WSMTB XC

"We are racing the track in reverse." Your what, have you had a brain explosion, sure a little bit of track here and there, but the whole track? Sure there are many tracks out there that can be run both ways but after years of racing at Yarramundi it had a certain feel, with its rutted out descents and smooth winding climbs. Could it be run against the grain? This is how I found it.

Nothing was unusual as the A Graders lined up for the start, Lumley was mentioning how little he had been on the mountain bike, we where just preparing to desperately chase him around for five laps. Gordo had turned up, possibly to check out the track for the next round of the Single Track Mind Series. We were off and I got a good start, a short sprint to the first single tack section and I was on Gordo’s wheel. He entered one of the first few corners to hot and slid out mid bend, I was covering what I thought was the good line and made my only pass of Gordo ever. I held him till the track opened up, he didn’t have to call track and he overtook me via a massive wash-out and loose gravel climb. Lumley was first into the single track at the start of the race and now had a good couple of hundred meters head start on Gordo.

Many corners had a wide entry then narrow at the exit and often there were loose rocks and gravel before them. We now had to contend with breaking ruts when climbing out of corners towards the moto track, it was more like tackling a small staircase. There were plenty of challenges throughout the track, the rocky descent to Ben’s Bridge claimed a rider and would have been tricky for many, let alone the soft soil pinch climb off the bridge. I saw a few riders walking the tight bit of single track from the main fire-trail which in the normal direction had a sweet little log step-down. The step-down was now a tough step-up in an single-track climb full of old breaking ruts. But still, there were plenty of fast and fun sections for everyone.

Back with my race and the sandbagging B Graders caught a group of us A’s on the first lap. Ouch. My remaining laps went well as I got use to the track and I managed drop some of the A Graders I was riding with. Things went much better this race than the previous WSMTB XC round. I rode from home out to both races but this time I brought more food as the previous race I had run out of energy at the end of the fourth lap. This time it wasn’t till most of the way home I felt that sinking feeling, once again I hadn’t eaten anything on the ride home. Thanks to Mick Smith for joining me for the ride out to Yarramundi, Mick rode strongly in B Grade and even had enough in the tank to mix in some team TT efforts on the way home. Watch out for this guy if he ever goes from his old Reign and gets a XC bike.

Good things can happen if you change it up a little, WSMTB didn't have a brain explosion but they offered their usual XC racing with a twist this month. The people I spoke with all had fun with the track in reverse, keep an eye out for their next round at Blue Gum Lodge.
My support included real food from Carman's check out their range of muesli products, X-Fusion Velvet fork and Enduro Bearings through DIY MTB and Mongoose Canaan from Bikes at the Basin.

Buckets

What do you get when you combine a single speed friendly trail and eight hours? A whole bucket of fun. It was round two of the Single Track Mind Series this month hosted by SCUM at their Coondoo location. Coondoo is one of my favourite trails, however I pre-rode the course on Saturday to sort out a few smooth lines through rocky sections that are normally ridden the opposing way. For this event Coondoo offered a variety of trail, from twisting sandy single-track to open hard packed fire-trail. With the special category this round being single-speed, it wasn't just the trail that was sociable, good natured and somewhat enjoyable, it was is if every rider had that identifying nature about them. It all began with the quirky start, from what I heard about the last round a few riders missed the rider briefing and therefore the start of that round. The oddity this time was some riders were still facing the wrong way down the road and weren't quite self-seeded when the starter shouted "GO", but like most things it all works itself out and we had eight hours to do so.
My race went really well apart from the rare hic-up, there was the slippery sandy corner incident where I pushed the front end to hard, washed out and found myself flying over a log and landing softly in the bracken ferns. Also the rear derailleur jumped out and grabbed a fair size stick off the trail, luckily I heard the commotion and stopped before it became a twisted mess. After a slight manual realignment we were happily on our way.
It was an interesting race with so many fast solo riders, Wollongong’s Jamie Bailey and I rode together and passed Mr McAvoy on the first lap. Mr McAvoy must have been cruising for the first few hours because I didn’t see him again till mid race when he must have knuckled down. Jamie rode solidly away from me and was looking strong from that first lap, he may have had some issues late in the race and slumped half a dozen places towards the end. I passed Shane Taylor from Canberra on the first lap at about the 8km mark, he had punctured and dropped five minutes. Two laps later Shane caught up and went on to ride with Jamie and a few others sitting around fifth for a couple of hours. Results include 10th for Shane (40mins down from the category leader), 12th for me (9mins back from Shane) and 14th for Jamie.
I had a great time racing at Coondoo, it was fast, fun and friendly. I will be back to race with SCUM at their XC and endurance events, especially keep an eye out for their 6hr and Coolendell weekend. Having a support crew makes a difference for these type of long rides and mine was again dutiful. Bottles and food were always ready as I transitioned, all I had to do was ride, eat and drink, thank you.
My support included real food from Carman's, focused healthy energy from FRS, X-Fusion Velvet fork and Enduro Bearings through DIY MTB, Mongoose Canaan from Bikes at the Basin.

