How to race a MTB without really trying

This episode starts under the premise that whilst life is normally pretty busy, it just suddenly got that little bit busier. Recently after a particularly deflating day at my job as an IT Manager, I went home determined to do something about it. I needed a change, I needed something else to occupy my brain and the match that got struck was an ad for a mechanic at one of the local bike shops.  "YES!" my mind expanded into the possibilities of a life lived within the cycling industry, until the prospect of a fairly hefty pay cut, and the subsequent defaulting on the mortgage came into focus. Well long story short I am now a part-time bike shop mechanic, albeit with P plates but I'm loving the change of scenery and I must say the gang at Cyclery Northside rock!

So it was on a sultry Sydney Saturday where this tale begins, when Anthony Shippard (Specialised Rider) waltzed into the shop with a box of health food. You might otherwise know them by the name of Crispy Creme.
"Shall I put these with the other health food?" Anthony asked, referring to the huge pile of pizza awaiting to be eagerly devoured by hungry staff for lunch.
Mmmm I wonder if working in a bike shop is going to impact on my lean physique...time will tell.  I resisted the donuts until "Shippo"caved in so I thought I could probably get away with it as well.

The shop was going ballistic just before closing time and consequently the rendezvous with my racing partner Phil Welch was slightly delayed, but it was no problem for Phil and it was great to pack up the Santa Fe and head for the hills so to speak. The drive to Orange is pretty long and you have to be constantly watching your speed lest you get snapped by a network of highway patrol and speed cameras, but the scenery is breath taking and we were lucky to time our journey and witness a gorgeous setting sun illuminating the golden sandstone walls of the Grose Valley.

We made a quick stop for food in Bathurst, yep you guessed it pizza again (Lewy's on George St - can recommend!), and then onto Orange. Phil had sorted the accommodation at the Occidental and we went for a quick stroll to collect cereal for breakfast, much to the entertainment of some local gals cruising the main drag who clearly took our skinny shaven legs as a sign of youth, poor misguided Gen Y's!

So to the race, and Phil and I were feeling quietly confident. We knew Benny had been doing some not so secret training, Mark is always a tough competitor and we knew the #fortyplusfrothers of Troy and Matt could certainly ride fast but could they sustain it for the full 7 hours?

Shredding through the forest on my time machine, the Giant 29er Anthem - Thanks Dave Bateman for this top shot

Well without prolonging the suspense too much, the answer was yes! Phil again designated me to take the start lap and from the gun I felt pretty good. Mark beat me into the single track by a few wheels, but that was where he stayed and I kept him in sight for the whole lap. Normally I'd be expecting to hold a little buffer after the first lap, but not to today and I knew straight away this was going to be a even tougher race than usual. It looked like our competition would be taking no prisoners and by half way through the race, we'd given them around 5 minutes. Our one remaining hope was that they had gone out too hard and I was still lapping at a reasonable pace, so I asked Phil to stake me a double and if there were any signs of them cracking perhaps I could stem the bleeding, but it was to no avail and all we could do was settle for 3rd as the real battle continued up the track for 1st and 2nd.

7 hr Master Pairs series podium - L-R Troy Matt Ben Mark Mike Phil

Once the realisation set in that we couldn't win, it was good to ease off the pace a fraction and settle into some not so fast laps. We'd also learned that our no show at Awaba would be counted in the series tally so that lowered the expectation and I was quite happy to settle for 3rd on the day and 3rd in the series.

The biggest congrats certainly goes to Benny who has done some serious training and basically was the quickest masters rider on the day. Also congrats to my good mate from TORC Brad Tillack who has been chipping away at this series for a couple of years now and finally cracked his first win in Super Masters, what a great effort!

Brad and I at the rider briefing - Thanks Phil Welch for this pic

Cycling is an obsessive sport, anyone reading this who is related to a cyclist can attest to that.  The pursuit of better fitness and sharper skills is like a carrot dangling in front that you never quite reach.  The goal for Phil and I at the beginning of the year was a series win, and whilst that didn't quite pan out, we've had a great time riding, keeping fit and healthy and making some great friends.  It's always worth remembering that cycling should be fun first, and also that there is more to life than riding fast.

A few thanks I have to make.  Firstly Chocolate Foot's Joe and Fi for putting on an awesome series and setting up these races in all the best locations.  Also to the sponsors and clubs for their support without whom none of these events would happen.  I have a number of clans now that I count myself lucky to ride with like TORC, Easy Riders and Quantum.  And now Pete and the gang at Cyclery Northside thanks for giving me a go.  I am loving working with you guys and genuinely excited where this could lead "down the track"

Keep Riding
Mike

Chocolate Foot Round 4 Coondoo

It was a strange feeling packing up all the gear prepping for the STM round in Nowra.  With interruptions from weather earlier in the year and then an injury, my racing season has been....well.....sparse to say the least.  Suffice to say the injury forced me to re-appraise my priorities and how I "do life" and with a few tweeks I was in a much better place mentally to head into a race.  Now 9 weeks since my accident and having completed 3 good weeks on the trainer with some help from cycle coach Dave Hunt, it was time to return to the race scene and see where the legs were at.  

The evening before was a perfect race prep, travelling down with fellow Masters racer Ian Bridgland, we took in a practice lap and found the track had drained well and would be in great nick for the race.  SCUM had put in a huge effort to prep the track and some of the new berms on the descent were just awesome, thanks guys!  I spent the evening reading a cycling blog, catching glimpse's of the classic James Bond "Dr No" and soon fell asleep to the soothing calm of a light shower signalling the end of the rain (surely!?).

Sure enough the weatherman got it right and we awoke to near ideal conditions Sunday morning.  The race started with the usual lead out on the fireroad and I comfortably found a spot near the rear of the lead bunch.  It is in these first few minutes when you discover whether you brought your race legs and I was happy with my first effort.  A errant strip of bunting diverted the lead bunch into an "hors d'oeuvre" of single track and confusion reigned for a moment, but there was nothing to be done except to hold the wheel in front and we all seemed to emerge back onto the fireroad none the worse off.  It's the little surprises like this that make a race more memorable.

And so the first lap completed, I was glad to to see we were in second with a healthy buffer to 3rd.  It turned out Mark Hardy wasn't so fortunate with the way the diversion worked out and he and Ben spent the entire day clawing back the 4 minutes he'd lost on the first lap.  Without that bit of race luck, the end result may have been a little different.

