put on some fast rolling dry tires and on arrival the organiser Si Panter said yeah you'll be fine on those. Yeah funny Si, he stitched me up good and proper they were hopeless for much of the course. At the end of the race he simply laughed and said yeah I got a few people with that one - warped sense of humour! Anyway after an hour everything was becoming painful and I could sense my speed starting to slow. The last half an hour I was in a dark place just gritting my teeth till the end. I'd done just enough to get 3rd overall in the series! Phew!

Gorrick Spring Series Round 1

2011-01-17T09:06:00.003Z

Rich Witton rocks it out for Strudel at Sundays Gorrick in Surrey. A respectable 21st in open class, Well done Rich!

Gorrick's classy organisers caravan!

Round 2 Brass monkeys

2010-12-30T14:34:00.003Z

After a Christmas of massive excess I turned up with what felt like a delayed hangover.. the comforting thing tho was I think I wasn't alone! It was cold and the snow melt of the day before made for very soggy ground, top marks again to Si Panter who put together a clever and fun course, with no Somme like moments -phew. My forks are famous for letting in water lately and sure enough after only half a lap they seized up totally. I didn't realise this until I hit a wheel size dip at full pelt, thinking the shock would take it, but instead the wheel dug in and spat me off. Luckily the landing was soft and I was soon back on it with just a sore shoulder. The rest of the race was fun but I couldn't go into full hooligan mode like I could with a working front shock. There was a fantastic drop off and some awesome long flowing downhill single track which you could take at full speed - unexpected fun when you thought it was all going to be a mud fest! I hadn't a clue how I was doing all race but I felt pretty rubbish and tired out by the 2hr mark, I missed the cut off by a few minutes and finished 12th, a relief as a 4th lap would have been a struggle! Full respect to the 4hr riders, after 2hrs the wet and cold was getting in - 4hrs I can't imagine! Pics to come...

Round 1 of the winter Brass Monkeys Enduro series

2010-11-30T14:28:00.005Z

Round 1 of the winter Brass Monkeys Enduro series

Last Sundays freezing temperatures and clear skies made for a surprise mud free Brass monkeys. I even left on the crossmarks that were already on the bike, and it turned out to be the perfect tire choice. I signed up for the 2hr enduro thinking the bitter cold would get the better of me on the 4 hr. But I think it would have been fine, the sun was out, and though weak this time of year, it took the edge off the -1 temperature. The course was so fast! it felt quicker than when I last raced here back in July. The sold out event meant there was 200 odd riders in my catagory and lucky a friendly voice called my name on the front row and made a space for me, phew! It guaranteed me a flying start with no hold ups on the 1st singletrack. The Porridgepot course was SO fun, with constant changing terrain from loose pebbly bits to loamy burms - small drops and technical ascents, it all made fora nice flowing lap. After a couple of laps it was all about holding your speed and concentrating on braking zones and railing your lines. Brill! It was a good chance to properly product test Mule's new gels and I took 4 gels over the 4, 8 mile laps. They kept me cramp free and powered me till the end to perfection - next time a MuleBar just to stop my stomach feeling a bit hollow on the last lap.

After a very slack 3 months i wasn't expecting anything in the way of placing but i was well pleased with 11th. Role on round 2!

http://www.meridabrassmonkeys.com/round2.html

Mules do North Wales for a week

2010-10-23T15:53:00.001+01:00

Climbing Mt Snowdon is unbelievably steep/windy/cold

Proving that Helmets save lives, Bill had a massive head rock interface. The yellow bits are the exposed internal reinforcement cage!!

porridge and cherry bomb gel is a winner I promise!

Stacey gets lift off

Coed Y Brenin, Awesome

Mosquito London/SE Cross League 3

2010-10-04T12:12:00.001+01:00

taking the easy line

...tho I look miserable, I was actually having a great time! The conditions were SO bad it was a masterclass of riding sideways :-)

Mules hit up Eurobike

2010-09-09T21:44:00.002+01:00

Amongst all the shiny new byes and kit look what we found!

GO CROSS

2010-09-02T08:53:00.006+01:00

guest super Strudel Mike Blewitt

late to the start means starting from the back!

Strudels do cross!

2010-09-01T12:36:00.000+01:00

25 August VCL hosted late summer cross at Herne Hill stadium. In proper rain Nick Stacey and I had a go at a bit of cross! I had a cough and felt rubbish, so I gently circulated, mostly out of control! Nick stormed along and got 8th despite being on a mountain bike. After being spoilt on my Scott spark all year this was weird! bumpy and with seriously rubbish brakes! Let hope tonights rerun will be less alien!

