The real reason I got to race National XCM

Picture this, a wife at the end of her tether after weeks of report writing, marking etc...this teaching gig is TOUGH, it makes a 24 hour solo MTB ride seem like a stroll in the park. Now Sarah is not normally one for tearing off for a dirty weekend of mountain biking in the middle of term, so you can imagine my surprise (read GLEE!) when I casually mentioned the idea of heading to Canberra for the long weekend (umm yes I did mention that there was a tincy wincy little mountain bike race on) and she said "BOOK IT MIKE, TAKE ME AWAY!"
YEIIIIWWWW!
I was on Wotif quicker than Josh "Frother" Carlson rockin' it loose down Skyline.
So it came to be that our car was adorned with 5 MTB's and conveying the Children of Israel towards the Mecca of Mountain Biking (hmm might have mixed my religious metaphors there!)

We had a great run down to Canberra Saturday morning and arrived in plenty of time for the Junior Marathon. Tom and Liam were entered and off they went on their 25km loop. Meanwhile Sarah, Dani and I tackled the Trunk climb together, it was so good to be back here breathing in the fresh air and riding our bikes.




Tom and Liam had a great race in the U15, taking their time and enjoying the ride. This is their second real race (both times at Stromlo) and each time they get better and better. Thanks to the sweep rider who followed Liam every step of the way.

That night I cooked up a pasta storm and slept like a baby ready for my race the next day. I was feeling pretty good, the training is going well and I had a new bike to test out (Giant Anthem 29er). The idea here was to test the legs and see if I could pace myself a little better from the start. The field was completely star-studded. See Jason McAvoy's blog for some examples of the talent we were up against, but knowing the track and how hard the course would be I was confident I could put in a good show.

Interestingly the pace from the start was not the usual heart exploding 5km time trial and I settled into a sustainable pace for the first few km's. Eventually I did drop off the back but there were plenty of respectable riders nearby so I determined to stick to my plan and just ride solidly all day and enjoy it. Nutrition wise things were going ok and the bike was awesome. Really nice handling with the added luxury of a rear shock to bring into play on some of the techier sections. There were lots of highlights throughout the day, the only lowlight being when I heard something fall off the back of my bike through Little Seymour and realised my saddle bag had opened sprinkling a lovely trail of track candy through the scrub. On my second pass I managed to stop and pick up a few bits and pieces, but my trusty old Topeak multitool was nowhere to be found. RIP!

That said there were heaps of positives, including riding some long distances with Tim Kerle and Rich Peil. Rich went on the attack at about the 60km mark and ended up beating me by 5 mins and taking out 3rd, well done mate you got me again! Having my own cheer squad was also awesome as my family screamed and cheered each time I hit transition, thankyou my darlings you made my day.

The track was a ripper, signature Stromlo with heaps of climbing rewarded by several white knuckle descents. I especially enjoyed the two proper downhill sections thrown in for good measure.

The next day we had some time to spare and the kids were keen for a Questacon visit so in we went for some brain stimulation and it was great fun as always. Here is some huge froth for all my extended MTB family


Stats:
Food, 3L Energy, 0.6L Opti, 8 gels, 2 bars, 2 bananas
90km, over 2000m vertical, just over 5 hours, 5th in Masters
http://app.strava.com/rides/10566736

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Rocky Trail MTB Cruise 100km

There is nothing quite as liberating as packing the car full of gear and leaving the city behind for a weekend of mountain biking. This time I had my two boys in tow, Tom and Liam for their first real MTB race, how exciting. Of course we just had to stop for dinner at the GreenGrocer in Goulburn for woodfired pizza and then finally onto Stromlo for a 10:30pm put up the tent.

The next morning revealed a gorgeous sunny day that would soon become a hot energy sapping day. Riding through smouldering grasslands from a recent backburn at the start of the first lap was not a good omen, but the legs were feeling pretty good and I was happy just to keep in touch with Garry James, now racing SuperMasters but looking as strong as an ox like always. The track was heaps of fun if you like rocks....lots of rocks...no it wasnt that bad but

I was wondering how my boys would go on this.