Having the Bioathletic team there was fantastic and added a whole other dimension to those riding in a team.  The option to take an ice bath in between laps and then stretch out on a roller was a great way to recover and I am sure it helped me to maintain consistent lap times all day.  Thanks to Jen and the team, you rocked.  

Dave Eccles entertaining some of the lovely Choc Foot ladies in the "IceT" bath

A good graph showing the epic battle for all you strategists out there

The rest of day panned out pretty much to plan and personally I just had a ball reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.  As you can see from above, Mark and Ben were never far away, chasing hard all day and Michael "Browny" Brown was the hero of the day setting blistering lap times and making a very good substitute for regular partner Phil Welch.  Phil is away riding the Mongolia Bike Challenge and at this very moment is probably reclining in a warm Gur somewhere on the Mongolian tundra partaking of his first swig of "airag". Meanwhile Jason and Paul set a pace that was inspiring and took the win with ease.

The Ellsworth Enlightenment setup with 1x10 performed beautifully on the track, still nimble in the tight corners and light as a feather up hill, but my lower back is complaining today!  The Curve Cycling wheels continue to impress and have taken the bike to a new level of performance.  Paired with the Rubena Kratos, steering and cornering has never been so precise and so reliable thanks to the wide profile rim.

The 7hr Masters Pairs podium.  You can actually see Mark thinking, if only I'd gone just that little bit harder!

The bridge added an extra fun feature at the end of the lap

Fi showing how it's done off a jump that launches one into orbit

I'd also like to extend a huge vote of thanks to all the support I've received from Turramurra Cyclery over the years.  My identity was practically synonymous with the Blue and White kit, (indeed many of you didn't recognise me in the new green kit from Quantum), but after nearly 8 years I reckoned it was time for a change and I'm looking forward to focussing my attention to more MTB riding together with a bunch of riders who have some similar goals to me.  All I need to do now is perfect my Euro accent.  I'm getting lessons by listening to Martin Wisata's staple Armin Van Buuren - State on Trance while I spin away on the wind trainers.  Who knows, even I could find myself on the start line of the TransAlp one day.

Keep riding

Mighty Mike

Kirrawak State Forest Race Report

Moving a little further afield than in previous years, Chocolate Foot held their first round for 2014 in Taree last Sunday.  Having heard how sweet these trails were from last year, I made sure this one was firmly locked in the calendar well in advance.  Marking the first round of the premier endurance MTB series known as the Finish Line Single Track Mind Series, riders converged from up and down the eastern seaboard for what boils down to the most fun you can have in the dirt on two wheels.

Saturday night turned into something of a cross between a treasure hunt and the great race, in an attempt to find pre-race nutrition.  On the plus side we got to see the sights of Taree at night, and there were plenty of laughs and raised eyebrows amongst our steely MTB foursome of Chops, Phil, Tim and I.  As in all good boys nights out, we ended up playing pool and proving we should stick to cycling, when Tim pulled out the most amazing "single track" trick shot, rolling the cue ball the full length on top of the cushion that would have challenged the great Eddie Charlton.

Located just outside the sleepy country town of Taree, the park presents as a gorgeous leafy green pocket of eucalypt forest and the local club (Manning Great Lakes Tip Riders) take great pride in their trail network.  Ripping around for my first lap, I was struck at how smooth the trails were and also how perfectly radiused the many windy corners were.  This was indeed a track built with Flow and Fun in mind that would reward those who ride smooth and subscribe to the theory, slow is fast.  It even had white markings for obstacles, something that reminded me of early Saturday morning soccer matches eons ago.

Brad Tillack has been gradually building capacity and experience in this series over the last couple of years and has now been rewarded with his very own category, "Super Masters" where he can draw his sword against the many other 50+ warriors.  I’m a confirmed addict to this style of racing (first entering in 2007) and ended up causing extra froth in the coffee cup when the news got around; I'd not be riding solo, yes I finally found a friend (long time rival and good mate Phil Welch) prepared to team up with me and Masters (40-50yo) pairs would be my battleground.

The start was pretty civilised, these races tend to start with a long stretch of slightly uphill fireroad to sort the wheat from the chaff, and while there is many a boyracer who like to throw derision in the direction of those who potentially self-seed a row or two higher than their legs can deliver, it all get's sorted out in the mad rush for single track.

I had the first lap and enjoyed the feeling of fresh legs knowing I had 30 minutes recovery time at the end of the lap, so I let the horses gallop, there would be no room for pacing today, with atleast two other pairs fancying themselves in the stakes for a podium finish. 

By the middle of the day, the temperature was starting to climb and Brad was having to contend with a couple of issues, like some strange noises from the bike (or was it just his knees?) and a crash just adding to the drama of the race.  As solo riders come in each lap, the dust, drink, gu's, mud (and other unmentionable substances) tend to build up to the point where the rider resembles some creature from the murky depths.  Thanks to the crash, Brad also earned extra style points for the sizeable graze down his elbow and not a little claret flowing.  I was found reclining between laps enjoying some chit chat and a cool drink when Brad came in on red alert.  "Alright buddy you are OK?" I soothed, Brad got centred again, with a drink, some lube for the chain (and knees), and we sent him on his way in 2nd position.  "What's the gap to 3rd?" Brad asked. "You've got heaps of time Brad forget about 3rd, just keep circulating and you've got 2nd in the bag" I replied.  The addition of the SuperMasters category belies the swelling ranks of long time riders who are now still competing beyond the 50 year birthday. Brad completed the same number of laps (14) as the 2nd place getter in the Masters category showing age is no barrier to performance.

For Phil and I, it was a solid hit out with some intensity and some sharpening up of the skills.  Unfortunately the top step wasnt to be, as Trek Racing finished 20 minutes ahead after 15 laps in 7 hours, but there is no shame in coming 2nd to Rich and Darren who have always been extremely talented riders.  Ben and Mark kept the pressure on all day and finished just 10 mins behind Mike and Phil to round out the podium.

Russell Napier also made a cameo appearance in the shorter 4 hour format and finished tired and happy just the way MTB is meant to end.  Thanks to the crew from Chocolate Foot who put on a flawless event and to the sponsors whose generous support make these events just that little more enjoyable, as almost everyone get’s to go home with a little bit of bling for the bike shed.

