Blood, Blackberries and Bouncing off Rocks

You could well ask what am I doing up at 4am writing this post, call it a bit of blog therapy, but my injuries after today's race are making it hard to sleep, so the best option was to pour a bowl of cereal and dump some of my thoughts down on today's race.

I guess I'm a bit disappointed due to my poor result, I've been racking my brain trying to work out where exactly I went wrong.  Perhaps a better question is "How in the world did you finish that one??".  I've never been one to give up on myself and I guess that's a little of the appeal of mountain biking.  From time to time you are going to fall off, but can you get back on and master your fear?  Perhaps that was my victory today.

The start was pretty cool, there were some freakishly talented riders present all with postcodes starting with 26, not the least of which was Brad Morton, who went straight to the front, took a sneaky line right to the fireroad climb and set a respectable tempo.  At this point I felt great sitting two abreast in 2nd wheel.  I thought a top 5 finish today would be a good result.  But as the gradient turned upwards I started quickly going backwards through the field and once we hit the single track, I was a long way down.

The riders were good up Cardiac, it was the same for everyone, a mad scramble to the top of a climb that most would struggle to walk up but it's the rock gardens and tight technical switchbacks that really test you.  In a train of riders I took the A line down Hammerhead and regained a few places to the cheers of many spectators.  On the next lap I really gave them something to cheer for as I went in a little unbalanced and hit a rock ledge half way down, sending me straight over the bars.  It was a pretty big off, but somehow I managed to roll with it and was lucky not to break my body or my bike.
The guys watching were already calling for the ambulance as I got up and remounted.  With the adrenalin still coursing through my veins I made another mistake at the tricky the little waterfall, the last obstacle before the easy descent, and went OTB again into a thicket of blackberries.
This one took a little longer to recover from and I'm still finding shards of thorns in places I'd rather not mention. I'm not sure if this is what Paul was referring to in in his letter to the Corinthians "a thorn was given me in the flesh, ....to keep me from becoming conceited" but at this point of the race just finishing seemed like an insurmountable challenge (credit: Peter Lister).  I rolled sedately down Luge, got my composure back, worked out what was still working, and where it hurt most and then set about completing to two further laps.

Top of Cardiac Arrest, don't be fooled by the smile, I am in complete agony and this is just before my crash. Thanks Grantley, Liam and Riley for this photo and your cheers of support!

The real question bouncing around my head as I prepared for my 3rd assault on Hammerhead was would I have the guts to take the A line again.  I was pretty sure that if I crashed again my race would be over, I was feeling like one of those characters from Call of Duty whose life force is down to 25% and it's close to game over.  The answer was yes, I rolled it pretty clean, passed one rider, happy that I only had 1 more lap to go.

It was a great relief to finish what was certainly the most technically challenging MTB race I have ever ridden.  I rolled straight to first aid and Paul did a great job of patching me up.  Thanks to Grantley, Kate and Kel and Martin Wisata who all helped me immensely in the lead up and throughout the race.  I couldn't have finished without your help.  Also the many volunteers who give their time to make these events happen.  I mention Russ Baker who works tirelessly for the sport but there is an army of people who work beside him to deliver such a professionally run event and I thank every one of you for the time you invest in this sport.

Keep Riding
Mike

The Stromlo Grin

These days, it's kind of rare to get a bunch of guys and gals together and just go riding.  There always seems to be some race or training ride that must be done, so it was with a sense of wonder that our little crew first raised the question of taking a day off from work, JUST TO RIDE

No racing, no rushing, no stress, no strava (well OK we didnt quite go that far) just ride.

The date was set and equipped with a new elbow and a shiny new set of Curve Cycling Carbon hoops we set off down the Hume highway for what would prove to be a very valuable Mental Health Day.

After loading up the bikes just before dawn we all met up at the Trappers Bakery Goulburn for coffee.  Imagine sitting in an enclosed sun drenched verandah sipping a great coffee and pulling apart a hot date scone lashed with butter and just enjoying the idea of a day's riding ahead and no race briefing deadline to obey.  Pure bliss!

