Jenny Copnall at Mountain Mayhem (pic: Joolze Dymond)

Having stayed away from Mountain Mayhem for the past two years, this year I agreed to guest on the mixed category Singletrack-Pipedream team consisting of Robin Seymour, Gareth Montgomerie and James Ouchterlony. In my past three Mayhem experiences I had always been a part of the women’s elite female winning team. Nowadays this category no longer exists meaning that the mixed team option is the only one, unless you are a superhuman elite xc racer and soloist such as Jenn O’Connor or Kate Potter, and I am under no illusions here!

I am sure that many would identify with my love hate relationship with Mountain Mayhem. Let’s face it, the more epic the event the more lasting the memories, the more laughable the recounts and the more sadistic the pleasures. Having spent all week doing long training rides where frequent rainstorms and accompanying sudden drops in temperature were a feature, I was not too hopeful that Mountain Mayhem would be a straightforward affair.

However, having braved the first epic MM at the Eastnor venue I knew the score. I packed the car with all the waterproofs that I own, six sets of kit, three pairs of shoes, wellies, brolley, mud tyres and crud guard, as well as Richard’s (my other half) rather ancient tent. I then made the most of my final evening of being in a warm dry house, having a nice hot shower and sleeping in a comfortable bed. I know, I know, it is only 24 hours of discomfort but, when the rain is hammering on the window and the wind whipping the roof, it feels as though you are off to the gallows.

Driving across the Cotswolds to the venue I passed through some lovely towns and countryside full of people doing Saturday type things such as buying antiques, maybe some plants, taking a stroll with the dog or visiting a nice tea room, things that you’d never really notice or consider unless the prospect of 24 dirty damp exhausting hours without sleep looms. Rueing the fact that I’d once again agreed to this day and night of pain I arrived at the event just as the rain was beginning.

Team plans were well underway, with Alex and Sue having prepared lots of food, a marquee for us to use and a whiteboard with rider order. It was decided that double lappers for the guys was the way to go, with me slotting in every now and again to do a fast single lap. Since my services were not required until 6pm I went off and pitched the tent in the “quiet” zone (in quotes because some tool interpreted quiet to include repeated airings of Snap’s The Power at maximum volume, while the neighbouring family may have found peace inside their caravan but the generator powering their kid’s Playstation meant anything but peace outside).

Meanwhile I had a lie down under the canvas to the music/generator mix. It was difficult to relax though. I was eager to see the course and also to try out my new Gary Fisher Raceday, which had been built up and delivered to my door by Reg the evening before. I also felt greater pressure than in previous years since the female member of a mixed team, however fast, is always the weak link and thus the name of the game is to minimise losses by riding flat out. Our rivals were fast too. Both the Kona and the Extra teams were full of elite or ex elite riders and also had strong women to back them up.

It soon became clear that the double lap plan might not have been the wisest method of attack. Our guys were up there but they were also feeling the effort of keeping up with fresh legs on their second laps. I went out against Jody and spent the first mile or so trying to stick with his pace before a reality check let sense prevail! The course was fun with some good climbs, twisty singletrack and fast descents. My lap went smoothly, the bike felt fantastic and, after just over 40 minutes, I was back, handing the baton over to James.

My second lap did not come until after bedtime, about 11pm. This was a proper pitch-black night lap. I enjoyed myself in the mud, riding on feel and thanking the Raceday for helping me out of a few sticky situations. The course was an ever-changing one in terms of speed, due to the frequent showers. This night lap was fast but slippery. So, after 49 minutes I was done again and off to bed. This was not the restful experience I had in mind. Sure the kids had been put to bed, the genny switched off and Snap given a temporary rest but the rain had returned with a vengeance and, as I nodded off, the gradual realisation that Richard’s tent may not be as reliable as it was in the 80’s crept, or rather seeped, over me.

It wasn’t a complete disaster but a seeping groundsheet did make for a rather cold sleep and also meant that the kit pile for my 6am lap was far from dry. The rain was hammering away, rivers gushing down the field and I eventually could rest no more. At 4.30am I was up getting the crud catcher and Bontrager Mud X’s onto the bike. Since I’d been away our guys had switched to single laps after James suffered through a nighttime double lap of pain. We were down on the Extra guys and our guys looked tired. I had a pretty good third lap but we also knew that our rivals would likely stick to the rules and only put their woman out once more, to complete the minimum of two laps. This put us on the back foot. Robin had also suffered a mechanical disaster but, miraculously, had lost just two minutes in the process.

And so the new day dawned, wet and grim, and our guys soldiered on with their single laps. Robin brought the deficit down to 3 minutes at one point but then it once again grew. By about 11am, barring a mishap on our rival’s part, it was decided that we were not going to pull the leaders back. In view of this I was told to go out again for a fourth lap and our team’s final lap of the event. Waiting and waiting at changeover for Gareth to appear, what was originally deemed a safe lap for me (safe in front of the third placed Kona team) increased in pressure as the minutes passed.

Kona had also run their woman only twice yet this was my fourth outing and I had the prospect of Will Bergfelt chasing me down. Tired and in conditions that resembled drying cement I plugged away with the pressure of losing my team £1500 weighing heavily on my every pedal stroke. I did everything I could to wring more power out of my legs, ran sections that were now so destroyed that there was no ride able line and finally… finally reached the final descent into the finish. Even then, and having never ridden the final lap before, I was confused as to where the finish was, which could have spelled disaster. Fortunately Bergy had apparently blown, leaving me a comfortable margin after all. So second it was for our team after a gruelling 24 hours.

So, well done to the Extra team with whom I am able to share the humour of the fact that I’d been beaten by the very team I’d turned down being a member of a couple of months previously, before being lured back to the event with the second approach by the Pipedream lot. Gardener is clearly more organised than I’d reckoned on! Despite the weather Mountain Mayhem is undoubtedly one of the best mtb events of the year and I am pleased to have been a part of it.

Whether I’ll be back in 2008 is another question, although as the months pass I am sure it will, somewhere in my mind, seem a good idea once again. Now I have a few weeks of hard training in store in preparation for the defence of my National crown but not before a long siesta this afternoon!