Giant Anthem, what a great bike for a great track, Rubena on the front and Bontrager on the back is my current setup

Masters Pairs podium complete with Arsenal mascot following their dramatic win of the FA Cup final

Thanks to all the crew at TMC for your support, and hopefully we'll see a few more riders at the next round in Mogo.  Why not make a long weekend of it and join us on the beautiful Eurobodalla coast, you can even bring your roadie if MTB is just too much to ask, but I know TBG has a shiny Trek demo MTB bike just waiting for you to try.

Keep riding

Mike

Rocking and Rolling at Awaba

Have I mentioned racing has been a bit sporadic this year?  I've been racing the "8 hour" series for 5 years now and it is normally the staple of my racing diet.  I love the quality trails, the idea of spending a full day racing and I have made many good friends over the years by attending these events so it is odd that this should be my first "8 hour" for the year.  Of course it couldn't have been a better venue or timing for me, with WEMBO just two weeks away, I planned this to be a solid hit out just to fine tune the nutrition and remind the body a little of what is in store come October 12.
Rocking up to the track it was great to see all the regulars and the Masters field featured all the usual contenders with Peter Selkrig the one notable exception who was racing CX.  Conditions were perfect and on a quick warm up I was happy to find the legs werent too dead after a big week of training.  Macca quipped "you look too fresh" and he was right, sometimes the legs can still surprise, so as we leapt from the start line, I slotted into 1st place in the masters and tapped out a good lap.
For every metre of flow that Awaba has you can count on a metre of technical rocky trail and this time was no exception so I was very happy to be on the Anthem duallie as I floated down some of the bumpier ascents.  After an hour I backed of the pace a touch, as the goal for today was to finish comfortably.  Jason went past first and then a train of riders with Dave and Phil looking very strong along with Matt Clutterham.  OK I thought, 4th is good, no need to dig into the suitcase of courage right now and so the day wore on.
With about 3 hours to go, I caught a glimpse of Matt up the trail and soon caught and passed him, we had a bit of a chat and decided to ride together to maintain our pace.  Matt was comfortably in 5th place in the Opens so we put in 3 good laps with me on the front tapping out my consistent diesel pace.
Coming into transition with 2 laps to go we caught a glimpse of Phil's jersey, he took one look at us and took off like a scalded cat to preserve his lead.  No problem, I feel good, let's see what happens.  Matt commented how hard Phil had countered and we both wondered if he had enough left to stay away.
Coming round for the last lap, the pit guys gave me a split and said 2nd and 3rd were just 30 secs ahead.  2nd and 3rd? Hmmm that means someone is fading.  Time to pin the ears back.  With just 40 mins left to race, my legs were feeling fresh, I'd eaten and drunk well all day, so Matty wished me well and I lit it up.  I caught Dave first on the climb, he was sitting on empty and running on gel fumes.  He kindly waved me past and bid me good luck in catching Phil who was "1 minute up the track".  It was clearly on now and not normally being so competitive, the little voice inside was saying "What are you waiting for? An invitation? Get moving".  I started to see Phil on the switch backs and determined to catch him before salad bowl.  Right on cue, I pulled up beside him at the end of the fireroad but Phil had the line so I tucked in behind him.  Phil's shoulders no seemed like an impassable blockade now but I sat in patient waiting for a chance to pounce.  Sure enough on MurderHorn, Phil lost a little traction and I snuck past at the top, then recovered on the sniggle before putting in a big attack on the fireroad to gap Phil.  To Phil's credit he never sat up and the final margin was just 12 seconds at the finish.
Congrats to Jason who rode strong all day and outclassed the rest of the Masters to take 1st and special thanks to Kylie who always provides neutral support for us guys in the interests of close racing.  It is a true testament to the comeraderie in the Masters field that we race each other hard and fair and then enjoy the banter and a cold drink together when it's all over happy for each other no matter the result.
Thanks again Chocolate Foot and HMBA for an awesome event, to Turramurra Cyclery who continue to support me in so many ways and my family who have to put up with a grinning, dirty, smelly man coming home late Sunday afternoon gushing all about his big day out.  Next weekend it's the Scott where I will be racing with my social mixed masters team just chilling and dialling in the trails of Stromlo then it's the main event for the year, after which I say bring on Summer and the beach!
Keep riding
Mike

Every cloud has a Titanium lining

This will probably be my last post for the year, so first up I want to thank you for reading. It is cool seeing folks from all the over the world hitting my blog to see what's happening and I hope in the years to come I can visit a few of your favourite tracks outside downunder.

It's taken a week to gather up the energy to write this post and to be honest I am still not quite sure what I will type. The reason being that the last round of the STM 8 hours series at Awaba turned into a bit of a tragedy, but then again, there is always something good to take away from any time spent whizzing around a beautifully crafted purpose built xc mountain bike trail, and a better venue than Awaba to finish the year on, you couldnt wish for. If I knew my Shakespeare a little better and had the mental agility I might have crafted this post into 3 acts; the first being "The Promise", the second being "The Expedition" and the final I might have titled "The demise of MightyMike", but it's not really that bad, so settle back and let's get into it.

Act 1
The Sunday before had me setting off in the fastest group of 90+ riders for the 190km Wisemans Ferry Gran Fondo, and what a day it was. Perfect conditions, superb support courtesy of Turramurra Cyclery, and an awesome bunch to ride in. The pace was on from the start and the bunch worked like clockwork as we each took our turn on the front and keep the pace well over 35kph. The challenge was to catch the other bunches that had left between 40-60 mins earlier and to finish in 5hr 30 mins. As expected the bunch finally started to splinter on the climb to Mangrove Mountain and while I lost touch with the lead pack of 10 or so riders, I was feeling good considering I had done a good share of the work on the front and gradually picked up (and was picked up by) 4 or 5 similar riders and we worked together to keep our pace up to Peats Ridge. The second food drop was mayhem with many riders electing to ride through and I had to bring my MTB skills into play to hop a few obstacles out back onto the road and join a healthy bunch of 10 riders.
The rest of the way was a battle of attrition as riders came and went, but by Berowra we had a good bunch of 5 and we went as hard as we could all the way back to Turramurra to clock in at 5:20, just 5 mins before the main lead bunch. Huge kudos to Simon M who rode off the front and got back in 5 hours flat, simply awesome. All this boded well for the final 8 hour planned the following weekend.

