Sean Barker Posted July 31, 2016 Report Share Posted July 31, 2016 Anyone got a report on this?I still don't know how it panned out and am really interested to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted August 1, 2016 Report Share Posted August 1, 2016 Saturday 2:20pm (ish) - Sunday 12amMick started his event on the Pinny a little after 2pm on the Saturday with support from Sam Boswell to begin with. The Rourke started strongly, and when Sam left him mid afternoon she said he was going well and looking good.Owen, Red and I arrived later in the evening. After finding Mick's car on the corner of the Prees fish & chip shop we made 'base camp' and got talking to supporters of other riders. A lovely chap informed us that Mick's good form had continued. O and I watched as riders pulled in, already showing the signs of fatigue.Mick pulled in, still on the Pinny, not long after we arrived and stayed in long enough to freshen up and have a small portion of pasta. By this point marshals were pointing riders onto the night circuit, so off he went. Sunday 12am - 6am1 am came around quite quickly, but soon O began to grow tired. While O slept in the car, I waited for Mick to return. Like the rogue he is he stubbornly stuck out and did two laps instead of one before coming in, meaning he came in at a point where fatigue had set in hard and he no longer had an appetite for anything other than sweets and fizzy drinks. The night circuit is a circuit of busy unlit A roads. Lorries and taxis would hit the roundabout by our camp at full pelt, seemingly unaware of the countless cycle event hi vis signs posted everywhere!!! Occasionally the night would be lit with the sound and sight of blues n twos - always worrying when they head off in the same direction as the event riders.Despite an offer made earlier in the evening to relocate the camp for the night course (which Mick declined) suddenly requests were made to stand on random corners with bottles of ... something... anything... were made by our rider. Support crew need to be mind readers - it turns out - and have the patience of saints. Not something listed in the initial job description!Sunrise came in the nick of time and Rourke seemed to find the reserves to just keep going. At each circuit change he was relieved to be riding on some new tarmac - the repetitive nature of the event is something that hadn't occurred to me and was clearly a difficult mental factor for both Mick and other riders to combat.Sunday 7am - 10amEddie and Mavis arrive - and Eddie - like the seasoned pro he is - takes control of the support. Sandwiches, fruit, pork pies and other snacks are unloaded by Eddie and Owen in what is a seemingly limitless black hole in the back of Eddie's car! Eddie is asking us a ton of questions - What has he eaten? When did he eat? Has he slept? What he he drunk? Has he washed? Has he changed his clothes? Has he been the toilet?The questions become increasingly personal - and O and I become certain sleep deprivation has hit us and we're imagining this whole mad thing!Mick comes in to practically a hot bath on the road side (ok it's a washing up bowl, car sponge and hand soap - but the bowl had HOT water in it - which is a vast improvement on conditions experienced by other riders I can tell you!!!). Our chairman takes good care of our rider, making sure he is fed, watered, bathed and ready to start the last and final leg of the 24 hours. Off Mick goes on another round of the night circuit, and Mick Mcclure arrives! 24 hours out of hospital and hobbling around on crutches - but here to support a friend nonetheless. A very welcome sight!!!Eddie and Mavis depart - leaving to wait on the corner where the marshals will make the next circuit change - ensuring that O and I will know as soon Mick heads off on the finishing circuit - allowing us to organise the transfer of both his car and ours to the final HQ.Sunday 10am - 2pm (ish)But, and here's where things get wild - Mick H pulls in after a lap, swears that he simply can't and won't do another circuit and states he will wait until the finishing circuit opens before getting back on his bike. Mick, at this point, looked shaky. He asks O and I to follow him down to the finishing circuit - which is a 20+ mile