Shouldn't bother, what you must remember is that pro's are paid to train and rest. You have a job to hold down and presumably a family/girlfriend significant other which all eat into your free time.
Yep, it's all relative. One of the nice things about Mayhem is that you get to share the course with guys like Nick Craig and Oli Beckinsale. It's a bit like a parks footballer playing on the same pitch as a Premiership team - those guys are genetically gifted and properly trained and really they're in a different race from you, so don't let it get you down even if it is humbling. Look at it this way, I bet you take better photos than Nick Craig
Back in the real world, I did two laps with a lap recovery in between in the worst of the gloop overnight and it absolutely killed me. I've trained to ride a bike fast for 50 minutes and recover for three laps, not push a heavy weight through treacle for over an hour then do it again with minimal recovery
I reckon most of the difference between the pro's and the rest of us is that they're way more obsessed with cycling than we are. You'd want to be fantastically genetically endowed to allow you to match pace with people who are just plain obsessed with competition and training.
I'm pretty sure just about anyone who's reasonably able bodied but obsessed with training (And totally fearless) can get near the top in the elite rankings in cycling. To go beyond that and make it right to the top may require certain genetic code (Or a very creative team doctor )...
Don't suppose anyone got any photos of 387 and 388 did they? I think my final hope lies with Single Track magazines gallery which they have yet to put up. I definitely saw quite a few people take my picture though!
