Capital Punishment 100km MTB

Earlier this year when I locked in my entry for Capital Punishment, I got a little excited.  My focus for the last two years has been more towards the ultra-endurance end of the spectrum, so to be able to design my training and racing around this 4-5 hour discipline made for a welcome change.  Also as CapPun was going to be the first round of the Maverick Marathon series, it was pretty much a guarantee the race would be very well attended. by a strong field.

My excitement turned to a little anxiety when the start waves were published and I was relegated to Wave 2.  To be honest I probably didn't rate myself as a Wave 1 rider, but looking down the list all my regular sparring partners were in Wave 1, so I had to accept a race plan of chasing very hard all day.  Local legend Grantley Butterfield, promptly gave me a dose of HTFU and encouraged me to start in Wave 1 and so it was on a glorious mild Autumn morning that I fronted up like the badgeless guy with the clipboard, albeit it in the "wrong" wave but who was going to stop me?  That being said I did sit at the back of the wave so as not to raise too many eyebrows and hoped that the timing mats would take care of my sneaky self promotion.

Warming up in the dark is always fun and before long we were charging up the the fireroad.  I didn't have a great position so all I could do at this stage was ride at a comfortable pace and wait for the gaps to open up.  The other big change for me was the resurrection of the Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er carbon hardtail, fresh with a 1x10 setup.  This bike has been on the shelf for a couple of years due to a non-reliable drivetrain but with some input from Jordan and Camo at Ride in Workshop and a few parts at mate's rates from Mike Blewitt Marathon MTB, this bike was now race ready again.  And didn't it go hard.  I loved riding it again, so agile and light and compliant.  Don't get me wrong, I've had some great races on my alloy Giant Anthems, but there is nothing quite like riding a carbon hardtail on the sweetest single track around.

And we're off, with Brett Bellchambers preferring to give the field a headstart.  We rode most of the race together, errr that is he dropped me on the climbs and then I'd catch up on the flats again.

At around the 30km mark I'd had a great run with Brook Nelson, I'd never met him before but we were riding well together and helping each other through the single track. We caught a big group including Garry James and Paul Morgan.  I know that is disgraceful attempt at blog name dropping, but it was a great sign to me that I was travelling pretty well even if they did drop me on the very next pinch.  I just sat on Garry's wheel for a time, feeling content as an anonymous wheel at the back of the bunch rather than announcing my presence only to wave bye bye in the very near future.

Focussing on smooth and flow-ful riding, looking for the millimetre perfect line on some hand made single track 

The rest of the first section was a perfect mix of fireroad and dusty dry schlerophyll eucalypt forest.  I loved the course, last time I rode the race was in 2011 and endured the endless grassy airport fairways.  It was so good to ride this alternative route and made for some really enjoyable riding and with one little pinch over Majura, we crossed the mats for a welcome breather.  The feed station was a great place to have a chat, refuel and pick a bunch to roll out with.  Tristan White and Wayne Dickinson were there so I followed them out and meandered our way up to Black Mountain for the restart.  It's a strange phenomenon once you reach the restart.  Everyone stops, noone wanting to be the first over the mat for fear of being a marked man and giving up precious seconds at the finish, but you cant stand there all day, so just as I rolled out, Steve Henry and Rob Weiser came through, you beauty! A couple of mates I know who will work hard as a group.  The track around Black Mountain was nice and sketchy just to keep everyone on their toes and there were a number of punctures through this section. After the legs warmed up again I felt OK, but a few of the hills around the Arboretum soon started to take their toll and in the headwind to Stromlo I dropped a wheel.  At this stage, I was really starting to tire but with just 15km and one climb to go I put everything I had left into the pedals and finished with a shredding descent off Stromlo.

Great shot with Telstra Tower in the background, I'm really hurting on the front and only smiling for the camera

Well done to Matt Rizzuto and Minter Barnard, tearing the Master's field to pieces to take 1st and 2nd with a 15 min gap to Wayne Dickinson in 3rd and a further 5 minutes covering the next 5 places. For me, I beat my time from 2011 by 35 mins so I was very happy with my 6th place in Masters and 44th overall.  Thanks again to the Butterfields for putting me up Friday night.  You always make me feel at home!  You martians (Canberra locals) have it made; fancy having a 5 minute roll home to shower and recover after a 100km MTB race?
The final pleasure after a great ride with mates on the best trails was the vibe at the finish enjoying a beer and some good food in the sun.  That's why we race

Keep Riding
Mike

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
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