Act 2
The expedition consisted of leading 12 Knox boys on the annual Year 10 Mt Kosciuszko expedition; comprising 4 nights and 5 days hiking across the highest peaks of the Great Dividing range. I have been fortunate enough to lead on this camp a couple of times and was looking forward to getting away from all the email, social media and mobile phones and just enjoying the great outdoors. The 5:30am start from school was a little tough after the big ride the day before, but the hope was that the week long walk would consolidate the legs without wearing them out too much and leave me fresh for Sunday. Starting out from Guthega, the legs were definitely feeling the exertion from the day before and climbing the track to White's River Hut with the fully laden pack with food for 5 days was quite a challenge. Overall the week was fantastic with perfect weather, a great guide from Land's Edge and a group of young guys who apart from the odd question like "how far have we got to go?" were awesome all week. Getting back to civilisation Friday night, I was a little concerned to feel how weary the legs felt but hoped 48 hours recovery would be enough.

Act 3
So here we are, ready to roll at Awaba and still the legs feel ouch, that feeling you get walking up stairs..you know what I mean? Well it was there and all I could do was hope that with a warm up lap the legs would start to fire. Warm up it did and before long the temp was ready 35 deg in the shade. This spells trouble.
I had a great spot on the grid and rode wheel to wheel with Gary up the firetrail and into the single track with Camo on the my wheel. I kept leaving space for Camo to pass, but for some reason he was happy to sit tight, perhaps that should have told me something. OK so far so good and the laps started to tally up. Before long the temp was pushing 40 and alarm bells started going off in my head, had I gone out too hard? By the 5th lap the engine was really starting to cough and splutter and Jason was steadily creeping up on me. There was the matter of a little crash with my good buddy Anne who in an attempt not to hold me up hit the descent a little too quick, clipped a tree with a handle bar and down we came. Jase saw it all from the back of a train of 6 riders and was good enough to wait and make sure we could all continue but now the wind in my sails had disappeared and pretty soon the wheels really started to fall off, I was dropping bottles and chains left, right and centre and most worrying of all the legs were telling me there was nothing left to give. Jase tapped it out up Camelbak hill and all I could do was wave bye bye. It seemed I had gone into an 8 hour race with only 4 hour legs. Worrying still was the fact that Phil had moved into second and a little voice in the back of my head said "series honours", I knew Phil wasnt far behind me in the series rankings at 4th, it was just possible with a 2nd place finish today he could pip me at the post. After a good rest and lot's of rehydration I decided to get back out and do a couple of more laps just to keep me in some sort of touch, but at lap 8 the legs said enough and I had to sit out to see Phil produce a terrific result and take 3rd in the series by a single point. Heartbreaker.

Sometimes the toughest lessons are the best ones so there is plenty to take away and ponder what might have been, but the real gold came when I stopped thrashing my body into a sweaty dizzy mess and took some time to catch up and really talk with a few of the good friends I have made from this sport. In the end I couldn't have asked for a better day and while the little trophy might have charmed my ego for an instant, this sport has so much more to offer than just what place you come in a race.

Finally I want to thank the guys that made this season one to remember, Garry J, Jason M, Phil W, Peter S and Chris T. The 6 of us have been riding hard against each other all year and every round has been a nailbiting finish (with the exception of Garry who smashed us all!) and all the while our mateship has gotten stronger through the blood sweat and tears that is solo 8 hour racing. One of my favourite sayings is "Iron sharpens Iron" and you guys have made me a better rider.

It has been a fantastic year of riding and racing with good mates new and old. I have no idea what's in store for next year, but right now I am happy to forget about training, get out and ride for pure enjoyment as we wind down for Christmas and celebrate the things that have mattered for all eternity.

Keep riding
Mike

Quick Update

It's been a busy time of year with the Scott, the Spring Cycle and another round of the STM series racing by so here is a quick update on what's been happening.
The Scott
For a throw together team, we had an absolute blast and of course the icing on the cake was winning the Masters Mixed 4 category. One morning at coffee Sandy mentioned he had a team entry and no team, so I was in. Next up was Brad T, who had never done a 24 hour and was keen to get amongst it. Finding a willing and available female was a little harder, but a post on Silent Revolution did the trick and before long we had a few choices and Fiona got the nod. The lead up was hilarious, first Sandy had done some damage to his back at the TORC skills session. Picture this, a 60 something year old bloke turns up at the doctors and says "I hurt my back when I fell off my bike trying to do a wheelie". But old Sandy is as tough as old boot leather and rode like the hard a**e he is. Fiona couldn't decide what would slow her down more; the mysterious virus or the 8 stitches in her shin from a recent OTB. I have to say Fiona won the prize from most valuable team member, first for braving the rain which seemed to arrive exactly on time for Fiona to start another lap, but also for providing the lovely marquee heater and then the post race beers, boy did that taste good! The pre-race strategy was simple, have fun and dont hurt yourself, but secretly I thought we had a pretty good shot.

I got the to do the run start lap and by the time I reached the bike it felt like I had lifted both big toe nails. The track was good and it was a hoot heading up the trunk trail in a huge train, until we caught some of the younger and less serious solo riders. Not their fault but perhaps a note to the organisers to rethink the start order. The rain and mud was a bummer but sometimes that's just the way it is. I was lucky to do a Blue lap as the sun rose and the view from the top of Willo Link was something I will never forget. My last two laps in the morning were a blast as the sun slowly dried out the quagmire and best of all, Tom, my 14yo son in his first 24 had a ball, he'll be back!

I have to say the commentary and giveaways could have been done alot better. The idea of randomly distributing $1000's of dollars of valuable and kindly donated kit from generous sponsors to whoever was proud or brash enough to make up a story that appealed to the compere's idea of entertainment was frankly pitiful and the throwing of kit off the pavillion at the presentation to a bunch of screaming kids while the majority got cooked in the hot sun was undignified and amateur. For all the effort we went to and for winning our category we got a jersey we'll probably never wear. Whereas some random walking away with a coupla hundred dollars worth of kit just doesnt seem fair. It would have been nice to see this stuff distributed in the race bags rather than thrown randomly to the masses, oh well there's my rant, sorry folks now back to regular programming.

Picture thanks to Sportograf "bestof"

On the Podium, competition vanquished, but where is the lovely Fiona?

The Spring Cycle
A great fun day, usually I am crawling in the masses of every shape and size of bike and rider imaginable, this time Tom and I were fortunate to be invited to ride in the lead bunch. By the time we hit the bridge, the bunch had departed and we were left riding together through the city like we were the only two people on the road. We soon linked up with a bunch that included one Opposition leader Mr Tony Abbott and no matter which side of politics you come from it is always a hoot to ride with someone like that and be able to offer a wheel on some of the steeper bergs. Riding home Tom was beat but did incredibly well to keep up with the bunch and clock 100 k's for the day; his biggest ride to date.

