CTS Round 3

I was a bit worried about doing this race. I often race under trained, but doing a six hour MTB race with less than three weeks of training in the legs is pushing it a bit. I through my camera in my pocket to give me an excuse to stop during the laps, but below is the only pic I too, it was on the start line. I was amazed with how I performed. The legs felt fresh and eager to go. I needed to hold back and stay comfortable to make sure I did no damage to my aging unfit body. I think I ended up in 4th or 5th only 25mins off the leader.

It was another well organised event, (even without Snozza keeping an eye on things) well done to the Full Gas team. The course they set for us was absolutely mud free and a whole lot of fun. The Hei Hei was a pleasure to ride as usually and didn't miss a beat.

BTW don't forget to check out the World 24 Hour website to see how the Aussies fared in Canada. They are due to finish while we sleep Sunday night.

Getting back into it...

The plan was to do a couple weeks on the road to get some fitness back before I jump on the MTB. I ended up missing out on riding the Tour de Burbs Tuesday night so I decided to jump on the single speed Unit and hit the trails at Lysterfield. I needed to pick up my freshly serviced Hei Hei from Trailmix anyway, so this was to be a good plan. The trails were a little soggy, but the bike hooked up nicely and it was great to cruise around on the big wheels in the bush, in the middle of the day.

Finishing up at Trailmix is great. A perfect place to warm the body with a coffee after blasting the trails. BTW, make sure you get your entry in soon for the next round of CTS. Apparently they are filling up fast.

Yes, I'm still alive...

Well, with almost a month off the bike completely, it's time to get back into it. I have my fingers crossed that my immune system is back to full strength. I plan on taking my return slow to make sure I stay in good health. While on my first ride back, I was thinking about all my years on the bike (I am currently in my 19th year of competitive cycling) and how lucky I have been with injury and sickness. From this perspective I can't complain at all. But it is good to be back.

Also newsworthy, it looks like my late entry attempt for the Wildside Tasmania Jan 2010 has been accepted. This and the world record attempt will definately keep me busy early in the new year. But in the meantime, I have booked a catch up with the AyUp boys next month at a NSW Event (Randall will make the trip up with me). At this stage August sees me at a MTB event four out of the five weekends plus CTS later this month. Should be fun...anyone know a good babysitter.

Feet are still up.....

It has been a good move to stay off the bike. I am still feeling pretty average, and making the decision to not ride at all for a couple of weeks has eased the mind. I will probably get on the bike in time for the next CTS round, yeah.

I have been asked to fill the gap on my last post in regards to the 24 hour world record. Well, I don't have any pics or bike for that matter (it is still being built). But what I can provide is a little insight to what is required to try on such a feet. If you follow this link you can read about the current world record holder. He is a bit of a machine, not only on the bike, but many other modes of transport. So, with any luck, I will have a bike to test soon and things will become a bit more real. But for now it is back to yelling at the kids to go back to bed and catching up on some good old TV.

Down Time...

I thought I had better leave a quick note. It has been a tough few weeks (maybe even 5) with sickness getting me down. I was starting to feel good yesterday, so I went out with the Fatties for a few hours on the MTB and today I have taken a backwards step and am all blocked up again. I need to make a decision, do I take a week off and recover or train through? Decisions, decisions....

On a more positive note, I have just about locked in a date for a crack at the world 24hr record on a bike (only 1050kms). It will probably happen at Lang Lang, Holdens testing ground. I might even get out on the record attempting bike this weekend to see how it is progressing.

CTS 5hr...

Another great event run by Full Gas Promotions. This event saw the move of event head quarters to the Lysterfield Lake area using Trailmix as the centre. With a capacity field (400 I think) and about 130 hunters missing out on entering, this series is become the must do events on the enduro calendar. With this race being the shortest in the four race series, the numbers in the solo categories were huge. A great stepping stone to the big event, the Kona 24hr. I know of quite a few riders using the Kona as their introduction to solo 24hr racing. One of which took out the girls solo category, well done Annie.

