Where's Wally?

Or more to the point, where's Mike been?  It's been a little while since my last post, life got a little busy, but rest assured there has been plenty going on in the Israel household and if you know me at all, you'd have realised that I don't do "chill" all that often.

VIETNAM

I went to Vietnam and built a house for a poor family with 12 of the best people I could ever wish to meet including my youngest brother who is the ROCK of our family.  Vietnam is a place you must visit, in fact if I had the slightest ability with learning a language I reckon I would move there.  The people we met and interacted with a quite simply amazing.  After the build, my brother had 4 days cycling in the mountains up near SaPa.  Unforgettable.  Some good friends of mine donated money to the building cause too.  Here is what you donation went to.

And here are a couple of favourite shots from cycling

PICTON ROCKY TRAIL 7 HOUR

So next up was ....a 7 hour ultramarathon MTB at Picton.  It had been about 2 years since I had ridden more than 4 hours and wanted to see where my endurance fitness was at.  The aim was to just finish.  I found out my race craft had dwindled somewhat when I forgot to check the Stans in my tyres, yes it had been that long since I had raced, the front tyre Stans had completely disappeared and it deflated in the first 2 minutes.  Thankfully Team Quantum came to the rescue and threw me a spare wheel.  I spent the next 4 hours finding a balance between chasing the field and not going too hard and spent the last 3 hours grovelling in the heat after not drinking enough.  Oh yeah, nutrition, I forgot how to do that too!  Well some grace was given and I still held onto 3rd place so that was a bonus :)

SPRING CYCLE

A good fun cycling event, and I cant resist the invitation from good mate and JML Racing team owner the Flying Scotsman to join him in a ride over the Harbour Bridge, we had a great bunch and the highlight was riding along side Robbie McEwen.  The course was made to measure for an old MTBer like me and I had to laugh when I asked Robbie what he thought of the course at around 60km in and he replies with a wry grin "It's pretty ... technical!" Well it was another long day in the saddle.

FITZ'S EPIC

I was certainly getting a taste back for long rides and another one on the bucket list had been Fitz's so I saddled up with Velo2073 mate Martin, Graeme and a few others to give this a crack.  Again I didnt quite get the nutrition right and crawled up to Corin Forest, and re-discovered water really is quite useful when you swallow it.  Dave O'Connell also crashed our little bunch and smashed the whole ride with only a 39x25, while I was rocking a 34x28.  #strongman

And in the midst of all that we have renovated a bathroom, rescued a greyhound and Tommy finished his HSC.  (oh yeah I I did a little woodwork and repaired my deck coz I just wasnt already busy enough coping with a new demanding job)  My neighbours just look at me with an odd mixture of incredulation and concern.

THE MILE

Finally it was time to join the Mile High Club, no not that mile high club, I mean the club you join when you take on and finish the 100 Mile Highland Fling.  This has been a ride that has captured my imagination since I first met Mark Fenner probably 5-6 years ago.  I'd done the 100km Fling and suffered terribly, when next thing you know, Mark crosses the finish line after winning the 100 Mile and looking fresh as a daisy.  From that moment I swore one day I would give it a crack, and in the words of another 100 Mile winner Ed McDonald "It is a cracker of a ride!"  But let me warn you, that right hand turn out of timing to head out for a 2nd Shimano lap takes massive willpower.  Every synapse of your brain and body is screaming "TURN LEFT", but the mind makes a decision and you turn right, you think to yourself "holy cow what did I just do?" and then you pedal like crazy to get as far away as you can before you see sense and turn around.....and it feels like you are the last cyclist on earth.
I'm not sure how I did it and I went in with the main aim of breaking 9 hours and just a tiny hope that a top 5 finish might be possible.  Well, the day just went by like clockwork, the heart, legs and bike never missed a beat and I smiled all the way to the finish in 8:42 and 5th place, it was just one of those days you dream of as a cyclist.

A friend commented on Facebook that "I'm back". Well life continues to throw a few curve balls and cycling may still have to take a back seat from time to time but I'm never far away getting on board 2 wheels and just going for a pedal....maybe a very long pedal.  Thanks everyone for your love and support.

Keep Riding
Mike

#habitatforhumanity
#iamspecialized
#epicwc
#vietnam
#springcycle
#wildhorizons
#guenergy
#shimano
#rubena
#quantumracing
#jmlracing
#cyclerynorthside

Where are all the Racers?

After a 3 month hiatus from racing, I decided a few days out to give the Rocky Trail 12 hour a crack.  It’s actually a race I’ve always wanted to do solo, but due to clashing calendars or injury has meant I missed out in the past.  This year it was a must do but a niggling knee injury put paid to my solo ambitions, so plan B came into effect and pairing up with one of the many competitors in Masters, Clayton Locke put up his hand.  Cool! So instead of bludgeoning each other for 12 hours, we’d team up, do some quick (old fella quick) laps, enjoy the event and actually talk to some people.