ride on dual carriageway and A roads. A strategy is developed, we'll pass Mick and pull in at the next layby, wait for him to pass or pull in, and repeat, until we get him safely to the finishing circuit.My phone rings - it's Eddie and Mavis - asking where our rider is. I explain the situation and Mick's request and we're informed that the finishing circuit has just opened up. Mick H gets back on his steed. Mick Mcclure says he'll follow O and I to the HQ, but sticking to our 'pulling in' plan. So, after hastily packing up camp, we set off to support Mick H. My phone rings again, and it's our chairman, waiting an up date and an ETA on our arrival to where he is. 'We're on our way - just passed Mick!' and moments later we're in the same layby.A classic line comes from our chairman at this point. "Drive on to the HQ" says Eddie. "He needs to be bullied now, and he won't listen to you but he'll listen to me. Drive to the HQ, we'll look after him." Music to our sleep deprived ears, O and I drive off, following the sat nav now to the HQ rather than the rider arrows. Mcclure is behind us and all is well - until - ten minutes later - my phone rings again. Two calls, one from Mavis and one from Mick H and It quickly becomes apparent that Mick has gone AWOL - and full blown panic kicks in. He's off course, but we don't know where or how far - all we know is he was not looking great before he left and any detour is frankly dangerous!Fearing the worst, O drops me off at the new HQ with Red and leaves with Mick to find our lost rider. What feel like hours pass before O finally reappears, telling me he had found Mick. He goes off towards the roadside to go and give him some more food and drink. Red's getting restless, I'm exhausted and O is worried. We lack the time and thinking capacity to put together a suitable stopping place for Mick. Again, more minutes that feel like hours pass before Mick rolls down the road, looking completely done in. I yell at O to grab his dad and yell at Mick to get off his bike. We're more than 22 hours in and patience is thin and tempers are fraying. Mick struggles to get off his bike, and has to be carried to the grassy area where we had supplies. A kind spectator donates his folding chair so Mick can sit down, and it's at this point I'm questioning the sanity of the situation and the safety of our rider continuing. Riders are rolling in, some in a worse state than Mick. Many injured from falls off their bike. Too many people riding without helmets for my liking - can't believe how many would ride this endurance event without one. I'm getting ready with the 'I think we need to call it a day Mick' speech, but Eddie is stood in front of us, Mick's bike between us, eyes and hands gesturing that the shell of human being sat beside us should get back on his bike and ride because 'you'll regret it otherwise'. Mick mutters something about agreeing to continue but he won't ride with a helmet on, to which O and I immediately respond that there'll be no riding at all if there's no helmet. Honestly, like petulant kids these endurance athletes!!!Off he rolls, saying he'll drag the 13 mile route out for the final 1 hour and 20 mins. But, Rourke being Rourke he's back before you know it and belting out more miles before completing his 24 hour race.Post-RaceEddie retrieves our valiant rider from the checkpoint and brings him back to the HQ car park. More wounded and exhausted riders rock up - but all seem happy in an odd way - probably happy it's all over! Relief that Mick is safe (and stationary) gives way to making arrangements for getting everyone and everything back home. Reading my report - you may think the whole experience sounds horrendous. And, yes, elements of the event are testing. The worry of riders on the night circuit (despite the many, many bright lights on the bikes), the distress of seeing someone you care about so fatigued and 'out of body', the sleep deprivation, the demands of the rider, etc etc. BUT - watching Mick and others ride solidly for 24 hours, despite the physical tolls, was an inspiring sight to behold. Having ridden a few 10s and 25s the atmosphere between riders and spectators can be odd, but everyone, from the riders, to the support crew, the spectators, marshals