We have just got back from our 2007 planning excursion to Scotland which we started straight after the final round of the Merida Bicycles 100 Marathon-Enduro Series 2006 in Ruthin and here's our update and plans for 2007.
The final Marathon-Enduro at Ruthin
The last event of the 2006 season saw well over 1000 riders heading out onto the four distances the 2006 Ruthin round had to offer. It was yet again a spectacular picture to see everybody ride out through the historic market town and head up into the hills. The weather forecast was promising for the weekend and bar a little rain which literally kicked in when the field started rolling we had perfect riding conditions. Luckily the rain of the day and the rain earlier last week did not affect the course, much which made for an enjoyable yet challenging ride and a great finish of the season.
2006 rolls to an end!
This year was another great year with very varied events at the Merida Bicycle 100 series showing off all the different sides of our sport and we would like to send a big THANK YOU to all our sponsors: Merida Bicycles, High5, USE, Schwalbe, Pedro's, Hayes, EvansCycles.com, Cycle Active, Buff, Minx, PPG, CrankBrothers, Our Scottish Borders, Memory Map, Ergon, Topeak, Salzkammergut Trophy, Exposure Lights, What Mountain Bike, Bikemagic.com, Sugoi, Fizik and the Forestry Commission. Without their help and dedication the 2006 series would not have been possible. But an even bigger THANK YOU goes to all you riders who have been taking part in the events this year. You make the events what they are - great adventures with fantastic atmosphere, fun outdoor weekends with likeminded people.
2006 statistics:
5634 riders took part in the 5 events of the season
388600km (approx.) of riding were covered over the 5 events
10760000meters (approx.) being climbed over the series (roughly 1215 times up Mount Everest from see level)
12300 litres of High5 Energy source being drunk (at service stations)
13520 litres of water being drunk (at service stations)
7800 bananas being taken from the service stations
18000 High5 Gels being consumed
10500 High5 Energy bars
23 chains being replaces at the service stations
8 tyres being replaces out on route with some nice new Schwalbe ones
92 inner tubes being handed out by the marshal quads, the service stations and by John Lloyd out on route
35 derailleurs being replaced by the Merida mechanic team
3 seatposts being fixed or repaired out on course
43 sets of brake blocks / pads being replaced at the service stations
3 complete bikes being swapped for Merida test bikes out on route so that the riders could carry on
Looking ahead to the 2007 season
The 2007 season is quite some time away but our preparations are already in full flow. Merida Bicycles are continuing their support which will allow us to extend our series and the events in 2007. We are currently looking at two new locations - one in Scotland and one in Cumbria which are both part of bigger festivals and again one event in Austria. But we will let you know the details of all the 2007 happenings in one of our future newsletters. Besides the marathons we have also started working on the follow up to the very successful Merida TransWales '06 which we are intending to run in Scotland. We can say at this stage that things are looking very good and that we should be in a position to announce definite dates and further details in the next few weeks.
We will have all our dates available on both our websites www.mtb-marathon.co.uk and www.mtbtransuk.co.uk in the next few weeks.
Pootle 