Onwards to Stromlo, and at the very civilised time of 10am we rolled out of the carpark on a perfect late Winter's morning, sun blazing and just the wisp of a cool breeze, perfect riding conditions.  After an hour or so of riding, Finchy had a grin from ear to ear, having come off a 26" Fuel 9.9, to a 29" BH Lynx, he just couldn't believe MTBing could be so enjoyable, so we quickly diverted up Bloodrock just to prove how rocky and technical MTB can get!  Rob claimed the closest rider to the "no dab" award, well done mate, and Jason, being a Stromlo virgin, could scarcely believe how good this trail network could be and rapidly began searching domain for properties located within riding distance!

The crew summitting Mt Stromlo for the first time that day

We pretty much covered every cm of trail at Stromlo, putting together our accumulated knowledge from many a race day, from the challenge of Heartbreaker and Bloodrock to the sheer "yeooowwww" factor of Skyline/Luge or Pork Barrel and Double Disillusion.  The Briony had a very off day, by not even drawing blood from one of her knees, but the smiles never stopped and Watty couldnt resist towards the end of the day and gave the pedals a bit of a burst down Breakout and into Muckraker just to remind everyone what it feels like to ride on the limit.

Watty enjoying the very popular Chicken Avocado Focacia for lunch

We'd thought about packing up and heading over to Sparrow, but everyone was just enjoying the ambience of Stromlo so much we decided there were further trails to be explored so it was back onto the bikes and out again.  On the final descent down Skyline, Matty was clearly having "too much fun" and bit the dust pressing into a berm just a fraction too hard, but he was OK, if not a little dazed and dusty.  By 4pm we all reckoned we call it a day and even finished it off with a hot shower before the trip home.  #sheerluxury

We had a few laughs when the call came from the Mazda 3 that the trip computer was saying 3km to go on fuel still 30km south of Goulburn and could we slow down and give them a tow!!  thankfully Jason put his drafting skills to good use and the Mazda 3 pulled into the servo with nothing but fumes left in the tank.

Jason enjoying some post ride nutrition on the way home

Who was that masked man?  Yep, a real true blue living legend, humble as apple pie, owner of the bakery Keith aka "The Trapper"

On the way home, it just had to be done, another relaxing stop at the bakery and we were thrilled to meet the owner Keith, who had noticed us in the morning and wanted to know all about our cycling adventures.

As for me, the elbow never complained and whilst my descending was a little more conservative than usual, it was clear "he's back" ;) and as for those Carbon rims, what can I say, simply the best hoops I've ever ridden and that includes that other very expensive and fancy brand.  Why? the profile gives you an awesome tyre profile for cornering and precise steering especially over the rocky stuff, and there was a clear advantage in the way the rims picked up speed after a slow switchback.  Take for example some of the 'A' line switchbacks on the trunk climb;  Corners I would normally struggle to make without unclipping were suddenly a breeze, as the slightest pressure on the pedals propelled the wheels forward again.  Finally Strava doesnt lie, and I set a number of PR's up a climb that I've ridden probably a hundred times and in peak fitness.  After 6 weeks off the mountain bike to set a PR without really trying says something with the wheels being the only difference.  Well you might say I am an ambassador, and I received a discount, so of course I'm obliged to say something positive.  But those who know me, now I'm pretty transparent when it comes to speaking my mind so there you go.  Give the guys at Curve a call and see what they can do for you.

Keep riding
Mighty Mike

WEMBO 24hr

As I approached the finish of this race, my throat tightened and my eyes began to water, not just from the dry dusty swirls.  This would probably go down as the best thing that has ever happened to me after my wife and kids.  Putting aside the slight setback of breaking my collarbone 12 weeks ago, I’d had a perfect lead up to this race in terms of training, racing and mental preparation.  You could even argue the accident was a blessing in disguise, forcing me to rest and then adapt my training as my body healed.  This is the story of how I went on to win a World Championship title and the place where I collect all my thoughts on the race and acknowledge those who made it possible.  It is a long one and will probably take you 24 hours just to read it, but I hope some of this is good reading for you.

Pit boss Andrew and I pre race

True to form I had little sleep the night before thanks to nerves, call it a little sleep deprivation training but wow it felt good to be finally on the start line.  The event centre and course had a great vibe of a true international event complete with “Crazies on the mountain” #popamono, the hippies with drums and trumpets and the volunteers at checkpoints calling out numbers and cheering on riders all night long.

