MTBA XCO Round 1 - You Yangs

One of the great joys of cycling is that it can take you to beautiful places you might not ordinarily visit and you meet top quality people you might otherwise never meet.  XCO (Olympic distance Cross Country) is something I hadn’t done before and since winning the 24 solo a little over 12 months ago, my racing has been getting shorter and shorter, so it seemed like a logical progression to give XCO a go.  I didn’t have high aspirations for this race, the plan was just to turn up and give it a good crack.  MTBA are working hard to offer a quality MTB race experience and with more and more choice for races coming onto the calendar, I figured you could do a lot worse than support the peak body.

So it was that Kel, Jesse and I loaded up the trusty Hyundai i-Load and hit the road.  We couldn’t have timed it better in terms of weather.  Sydney was still a maze of gushing creeks and drainways from the recent spate of storms and as we headed south, the clouds parted and Gundagai greeted us with perfect blue skies and mild warm weather.

We arrived at the track just after lunch Friday and had a leisurely cruise around the course, and what a great course it was.  Not unlike Stromlo, the soil is dry, dusty and loose.  I’d need every millimeter of the Curve carbon hoops and Rubena tyres and keep the rubber side down.  Not only that but the track was littered with a number of rocky obstacles.  Mind you, these are not like the random rocky ruts that you find at the dam.  These are purpose built obstacles to test your skill, balance and power, and on my first lap I probably had to unclip 4 or 5 times and go back and repeat to search for the ideal line.  One of those lines brings you to the top of a huge granite extrusion that seems to descend straight to the centre of the earth, it’s so steep.  But similar to the drop off at Ourimbah, if you get the line right and stay off the brakes, it’s a hoot to ride.  Satisfied with practice, we retired to the cheap little motel we found in Corio, loaded up on carbs and hit the sack.

The Elite Women's start and Bec has her race face on from the start

Race day and again conditions are perfect, but already you can feel the temperature rising.  My Garmin peaked at 43 degrees for the day.  Poor Jesse went with the U/19 at 12:30pm for a 4 lap stint in the furnace.  Huge props to him for his first hit out in the higher age group, finishing strong and clean, well not quite clean, the heat bringing on a bloody nose.  The Elites had to do 6 laps and it was great seeing our nations best battle it out.  Not so great was the attrition rate, the heat was taking a big toll; Kel and I were in the feedzone and there were dropped bottles a plenty and that would obviously take a toll.  The Masters and Opens were delayed till 3pm, which was fine by us, perhaps the heat would drop off slightly.

The Elite Man's start and DMac paced himself for 5 laps then lifted to another level to pull away in the final lap

Finally we were on the grid and it was great to chat with a few of the locals.  They were all built like bulldogs, compact, strong and punchy they looked, unlike “muggins” Israel all skinny arms and a diesel engine, but who cares! It was just great to be there.  The start as expected was furious and I’d had a decent warm up so to be 5^th wheel going into the climb I was pretty happy.  Confession time, I dropped the wheel, but we’d dropped the main field and there were only 3 riders behind me and they were happy with my steady pace (diesel!).  I cleared all the main obstacles, it wasn’t pretty but the last thing I wanted to do was slow down my fellow competitors.  Nearing the top, one guy behind was calling to push hard and so I did.  By the time we crested I was on 96% heart rate and my throat was almost closed it was so dry.  I let the three of them pass and took a moment to get a few drops of liquid down my bile coated throat so I could breath again.  I caught one of the guys and he kindly gave me the track on the descent, and what a descent it is.  9 switchbacks, lots of flow and a great opportunity to just stay off the brakes, pick your lines and recover.  I got a gap and pressed on hard.  I took the B line when it came to the slippery dip, thinking there was no need to take risks just yet. 

