Quantum Leaps with Steve

CamelBak - WSMTB Summer Series 2012-13 4hr

This was my first race after the Croc and whilst I knew the legs were full of power, I’m not sure where my head was at.  I had my back Rocktaped up by Hana our team masseuse in preparation the night before and had finally put my Epic 29er back together after the Croc.

After overnight rain, I headed off to the race for the 6pm start.  Lights would be required after around 8pm, so there was at least 2 hours in the dark.  Numbers at the start line seemed to be down but it was still competitive with a couple of solo guys racing off into the distance with the team guys when Big Dog started proceedings.

Steve (Quantum Racing) blurs by during the 4hr

The track was in super nick.  The last time I had rode it around a year ago after the floods it was destroyed, but some extensive work by the WSMTB guys has made it all good and I was having great fun on the singletrack 6.7km course.  I was smashing the climbs with the croc legs, but initially had some trouble with the loose sand on the descents.  A few laps in and the sand had been compacted and my Rubena Scylla tyres really came into their own.  I could rail those corners like nothing else and I never lost traction on the climbs – awesome!!  I was running low pressures (25psi Front and 28psi Back) as I knew the course was technical and I needed the grip, not the rolling speed.  I was trying to set a steady pace not knowing how far ahead the couple of leading solo guys were.

I knew I had a chance of reeling those solo guys in, I just had to keep plugging away with consistent lap times.  I turned the lights on just after 8pm and dropped about 1+min per lap as I backed off a little on the descents.  The track was starting to dry out as well and come 9pm, my mind was starting to wander and I had some ‘oh crap’ moments where the front end let go or I almost endo’d.  This race had an extra edge for me as I had broken my hand and knocked myself out in the exact same race 3 years ago on the last lap, so I was determined to not loose concentration.

Well past the 3 hour mark I felt I was reeling in a lot of guys and I decided to lift my pace, I might be a chance to catch the leading guys.  As you can appreciate at night, you have no idea where you are coming and whether the light ahead of you is a competitor or a back marker.

On the last lap, I caught sight of a set of lights that was refusing to come in as quickly as all the others, so I put the sprint on.  As luck would have it, on my MP3 player, Mews – Invincible queued up so I had no excuse.  I couldn’t catch whoever it was in the time remaining and dammit; it was 1^st place in solo.  He beat me by 30secs after 4hrs and 11 laps.

I placed 2^nd in Solo, 5^th overall.  A great result, but having a crew callout splits for me would have been a great assistance in a race like this.

PS - Best thing I have discovered in a long time – Rocktape.  If you have lower back pain from mtbing, get some of this stuff, amazing how good it is.  You will need someone who knows what they are doing to put it on.  Previously after these 4hr races, I could hardly move for the pain, but now it is just an ache at the end – way better.