About Pizza, Coming Second and a 3 Legged Dog

As I sat on the plane flying out of Sydney Airport, I could scarcely believe my luck.  I was heading to Pemberton WA to race rounds 2 and 3 of the MTBA National XCO series.  I had a full carbon racing steed packed in a rather fetching red bike bag, I felt I was in my best form for a long time and I had the blessing of my wonderful family.  It seemed that Cycling had pre-prepared an adventure made just for me and I was excited.

THE PIZZA

As planned, I rendezvoused with Peter Lister at a rather budget hotel near Perth Airport sometime around Thursday midnight and in the morning we picked up the hire car and took a leisurely 4 hour drive south through the gorgeous south west of WA.  Bridgetown, Donnybrook and Manjimup are just a few of the pretty towns we drove through on our way to the Karri capital, Pemberton.  Practice was perfect, and we fine-tuned our skills sessions some of the trickier sections including those huge wooden berms.

For dinner we hit the Pemberton pub and in hindsight my eyes were bigger than my stomach.  The pizza was delicious and I ate the whole thing bar one piece, that I donated to Pete who was ready to eat the leg of a chair waiting for his spaghetti.

It was here that we met our amazing support crew Geoff Rowe and Kim Ranson and young gun Zac with Grandad Merv.  We absolutely loved these guys, but more on that later.

The night was spent in fitful sleep as my stomach attempted to digest the world’s largest pizza and needless to say I wasn’t feeling top of my game in the morning. 

The race took off at a solid pace and Peter Lister jumped on the front to take us into the single track.  On return to timing, I jumped past to take a turn and lead a train of five riders through traffic to “That Hill”, a 1km steady fireroad climb.  

Photo credit; Mark of Pemberton MTB Park

At this point I was starting to get that feeling that it wouldn’t be my day.  The legs weren’t feeling good, and over the course of the next 4 laps I was relegated to 5^th place.  That being said, I stayed with Peter for a lot longer than in Round 1 and finished just 90 seconds behind the winner, Nick Algie.  Not too bad for a 1 hour 20 minute race, I took the positive view and focused on the race the next day.  Briony won the prize for the most inspirational Facebook comment “I'm envisioning great success in the next one”

In the afternoon, we were enjoyed watching the Elite men’s race and it was an enthralling to witness the many twists and turns in the race.  My recovery consisted of hopping around the mountain taking photos and watching their skill, style and power.

Luke Brame styling it up on on of the many double jumps

COMING SECOND

Saturday night dinner was a who’s who affair in Mountain Biking and Pete and I sat starry eyed as we listened to luminaires like Paul Van Der Ploeg and Sarah Riley talk cycling.  Seeing Paul pleading with the waitress for some real ice cream with his apple crumble was surreal.  Dinner was great and having learnt my lesson from last night, I took it easy on the buffet.  Finally sleep came and I got a solid 8 hours to awake feeling refreshed and quietly confident that today would be a better day.  I followed the same morning prep with remarkably less visits to the toilet, and was back on the start line ready to give it another thrash.  

The start was different today, having seen each other race, and now knowing each other a little better, the first fireroad sprint was a series of jockeying moves for position and swapping turns.  Strategy it seemed had kicked in well and truly.  As we raced back through timing, yesterday’s winner Nick Algie sprinted away, with Pete Lister 2^nd and giving chase.  Pete put the hammer down to hunt down Nick, whilst a race for 3^rd developed between Dave, Damon and I.  At the fireroad climb I passed Dave and had a good gap at the start of the descent.  OK, this is good, I was feeling much more comfortable than yesterday and thought 3^rd was definitely within my reach.

 

Having set about making sure that 3^rd place was safe, on the 3rd lap, I saw Nick up ahead walking his bike with a deformed drivetrain.  “Back luck Nick” was all I could say, as I saw the heartbreak written on his face.  His race was over. 

