Shane Taylor - Croc4kids

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Epic 09

The weather was warm in QLD and I was concerned with the late start of the race. Heat stress would be the equalizer. We arrive early and warmed up, it was a busy hub at the winery south of Toowoomba. I wandered over saying g'day to Mr Jongewaard and Mr Anderson getting set up, they had traveled from SA for the weekends festivities. Also chatted with Matt from Ay-Up who was here to support his riders, like Mr Fellows.
Off the start line it is more a casual pace than I have seen at many marathons. Darren Smith, Shane Taylor along with a bunch of other riders are lead out by big Mr J. It is a bitumen climb followed by some undulating hills. Through the hills Darren is in the lead group and finds the pace just a little hot falling back to the second group with me. We ride together into the cool of Ma Ma Creek, following cow trail when not being miss led about the creek bed cross-overs. Then get caught out by the fence. Where were the signs?
When we are out of the creek it is really warm, there is a big climb, Darren begins to leave me behind as I begin to ride my own race. This big hill is followed by more rough track and some open climbs in the sun. The down hills sweep steeply back down into the valleys, I point and shoot letting the Velvets do their job and my weight back over the rear wheel. I do remember getting some serious speed, many of the guys record excess of 80kph on these dirt roads and tracks. I ride with one of the owners of "For the Riders", thanks for the pace.
Reaching the half way point, I have smashed heaps of fluids, I search for my fresh bottle dropped of by the 50km riders. Finding our box of bottles, I head out for the next leg and the rider in front makes a wrong turn. It is the leading female rider, we jump a fence and cross a paddock, then another fence to make our way back to the course. She then powers away, the hills seem to be getting harder for me. My heart rate is peaking on these climbs and I occasionally have to pause in some shade to recover. My calves have been cramping and I am struggling to keep my heels down enough to stretch, just ride your own race. There are occasional creek crossing with no more then a trickle to splash through and 50km riders are stopped at every shady spot.
Heading into the final check point I cross to the water station, a volunteer refills my bottle, I pick up some fruit and complained about my cramps. The volunteer also gives me something for the cramps, which offers only partial relief down the road. There is more road sections and rough fire trail, it is undulating and I count every climb. My camelbak is out of water and I am down to just the bottle, a rider passes me who I have ridden with before in a marathon. I pick up and pass the sunshine coast based rider on the next decent. There are 50km riders still spread out along the track, some riding, others recovering in the shade. Ms Hansen catches up again and we power along the remaining road sections to the Resort’s final section, just 5km or so to go. And out of water.
It turns to single track, which is a nightmare at this late stage. I loose a small amount of time to the set pace with traffic. Linking multiple corners to flow whist passing tired riders, who now pick their way through the track, congregating at the small technical rocky sections. Frustration as you can hear the loudspeaker but the track twists and turns, up and down the hills. But finally see the finish, passing under the banner in 5 hours and 45 minutes.
Exhausted, parched and cramping I find shade beside the team bus. I down a protein mix for recovery after some simple apple juice. There are showers, fresh clothes to put on and more water to drink.
In the wash-up of it all I placed 10th in my category, only two minutes behind Shane Taylor. Darren Smith shows his great form arriving 30 minutes before us. Temperature for the day was around 33 degrees C. It was a good fun race with very tough conditions. Maybe next year ...

Snack Food

Always interested in food, I have found a couple of basic recipes that are good snacks, on and off the bike.

Peanut Bars

1/2 cup peanuts, salted is good
1/2 cup other nuts or seeds
1/2 cup dried fruit, cranberries are my choice
2 cups oats
2 cups rice cereal, the cheap one works just as well
1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or not
1/2 cup brown sugar

options: teaspoons of honey

In a bowl mix the nuts, seeds, fruit, oats and cereal.
Combine peanut butter, sugar and honey, microwave for 1-2 minutes, stir until blended.
Pour wet ingredients over dry, stir until coated.
Spoon onto greaseproof paper covered tray, press down firmly. I use a 10-15mm sided 150mm x 250mm tray.
Let stand or refrigerate for an hour, cut into bars.

Oat Muffins

1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup dried fruit

options: plenty of, 1/4 cup nuts and 3 tbls honey, 2 bananas with 1/4 cup olive oil, both with 1/4 tbls ground cinnamon.

Soak oats with buttermilk.
Cream marg and sugar until light.
Beat in egg to sugar mix.
Stir in flour and oat mix.
Fold in fruit to mix.
Fill muffin cups to 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 on 200 degrees C.

Eat it!

Interesting spots of late.

