Appin's 8hr Minds

Singletrack Minded

Not a ground hugging Yeti

Fun for everyone

Shane Taylor early and comfortably in 2nd with a smooth pit

Odams in dominating form leading the solo charge from begining to end

Rocky Trail Grand Prix at Del Rio

The question I asked myself mid race was, "Who was I racing against?". The start of the Rocky Trail 4 & 8 Hour Grand Prix had been a self seeding bunch affair. We had launched onto the dry 9.7km track immediately forming a tight lead group on the road and buzzed along to the main climb. After a couple of laps I was aware of which were the team and solo riders. The Bernard Riders were hard to miss with their energetic banter between their leading teams, they were also handy to have around for the road section. For the solos, I rode as if they were all doing the eight hour, and it wasn't till my virtual mid race epiphany that the cogs fell inline. I had just been racing the four hour GP riders. Smashing myself to keep up with both the solo and teams.
The dominos seemed to all fall at once, my extra effort and the heat of the day had me working hard and drinking more than usual. In turn I had not brought enough electrolyte to cover the extra fluid. Then we missed a bottle pickup after I finished a bottle early and I made a bad decision to ride on without fluid for a lap. This pushed my support crew to make unaccustomed decisions re my dietary requirements and a lap later I had to pull in for a full stop. Time to re-gather our focus, work out a plan for the remaining hours and bring it back together, which we did successfully.
Once the clock had ticked over for the four hour the track became unusually quiet. As far as I could see there would be maybe just one or two riders ahead and behind. The main climb, the heart of this track as may riders would seem to gather on its slope, was desolate. The only sound was the crunch of my tyres on the gravel. I commented to one rider, it may have been Nigel riding for Pedal 4 Pierce, “You are the only rider I have seen this lap”, and it was true.
The back end of the race became a little more social, having been told I was second place and a lap up on third I caught up with Marty who was sitting with a small buffer to fourth. I was glad slow a little, chat about riding, points scores and up coming events. Then a bit later Jon Odams who had been tearing the rubber all day caught up with me, for the second time. Turns out Jon does a bit of riding and can give Craig Gordon trouble on the road. So there it was, the podium riders almost riding together in the final laps. A brief and impromptu track stand comp and a hit out on the BMX track as the seconds counted down is how we saw the end of the Rocky Trail 8 Hour GP.

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 and racing. Keep an eye on Enduro Pulse for a full report and the next great event.

B Grade WSMTB by Mick

After the club day with the WSMTB on the 12 of September, I now can reflect on the time since my less than satisfying outing at the Rocky Trail Entertainment/WSMTB 12hr in August. I had vowed to get back to the drawing board and work out what could be done to improve on the bike. The answer I came back with was, "time on the bike".
I had been diligently applying Mark Fenner's Training Principles during the week over the past 6 months, but neglecting the long, low intensity rides on the weekends. This was an error on my part. It resulted in good improvements in power output and strength but not so much in endurance, which is what is needed in endurance racing. So, I re-structured my training program to include some longer rides during the week and after a rest week post 12hr I was back on the blacktop smashing out hills and km's. Then, tragedy struck. There was a death in the family and I took it pretty bad. All in all I ended up taking about 3 weeks off the bike.
This now brings me to the club XC day on the 12th of September. Coming into this race, since the 12hr in August, I had spent the total of 10hrs on the bike. Not the best preparation for any race, but I decided to press on. Myself and Crummy met up and rode out to Yarramundi. This ended up being a bad decision. Just on the commute out to the race, I was sitting at about 85% intensity just staying on Crummy's wheel, way to hot for a commute to a race. We got to Yarramundi about 1 hr prior to race start and both agreed that we had over cooked the commute. In the mean time we registered, Crummy in A grade and myself in B grade. A grade was going to be a hotly contested affair with Gordo and Lumley charging at the front. So, we all lined up and took off, A grade first and then subsequent grades 2 mins apart there after.
The B graders took off like scolded cats and my hot commute out to the track came back to haunt me on this first and only lap of the race. My heart rate was sitting at 95-100% for most of the lap and I didn't feel as though I was working hard at all. An elevated heart rate at a moderate work rate, something wasn't right here. To add to this, I was still having issues with my bike setup and the forks just didn't feel right. In the interest of self preservation and being able to get home, I withdrew after just one lap. I was very disappointed. My race was finished at this stage but Crummy seemed to be steaming on nicely. He ended up coming a respectable 5th place and only 12 minutes behind the raging bulls of Gordo and Lumley, whom were separated by only 15secs. Each lap these two seemed to change the lead and at the end, Gordo took the win.
When Crummy finished, we jumped back on the black top and commenced our journey back home. The commute home seemed more like torture than fun. Once again the heart rate was unusually elevated and I was barely able to sit on Crummy's wheel whom decided it would be a good idea to TT along the driftway. We both got home safe and sound and went on to chat about the days events.
Racing is all about preparation. The better your preparation, the better your results will be. Get it wrong or neglect your prep and you will be in the hurt house all day and probably subsequent days following your event.