Brighton Big Dog

2010-08-17T19:07:00.001+01:00

What a day!! Friday night I arranged to stay over at Nick Staceys so we could get on the road early. By the time met in the pub (standard!) it was already raining hard! The morning was much the same RAIN RAIN RAIN. So instantly, "I don't do rain" was said by me a lot!! but by the time we got to Brighton it was dry, and even more suprisingly, so was the ground. The atmosphere is always good at the Big Dog and straight away I was bumping into people left right and centre. Happy Days! The Mule gang was all there, I was entered pairs with Bill. After the traditional Big Dog delayed start! (only 15 mins) we got under way, I was 1st off and it got down to business immediately! I soon realised I was out of control everywhere, the rooty course was SO slippery. My forks felt hard and too reboundy and my tyres, though only at 35 psi, felt hard and totally gripless. I struggled, only managing to get the power down on straights and uphill sections and ended the lap feeling pretty annoyed I hadn't done some proper setup testing. Soon as I got in I softened fork and took the tires down to more like 20 psi. What a difference! The rain by now was back and back hard, the course was becoming a mud fest, but i was happy, the bike felt good and I knew the race from now on was more about ability to stay upright rather than anything else! A more laid back approach to the race also occured. I noticed that none of us bothered with the transition zone and just stayed chatting out of the rain under the gazebos, only realising it was our turn when team mates appeared! Ha. All the Mule crew were clearing up in their cats and Bill and I chugged away. The course is great at Stammer Park, with cambered tight single track, the wet just made it such a challenge. I fell numerous times just pushing my luck that little bit too much through the ever changing conditions. I put some full muds on after my second lap - it made such a difference, passing pirouetting riders left right and centre. I just managed to get a 4th lap in before the 6 hr cut off and had a great lap despite a couple of falls, the last triggering cramp in my left calf. This seems to be normal for me, to have an off, and get cramp these days! On crossing the line it was straight to the beer tent for a beer :-) The podium was very funny, the Mule crew were up there in pretty much every catorgory. Even prompting the commentator, Rory from Exposure, to ask the whole crowd - hands up here who doesn't ride for MuleBar! There really isn't that many of us, we're just a vocal bunch! ...and as for Bill and I, 6th.

Bontrager 24/12

2010-07-30T16:05:00.001+01:00

This year we had a 12hr mixed team entry the plan being to add Louise from the MuleBar Girls team as our girl. Unfortately something came up and no Louise!! So after a friday of panic organising we managed to find a replacement girl. One major draw back, she had never riden offroad before, but we were out of options so Toria it was. The event looked bigger and better than last year, infortunately so did the clouds... Nick Stacey was our first man out and did a good quick lap despite starting from the middle of the pack. Then it was me and I went out all guns blazing, quickly clocking up some sketchy moments through the first bits of single track I slowly realised it was mega slippery out here. The course then broke onto a tarred climb and I made the mistake of thinking it would be grippy, no it was like ice and the second I hit it I slammed on to my bum and the bike went bouncing off making all sorts of horrid carbon on concrete noises. But no major damage done and I was soon back on it and then settled into taking a bit more care and completed a good long 38min lap. Trev was up next put in a good solid lap, progress was good and we were placed in 2nd. After 6 hours the course was drying nicely and becoming not so lethal, so time to send Toria out. Off she went and straight away it started drizzling.. 1 and half hours went by and no sign of her... something had happened. Trev went out for a discovery lap and found her walking the course, she had fallen and had hurt her knee and was cramping constantly. Trev rightly forced her to abandon and sadly that was our race. To be honest I didn't mind at all, on the course I struggled to get the power down, there was just no grip, it was more a staying upright challenge. The weather just got steadily worse and it would have turned into a slog. Shame, I think I have done so many wet races this year, as soon as it started I lost interest! I did a 38.01 lap and I was chuffed with that. I can't fault the organisation and the great atmosphere,Thanks to Rory from exposure, a great job of commentary and feeding us beer!! Congrats to the 2nd Mule Team (team Donkey Bar!!!) for a good race despite being a pair rather the a team -awesome! Great so see the whole enduro possy - see you at Big dog... can't wait

Strudels go Alp

2010-07-27T10:02:00.001+01:00

Mid season and time for our jolly to the Alpes. YEAEEEEAAAH

Are You Tough Enough

2010-07-19T08:40:00.000+01:00

The rest of the team had the usual poor excuses! so it was just lonesome me racing. Luckily we had a MuleBar stand and Matt from the office picked me up from the station, result!! After a massive amount of banter with the regulars on the enduro circuit it was race time. I had opted for the 2hr rather than the 3 or the 6hr. All my racing this year has been short and sharp xc and knowing the course from previous years I wanted to ride it guns blazing! True enough the course was a slight variation on last years, tight single track with constant direction changes, hard ups and technical downs - love it! and definitely warrants the title Are You Tough Enough! Unfortunately I punctured within the first 10 minutes and that lost me 6 minutes and circulating with the back markers. I managed to claw back to 10th but a shame as if I'd kept the lap times I was doing I worked out I would have been 4th Damn. Are You Tough Enough is a great event, with probably the friendliest atmosphere of any mountain bike event. Thanks Si Panter for putting it all together and creating a knockout course :-)

Devoted Clothing.............

2010-07-04T16:20:00.004+01:00

Devoted clothing have now jumped on board, check them out at

www.devotedclothing.co.uk/

Created in November 2008 in the depths of Kent England, What originaly started out as a BMX only clothing label and dont get us wrong we are still very much BMX, but why not share with everyone else?

In January 2009 the search began to pick up on new talents

We now sponsor bands, skateboarders, Snowboarders , fixed wheel riders, Mountin Bikers and DJ's

Devoted means more than just a name, its what we live for, its something you eat sleep and breathe, If your sport is BMX or Skateboarding it really does not matter as long as you live for that sport and its the most important thing you have (apart from breathing!)

So dont see us as another brand like everyone else see Devoted as a company that loves what you love too.
Jez Armstrong- 2009

OZ Grips

2010-06-18T09:40:00.003+01:00

Woooo we got OZ grips
Usually foam grips are a short lived affair, you are suckered in by saving 50grams and then within a week they go all hard with a shiny crust and slip around the bar every time you grab them. I can report this is not so with OZ grips! we were all skeptical but mine have been on for 2 months and 7 races and they are faultless. They are super comfy, soaking up all the high resonance bumps, have a effective cut flats that surprisingly fit your hand and so far are holding their consistency. They even work in the wet. I'm sold!

