Saturday 13 June 2009
Start/Finish: Mill Yard, Staveley
Sam Houghton 2009
Promoted and supported by WHEELBASE.co.uk and Wilfs
Over 300 avid mountain bikers descended on Staveley at the foot of the Kentmere Valley for the third annual Sam Houghton Challenge this Saturday 13 June 2009.
The event starts and finishes from the Staveley Mill Yard and is supported and promoted by WHEELBASE and Wilfs Cafe.
The course opens up some of the best natural mountain biking in the UK; a 46km long course with 1400m of ascent through Kentmere, Longsleddale and Troutbeck valleys and taking in the infamous climb and descent of Garburn Pass. A Short course was also marked covering 25km with 700m ascent. Fastest riders around the full course were local riders Ian Palmer, WHEELBASE.co.uk and Chris Hope, Keswick Bikes in the Male Pairs Category coming home in an impressive 2 hours 39 minutes.
The Challenge is run in the memory of Sam Houghton who lost his battle with skin cancer in the summer of 2006. He was a young and exceptional mountain biker who lived in Staveley and regularly enjoyed the fabulous trails of the Kentmere Valley. The Sam Houghton Challenge is a fitting tribute.
Last years event raised a much-needed £10,000 for Cancer Research UK, and the organisers hope this figure is beaten this year after another very successful event.
The event closed with a packed crowd dancing the night away to local band CatDog in the Hawkshead Brewery Beer Hall, also located on the Mill Yard.
All proceeds from the event are being donated to Cancer Research UK, which is looking in the region of £10,000 - over double of last years total!