After a feed and a change of kit I returned to Homebush for the crit run by LACC. The less details given here the better, as I pretty much sucked at this form of racing, but atleast I gave it a go and it is something I would love to get better at. I then took a slow ride home to clock 150km for the day. Rolling back through Eastwood late in the afternoon, the air was thick and warm after the threatened southerly buster dissipated was pure bliss.

STM Round 5 Rydal
I'd already had a big week, with lot's going on at home and work. What a blessing it was to stay with Mum and Dad in the mountains the night before to be fed and get an early night. I looked dog tired and hoped 9 hours sleep would recharge the batteries sufficiently to get through the 8 hours of punishment awaiting.
Off the start I was flying and as usual marked Jase and Garry who were dog fighting. In the first four laps I saw 4 good riders go down from momentary loss of focus. It was clear this track would be challenging. Interestingly I was noticing it was 26" riders struggling for traction while those on the circus wheels cruised a little more smoothly, but as the day wore on, the course started to get pretty cut up and every corner was becoming an exercise in playing chicken.
The weather also stuffed us up a bit, I had mixed my bottles a tad diluted expecting some warmer temperatures from the start, but it stayed cool for atleast 4 hours, the fluids weren't going in and so neither were the carbs. I managed to make up for the debt with some food, but many struggled late in the day as the fuel tank started to splutter.
On lap 9, I had a massive off. Having just enjoyed an awesome tow up the fireroad courtesy of a Mitch from Stevens team, I let him go and settled in for the rock garden when my front wheel caught an edge and I was ejected over the bars before I knew what happened, I was heading chest first for a stump that looked like it might impale me. Somehow I managed to dive to the side, but landed very heavy on my side. The reason I tell this is Mitch actually stopped and ran back the 20m to check I was OK. What a gentleman! thanks Mitch
No permanent damage done but it slowed me down a bit for the rest of the race as I went in a little more tentative.
The day after, my arms, hands and shoulders hurt the most as well as the hip I used to break my fall, so demanding was this course.
Late in the afternoon my lap times started to dawdle but I just focussed on keeping it smooth through the corners and keeping an eye out for Phil Welch who I figured wouldnt be far away. As it turned out Trent Moore was chasing hard and got to within 7 minutes to take 4th. Garry won again :( but the gap to me was just over 10 mins, not bad after 16 laps. Jase pulled out an awesome effort to take 2nd and get close to Garry. He sure can chase hard. Mid race I had a 30 second buffer, but he came back hard and just kept motoring. (A mistake in the entry process saw him grouped in the open males instead of masters and it wasn't discovered until after the cutoff). The other pertinent point is last year I broke my hand here. This year going the other way I still wasn't having any heroics and any doubles that came up I just playing it safe and mono-ed over them. That is until the camera crew camped by the biggest scariest jump on course and willed riders to boost it. Nothing for it but give it some air and what fun it was. For the last few laps I looked forward to that jump every time.
For a course so flat I have never felt so fatigued. The constant braking, accelerating and manoeuvering the bike takes it's toll and even though your heart never really goes ballistic, the course is a real test.
Thanks to everyone out there on the day and those cheering at home. I felt truly blessed to be enjoying such a great sport amongst so many friends and got to take home a prize as a bonus.

It's been by far the best year of my short cycling "career" with not only lot's of good results, but many many great people who have spurred me on and become very good friends. One more race for the year at Awaba, it's going to be a celebration of a huge year, see you there

Keep riding
Mike

PS Huge thanks to my buddy Brad T who generously lent me his ENVE carbon wheels. a light, stiff wheel is just what the doctor ordered for this course and these puppies were awesome. Not quite sure I can justify the price tag, but it was a thrill ride probably the best wheels currently on the market. Thanks mate, I owe you.

The Slugfest

Two weeks ago my fitness was pretty much as good as it get's, everything was on track for a recovery week to freshen up before the race and then I got hit with a cold, one of those little bugs that just leaves you whimpering in a fog of lethargy. Since then it's just been a case of trying to find some energy and right up until Saturday afternoon I was still feeling less than 100% and hoping a good sleep would see me right to race.

The drive down early Sunday morning was great and I scored a nice little shady place for a pit stop at the 2km mark on the course near transition and only metres from the car. The rider briefing was the funniest I have ever seen, but it was clear and informative with a brilliant demo of passing technique. I'm kinda chuffed to know that my bad luck from last round might have contributed to the new revised rider briefing. Well done Jo. Sure enough on a course where passing opportunities were few and far between, riders were showing the best of manners and I didnt see a problem all day.

The start was pretty sedate and I was happy to grad hold of JMac's wheel up the first climb and just tap away to find our place in the mad dash for single track. As the weather warms up, these races now extend for one extra hour of punishment and it soon became clear that this would be a battle of tactics and pacing.

Photo thanks to Dave Bateman from the STM round at Coondoo

The track had a bit of everything, a bit of flow, some techy bits, some pinchy climbs. I guess it reminded me of Appin with the all the rocks, but the most challenging segment came at around the halfway mark with a new section of trail that was very rough and tight and almost every corner off camber. It took every bit of skill and focus to keep it smooth through here and I have to say I wont be disappointed if I never ride that trail again. That being said, if the track fairies consolidate some of the rutts on corners into berms, add a few solid ramps (rather than loose rocks at the bottom of drops offs), and maybe a boardwalk or a small bridge over the creek crossings, this could be a pretty cool race track. The first descent was a ripper and I found on the Giant Anthem 29er I could tear into the sketchy ravine with confidence, just steer and hang on!

I think it was on the first lap as a group of us tackled a steep little pinch, I was second wheel when suddenly JMac came to an abrupt halt and I figured he'd dropped a chain or something, I slowed a little at the top to see if he was able to get going again but there was no sign so on I went. After just one lap it was obvious that this would be a war of attrition on both (wo)man and machine so I took the decision to enjoy the day, forget the clock, and just treat it like a full day's riding. This worked really well for a few hours, the time seemed to pass by effortlessly. The temperature began to soar and those in transition were getting concerned how dirty I was, "What happened, you OK?" a few called. It was just the combination of dry dusty trails and sweat that we all ended up looking like coal miners by the end of the day. Even today my eyes still look like someone decorated me with the eye liner on the weekend. On the trip home I stopped for fuel and some high stress chick was arguing with the shop attendant over the $2 ATM charge. I chimed in and told her "She'd made her point but wasn't going to win so move on and stop holding us all up!". She took one look at my filthy dusty face as I gave her a steely gaze. I must have looked a fright as she moved straight on and out of the shop.

