So when are the new enduro turbos out then? I'm after a new light and wanted an SLED system. I was going to plump for the current Enduro or import a Nightlightning from NZ but the Turbo seems to have corrected all the previous models short-comings.

So when are they on sale??

They should be on sale within a couple of weeks - we'll have a set on test soon so watch out for that, but first impressions are very good

9 hours to cover the South Downs Way, sounds impressive until you realise that there used to be a running race along the SDW.

I competed in 1991 and the winner RAN it in only 9 hours!!!

It ran from Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Eastbourne, also 80 miles but in the opposite direction. If I recall the start was at 9.00 am but with a 27 hour limit, most runners expected to compete in the dark.

Me? I blew up big time after 57 miles but still managed to drag myself in at 2.00 am after 15 hours of running/walking/stumbling!

The first time I rode the SDW, I met an old boy who used to do those runs until he turned 60 and decided he was getting to old for that sort of thing so took up mountain biking! He was about twice my age and about twice as fast as me - scary!

Still, 9 hours for riding the SDW in the dark on a slippery night in October is impressive. Under those conditions you can't make up as much time on the downhills as you usually would expect to on a bike.

Even more impressive (kinda) was Mike from Cannondale who finished fastest in 8.5 hours and would have been considerably faster than that if he hadn't got lost every 30 or 40 yards... ;-)

Very impressive David and modest too about your finishing time, were you not up there with the leaders. well done did they give out any medals, shame if they didn't.

Is that the Gurkha challenge thingy?

I used to live down that way until very recently. I've walked the SDW, and ridden lots of it in bits.

Anyone who rides the whole thing in one hit, at night, in slippery conditions, is doing ok in my book!

Congrats are in order.

We didn't give out medals Steve (racing on public bridleways being a no no and all that) but we did give out some seriosly large bacon (& egg & sausie) sandwiches, which I think were a lot more welcome at the end of the night... ;-)