As for my race yesterday, I was super happy with how things went. Lap times were very consistent, leg felt great and I showed no signs of blowing up.... I think I even jumped two places in the final lap or two, which put me in a very respectful 4th. Now if I can only find 6-10 more hours in the week to train I might be right up on the heals of the front runners. Keeping in mind this distance of event isn't what I am known for.

I will add some pics when they surface.

Bendigo Pics...

Here's a few pics from the weekends race in Bendigo. Thanks Tim (MTB-Images). Racing went well, even though I needed two 20 minute power naps just to get to the start. Guess I am still not over the flu I have been struggling with lately. Anyway, I rode a nice consistent, comfortable race and will hopefully be backing it up this Sunday in the CTS 5hr at Lysterfeild. See you there.

Putting the hurt down..haha.

A big thanks goes out to John and his team at Bendigo MTB club for putting on another great event. I wish I had a back yard like that, it rocked.

To race or not to race?

With a week of the whole family feeling very unwell, including myself, I was contemplating no racing in the Bendigo 6 hour tomorrow. My throat has been extremely sore and the sinuses have been blocked solid since wednesday.

After having a chat to Robyn, it was decided I would go and race. Even if I roll around and enjoy a great course, i'll be there.

Play time...

Today I heading into Randall's play ground. It is easy to see why he loves coming out here. Lots of fun, REAL MTB trails.


This is a great bridge, bush inginuity at it's best.

Not everyone enjoyed their time in this bush land.

My view for most of the ride. It is always fun trying to hold his wheel on the tricky rocky decents. Perfect terain for the Kona 120 with it's 120mm through axil Reba's.

SRAM update...

As many will know I have been using SRAM XO on my two race bike for a little while now. I am loving the slick, fast shifting and ultra reliable performance in muddy conditions. It is a welcome change.

A couple week ago I was flung this 2010 X9 rear Derailleur. It has totally been revamped. The design looks sweet. The finish is top notch.




The biggest advantage of the new design is how the profile of the derailleur is reduced by about 10-15mm. Fitting between rocks and the like without damaging your equipment will now be a bit easier.
To achieve this the cable now routes behind the main body. It gives the derailleur a total new look and allows for the reduction of the profile. As far as shifting goes, pure SRAM. I could not tell the difference when I replace my XO.

It has been on the agenda for a little while now, but I finally replace my old road group set with SRAM Force. Yet to be ridden but first thoughts are WOW. For the fun of it I weighed every item as it came off the bike and compared it with it's replacement. Every Force item was lighter than the Ultergra item excepting a 20 gram gain in the bottom bracket and equal weight of the cassette. Total saving was about 300 grams. Doesn't sound like much, but at the end off the day these two group sets are competing for sales and I know 300 grams would make a big difference when is comes to laying down your hard earned cash.

Anyone up for a ride in the rain?

This morning I rolled out the door for a bit of an unknown ride. I had a couple of choices, Hell ride, or the Spoken ride. It didn't stop raining all the way to beach road, with this rain I knew the Hell ride was not an option (even if anyone decided to turn up) because it would be no fun sucking on someone else's wheel spray flat out for two hours. So I decided to find the Spoken boys, do you think I could? Not a chance

Did another lap chasing triathletes, then rolled home. I saw this sign, thought it was appropriate for a wet saturday morning on the roads, straight to the point, I like it...

Family fun...

I am on the mend. The stitches in my finger have been removed (it wasn't very exciting, all I did was slashed it with a new stanley knife), and I am over my chest infection. So it is now time to start riding again. Today I hooked up with new sponsor boss Rob Eva (Mr SRAM), team mate Evan Franzke and James Maebus (Torq) and headed up into the Nongs on the mtb's. It was a great ride, over many trails I have never done. The legs felt ok, and I am hoping this is the begining of some good fitness.

On top of the world...well maybe not.

Getting up there isn't always easy.

I was downloading some pics from my camera today and found this little video. Before you say we should be wearing helmet, I know, but in my defence we were on private property.