We soon caught up Brian "Big Dog" Price and as he wasn't racing "serious" he graciously offered his wheel for the second half of the lap. Through transition and the three of us were still together. I had a little buffer on Garry after the descent that he would gobble up on the climb.

By the middle of the second lap, the sun was really starting to burn and it became obvious I would have to top up my bottle at the on course water station. This is where I caught Liam and he looked a little dejected. I tried to lift him a little with some words of encouragement "keep going mate, you are doing so well!" which he was. He asking me how far to go and I had to admit he was just past half way, but I said if he'd had enough just to follow the dirt roads back to base. He not only finished but went on to take 4th place in Juniors at just 12 years old. He knees are back and blue today from knocking them against the frame negotiating the rocky track. It wasn't too long before I came upon Tom he looked pretty happy, just tapping away up Blue Tongue. He took third, but not before puncturing. Two very kind gentleman stopped and got him rolling again. I don't know who they were but I hope to find out, thanks guys I owe you one there!

Come lap 3 and I was really feeling it, unable to drink and eat enough my speed plummetted and just as I was wondering what kind of lead I had, a pretty fit looking guy came past me near the top. He didn't look old enough to be Masters, but there wasn't much I could do as he gapped me so I just had to keep rolling and see if I could get a second wind. A cool breeze provided slight relief, but mostly it was pretty darn hot. I was lucky enough to get the last little cup full of water at the refill station and I could see my target just ahead. On I pushed and it was up Heartbreaker where I got a little energy back and passed my competitor. Turns out it was Trent Moore, a rider I have admired and probably never beaten so with nothing but downhill to the finish (except for Blackberry) I put the hammer down to claim 2nd. Tony Rice, another legend took the top step, well done mate and of course Garry James completely dominated in the SM.

Thanks to Martin and Juliane for a fantastic race on a good challenging course. And hats off to the 100M guys, especially Ed McDonald cranking out the 5 laps and averaging 90mins a lap for the whole race, an amazing achievement!