World Class High Performance Grips

* traditional length - 125mm

* proven ergonomic hexagonal design

* super light - less than 45 grams for a pair, including bar plugs!

* integrated inner “hand-stop” collar

* ultra tough High Density Foam designed to perform in all conditions

* RRP £9.99 per pair.

* Available in black, white, red and blue

Available from Kam Creative
www.kamcreative.com

Southern XC rnd3 Crow Hill

2010-06-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

New Forest Round of the Southern XC. Nick Stacey 2nd in Sport, Damo 9th Masters

Bristol Bike Fest

2010-06-07T23:33:00.003+01:00

Another weekend another 12hrs enduro!!

This time in the day! Yes its the Bristol Bike Fest.
Arriving at Bristols Ashton Court on friday afternoon we quickly built base camp and donned lycra for a practice lap. Woooooh straight into gnarly single track through tight trees, ruts cambers, rocks, roots, tight bends then immediately on the edge of tire grip through narrow log lined twisty paths, then repeat again and again and again and again. Eventually a loose sharp climb then a bike smashing sharp decent and then massive uphill drag to the finish. Jeeeez! Lap done, 27 minutes at a gentle pace - it was going to be a quick lap then!

Next morning things were soon underway, the start was a bazaar leave your bike in a field, go downhill to the start line, on the gun run to find your bike and go affair. Very chaotic and for 1st man out Coley, hard to find the front of the race and by the first corner we were way back. But it was a 12 hr race so I wasn't overly concerned. I was out 2nd and riding this course at race pace was a total insane blur! there was so many riders in front and SO much narrow single track, traffic was the limiting issue but I managed to pick off 10ish riders. next bill kept up the good work. things were working out well and our lap times were fast, even when Stace picked up a puncture on lap 4 and rode 3 km's on the rim! We were now in 5th.

But then problems! a change over timing mess up cost us 4 mins and soon after Stace took a turn with the migraine from hell!!! Within minutes he was sick and dead on the floor. Ww were a man down! and now back in 8th.

Moral was low but a new rotor was devised and being the awesome team unit that we are, the 3 of us battled on and still rattled out consistent lap times making up 2 places to end up 6th overall.

A tough race, the brutal course took it out of me! I felt absolutely ruined! but LOVED it! A shame we had set backs, a 3rd place should have been within our grasp - gutting but shit happens!

The fest was an interesting race, a great course but too short for the amount of riders. As soon as you passed one rider you were rolling up behind the next! frustrating at times and apologies for any desperate lunge passing maneuvers and riders who simply didn't move out the way i forgive you!

Set To Rise - WINNERS !

2010-05-31T21:37:00.007+01:00

"Treat every lap as your last lap"

"If you can breath you can attack"

We had been talking about and hyping up this race for weeks, our first team event of the year and with a win last year the pressure was on. We kept the same order as always with Nick c starting then Damian,bill and myself going of last. Nick got a solid start on a course we never had a chance to pre ride so this was also our homework for tyre choice and tactics. With the course very wet and rain still falling we all opted to fit mud tyres, this was the right decision as it was pretty muddy and slippery in places. After the second lap Damian came through in 1st place, right where we wanted to be ! We knew there was a long way to go and in enduro racing anything could happen but we never looked backed from there onwards. We opened our lead all night and getting a comfy gap of around 25min's just after the half way point. With our star mechanic (Brian) working all through the night cleaning and servicing all out bikes after every lap we were smashing in some super fast and consistant lap times. Lighting was not a problem, we were all using exposure Maxx D and Diablo combinations which are so bright they allowed our lap times to stay the same through the night ! We kept increasing out lead all night finally finishing over 1 lap ahead.We had a big Team strudel hug and bundle then got smarten up for podium time!

Great racing by all including the Mule "B" Team(Rich,Barry,Harri,Ben & mechanic Paul) who finished an amazing 12th in their first enduro race !

A quick word from my saddle....I was pretty nervous going into the race but after my first lap i knew i would go well. I made sure i ate and drank enough as this can be a huge problem in endurance races and stayed warm between laps. All my recent racing and riding is starting to show, my lap times got faster all night 39:41,39:16,39:03 and my last 38:05 which looks like the 2nd fastest lap of the whole event. On my last lap i went out 3mins behind 2nd place ... i went "ball's out" to catch him and lap them which i did at the top of the long climb. Yet again team spirit was amazing and kept us all going in the darkest hour, every single one of us dug deep and and helped each through the "moments" that come hand in hand with this type of racing.

Bring on Bristol Fest this weekend !

1st place @ Set2Rise - Team Mule Bar Strudel

2010-05-30T06:56:00.000+01:00

Set2Rise - Last Lap!

2010-05-30T04:53:00.000+01:00

Nick S smashes out a 38.01 lap! Damian has just gone out for the last
lap! 40 minutes away from the win!

Set2Rise - 4.30am!

2010-05-30T04:36:00.000+01:00

4.30am! Only 1.5h left!

Set2Rise - Over Half Way! Nick S about to roll out!

2010-05-30T01:26:00.000+01:00

11 laps done! Nick S is about to go out for his 3 lap, 12th in total.
BOOM

Set2Rise - Into the Night!!!

2010-05-29T22:17:00.000+01:00

Into the night at Set2Rise the rain has stoped, but it's muddy as hell
now. The tunes are blaring in the pit zone though!

Set2Rise 12h. Mules come to town!