The hours ticked by and every now and again I'd check back and no sign of my competing masters, then on lap 6, a buzzing free wheel came racing up behind me, Jase calls "Back in the Black! It's taken me 2 hours to catch up" and onto his wheel I jumped, rudely awakened from my social ride! It felt great to be riding for each other taking turns on the front, not talking much, happy in our own thoughts and focussing on keeping it smooth. Jase mentioned there is atleast one rider between us and leader Garry J so the goal is to stalk him down and sure enough we catch sight of Peter on lap 8. He looks like he is struggling and we whizz by but he doesnt respond so it's now a battle for 2nd or so we think! Turns out mystery man Chris T has made a comeback after Kowen and this time he means business. This guy looks the good's, basically the replica of a very strong bean pole!

At some point I pull away from Jase and the noisy freewheel goes quiet as the gap widens and I figure the energy he used to catch me earlier in the day might have taken it's toll, let's see what happens!

I started to do some sums in my head and struggle to divide 37 mins into 3.5 hours, but at some staged figured at this pace I had 5 laps to go (probably 6 but what's another lap between friends!). As the laps continued to mount, it got harder to ignore the clock, but I was having fun with my mind, shouting in my head "3 MORE LAPS TO GO" then 2, then 1, then none.....maybe. Crossing the line to start my last lap, the race clock said 7:15, so I thought I could ease off the gas a bit and just keep an eye on any chasers. I was super-sensitive to any noisy freewheel after JMac caught me on Lap 6, but the track remained quiet and I kept rolling to get back to transition at 7:56. OK now what to do, how far back was Jase? I resolved to keep rolling and asked Kylie if she could keep an eye out for any chasers and let me now when I got back to the 2km mark that came near transition. I switched off and rolled nice an easy just to get a little recovery in, but my stomach was not playing nice, time for a nature stop and keep an eye on that track, still nothing! OK I must be safe! I rolled back to my transition to find two cars had parked completely blocking access to my pit stop (nice one guys!) the look on Kylie's face said it all. Jase didn't make it but Phil has snuck in. You've got to go again to hold 3rd. OK no probs, I actually I feel OK after taking a pee and I still have a gel and a little Hammer Heed in the bottle, let's finish this. I love how you can fool your mind into thinking it's the last lap when deep down you know you've got one more.

Now Phil also has a pretty noisy free wheel, so I set a steady pace all the while looking back for the tell tale jersey but it never appeared and I was stoked to finish third. Phil rolled in just a couple of minutes later.
The following chart shows just what an arm wrestle this race was with 4 riders fighting it out for 3rd place. Chris and Garry well clear of the bunch.

All in all a really challenging and enjoyable event, thanks to TMC for your continued support. With two rounds to go the competition for series points is getting tight.

Keep Riding
Mike

Food wise
12 Hammer gels (3 with caffiene)
1 TORC bar
4 x 800ml bidon Hammer Heed (2.5 scoops)
2 x 600ml bidon Endura Optimiser
2 bananas

http://app.strava.com/rides/22118326

That's Racing

We were met with pristine conditions at Coondoo Rd for the third round of the Single Track Mind series and after a satisfactory pre-race carb load at Leong's chinese and a good sleep at the Camby Hilton, Brad and I were ready to tackle the dry dusty trails that weave through the Comberton State Forest.

I got an absolute zinger off the start line and again determined not to go too hard too early settled into a steady pace for the first lap and was happy to be in first place for the Solo Masters. Coming through transition into the 2nd lap, I had Garry James hot on my tail and we played tag for a little while as I would get a gap in the tight downhill sections and Garry would catch me up on the little climbs. Knowing how strong Garry is, I didnt want to go playing with fire and let him go on the third climb into transition and concentrated on consolidating 2nd place, always looking back expecting to see the bright orange of Jason McAvoy looming large.

Photo courtesy Dave Bateman



The track as always here is fun to ride and the corners can be treacherous on the sandy mix but I mostly stayed out of trouble aside from the odd handlebar clip passing between narrowly spaced trees. The new section of track was literally a pain in the backside but that's how it is with new sections and it held up alot better than the rutted dust bowl we had to endure at Orange and of course you have to remember that someone put their heart and soul into cutting the new trail, thanks for that trail fairies. I reckon the opportunity to get 300 riders to ride over a new section 5 or more times is a big carrot for trail builders and now we've got a great new segment of trail (well it might need a couple of little berms thrown in!)

On lap 5 a little panic set in when one of my 800ml bottles went flying out of the cage and I was in too much of a hurry to stop. What would happen without 25% of my fluids and a big chunk of energy go AWOL? Luckily there were lots of jettisonned bottles and I decided to stop and pick one up and take a slug. By the time I got back round to the same spot, there it was lying in the middle of the track, amazingly with the lid still on. Phew that was a close one!

On lap 9 the heart rate was still looking good and I tagged a ride up the main fireroad with a much bigger stronger rider...whoa 88% and I am in the draft??? See you later buddy and thanks for the tow. Next lap it was Phil Welch who came charging through the ZigZags and flashed past me on the way into the last sniggle. He looked and was riding like a man possessed so I took the safe option and let him go. I figured if he can keep that pace going I cant match him and if I can save some energy he might blow up towards the finish. Still 4 laps (maybe 5 to go). The 5 hour mark in a 7 hour race is the hump for me. Just 4 little laps to go you say to yourself, but the body talks back and says that's easy for you to say brain. This is starting to hurt! Pedal damn it and shut up legs!!! Lap 12 and Tupac, Andy and Ed all eased past with time for a brief chat and a word of encouragement. Andy said Jase was a few minutes back so that took some pressure off. Nice that team mates can still pass on a little intel to the competition.

One last pit stop to grab some carbs and I was off and soon on my 2nd last lap and feeling great when some weird things started happening on the track. First a really fast aggressive rider in t-shirt and baggies came barrelling down the track. I got out of his way as he shoved past me without so much as a track please, but we were both bearing down on a much slower rider. The legend overcooked it on the corner and went down in a squealing heap of dust, as I just managed to float over his back wheel with him and the bike lying prostrate across the track and leaving me nowhere to go and no time to stop. sure enough he reappeared in a minute or so and clearly hadn't learnt anything from him little off. Muppett!

