Husky100 2012

A picture perfect morning greeted the field or the Husky100 today. My prep was pretty good and after 2 big races in the last three weeks, I was ready to give this one all I had in return for a few weeks of no structured training.

Arriving at the Callala Bay RSL, I had plenty of time for rego, get dressed and final adjustments to the bike, check tyre pressures etc. After a brief warm up I went back to the car just before heading for the start and realised my front tyre had gone completely flat. What The? There didn’t seem to be any holes so I quickly pumped it back up and chucked my hand pump in the CamelBak just in case it turned out to be a recurring problem. The start was good although being a few rows back on the grid, gives the front runners an immediate advantage once the field strings out to a long single file, but not to be deterred I pushed hard to maintain the same pace and kept the front runners in sight for most of the first stage.

The legs were feeling great and I was holding 85% max HR for extended periods, but figured I had nothing to lose so continued to push hard to see how long I could last. Apart from a stomach upset at the 60km mark, I pushed hard all day and ended up averaging 80% for the whole ride which I was pretty happy about. Gavin Williams and I had plans to team up and try and work together which worked pretty well to the KOM mark at which point Gav destroyed me. I saw him again briefly at the 60km mark but at that point I couldn’t hold any more gels down so had to back off a touch until my stomach sorted itself out.

For a relatively flat course this KOM kinda hurts

In the middle section a nice little group of about 10 riders formed and we all worked pretty well together to make good ground. Inevitably there were a few spills from guys who tried to get an advantage by riding through the mud holes, only to go over the bars in a shower of mud as the hole plummeted to depths not previously imagined. The bike handling skills were again sorely tested especially when you are climbing a track with 30cm deep ruts common and slippery clay ridges barely wider than your tyre the only ridable line. Line selection was critical as it was always a battle to keep the back wheel on track rather than sliding into the rut forcing you dab your foot.

My only near spill was on a descent when my front tyre caught a dried mud rut and I nearly came a cropper at speed but was able to throw my leg out and stay upright, even warding off the usual cramp such a kick can bring on.
Coondoo was lonely but I was still making good speed. By this stage the demons had crept back into my X0 SRAM drivetrain (fact is they never really leave!) and the small chain ring had well and truly packed it in as the chain sucked after only one or two pedal strokes. I thought about lubing the chain, but I hate stopping so it was the 39t for the second 50km which worked out alright and make me get out of the saddle and push hard on some of the climbs. That being said I think everyone had some form of mechanical at some stage so it was a great leveller and thankfully my front tyre was behaving itself.

MTB Racing can be a lonely track

Now at about 80k’s I was starting think I might pick up Gav again while I kept looking back to see if any other members of our group were catching me. Sure enough at the 95k mark I caught sight of Gav again so I bided my time to catch him to make sure I was fresh. I would need to beat him by a few seconds if I was going to swap positions with him. At one point Gav slowed for a big puddle and I saw my chance and floored it straight through the mud to create a gap but to Gav’s credit he got back on my wheel so now we’d have to battle it out to the finish. I mean let’s face it, that’s a hubbard move anyway so my determination to drop Gav wasn’t quite 100%. I attacked one more time but couldn’t shake him, it seemed he’d been resting up for the last few k’s so his legs were ready to tango. Onto the golf course and he took the lead and I jumped on his wheel. I am sure the 50k riders we were passing at TT speed must have thought we were crazy, but in our minds we were racing for a top 5 finish so it was definitely on. Rounding the last corner a wayward branch ripped into my arm, Gav attacked and in the end just had too much power for me to get close, beating me by 7 seconds.

The Gavatron

Now organisers please note, I know this place is muddy at the best of times. We expect that and to a degree we kinda like it every now and again but really you HAVE TO cut out that section thru Comberton Grange with 10k’s to go. It’s no way to finish a race and it is the worst mud right at the point when your bike least needs it. I know it is probably the quickest way back or there is some other reason, but please consider canning this section as it NEVER dries out. I was following a 50k rider into an ominous pit of filth and she was almost swallowed whole! Otherwise it is a well run event ably supported by the local community and the ice cream and exotic fruit cocktail at the finish was something to savour!