Heading down Luge near the end of the race

1ST QUARTER

I like to break 24hr into 4 quarters.  The first quarter is where you settle into a sustainable pace and start building up the km’s, whilst topping up the carbs and sussing out the competition.  For the first 3 laps Michael Redman was pushing pretty hard and I was in two minds whether to push and keep him in sight or to let him go.  I concentrated hard to save as much energy as possible and still the avg heart rate was above where it should be for this race, and in the heat, that spelt danger.  Just as I backed it off, Michael flatted and I breathed easy again, thankful for a bit of race luck and a small buffer.

Putting in the big ones

2ND QUARTER

Going into the night, I had a nice gap of 10 mins and I worked on maintaining my pace in the hope of building my lead. About that time Ed came through to lap me and he was flying. It seemed like an eternity before the rest of the chasing elite group came by in dribs and drabs. What’s going on I wondered?  I never saw Ed again, but Jason English continued to lap me in what seemed to be ever shortening intervals.  Jason was exerting his stranglehold on the race and I was slowing.

Sarah passing out the energy

3RD QUARTER

After 12am, it is still pitch black and pretty cold.  The body is now taking an immense battering.  Hands, butt, lower back and triceps are all starting to give out and the stomach cramps are coming in waves.  I think I ate too much real food.  As we get close to sunrise I am ready to give up.  I can no longer corner the bike and I am hating sections of track like Luge and Breakout, normally the ones I love the most.  The only segment I look forward to is the gentle steady straight incline of Willo Link, and just then #572 goes past looking strong as an Ox.  I don’t know who it is yet, but I know he is in my age category and I basically wave bye bye to the championship.

 Getting back to the pits at around 5am, I am spent, it’s time to sit down and take a 5 min breather and break the emergency glass to reach for the Red Bull.  I was now seriously wondering if I would make it to the finish, let alone podium.

FINAL QUARTER

By 8am, the sun was finally revealing it's glory from behind a strategically placed bank of cloud.  I on the other hand was really struggling again.  The quick fix of the Red Bull had come and gone.  Coming into the pits, Andrew said "what do you need?" and I said "everything!".  I said to Sarah this is as tough as my first full 24solo in 2010 and I am so much fitter and better prepared this time round.  Five minutes later I had new knicks, chammois cream, nurofen, a toilet stop and a pocket full of gels,  I was ready to roll and the lights came back on.  I was moving again at more than a snails pace, I regained the ability to corner a mountain bike and now knew I could finish.  At this time Sarah asked Andrew "I don't understand why he doesn't just stop".

Apparently, Andrew, himself an Ironman veteran, just nodded knowingly and said

"I do"

Old Duffys

Two more good laps got me to 10:30am and I now had 2nd place secured.  I figured 1 more easy lap and I could call it quits, but my crew had other ideas.

"That was really fast Mike!" called Sarah and Andrew was in the zone, he wanted two more laps and what's more he told me I was putting time back into the leader.  Could I bridge a 15 min gap? Rolling back in at 11:50, my crew were going ballistic.

"He's just 4 minutes up the track!" "C'mon Mike, you can do this!" were the last words from Andrew as I pulled away.

Like a match to tinder dry bush, my energy levels ignited and I stamped on the pedals.  The red mist had entirely descended and I was on the chase.  My heart rate soared back to race pace, and Dean rock hopped all over the mountain meeting me at junctions with timing splits and cries of motivation.

Cockatoo 3 mins, as I charged up the climb the final time, and stomped over the jagged A line at the top to save precious seconds.  I had visions of making the catch on old Duffy's, holding Ian's wheel back onto the tarmac and sprinting for the finish line. Down Skyline, I felt like a heat seeking missile locked onto a target and when I pulled up behind a train of three slower riders, I asked them as gently as possible to make way for someone chasing 1st place and they promptly yielded the track.

Slant 6 just 2 mins Dean screamed, I spurred the legs again, and I still couldnt catch a glimpse of Ian, until I got to the picnic tables at the start of Willo link.  There he was, a blue jersey still some way off, but a rider who looked like he was being chased.  This was no slower rider about to be lapped.  By this stage the wind was howling and the sun was beating down and it felt like we were the last two riders on course.  As I came up behind Ian it was such a bittersweet moment.  It was clear there would be no sprint finish, Ian was running on fumes.  I gently said "Hi Ian, track please" he returned with "Well done Mike, I'm done" and tears welled in my stinging eyes as I felt his pain.  I held my pace back to the finish being careful just to bring it home in one piece and all 5 of us, my crew of 4 and I, danced, laughed and cried in disbelief and celebration over what had happened after saving my 4th fastest lap for last.

