After a transition

An organised pit crew is the key to successfully supporting your solo rider. At the World 24hr Solo Championships, this was the rationale we worked with, and what helped keep our solo rider going.

Before the race, my solo rider sat down, and planned out the required nutrition and fluid intake, bike changes, lights, etc, and put all of these elements together in a chart. I took this chart, laminated it and stuck onto the table at the race. This became our (the support crews) point of reference throughout the race.

Making sure all of the required items are laid out on the table, stop watch on the ready, and whiteboard marker to make any necessary additions to the outline, we were ready to go. Race starts, stopwatch starts, and the race is underway, not just for the rider, but also for the pit crew.

The aim throughout the race was to make our solo rider's pit stops as limited and as smooth as possible. For the first few laps, when all the rider needed was a change of water bottle and food, we spaced ourselves out along the pit area. As the rider came in, he would throw his empty bottle, first pit member, hand him a new bottle, and second pit member, hand him food/gels. All without the rider needing to stop and put a foot down.

For longer changes, such as lights, we would ensure that the other bike/helmet was set up and all the rider needed to do was get off one bike and straight onto the next. This system worked really well. The amount of time spent by the rider within pit row was limited through our preparation.

As soon as the rider had left, we would reset the timer, mark off on the chart what we did and the time, and then prepare for the next time the rider came around, so that we were ready - then just wait out the time.

Although we were on the edge of pit row, we were in a really good position as we could see the rider coming through transition before coming on to us. It also meant, that we had limited interference from other teams and riders in transition.

The after race is just as important. While we have some aspects of this working well, this is an area I think the solo rider and I need to look at for future races.

At some stages throughout the race, we possibly had more pit crew members than we needed, and this may have caused some problems for the rider. There were a couple of times when he came in and were bombarded by all of the pit crew at once, all asking questions and trying to provide information. This is not ideal. After this occurred a couple of times, we decided to allow only one person to speak to the rider. It works best if everybody within the pit crew have their specific jobs and they stick to these.

While I feel that the World 24hours had some good aspects, such as being well organised, at good set up, and great, easily understood timing, I do feel that pit row lacked atmosphere. If almost felt as through the solo riders were a tag on to the team riders form the Scott. We were separated from the transition area, separated from spectators, and although there was a big screen, with the way the pits were organised, it wasn't really visible. There were plenty of announcements, competitions and recognition for the team riders, the soloist and their support crew were largely ignored throughout the race.

As a pit crew, we were very successful in supporting out solo rider in obtaining his fantastic results at the World 24hr Solos.

Enduro Pulse at WSC

There are a couple of ways to race enduro and ultra enduro events. In enduro racing it isn't always the strongest and fittest that holds the cards at the end of the day. It is often the rider that pedals in the most effective way, pedaling harder when it is necessary. There is the heavily tried method, go out hard and hold it as long as you can, then there is don't go out to hard and come home strong. Over the last year of enduro events I had trialed both methods with some interesting results but it came down to what was most effective over the longer distances leading up to this years big race enduro, the WSC.
We have all seen the running start of iconic events like the Scott24 and the WSC was no different. I lined up with the Age Group riders glad I had done some light running and hoping to make it to the bike safely. There were no hiccups during the run and I located my bike easily, one of my support Hally held my bike, he was wearing our bright blue Carman's crew shirts. Transiting along the initial open fire trail section, I didn't make to much of a fuss in passing riders but wanted to keep with riders such as Mr Dreggs, aleast for the first lap.
After our initial lap I eased back into endurance heart rate zone, happy to let other riders flog themselves. It was a great day for riding, it was warm and sunny, the track was dry and fast. Everything was going well till we hit the four hour mark, I was just spinning up the backside of Stromlo when a riders zoomed past me. Crap, was that the race leader? Twenty seconds later Jason English asked for the inside line. Damn I was being lapped in the first four hours, a quick mental calculation had me being lapped six times at this rate. First of all shocked, then slowly the reasoning and words from my support crew reminded me of the big picture and our game plan. Let them ride, I didn't want to unleash the Gordo grimace till tomorrow.