It was a great day, made even greater by the fact that a respectable contingent of fellow team mates from Quantum made the leap and were also racing.  There really is nothing like having a tent and a few familiar faces to chew the fat with between laps and when the southerly blew in at the 11^th hour, Ondrej’s caravan leapt up the rankings on TripAdvisor to 5 star.  Imagine watching big fat freezing rain drops falling outside in a gale, whilst nestled up in a heated van with a warm cup of tea, reliving the day’s highlights.

 

This is Mountain Biking “gold”

So three things that I think made the day truly great and worth going back for.

1    1.) Lots of chicks

      I mean there were big groups of girls of all abilities racing.  One group in particular had CYCOS on their kit.  They all had matching kit and were riding SWORKS and they rode all day.  Not only that they had smiles on their faces all day, despite of few of them taking some bark off the smile remained.  It was really great to see and is characteristic of Rocky Trail events.  I couldn’t hide my rueful smile as I sat by a warm fire near the end of the event and listened to the chatter about the days racing and a few tales about faster racers who had done some strange manoeuvres trying to pass, like taking the b line behind them and so on.  There was no malice in the chatter, just a question as to why they did what they did.  Of course there was probably a bit of education required on both sides but that’s racing and the sooner everyone realises passing is just part of the game and a kind of nice way to encourage your fellow rider, whether you are the passer or the passee, the better.

2

      2.) Rocky Trail.  

      These guys go out of their way to make an event truly memorable and they are well prepared and experienced enough to make the right call when things don’t go to plan, like a thunderstorm rolling in after 12 hours of racing.  Nigel the DJ provided an intoxicating cocktail of continuous beats, Crafty, as always provided the witty often funny and engaging commentary, and Martin, Juliane and the team kept the race running like clockwork. 

3    3.) James Estate

      The trail, the event centre and the setting are simply awesome, and this is only possible thanks to the hard work and support of Graeme, Christine (the lovely) and the team from James Estate winery.  Recently there was some consternation about the lack of fodder in many race show bags, but when the headline sponsor hands over a bottle of their finest Rosé to every racer, and follows it up with 12 hours of free tasting well it doesn’t get much better than that, and I am pretty sure the racers are returning the favour with plenty of purchases of this top winemakers product.  I really loved the trail, at first it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of vertical, but the first interval up the fireroad to the very top paddock at the beginning of each lap was enough to warm up the legs again.  The soil is a lovely red loamy well drained mix; who knew winemaking and mountain biking thrive in the same micro climate!!  There was plenty of good flowy single trail, with A lines a plenty and enough to keep even a World Cup competitor like Cam Ivory and the Day boys interested.  The Epic relished the trail, from the tight technical berms and rollovers to the final flat and fast snake track leading back to timing.

In the end Clayton and I got the win in category, but More Caffiene riders Andrew and Scott never let up all day and pushed us to the very end.  Just over 300 racers competed at this event which I guess is pretty standard, but I wonder what it would take to get 600 or a 1000 riders and how that might lead to an even bigger festival of the bike.  There has been a lot of navel gazing over the last few months as to how we grow this community and ensure the viability of our favourite events.  Here’s three things I think would help:

      1.) Fewer events

      I’m no marketing expert, but it happens in most markets I dare say, the market grows, more suppliers starting crowding the market and suddenly it looks like demand in waning.  Eventually there is a rationalisation and only the suppliers with the best reputation and access to the best locations are left standing.  Noone wants to ride through some backwater moto-churned bike destroying mud bath to get from one sniggle to the next.  Will we see some merges in the event promoter scene and a culling of some of the less popular events?

2    2.)   Different events

      There needs to be some variety in how we race and it needs to be fun.  The endurance side is the first to suffer when entrant numbers drop because what is the point of the result being decided in the first hour of the race and then continuing to ride for another 23 hours to the finish line.  This applies equally at the pointy end of the field as it does to the middle and rear of the field.  With enough racers you end up in your own little sub-race no matter how “fit” you are.  Close competitive racing is fun and interesting but it needs a large field of racers.  Some stalwarts like “The Fling” will always be there, but newer formats like Hellfire cup and Duo Classic (not so new) offer more “Yeow” for your racing dollar.

3    3.)  Cheaper entry

      Land owners and councils need to realise that a MTB race is like Golden Goose.  If you grab the event promoter by the neck, before the race is even started, then you put that event viability at risk.  Instead take a longer term view of the benefits to your local community of allowing an event to take place your backyard.  By reducing the upfront overheads for the race promotor, you ould think that would enable cheaper entry fees, hence encouraging larger entrant numbers and a bunch of riders for potential sponsors to hock their wares to, ultimately leading to a greater spend in your local community.  MTBA can help to by endorsing races and leveraging their insurance infrastructure, so event promotors aren’t having to setup their own event insurance

Keep Riding

Mike

Riders head out of the start chute

Miles Watson our newest Quantum member had a great day, watch this space, former multiple NZ national XC champion, this guy can drop some serious watts!