In the final two laps my legs were strong and I was really enjoying the trail.  The climb suited me perfectly, but even more exciting were the descents, I almost felt like a BMX racer as my confidence grew and I started to hit the berms and jumps just that little bit faster.  One of the ladies staying with us commented that I looked too clean as I fought for control through one of the most challenging tracks I have ever ridden, called “Bloody Mary”.  Sure enough I binned it in the dust just 5 seconds later, surely a Freudian slip to prove I was serious, but no harm done as I quickly remounted and half rolled, half slid the remainder of the segment.

Crossing the line in 2nd was one of the best results ever, after all the hard work to achieve this goal was incredibly satisfying.  It's funny how a little piece of shiny metal in the form of a medallion can mean so much, but this form of racing is so raw and intense, I may just never do 24 solo again!  It takes every bit as much focus and energy and crams it into 90 minutes.

Sunday's podium with Pete 1st, Mike 2nd and Dave 3rd

THE THREE LEGGED DOG

One the main reasons for entering this series was to meet new people and to ride new tracks and that mission was well and truly accomplished.  Added to that I have gotten to rub shoulders with some truly legendary riders and learn from them.  I have found it enlightening to hear them speak of racing and the lifestyle such talent and hard work affords.  Two of our favourite new friends this weekend were Geoff and Kim.  These two knock about sandgropers had us in stitches all weekend; and Geoff owned one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever seen, with three legs.  These guys, stayed the whole weekend mainly to support young gun Zac Larrson from Pete’s hometown, but they gladly handed us bottles too and we couldn’t have achieved our great results without them.  Thanks so much guys for all your good humour and expert support, you made the weekend ever more memorable.  Incidentally, Zac came away with two silver medals in the U/15’s so there is another up and coming talent.  He also learnt an important lesson regarding chamois hygiene #chaffedbutchuffed

I have used the royal “we” in this post as Pete and I travelled together and shared accommodation.  Not only that, we were in direct competition as the only two east coast masters to make the trip west.  Pete is a step above me and had a stellar weekend of results, taking 3^rd and 1^st in the two races and cementing the series leader’s jersey.  We had a terrific weekend together spurring and encouraging each other on despite our competitive relationship.  Not only do we share a love of cycling but a common view on the claims Jesus Christ makes in the Bible so to share the podium with him on Sunday was one of the proudest moments in my cycling journey.

There were so many characters we met over the weekend.  The Tucknotts, the pregnant lady at the top Marshall Point, Mark and Paul (head of Pemberton MTB Park and Trail builder extraordinaire respectively), not to mention the many elite riders who cheerfully gave up some of their precious time for a natter.  There are so many stories of others who give their lives to this sport, like the commissaires and volunteers who give up a whole weekend to run the event.  Darryl from CORC is just one who comes to mind.  Peta Mullens was another inspiration on Sunday, beating the seemingly unbreakable Bec Henderson and adding MTB XCO series leader to her recent National Road champion title.  What a talent!

Peta Mullens taking the win on Sunday in the Elite Women on Sunday

Finally thankyou to my friends at Cyclery Northside for your support, and most important to Sarah and kids, thankyou for giving me the time and resources to pursue this passion and to see just how good I can get at this crazy sport.  It keeps me sane, just!  It’s now 3:27am and I’m on the red eye, looking forward to reuniting with my family for Australia Day

Keep riding

Mike

Pemberton MTB Park

Bicentennial Tree Pemberton - Pete and I climbed it before heading back to Perth for our flights home

Warm up at Yellowmundee

Christmas is over for another year and while most cyclists would be putting their feet up and enjoying a few extra guilt free calories whilst planning their trip to Adelaide for the TDU, I was sweating hard on a wind trainer somewhere on NSW far north coast whilst helping out on SUFM Beach mission.  Round 1 of the XCO last month was fun, but my 6^th placing provided enough motivation to see if I could extract any more power from the old diesel.

Web site http://whats.todaysplan.com.au provided the challenge.  Some monster intervals to improve power and strength and there were times on that trainer in 30 deg heat with no fan where I came close to quitting.  The one thing that kept me going was the promise of a better performance in Pemberton.