Some of the Elite guys rolling into the slippery dip

We only had 3 laps to complete.  8km times three doesn’t seem like much but I must have been averaging 85% heart rate so heading up the climb the second time knowing I only had to do it once more was a good feeling.  The aim now was to keep up my pace and hold position.  The cheering crowd was great and I was picking up a few of the slower Masters 1/2 riders.  There was still no sign of any chasers, but then again there was no sign of any rabbits to chase either, so I enjoyed the final lap, took the A-line down the slippery dip and came over the line in 6^th place.  Not too bad, I have to admit I had dreamt of a podium finish but I can take away a lot of positives, knowing I was not far off the pace required, and pushed some pretty accomplished riders.

A great thrill it was to meet Peter Lister, another national level masters rider from Mackay, who had driven down for the Husky and then continued onto the You Yangs when the Husky got cancelled! Now that’s a road trip.  Peter is also a keen Christian who wanted to know more about JesusMTB.  Head of Missions for Mackay Christian College, he takes groups of students away to PNG and Africa to work on community projects and to give the kids some exposure to places not as well off as Australia.

The other day a mate of mine, quipped that believing in God in this day and age is a little akin to believing in Santa Claus.  For me, when I look around at this amazing creation we live in I don’t consider that a random accident.  The alternative that there is nothing after death and your life adds up to the sum total of the good things you did and the good times you had rings hollow for me, not to mention my own personal failings.  The story of Jesus Christ and who he claimed to be and the redemption he offers is the only thing that seems truly real to me.

I’ve been typing this as we head back north and am looking forward to getting home after a quick reccie of the trails at Bright.  That means I have a huge thankyou to Sarah and the kids for doing without me over these few days, I love you guys.  Also thanks to Kel and Jesse for the opportunity to travel and ride with you, it’s been just great.

Keep riding

Mike

It was great to see a bit of the downhill

BikeBuller 2012

It was with a huge sense of anticipation that Nick Gilbert and I packed the car at 5am and headed down the Hume, destination Mt Buller, for the 2012 Rapid Ascent BikeBuller MTB Festival. To call it a race just wouldn't do it justice. This is about riders from all over the country converging on the self-proclaimed (and rightly so!) premier MTB park in Australia for 3 days of riding hard and fellowshipping harder. I call it fellowship, because it wasnt really "partying", it was more about like minded cyclists and those who support and love them coming together to share the good life and all the things we sometimes take for granted.
The drive to Buller was long as you'd expect but we got a first hand view of the flooding around the Riverina and the scenery got more spectacular the closer we got.

We passed through some gorgeous little towns like Holbrook and Mansfield and the further south we went, the brighter the sun shone. I was struck by just how mountainous the Mt Buller region is and swore I'd be back with my roadie to tackle a few choice climbs.

We got to our lodge mid afternoon and were honoured to see we were sharing with the Norm and Jess Douglas. Having really only been Facebook friends before now, it was awesome getting to know these guys over the weekend.

Jess and Norm clearly have a real heart for other people and they are quick to share their knowledge and resources or help out a fellow rider any way they can. I will never forget Jess speeding up behind me on one the big climbs. I'd had a few hubbard moments and had completely lost my flow. Fully expecting Jess to speed past me, I moved over to give her the track, instead she called out, "Nice little flow up ahead, shove it in the dog!" Sure enough the track levelled out, I got back my rhythm and continued up the climb at a more respectable pace. Thanks Jess, that was cool!

Keen for a ride to stretch the legs, we quickly unpacked and rolled out looking for any trail available. We soon located Copperhead, the trail we've all been salivating over watching some Mick Ross carv-ation, and down we headed. What a trail! A steep winding track that ducks and weaves and seduces you to go just that little bit faster on each new corner until you feel your tires starting to lose traction and your heart almost jumps out of your mouth, then who should we bump into but Glen Jacobs and his crew doing a bit of last minute spit and polish on a fresh sweeping banked corner. We soon lost ourselves in the huge network of trails and before we knew it we'd clocked up 25km, hmmm maybe a little too far the night before a big race???