Scott 2011

The Scott is one of those races I had always wanted to do but never quite managed to get there (apart from last year which doesn’t really count). So when my mates from HORCC mentioned they were looking for another rider to make a team of 6 it didn’t take much convincing. The team (Captain Gavatron and the Mutineers) made up Gary, Dave, Gav, Dan and myself, all of whom have featured on the podium at this years STM series plus Paul who I hadn’t met before, but looked just a little too young and fit to be hucking it with us masters!
Camping at Stromlo was heaps of fun, especially with 3 teams of 6 from HORCC. The buzz around the camp site was always enthusiastic (even at 3 in the morning!) as guys rolled in from their lap fully wired, ready to recount many a glorious performance. These guys are seasoned campers and they do it in style. No sooner had I arrived they had the car unpacked and the TMC marquee erected. Wow, thanks guys! I also had Tom and Liam with me and they were pretty excited to be there. They had an awesome weekend riding their bikes around, camping, eating good food, Liam even picked up 2nd place in the U13 race (and he’s only 11, watch out for this guy in a few years to come ;)
Upon arrival Friday evening, the place was looking a little damp to be sure, and there was talk of a sloppy track from other riders but I wasn’t having any of it. Stromlo is built for MTB’s and it didn’t disappoint.
The vibe around the event centre was electric Saturday morning and a few of us from JesusMTB got together for a quick catch up and prayer for the race ahead. We asked for fine weather, safety, and an opportunity to share His love and gave thanks for our good health to ride and wive’s that indulge our passion. The clouds continued to roll past all weekend with the odd shower, but that only served to keep the track tacky, an experience I’ve not had at Stromlo before and I reckon it never rode so well. Fast forward to the start and Dan is our man who sprints off the line and get’s to the bike at the pointy end of the field to begin on the Blue lap. Gav followed in a similar fashion on the Red to put us in first place. By the time my lap came around, I was raring to go and raced off the line to tackle Blackberry and Willo Link. This was to be my best lap as I averaged 89% Max HR and seemed to really nail my lines. Also at this stage of race there was no slow traffic and after passing a few riders early in my lap, I settled in with a train of 3-4 riders and proceeded to bury myself. I came to love this Blue lap the best, it was so challenging with lots of tight techie corners and the Ellsworth really seemed to suit these trails. Heading into Skippys brought back memories of last years 24 solo and then into Deep Creek which I had never ridden before, a very tight section of trail but beautiful all the same. Just when you think you’ve had enough, of tight sketchy corners on a slight incline, you hit Shady’s, the toughest part of the lap, but it doesn’t last long and from there it is fun all the way home starting with Party line, what has to be the most flowingest sweetest stretch of single track on the planet. Oh yeah I almost forget Terminal Velocity, this will test your (insert euphemism to describe courage). A straight steep downhill fireroad that rolls into something like a safety ramp. The challenge is to pedal as hard as you can downhill without touching the brakes so you can roll up the other side and just pop over the crest of rocks at the top of the other side. I hit 60kph here, scary stuff.
My elation at my time of 43+ minutes was shortlived when I learn the guy I have been dualling with for the second half of the lap is from the competition (3FIDI6) and we drop from 1st to 2nd place with a gap of just 5 seconds. Game on! But it doesn’t end there. On the 5th lap, a team called “chain suck” put in a 41+ min lap on Blue elevating them to 1st, while 3FIDI6 fall back to 3rd and we hold 2nd. So now we have a 3 way battle for the category and it carries on pretty much that way for rest of the race. The whole team now gears up for a long battle, Dave and Gary both put in solid laps and Paul finishes the cycle with a 38+ min Red. Nice work. Dave, the team strategist floats the idea of the 3 strongest riders to pull a double and try and make up the gap to first, so I take the time off to mingle with other riding buddies including the crew from TORC, Sandy, Mark, Vicki and Stan. I watch my boys ride and catch up with a few more friends around the track. Thanks to the organisers for the kids race, I count the laps in the U11 and there are so many kids even two of us Dad’s cant quite keep up with it. It’s so cool to see all these kids out riding and loving it. My next lap is a 44+, which I am happy with as I hit a bit more traffic this time but the legs are still feeling good. I love being able to give it everything for a lap and then rest and recover till your next turn. It is only a brief rest this time as we are pulling our double which puts me onto the Red lap…in the dark. I am pretty excited about this, as I love the trunk climb and our course, Skyline and Luge and legendary. My lap is just OK, I have a few little offs, including a tangle of bars ends with a slower rider who picks the most narrow technical section of track to call me through…err fail, we pick our selves up, I apologise profusely and I’m on my way. I never really find my rhythm after that and to top it off I dump it in an unseen abyss on a fast left hander at the end of rascals. The lap also finishes through a bog resembling something out of the Jurassic Period so now my bike is dirty, not happy! But all is not lost and by the end of the cycle we now have a nice 8 min buffer over chain suck and a further 1 min over 3FIDI6. Turns out Dave hates the Blue lap so we swap over next cycle and everyone’s happy again.
My next lap is a night lap of Blue and this is tough. The corners are so tight and the shrubbery so dense, it makes it hard to anticipate where the track is going. There are times where I exit a corner, unsure of where the track goes next! Another lap down and still we We’ve now completed 19 laps (10 blue, 9 red) and we’re back in 2nd place. Every now and again chain suck wheel out their secret weapon and he puts 5 minutes into us all on his own. We’ve been off by up to 8 minutes but we are clawing back the time. It is now 1:30 in the morning. The boys are sound asleep but I cant rest. I take on some food, potter around the bike but I just don’t feel like resting and and my next lap isn’t till 5:20am. Then I remember my mate Phil, who is doing a solo impromptu performance. I roll down the hill to the solo transition to his hut to find the tell tale signs of a madman, gu wrappers everywhere! I tidy up and make some plans so I am ready when a shell of a man rolls in at 3:30am, completely shattered. The bike is a mess after negotiating many a bog on the red lap and he is out of petrol. OK noodles, that worked for me so I boil him up some noodles and get to work on the bike. He says he’ll stay put for a whle so I head up to the bike wash. When I get back, Phil is atleast smiling again though he groans when he realises he has to go out again. I rev him up, he is in 3rd place and 4th place is getting slower. All he has to do is keep circulating and he’ll podium. I see the spark behind the eyes and before he leaves he puts in an order for porridge next time round. OK cool I’ve got about an hour before I need to get ready and I can leave his porridge for him just before I go on my next lap. Perfect!.. Later on I pass his transition and see the porridge is gone. Phil goes onto hold 3rd place at the finish, and I feel just a little chuffed that I played a little part in getting him there. OK so back to our race, Dave rolls in off the Red lap bang on time and it is time for me to attack Willo again. I play a little game with my self each time trying to pushing a bigger gear up each section of this gentle climb. By the time I get back we are in the lead by 7 mins. Not enough, but this team will dig deep. There’s alot of excitement in the team, the dream is so close but a puncture or any little mistake could see it evaporate quickly. Strangely at this point I am ready for sleep, so inhale some porridge, curl up in my sleeping bag just as the sunrises and grab 90 minutes of shuteye.