2010-05-29T19:26:00.000+01:00

Team Mule Bar Strudel and Mule Bar Girls are racing the Set2Rise 12h
race.
6pm to 6am

Southern XC Round 2.

2010-05-24T21:43:00.005+01:00

HOT HOT HOT ! I arrived at Pippingford park for the second round of the Southern xc series with mixed thoughts and feelings. I had a good result last week at the Gorrick and some super fast training rides in the week with Damian & Bill but after a really heavy night out friday i felt totally mashed all day saturday. Anyway not much you can do apart from give it ago!

The start was gridded and as it was my first SXC race i started on the second row next to Damian. Sweating on the start line i over heard other riders talking about the dodgy drops and bomb holes at the start,not what i wanted to hear after deciding not to do a practice lap ! Boom the start was mental i snuck through a gap on the front row and found myself sitting in 2nd, we hit the shaded single track fast and the drop off's which in a group of riders going flat out was sketchy ! On the first long climb i had a little "dig" at the front just to open it up a little and i did as a quick glance over my shoulder confirmed a group of us had a small gap. We flew round the first lap until the final long climb were i let a gap between me and first open, a gap i would never make back. I rode the final two laps on my own pushing hard as i could see the gap to 3rd on the long climb. I made back some time on first finishing 1'20 down. Pretty happy with my result of 2nd and feeling good for next weekend's Set 2 Rise . Damian finished a strong 5th and like myself had really consistent lap times, even after his big night out !!

I also have to say how good the Spark felt, opening up full travel on the hard and bumpy downhills gave me a massive advantage ! i love that bike !

Gorrick XC Spring series round 6

2010-05-19T08:33:00.008+01:00

After my last race, the WET WET WET Gorrick 100, my bike was in proper bad shape. Brake pads had worn through to within half a mill left of the metal backing plate! Both levers pulled to the grips, the bottom bracket went solid overnight and the DT forks were now rigids! I Dived into the bottom bracket, revealing one side of the sealed bearings, to find solid hard mud! So using half a can of GT85 I managed to clean them back to the ceramic bearings and repack them with grease. Basically the bearings were shot but the repack made it roll ok. Saturday came and I had to address the other issues! New pads, a blast to Evans and the front brake seemed to be ok but the back was still bad. Darick the mechanic re-bled it back to perfect again thx Darick! Next was the forks. I needed advise fast and Dom at DT gave me with the vital breakdown of what to do. With some fiddling and a confident hammer hand from Darick we had the forks in bits. A nice mixture of oil and water came out, that'll explain the lack of fork movement then! A massive clean session fresh fork oil and rebuild in reverse DONE! The bike was ready!

Onto the race: this for me was the first proper short sharp xc for me for 2 years! I was nervous but only till the start line and then it was all guns blazing hyper-ventilating by the first corner! I struggled to get a cleat in off the line and within seconds I was pretty near the back. But soon gas'd it past a fair number of riders in fairly 'foot out', out of control fashion! Soon enough the field spread out. The lap turned out to have fair amount of climbing but only one hill warranted a drop into the xx small ring! Fast course! Up ahead I could occasionally get a glimpse of a few riders and the familiar Strudel green of my team mate nick's jersey. I was at my max breathing speed but couldn't rein them in. Pretty soon I was alone pushing as hard as I could and the race became a lonely affair. I was loving it though, concentrating on being as smooth as I could and laying down as much power as possible. And generally aprehiating the xc weapon which is a Scott Spark!

I ended the race in 5th, Team mate Nick Stacey on the podium in 3rd. Even the rain held out till the finish, amazing. Good day out!

Warp speed in Biggin Hill!!!

2010-05-14T23:13:00.003+01:00

Damian and Nick's Sunday Night Freeride !

2010-05-09T21:08:00.002+01:00

Damian and Nick's Sunday Night Freeride !

2010-05-09T20:30:00.002+01:00

1st win of the year for Team Strudel

2010-05-02T16:34:00.001+01:00

We all rocked up at 8am for what was probably going to be a wet ride. Nick S, Bill and Damian opted for the full 7 lap enduro, I decided to go for the 5 lap option which looking back now was a great choice. The 7 lappers were off at 8.30 and then I went off at 9. With the rain starting to fall it was going to be a wet day! I managed to get into the front group and after 1 lap there was just 3 of us! Then halfway through the 2nd I started to loose my rear brake and by the time we came through after 2 laps it had gone! No probs I still have my front! Well that lasted 1 lap and by the time I came round to start my 4 lap I had managed to drop the other 2 riders buy had no brakes! All of the other mule had pulled out for the same reasons. No brakes! So we manage to find 1 set of pads and put them in the rear! Off I went on lap 4 with a rear brake! That lasted all of 3/4 of a lap and so when I came round for my last lap I had no brakes again. Oh well time to man up! I was still in 1st place and managed to run/walk/slide/ride my way around my last lap. Finishing 5 laps in 5 hours 39 minutes (ish).
First win of the year! BOOM.

Team strudel ready to race at the Gorrick 100

2010-05-02T08:42:00.001+01:00

New Grip Sponsor for Team Mule Bar

2010-04-27T23:45:00.000+01:00

Oz Rider grips now sponsor team Mule Bar Strudel. Red team grips will
now be gracing the team bikes.

Check out ozriders.com.au

Mules Nick and Nick meet Emily Batty of Trek world racing.

2010-04-27T21:08:00.001+01:00

Niño Schurter wins Round 1 of the MTB World Cup

2010-04-26T10:21:00.000+01:00

Niño Schurter beats Julian Absoulon (2nd) and Burry Stander (3rd) at
Round 1 of the 2010 MTB World Cup at Dalby.