The scoreboard will never tell the drama of the final lap. Ian never finished the lap; after I caught him, he simply turned for home, his last lap turned to dust and was blown across the almost lunar landscape along with his dreams of victory on the hot, gusty winds now lashing Mt Stromlo.

FRIENDS AND HEROS

As I mentioned in my speech at the dinner, I love this sport and have made many many good friends through it.  Ian Brigland is a new friendship that has been forged in the heat of battle and there will be many rides together down the track.

There are so many characters I love and admire, but here are just a few,

Andy Hall dropped in for a chat sometime Sunday morning and took me for a guided tour of Party Line.  He completely stepped it up a notch beating some heavy hitters on the global stage to take 3rd overall.  Read about it here

Ed McDonald scared everyone with his show stopper attack on Saturday.  Is he about to re-build the diesel to be some kind of turbo-charged F1 racing machine set for XCO?  I'm sure we'll read about it here.

Jason McAvoy is probably the first elite mountain biker who caught my interest and the first of many mates in our nations capital.  He won again! If this guy has taught me anything it is the power of the human mind to make the body do things that should be impossible. He popped in for a chat when my engine had ceased to even splutter and it was all I could do to get back to the pits and curl up into a ball.  He said "The sun's about to come up and you'll not only come good but you'll win this race".  Thanks mate.  Read about his race here

Jason English, world class, set apart, cycling royalty completely at home having a chat with lil' ol' me in the shower queue #priceless

Peter Selkrig and Phil Welch, my 300 club buddies whose races didnt quite go to plan and still with smiles on their faces heading off to the Croc Trophy.  We salute you!

WHY?

All year I have been asking myself why WEMBO.  I knew I wanted to do it but couldnt put my finger on the "why".  As a Christian (*) there is a constant conflict between this resource hungry, time consuming, sometimes selfish sport.  It is not always compatible with family and or belonging to a church family.  My minister Tom Henderson Brooks put his finger on it one day as we chatted.  Mike you are good at this, and God gave you this ability.  So enjoy it, use it and ride amongst those who may be looking for some answers to life.  I dont have all the answers, and sometimes I am my own worst enemy, but given the choice of riding with mates who accept me or sitting in church with those who already believe what I believe, I think I now know what the right option is.  

(*) I meet with a bunch of blokes on Tuesday night.  There’s a teacher or two, an architect, a project manager who loves the Hawks and a good country pub, an arborist, a builder who is also a rugby tragic, an accountant who loves to sail and a minister with a pony tail and a cross on the collar of his leather jacket.  Ordinary blokes who share the things they struggle with in life, see what the bible has to say about it and then pray God forgive us when we stumble, help us to live up to those words and thank him for all the good things he's given us. That’s being a Christian.

THANKYOUS

Andy Blair was recently quoted by Flow as saying that "Solo 24 is a contradiction".  I thought that was a little presumptuous given he hasn’t done one, but given the guy "can ride" I gave it some introspection and well, yeah, he's dead right.  This is why.

Four of my nearest and dearest give up their weekend (two of them give up a night’s sleep and dedicate all their energies so I can ride my bike as far as humanly possible and beyond in 24 hours.

Thankyou to my pit crew Andrew Mackenzie, Dean Israel, Sarah Israel (nee Deane) and Fiona Mackenzie (nee Deane) and to both our Mum’s for taking the kids for the weekend. Without your commitment I would not have finished, much less won the race.  I love you guys so much.

CORC do a fabulous job every time we make the trip to Canberra and I’ve been there 3 of the last 4 weekends!  Congratulation Russ Baker and Sarah O'Callaghan

To the volunteers who stayed up all night at Western Wedgetail and Party Line to call out numbers.  That takes commitment, not only to do the job and suffer through a near freezing night, but to cheer every rider as they go past on every lap.  You rock!

Turramurra Cyclery and all my friends from Peloton Sports, need I say more.  This is where it all began for me 7 years ago and no matter what’s happening you always have time to deal with my tiny questions and my special needs.  You guys are like my second family. Mark, Brad and Simey set me up perfectly on two bomb proof Giant Anthem 29ers.

NutriScience, I’ll review these products separately, but thanks to Wes Hurrell for your support.  The NS products Extend and Refuel taste great and kept me going when I could stomach nothing else.