When I wake up the mood is tense and so I start to prepare for my last lap which is a ripper. That’s me done. Our lead suddenly goes from 9 to 19 mins as chain suck post a 55+ min lap and the mood lifts as Dan, Gav and Gary get ready to bring it home. Dan returns with a flat back tyre off the Red lap. He flatted near the top of the climb, swirls the goop and puts a co2 in but no good, so he finishes the lap (yes Skyline and Luge) on the rim and still posts a 42. Inspirational! Gav puts in a solid Blue and Gary heads off for his last lap. Unbeknowns he comes off early in the lap….here is Gary’s account of the fall

>>>> 11:45, lead on 2nd placed team is approx 20 mins, but they have had some issues and have one uber fast guy who took 6 mins out of me on a red loop in the night when I was not mucking around. If they get out on the lap, and it's him, there's still danger. So I hook in- this is no last lap cruise. The time being what it is, as I drop down off the crit track into holdens creek, there is no traffic. The recent rain shower has re-slopped some small sections, but for the most part just kept the track tacky. So I'm really concentrating on lines and fast exits. I want a sub 40 min lap to put it to bed and receive gasps of amazement from my team-mates!! (I'd only done a 41 on this loop so far, at dusk). Sooo this was the mode I entered the little gully in. Only about 3-4 mins into the lap, you enter more or less straight, but as you cross the bridge you strat a turn right. The other bank forms a berm, which has you leaving the gully off to the right. As I start the drop I note the slick bridge from the recent shower. No worries, caution for a split second and then on my way. That was it. Whether I feathered the front brake or not I do not know, but I had a no-warning, lightening fast low side on the bridge. No leg down, no slide then down, just bike snatched out as if by a giant hand, with newton and his mates smashing me chest first into the pillow sized rock on the far side of the bridge. Chest lock. Could not breath a bit. Bloody, muddy knee and elbow. Mind racing: 'Can I make it back to transition? Is my elbow shattered? Have I broken two or three ribs?'. Breath returns. Some bloke comes along and picks up my bike, hovers in a concerned way. I wave him on. Roll and diagnose. So I climb on, but bars were way out. Fixed, then medium pace for a minute while I breathed and flexed various bits. Painful but fully functional. So... hook back in and rode a 41:-) Gee they hurt me in the first aid tent though... >>>>
Amazing he still posts a 41 and we celebrate the win as we wheel him off the first aid to get patched up. YOU BEAUTY!
Thanks to everyone for a great weekend
Keep Riding
Mike

