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

MTBA XCO Round 1 - You Yangs

One of the great joys of cycling is that it can take you to beautiful places you might not ordinarily visit and you meet top quality people you might otherwise never meet.  XCO (Olympic distance Cross Country) is something I hadn’t done before and since winning the 24 solo a little over 12 months ago, my racing has been getting shorter and shorter, so it seemed like a logical progression to give XCO a go.  I didn’t have high aspirations for this race, the plan was just to turn up and give it a good crack.  MTBA are working hard to offer a quality MTB race experience and with more and more choice for races coming onto the calendar, I figured you could do a lot worse than support the peak body.

So it was that Kel, Jesse and I loaded up the trusty Hyundai i-Load and hit the road.  We couldn’t have timed it better in terms of weather.  Sydney was still a maze of gushing creeks and drainways from the recent spate of storms and as we headed south, the clouds parted and Gundagai greeted us with perfect blue skies and mild warm weather.

We arrived at the track just after lunch Friday and had a leisurely cruise around the course, and what a great course it was.  Not unlike Stromlo, the soil is dry, dusty and loose.  I’d need every millimeter of the Curve carbon hoops and Rubena tyres and keep the rubber side down.  Not only that but the track was littered with a number of rocky obstacles.  Mind you, these are not like the random rocky ruts that you find at the dam.  These are purpose built obstacles to test your skill, balance and power, and on my first lap I probably had to unclip 4 or 5 times and go back and repeat to search for the ideal line.  One of those lines brings you to the top of a huge granite extrusion that seems to descend straight to the centre of the earth, it’s so steep.  But similar to the drop off at Ourimbah, if you get the line right and stay off the brakes, it’s a hoot to ride.  Satisfied with practice, we retired to the cheap little motel we found in Corio, loaded up on carbs and hit the sack.

The Elite Women's start and Bec has her race face on from the start

Race day and again conditions are perfect, but already you can feel the temperature rising.  My Garmin peaked at 43 degrees for the day.  Poor Jesse went with the U/19 at 12:30pm for a 4 lap stint in the furnace.  Huge props to him for his first hit out in the higher age group, finishing strong and clean, well not quite clean, the heat bringing on a bloody nose.  The Elites had to do 6 laps and it was great seeing our nations best battle it out.  Not so great was the attrition rate, the heat was taking a big toll; Kel and I were in the feedzone and there were dropped bottles a plenty and that would obviously take a toll.  The Masters and Opens were delayed till 3pm, which was fine by us, perhaps the heat would drop off slightly.

The Elite Man's start and DMac paced himself for 5 laps then lifted to another level to pull away in the final lap

Finally we were on the grid and it was great to chat with a few of the locals.  They were all built like bulldogs, compact, strong and punchy they looked, unlike “muggins” Israel all skinny arms and a diesel engine, but who cares! It was just great to be there.  The start as expected was furious and I’d had a decent warm up so to be 5^th wheel going into the climb I was pretty happy.  Confession time, I dropped the wheel, but we’d dropped the main field and there were only 3 riders behind me and they were happy with my steady pace (diesel!).  I cleared all the main obstacles, it wasn’t pretty but the last thing I wanted to do was slow down my fellow competitors.  Nearing the top, one guy behind was calling to push hard and so I did.  By the time we crested I was on 96% heart rate and my throat was almost closed it was so dry.  I let the three of them pass and took a moment to get a few drops of liquid down my bile coated throat so I could breath again.  I caught one of the guys and he kindly gave me the track on the descent, and what a descent it is.  9 switchbacks, lots of flow and a great opportunity to just stay off the brakes, pick your lines and recover.  I got a gap and pressed on hard.  I took the B line when it came to the slippery dip, thinking there was no need to take risks just yet. 

Some of the Elite guys rolling into the slippery dip

We only had 3 laps to complete.  8km times three doesn’t seem like much but I must have been averaging 85% heart rate so heading up the climb the second time knowing I only had to do it once more was a good feeling.  The aim now was to keep up my pace and hold position.  The cheering crowd was great and I was picking up a few of the slower Masters 1/2 riders.  There was still no sign of any chasers, but then again there was no sign of any rabbits to chase either, so I enjoyed the final lap, took the A-line down the slippery dip and came over the line in 6^th place.  Not too bad, I have to admit I had dreamt of a podium finish but I can take away a lot of positives, knowing I was not far off the pace required, and pushed some pretty accomplished riders.

A great thrill it was to meet Peter Lister, another national level masters rider from Mackay, who had driven down for the Husky and then continued onto the You Yangs when the Husky got cancelled! Now that’s a road trip.  Peter is also a keen Christian who wanted to know more about JesusMTB.  Head of Missions for Mackay Christian College, he takes groups of students away to PNG and Africa to work on community projects and to give the kids some exposure to places not as well off as Australia.

The other day a mate of mine, quipped that believing in God in this day and age is a little akin to believing in Santa Claus.  For me, when I look around at this amazing creation we live in I don’t consider that a random accident.  The alternative that there is nothing after death and your life adds up to the sum total of the good things you did and the good times you had rings hollow for me, not to mention my own personal failings.  The story of Jesus Christ and who he claimed to be and the redemption he offers is the only thing that seems truly real to me.

I’ve been typing this as we head back north and am looking forward to getting home after a quick reccie of the trails at Bright.  That means I have a huge thankyou to Sarah and the kids for doing without me over these few days, I love you guys.  Also thanks to Kel and Jesse for the opportunity to travel and ride with you, it’s been just great.

Keep riding

Mike

It was great to see a bit of the downhill