But the big axe fell at the top of the double track leading into Hot as Hell. I came up behind two very slow guys weaving all over the track. I called rider back and saw a big gap on the right so called "on your right". As I started to pass he moved straight over toward me and chopped my front wheel, sending me careening of into the scrub. When I tried to start pedalling again it wasn't happening so I pulled over to find the chain completely mashed. The death toll goes down as one chain breaker, many chain links, a bent mech and more than 15 minutes of race time. Not a bad bit of bush mechanics to remove and reinsert the same pin to rejoin the chain. Huge thanks to Kylie and the guy who pulled over with his sturdy chainbreaker (my topeak one broke!) and stayed until the job was done. My only regret is I didn't ask his name and I couldn't track him down at the finish, but mate I couldn't have finished without your help, so thanks! Even Jase slowed down to see if there was anything he could do to help as he slipped into 3rd place. A true gentleman.

I rejoined the race who know's where and fought back to 4th place to salvage some series points, just pipping Matt at the post who came in 5th. Here is the gaps between the top 5 for each lap. It would have been a great battle with Phil at the end if not for my misadventure but that's racing.

Overall I was stoked with my race and now looking forward to the next round to try and pull back Phil and Jase. Whilst Jase and Garry probably have 1st and 2nd for the series sewn up, Phil and I will be battling for the last spot on the podium. thanks to everyone involved especially SCUM for a great track, sponsors SRAM and organisers Choc Foot, and Turramurra Cyclery for your continued awesome support and getting my rig tuned again and ready to race another day

Keep Riding
Mike

What I ate
10 gels
2 x 800mL HEED (3 scoops)
1 x 800mL HEED (2 scoops)
1 x 600mL Opti
1 TORC bar (Apple and Raspberry, dry but go down alright)
1 banana

As the temperatures start to rise the fluids will too! Probably add another 800mL to this all mixed on 2 scoops for the next rounds

STM2012 #2 Kowen Forest

These races come up awful quick and after some indifferent weather in Sydney, the last two weeks have been all about recovery and carb loading, ie. I've done not alot of training since the Nationals. As Joe Ward said in his post interview race with Jason McAvoy, Masters is super competitive and this time I think I took the approach to just enjoy this ride (well yeah still compete!) without the repeat of the soul destroying last couple of laps at Orange last round. I mean where is the fun in riding a bike if you are just going to flog yourself every time? It was great having a cohort of TORC riders make the journey to the land of milk and honey for MTBer's, here is a selection of some of our finest. Martine doesn't appear here because she was taking all the pics! Thanks Martine

Brad, Marco, Farkas and Mike. Note Simey has made a sport out of riding his comfy chair and esky

On the start line it was a little cool, the Garmin was reading 1 degC but I wasn't shivering (probably because I had the oncomings of hypothermia!) and once we hit the gas, I was pretty comfortable all day with just a base layer and arm warmers. I was quite amused to see a couple of little streams of runoff water had frozen overnight so the ice and frost on the ground made it feel like something out of Narnia. Riding through pine forest is just beautiful, it's so quiet with the little shards of sunlight that find there way onto the track. There was also a brisk westerly blowing that made for a tough head wind in some sections.

A typical chilly Canberra morning but the promise of a gorgeous day once the sun rises

A couple of hours in, I was sorry to see a rider down at the 4km mark. He had come a cropper on a berm and apparently head planted into a stump. It was a couple of laps later before he was moved out with suspected spinal injuries so we all certainly hope and pray the injuries aren't permanent and he has a good recovery. It made me ponder the fine line we balance as I was trying to ride as fast and as smooth as possible, which means braking as little as possible. It doesn't bear thinking about the damage that one tiny mistake can bring about as you speed downhill past jagged rocks. Nup don't think about it.

The good news is my lap times were much more consistent this round. I started to lose a little time towards the end but I figured it was all pretty manageable and knowing I haven't got the legs to challenge the Radical Lights boys, I'd be happy to fill in 3rd place again on the podium. Little did I know there was a new kid on the block who'd been smashing it up all day. He certainly slipped in under the radar and it wasn't until the end of Lap 7 I found out I still had some work to do. I casually asked Cindy on the way out what was the gap to 4th and she says ONE MINUTE TEN! What? did I hear you right.

OK Euston we have a race on here. I gritted my teeth and pushed a bit harder in lap nine cutting 45 secs off and kept it going for the last lap to beat Chris by 6 minutes. Phew that was close, it felt great to know I had someone hot on my heals and to push me all the way. By that stage I was taking more risks on the descents and I had Ed, Andy and Antony fly past me who gave me a fast wheel to hold if only for a few seconds but it all counts. Checking the results post race, I realised I had been cruising in 4th all day and had only just crept into 3rd place after 7 laps.

This chart shows the gap to Jason McAvoy. Note Chris and Garry fighting out for 1st in the first few laps. Chris blows up on Lap 7 and I sneak into 3rd place

Once again the race had a great vibe and although I've said it before I'll say it again, it is awesome to see so many girls getting out there and racing. The chicks are friendly and very cooperative, they give you track within about 3 seconds of you asking and they tell you which side to pass on. There are definitely a few grumpy blokes who could learn a thing or two about track etiquette from the girls!

Thanks to Chocolate Foot for another stellar event, the Kowalski Brothers and Co. for an awesome track, Turramurra Cyclery for your continued support along with all the TORCIES who turned up and special thanks to Cindy Farkas who took on a cameo role as bottle lady and kept me going to the end. Without your help I'd be feeling pretty rotten about finishing 4th and racking my brain to work out why I didn't ride just that little bit harder!

As a postscript, the whole race prep was very enjoyable, Brad, Mike Blewitt and I shared a lovely bottle of red in the Royal Hotel Queanbeyan followed by the biggest bowl of Penne Carbonara I have ever seen courtesy of the The Central Cafe. Now I know that probably sounds weird, but life is good and I am grateful to the One who provides all the goodness.

Keep riding
Mike

What I ate
1 600ml Optimiser
3 600ml Hammer HEED (mixed a little stronger)
10 gels
2 bars
2 bananas

I would normally drink twice this amount of fluid and I hardly broke out a sweat all day, yep it was cool.