Angelique had a great day riding solo and achieved something like a personal best result #inspiration

The beautiful James Estate

Clayton returning on one of our 25 laps

Mike and Clayton, our team ran like clockwork, apart from that one transition where Mike got a little too cozy in the caravan

Masters Pairs podium, thanks for a great race guys

XCO Mission Accomplished

When I targetted the XCO series late last year, the aim was to ride some new tracks, get a taste of what it is like to travel with a bike and make some new friends.  On top of that, I was hoping to improve an area of my cycling that was sadly lacking ie. the ability to go flat out for a relatively short period of time.  Well all that came true and a whole lot more.

The People 

I have met probably 100's of people over the course of these 5 events from Mum's and Dad's supporting their kid's cycling dreams to the riders, the commissaires, volunteers and trail builders. Even though I mostly travelled alone, there was always someone who was happy to sling me a bottle during the race.  I've already mentioned in other places the good mates I have made; Daniel Beresford, Peter Lister and Dave Harris to name a few. There is something about battling one another on two wheels with just your legs and lungs as weapons that forges respect and mateship.  Thanks as well to the Butcher family for your support and encouragement.

The start of the Men's Elite XCO

The Travel and the Venues

I found it an intense experience just organising my own travel arrangements.  The mind boggles at the thought of organising for a team of 5 or 10 cyclists.  That being said it was a mindful experience arranging the flights, the luggage, the accommodation and car hire and I hope I can do it again in the not too distant future.
As far as the venues go, The YouYangs was probably my favourite place, a stunning landscape with challenging but well designed trails.  Stromlo is virtually my home trail and always rates a mention especially for being the hardest course bar none! But Pemberton and Toowoomba were also excellent and really well supported by the local clubs.  I'd liked to have seen more interaction between the long hair Downhiller bros and the lycra clad Cross Country freaks, but perhaps that's why Enduro is growing so fast.  A meeting in the middle perhaps?

Pinning it! #airborne

The Cycling

Well, I find if you want to ride faster, the first step is go and find some faster guys to ride with and that was certainly my experience.  At every round there were atleast 5 really fast competitors in my age group who were in contention.  It would have been great to see slightly larger fields but understandably, not everyone can commit to such a big undertaking. It takes substantial resources to do this and MTBA being the peak body, the main game is the Elite racers.  Speaking of which, mingling with these guys, listening to them and watching them ride is a real privilege.  I often felt awkward introducing myself like I was some kind of MTB aged groupie, but these young guns are so friendly and always have time for a quick hello and good luck.  They possess incredible discipline and class as they focus on the prize of perhaps an Olympic berth or a ride in European circuit.

My racing here was pretty good, though not stellar.  Despite being fresh, my legs felt heavy in the Oceanias and I had to contend finishing one place away from a jersey.  Congrats to Paul Brodie, if you have to lose to someone, a nicer guy I couldn't pick.  Saturday was a different race and even though the field was stronger I felt ready this time, you know the minute you open up the legs in the warm up even before the race starts what kind of a day you are going to have.  The start was insane but I held onto a good position until 5 mins in I felt the dreaded slouch of a deflating back tyre.  I nursed the Epic down through the rock garden and rolled into the techzone pleading for someone to hand me a track pump.  My breathing was heavy and my vision was about 2 feet in front of my nose.  Some very kind fella had an awesome pre-charged track pump and re-inflated by back tyre in no time.  A bit of wiggling to get the Stans to plug the leak and I was away again.  I'm pretty sure this is the first race flat I've had in 8 years, so I cant complain too much, here's hoping my luck doesn't dessert me altogether.  On the other hand it might just mean I haven't been riding hard enough all those years!

My introduction to XCO at the YouYangs December 2014 seems like eons ago - Photo www.jaimeblack.com.au

It's amazing to think back what went through my mind, now that the pressure was off.  Having given away any chance of a podium in the race, the idea now was just to race for fun and make sure I got enough points to achieve a series podium.  I rode outside of myself, reigning those that had passed me and enjoying every metre of track to finish just 3 mins behind 2nd place, not to mention the "Weapon from Wagga", Daniel Beresford, who beat the field by a further 3 minutes to take 1st.


I'm not going to guild the lily too much, in 5 rounds I only stood on the podium once, but I finished all 5 rounds close to the pointy end and was certainly competitive. In a couple of rounds I had to dig deep to overcome some fairly burley obstacles and finish the race to claim some series points so finishing 3rd in the series was a great reward.

Series Podium for MTBA XCO Masters 3/4 2015

Can I get faster?  I really dont know, perhaps I have reached the pinnacle of my genetic potential, and the best I can hope for is to hold this form for the next few years, before age takes me down another peg.  In the end it doesn't really matter.  Medals and podiums might be good for the ego, but the main game for me has been to enjoy doing something I love with some like minded souls, stay fit and healthy and do it to the best of my ability.  Life on this beautiful Earth was given to us by a loving Creator and I reckon riding a bike in the great outdoors with friends is a pretty good way of honouring that.

As always I continue to pinch myself with the wonderful support I have around me in my family, my team and my work (both Knox and Cyclery Northside).  Thanks for indulging my passion guys.

Keep riding
Mike

PS. One of my other passions is photography.
Click here for pics from Oceanias DHI 26th Feb 2015
Click here for pics from XCO Elite U23 U19 men 28th Feb 2015