TBC...

Lead up to WSC

World Solo Championships - 24hrs of Adrenalin

Arriving in Canberra a day early was a great way to start the weekend. We were able to visit Stromlo, check out the conditions, mostly dusty and dry, and stake a claim in the Solo camping area ready for Fridays full blown arrival. Already the CORC Scott 24 bandwagon was in full swing, a massive amount of canvas had been erected both in the transition area for Scott teams and in the Solo pit-row.

Friday, there was a lot to do in preparation, the WSC registration was in the city during the morning, for the 400 odd riders and their dedicated pit managers. Then in the afternoon we had to head to Canberra Stadium for the mandatory brief. But before all that I needed to sus out the track. As I headed out a couple of other riders joined me, they had come from South Africa to represent at the WSC and for a holiday in Australia. The SA travelers were good riders, while they carved up the track and we check out the trail features in readiness for Saturday midday. After the mornings rego we headed back to set-up our camping area and pit lane then it was off to the stadium before returning to Stromlo one last time, finishing our prep.

The Team Enduro Pulse members had all qualified for the WSC but as we got closer to the day our numbers dwindled. First it was Enduro Pulse founder Craig, out with a damaged ankle and thumb after sliding out on a Stromlo corner during a prior event. Then as the last week was on us Team Enduro Pulse fast man Jamie who came down with flu like symptoms and unfortunately still was suffering on Friday when the last call could be made. The good thing about our team is that we work together when the chips are down. Craig arrived early, setting up Enduro Pulse Central in the WSC pit lane and lent me his Yeti ASR-C to be my second bike. Then both Craig and Jamie helped my dedicated crew out in the pit lane during my transitions. You will be able to catch them in the near future at the next endurance event.

Race report soon...

Scott 24!

This years Scott 24hr was the most enjoyable race I have competed in to date. To have the 24 Hours of Adrenaline World Solo Champs run in conjunction with the Scott 24hr made the entire venue buzz with more energy than a nuclear power plant.

Driving into the event late Friday afternoon and meeting up with Brian Merton, my racing partner for the Scott 24hr, we could see that the CORC organisers and volunteers were in for a very busy weekend. The venue was packed with campers and as such certain areas were restricted to vehicle access. We were able to convince the gate marshal to let us drive onto the crit track to enable us to drop our gear off. Brian had gone out earlier and grabbed a site on the crit track on the bend just before transition. This ended up being a brilliant position to watch all of the competitors roar into the finish and to cheer on friends and favourite riders in other categories, particularly Crummy in the Worlds. We got ourselves set up for the race and Brian and and his partner Mel went home and I stayed and camped to look after our camp. Unlike previous years, most of the camping areas were dead quiet by about 10.30pm. Most competitors choosing an early night rather than partying.

The following morning saw the usual bike and body preparation and organising our area for the commencement of the race. Seeing the elite riders, such as Mark Fenner and the like, warming up on the crit track was inspirational and awesome to think these guys were going to be climbing Mt Stromlo for 24hrs. Back to our race and after a brief warm up myself we headed down to transition to watch the start of the World Solo Elite and Age Group racers. 400+ solo riders commenced the day in all categories and it was certainly crowded and I'm glad we got there early to witness all of these elite athletes go off to conquer the mountain for 24hrs.
After the solo riders got underway, all of the teams lined up for the start of the Scott 24hr. Over 800 riders lined up for a Le Mans start in the transition entry and thankfully I was near the front. At 12:15 the gun went off and all of us ran 400m to collect our bikes. After a brief sprint down a fire trail, a bottle neck started to form on the entry to the first section of single track. Being near to the front only saw about a 5min delay for me but those toward the back of the pack could have seen close to a 20min delay on the first lap. In any case, we were on our way to the finishing line on Sunday.