WSC24 - 2010 Mt Stromlo

My Race
Morning of the race and I am feeling absolutely primed. The pit crew have been briefed, the marquee is all setup, and everything has fallen into place. Literally 9 months of planning and training has boiled down to this one morning. My pre-race nutrition is perfect and I am in the best condition probably of my life. Of course, life likes to throw little curve balls every now and again and with 10 minutes before call up, I head out for a warm up. I roll off a little drop and pshhh, the back tyre gives way! I roll back into the pits and there is a tiny little cut in the tread but of course the goo seals the hole and there is no problem (NOT!). As usual the goo continues to spew out of the hole. Go to plan B, I’ll be starting on the trusty Trek, the eye catching Ellsworth will have to wait. The start is a blast; I get a good start out of the gate and reach my bike after the 300m run near the front of the pack. The bunch head out at light speed, Rich P for one, goes past me like a freight train and my HR goes straight to 85%, touching 88 at times. Not good, but it is early days, so I figure I can hold this pace for a little while without jeopardising my race. After two laps, the pace is still hot but I know this isn’t gonna last and I can hear my coach talking to me, “Remember, this race doesn’t really start till 3am!” Time to back it off. At the same time I catch Peter from KOM and he echo’s my coach, “Let ‘em go Mike, they will all blow up later down the track.”. Lap 3 and I swap onto the Ellsworth 29er (which has attracted more than her fair share of interest this weekend! What a sexy bike J). It feels so good climbing on this bike, but on a switchback, I lose my balance, my foot gets caught on a stump and over I go like tall timber. Crunch! I fall hard on a granite boulder on my hip and ribs and it knocks the wind out of me. I think I might have cracked a rib and I walk a little way to regain my composure and make sure I haven’t done any serious damage. 20 minutes later trying to keep on track, the front washes out and I run into a small tree, I am fine, but the bike has suffered some damage and I have lost the bottom four gears on the rear cassette. That’s OK, but the effort of ejecting the bike causes my right leg to cramp. Damn it! 4 hours and I am cramping? Let’s see what happens.
Back to the pit and I swap back onto the Trek. Oh darling Trek, I am sorry I ever doubted you. This bike is blessed and despite the issues over the last two weeks, it is running perfectly and eating rock gardens like Pork Barrel for breakfast as usual.
Getting back to the pit’s after lap 4 and I find I am in 21st position. Hmmmm, not happy, but feeling good, stick to the plan Stan. Gary and Bernard are running the pit like a pro team, my transitions are fast, I barely finish my lap and I am rolling again within a minute with a fresh camelback, food in my pocket and like magic, my bike is lubed and perfectly tuned again. I even have a pit row girl, my gorgeous wife Sarah, she smiles and cheers for me, cleans my glasses and give me a kiss for every lap I complete. How’s that for motivation! The EDC crew of Andrew, Vered, Dillan, Guy and Sarah B are there as well screaming my name each time I go past and Karl is like a ninja, rock hopping over the mountain to get the best camera angles. Gav my oldest and best friend of 36 years is there with his family, Derna, Petra and Linc cheering me on as well. I have a healthy cheer squad and every time I see them it brings an even bigger smile to my face.
The rest of the afternoon slips away without incident and I am enjoying the race and riding with a great field of riders. Track etiquette as you would expect is nothing short of exemplary with all riders showing patience and consideration.