Appin-ing Things

Saturday was the day of fun this week. It included a very cold start to the day, missing the usual Tri bunch ride but finding the Penrith road bike group heading through Richmond. This bunch on a Saturday keep it at a steady 32kph till the roller hill onto the Penrith flats. This is where it all heated up with the lead-out at some where over 45kph and at the limit of my MTB on slicks. I was able to keep with the middle part of the group mashing anywhere between 32 to 40kph for the remaining 5km into Penrith. It was a solo trip back home and the speedo read 56km for the mornings ride.

The start of the 3hr Twilight Race at Appin

Saturday arvo saw us head to south west Sydney for a Twilight race hosted by Wollongong MTB Club. The track for the race was at Appin and it has been a couple of years since my last devastating race there. The low-light reel from my last race went something like, 8hrs in the saddle, single-track studded with rough rocky sections, loose rocky climbs followed by physically demanding technical bits. Absolute punishment and it was one race I remember saying “lets not come back here”. So there I was, back for a 3hr twilight race hoping things have changed a bit. But no, the track remains very similar, apart from the addition more single-track added instead of an old fire-trail section. The track, a 10km loop, is demanding and after a couple of laps I turned off the pro-pedal on the rear shock. I probably didn’t make it easy on myself by taking just the lighting system that I used in the 2005 Mont, 5w Halogen, helmet mounted.
All up the evening race went well with possibly 30 participants. Giant factory rider Josh Carlson was pushing the boundaries out the front while the remainder of us fought it out for the minor placing. Head to Appin to polish up those lacking rock garden/roll-over/step-up skills or for a couple of social laps with mates.

Tread has all but come clear off the Karmas, no issues, but time for a tyre change.

Found this spot riding home on Friday arvo, thanks dirt jumpers!

Keep an eye on DIYMTB.com.au for details on the Shark Attack 6hr ............

Classic!

The face of the Classic.

St Albans was blanketed in fog early Sunday morning. The usually quiet hamlet was already abuzz with mountain bikes, gliding in and out of view through the mist. It was that time of year when the township plays host to "The Classic", choose your option of either 50km or the 100km.

The only guy I know with a Foe, nice one Richard!

Participants were all busy getting themselves ready. I caught up with big Troy Glennan and little Gordo of Rockstar Racing before they began their warm-up. They were quietly confident about breaking the 4hr mark for themselves this year in the 100km. The whole Team had turned up for the event and included Mr Elliot and recent addition Mr Lewis. Last years winner of the 100km Mr English had entered the event and sources revealed he pulled out from the race the day before. This left the door open for last years runner up Mr Flemming to possibly take the title.

Mr Elliot and Mr Flemming in pre-race banter.

In the elite woman Katrin Van der Spiegel was back again to show her dominance at endurance events. Joining Katrin were numerous top riders including Zoe King and Kath Bicknell.

That climb at 10km.

The track was in good condition, light rain recently had dampened any dust and had left a tacky layer over many sections of the course. Graders had been through parts of the trail including the first main climb at 10km. The climb continued to be achievable for some riders and was slightly damp with loose sections over the compact base, with many of the shady sections of the track continued the slightly damp theme. Back on top and in the direct sun the track dried out quickly and most of the downhill parts of the course remained loose and occasionally rocky.

The big news was Pete Hatton continued his dominance over Gordo to take the title with Mr Flemming rounding up the podium 3:57:46, 3:57:47, 4:00:30 respectively. Zoe King comfortably took the female title while down the road a bit Kath Bicknell played a roll in helping an injured rider.

Dion Blair 4:35 and prediction is a top spot at the next Chocolatefoot Series.

Away from the pointy end of the field riders were making their own personal achievements. Mick Smith, long time volunteer, first time 100ker, went on in a competitive field to hammer out a 5:40. His next challenge is the Rockytrail/WSMTB 12hr. The 200km mark is in his sights.

Mick Smith, race face.

I got the pleasure of riding with the final 50km entrant to finish, Anthony Collins. When we came across Tony he was more than 15km from the end and when asked how he was doing, the comment was short and expletive. We again caught up with Anthony just kilometers from the finish, 100km riders whizzed past us and we walked up one of the final hills. He explained this wasn’t his first attempt at the 50km, he tried last year and only made it half way up the first major hill at 10km before deciding that it was all to much and turning back the way he had come. The driving force at this point was that beer that he was going to be handed, just minutes down the road. At the top of the rise he straddled his sturdy steed and peddled the remaining couple of k. Anthony went on to finish his first 50km in 5:09.

The edge tread continues to rip itself from the casing, no issues yet............