CrummyMTB: Appin-ing Things

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

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.