I have to laugh when I pull into the pits at 5:40 and some joker is telling everyone it’s time to put the lights on. I check with Gary that after 6 is the rule for lights, so Gary promptly sets the joker straight! I am loving this pit crew. Back at 6:50, another solid lap and on go the lights, the lights fades fast and the new moon rising to the west sets the perfect night sky against the observatory buildings, but all of a sudden I notice the bars I am eating aren’t going down so well anymore. By the time I get back to the pits, I am a shivering, sad, gooey mess. The guys sit me down for a few minutes and get some warm clothes on me and we chat about what we need to change on the food front. I honestly can’t remember what they gave me to eat, but it worked and by the time I get back after another lap at around 11pm, I am psyched. I down a Red Bull which is my “break glass in case of emergency” card, a couple of nurofen as the hip and ribs are starting to hurt again and a mug of noodles. Sarah is still here and she asks me how the stomach feels as I inhale the noodles. “Well I am eating this aren’t I?” comes the focussed reply? We laugh about this after the race and I head off into the night once more. I punch out another solid lap getting back a few minutes earlier than expected to catch the crew napping. Gary is dazed as we swap the main battery and I am off in a whirlwind leaving the guys wondering what the hell hit them. We decide to stay on the Trek thru the night and see what the new day brings.
All this time I have been thinking about my position and I have been climbing steadily now to 15th. My plan was to wait for 3am which stood out as a huge milestone. I felt if I could make it in good shape to 3am, then I would definitely reach my goal to finish the race and then like magic, it suddenly ticks over to 3am. I have developed a little rapport with a dear couple who are watching from the top of the mountain, and every time I go past they cheer, “Good on you 414, you’re doing well!” I tell them thankyou and how much I look forward to seeing them each lap and they respond they aren’t going anywhere.
The 3 hours to sunrise race by and come 6am I am ready to attack. Lap 15 is a scorcher and I knock 6 mins off my previous lap time. Gary asks if I want to know where I am. Yes please. You are 10th! YEEEESSSS!!!! COME ON!!!! Wind up the machine and give me the beast. I hop on the Ellsworth 29er, shove it in the dog and I motor into 9th, back on the Trek, a super quick lap for #17 and the crew are wondering if I can fit two more laps in, but no, one more will do it as roll thru the pit into 8th place, tragically miscalculating my onboard fuel. The final lap is a killer and the legs are now fatigued but I am determined to finish strong. I rider pulls up behind me and we have a bit of a chat, only to realise we are in the same category and fighting for 8th position. “Can we settle this like gentlemen?” he asks. I tell him he can ride with me for as long as he likes, but he swallows hard and drops me like a stone. So I am back to 9th which is fine by me, but there is no way I am giving up 9th, so now is the time to delve into the “suitcase of courage”. I ride the entire lap despite the excruciating pain in my back and backside and cross the line just 2 mins ahead of 10th place. I am elated and very, very emotional. I am completely spent and as I get off the bike I realise I cannot walk. My friends carry me to where I can sit and we celebrate the amazing result. My first ever full 24 hour race completed and my immediate reaction is “Never again”. Eventually I make it back to the marquee where I sit for goodness knows how long. The TORC team of Ben, Tony, Steve, Kelly and Sandy drop by with looks on their faces that half say well done and the other half, he’s completely bonkers. No sooner do I voice a desire to eat something and Karl is back with the best looking slice of pizza I have ever seen in my life. It tastes like pure gold, I will never forget the sheer bliss of eating this piece of food. With a lot of help from Karl and Bernard, we pack the essentials and make a B line for the hotel. I am into the bath and then into bed as quick as can be. An hour later I am up to go to the loo and completely pass out. I manage to slide onto the floor and that’s it. I can’t move another millimetre. Unsure of what’s happening, I get Sarah to call the Ambulance and they arrive promptly, check me over, and ask lots of questions, by which time I am coming to and am able to sit up. Food and rest is the prognosis, which is great because I would have been shattered to miss the preso dinner. By dinner time I am feeling a lot better and I enjoy the atmosphere and the food, as well as applauding all the champions of each category, secretly cataloguing each rider and what it took for them to win. Sarah should have gotten that “Never again” quote in writing because already I can feel the hunger returning and I reckon I have atleast one more 24 in me. Time will tell.