That night the rest of our lodge buddies arrived and it was packed to the rafters as we watched an amazing little cycling movie called LifeCycles. If you haven't seen it, just go see it, you will love it.

The next day was Stage 1. I wont bore you with all the details, it was just amazing, lot's of climbing. I had no idea a 50km bike race would take me 3hours 22minutes, but there were many memorable moments particularly involving riding with other riders and willing your legs to ride faster. It also setup a four way challenge between 4 of us guys in the lodge. Dave MacDonald, Todd Stanton, Nick Gilbert, and myself were neck and neck the whole weekend and we enjoyed great comaraderie comparing Strava times for segments and cheering each other onto the finish. The end of Stg 3 epitomised this as we all finished within 5 minutes of each other. I would also add Ben May in this quartet, though to be honest he was a league above us mere mortals and was only held back by some unlucky mechanicals. I drank every last drop of my 2 ltr Camelbak full of energy, 4 gels and a bar

That night after dinner we headed out of the lodge for a 40minute stroll (err hike really) to the summit of Mt Buller to watch the sunset. This was a highlight for me and emphasized that this event is about more than just cycling, it is about enjoying the journey with new friends and recognised what a blessed life we live in this country. The sun sank quickly and the idea of circular objects spinning round and round led to the conclusion that "God the controller of the universe, had it in the dog" indeed! Stage 2 was the BrakeBurner, but it wasnt all downhill. The 20 min plus lap included a short but steep pinch climb through the village and a series of tight uphill switchbacks to the top of One Tree Hill. The Gangs Gangs descent was also hard work with many obstacles and corners to keep you working hard on a very gradual decline.

The next section was a steady downhill dirtroad section (into a headwind) that demanded full gas and then the lap finished with the bottom half of Copperhead, steep yes but again it took a huge amount of energy to quickly negotiate the course and clock a competitive lap. I had a new found respect for DH riders not only for there skill but their strength and stamina to do what they do. At the bottom you cross the timing mat again to clock your lap time and join the short queue for the chair to the top again.

I really enjoyed this race format and it rewarded riders with both skill and fitness. Once you've had enough of doing laps, you take a diversion after Gang Gangs and take the express elevator to Mirimbah, a smokin' 700m descent over about 7km!!!

Hitting Mirimbah, there was a really cool festival happening with music and great food and just about everyone from the surrounding area seemed to be there. It had a great vibe, but to be honest all I wanted to do was get home and get cleaned up after taking a couple of spills throughout the days action and the bike had never taken so much punishment.

I must say the Ellsworth continues to impress and it's hard to imagine that I could go any faster on another bike, such is the versatility and agility of this rig. My tyres could have been fresher, my front Racing Ralph was on it's last legs after 18 months of racing I'd call that a pretty good run, I let it down to 20psi and squeezed every last ounce of grip from this tyre. On the back my Crossmark was also a little worse for wear and traction in some of the moister sections of track was an issue, but I ran it at 25 psi and it stood up to every rock stick I bounced over.

That night we had no idea what our places were in the GC, so we carbed up and got to bed early knowing we'd need to give it everything the next day. The 25km race for Day 3 was always going to be a smashfest and right from the gun it was on. I got a great start and held onto the lead bunch until Standard Lane climb where I got a little shelled. Into the top of Copperhead and I was 2nd in a train of 12 riders and everyone was just happy to descend at a rapid but controlled pace and wait for the next climb to pass if possible. Overall I was stoked with my ride and completed the course in a good time to secure 3rd place in the GC for Veteran mens by 2 mins. Overall a top 20 finish in a competitive field from all over Australia.