After I cleared the bottle neck, it was time to get down to business and find a rhythm that I was comfortable with. The track had pretty much everything a MTB track could offer. There were flowing switchbacks with jumps and burms to provide massive grins, lightening fast downhill trails where speed was limited only by the fear within the rider. Technical ascending and descending rock gardens to keep you on your toes and fire access trails to "rest" on. All aspects of the track layout were challenging and rewarding. I found my rhythm pretty quickly on this circuit.
By the end of the first lap we were in 6th place and going well but a puncture on lap 3 saw us drop to 9th, but by the start of our double laps just before night fall, we had managed to get up to 7th. So at 6pm or so I headed out for the first of our double laps and we continued to go up the rankings which surprised me as our night lap times grew by about 10mins per lap, which shows that we both need to work on our night riding. After my second night double stint and sitting in fifth, I was contemplating having a good break, about 3hrs worth, but when Brian came in just before sunrise after his last double and stated we were sitting in third, well this was the motivation I needed. I then pulled out my quickest lap of my race and by then end of this lap we had a 47 min gap to forth. At the end of each of our successive laps, we monitored the gap to forth as it was closing and got as close as 22 on the penultimate lap. On my last lap I mustered all the remaining energy I had and pushed hard to keep that gap and to ensure the overnight work was not wasted.

At about the 4km to go mark, and the start of the most enjoyable part of the track, I went past a rider whom then stuck on my wheel. We both fed off each other, pushing each other harder and harder all the way to the finishing line. I don't know where this energy came from but I was able to hold the power on right up to the line. This final section was the best part of the race for me. We were both hollering and yelling and just having a ball all the way down along the flowing single track, which at the end of the day is what we were all there for. We ended up in third by about 30mins, both exhausted but thoroughly excited with the unbelievable result we had just achieved.
On reflection, what made this a thoroughly enjoyable race for me, apart from coming third in the male pairs category, was the atmosphere of the event. Everyone was out to have a good time during both races which was evident by the characters we saw go past on the way into transition on the crit track. Watching the solo riders go past lap after lap was awe-inspiring. Cheering on riders such as Mick Crummy, Mark Fenner, Jason English, etc, only meters from them whilst warming down after each lap was an experience and took my mind off the aches and pains that I was experiencing.

After my poor preparation, I was honestly surprised with our result. I definitely proved that this race is mostly a mental game. Get your head around it and you are half way to achieving a good result. I would like to thank the World Solo guys for putting on an awesome display of athleticism, Greg Ryan from TWE, http://www.ridetwe.com.au/, for providing spare wheels for me to race with, Carmen's Fine Foods for their delicious and nutritious muesli bars and last but not least, Brian and Mel. Brian for putting in a huge effort to keep us in third and giving me the motivation to keep at it and Mel for helping out at the camp as required and without complaint also. Thanks heaps guys.

Cheers,
Michael Smith

24hrs of Adrenalin - World Solo Championships

Just want to say a big thanks to my dedicated support crew. Also to the additional support of friends who were either solo support crew, injured solo riders or Scott 24hr riders.

Thanks to Team Enduro Pulse and our partners, Carman's, Bikes at the Basin and DIY MTB.

A quick look back at the 24 will be written soon.

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.

For the Crew

For the Crew page has been added. This will be a collection of information to make it easier for all those people supporting a endurance rider.

AIS Study from Hally

A couple of weeks ago a mate of mine was visiting friends in Canberra and he had a chance to go to the AIS and sit in on a seminar. The seminar was about a study they had conducted on recovery after participating in sport and it was interesting to read what they reported. The AIS had found these results after testing athletes as well as volunteers from the public.