Here is the winning bike!

Steve James 3rd in Junior World Cup XC at Dalby

2010-04-24T17:39:00.001+01:00

Mule Bar rocking the Press Pass!

2010-04-24T17:38:00.000+01:00

Mule Bar Strudel at the MTB World Cup Dalby

2010-04-24T12:31:00.000+01:00

Muc Off 8 Hour Enduro

2010-04-14T16:55:00.009+01:00

Mule Bar/Hargroves Cycles 1st place mixed team

Team Mule Bar Girls 1st place girls team

Bill Simpson 5th Solo Male

So 2 weeks after finishing the Cape Epic I found myself at Pippingford Manor for the Muc Off 8. With only a couple of 1 hour rides under my belt after the Epic I was feeling ok. So along with the other Strudels, Damian, Nick Stacey and Bill we set up camp with the Mule Bar Girls team and Mixed pair Stu Bowers and Hannah Reynolds.
So with 4 Mules hitting it solo for 8 hours, 1 girls team and a mixed team we covered most categories.

Nick Stacey

Damian Sell

At 9am and after a 200m run to out bikes we set off on our 8 hours of racing round a quite tame and boggy in places course. I managed a good start and after a few laps was mixing it up in the top 5 solo places. However this then went from bad to worse. After 4 laps, a clogged up bike, lack of motivation and breathing issues i pulled out while in 4th place. Not something i have ever done, but my 4 lap shows that my heart rate didn't go higher than 135bpm so off i got. The other Mules though soldiered on with Nick completing 6 laps, Damian 8 and Bill coming home in 5th place in the solo men with 9 laps, only 1 lap behind the winner.
The Mule Bar Girls team stomped home with a win in the womens team cat and Mule Bar/Hargroves Cycles mixed pair of Stu and Hannah winning the mixed Pairs.

Next stop the Gorrick 100 on the 2nd May............ See you there!

Cape Epic 2010 Finishers Certificate

2010-04-07T17:24:00.002+01:00

Just been emailed my finishers Certificate....... Proof of the hard graf...

More Cape Epic Photos.........

2010-03-31T16:44:00.004+01:00

Cape Epic Photos

2010-03-31T13:38:00.005+01:00

Cape Epic 2010

2010-03-31T13:30:00.000+01:00

Well it's now all over and back to reality with a cold wet slap!
Landed back in the UK today and am already missing the sun and heat in
SA.
A massive well done to all the Mule teams.
Mango Tango Mules Pau and Marcel stomping home 18th in the mens cat
and 19th overall with a time of 34:00.55
Summer Pudding Mules Pete and George coming home 35th in the mens cat
and 42nd overall with a time of 37:01.13
The Army Mules Phil and Tony coming home 36th in Master Men cat and
193 overall with a time of 45:37.32
Team Mule Bar/Bike Magic of Ben and Dave came home in 183th in mens
cat and 264 overall with a time of 49:11.04
There were 445 finishing teams in the end with the winners being the
Bulls of Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm rocking home in 29:47.46! What a
time. The last place team came home in 62:51.21!
Then there's the Mule Bar Strudel team! With Damo out I managed to
hang in there and finish as highest Brit individual rider in 17th
place with a time of 43:43.13! In total there were 90 individual
finishers.
Last but by no means least a HUGE thankyou has to go out to the people
that helped us along the way! Without them we would probably all still
be somewhere in wild of South Africa! Jimmy - Mr MuleBar! Thankyou for
everything you did to get is there and in getting us to Lourensford!
The endless Coffee and pep talks to keep us going. Simon, you seemed
to always be there with water and ran around doing anything to make
our life easier. Warren - you may have inflicted pain at times with
the massage but boy did it help and keep us going. And finally Ruldof
- thankyou for your hospitality, organising transport, places to stay,
dinner and really keeping us all on check and in the right place.
Thank you all for everything you did. You all made it possible.

Table Mountain - Wow

2010-03-28T17:59:00.001+01:00

Mules all head out to dinner for Cape Epic fall out! What a view!

Cape Epic Stage 8 - The last one!

2010-03-28T17:56:00.000+01:00

So this was it! The final one. The last push! What seemed like a short
65km was surely going to be a walk in the park! Hell no. Like all the
other days I was at the back with over 1000 riders in front of me!
However this time we all went off together! Great I could lay the
smack down! Ha ha.
So with a lie in and a 8.30 start we pulled away and started the final
stage. This was almost the same as last year but there was a different
climb this year! With rumors of it being a killer you had to expect
the worse. The climbs at the start were steady and quite smooth so I
managed to get into a rythem and pick of riders. Then after about 40
minutes I had the Mule Bar/Bike Magic team in my sights! I was in a
good rythem and thought 'way do I have to loose' I passed ten and the
Army Mules and kranked it on. The climbs seemed easier today, maybe my
legs were letting me off as they knew it was the last push! All the
while I was waiting for the hell to start, and boy did it. A rugged
jeep track took us around this one peak and up to over 900m to water
point 1. This was uneven, hard to get a rythem and quite technical.
Then finally at The top we decended down a even rockier trail. Que the
cramps and turning gutts! Great. Then came the compulsory portage
section. You had to walk this section as it is a national heritage
site where they use to drag the carts over the pass. So down we went
and when we got to the railway line you could ride again. Then it was
hammer time! All the time trying to remember the route and I was sure
there was another climb. Boom there it is. Now at this point in the
race everyone is going nutts and it seems that everyone has lost the
ability to ride! So up again we went and then head down and power up
to the finish! I was alone and gave it one last push! Finish strong!
The last 5km were fast so it was all out to the finish! Finally I had
arrived in Lourensford and completed the race! 722km, over 14000m of
climbing, way past 25000 calories. Such relif but a real shame Damo
wasn't there too! Next year hey!

