Capital Punishment

Canberra really is an amazing place to live, even if you're not a cyclist, the place was absolutely pumping Friday night as I rolled into Crowne Plaza to sign on, there were just thousands of people out enjoying an unseasonally balmy March evening in our Nation's capital, eating out, cycling, playing soccer, watching an NRL match. Then there are the trails, now there might be some better trails at Buller or Melrose, but for sheer variety and availability of heaps of trails in a concentrated area you just cant go past this place. I really want to live there!


The cyclists are different too, perhaps it is the fresh country air, but the locals seem to ride effortlessly taking in the magnificent vistas while shredding some wicked single trail leaving you struggling just to hold their wheel.


This really was a fun race, forget the result, it took most of the race for my legs to switch on, and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised by my time when the results were finally posted online. The mix of trails and road sections, the chatty field of riders, the friendly marshalls, and the many other fun seekers we passed along the way all out enjoying Canberra's plentiful recreation areas made this a truly great race, not to mention a seriously hot field despite a number of the regulars away at Shepparton and The Terra.


The untimed section was a hoot and I want to say to anyone running a 100k enduro, this is an absolute must have. Being able to switch off for 30 or so minutes to refuel, relax, stretch, lube the bike take a nature stop or whatever was just heaven. Not only that I had the pleasure of cruising through the streets of the centre of the city with 20 or so riders, we chatted and joked like we were riding to school, it was so much fun it was almost a shame to start racing again, but of course that's what we came for and as soon as we crossed into Black Mountain it was on again, each rider pushing the other to their limits.


The start of the race was furious as always and it wasnt long before we were funnelled into the first section of single track. If it is one thing I hate, it is riders trying to jump the queue who arrive after me and try and pass at the bottleneck. Thankfully I was able to trackstand it, elbow a few pusher-innerers out of the way and hold my position. While I am whinging, there was another bloke who had it in for me all day, cutting me off as we entered more single track, leading me the wrong way, cutting me off at a food stop and then crossing a road near Stromlo right in front of a car, oh yeah then heading up Cotter Road he veers left BEHIND a car waiting at a t-intersection, dude follow the road rules!! Well it was kinda funny and he didnt seem to mind pulling a turn, in fact every time I passed him to take a turn he'd attack me again...whatha! OK glad I got that off my chest.


For trails, Majura was the pick for me, tight and twisting, a little soft and tree roots galore, I remember one sharp right hander, my back wheel caught a root and swung right round, thankfully my front tired didnt wash and I stayed clipped in and powered out of the corner to the praise of the rider on my wheel, well sometimes it just comes together :) and it's amazing how a compliment from a fellow rider can spur you on. Kowen was really good too, you guys doing the Mont are in for a treat and of course Stromlo is just awesome. There were a couple of brutal hills before Majura, the road sections were cool, on the Kings Highway we had a freight train of about 10 riders all swapping off and we hit over 50kph. Even the grass paddocks around the airport were OK, but it was at that point I was thinking a dualie would have been nice to smooth out the bumps.


As I said the legs seemed to be a little slow for the most of the race and it wasnt until Stromlo where I really hit my straps and clawed back a couple of places. I had the iPod pumping by this stage and powered up the climb and skated down Skyline with a pretty clear run. I was calling track well in advance and there were a number of 50km riders who pulled over to give me a clear run, much appreciated guys, thankyou. I knew from the signs we'd only covered 90km, so it was no surprise when at the bottom of Luge, I was directed out to Slant Six and Double Dissolution. By this stage I was completely on my own and finishing as hard as I have ever finished any race to try and regain some position suffering just one little hubbard moment where I caught a lip on the trail and went over the bars onto the grass beside the trail. Crossing the finish I felt pretty good, hmm tired, hungry, sore legs and back but good, does that make sense?


Thanks to AROC for a great race and all the volunteers, thanks to Tarren for the pics, thanks to my friends Hans and Ros for giving me a place to sleep Friday night and for moving my car from start to finish during the race, that was so good! Thanks again Dave Hunt my coach of FTP, to all the gang at Turramurra Cyclery, to my lovely wife and kids for giving me the time to pursue this passion of mine, thanks to God for friends and cycling and for the fine weather.


Till next time keep riding


Mike



Result
04:33:37
Overall : 66/833
Category : 12/245

Distance: 97km
Total Ascent: 1119m
Total Descent: 1321m
http://bit.ly/gdKcEz

Picture perfect day for Willo's race

Photo courtesy Brendon Mulloy

To say I was looking forward to this race would be understating it ever so slightly! This being the first race in nearly 4 months, it felt like I had been training for so long, I wondered if I would be able to remember everything I needed to race and it took all my powers of mind control not to spending every waking moment thinking about the upcoming test.
Knowing the organisers had set a fast course, my goals were not to use the granny gear and to finish in under 4 hours. You never know who is going to turn up to these things so a Top 10 finish is always a good feeling. Any better is a bonus and when Fenz didn't show at the start, that was one less machine I had to worry about!
The week lead up was pretty much perfect, with just a couple of nice easy rides to keep the legs open, but I really had very little idea of where I would stand in this field.
As we rolled out, the pace was hot as usual but I found I could settle into a sustainable pace and still keep in touch with the young guns, so far so good. It must be said from the outset that the track was a ripper. Just the right balance of flowing single track, some fast fire road and a couple of climbs to keep everyone honest, without any heartbreakers.
Again the Ellsworth 29er was the weapon of choice and I am constantly amazed at what this bike is capable of. Just over 3.5 hours at race pace and I only had to clip out once when I ran wide on a soft corner. The slightly wider handlebars with bar ends are great but there were a couple of tree gates where I clipped the bark with the bar end trying to squeeze through the eye of a needle at speed. During the week I fitted a new Crossmark (2.1) on the back in place of the tired old Racing Ralph (2.25) and there was an instant improvement in handling and stability thanks to the smaller bag and stiffer side walls.
As the 1st lap progressed I formed a little trio with Garry and one other rider, but I soon found myself riding off the front and building a little buffer.
The race pretty much continued without event and I was enjoying riding to my heart rate, keeping the pace up and the gels going down and just enjoying railing the corners. On the 2nd and 3rd laps there was a little traffic to negotiate, but most riders were quick to make room for me to pass, so thanks for that guys.

I knew Garry wasn't far behind as he called out to me on every switchback so I knew he had me in his sights. On the second lap at about the 15km mark he made his move and put 40 seconds into me. I knew we were riding for 1st and 2nd so decided to keep riding my own race and if I caught him later then I'd challenge otherwise I'd be happy with 2nd and so it was.

It was great seeing so many TORC riders there all riding strong and performing well as always, with a good number making the podium. Well done Martine, Larri, Garry and Steve!

So that was the warm up, looking forward to Capital Punishment next weekend, let's hope the weather holds!

Keep Riding
Mike

Time 3:32
Distance: 75km
Cal: 3110
HRavg: 83%
What I ate: 6 gel, 2.5 ltr TORC energy