Team Geared Up

A personal account of the 10 November, by a wannabe postman.

ANTRIM, NORTHERN IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - The Slaughter involved four ascents, from sea level in Rostrevor, to the summit cairn atop Slieve Martin (485 metres) by four different routes, on a bike, and descending by a different route each time.

Dreamt up by Rostrevor bikers Not The Sunday Run as a fun challenge for TrailBadger.com, the inaugural “Slieve Martin Slaughter” took place on 10 November 2007.

21 eager bikers met at Rostrevor Forester’s Hut to start the route, which involved 2,400 vertical metres of climbing over 46km.

Given the climbing involved and the twisting singletrack on offer, it was a toss-up between a feather-light XC bike or the 46lb Royal Mail lady postman’s bike that I had recently found in a river. Somehow, the latter came up trumps.

Sporting drum brakes that had not taken kindly to their weeks/months in the river, and 3 road gears, none of which were any help on the way up, a further challenge was the big mail-box on the front, which stymied any chance of seeing where the front wheel was going!

To add to my troubles, the old frame developed a hairline fracture after the first descent. By the fourth, although it had grown into a gaping wound, it was acting like the suspension unit I so desperately needed.

Most of my day involved hanging over the front, trying and failing to find a comfortable climbing position, wheeling or carrying the bike up, fending off postman gags, or sitting over the back wheel on the mudguard utterly terrified on the descents.

The one advantage the post-bike had was that wherever it was pointed, its sheer weight and momentum left a rideable trail in its wake as wide as a Land Rover.

Finally, taking nearly 7 hours of fun, thrills and pain, only 7 souls finished, due to a mixture of circumstances. Henry, Gerry, Rick, Enda, Alan, Mark and Rowan are all proud to have become the first ever Slieve Martin Slaughterers!

A big thanks goes to the guys at Not The Sunday Run, for looking after us all day.

See the photos and report at Not The Sunday Run (NTSR)
Visit TrailBadger.com – Mountainbike Trails in Northern Ireland
Visit the Tango & Cash blog for more shenanigans

-Rick-

(Photo Credits: From Not The Sunday Run)