Armidale, NSW. Ask at the bike shop on the main street where some mtb trails are. They lead us to discoverer a well developed but unused for some time trail not far from the CBD. Easily accessible via a cycleway on the northern side of town. XC and light FR, heaps of fun!

Ipswich, QLD. In particular Castle Hill. Not far from town we were blown away by the fun desents the locals have built. Ride to the top of the hill and just look around. There is plenty of well bedded track built for a good ride. XC, FR and DH, there are B-lines for most of the technical sections. Fun includes se-saws, skinnys and log rides.

MTB Grand Prix

Both on the same day, same location, it was bound to be interesting. Not only that there was MTB racing up and down the coast on the same weekend. So, it was off to Yarramundi again, a few of the boys wanted to do the 12hr solo and needed a bit of support. It was an early start to get a good tent location near the transition. It was to be a tent of Mick's, one out for his first solo 12hr, another pushing for a good 12hr result in elite solo. The usual suspect Mick was giving the Grand Prix a crack, then there was a honorary Mick who kept an eye on the 12hr elite solo listing, happy that Mr English wasn’t going to turn up.
The 12hr riders were of a little late with a cool morning just burning off. It was a fire trail climb before riders headed into the single track. Starts can be fickle and the 12hr Mick’s all had different stories, good, bad and indifferent. I wanted to give first solo Mick the best chance to complete his 12hrs of riding, he had arranged a nutrition and fluid plan and I ensured he had what was necessary, set out neatly. Good result Mick had his own crew and was set with two bikes for fast laps. Honorary Mick had an experienced crew and shop support for his bikes, he was in the front runners from the start.
It was only a couple of hours after the 12hr start the Grand Prix qualifying period started with a hot lap of the WSMTB kids track. It was just a bit over a minute around the short track, a sandy corner patch, medium to slow switchbacks, a short rocky section into a gradual climb and finishing straight. I lowered my tyres pressures just a bit as there wasn’t any technical sections, for more positive traction. There were a few fast lads with some serious equipment, I was unsure at how well I qualified. Fifty or so minutes later
we lined up for the start and the qualifying results. I managed a hot lap and was awarded pole position!
The race was good with a modified track, around seven kilometers in length and it didn’t include any tower of power climbs. It was the usual fast at the front with the quick riders from the qualifying lap in each category setting off in waves. One of the junior pairs elbowed me into the fencing at the start, then it was flat stick to the bottom of the hill through a bit of single track. There was a water crossing then a climb up to the moto track, the climb sorted out the weaker front runners. The other highlight was the lap one off I had. I failed to negotiate a rock and pothole, pitching me out of the saddle and over the bars. Days later I am reminded of this first lap with a nice bruise from the top of the steerer tube on my thigh. My remaining laps I didn't make the same mistake.
It was about an hour into the race and I had a rider tailing me, I gave it a bit but he held on. A couple of laps later I let the rider pass and held his wheel for a bit. But reminded myself to ride my own race and listen to my body. Easing off the pace a little there became a small time gap between myself and the other rider. Things were looking good on the Zaskar early in the race, the bike was working well, the Velvet R forks got a workout and felt better on the bike with the increased fork pressure. I was have plenty of trail eating fun.
Things went well through the middle of the race, there were plenty of spots to pass riders and everyone was courteous. The track was well worn in, 12hr solo riders were in the zone and the teams continued to hammer out quick laps.
The fun didn't last forever, late in the race, nearing the fourth hour the newly acquired skills started falling apart and the hard-tail was showing how stiff and unforgiving it could be. The last lap was a bit of a struggle, I so wanted to sit down and just spin through the lap. Gritting my teeth I forced my way through the lap, the mind was willing and the body was slow.
Ends up I placed first in the solo men category, with second place approximately six minutes behind me. Friends in the FRS/Rotor Ring team of four also got on the podium as did honorary Mick. Honorary Mick is also out to win an entry to the Crocodile Trophy, one of Australia’s hardest multi-day races. Check it out here.
Thanks to Tony from Energy Supplements Australia for his support with the natural energy of FRS.
Also to Shane from Bikes at the Basin in Sanctuary Point. His passion for bikes and support goes along way with fast bikes like the Zaskar and Canaan.
Duncan from DIY MTB I should thank too for his support, it is a trail eating and top-notch fork from X-Fusion.

Sean "Bozz" Bekkers Age Group Solo 24hr World Champion - The Definitive Interview.

I spoke with Sean a couple of days after returning to Australia, he said his legs were swollen and he was a little sore. We discussed single speed bikes and training wheels as the achievement he had just undertaken had not yet settled in. Let me fill you in.