Some major points that Hally thought would be useful were:

• Compression slacks do work but have a very short working life. Some brands didn't work and some only provided compression for a short period before stretching too much.
  Nike didn't have any compression qualities.
  Skins compression qualities lasted for about 5 weeks being used 3 to 4 times per week.
  2XU had the best results with the compression qualities lasting about 7 to 8 months being used 3 to 4 times per week.
  The best way to use the compression slacks are to put them on after exercise and wear them for about 4 to 5 hours.
  Some athletes have reported that they reduced shin splints when they wore them during exercise.
  The best results were with the full length legs.
  


• The best recovery method was to stretch and then submerge the body in hot/cold water:
  After exercise Cool down by doing a very easy activity (this lets the body know it has finished the activity).
  Then stretch the muscles, holding each stretch for about 10 seconds. You only need to go through every stretch twice.
  After stretching fully submerge the body to the neck in water that is 12 to 15 degrees then submerge the body in warm water. The total amount of time in cold/hot water should equal about 5 minutes each and always finishing with cold.
  You can use a shower if a plunge pool is unavailable.
  

There is heaps more information and research on performance recovery available at the Australian Sporting Commission/Australian Institute of Sport website. Thanks Hally.

Jet Black/Rocky Trail/Western Sydney 12hr

The 2010 rendition of the Jet Black 12hr saw the event moved from Yarramundi National Park to Dargle Farm which is about 30 mins drive north west of Windsor, Sydney. The move was required due to the national park restricting the number of competitors which were allowed to be entered into the event. Due to the popularity of this event, this number was almost tripled, so a change in venue was required. The last time this track was used was in 2007 for the then Sydney 24hr run by Bright Orange Events which I was competed in as a team of 4. From what I remember, the track layout this year was very similar to that which was used 3 years ago, a good mixture of tight, technical single trail, open, transitional fire access roads and fast, hair raising descents.
On arrival to the event centre on Saturday morning, I met up with Craig Baylis, Michael Crummy and Jamie Bailey from Team Enduro Pulse and they had generously invited me to join them in their pit area. The event centre was a buzz and with world class riders such as Jason English racing, we all knew that this was going to be a long day and particularly fast at the pointy end of the field.
With my preparation completed, we all lined up at the start line. As occurred last year, the raced started 20mins late but this was all forgotten once we got underway. There was a mad rush to the first piece of single trail, a bottle neck, but this soon cleared with the field spreading out and we all got into our race rhythm. The new bike, Merida 96 HFS, was going really well for it's first official outing and with some suspension tweaking required, I am certainly going to be very happy with the package.
I was getting along at a comfortable but higher than anticipated intensity for the first 6 laps and this would prove to be a very big error of judgment on my part. At about the 5hr mark, I really started to suffer badly. I backed off the intensity for a couple of laps but at the end of this lap would see me stop to try and recover a little. Three more hours and I was done for the day, having dug myself into a hole that I wasn't able to recover from. So at 8.5hrs I called it quits, certainly not the result I was after but the decision was made in the interests of self preservation.
I certainly learned a lot from this race, of worthy note are the following:
Make sure you have a race plan and stick to the plan. Preferably, have a crew that can monitor this plan and make sure you stick to it,
Ensure you and the bike are set up and prepared for an endurance event. As good as the new bike is, I just was not used to a pure XC race bike. So my advice is if you are progressing from an All Mountain bike to a XC bike or changing race bikes in general, make sure you get some quality time in the new cockpit. A slightly different body position takes time to become accustomed too and I think this also may have attributed to my early withdrawal.
In closing I must say a big thank you to the Enduro Pulse guys for supporting me during the event, Rocky Trail Entertainment and Western Sydney Mountain Bike Club for running the event and Dargle Farm for allowing the mountain biking community back onto a sweet piece of race track.
Cheers, Mick Smith

Check out the newly arranged Product Reviews for Mick’s thoughts on his new bike.

JetBlack 12hrs!

