There is nothing quite as liberating as packing the car full of gear and leaving the city behind for a weekend of mountain biking. This time I had my two boys in tow, Tom and Liam for their first real MTB race, how exciting. Of course we just had to stop for dinner at the GreenGrocer in Goulburn for woodfired pizza and then finally onto Stromlo for a 10:30pm put up the tent.
The next morning revealed a gorgeous sunny day that would soon become a hot energy sapping day. Riding through smouldering grasslands from a recent backburn at the start of the first lap was not a good omen, but the legs were feeling pretty good and I was happy just to keep in touch with Garry James, now racing SuperMasters but looking as strong as an ox like always. The track was heaps of fun if you like rocks....lots of rocks...no it wasnt that bad but
I was wondering how my boys would go on this.
We soon caught up Brian "Big Dog" Price and as he wasn't racing "serious" he graciously offered his wheel for the second half of the lap. Through transition and the three of us were still together. I had a little buffer on Garry after the descent that he would gobble up on the climb.
By the middle of the second lap, the sun was really starting to burn and it became obvious I would have to top up my bottle at the on course water station. This is where I caught Liam and he looked a little dejected. I tried to lift him a little with some words of encouragement "keep going mate, you are doing so well!" which he was. He asking me how far to go and I had to admit he was just past half way, but I said if he'd had enough just to follow the dirt roads back to base. He not only finished but went on to take 4th place in Juniors at just 12 years old. He knees are back and blue today from knocking them against the frame negotiating the rocky track. It wasn't too long before I came upon Tom he looked pretty happy, just tapping away up Blue Tongue. He took third, but not before puncturing. Two very kind gentleman stopped and got him rolling again. I don't know who they were but I hope to find out, thanks guys I owe you one there!
Come lap 3 and I was really feeling it, unable to drink and eat enough my speed plummetted and just as I was wondering what kind of lead I had, a pretty fit looking guy came past me near the top. He didn't look old enough to be Masters, but there wasn't much I could do as he gapped me so I just had to keep rolling and see if I could get a second wind. A cool breeze provided slight relief, but mostly it was pretty darn hot. I was lucky enough to get the last little cup full of water at the refill station and I could see my target just ahead. On I pushed and it was up Heartbreaker where I got a little energy back and passed my competitor. Turns out it was Trent Moore, a rider I have admired and probably never beaten so with nothing but downhill to the finish (except for Blackberry) I put the hammer down to claim 2nd. Tony Rice, another legend took the top step, well done mate and of course Garry James completely dominated in the SM.
Thanks to Martin and Juliane for a fantastic race on a good challenging course. And hats off to the 100M guys, especially Ed McDonald cranking out the 5 laps and averaging 90mins a lap for the whole race, an amazing achievement!
A cycling blog covering XC Mountain Biking (MTB) and Road Cycling. Training and racing tips and reviews
Sunday, February 26, 2012
TORC Canberra Training Camp
After a very soggy Sydney Summer, you could be forgiven for getting just a little bit excited about heading to the mecca of mountain biking for a weekend of single track serenity. Sure enough 17 of TORC’s finest climbed aboard the MTNBike Express in search of some sweet dusty trails
First stop was Kowen forest and again we had the privilege of mixing it with Ben Henderson, still recovering from a virus, Ben was kind enough to come out and set the scene for a weekend where the object was to ride your bike as fast as possible through every conceivable type of corner. Before long the natives got restless as Kowen’s beautiful lines beckoned and it wasn’t long before a few keen beans blasted off to stretch the legs and the lungs. The name of the game was “Where’s Brad?” Hardly a puff of dust had been raised one of our team were missing in action. Turned out he thought it was the Roadies tour coming up in a couple of weeks and decided to take a detour via Queenbeyan! Steve also pushed hard on the power limit and broke his chain link by link until he had to scooter back to base camp. There was plenty of “Yieeeew!” and “Yeaaaaah” and “Whoooooa” calls coming across the valleys, these are the mating calls of the mountain biker and the better the single track, the more frequent the calls.
Back for lunch and Will and Laurie really fed us well. The whole tour was expertly organised and the food was a hit for tired legs, then it was out for another couple of hours of soaking up the trails over Sparrow Hill, just 25km of uninterrupted singletrack.
Peter took the prize for the hard man of the weekend, taking particular offense to a certain pine tree and both he and the tree were left missing some bark. Of course the tree won, but Peter has the bragging rights and got a nice ride in an ambulance for his efforts.