Lot's of thankyous, most of all to my wife and three beautiful kids. It was a big call to agree to see me off on this adventure a few months ago when I first raised it and I really appreciate it my darlings, I love you all very much and hope to take you with me next time. To Nick my new best buddy, it was just great travelling and riding with you mate. We'll miss you when you head back to Mexico, but keep in touch. To Dave, Todd, Ben, Jess, Norm, Rishi and all the crew at the Gliss Ski lodge, it was just awesome getting to know you all and not having to creep around a bunch of highly strung Sydney siders for a change (no offense guys, Melbournians are just so much more chilled!). You guys are a scream! And of course to Mark, Simon, Peter M and now Brad (the frothing cyclist) at Turramurra Cyclery who continue to support me and encourage me to aim high, thanks for all your help.

Single Track Mind - Round 6

It's hard to describe just how ideal conditions were for this race, so I'll just resort to bullet points
- perfect weather
- virgin single track carved through pristine native eucalypt forest
- a great bike and great company
- a team mate you'd give your right arm for
- all within 2 hours of home

My training has been a bit hot and cold lately, so I figured it couldnt hurt to head out for a gentle road ride on Saturday. Of course there is really no such thing as a gentle road ride when you tackle West Head and McCarrs creek in the company of other Peloton Sports members, so by the time I got home I was worried I'd overcooked it and would be fatigued for Sunday, but as soon as the gun went I felt totally primed. The Ellsworth motored almost effortlessly up the first climb with the leaders and together she and I held a solid pace for the first lap to return to transition in 1st place for Masters pairs. The laps continued on this gorgeous track, with barely 30m of vertical over a 10km loop. Later on a few riders were almost critical of the off camber corners, tight meandering and lack of a climb, but personally I loved it. It was the sort of track that rewarded smooth, controlled, smart riding, and as I was to learn on lap 3, punished those with poor timing or technique. It was a relatively straight forward double that I had already cleared twice, but 3rd time was to be unlicky as I dumped the launch and buried the bike into the front side of the landing ramp, therby ejecting myself over the bars in superman style. As I got back to my feet, I was amazed to see such little damage to the body, but both wrists were damn sore, and it was with a little concern that I rolled back to transition. A quick clean up thanks to St John's and a pair of socks from SRAM for my war story and it was time for another lap.

Dave looked worried for me (and himself!) and told me "Take it easy, dont do anything stupid!" Too late mate, but on I rolled just a minute behind Dan and Gav. And that's pretty much the way it stayed all day. In the end we just couldnt bridge the gap and my last lap was one of resignation as realised today we'd have to settle for 2nd.

Special thanks to Hugh at CBD who spent atleast a total of 60 mins fixing my brakes, it's a long story that I wont bore you with, but it's all good now. Also special mention to all the guys from TORC who made the effort to come and race, it's always such a great vibe in the tent when you have a few more riding buddies to share it with; Danielle and Daniel, Theo and Arainer, Simey, Jeff and Mick, and of course Farkas who brought the tent. Big props to CTMBC who cut this track in record time, especially to the guy in charge of the track who went on to claim the Merida gift voucher, a worthy winner for sure! Thanks to the organisers Chocolate Foot who always run a faultless event, to the sponsors for my prizes SRAM, James Estate Wines, Aussie Butt Cream (anyone need butt cream I'm your man!!!) And finally to my mates from that other bike club HORCC, an awesome bunch of guys who really know that MTB spells fun.

That's probably my shortest blog of all time, it sums up another memorable day on the bike. There was a moment on the track, when the XPT train slowed quite nearby and I pictured myself sitting on the train watching the riders and thinking "Wow look at those lucky people out there being active, riding bikes through the bush, how good would that be?" and then coming back to the present and realising how blessed I was to be actually doing it. I love it!

