The Strathpuffer from a support crew perspective

Dougie's been training for the Strathpuffer 24 hour race which is held in mid winter near Strathpeffer in the north of Scotland ever since he entered at the beginning of July 2018. This is rated in the top 10 endurance mtb races in the world and he entered the solo category which meant a bit of help during the race was more or less essential whether it be help to keep the bike wheels turning, having food read when he passed or merely to offer encouragement throughout the race. Dylan and I offered to be pit crew and while it hardly rates with formula one expertise it is quite important especially for a soloist.We probably weren't the most professional pit crew there as we were fast asleep two times when he came round but  our excuse was it was so cold outside the van, nearly -9C, that sitting waiting for his next visit in the middle of a very long night in a comfy heated van, it was quite difficult to avoid grabbing forty winks!

A break in the journey north near Newtonmore and a Highland Cow made out of metal shakes its head in disbelief  about the conditions that Dougie's going to be racing in.

After arriving at the race venue the next step was to pick a suitable spot on the fire road on the first climb as our pit stop, so this was deemed about as good as it was going to get, all the plum spots had alread been occupied by earlier arrivals

They're off and Dougie is in there somewhere in the 400 odd starters in the different categories, solo, pairs, quads, and u16 school teams made up of 8 riders.

Dougie's first lap completed in glorious sunshine but the temperature remained below freezing throughout the day, the course itself was reckoned to be one of the hardest ever with ice from start to finish a constant hazard.

The final descent before dibbing at the time check at the bottom of the course before the next lap was started.

An essential addition to any pit crew is a good source of external heat and Dylan had brought his trusty fire pit with him as well as what remained of his upgraded house bathroom as fuel!

Some of the racers pits were decorated with flashing fairy lights, ours was pretty basic in comparison!

2.30am, it was going to be a long, long night, daylight wouldn't be till around 8.30 am

Dougie finishes his final lap and I nearly missed it with the camera, numerous crashes, a very sore body but a fantastic achievement, 24 hours of virtually non stop pedalling on a treacherous icy track competing against some of the top endurance bikers in Britain and a few from abroad.

Proudly wearing his Strathpuffer T shirt, (and probably freezing as well now) along side his pit crew  more sensibly dressed in about 10 layers of clothing!! A tremendous result for Dougie, 10th out of 123 solo riders with 19 laps on what was considered to be one of the toughest Puffer races ever, is this the start of an endurance race career? He wouldn't commit to that yesterday but in a few days time......who knows!!!