NSW State XC Round 1

It was a near frozen morning, an early start from Sydney had me to Fitzroy Falls with plenty of time before Rego. The track is located on a private property and it was a great chance to ride a track not regularly available. Gradually building to be a highly variable track it featured starting sections with narrow fire trail and skinnys over water crossings. Then it was closely followed by sweet flowing single track with off and on camber switchbacks. This lead to a recently created section linking pinch climbs, north shore inspired timber ramps and short, fast technical downhill. All up I believe the track was around six kilometers long and a gem in the falls.
The first race was to start at nine and as we line up for it, the air was still cold. There were many more riders than the previous state round I had competed in and when we left the line the race was already shaping up. The fastest boys were away in a flurry, knowing that the first into the single track sections would have the advantage. The pace was nowhere near what I could manage and I was near the back of the pack into the single track. We passed through the first A line, a water filled ditch, the ditch could turn into a muddy mess over the remaining laps. It was onto the sweet single track and I had made up a place or two. As we worked our way down the hill the conditions turned from dry and dusty to damp and tacky. The track turned back on its self and with a mixture of dirt conditions the eight block tyres I was running were predictable and consistent. When the track turned to the pinch climbs I was reminded of the 140mm fork up front, the same fork then ate the decants with ease. It was about this stage on lap two that I really started to warm up. And around this point on the third lap I had picked off another couple of riders. Once warmed up, I was feeling really good and comfortable. Some of the riders on this technical section were dropping to the granny ring. I maintained a grasp on the middle ring occasionally catching the 32 tooth on the cluster to get me through the pinches. The timber ramps were a good challenge the first one was a very large up and over. It was deceptive in giving you the feeling that it narrowed as you went over. The second was just up with possibly a 45 degree ramp gaining well over a meter and a half of track height. This ramp and following section were lined with spectators for four of my five laps. There would have been plenty to see with short sharp step downs switch backs after the ramp. I had to get right over the rear tyre to complete it, I saw a few riders have some difficulty. On my last lap and very close to finishing there was only a fire trail climb to blast up till you rounded the main homestead and crossed the line. I had felt good for the last three laps and gave it all for the final section coming over the line at top speed.
It was still very cold in the shade and I warmed down in the sun and chatted to the other SCUM riders who had turned up to give this top track a go. They represent in most categories from Elite and Masters, right through to the juniors over the course of the day. Duncan from DIYMTB is supporting the series with X-Fusion shocks and forks and had a variation of the products available. My bike worked well with some fresh parts from Bikes at the Basin over the diverse terrain. I had a quick look at my times and found that there was only thirty seconds between my fastest lap and slowest lap. This was good news and translates to consistent laps, I knew it had taken a couple of laps to warm up and then had a great three remaining laps. A good nutrition plan is essential to ensuring you have the energy when you need in all but the shortest events. I was benefited by including FRS healthy energy in my nutrition plan. With a great ride I placed 6th in Expert Mens.

SCUM 4hr Enduro

SCUM has been enjoying XC racing for many years and now in addition they doing Enduros. These Enduros will cover night races, day events and all on different tracks. The Enduro they held on the weekend was over the heat of the day, on one of their tougher tracks. The Superbowl doesn't lend its self to an Enduro but the capable XC team extended the track to almost eight kilometers. This extension was mostly with fire trail giving competitors a chance to get the hammer down or sit up and take on nutrition or fluids. Well done to the SCUM team for providing a great event without breaking the bank. Where else can you race for $5?
The race started with a scramble up a short fire trail climb onto one of the fire trail extensions before heading back into the forest and sweet single track. The elite riders and fast teams I kept in sight for the first few laps before they managed to slip away. The conditions were very dry and there wasn't a damp patch throughout the course. Certain sections became thick with dust and dusty ruts making for technical riding, especially descending. My Canaan from Bikes at the Basin ate all of the descents, but it was my skill and ability that was put to the test by the rock pinch climb. Still with Float 140s on the front and eight block rubber front and rear, I managed to nail the climb four out of the ten laps. The vibe during the event was great with heaps of spectators around the transition area, a BBQ and cowbells. Out on the track there was heaps of space between riders and everyone was courteous when passing. Things were looking good till about the three hour mark. This is when last weeks 100km race and personal best time started to show in my legs. Looking back at the results and times, what I felt in my legs it is reflected in the times. So I kicked it back a gear prepared to punched out a further two laps or so. Well done to Josh Carlson, another FRS rider, who showed his power again to place Fenz and the rest of us in our places. I went on to place 6th in Solo Male against some stiff competition. I felt great to the three hour mark and the bike worked flawlessly, this was another top event by SCUM. I will travel from Sydney to compete with SCUM as it offers great competition, diverse tracks and good value racing.
Note: Bozz went on to win the Merida 24 in QLD a couple of weeks ago. Well done, you are going smash it up for us at the 24hrs of Adrenalin World Championships in Canmore, Canada.