Mick Smith

B Grade XC WSMTB by Steve

Weekend Race at Yarramundi,

What a fine day it was for a race as we emerge from winter, no more arm warmers and freezing starts. Craig Gordon showed up, so Andrew Lumley was in for a tight tussle for 1st in A Grade. Craig snitched it by some 20secs in the end.

The track was great, well done to the western Sydney crew, with only a slight variation on the track from 3 weeks ago.

The B grade field was reduced to around 15 riders, with some other clubs racing on the same day (Appin). Of course the race started as ferociously as usual, I almost missed the start shooting the breeze in the car park, but it did mean my heart rate was in range when I started, even if my nerves were not. Recovering from a mid winter extended sickness, my cramming training reaped some rewards after my dismal performance last race, but alas, I was still found wanting and started fading towards the back of the field at the end of the 1st lap. Disappointing, as I was right with the eventual winners earlier in the season. Anyway, I settled into a sustainable race pace given my fitness and had some nice tussles with some other riders in the pack coming in 10th in the end. The heart rate monitor said it all though, with an average of 169bpm for the race, there was nothing left in the tank.

A Team Enduro Pulse rider was seen exited the track after the farm house in a cloud of dust, entering the section way too hot. Know anything about that Crummy??

Congrats to the race and series winner Aaron and special mention to Bruce who came 3rd in the race and 2nd in the series, well done guys.

Cheers,

Steve

WSMTB XC or is it?

Thanks to happy snapper Gary Korn, he caught this delightful image in Canberra a couple of weeks ago.

Wasn't the weekend just perfect for a bit of MTB riding?


WSMTB held their monthly XC racing on Sunday and after a coolish start to the day, it wasn't just the racing at Yarramundi that was hotting up. Even with a sprinkle of rain during the week the track held up and conditions were fast and dry. These high speed conditions lead to smashing battle in A Grade with Tom Chaffey outgunning big hitters Lumley and Gordo in the first lap. Some over exuberant and late night festivities saw Chad Gossert have to pull out of the race early in the peace. Lumley and Gordo were virtually neck and neck for the remaining laps, Gordo went on to pinch the top spot after some super fast final laps. Tom Chaffey found their intensity a little outside his league backing off each lap and holding onto the third spot.
After riding out to the event from the inner Hawkesbury area for a bit of a warm up, I registered and waited for the racing to start. My race went well with a couple of consistent laps before being ruffled by some B Graders, I found some super fast legs but was brought back to reality with a superman impression. From there all I could do was dust myself off and get back on the bike, in hope of catching those sandbagging B Graders. Sebastian Jayne managed to keep a minute or so between us, I could spot him through the windier sections but couldn't real him in.
A great morning out was had at Yarramundi, Mick Smith and I made our way back home taking it relatively easy through the hills of Springwood Rd. Once we hit the flats I turned up the pace and we made like TT’ists. It was a great weekend for riding.

500 Week

Notes to self during this big week;

• The magpies are out in force,
• Cycleways are mostly good,
• People drive to the M7 and Windsor Rd Cycleways to ride them.

Additional notes - The M7 cycleway is have work done to it and there have been reports of anti-cyclist behavior during the large detour. Also I like to keep up with the roadies and then leave them with a taste of MTB rubber.

Racing from the weekend to follow shortly...

Singletrack Mind Round 4 at Stromlo

Jamie and I early in the pack.

A warmer than expected morning greeted when we arrived at Mt Stomlo for the fourth round of the Singletrack Mind Series and seven hours of race time. The race got underway on time, with a group, self-seated start and deciding to start towards the back of the bunch was not the wisest decision. So after a few track stand comps with my fellowTeam Enduro Pulse members while everyone sorted themselves out, finally we were underway through the single track - although from this moment on, we were already 5 minutes behind the race leaders.

Craig before the course took its toll.

Although I have ridden at Stromlo on a number of occasions, once again, the track we rode used sections I had never ridden before. Due to a large amount of rain recently in Canberra, there was water in places on the track where locals had never seen it before. If there water, than there after a few bikes it was mud! As the day went on, the mud patches began to lengthen, widen and deepen. Another challenging aspect of the Stromlo are the rocks! My Yeti worked well, and the course did max out the suspension, or maybe I just feel like a downhill rider when it points that way. Go the Luge. The track proved to be tricky for many race competitors with there being numerous incidences on the track, throughout the race. Unfortunately, one of those incidences was me. Although it was nothing serious, I misjudged a berm, pushed it to hard, and found myself off the bike, missing skin in numerous places.
Of course, I would not be able to race successfully without my fantastic support crew and supporters. They took care of my nutrition and liquid intake throughout the day, as well as supporting the other Team Enduro Pulse members, one of whom ended up requiring medical attention.
The end of the seven hours saw me with a very muddy bike and a twelfth placing. After my slow start, I had managed to work my way up through the other competitors to this position. The top ten race competitors had been in roughly the same position since the beginning of the race. This shows the importance of getting a good start.

For the Crew page updated too.