Coming off a late shift week was probably not the preparation I had in mind heading into the Rocky Trail weekend at Dargle Farm. But so it was, fighting sleep deprivation and an out of whack body clock we arrived early Saturday morning for the crispy cool start of the JetBlack 12hr. Arm warmers and wind vests were a must as the temperature hovered around the one to two digit mark. Team Enduro Pulse all had arrived with our dedicated support crew, excited to get out on the bikes, ride and have some fun.
With a simple plan in mind for the next 12 hours, I wasn't going to get bothered by the racing up the front, just keep in my heart-rate zones, transition fluidly, ride smart and have a ball on the Yeti. It took a lap to settle in and just a couple of laps to sort out the best of the chosen lines. The track was in fairly good shape and in most cases got better as we went on. A mixture of open fire-trail, rocky single-track traverses, berms and pumps, with just about all the downhill sections being single-track. I even managed to use the 27 tooth cog, finally a climb tough enough!
After some solid hours out on track I got the word my laps were consistent and I was sitting comfortably in the top 20. It seemed like everyone was out for a good time, happy to chat and offering room to pass. There were few incidents that I saw, the occasional flat of the first few hours, a couple of chains broken and a few of the unfortunate stick V’s hanger outcomes especially after the 5km mark along the flat. There was a generous vibe and relaxed atmosphere over the course of the 12hrs, can’t forget a big shout back to those people encouraging me throughout the race.
At the half way point I swapped onto a spare bike for one quick lap while the Yeti received some TLC from my support crew. Then once we had swapped back it didn’t seem long before I was told I would have to put lights on, bring on the darkness. The darkness brought with it a temperature drop and out came the arm warmers and wind vests again.
A massive effort that was made look easy by Jason English, Male Solo winner of the event, backing up after the Merida 24hr and managing to keep even the top teams in check for most of the race. James Lamb and Ashley Hayat rounded out the podium. I placed a solid 7th with 21 laps and Team Enduro Pulse member Craig Baylis in 10th with 19 laps.
It didn’t go well for all with many riders cracking around the 10 to 12 lap mark and not being able to ride on. But the other podiums of note included an easy win for Katrin Van Der Spiegel in Female Solo and Brett Bellchambers making the Single Speed idea look so easy. Team Hoax Racing Australia claimed the Male Team of 4 top spot with 26 laps and managed to edge out Jason English as overall winner during the late stages of the race.
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.
In other news Sean “Bozz” Bekkers is the Ay-Up Dusk to Dawn 2010 Champion, check his report out soon here, watch out for Bozz and Andy Fellows come October.
　

Team Enduro Pulse

It is time to introduce the latest endurance mountain bike racing team, Team Enduro Pulse. Things were pretty laid back, the launch would be a combination of mini enduro followed by the launch party at Enduro Pulse HQ. The mini enduro was held on some muddy sweet single-track in Albion Park and the scene was set for the inaugural running of the Enduro Pulse Cup. A mystery finish was how the enduro would end, only the time keeper knew how long the race would be, the riders only knowing it’d be somewhere between 1 hour and 1.5 hours. Yeti Australia's Paul Rowney was still buzzing from his 3 Ring Circus experience, after a mild first lap he went on to chase down Team rider Jamie Bailey from the back of the field and steal the win. Juliane from Rocky Trail Entertainment had here eyes peeled during the race and picked up two of the three bonus toys, every toy counted for an extra lap but she remained just one lap short of Rowney.
The team’s first event will be the Jet Black 12 Hours WSMTB at Dargle Farm this Saturday of which the team riders will be soloing.Reviews have been added, check the review page.

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.

Mt Perry

http://andy-fellows.blogspot.com/2010/06/mt-perry-6hr.html

http://bozzablog-bozz.blogspot.com/2010/06/mt-perry-6hr.html

Check out Andy's and Bozz's write-ups from the 6hr.


