Update from Gaz on team Insomniacs at this years Clic24 charity ride 

Hi,

We got back alive, just.  It rained and rained and rained and rained.  What, last weekend, was a hard, dry, fast dusty trail turned into a 10 mile mud slog.

Freddy's seat-post bust on his first lap but that was our only serious mechanical and, mercifully, we didn’t have one puncture between us.

24 laps was always going to be a challenge in that weather.  In the first 8 hours, until it went dark, we had a go and were nearly an hour up at one point.  When Freddy's seat-post bust he put a Herculean effort in to get back with no saddle and did one of his fastest laps.  It was another story when it went dark though; cold, wet and gloopy and ride-able lines were really hard to find.  In the morning it was tough and by half ten we'd had enough.

Bill changed gear half way through; he rides a singlespeed, you see.  Where the rest of us change gear every 30 seconds or so with a flick of a finger or thumb, Bill changed gear at about 6 o'clock.  "I'm going to change gear", he announced.  Out came the spanners, off came the wheel and 5 minutes later he'd changed from the 16 to the 18.  Maniac.  In fairness, our gears had pretty much packed in by the end so maybe he's on to something.

In the end we managed 22 laps (220 miles) which, given the conditions, we're delighted with.

Many thanks for your support,

Freddy, Latch, Gaz and Bill.