Local team of mountain bike enthusiasts complete 24-hour race in Idyllwild
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

PEDAL PUSHERS- Racers compete in the 24-hour marathon through the woods of Idyllwild, Calif. in September. The race started with a 1/2-mile LeMans-style footrace before the first contestant's 10-mile course lap. By the race's end, each team member had completed the 10-mile course five times with about four hours of rest inbetween each turn.

Rhys Newman and Simon James grew up in Cardiff, Wales.

However, they didn't meet until 2001- while working for Nokia Design in Calabasas.

"I'm sure we drank at the same pubs," Newman said, "and went to the same clubs at the same time in Wales."

Newman, who lives in Woodland Hills, and James, a Simi Valley resident, have gotten to know each other well. They are part of a mountain bike team that recently took second place in the largest and most competitive division of 24 Hours of Adrenalin, a race series that sounds as arduous as its name implies.

The Welsh natives joined Tim Bryant of Calabasas, Ed Mitchell of Thousand Oaks and Daren Leith of West Hills in a relay-type race at Hurkey Creek Park near the high desert town of Idyllwild. The race began at noon Sept. 22 and ended around noon the next day. Each rider completed five 10mile laps on the course that includes 1,800 feet of twists, turns and climbs.

Team Nokia finished in 24 hours, 29 minutes and 52 seconds, only 2½ minutes behind the winning team from Loma Linda. The Calabasas team finished third in the same race in April. The friends have completed four 24 Hours of Adrenalin races and plan to continue doing two every year.

Bryant, 42, started riding competitively when he joined the group about five years ago. The friends ride together every Sunday, more often in the summer.

"It started as a recreational thing, just to do something as a hobby," said Bryant, a marble and tile contractor and the only rider in the group who doesn't work for Nokia. "Then I discovered racing keeps you motivated."

The 24-hour races are also about being around friends and family. Two of Newman's children participated in the kids' races, and the riders' families spent their time cooking and relaxing together.

"They're quite family events," said Newman, 37, who commutes to work every day on a bicycle. "It's a real nice weekend. It's people going a bit bananas for 24 hours when racing, but it's such a good atmosphere. We all look forward to it and have fun, but we're also competitive."

The riders enjoy the races because the events are teamoriented yet still require the individual to persevere through difficult conditions.

"It's grueling, but there's a great team spirit," said James, 38. "We do races as individuals, but at a team event everyone supports each other. It's a great team activity. It's testing you. You can find out a lot about yourself if you can get up at 4 o'clock in the morning for a bike ride."

A week before last month's race, the team received its first sponsorship. Nokia Design now pays the team's entrance fees, including those for individual races. Nokia Design also provides jerseys for the team of about 10 riders.

The team is always looking for additional sponsors.

On your marks

"Riding at night is a whole different experience," Bryant said. The Hurkey Creek Park races have a Le Mans-style start- the first wave of riders must run in their uncomfortable bike shoes for a half mile to their bikes. The unique sprinting start originated at the 24 Hours of Le Mans French car race, first held in 1923. Until the practice was banned in 1969, Le Mans' drivers had to run a short distance to their vehicles.

"Why do I run first? I don't know. I told the guys next time we're doing it in April, I'm not going to do the run," said Bryant, who has started each of the races for the team. "It's pretty hectic with 200 people running. It's a sprint basically."

Once the running riders find their bikes and get on, they go on a 10-mile lap. At the finish line, riders dismount, run to the timing table and show the timer the baton and team number. The next rider must greet the first rider at the timer's table, take the baton and start the second lap.

Problems do occur- flat tires, injuries and the occasional encounter with wild animals. Besides the usual fare of deer and other critters found at 5,000 feet above sea level, a bear wandered onto the trail, interrupting a race eight years ago.

An ideology

That's what some people do when it comes to riding a bicycle. For Newman, it's more than a hobby.

"I don't have a car, and I've commuted to work every day for the last 15 or 17 years," he said.

"Cycling's an ideology. . . . I've lived in London for 10 years. You get bad weather there- and worse weather in Wales. Here, it's beautiful. All the guys are from somewhere else. We ride up to the top of the Santa Monica Mountains. You have the coast on one side and the valley on the other side. Why would we want to live and work anywhere else?"