and photographers, were in this event together. Everyone looked out for each other, and the sense of coming together was incredible. At one point at around 9am Sunday morning I took Red for a walk and stood on the corner on my own, cheering on riders as they passed. My solitary cries of encouragement were met with smiles and thanks and more. It felt like an honour to cheer these guys on, to watch them do something incredible. Once I had recovered from the long weekend - and more importantly - once Mick had recovered - talk at the Hazlewood household turned to the event. And while Mick has made no commitment to ride it again any time soon, I sense the phrase 'never say never' could be applied! And of course, the curious and competitive side of me wonders how many miles I could ride in 24 hours. I know that Mick's efforts have inspired not just myself but other Saracens who are now questioning how they would ride the event.Finally - the results. The organisers have revised the following results after a number of recording errors occurred. I'm not sure Mick's miles are accurate, I think he did an extra 26 mile circuit which has not been counted - but I can't prove it. Note - anyone that does ride this use a simple computer or something to track your mileage!Results 1 Michael Broadwith Arctic Tacx RT 532.822 Jonathan Shubert Arctic Tacx RT 508.013 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers 507.454 Tim Bayley Arctic Tacx RT 506.685 George Marshall Rapha Cycling Club 498.176 Rimas Grigenas Audax Club Hackney 479.367 Paul Mcgowan Warrington Road Club 477.178 Philip Kelman Deeside Thistle CC 466.769 Robert Bullyment Catford CC 461.3910 Byron Buck Derby Mercury RC 456.3111 Samuel Crossley Dulwich Paragon CC 455.4812 Robert Gray Pedal Power Loughborough V 450.4713 Iain Findlay Otley CC 441.6914 Steven Abraham North Bucks RC 439.4215 Michael Henley Maidenhead & District CC 438.8616 Angus Swanson Stirling Bike Club V 428.2117 David Giles Century RC 425.3118 Jim Williams Weaver Valley CC V 423.6319 Martin Wiggan Seamons CC 421.0320 Mark Gray Derby Mercury R C 420.7521 Lynne Biddulph Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 418.0722 Marcus Blagrove Mersey Tri 410.8123 Emma Richardson Audlem Cycling Club W 407.7824 Julian Rider Swinnerton Cycles Forest Centre 407.4625 Ian Neville Clarence Wheelers CC V 406.6026 David Carpenter All Terrain Cycles 402.4927 David Greenwood Rye & District Wheelers CC V 401.3328 Nigel Briggs South Pennine RC V 398.5329 Gordon Sephton Derby Mercury RC 398.4930 Ben Rathbone Macclesfield Wheelers 398.4331 Roger Squire Fibrax Wrexham RC 397.1432 Dale Sturman West Suffolk Whs & Triathlon Club 394.5633 Steve Ralphs Loughborough Phoenix CC 391.4634 Arthur Green Mersey Roads Club 391.3835 Edgar Reynolds Congleton CC V 386.8936 Paul Revell Barrow Central Wheelers 376.1337 Janet Fairclough St Helens CRC W 374.0238 Hugh Culverhouse Weybridge Wheelers 372.5139 Robert Jones Velo Club Cumbria 371.4540 Ian Brown Houghton CC 367.1741 Nigel Brooks Stirling Bike Club V 362.5242 Diccon Hill Cardiff 100 Miles RCC 362.4243 Jocelyn Chappell Aylesbury CC 358.4144 Trevor Halstead Gainsborough Aegir CC 352.0845 Mike Hazlewood Saracen Road Club V 352.0346 Tony Baker Petersfield Triathlon Club 348.8747 Colin Nicol Angus Bike Chain 346.8648 Jacqueline Hobson Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 345.7849 Edric Hobbs Bike City T3 345.4050 Stephen Balbi Velo Club Godalming & Haslemere 343.5951 Geraint Catherall Anfield BC 338.6552 Dave Pemberton Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V 331.4253 Kenny Cliffe Leicester Forest CC 319.6854 Jim Hopper Derby Mercury R C Tri 313.2355 Cathy Wood Chelmer CC V W 309.7856 Gary Boyd Hub Velo 309.0557 Libby McLaren Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 305.5658 Graham Ellis Huddersfield RC Tri 303.7859 Alex Greenbank Wimbledon Windmilers 292.3960 Matt Simmons Reading CC 278.1461 Rob Waghorn Congleton CC V 272.16Tandems 1 Arnold/Hopkinson CC Desiragear Tandem 486.212 McLean/Leadbetter Stirling Bike Club Tandem 407.563 Tibbett/Tibbett Hereford Wheelers Tandem 366.244 Jurczyk / Berwick West Lothian Cl./Edinburgh RC Tandem 344.85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Barker Posted August 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Absolutely brilliant report Hannah!Mick you are one bad ass animal!Total respect to you and all your support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarashell Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Well done Mick, I couldn't get my brain around a 24 hr. Never mind my legs.