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

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)

STM3 and Husky100

A big couple of weekends have just blown by, first with the STM3 7 hour at Yellowmundee and today the long awaited Husky100. The training is starting to pay dividends with two very satisfying results,
Yellowmundee was the race that might have been and after a good start, riding my Giant XTC 29 1 for the first time it was eating up the rocky trails and it certainly wasn’t slowing me down after setting the fastest lap in my category. The dual for 2nd and 3rd continued for a few laps between Jeff Rooney and myself, but about the same time that Jeff put a gap between us I realised my back tyre was steadily losing pressure, not good when riding a tubed wheel on a hard tail at speed over a rocky trail! I stopped a couple of times to pump it up but sure enough on lap 7 the tube gave up the ghost and I was left to run back along the trail to the event centre to find a replacement. Now there is a story here. The bike is an ex-demo, apparently straight from the guys at AMB. When I inspected the blown tube there were no less than 4 patches on it! Thanks AMB! I must write to thank you for this learning experience! The guys at Lifecycles were great and swap out the dilapidated thong for a brand spanker and I was rolling again, but down to 6th place. I fought my way back to 5th, and finished feeling pretty happy with my effort and glad to still be in the series points. One other thing, Giant can you please put some decent brakes on what is otherwise a brilliant bike? This bike deserves better than Avid 3’s!!!
The Husky today was an awesome race and starting just behind the Elite’s the pace was furious to start with but I soon settled into a nice steady rhythm and again the 29er was rolling beautifully. This trail was made for a 29er and having ridden all these trails over the last few summer’s I knew this would be a fast race. There were a few mud puddles to contend with but basically the track was in great shape until about the 85k mark and then the mud really started to bite. Our dear organiser Amanda who did a fantastic job today quipped that it can’t be a MTB race without some mud, but let’s be clear. It is one thing to jump off for a few impassable pools, but wading through 4-5 thigh high slop traps is not what we want. MTB’s are not cheap to run at the best of times and it is about time MTB event organisers realised that replacing multiple drive train and suspension components after every race is not sustainable. Please guys show some consideration for the people who support your events and avoid running on really wet muddy trails. There are still folks out there that crumble into a sobbing mess at the mere mention of Capital Punishment
OK so having got that off my chest, let me repeat this was by and large a fantastic course, with plenty of fun single track and fast flowing fire trail often over hard baked clay, nice and fast. I had the nutrition dialled and felt pretty fresh at the end, perhaps I should have gone a little harder? I achieved a PB today, finishing a solid 4th just 2 minutes behind 3rd place. A podium would have been nice but
It’s been great racing this last two weeks, but even better chatting, riding and recovering (eating!) with top people I have met through this sport, there are too many to name! Also congrats to the other TORC riders, Larri Brittan winning her category and Kelly Mapleston 2nd. Peter Cheesman and Sandy Logie also completed the 50km and 100km races respectively
Keep riding
Mike

STM1 - Lithgow 8 hour Solo

I wasn't meant to be at this race, I wasn't even meant to be in NSW, but an early return from Surfers so we could tidy up the house and get ready for the start of term led to the idea. Also my good friend Tracy suggested we enter as a mixed pair, she is such a good friend she then informs me the day entries close that she has had a better offer and is therefore wimping out! Mmmm now what to do, oh bugger it, go SOLO! This series is probably the perfect training for the WSC later this year and after driving up and back from Surfers, Lithgow seems like a relative cruise.
I will spare you details of the trip up on Saturday night and my preparation, but suffice to say, it all went so smoothly it was hard to believe and I found myself on the start line feeling pretty damn good and without a care in the world.
The start was a bit weird, this guys strolls up at about 7 minutes before the scheduled start time and says "Are you ready? GO!" I get an awesome line up the outside of the firetrail to be in with the lead pack going into the first corner of single track. I almost forget it is an 8 hour race and clock a 29 minute lap. I notice my HR is holding above 85% and realise I better start pacing myself before I morph into a wobbling bonking mess, but the track is just too much fun to slow down, there are tight twisting sections, steep pinch climbs, flowing downhill sections with sweeping turns and a couple of nice doubles just to make it interesting. Nice work CTMTB!
I have the perfect pit at the end of the transition area, so every lap or two I can grab a fresh bottle and a couple of more gels or a jam sandwich. I notice only one or two young guns get past me and the hard-arse older guys seem to be racing in teams so I start to think just maybe this is my day. Suddenly Tim Kerle appears on my wheel and says keep it up, your leading your category you're doing well.
Of course every story needs just a little bit of tragedy and by about lap 7, the midpoint of the race, the legs are starting to tire and my back feels like someone has worked me over with the baseball bat.
Still I am not completely bonked and calculate at this pace I should be able to complete 6 more laps. Lap 8 is mentally the toughest and I develop a mantra in my head for every hill I chant "just 5 more times". Lap 9 is still slow and lap 10 is the lap from hell, I drop my water bottle, my chain gets caught between cassette and wheel, and then in an attempt to preserve my back brakes as they are starting to feel a bit spongy, I stack it on one of the steep descents. Ugh! Get up, pedal damn it! Unbeknown to me the eventual winner has gone past me, but as I continue to grind the pedals one stroke after another I figure all I can do is my best, and I still have one trump to play back at the pits, a red bull :) On the next lap a more mature rider (#346) like me gets on my wheel and we push each other all the way as well as having a bit of a chat; this must be the best thing about MTBing, the camaraderie. Now that the red bull has kicked in I know I will make it. I toy with the idea of stopping at 12 laps, but I know that wont be good enough and commit to lucky number 13.
Grantley from Canberra spurs me on over the last couple of laps and I finish with a couple of slow but respectable 40 minute laps to cross the finish line at 8 hours and 22 minutes having ridden 130km of tight undulating pine forest singletrack and wondering if I have done enough. Sure enough Ray has pipped me by nearly 17 minutes, but I hold onto 2nd by a bit over 8 mins, so all in all I am STOKED! First podium after 2 and a half years of racing and what an evolution it has been. I think it is appropriate to thank two people at this point. One is Simon Scott who has given so much of his time and knowledge to the TORC club from which I have benefitted immensely! thanks Simey! The other is of course my wife Sarah, not only does she encourage me to train and bend her schedule to suit me, but she sends me off with a 24 hour leave pass to compete in races like this, thankyou so much darling, it means the world to me.
Cant wait for the next round at Coondoo Rd Nowra, probably my favourite track!
Keep riding
Mike