Relentless24

This my fantastic Son, and his friend, Jack, who did the mountain bike ride 'Relentless24' for Macmillan nurses. The final amount donated is £950 The following account was written by Nicki, our DIL

Some of you will know sadly my beloved Father-in-Laws currently undergoing a very long period of chemotherapy. He really is my number one hero, I often find myself complaining about a lack of sleep with kids waking me, or too much to do and just remind myself what he is going through so bravely (indeed has been for the last four months)!A couple of weeks ago, my husband Ian, and his good pal Jack decided to take part in the Relentless24 endurance mountain bike race in Fort William. They rode in aid of Macmillan Cancer Care, in support of all the good work they do for Dad and others. The race climbed up into the Ben Nevis Range of mountains, and took in part of the World Mountain Bike Championships course, taking turns to ride laps as a team of two, staying in the saddle for as much of the 24hrs as possible - midday Saturday to lunchtime Sunday. This was their first ever big race, and some challenge for weekend riders!The race started well, a little cloudy but still dry. The lads had a bit of a shock that the lap lengths has been altered from the expected 7 1/2 miles, to 10 1/2 miles, taking in a section of quarry (apparently quite surreal riding between parked quarry machinery). Unfortunately Jack had a freak accident on his first lap, his chain snapped in a twisty single track section. It got tangled in the wheel and threw him over the handlebars, giving him a nasty cut on the chin which was bordering on needing stitches. After loosing a lot of time having to walk a couple of miles pushing the bike, another competitor, who was carrying tools, stopped to help him bodge a repair and get moving againAll was well for a few laps more, but as they rode into the evening the conditions got progressively worse. The ground was getting really soft and churned due to heavy rainfall in previous days, and getting bogged down was sapping all the energy from their legs. Late at night Ian got stuck in thick mud an an uphill section and bruised his leg and knee badly on a rock (although I have to say he was rather more upset at scratching his new bike!). Both guys decided for safetys sake to take a few hours kip through the darkest part of the night, and obviously some 6th sense prevailed as the heavens opened and some full on rain soaked tents and riders alike for 3-4 hours. A few teams even left the event.At first light Jack went out again, and the sleep had really done its work in refreshing the guys, they started producing their fastest laps of the race. Jack came in off his final lap just before 12 noon, sadly not leaving Ian enough time to get round his last lap.All in all, even hampered by accidents and bad conditions, the guys managed around 100 miles in the race period, no mean feat! Sadly they came 4th from last in the pairs category, but they were mightly pleased not to come last considering the first class standard of entrants!All in all they jointly raised £950 for Macmillan (plus gift aid supplement of over £100). So one huge big fat cheer for Ian and Jack for a HUGE achievement and a huge thank you to everyone who kindly sponsored them!You can click here for a short video of the event (sadly the guys didn't get caught much on camera, but if you pause at 9:13 you'll see the a second or so of Ian outside the camper van).I''l leave you with a a tiny selection of the hideously smelly and absolutely filthyAll was well for a few laps more, but as they rode into the evening the conditions got progressively worse. The ground was getting really soft and churned due to heavy rainfall in previous days, and getting bogged down was sapping all the energy from their legs. Late at night Ian got stuck in thick mud an an uphill section and bruised his leg and knee badly on a rock (although I have to say he was rather more upset at scratching his new bike!). Both guys decided for safetys sake to take a few hours kip through the darkest part of the night, and obviously some 6th sense prevailed as the heavens opened and some full on rain soaked tents and riders alike for 3-4 hours. A few teams even left the event.At first light Jack went out again, and the sleep had really done its work in refreshing the guys, they started producing their fastest laps of the race. Jack came in off his final lap just before 12 noon, sadly not leaving Ian enough time to get round his last lap.All in all, even hampered by accidents and bad conditions, the guys managed around 100 miles in the race period, no mean feat! Sadly they came 4th from last in the pairs category, but they were mightly pleased not to come last considering the first class standard of entrants!All in all they jointly raised £950 for Macmillan (plus gift aid supplement of over £100). So one huge big fat cheer for Ian and Jack for a HUGE achievement and a huge thank you to everyone who kindly sponsored them!You can click here for a short video of the event (sadly the guys didn't get caught much on camera, but if you pause at 9:13 you'll see the a second or so of Ian outside the camper van).I''l leave you with a a tiny selection of the hideously smelly and absolutely filthy

Nicki wrote this and I thank her and them from the bottom of my heart, as Macmillan have been such support to us