Post ride coffees and a good quality “all you can eat” buffet at the AIS were very welcome after a big day in the saddle and then it was off to sample the night life in Dickson. Yes there is night life in Canberra and we all enjoyed some carb loading in the cool summer evening
Sunday morning provided another opportunity to ride the “all you can eat” single track, rolling out at sunrise to take in the manicured trails of Bruce Ridge to roll the legs over the before breakfast. It really was the perfect morning at 12 degrees and clear blue skies and not a puff of breeze. Ben, Hayden, Will and Isy had a great time navigating this tortoise shell of criss-crossing trails with gentle climbs and sweeping bends on the descents.
Our final ride started with an easy bunch ride through the suburbs from the AIS to one of the oldest and best love MTB precincts in Canberra, Majura Pines. The trails were a little damp which made for tricky conditions as one moment you had loads of grip on a tacky corner and the next you could be two wheel drifting over a slippery tree root. There were heaps of riders there including families and heaps of girls all enjoying the best of MTB in Canberra (Great to see more girls getting into this sport!). Mike Farkas was having a shocker and no sooner was he singing the praises of Scarlett and the next, going rubber up at low speed over a couple of sketchy obstacles, very unlike Mike. Fankles also revealed his talents for inflicting pain and made a foursome with Nick, Mike and Isy to explore this area that is some areas resembled the Blair Witch project, gothic aged pines trees, plenty of hills and made for some gorgeous scenery.
All in all a fantastic weekend of riding with friends and right on queue the storms reappeared as we made our way back to Sydney, wishing we never had to return
.
First stop was Kowen forest and again we had the privilege of mixing it with Ben Henderson, still recovering from a virus, Ben was kind enough to come out and set the scene for a weekend where the object was to ride your bike as fast as possible through every conceivable type of corner. Before long the natives got restless as Kowen’s beautiful lines beckoned and it wasn’t long before a few keen beans blasted off to stretch the legs and the lungs. The name of the game was “Where’s Brad?” Hardly a puff of dust had been raised one of our team were missing in action. Turned out he thought it was the Roadies tour coming up in a couple of weeks and decided to take a detour via Queenbeyan! Steve also pushed hard on the power limit and broke his chain link by link until he had to scooter back to base camp. There was plenty of “Yieeeew!” and “Yeaaaaah” and “Whoooooa” calls coming across the valleys, these are the mating calls of the mountain biker and the better the single track, the more frequent the calls.
Back for lunch and Will and Laurie really fed us well. The whole tour was expertly organised and the food was a hit for tired legs, then it was out for another couple of hours of soaking up the trails over Sparrow Hill, just 25km of uninterrupted singletrack.
Peter took the prize for the hard man of the weekend, taking particular offense to a certain pine tree and both he and the tree were left missing some bark. Of course the tree won, but Peter has the bragging rights and got a nice ride in an ambulance for his efforts.
Post ride coffees and a good quality “all you can eat” buffet at the AIS were very welcome after a big day in the saddle and then it was off to sample the night life in Dickson. Yes there is night life in Canberra and we all enjoyed some carb loading in the cool summer evening
Sunday morning provided another opportunity to ride the “all you can eat” single track, rolling out at sunrise to take in the manicured trails of Bruce Ridge to roll the legs over the before breakfast. It really was the perfect morning at 12 degrees and clear blue skies and not a puff of breeze. Ben, Hayden, Will and Isy had a great time navigating this tortoise shell of criss-crossing trails with gentle climbs and sweeping bends on the descents.
Our final ride started with an easy bunch ride through the suburbs from the AIS to one of the oldest and best love MTB precincts in Canberra, Majura Pines. The trails were a little damp which made for tricky conditions as one moment you had loads of grip on a tacky corner and the next you could be two wheel drifting over a slippery tree root. There were heaps of riders there including families and heaps of girls all enjoying the best of MTB in Canberra (Great to see more girls getting into this sport!). Mike Farkas was having a shocker and no sooner was he singing the praises of Scarlett and the next, going rubber up at low speed over a couple of sketchy obstacles, very unlike Mike. Fankles also revealed his talents for inflicting pain and made a foursome with Nick, Mike and Isy to explore this area that is some areas resembled the Blair Witch project, gothic aged pines trees, plenty of hills and made for some gorgeous scenery.
All in all a fantastic weekend of riding with friends and right on queue the storms reappeared as we made our way back to Sydney, wishing we never had to return
.
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