Twenty-four hours of cold and dark

Twenty-four hour races are supposed to be summer events, right? (Or at least held in climes where the idea of staying up all night riding a bike is a fairly pleasant proposition.) The team behind the Strathpuffer 24-Hour has taken this quaint notion and thrown it right out the window - Strathpuffer will be held on January 14-15 at Castle Leod near Strathpeffer, just north of Inverness, Scotland.

Cyclingnews tech ed John Stevenson remembers Grundig Series events at Strathpeffer back in the '90s, complete with long Scottish summer evenings. But in January, things will be reversed - Strathpuffer will feature a long Scottish winter night, with sunset about 4pm and the sun not peeking out until about 9am the next morning. And at this time of year, snow is not unlikely and it's certain to be cold.

For those hardy souls who are up to the challenge, the Strathpuffer 24 certainly looks like good value for money. Entry is just UKP24, which the organisers describe as "the best pain/price ratio ever". Quite.

For more information or (gulp) to sign up, visit the promoter's Web site: strathpuffer.co.uk