In my final week of the plan, Quantum rider Michal Kafta was looking for a teammate to pair up in the WSMTB Stans 4 hour Summer Series Round 2 (Twilight Edition) http://www.wsmtb.com/v2/4hr_2014.html  Michal is a very talented rider having won the Veterans in the Fling and placing very high in the Croc trophy last year and although I wouldn’t put myself in his league, I was privileged to join with him for some fun and give the legs a test before tapering for WA.

Upon arriving at Yellowmundee around 4pm, the sun was still blazing and temps were still 30+ degrees.  Classic Yellowmundee, it was hot and the track was dry, dusty and very ,very looooose.  Every track has it’s own character and this is just what I’d expect from this favourite track at the base of the Blue Mountains. An added bonus was that Michal had put up the marquee and we had 3 other quantum teams racing with Mark & Ollie, Jacob & Alex, and Aaron & Steve combining to provide some inter-team rivalry.

 

The banter begins at the marquee, just racing for fun right?

I volunteered Michal for the first lap and was both cheering and cursing as he cruised through transition after the start in 2^nd wheel behind young sensation Matt Dinham.  Before he went out he said to me to take it easy in the heat, conserve energy and then light it up after the sunset and temps dropped.  It was great to see Michal taking his own advice, NOT!  Michal came back through timing in about 5^th place just 20 secs behind Matt and tagged me in.  The sun was still raging but I felt great on the track. I’d brought my racing Anthem shod with newly renovated www.TWEBikeWheels.com.au Arch 29er wheels.  They might be over 4 years old but these wheels still feel light and stiff and the Anthem was eating up the rocky trail. 

Meanwhile the legs felt strong.  I’d had a dodgy stomach for most of the week, even succumbing to a nap before heading out to the race, but once I was riding, all the cares and niggles just fell away and I opened up the taps.  I got finished the lap in just a minute more than Michal’s lap so I was stoked with that and we steadied into 4^th place overall.

The race continued pretty smoothly and 3^rd place was coming up on the radar.  Michal put in a scorching lap breaking the 19min barrier and then sent me out right behind 3^rd place Velocipede with Jacob leading a train of three.  On the techy rock steps, the Velo rider made a mistake and I jumped past onto Jacob’s wheel.  We stomped to the base of the fireroad climb and half way up we’d established a good gap on Velocipede so I put my head down and recorded my fastest lap just missing a sub 20 min lap by 2 seconds.

The rest of the evening passed by without incident, the vibe on the track was very casual and as the 4 hour mark closed in, the traffic thinned, the temperature dropped and the light slowly disappeared to leave me riding in ideal conditions.  It was another good test for the www.NiteLights.com.au and the bright broad beam provided excellent illumination in the foreground, whilst the ever faithful www.ayup-lights.com narrow beam on the helmet lit up further down the track.

I ran Maxxis Icon EXC front and rear which gave a good sense of grip, fast rolling and protection from the rocky terrain.

 

Thanks to Riding Focus for this great shot

In the end we finished 3^rd overall with the Kaliba team of Glen and Fabian just 2 minutes back chasing hard.  1^st and 2^nd placed pairs were a whole lap ahead, made up of Matt Dinham (18), Luke Brame (17), Ben Metcalfe (14!!) and long time XC champion Matt Fleming now turned 40! Look out Masters category. And look out for these young guns, coming through the ranks.  They ride like greased lightning.

It was a well run event with some nice prizes donated by www.BikeMinded.com.au , www.BlackmanBicycles.com.au and www.PantherCycles.com.au so thank you for their support.

Thanks to the www.Quantum-Racing.com.au team for a great fun event and to Michal for the opportunity to race with you.  It was just great to feel part of a team and chew the fat around the transition as we waited for our partners to reappear all too soon!  Thanks also to all the riders who turned up to make it a fun event and the local RFS crew for the great BBQ.  It was great to catch up with part of the MTB family friendly and chatty as always.  Now it’s time to rest and taper and see what comes about in Pemberton next weekend.

Keep Riding

Mike