Move your mind

So say the marketing men (and women, one assumes) of Saab, the Swedish aerospace-oriented car manufacturers.

Saab sponsor an aerobatic helicopter display at Mountain Mayhem to reinforce their link with military aeronautic boys' toys.

However, on the weekend of the 23rd/25th June, it wasn't so much my mind I needed to move (it's relatively light-weight) as the rest of my body as I entered the Saab Salomon 24 hour Mountain Mayhem event. Imagine the Le Mans 24 hour sports car race but with mountain bikes. Team members typically rotate laps of the 7.5 mile course and someone must be on the course at all times. A lap takes about 45 minutes. Most riders will have to complete at least 2 laps in darkness. Many teams elect to double up night laps (each rider does two laps before rotating) so that resting team mates can get at least a couple of hours sleep.

Our team came in a creditable 92nd out of 245 teams in the Sport Men category; completing 31 laps between the 4 of us.

Me putting the power down and looking fresh on lap 2 of 8 at Mountain Mayhem. The night laps lie ahead! This boy's toy has it's wheels firmly on the ground!