The Wightlink Wight Mountain Cycle Race Team put on some knobbly tires to support the Mountbatten Hospice and test themselves at the Isle of Wight End to End and Back Again mountain bike event on Sunday (1st July).
The annual ride, organised by David Issacs, starts at the top of Culver Down and cuts through the middle of the Island to finish at The Needles Old Battery some 28 miles later, with the option to ride back.
Wight Mountain shop co-owner and sponsor of the cycle race team, Russ Newnham, alongside team rider Adam Holleyman challenged each other to a race with a difference. Russ would be riding an eBike – a bike with an electric motor – and Adam would rely on only his legs for power.
Russ would have a spare battery at the Gatcombe middle check point so he could run it in the most powerful setting, but the motor would be limited to assist only up to 16mph as required by law.
To raise money for the Mountbatten Hospice, Russ and Adam decided to ask people to make a ‘bet’, making a donation to whoever they thought would win. Russ had the most donations and support before race day with over £700 raised between them before the start.
The duo set off head to head at 09:00 from the top of Culver down. Adam made the most of the fast start where Russ’s motor wouldn’t be any help due to the restriction. After the first climb over Brading down and working their way to Knighton, the 2 where neck and neck but as the course flattened out and the speed increased, Adam began to pull away. With a slight tail wind and lots of fast flat sections of the course, Adam began to build his lead. Russ was having to work extra hard to push the heavy bike over 16mph once the motor disengaged.
After a quick refuel – for rider and battery- at the middle checkpoint, the second half of the course was much hillier. Russ could use the motor to power up the sleeper climbs and start to reel Adam back in. On the long climb up the Tennyson trail towards Brighstone, Russ had a disaster – a large split in his tire that was too much for the tire sealant to fix. Loosing valuable time Russ did manage to get going again and continue the chase.
At The Needles Old Battery, Adam came in first completing the 28 mile course in 1 hour 37 minutes and holding an average speed of 17.2mph. Russ was just 10 minutes slower, much of which was down to the puncture.
Both riders had great fun in the challenge and most importantly lots of money was raised by the kind donations. Despite losing the challenge, Russ Newnham was impressed by the eBike saying that even with a puncture, it gave him a chance to race against the fastest time in recent history, over a course that normally he would be happy to just complete.