Peter Melville.  Peter is a great mate and coach.  This year we took a different approach, train on feel and keep an eye on the numbers.  No structured programs, just listen to your body and enjoy the ride. It works, thanks for you regular little messages of encouragement and follow up and thanks for keeping the faith when I did something a little stupid and crashed my road bike.

Lindsay Gorrell.  I call her the chick with nuclear warheads built into her thumbs.  Two weeks before the race, my body was smashed.  She kneaded the concrete-like knots out of my muscles and got me ready.  Thanks Lindsay, you are an amazing practitioner and an even better friend.

One last thought: As I exited Party Line for the last time and rode up the fireroad, I noticed all the gel wrappers had been collected off the ground.  MTBer's are normally very sensitive to the environment and at any race they carry their rubbish to the finish, but allowances are made for 24 solos.  Whoever you are, who picked up all those wrappers, you are one very special generous person.

So how about it Andy Blair, are you ready to find out just how far you can go?

Keep Riding

Mike

24 hours 46 minutes, 390km, 9000+ vm, 10000+ Calories, 1000+ TSS

Scott 2013

So I read a rather entertaining soap box piece on Flow this week that questioned the motivation to race and why we are so dead keen serious here in Oz.  And of course it got me thinking.  Not everything in the article was entirely balanced but the writer had some good points.  So being just one week away from perhaps the biggest race of my life, and heading for the 3rd race in as many weeks, I needed to really turn down the intensity factor and just enjoy this one.  Here are some things I found helpful for not racing at a race.  Most of them are obvious and I hate writing obvious things but perhaps some of these will resonate with you and yeah, some of this is a little tongue in cheek, I know, you think I am probably the straightest guy you know.

1.) Take 3 teenage boys to the race
Nothing quite takes as much energy and focus and herding three boys to a race three hours from home and making sure they are fed and watered, then get them home in one piece with as much of their gear undamaged and accounted for as possible!  Not to mention listening to their music!  Fact is it was an absolute pleasure, these guys were awesome, and in Charley and Lewis' case they did OK for a couple of roadies!  Tommy you rock!

2.) Go for a ride before the race.
It's a bit of a saga, this one, so I'll give you the abridged version.  How hard do you think it would be to find a pair of bibs that will go the distance in a 24 solo.  So it was that I rolled down to Woden to take my pick from bike shops and I think I found some bibs up to the task.  Bellweather Axiom.  Time will tell but early signs feel good.  And man, you Martians have some evil Magpies.  I will never again smirk at the determined rider with cable ties tied onto their helmet!

3.) Wear baggy shorts
Look, I havent bought into the whole shorts/lycra debate, because for me there is no debate.  Wear what you like.  I love wearing lycra and I reckon any half decent cyclist looks good in lycra.  I cant stand the thought of the excess fabric flapping around in the breeze.  Lycra is comfy, practical and isnt going to get caught on anything.  I get the feeling that the baggy shorts brigade have something against the human form as it is clearly on display in lycra, and I admit there are some human specimens who probably should NOT wear lycra (oh dear did I just make a judgement, I know that is very non-PC) BUT riding in baggy shorts just gives it a whole different feel and you get treated on the trail differently too.

4.) Leave the Garmin in the bag.
Just ride and stop staring at your stem.  Yes I can see you all nodding and saying see I told you so.  I like the Garmin and everything that comes with it as a training tool including the evil Strava, but going "by feel" every now and again can be extremely liberating.  My last lap, in baggy shorts, I went for a cruise, absolutely no racing, no efforts, no chasing rabbits, nada, just ride and enjoy the wind in your face.  Still clocked a 38 on Blue, so it goes to show, slow is fast-ish.

5.) Enter a category where you know you wont be competitive.  When Fi had to hot foot it overseas, we enrolled good old trusty Greg to make up the foursome, but that put us into Male Masters 4, arguably the category best known for racing for sheep stations.  We didnt have to ride every minute of the 25 hours and we actually pulled the pin and got an early mark home before race end (heaven forbid!).  We had an awesome weekend riding and socialising, we got some sleep and I didnt have to do any soul searching at 3am.  Save that for a week from now.

So there you go, that was the Scott 2013.  Fine weather, good food, fun company, dusty trails, what more could you ask for?

Keep riding
Mike

 The three teens

Riders starting their Blue lap on dusk