Keep riding
Mike

PS thanks again to Dave Bateman for a great photo

Scott 2011

The Scott is one of those races I had always wanted to do but never quite managed to get there (apart from last year which doesn’t really count). So when my mates from HORCC mentioned they were looking for another rider to make a team of 6 it didn’t take much convincing. The team (Captain Gavatron and the Mutineers) made up Gary, Dave, Gav, Dan and myself, all of whom have featured on the podium at this years STM series plus Paul who I hadn’t met before, but looked just a little too young and fit to be hucking it with us masters!
Camping at Stromlo was heaps of fun, especially with 3 teams of 6 from HORCC. The buzz around the camp site was always enthusiastic (even at 3 in the morning!) as guys rolled in from their lap fully wired, ready to recount many a glorious performance. These guys are seasoned campers and they do it in style. No sooner had I arrived they had the car unpacked and the TMC marquee erected. Wow, thanks guys! I also had Tom and Liam with me and they were pretty excited to be there. They had an awesome weekend riding their bikes around, camping, eating good food, Liam even picked up 2nd place in the U13 race (and he’s only 11, watch out for this guy in a few years to come ;)
Upon arrival Friday evening, the place was looking a little damp to be sure, and there was talk of a sloppy track from other riders but I wasn’t having any of it. Stromlo is built for MTB’s and it didn’t disappoint.
The vibe around the event centre was electric Saturday morning and a few of us from JesusMTB got together for a quick catch up and prayer for the race ahead. We asked for fine weather, safety, and an opportunity to share His love and gave thanks for our good health to ride and wive’s that indulge our passion. The clouds continued to roll past all weekend with the odd shower, but that only served to keep the track tacky, an experience I’ve not had at Stromlo before and I reckon it never rode so well. Fast forward to the start and Dan is our man who sprints off the line and get’s to the bike at the pointy end of the field to begin on the Blue lap. Gav followed in a similar fashion on the Red to put us in first place. By the time my lap came around, I was raring to go and raced off the line to tackle Blackberry and Willo Link. This was to be my best lap as I averaged 89% Max HR and seemed to really nail my lines. Also at this stage of race there was no slow traffic and after passing a few riders early in my lap, I settled in with a train of 3-4 riders and proceeded to bury myself. I came to love this Blue lap the best, it was so challenging with lots of tight techie corners and the Ellsworth really seemed to suit these trails. Heading into Skippys brought back memories of last years 24 solo and then into Deep Creek which I had never ridden before, a very tight section of trail but beautiful all the same. Just when you think you’ve had enough, of tight sketchy corners on a slight incline, you hit Shady’s, the toughest part of the lap, but it doesn’t last long and from there it is fun all the way home starting with Party line, what has to be the most flowingest sweetest stretch of single track on the planet. Oh yeah I almost forget Terminal Velocity, this will test your (insert euphemism to describe courage). A straight steep downhill fireroad that rolls into something like a safety ramp. The challenge is to pedal as hard as you can downhill without touching the brakes so you can roll up the other side and just pop over the crest of rocks at the top of the other side. I hit 60kph here, scary stuff.