Notable absentee today was Ed “Gears” McDonald who is probably riding a cyclocross bike to the Flinders ranges or something equally silly (Turns out he was mixing it up with Victoria’s finest MTBer’s).

This was my first 100ker since CapPun2011 so it was great to return to this race format, it challenged me to new depths and I am stoked with my result, it was an awesome day and as always the MTB community were cool and chatty and friendly while still finding time to put me in the hurt box. Great to see Cam Peterson there too leave his roadie in the shed and come over to the dark side. He carved out an awesome time and raised more than an eyebrow from a few of the MTB aristocracy and of course looked fresh as a daisy afterwards. Nice one Cam. Machine!

In the end I finished in 5 hours 9 minutes, a long day in the muddy office for sure and 7th in the Masters (18th overall not counting the Elites) and just 4 minutes off 3rd place which goes to show how close these races can get.

Thanks to all those who supported me again in this crazy pursuit of speed, the Eastments for putting me up Friday night, my family for allowing me to and Turramurra Cyclery for your continued support in so many ways

Keep riding
Mike

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)

The Mountain Bike is Evolving

This all started last Saturday when I noticed a bit of play on the drive side crank on the Trek. It appeared as though the BB had come slightly loose. As soon as I got home, I whipped off the cranks and was bemused to say the least, when the BB cup was not just a bit loose it actually just fell out. Completely stripped was the thread on the cup and inside the frame. Not quite what I was hoping for just 2 weeks out from the worlds.

Importantly I want to share with you some intel on why I think this happened so you can avoid it happening to you (Thanks to Mark at TMC for explaining). The Trek has a 68mm wide BB, Standard Shimano BB is made for 73mm, so you will usually find a couple of spacers on the drive side if your BB is 68mm. Problem here is that leaves precious little thread to actually screw into the frame. It only has to get a tiny bit loose and then the resulting play will see the metal slowly grind away. So the answer is to only have one spacer on the drive side, this gives you a better chain line to use the granny anyway which isnt all bad.

OK slight diversion back to the main story

So I head into the shop, yeah they can fix but "When am I going to get my first Carbon frame?" they ask. It is clear the Trek's racing days are numbered even if they can fix, so perhaps it is time to think about my next serious bike purchase.

The Giant was pretty cheap and was really just a long term tester to see if the 29er was right for me. Big tick in that box.

So we have a bit of a chat about what is available, I would like to strip down the Giant and reuse my upgraded parts. A hardtail carbon frameset is what I need. And then they introduce me to the Ellsworth Enlightenment 29er.

I'll admit it was love at first sight.

Mark and Simey did an awesome job of fitting me up and looking at the best setup for me and long story short, just one week later I have my Trek back, I have a nice clean Giant 29er frame looking for a new home and I now have an absolute rocket carbon race bike.

This bike is amazing to ride, it's plush and compliant but with plenty of lateral strength, it climbs like nothing I have ridden before and simply floats over water bars, take as much air as you want, this puppy just flies and lands level everytime.

It's a gorgeous bike, let's face it, alot of this sport has to do with how things look and rolling up to the bunch Saturday morning their was certainly a few raised eyebrows as the group appraised the latest incarnation of off road cycling.

Congratulations Ellsworth, now I see why you have such a loyal following, add another convert to your list of riders and thanks again to Turramurra Cyclery for the amazing job you did in getting me on this bike in time for the Worlds.

One sad little footnote to this story is the roadie is gone. The faithful Wilier Evasion that has bore me over many a kilometre in the last three years had to go. The theory behind n+1 bikes is all well and good but it doesnt do much for the bank balance. I am sad to see this bike go, I have simply loved riding it, but it goes to a good mate who I know will get alot of enjoyment from her.

Keep riding

Mike