The Robyn Seymour End Of Season Week 4th – 11th October 2006

Robin Seymour of the Endura/Voodoo/Singletrack Racing Team is joining us in Spain this October to host an end of season week with International BIKES 51.

Robin is a seasoned professional who has recently won his 14th Irish XC MTB Champs. He is part of the National Irish coaching team and has ridden at UCI World Cup Level for Ireland.

The week is open to all abilities and will include evening Q&A sessions with Robin as well as skills sessions, help with winter training and, for those who want it, a review of the your own season with tips and pointers on how to improve for 2007. It’s a great opportunity to learn from a top pro rider in a spectacular setting with some awesome riding.

Included in the price for this week is the entry fee into the local 100km Enduro which literally starts and finishes minutes from the hotel gates.

The hotel base will be the Hotel Ciudad Del Cine and the price of £375 will include

• half board accommodation
• access to an experienced professional mountain biker
• all transfers
• FREE entry into the local 100km Coín Enduro
• a week of expert guiding
• awesome riding in spectacular Andalucia
• bike storage
• discounted prices from the Nico’s Bike Shop
• FREE Torq energy bars and drinks
• option to hire bikes

Places are limited to 20 so get yourself booked up for a fantastic week of riding
Full itinerary will be available here soon.

International BIKES 51 at Mountain Mayhem

The 2006 SAAB SALOMON MOUNTAIN MAYHEM weekend of 23rd - 25th June, promises to once again be the event to attend for all MTB fans. As usual Pat Adams and his team have put together a world class MTB festival, with a new course and a little something for everyone including the kids with Mini Mayhem.

International BIKES 51 Trade Stand

We will be there from Thursday onwards setting up our trade stand in the main arena and soaking up the unique SSMM atmosphere, so come on over and say hello, have a few Spanish olives and catch up on news from the Giant International 24 Hour Race planned for March and what you can expect when you join us for an awesome MTB holiday with us.

If you are riding SSMM this year you have the opportunity to win a FREE pairs team for next years Giant Internacional 24 horas de MTB held in Southern Spain. Your team captain has been sent the details with the rule book so have a word with them if want to enter the prize draw. All you need to do is fill in your details on our flier and bring it over to the International Bikes 51 trade stand on Friday or Saturday to be included in the draw which will take place on Saturday night. Best of luck!

FREE Bottle Of Spanish Wine

If your rode the inaugural ‘GIANT Internacional 24 Horas De MTB’ in Spain this March, you are in for a treat. If you come over to our trade stand at any time during the weekend wearing your blue Spanish race t-shirt you will receive a FREE bottle of Spanish wine as a thank you from Pat Adams and I for supporting the event.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT SSMM 2006 OFFER

We are offering a massive 15% discount off ALL our MTB holidays and training weeks booked at the event.

Spanish Team at SSMM

We are bringing over a Spanish team from Club Ciclismo Coín to sample this awesome race weekend. If you see them on the course give them a cheer, ‘vamos’ or ‘venga’ should do the job.

In association withIberica España

MOUNTAIN MAYHEM SURVIVAL COURSE 2006
DATE: 7th June to 14th June

Entering Mountain Mayhem is a bit like getting married in Vegas, it always seems like a great idea at the time and then reality sets in! For the uninitiated it 's a great adventure and for those of us who should know better and even vowed 'never again' last year, we just can't stay away.

MOUNTAIN MAYHEM is the biggest 24 hour MTB event in the UK, and to help riders to prepare for the unique set of challengers the race presents, we are running a SURVIVAL COURSE from 7th to the 14th June from our base in Southern Spain.

THE CHALLENGE OF MOUNTAIN MAYHEM 2006
This year, Mountain Mayhem takes place over the weekend of 23rd to 25th June and will be BIGGER and BETTER than ever. It's a fantastic weekend, a true celebration of mountain biking in the UK - it's simple attraction is the coming together of thousands of like minded people of all abilities from all walks of life to take part in an extreme mountain biking event. Some ride to win but most ride for the sheer challenge and sense of personal achievement of finishing the race!...not forgetting the FUN element as well!!!