Finishers Picknick Basket at the Cape Epic

2010-03-28T12:28:00.000+01:00

Cape Epic 2010 - Done!

2010-03-28T12:25:00.000+01:00

Cape Epic Stage 7 - Rain and Wind

2010-03-27T16:20:00.001Z

We woke on the morning of stage 7 to howling winds and rain! Great,
this is meant to be Africa not England!
After yet another night spent running to the toilet, I managed to eat
a small breakfast and feel ok. Now at this point 'ok' means I don't
have to spend my time running to the loo every 30 seconds and I can
actually eat! Standards have dropped massivey!
So as usual I rocked of at the back, 20 minutes atfer the Mule Bar/
Bike Magic and Army Mules. Now you may thing that riding on your own
is fine but in this race it sucks. Mentally and physically you are
alone! So as per u set of on the 99km stage which was due to have
2100m of climbing. Now add 1 crappy feeling Nick, howling winds,
cooler temps and some light rain! This is gonna be hard! Rolling
through the vinyards you are either climbing or decending! Then soon
on I ran into the Bike Magic Mules. Sweet some people to ride with. We
decended into the next valley and then round the district roads in to
mental head winds. Then the megga climb started. Into a world if pain
I entered. Trying to keep a rythem with a cramping tummy, painfully
back and butts that could explode at any point. Added to the fact that
I had eaten nothing since breakfast I was well past empty! Time to
digg deep. This 7k climb snaked up the hill and gave us horrid head
winds in the process. At the top 1200m had be done and 50km with it, a
toilet break was required and an attempt to eat something! 4 rice
cakes down we were off again. Following the other side of the mountain
we cruzed on. Ben started to crank it up and we finally hit some
singletrack! Rocky and open at the top then swoopy into the trees. The
3 riders from the UK owned the trails and we picked of riders left
right and centre. But then it got a whole lot worse. After waterpoint
3 the legs were shot, back almost the same, gutts in pieces and
mentally I was done. We pushed on with the last 20km. Doesn't sound
long but when your beyond broken it's way too long. Wide open single
track through fields with mental winds, short sharp climbs and a pair
of legs with the strength of a 3 year old child! Ben dropped off and
finally coming into the last bit of singletrack there were cameras
going off everywhere! This may have been some of the best singletrack
but all I wanted was to get off my bike. Finally rolled into the arena
and I was done. Just over 6 hours and I was a broken man. Almost fell
asleep in the que for the showere and unable to talk says it all! Hard
doesn't even come close! If you think you've felt crap on a bike
before. You've felt nothing yet!

Mules Chilling out in the Freeride Tent

2010-03-26T16:00:00.000Z

Cape Epic Stage 5 - The Big one!

2010-03-26T15:00:00.000Z

Today was billed as the hard day. Over 2000m of climbing over 120km,
and no climbing in the first 40km!
So as per the last 3 days I was at the back of the pack and went out
at 7.30. The leaders went out at 7. Mule Bar/Bike Magic and the Army
Mules went out at 7.10 then me 20 mins later! Bit of catching up to do!
There was a 7km neutral start as the police lead each group out,
however there was nothing neutral about my start. Average of 40kph for
the first 7 and then it was a case of following some fast people on
the rolling fire roads and being swept along. We passed loads of
riders and by the first waterstop I was with the Bike Magic Mules.
Great now I wasn't on my own. We climbed together up the big climb to
the telephone mast then down the other side and then tucked in beging
Dave Arthur as he motored along the flat sections. I rode with those
guys til the 2nd waterpoint. Then rolled out just in front of them
asuming they would catch up. The route then climbed a bit on the road
and then dropped into a secluded valley which was amazing! In the
middle of nowhere and all slightley down hill. The I bumped into the
Army Mules and rode with them for a bit. Up the mega climb to
waterpoint 3 and then the slow slog to the top of the climb over rocks
and sand on terrain the looked like the moon! All burnt out and in the
middle of nowhere! At the top though the fun then began 20km left and
loads of singletrack! Bosh with a caffeine gel and into the big ring!
Hammer time! The singletrack was wicked and the hardest part was
passing people. I'd long left the Army Mules and rocked into Oak
Valley in 6 hours 18 mins! Hurts were still dodgy but I managed to eat
and finished feeling good. Job done. Now time for a glass of the local
Red!

Cape Epic Stage 5 - 27km time trial!

2010-03-25T11:21:00.000Z

Being an individual rider you are put at the back, which today meant
going of first! A 7.41am start time was great. I would hopefully be
done by 9.41 at the latest. That would result in a chill out day
after. After starting on the start ramp (proper time trial stylee) I
decided to take it easy as I was still not 100% but feeling better. As
I started to ride round I had a lot of fun. The course was great fun.
Nice climbs and fun decents! Some wicked single track decents and a
great run intothe finish. It was a great course winding over
undulating hills at the base of a huge mountain range, amazing! I
manages to rock round in 1hr 29, whic for a while was the second
faster time. But that soon changed. The spanish mules rocked home in
1hr 13, good for top 10! Sauser and Stander stompped home in 1hr 5!
Mental! The Mule Bar/Bike Magic team came home in 1hr 39 so all in all
a good fun day had! Now tim to chill out before the mega day tomorrow!
129km and 2235m of climbing! GNS

Spanish Mules!