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moira Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 God you must be mad but very well done it sounds epic and you looked so fresh today when I saw you. And well done to your support team too as it sounds as things got a bit tense at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 *****NEWSFLASH*****News just in!!!!Mersey Roads have just put up a Facebook post with what they believe are the final results - and 'Mad Man Mick' has gone up i the rankings and mileage!!!Both Mick and I had suspected that he had ridden closer to 380 miles and not the original 352 miles as posted - but with no computer on the bike to track the mileage ad the stubborn old mule refusing to come in on each lap it was difficult to keep track of how many circuits he had done. But this evening our suspicions have been confirmed - and Mick's 'final' mileage is 372.68!!! Here is the latest results list for you to peruse! Well done Rourke!!! 1 Michael Broadwith Arctic Tacx RT 532.822 Jonathan Shubert Arctic Tacx RT 508.013 Victor Chetta Mid Shropshire Wheelers 507.454 Tim Bayley Arctic Tacx RT 506.685 George Marshall Rapha Cycling Club 498.176 Rimas Grigenas Audax Club Hackney 479.367 Paul Mcgowan Warrington Road Club 477.178 Philip Kelman Deeside Thistle CC 466.769 Robert Bullyment Catford CC 461.3910 Byron Buck Derby Mercury RC 456.3111 Samuel Crossley Dulwich Paragon CC 455.4812 Robert Gray Pedal Power Loughborough V 450.4713 Iain Findlay Otley CC 441.6914 Steven Abraham North Bucks RC 439.4215 Michael Henley Maidenhead & District CC 438.8616 Angus Swanson Stirling Bike Club V 428.2117 David Giles Century RC 425.3118 Jim Williams Weaver Valley CC V 423.6319 Martin Wiggan Seamons CC 421.0320 Mark Gray Derby Mercury R C 420.7521 Lynne Biddulph Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 418.0722 Marcus Blagrove Mersey Tri 410.8123 Emma Richardson Audlem Cycling Club W 407.7824 Julian Rider Swinnerton Cycles Forest Centre 407.4625 Ian Neville Clarence Wheelers CC V 406.6026 David Carpenter All Terrain Cycles 402.4927 Dale Sturman West Suffolk Whs & Triathlon Club 401.4828 David Greenwood Rye & District Wheelers CC V 401.3329 Nigel Briggs South Pennine RC V 398.5330 Ben Rathbone Macclesfield Wheelers 398.4331 Roger Squire Fibrax Wrexham RC 397.1432 Steve Ralphs Loughborough Phoenix CC 391.4633 Arthur Green Mersey Roads Club 391.3834 Stephen Balbi Velo Club Godalming & Haslemere 389.4835 Edgar Reynolds Congleton CC V 386.8936 Gordon Sephton Derby Mercury RC 385.8737 Diccon Hill Cardiff 100 Miles RCC 383.0738 Paul Revell Barrow Central Wheelers 376.1339 Janet Fairclough St Helens CRC W 374.0240 Mike Hazlewood Saracen Road Club V 372.6841 Hugh Culverhouse Weybridge Wheelers 372.5142 Robert Jones Velo Club Cumbria 371.4543 Colin Nicol Angus Bike Chain 367.5144 Ian Brown Houghton CC 367.1745 Nigel Brooks Stirling Bike Club V 362.5246 Jocelyn Chappell Aylesbury CC 358.4147 Edric Hobbs Bike City T3 358.0248 Trevor Halstead Gainsborough Aegir CC 352.0849 Tony Baker Petersfield Triathlon Club 348.8750 Jacqueline Hobson Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 345.7851 Cathy Wood Chelmer CC V W 343.0552 Geraint Catherall Anfield BC 338.6553 Dave Pemberton Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V 331.4254 Gary Boyd Hub Velo 321.6755 Kenny Cliffe Leicester Forest CC 319.6856 Jim Hopper Derby Mercury R C Tri 313.2357 Libby McLaren Born to Bike - Bridgtown Cycles V W 305.5658 Graham Ellis Huddersfield RC Tri 303.7859 Alex Greenbank Wimbledon Windmilers 292.3960 Matt Simmons Reading CC 278.1461 Rob Waghorn Congleton CC V 272.16Tandems 1 Arnold/Hopkinson CC Desiragear 486.212 McLean/Leadbetter Stirling Bike Club 407.563 Tibbett/Tibbett Hereford Wheelers 366.244 Jurczyk / Berwick West Lothian Cl./Edinburgh RC 332.23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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