That's where the Mountain Mayhem Survival Course comes in! Like Mountain Mayhem itself, the week is for riders of ALL abilities and ages. There will be 5 days of guided riding on the local singletrack, night rides
to test out you and your lights, as well as survival pointers and the chance to a week having FUN riding
in the sunshine of course

BRING YOUR LIGHTS!
As part of the package we will be off out for some night riding on the local trails and, as we host the
Giant Internacional 24 Horas De MTB race every March, there is a 24 hour circuit to have a blast on.
There will be 2 night rides scheduled during the week.

NATIONAL POINTS XC SERIES PREPARATION WEEKDATE:
19th to 26th April 2006
With the first NPS event looming, we are running a preparation week offering riders a week away from everyday distractions to concentrate on putting the final touches to their race preparation. And what could be better than an actual xc race on foreign soil to wet the appetite.

All Abilities Welcome
This week will be run in a different way to previous training weeks with more time spent on speed and strength riding moving away from volume building rides. All abilities will be able to attend and the week is suitable for both men and women.

FREE ENTRY: VIII CIRCUITO PROVINCIAL DE MTB 2006 - COIN
Included in the price is FREE race entry into a local xc race. We will be based 5 minutes from the course and the week will include course practise and time to look at the more technical sections. It's a fantastic course and will be used as part of the Spanish National Series later in the year.

Prices
The price of the week is: £325
BC License Holders: £293

A discount of 10% apply if you are British Cycling license holder

Please contact us for more details, a full itinerary will be available closer to the week but the xc race will take place on Sunday 23rd April.

A full itinerary will be made available before departure.

You can contact us at:
graham.bikes@gmail.com

BARRIE CLARKE AND SUE THOMAS MTB TRAINING CAMP 2006

BARRIE CLARKE and SUE THOMAS will be leading a mountain bike training camp for International Bikes 51 in Southern Spain next March. The training camp will be held from Saturday 25th February to 4th March 2006 and is open to men and women of all abilities, with riders grouped by ability and fitness.

Each day will focus on a different aspect of trail technique from climbing & descending, to a steady volume day and speed work on the local XC race circuit used for the Spanish National Series. The week includes accommodation at a 3* Hotel on a half board basis, guided riding with your hosts Barrie Clarke and Sue Thomas, FREE energy bars from TORQ Fitness, morning meetings with ride information, all transfers etc.

Barrie Clarke is one of the best cyclists Great Britain has ever produced! He has won the MTB XC National Champs 3 times, represented Great Britain at the highest level, regularly finishing in the top 10 at World Cup events.

Sue Thomas rides for VoodooCycles.net and was the 2004 XC National Champion. Her recent wins in an MTB event in Cyprus and round of the National Trophy, signals a welcome return to form after some injury problems.

For more information please e-mail: graham.bikes51@gmail.com

TORQ FITNESS VOLUME WEEK - ROAD and MTB

DATE: 1st to 8th February 2006

This coming February, we are once again joining forces with coach Matt Hart of TORQ FITNESS to present a high volume training camp basking in the Mediterranean sunshine of Southern Spain. Of the weks we run with TORQ this is the most ‘serious’ fitness holiday of the year, because it’s aimed to satisfy the needs of many of the TORQ riders and other competitive cyclists. For most of the TORQ riders, this will represent their final endurance push of the winter – to be followed on their return by an increase in training intensity and some early season races/events.

All Disciplines Welcome

This week will be run in a different way to previous inspirational fitness weeks and rather than there being a solely off-road focus, riders will be encouraged to ride both on and off road. In fact, we welcome road riders with open open arms to this training camp, but if you bring a Mountain Bike, the routes on offer will be more varied, with combinations of road and off-road sections.

High Volume and Technical Tips

Riders will be distributed into groups of similar ability and will be given route cards and maps to follow, or there will be some discussion on the previous evening as to where each group should go. You will not be intensively coached whilst on your bike; it is more about ‘getting the miles in’. On the rest day however, all riders with Mountain Bikes will be encouraged to take part in the technical day, where we will dedicate the entire day to off-road technique coaching.