Mt Perry, out the back of Gin Gin plays the host every year to the Grindin Gearz 6hr Gold Rush. This event has been gaining popularity and Andy Fellows, who managed to out climb the rest of the competitors last year, was back again hopeful to triumph on the mountain again. Joining him in the elite field were names like Bekkers and Toohey and in the female elite, Winett and Hansen.

To kick off the weekends fun proceedings were kids races, then as the sun disappeared behind the mountain, the track was lit up by the older riders vying for their night time dash for cash, elimination style. The track was to be short with a small climb followed by a series of open switchbacks, to be completed three times per elimination. The elimination style was to start with a large field and progressively cut the last four or so riders to cross the line. An added layer was the two minutes between elimination races, the two minutes started when the first rider crossed the line.

I had illusions of lining up with the sport group but the organisers had other ideas and I was relegated to elite group. The racing was short and fairly fast, the biggest moves had be done before the start of the switchbacks. It didn’t go bad though making the third elimination placing 6th missing out on the top five race against Fellows and Lefmann.

But we where all here for the main event, to conquer the mountain for six hours. It was to be a mass start on what is possibly the toughest Enduro track in this part of the country. The track itself is a good mix of challenging climbs and open single-track. Then there is the more technical single-track, back to back switchbacks and DH inspired trail all spread over the eleven kilometer track.

My race was off to a good start, maintaining a solid rhythm though the climbs and having a ball on the descents. My pace was a minute or two off the top elite boys who were forging out the front on 30 minute laps. For close to three hours Fellows and young gun Benson fought head to head, while the rest of us were just happy not to get off the bike and push, in a few places. It was about this mid race time when I spotted Bozz Bekkers just coming out of the pit area as I was entering. We exchanged a customary verbal greeting, I knew that the race was on for real now, game on. It turns out we had been within two minutes of each other up to this stage.

The climbs were brutal and were wearing me thin, punishing steep pinch climbs, they took their toll and I downgraded to spinning in granny gear. Still the gravity fed trail was making up for it all and I was pulling back some of the time lost during climbing. Bozz and my other close competitors were adding some time on me now and the gap blew out, 10 minutes to Bozz, 4 minutes to my closest competitor in the final hour of racing.

I crossed the line after more than six hours on the bike, clocking ten laps, around 106km in total with about 2500m of climbing. This placed me in 3rd for the 30-44 age group, Bozz finished on 10 laps too and paced 5th in Elite. Fellows pushed young Benson into an extra lap, in Elite Benson won with 12 laps, Fellows 11 laps in just over six hours with the climbing machine Jeff Toohey 11 laps 30 minutes back. In the Elite woman Jodie Willett rode consistently to gap Naomi Hansen and Anna Beck, they stood on the podium in that order.

Thanks to Carman’s Fine Food and Wealth Creation Accountants for their support. My bike worked flawlessly thanks to Bikes at the Basin and DIY MTB. My support crew, Kiri and Al kept me moving on track, thanks again for all your help.

Mt Perry Weekend

Warwick BMX track offered a few quiet corners


Mt Cootha

Owwww, Mt Cootha diamond trails

Mt Perry Gold Rush

Ipswich XC and DH tracks are sweet

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............