It's Canada and it's summer. A warm 36 degrees in the Rockys and Canmore is the home to the 24hr of Adrenalin World Championships for the second year running. There is a range of accents in town, campervans and plenty of bikes. The Aussies were there again, in numbers, many vying for top dog placing. Around town there is a quagmire of trails, with the 24hr track having around 500 vertical meters of climbing and pushed out to 16km in length. Many an Aussie compared the track to Majura Pines, with steep climbs and root ridden sections. And the Canadian trails only go in two directions, straight up or straight down.

For those that ride solo, one of the hardest parts of a race can be the start, especially if it is Le Mans. The Le Monde start is often a 500 meter run into the transition area, hopefully remembering where your bike was. Dressed in a helmet and cycling shoes it is funny to watch but no fun to do.
Out on the track everyone has some form of plan, settle in for a long hard ride or go out hard then settle back and hold on. Sean’s plan was the latter and worked in his favor, leading the age group from the early hours. He powered on through sunset, the change in weather and hit the wall mid-race. A combination of a tough, rough course and nutrition had taken its toll. With a course like this just being able to ride each lap is high on the priority list with things like fluids and nutrition lower. It became important to stop and recharge, breaking out the sugar and caffeinated gels and fluids. But it was equally important Sean’s support crew kicked him back out onto the track for another lap for the “hold on” part of the plan.

A good support crew can make a difference. Sean’s crew was made up of his wife Kiri who traveled with him for the event and a Canadian friend of a friend Vang. They kept lap times, checked out the running results keeping a keen eye on the time and hopefully laps between Bozz and the riders behind him. Positive encouragement becomes more necessary as the course becomes more difficult to ride and with a solid ride through the dark hours they had managed to put two laps between first and second place. It is a massive effort by support crews to ensure riders have what the need and want, also a careful balance of emotion to get a rider back out on the course.

Throughout the morning as the hills be came mountains and descents like an endless rodeo bull-ride. It became vital to ride cleanly, without mistakes, preserving the lead they had and to “hold on” till the end. There were plenty of casualties to the descents but Sean rode within his limits, lap after lap, into the finish time. He placed first in his 25-29 age group category and an impressively ranked 18th overall.

Who is Bozz Bekkers? I asked when I called a week later. He had no comment and left it to me to give you an idea of the man. It is simple, give him a ball, he’ll kick it. Give him a surfboard, he’ll paddle it. Give him a mountainbike ...... And if he doesn’t like it, he’ll tell you.

MC, Two words to describe your riding?
SB, Long and strong, before being beaten by the worlds track.

MC, Any notable MTB injuries?
SB, No major injuries, I’m too timid.

MC, Where does the Worlds rate for you?
SB, The Worlds is at the top, it has been the biggest adventure.

MC, Your best move during the Worlds?
SB, Managing to stay on the bike throughout the course and not crashing.

MC, A World Champion support crew has to?
SB, My pit-crew was Kiri and she was all over my lap times and where I was in the field. She also looked after my nutrition and kicked my ass back out on the course when I didn’t want to go.

MC, What is the Canmore crowd like?
SB, The locals are very laid back. They love mountainbiking and came out in their thousands to check out the 24hrs of Adrenalin. Everyone motivated you, the teams, the pit-crews and the crowd.

MC, Something you must run on your bike?
SB, ESI grips, they are the best.

MC, Are you still running tubes or are you now tubeless?
SB, I run tubes with Ranchero tyres.

MC, Where to from now?
SB, I am going to do the Scott 24hr in a pairs team with Andy Fellows.

Working Wingello

A few colleagues and I made our way down to the Southern Highlands. The Highlands is the home of the Fling and a great spot for a day out on the bike. Our chosen spot was Wingello and it has some nice climbs and sweet single track. As there was a group of us with a wide range of MTB experience. While waiting for the strugglers I got the chance to whip out the camera and managed to put together a couple of good shots.

The GT Zaskar was out to play again. I ran the tyres (sb8s) at a bit lower pressure but would really like to put a set of tubeless tyres on to provide higher traction and a smoother ride. The Zaskar is light, easy to move around the track and gets up to speed with ease. I am still working on the new climbing and descending techniques which comes with riding a hard-tail. Found also the Velvet forks might be running at to lower a pressure for the hard-tail. Although the fork never felt like it was botteming out, I found the fork was traveling to easy through its travel and induced bob. I now have increased the pressure as recommended by Duncan from DIY MTB to start from for my weight.