Coaching Seminars

Every evening there will be a seminar/workshop on a different fitness/nutrition subject, the aim being to educate and guide you towards intelligent and effective training. These seminars are very comprehensive and you will be able to take away printed notes.

The cost of this week is £350. This price includes airport transfers, bed, breakfast, evening meal, unlimited TORQ energy products and free access to the TORQ evening seminars. You will need to arrange your flight separately through one of the low-cost carriers from the UK.

A full itinerary will be made available before departure.
In the meantime, if you have any further enquiries, you can e-mail
Matt Hart directly on:
enquiries@torqfitness.co.uk

Alternatively you can contact us at:
graham.bikes@gmail.com

TORQing TOLOX with Internacional BIKES 51

II MTB RUTA DE TOLOX 48km

Race stats; Tolox, 18th Sept., 48km, 1145m ascent, 3000ft hi point.

Report from Graham Lee: You know what it’s like, you start the race planning to have a good ride, even better your last result, and end up winning! Right! Nah me neither! Except that is what happened to me last Sunday.

Where I live in Southern Spain, mountains are big, goats are nervous and cyclists are spoilt for choice of trails! It’s MTB heaven, and it doesn’t take much to get me out on the single track in the sunshine. So when a nearby ´white village´ organizes an enduro on your doorstep you put your bike in the car and ride it! Especially if it fits in with your training programme and costs €10!!

The race started in perfect September sunshine from the central plaza in Tolox. After a short neutral zone we were off – straight into a 10 km climb. I had worked my way near to the front group of riders and the pace shot up as the race started proper. A few went berserk and hammered off the front, although the leader of this group did have pink trainers on so I just settled in for the climb at my race pace, governed by my heart rate (sorry Matt ;o). The front group moved ahead.

Half way up the climb I rejoined the leaders, a group of about 15 riders. After munching through a couple of TORQ bars before the start I felt, well, really good, so I moved to the front and started to wind it up a bit. I managed to draw out a gap which was growing and there was no reaction so when I was out of sight I kicked – hard! It worked, the gap opened up and I really started enjoying myself - I was winning!

Then I wasn’t! Slowly another rider was getting across. I decided to keep riding at my pace and let them work to close the gap. I glanced back, the rider looked smooth, he looked strong, but mostly, he looked like BEN NOTT my South African mate. My pro/elite mate! He caught up and we rode along comfortably snaking up the pine tree covered mountainside unchallenged.

We arrived together at the top of the monster climb and began the mid section of the race which took us rolling around another mountain and finally up a steep 3km jolt to a forest fire lookout. Ben was still riding strongly but I was getting tired, the constant roll of the trail was taking it’s toll and Ben had opened up a 50 metre gap as we hit the bottom of the steep climb. The climb was tough but I held the gap, pleased that Ben wasn’t getting away any further but suffering up the tortuous ascent. There was a cruel false top and the final 100 metres were horribly steep but Ben was there chatting to a rather lardy Spanish rider. Well I say chatting, it was more like sign language and grunting. Even shouting and speaking slowly in English didn’t seem to work - strange.

None the wiser as to what he was trying to say, we set off again and after another gruelling drag the final 12km descent into Tolox began. Ben took the lead and we hammered down farm tracks and fire roads at over 45km an hour only slowing down for the hairpin bends which Ben speedway’ed round on his hard tail which was flipping around more like a fishtail. The scenery was spectacular as we descended through pine trees into a green valley with the tallest peak in the area ´Torrecilla´ as a rocky backdrop. Somehow Ben managed to stay on his bike and we reached the outskirts of Tolox.


Graham Lee and Ben Nott winning in Tolox…

After a short sharp up, we rolled down into the plaza first after 2:36 hours. It was fantastic. As was the FREE bar and massive Paella, the trophy, and the t-shirt - all for €10.



FREE bar…..FREE food…..we´re happy

Suitably encouraged, I´m riding another one this Sunday in Yunquera of 42km and then the big one in Coin of 101km and I can´t wait. If you are interested in racing or just riding with International Bikes 51 in Spain visit www.bikes51.com or email: graham.bikes51@gmail.com for more information.