St Albans 100km

Check out that 140mm of travel!

Luckily western Sydney and the greater north west didn't get the rain Saturday night that the coastal regions did. Therefore the track was the usual mostly dry condition it is always in. For those that haven't done an annual St Albans MTB Festival, the 100km course links what is mostly fire trail between sections of bitumen and dirt roads. The first 70 odd kilometers loops 8kms short of St Albans then you hang a left for the remaining 30kms which takes you to the other side of the river and back to the top of the ridgeline. This returns you 5kms past St Albans for dirt road sprint to the finish. The track is a mixture of rock and sand fire trail with limited pure dirt and single track. Some sections hold water year round, like before the 50km mark and the downhill to the 70km mark is always cool and damp.
Like I mentioned previously the weather held off and the morning was cool and foggy. Once we were out of the valley and onto the ridgeline, above the fog, it was nice to find a sunny day without a hint of a cloud. It remained this way all day, a slight breeze kept temperatures around the early 20s.
Having some suspension issues post Australian 24 Solo. I managed to bring the Canaan back on line with a modified front end. On the front I fitted my Float 140s. This brought with it some climbing problems on the steepest sections but made up for it with downhill prowess. I managed the rear end through the pro-pedal lever, stiffest for all climbing and flat sections and then fully open for the descents. I fitted some small block 8s and pumped them up real tight to keep them ultra fast rolling.
The mass start was staged and it really didn’t matter what time you kicked off as everyone was micro chipped. I started at the back of the first non elite start and after the chorus of clipless cleats I wound my way through the 200 plus riders to the first major climb. There wasn’t many incidents to talk of over the first 50km. A few riders would have been happy that they placed ply-wood boards over the wooden plank bridge before the 50km mark. It was after the 50km point that things started to happen around me. The first was a poor bloke with no idea on why he was having trouble shifting. Turns out when I had a look at his bike the rear derailleur had failed. It was the tensioning spring that was the culprit, the only thing I could think of was to put it in the big ring on the front and shift as high as possible on the rear. This would mean he would be virtually single speed to keep the chain tensioned as much as possible. The next incident I came across was a bloke that had just broken his collar bone. He wasn’t far in front when it happened, I had spotted his jersey numerous times prior. He was in some pain and a few other guys had stopped to render assistance. Unfortunately there wasn’t much we could do, he was stable and didn’t have anything else wrong. I move his feather weight and ultra light hard tail off the trail and he agreed not to attempt to move from the spot we found him. I rode to 3-4km to the 70km point which was the next manned point in the trail and informed the RFS and medic staff. It sounded like this was their first casualty for the day. From here it was on the canoe bridge that was created to cross the river. Having ridden the bridge on its inception I had no hesitation on doing it again. I managed it successfully and rode on to the 74km check point, on the way up to the ridgeline. It was from this stage that the climbing was starting to take its toll. My legs felt heavy but I managed to keep with the riders around me. Climbs began it be granny ring spins. But finally I made it to the final big down hill section, the guy I had been keeping up with let me lead down. He later said when he caught up that I put well over a couple of hundred meters between us just in that one downhill section.
I had a good 100km, no mechanical issues and a heap of fun on the fire trails of St Albans. I finished 13th in Open Mens and beat my previous St Albans 100km 2007 by 3 minutes, doing it in 5:12!