The Journey II

On Saturday we went from Sparrow over to Stromlo, the weather was perfect and the overnight rain had dampened the dust. The Park was busy with bikes ranging from top XC and enduro gun like Mr McAvoy to kids on 20” wheels with their parents. It was my first opportunity to ride some of the trails at a casual pace, rather than in race mode and I had a heap of fun doing it. Connecting Skyline to the Luge for the run down the hill left me wanting to ride to the top and do it all again. Stromlo will be host to the World Solo 24hr Championships later in the year.
From Stromlo we headed over to Majura Pines for a quick lap and fill the remainder of the afternoon. Majura recently played host to the National 24 Solo Championships and remains in fine form. Going against the grain we rode the trail as I did last year at Nat 24 Solo, this year they ran the track in the opposite direction and linked together some sweet trail. The conditions on the day reminded me of last year as it was a little damp and in some spots slippery. After a short loop of Majura we called it a day, three tracks, all different and a ton of fun.
Monday we woke to a crisp morning, possibly the coldest this year. Overnight temperatures had dropped to the single digits and I expected to see just a hint of frost. With the guys fatigued from riding over the last few days and the exceptionally cool start to the morning we headed out to the Hume and Goulburn to start our ride back to Sydney. We could not have got a better day for the return ride, clear sky, cool air, a slight breeze on our tail and we were humming along the tar. It seemed like it was all downhill as we were often just cruising at 40km/h! With a few stops for flats, two of which were mine, a few stops for food and to swap off the road we covered the 130km or so between Goulburn and Campbelltown in quite a tidy time. The main thing of concern was the increase in traffic as we headed into the afternoon and got closer to Sydney. We arrived at the Campbelltown exit with no incidents and were glad to pack up and get off the road.
"You want to ride to where?" This will be the first question I will be asked when I plan the next trip. Sydney to Canberra is a fair ride and although we did not complete the entire distance a valiant effort was made by the whole team in achieving what we did. The next question is where next?
Thanks to the guys who joined me for the ride. My work colleagues for the efforts they made towards making it happen, also, Josh from Active8 for the loan of his Tri bars. Thanks to my personal sponsors Carman’s, Wealth Creation Accountants, Bikes at the Basin, DIY MTB, FRS and the mcrummy.blogspot.com Crew for their ongoing support.

The Journey

"You want to ride to where?" This was the first questions I was asked when scouting for accompanying riders. The basic idea was to ride from N/W Sydney to Canberra, a possible 600km return trip. With Canberra firmly in the sights and almost a full day to play with once we were there, the trails were calling.
We kicked off from Campbelltown due to factors outside my control and it wasn't long before the guys were steadily covering the k's. I opted to ride last so my fellow riders could take advantage of the fine weather before the predicted change in the afternoon. A slow leak in a rear tyre of one of the bikes saw me become the tech support as well. After an initial pressurisation we eventually had to change the tube, the only flat on our trip down. The riders alternated a couple of times before it was my turn to hit the tar.

It was called Hill Top and went forever.

Once out on the road the weather started to change, with a sprinkle of rain. It wasn't long before it really turn and we were wet through, climbing out around one of the hills we decided if it was still raining on the other side of the hill we would call it a day. There just wasn't any point in getting wet and endangering ourselves along the Hume. We crested the hill to find the rain had cease, but it wasn't over yet. A quick stop and a riding partner swap, I pulled on an extra layer as the temperature had dropped and took in some food.

We are still having fun, thumbs-up!

We headed back out onto the road, the wind in our face, water whipping up our wheels from puddles. The wind kept on getting stronger as we climbed towards Goulburn. Thankfully I had borrowed a set of Tri bars and I was using them often to keep out of the wind. After another rider swap we struggled on, the wind was now blowing so hard that at one point we had to change up gears to ride down a hill, our speed dropping that much. The wind was demoralising and wasn't letting up, somewhere just short of Goulburn the towel was thrown in, it just wasn't fun anymore.

Doing it tough, all uphill and into a headwind.

After some formal duties on Sunday there was time to hit the trails of Canberra. First we headed out to Sparrow Hill where we hooked up with mountain biker, renown trail builder and all-round good guy Paul Cole. There is no better person to show you around many of the trails in Canberra than Paul, he led us on a 20km loop which included many trails used at the recent Mont 24. I was also interested to see the extent of which a new road was going to affect the Sparrow Hill trails. Sparrow wont be cut in half but more of a 90:10 situation, hopefully the underpass goes in and they get the upgraded parking area. Paul has already spent some time walking many sections of the forest in preperation for additional trails, sweet.

Paul making his way through the Pines at Sparrow.