My elation at my time of 43+ minutes was shortlived when I learn the guy I have been dualling with for the second half of the lap is from the competition (3FIDI6) and we drop from 1st to 2nd place with a gap of just 5 seconds. Game on! But it doesn’t end there. On the 5th lap, a team called “chain suck” put in a 41+ min lap on Blue elevating them to 1st, while 3FIDI6 fall back to 3rd and we hold 2nd. So now we have a 3 way battle for the category and it carries on pretty much that way for rest of the race. The whole team now gears up for a long battle, Dave and Gary both put in solid laps and Paul finishes the cycle with a 38+ min Red. Nice work. Dave, the team strategist floats the idea of the 3 strongest riders to pull a double and try and make up the gap to first, so I take the time off to mingle with other riding buddies including the crew from TORC, Sandy, Mark, Vicki and Stan. I watch my boys ride and catch up with a few more friends around the track. Thanks to the organisers for the kids race, I count the laps in the U11 and there are so many kids even two of us Dad’s cant quite keep up with it. It’s so cool to see all these kids out riding and loving it. My next lap is a 44+, which I am happy with as I hit a bit more traffic this time but the legs are still feeling good. I love being able to give it everything for a lap and then rest and recover till your next turn. It is only a brief rest this time as we are pulling our double which puts me onto the Red lap…in the dark. I am pretty excited about this, as I love the trunk climb and our course, Skyline and Luge and legendary. My lap is just OK, I have a few little offs, including a tangle of bars ends with a slower rider who picks the most narrow technical section of track to call me through…err fail, we pick our selves up, I apologise profusely and I’m on my way. I never really find my rhythm after that and to top it off I dump it in an unseen abyss on a fast left hander at the end of rascals. The lap also finishes through a bog resembling something out of the Jurassic Period so now my bike is dirty, not happy! But all is not lost and by the end of the cycle we now have a nice 8 min buffer over chain suck and a further 1 min over 3FIDI6. Turns out Dave hates the Blue lap so we swap over next cycle and everyone’s happy again.
My next lap is a night lap of Blue and this is tough. The corners are so tight and the shrubbery so dense, it makes it hard to anticipate where the track is going. There are times where I exit a corner, unsure of where the track goes next! Another lap down and still we We’ve now completed 19 laps (10 blue, 9 red) and we’re back in 2nd place. Every now and again chain suck wheel out their secret weapon and he puts 5 minutes into us all on his own. We’ve been off by up to 8 minutes but we are clawing back the time. It is now 1:30 in the morning. The boys are sound asleep but I cant rest. I take on some food, potter around the bike but I just don’t feel like resting and and my next lap isn’t till 5:20am. Then I remember my mate Phil, who is doing a solo impromptu performance. I roll down the hill to the solo transition to his hut to find the tell tale signs of a madman, gu wrappers everywhere! I tidy up and make some plans so I am ready when a shell of a man rolls in at 3:30am, completely shattered. The bike is a mess after negotiating many a bog on the red lap and he is out of petrol. OK noodles, that worked for me so I boil him up some noodles and get to work on the bike. He says he’ll stay put for a whle so I head up to the bike wash. When I get back, Phil is atleast smiling again though he groans when he realises he has to go out again. I rev him up, he is in 3rd place and 4th place is getting slower. All he has to do is keep circulating and he’ll podium. I see the spark behind the eyes and before he leaves he puts in an order for porridge next time round. OK cool I’ve got about an hour before I need to get ready and I can leave his porridge for him just before I go on my next lap. Perfect!.. Later on I pass his transition and see the porridge is gone. Phil goes onto hold 3rd place at the finish, and I feel just a little chuffed that I played a little part in getting him there. OK so back to our race, Dave rolls in off the Red lap bang on time and it is time for me to attack Willo again. I play a little game with my self each time trying to pushing a bigger gear up each section of this gentle climb. By the time I get back we are in the lead by 7 mins. Not enough, but this team will dig deep. There’s alot of excitement in the team, the dream is so close but a puncture or any little mistake could see it evaporate quickly. Strangely at this point I am ready for sleep, so inhale some porridge, curl up in my sleeping bag just as the sunrises and grab 90 minutes of shuteye.