The Course
What an amazing course! From the outset it was clear this was going to be a tough track. Just check out the 100 odd posts on http://www.rotorburn.com/ and you will see this was probably one of the most hotly debated topics. Was it too tough for a 24 hour race? Maybe, but I still think the race organisers made the right decision. Pork Barrel thrown together with a double crest of Mt Stromlo would be a test of epic proportions and I think that putting on this course has taken the sport to a new level. The first 3 km were great for recovery, some fireroad and Holden’s creek gave the rider’s some recovery time and plenty of flat road to drink. Then it’s into the first climb. I love this climb. You can just push tempo all the way or you can go a bit harder if you want to. Over the crest and you are into Western Wedgetail, one of my favourite sections, it winds its way slightly downhill with some fast sweeping turns. Into yet another rocky section, then Pork Barrel, which isn’t too bad once you work out the best line. I happen to think this got better as the race went on and my strategy here was to slow down a fraction just let the bike flow over the rocks and not hold on too tight. The next section is also quite technical with some false flats and steps to get up which was probably my least fav part of the track. Then we are on the firetrail. Thankfully the hardest climb is the first one, and it takes a bit of effort but is quite rideable and I spin up here in the granny for all but one lap that I walk just to stretch the legs (no really!). From there it’s a series of pinches most of which are preceded by a reasonable downhill section. They are challenging but each pinch makes a perfect goal to conquer as you go about constructing another lap in your mind. The last pinch before the summit is a beauty as it had a fast roll in where you could really pin it in the dog and let your momentum carry you half way up. From there it’s grins all the way home. A 250m descent over 3km on some of the fastest sweetest single track you will find anywhere. I frequently found myself in a procession of 4 or 5 riders all screaming down the hill together at 40+ kph whooping and yeehawing all the way. So much fun!

The Support
If you read no other part of this report, just read this. My sensational performance would not have been possible without the support of literally 100’s of people. In fact if you are reading this, you probably supported or encouraged me in some way, so I thank you for being the person you are and for showing an interest in me.
To my wife and kids for bearing with my obsession and getting excited for me when things were going well and for being there when things weren’t. You guys have had to make sacrifices so that I could do this race well.
To the gang at EDC, especially Andrew L, Karl M and Sarah B for your generous support, I would not have made it to the start line without you.
My coach from FTP training Dave Hunt. For being so available and flexible and for not only developing a program that pushed me to the brink but for teaching me the knowledge I needed to achieve my goals.
To Mark and Simon at Turramurra Cyclery for setting me up with two awesome bikes and putting in a heap of time to make sure everything was just right, thanks guys you are the best.
Stuart Burns and Line break for providing the Cyclist’s compression wear that just works. I wore a long sleeve compression garment for the entire race and have no doubt it was a major factor in my arms still feeling pretty good after 24 hours of hard work.
Anne Deane, my mother-in-law. For happily taking the kids for 3 days while Sarah and I were racing. The kids had a ball, thank you so much Anne, we really appreciate your constant support.
To everyone at Knox, my workplace. So many of you followed my journey with genuine interest, I thank you for your friendship and support, not to mention the many people who gave to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
To my riding mates from TORC and Peloton Sports. Everyone has been so encouraging, spurring me on to train hard, riding with me and even checking in on me at the race, thanks guys. I love being a part of this club.
My Pit Crew, Gary Eastment and Bernard Chan, what can I say. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better pit crew, this result belongs to you as much as it does to me.

To the riders, there are so many people I have met thru this sport whom I am proud to know, Kev, Jase, Arran, Chops, Fenz, Andrew H, Andrew C to name a few.
And finally I dedicate this blog to my Nan, Bessie Lorraine Israel, who passed away 29 September 2010, aged 90.
It was her strength and endurance that inspired me to push on thru the night.
It was her courage that taught me to never give in.
It was her love of life and her laughter that showed me not to take life too seriously but to enjoy the journey.
Keep riding
Mike