2010-03-25T09:29:00.000Z

The Spanish Mules roll out hit the 27km time trial. Currently in 18th
overall! Mental.

Time Trial kit!

2010-03-25T09:25:00.000Z

Mule Bar/Bike Magic Mule Ben rocking the strudel overshoes!

Cape Epic Stage 4 - Damage Limitation

2010-03-24T15:24:00.000Z

Stage 4 rolled out at 7.30am and being an individual rider I was at
the back again. Feeling rough from last as I had been to-ing and fro-
ing to the toilet! Today was going to be an easy day and one to be
taken very slowly, just wanting to get round really! So after a 10km
road decent to start with I was feeling ok and determined to get round
the 86km stage. Then my guts started to feel bad and I was really
struggling to eat. After waterpoint 1 I went to the toilet and felt
better! Then in halfway to waterpoint 2 I started to struggle and lost
a water bottle! Not Good. So I plodded on to waterpoint 2 and boy did
it drag on. Now I've been to some bad places physically and mentally
on a bike but today was a new world of suffering. Tummy cramps and
needing the loo, nit being able to eat and having no drink. Grovel
time! I finally made it to waterpoint 2 and ran for water followed by
the loo! Then I got another bottle and bumped into the Army Mules and
they were in the same boat as me! Hell! So we all rode off. It was
great to ride with people, and I started to feel a bit better. I
managed to have 1 gel all day and get home! It was a grim day and
again the Army Mules saved my ass! Then off to the medical tent. Blood
tests ok, but a resting pulse of double eat it normally is signposted
to de-hydration! Time to recover!
4 days left now!

Mono-Mule gets some Army help!

2010-03-23T14:49:00.000Z

Nice and easy was the way today was men to go! Shame it didn't work
out like that! So as we were about to set off I needed to fine out
which group I was going to go out with! Seeing as I was riding on my
own as Damo was still feeling crap I didn't have an overall team
ranking. So I asked someone and they pointed me right to the back!
Great! 560 riders and I was stone last! Mule Bar/Bike Magic were in
group E 10 minutes before me and 15 behind the first group. So as we
rolled out I set off to catch up with the Bike Magic Mules. After 45
minutes I caught up with them on the first climb of the day. We rode
together for around 1 hour up to the first water point! Then I was on
my own. Determined to take it easy I plodded along trying to save some
energy for what was ment to come! Jeep tracks and fire roads made it
quick and at one point tucked in behind these 2 South Africans we hit
70kph! Then it seemed to do down for ages! Fun fun. I then caught up
with the Army Mules! Great some one to ride with. And thank god I did
find them, otherwise I would still be out there! At waterpoint 3 a
camera crew were filming the Army Mules and as we set off a quad bike
came flying past with camera man on board! Then Phill (one of the Army
Mules) put the hammer down. With me and Tony hanging on for dear life,
we all hammered on. Well we couldn't get dropped with the camera
filming could we! Then it was damage limitation and with the heat
hitting 39 today it was a hard last 10km. That turned out to be
through a sand pit! We finally crossed the line in 6 hours 30 mins
over 117km, and big big thanks to the Army Mules for helping me home!
Smoked!

Stop Press! Mule beats ex-world champ!

2010-03-22T18:13:00.000Z

GNS

Dinner for 4 please! Mule styleeeee

2010-03-22T15:57:00.000Z

Jimmy, Rudolf, Simon and Wayne eat out at the Epic!

Cape Epic Stage 2! Return Of The Blue Legs

2010-03-22T14:57:00.000Z

What a day! After stage 1, stage 2 was ment to be one of the best
stages with over 70 of the 92km covered as single track! Wicked! Shame
the blue legs came back from last year! However that wasn't the only
problem! When we woke at 5am it came to my attention that through the
night Damian had gotten up and proceded to colapse on the way to the
toilet. 2 randoms helped him to the medic tent where he was put on a
drip! All the tome while I was asleep! Oh dear. After still feeling
crap and forcing down some breakfast Damian gave the stage a go.
Respect! We were due to go off with the first group! As a result of
our strong finished on stage 1. That however was never going to happen
so we went off with the Mule Bar/Bike Magic team in group E at 45
minutes after our group. However after 10pm Damian was done! Like a
trooper Damian made it to water point 2 and call it a day! Wise move
as what came after that was mental! After being dropped by the Mule
Bar/Bike Magic pair I proceded to hammer on the pedals to catch up,
which I did by water point 2 at 38km. Then after that I thought "why
not see how hard you can go on your own Nick" so after chewing on the
bars through some of the best single track I've ridden and through
heat in excess of 43 degrees I made it back in 6 hours 5 mins which
would have put me in 105th. After starting 45 mins behind the top 100!
I was smashed to pieces and through it all my blue legs from last year
had come back again!

Ride of the day goes to Damian. The face he even got on the bike was
hardcore! Hopefully he will be ok tomorrow. He is feeling better and
has a bit of a smile on his face! Respect!

Stage 1 of the Cape Epic.......