When I wake up the mood is tense and so I start to prepare for my last lap which is a ripper. That’s me done. Our lead suddenly goes from 9 to 19 mins as chain suck post a 55+ min lap and the mood lifts as Dan, Gav and Gary get ready to bring it home. Dan returns with a flat back tyre off the Red lap. He flatted near the top of the climb, swirls the goop and puts a co2 in but no good, so he finishes the lap (yes Skyline and Luge) on the rim and still posts a 42. Inspirational! Gav puts in a solid Blue and Gary heads off for his last lap. Unbeknowns he comes off early in the lap….here is Gary’s account of the fall

>>>> 11:45, lead on 2nd placed team is approx 20 mins, but they have had some issues and have one uber fast guy who took 6 mins out of me on a red loop in the night when I was not mucking around. If they get out on the lap, and it's him, there's still danger. So I hook in- this is no last lap cruise. The time being what it is, as I drop down off the crit track into holdens creek, there is no traffic. The recent rain shower has re-slopped some small sections, but for the most part just kept the track tacky. So I'm really concentrating on lines and fast exits. I want a sub 40 min lap to put it to bed and receive gasps of amazement from my team-mates!! (I'd only done a 41 on this loop so far, at dusk). Sooo this was the mode I entered the little gully in. Only about 3-4 mins into the lap, you enter more or less straight, but as you cross the bridge you strat a turn right. The other bank forms a berm, which has you leaving the gully off to the right. As I start the drop I note the slick bridge from the recent shower. No worries, caution for a split second and then on my way. That was it. Whether I feathered the front brake or not I do not know, but I had a no-warning, lightening fast low side on the bridge. No leg down, no slide then down, just bike snatched out as if by a giant hand, with newton and his mates smashing me chest first into the pillow sized rock on the far side of the bridge. Chest lock. Could not breath a bit. Bloody, muddy knee and elbow. Mind racing: 'Can I make it back to transition? Is my elbow shattered? Have I broken two or three ribs?'. Breath returns. Some bloke comes along and picks up my bike, hovers in a concerned way. I wave him on. Roll and diagnose. So I climb on, but bars were way out. Fixed, then medium pace for a minute while I breathed and flexed various bits. Painful but fully functional. So... hook back in and rode a 41:-) Gee they hurt me in the first aid tent though... >>>>
Amazing he still posts a 41 and we celebrate the win as we wheel him off the first aid to get patched up. YOU BEAUTY!
Thanks to everyone for a great weekend
Keep Riding
Mike

Single Track Mind Nowra

Picture from the recent TORC Skills Session with Mick Ross

It’s been a long time between drinks, but what was planned to be a full on racing season has morphed into a busy life off the bike with many different demands tapping into my training time. Put that together with a trip to Brazil and some unsettled weather and the year is shaping up more as one to enjoy rather than to achieve and maybe that’s OK.

I loved the STM series last year and had some success running solo, so I thought it would be cool to form a team and take some time to actually enjoy the event instead of just thrashing my body for 8 hours straight. Gary and I have known each other for years but it wasn’t until we nearly ran each other over at the 80km drink stop in the 2009 Doctor that we became good friends. We both suffered through a wet Sydney 24 and then Gary was my mechanic at the 24HoA last year plus we’ve worked together “spreading the word” about JesusMTB. So I was stoked when I floated the idea with him about forming a Masters Pair for this one and he accepted. He was typically humble and warned he might not quite be at his peak for lack of training, but I had a feeling we’d be pretty close in form and as it turned out our lap times couldn’t have gotten much closer.

I drew the “short straw” for the first lap, but truth be told I love the start. That first drag race up a stretch of fire trail to spread the field is a pure adrenalin rush and I entered the single track right on Gary James wheel which is good and bad. Good coz you know you are lucky to be there, but bad because you know you aren’t going to be there for long. Sure enough he slowly pulled away on the first little climb but there was plenty of traffic and I soon fell in with a train that suited my pace. My only mistake all day was on this first lap when I ran a little wide on a corner and the front washed out on the soft sandy edge. No real damage and I dusted myself off and got rolling again as Farkas went past in a blur. By the end of the day that corner had shaped into a beautiful berm. The next challenge was the fireroad and coming out of the sequence of six switchbacks I hooked onto a fast wheel and had a good chew on the handlebars. I was soon pushing over 90% but I got a great tow and passed a good many riders and the HR pretty much stayed there right to transition where I handed off to Gary.

