XC? How about XXC.

WSMTB held round 4 at the delightful track at Blue Gum Lodge. The track is short at just 4-5km long and features many sections of natural sandstone, both climbing and descending. The track winds its self around the slopes of the property and there is a fair amount of parking and room around the transition area for all your racing needs. With the convenience of the facilities at the lodge, Blue Gum is a great location for XC racing.
What is even better about Blue Gum is that it is further away from home than Yarramundi. Yarramundi is a nice 50 minute leisurely ride before a race, but Blue Gum is in the mountains, a fair bit further away. I gave myself two hours to get there as the M4 is about an hours ride then it was all up hill to Springwood. I didn't want to blow myself up just on the climb out of the flats before the race so I took it easy along the Great Western Highway.
The racing in A Grade was the usual, fast and mostly furious. Gav had plenty of power after a short stint on the bike last weekend and lead from the start of the single-track. He went on to hold that lead on his big wheeled machine as the remained of the A graders struggled to maintain contact. Further back there was the battle for fourth place between Sebastian, Brad and myself. Brad and I were gaining on the fast starting Sebastian when I was caught out by a slippery pallet and found myself in the dark soft dirt. Brad passed me and I didn't recover, loosing 30 seconds. It wasn't long and Brad was on Sebastian's wheel, then passed him. I was only 30 seconds from Sebastian and would catch sight of him regularly as we wound our way around the course. He held on to the slim gap over the final laps as we had to contend with the lower grade crowd starting out on the track for their race.
A great job was done by WSMTB crew to see that everyone raced by lunch. The hot sausage sambo was just what I need after a hard two hour race. All that was left to do was to make my way down off the mountain and back home, without finding myself in the hurt locker, in the middle of nowhere. How many effective training k’s did I do? The only way to find out is to join me, next time.
A big thanks to my supporters for their real food, real advice and keeping me riding. Thanks to Team Enduro Pulse and our team partners who keep us on the trails. Craig from Enduro Pulse competed in the super fun 3 Ring Circus, on the weekend too, keep an eye on Enduro Pulse for that report.

Attack!

Team manager and rider Craig Baylis and I catch some warm rays before the race kicked off.

The team that brought you the Shack Attack 6hr had thought of everything. With overnight camping, the Tour live, there was plenty of parking close to the track. There was also loads of track to set-up near transition, transition was the hub of the event with a coffee van and hot food all day, especially appreciated with the cool weather. Rego was a snap, just a simple sign on as most entries were carried out online.
There were giveaways before the race even started and by all accounts these giveaways carried on throughout the day. All the riders headed from the rider briefing to the race start, like last year the start was bi-directional, with the solo riders heading north along the fire-trail and shortcutting the first section of single-track. It might have been a bit confusing for a small number of riders for a couple of moments but then there were six hours to sort it out.
The track was a mix of familiar, the fast single-track that Coondoo is well know for and open fire-trail to link the different sections. A few sections were reused from last years Enduro, twisting grassed trail and rock gardens. Then there was the new sections, which included a few challenging log roll-overs, a rock garden and a small amount of bar end trimming trees.
The racing was competitive in most fields, with the highlights being the in Solo Men and Men's Pairs. Over the course of the day there only was seconds between the leading riders of the categories and their closest rivals. Last years youngest solo rider, who featured in Enduro Magazine wearing a yellow jersey, was teamed up this year with another great result.
My race went well with a casual start, from there I kept my laps as consistent as I could, not feeling pressured to keep up with passing team riders. The track over the course of the day held up nicely and I enjoyed not having to feather the brakes into corners, liking the berms and some of the tacky conditions. Once again the 39 tooth chain-ring was perfect for the course, it is almost tempting to run a 1x9 setup. Finishing 7th for Solo Men I was happy to keep within a lap of the super fast guys.
Another great grass roots enduro from The Bike Shack, DIY MTB and SCUM. Keep an eye out for SCUM’s next big event the Coolendel Weekend. A big thanks to my support crew for looking after me, Team Enduro Pulse and our team partners who keep us on the trails.

　 Local riders David and Jason represented the blog in the hotly contested Pair Male.

Awaba and all

Things that have happened over the last couple of weeks.

While I was in QLD local rider Mick Smith placed well in the Singletrack Mind series at Yarramundee, 13th in Male Solo and 2nd for the Special Category this round Clydesdales. Also Mick has put a down payment on a XC weapon, expect him to come out swinging this second half of the year. On ya Mick.

Mick salutes the crowd as he crosses the line.

While the weather has been cooler and I have done some traveling over the countryside, it is not always easy to get out on the bike or have one with me. Step into a gym, on a spin bike or recumbent bike you can do a session with that spare hour.

In a gym somewhere near Perth, a FTP session.

Most recently I traveled to Awaba for the first round of the Rocky Trail Grand Prix. Rocky Trail have divided the GP into two formats, they retained last years successful 4hr GP and added an 8hr for the overzealous riders. Awaba is located approximately 100km north of Sydney along the F3 and is a dedicated Mountainbike Park.
From the start we were off into the singletrack of Awaba, a small group of riders stretched their legs at the front, while a bigger group of us was being paced by Katrin Van Der Spiegel. A small line mistake would mean a passing opportunity and Katrin, back on the bike for the first time in months, made such an error during that initial singletrack giving us an opening to wind back the leaders. Over the next three hours Hugh Stodart and I kept a solid pace within minutes of the leading riders.
Managed to catch up with some friendly faces while at Awaba, Paul and Di Perry who now call Awaba their local track. They depicted a new section of the track that would be fun, Salad-bowl, and it was described as a flowing cut through a gully section. Also I was made aware of the rainforest sections that would be dark even throughout the middle of the day, in effect you would have to wear clear glasses for the race.
Once the four hour GP riders had finished their race the track cleared substantially leaving plenty of open sections of track to let loose on. The track at Awaba is made for fun, its bermed corners, winding climbs and diversity of terrain, from soft dark soil down in the forest to the rocky traversing sections above the event center. The GP 8 riders would have the track to themselves for at least three and a half hours.
Another full eight hours of fun in the saddle and I placed 5th in Open Male Solo. If you haven’t been to Awaba yet, put it on the list of must do fun trails. Big thanks to my support crew for looking after me, Team Enduro Pulse and our team partners who keep us on the trails.