2010-03-21T16:18:00.000Z

The first stage of the 2010 Cape Epic is over and what a slap round
the face it was! Team Mule Bar Strudel rocked home in 69th place!
Complete broken!
After a fast start, everyone was going nutts with excitment, then
after the first big climb which finished on a road pass through the
mountains and water stop 1, there was a super fast road decent!
Topping out at 58kph and no more gears it was fun to say the least!
Then a flat section took us to waterpoint 2. Wow this is a breeze!
50km done and then the oven door was opened! Up to now it had been
cloudy, so when the cloud cleared and the climbing started, so did the
pain! A mega long climb and some rocky decending started to wear us
down. But the worst was yet to come! The final 7km was on a disused
railway line! This has to be the longest and most gruling 7km ever!
Iron sleepers and rocks the size of your fist mixed in with the sun
meant I was chewing on the bars! Then when that was over I was a
broken man. Almost coming to a standstill I pushed on with damo
pulling away with ease! The last 3km on smooth Tarmac were heaven and
when I saw the 1km to go I could have kissed it! Stage 1 over. Both
riders smashed to pieces, shower and massage, now food! Super pleased
with 69th in the mens cat! Only 7 more days to go!

Ready To Rock And Roll At The Cape Epic

2010-03-20T20:19:00.000Z

Bags are packed!

Rider Briefing At The Cape Epic

2010-03-20T13:36:00.000Z

Last Minute Prep........ Chamois Cream

2010-03-20T09:11:00.000Z

Some new wave chamois cream the the Mules are running. Otherwise known
as udder cream! Hopefully it should be a smooth ride to Lourensford....

Team Mule Bar/Bike Magic

2010-03-19T05:59:00.000Z

Team Mule Bar/Bike Magic set off for the press ride on Robben Island

Cape Epic Set Up

2010-03-19T05:10:00.000Z

A super early 6am start so we can get to the waterfront in Cape Town
to help with set up for the signing on for the Epic.

Mules Chilling Out Up Table Mountain

2010-03-18T12:41:00.000Z

Landed in Cape Town this morning and have managed to squeeze in some
breakfast. Then a trip up table mountain while it's hot hot hot. Then
when it cools down it's time to build the bike and go out for a quick
spin...

Touch Down in Cape Town!

2010-03-18T07:03:00.000Z

7am local time and the last Mule has touched down in Cape Town.
Breakfast time!

New Team Strudel Kit

2010-03-15T23:03:00.000Z

The new Mule Bar team strudel kit has arrived just in time for the
Cape Epic. With all teams traveling out within the next 48 hours it
was a close thing.

First Race Of The Year

2010-03-10T22:44:00.001Z

So Sunday was the first race of the year for 2 Strudels. They both got out their new bikes and made their way to Crowthorne for Round 2 for the Gorrick spring series. Nick Stacey rocking the sport catagory and me in the big boys race (expert/elite). After a quick spin round the course we knew it was going to be fast! There were some fun sections where the course corkscrewed inbetween trees and some fast flowing singletrack. Not to mention a fast start on a wide fire road and a couple of fire road drags. Classic Gorrrick course. The start in my race was bonkers fast. Head down and balls to the floor. Within seconds I was redlining and breathing in a way only people who race know! Hard! After 19 minutes lap 1 was over! 4 more to go and ot took 2 laps for the 2.9 ltr diesel engine to kick in! Soon to be upgraded to a 3.0 ltr.....! After settling down I clawed back some places over lap 3 and 4 and managed to come round in 16th place after 5 laps. Seeing as training has been focused on the Epic I'm pleased with that! Mr Stacey managed to crack the top 10 coming in, in 9th place! Top 5 next round please Nick!

Maiden Voyage On The New Team Spark

2010-03-04T21:56:00.000Z

So today I managed to squeeze in an hour lunch time MTB ride. Seeing
as I'd already done my training for the day an easy cruz was on the
cards! Bring out the new pony!
Now I've already ridden a spark all last season so I was aware of how
well it rides, but mix that with a BB30 bottom bracket and a Sram XX
groupset and you've got a whole new world of fun! This bike is truly
amazing. The first real test however comes in Sunday! All 4 strudels
will be racing the Gorrick at Crowthorne! Come and race.....

A Quick Check on the Weather

2010-02-23T15:42:00.002Z

So while training here in the UK is character building. Battling the mud, rain, sleet, snow, wind, ice., there is something to look forward to……………………

The hot, dry, sunny, dusty conditions in South Africa that await us and the Cape Epic!

Here is the motivation to get out and train………. Come on Damo, lets ride!!

Cape Epic training

2010-02-20T22:39:00.000Z

Training for the cape epic is still going well, even if it's a muddy
slog. Two of the Mule Bar teams set out today for a training ride over
the surry hills. It may have been sunny, but it was a mud big. Bring
on the sand and dust of SA.

Team Mule Bar bikes have landed!

2010-02-13T22:23:00.003Z

Brass Monkeys enduro 31 Jan 2010

2010-02-04T08:44:00.001Z

flr_V5N2161, originally uploaded by thisview.

flr_R0015639

2010-01-26T13:56:00.005Z

flr_R0015639, originally uploaded by thisview.

2 sunny days in Afan .. 5600ft climbing .. done ... happy .. tired

2010-01-26T13:55:00.002Z

flr_title_R0015690, originally uploaded by thisview.

Core Bike Rollapaluza

2010-01-26T13:33:00.000Z

Scott Spark RC's for 2010

2010-01-20T23:43:00.000Z

Cape Epic 2009

2010-01-19T18:30:00.000Z

Its that time of year when the Cape Epic is on our minds again.

2010-01-16T16:10:00.005Z

Date Event Where

Calendar 2010

2010-01-16T15:29:00.000Z

Snow fun

2010-01-14T09:22:00.001Z

flr_R0015488, originally uploaded by thisview.

2010-01-13T15:32:00.000Z

2010 TEAM

2010-01-01T14:59:00.001Z

Nick Coley

Nick Stacey

Bill Simpson

Damian Sell