With Gary James and Rich Peil setting a blistering pace to control the race and Dan and Gavatron matching them in a battle for 1st, we were happy to settle into 3rd place but by early afternoon the Yeti Gu team had cut our 8 minute lead down to just 3 minutes and it was game on in a battle for 3rd. We realised our plan of pulling double laps was slowing us down so it was back to single’s where you get a shorter recovery but you can atleast give it all you’ve got for just one lap. With 5 mins to go Gary put in a great effort to log a 28min lap and I finished with a solid 27 to hold 3rd by nearly 6 minutes.

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic day, the track by SCUM was simply awesome, fast and well prepared, the organisation by Chocolate Foot was terrific and what an advantage to have Castech doing the timing! Thanks also to the sponsors who were generous with their support especially SRAM, Lezyne, Aussie Butt Cream, James Estate Wines and Hammer Nutrition who provided some nice little tidbits to take home for our efforts! and of course my LBS Turramurra Cyclery who always look after me with whatever I need.

10 laps – 93km, 3225Cal

Avg HR – 81% (150bpm), Max 94% (174bpm)

WHAT Gatorade 3 bidon x TORQ Organic with a Shotz tablet 2 bidon x Optimiser 1 serve dutch pancakes 1 TORQ bar 2 Shot Bloks 2 Gu gel 2 Endura gel TOTAL

ENERGY (Cal) 191 573 612 100 (?) 220 400 200 212 2508

CHO (g) 46 143 120 30(?) 47 96 50 52 584 (73g/hour)

The Mountain Bike is Evolving

This all started last Saturday when I noticed a bit of play on the drive side crank on the Trek. It appeared as though the BB had come slightly loose. As soon as I got home, I whipped off the cranks and was bemused to say the least, when the BB cup was not just a bit loose it actually just fell out. Completely stripped was the thread on the cup and inside the frame. Not quite what I was hoping for just 2 weeks out from the worlds.

Importantly I want to share with you some intel on why I think this happened so you can avoid it happening to you (Thanks to Mark at TMC for explaining). The Trek has a 68mm wide BB, Standard Shimano BB is made for 73mm, so you will usually find a couple of spacers on the drive side if your BB is 68mm. Problem here is that leaves precious little thread to actually screw into the frame. It only has to get a tiny bit loose and then the resulting play will see the metal slowly grind away. So the answer is to only have one spacer on the drive side, this gives you a better chain line to use the granny anyway which isnt all bad.

OK slight diversion back to the main story

So I head into the shop, yeah they can fix but "When am I going to get my first Carbon frame?" they ask. It is clear the Trek's racing days are numbered even if they can fix, so perhaps it is time to think about my next serious bike purchase.

The Giant was pretty cheap and was really just a long term tester to see if the 29er was right for me. Big tick in that box.

So we have a bit of a chat about what is available, I would like to strip down the Giant and reuse my upgraded parts. A hardtail carbon frameset is what I need. And then they introduce me to the Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er.

I'll admit it was love at first sight.

Mark and Simey did an awesome job of fitting me up and looking at the best setup for me and long story short, just one week later I have my Trek back, I have a nice clean Giant 29er frame looking for a new home and I now have an absolute rocket carbon race bike.

This bike is amazing to ride, it's plush and compliant but with plenty of lateral strength, it climbs like nothing I have ridden before and simply floats over water bars, take as much air as you want, this puppy just flies and lands level everytime.

It's a gorgeous bike, let's face it, alot of this sport has to do with how things look and rolling up to the bunch Saturday morning their was certainly a few raised eyebrows as the group appraised the latest incarnation of off road cycling.

Congratulations Ellsworth, now I see why you have such a loyal following, add another convert to your list of riders and thanks again to Turramurra Cyclery for the amazing job you did in getting me on this bike in time for the Worlds.

One sad little footnote to this story is the roadie is gone. The faithful Wilier Evasion that has bore me over many a kilometre in the last three years had to go. The theory behind n+1 bikes is all well and good but it doesnt do much for the bank balance. I am sad to see this bike go, I have simply loved riding it, but it goes to a good mate who I know will get alot of enjoyment from her.

Keep riding

Mike