Porrige

Last week was a 350km training week and concluded with the Wagga 3+3. This week was a recovery week and I managed a total of around 80km during the week but then I went out with the Tri club on Saturday, then rode out and raced on Sunday with WSMTB. Kicking the total k's into the 200's. Racing with WSMTB was not as well supported this week probably due to all the other events within a couple of hour of Sydney (Lithgow, Southern Highlands). We raced the usual dry Yarramundi, fast with some loose over hard. The racing was fast in A grade as we chased Andrew Lumley around for 5 laps. I moved through to 3rd place mid race but slipped to fourth during a technical climb and couldn’t recover the time the rider gained on me. After all that I rode home fairly happy with the days riding.
This week is all preparation for this weekends road ride to Canberra. The Old Goose will keep its semi-slicks on, a set of Tri-bars will keep me out of the wind and a HRM will keep me in check, ensuring I have the legs for the trip. Saturday will include a trip around the trails of Canberra, most likely concluding with a loop of Stromlo. Just can't wait for the ride back, all down hill!

The tread is starting to wear a little thin on the Old Goose (roady eater).

Have made another couple of batches of dense muffins, you can really feel the weight in these. One batch is banana, pecan and arrowroot biscuit, all padded out with skim milk powder. The other is choc-chip and pecan, these ones are a bit on the lighter side, just padded out with coconut. With the weather turning a little cooler the oat based muffins will surely make a comeback, just like porridge.

Can't forget the spokey-dokes.

Wagga and MTB

Camping just outside Wagga, comfortably.

What fun is Mountain Biking? This week ended with the Wagga MTB 3+3 Enduro. MTB Wagga puts on a fair show for their annual 3+3 Enduro and this year was no exception. It all started with an evening Dash for Cash, a one-ish kilometer loop completed as the sun faded through the afternoons clouds. A recent local downpour had just dampened the track adding to the experience with a powder free surface and cool clean air to breath. The dedicated MTB Wagga crew had a large transition area and event hub with a massive communal shelter. The shelter became useful to keep dry during the occasional weather change, be it wet, windy and/or sunny.
The location for the 3+3 Enduro is "Pommie" Reserve situated beside the Wagga Golf Course on the western side of town. The reserve is now off limits to motorised vehicles, the MTB track has good signage and a well worn track. The local mayor and aboriginal elder were on hand to welcome the competitors to the Enduro, many had traveled just like me from Sydney and some from as far as Orange, Albury and Bateman’s Bay. This year the event was ridden by close to two hundred riders with most being the dedicated solo type riders.
The usual rush from the race start to the first single-track didn't happen as there was a couple of kilometers of fire trail which turned a few corners then went uphill. The bunch slowly stretched out with ADF Cycling Champion Dion Blair and now local to Canberra Shane Taylor leading the way. Along the Summit Road we headed into the first section of single-track which hugged the ridgeline before a succession of switchbacks. The overnight rain on the mixed clay base had the trail in near perfect condition. Riders were spread along the trail and congestion never seemed to be an issue which was great on a trail that was close to 90% single-track.

Myself, Shane Taylor and Dion Blair

On the western side of the hill there was a gated tree section which the SS riders and those with super wide bars found challenging. This flowed onto sections named "Blair Witch" and "Dead Mans Gully", from there it was a grind back up to the top of the hill via pinching rocky switchback corners. Reaching the top of the trail again it was virtually all downhill from there. Sweeping along the contours we descended bit by bit carry a ton of speed on the narrow trail. Pop down into a gully and we were rewarded with DH style bermed corners, I lent on my Thredbo experience here and railed the Goose through the section. Over the last big whoops, a bit of a climb and we entered into an open grassland section which flowed down to the transition. You could absolutely blast around these last few corners, leave the brakes off and follow the nice arc would leave a broad smile on your face.
The smile never left my face, there were so many highlights during my 5:40hrs of racing. Conrod Straight a fairly level section of single-track of which the big dog was usually engaged. The mob of Kangaroos on the nor-west side of the hill which took out the bunting as they bounded through the scrub, we came close to sharing some personal space as they crossed the trail. Seeing quite a few spectators on course enjoying racing, one guy even had a lengthy conversation with me as I climbed the switchback sections on the eastern side of the hill, he was shortcutting between the trail to keep up with me so we could chat.

Ripping the tread off the Kendas over the weekend.

MTB Wagga has continued to develop their enduro since I last raced it as a 3hr. I came away this time with 8th place and a random draw prize, of which there were plenty. A great weekend was had by all, Dion continued to show his cycling prowess pulling back a top five finish which included mechanical dramas that saw me pass him on a lap. Thanks to his highly skilled support crew for looking after me as well. Shane pulled the pin after a couple of solid hours out in front with the super fast boys, probably due to the fatigue from the two 24hr races he has completed in the last month. Even still we all commented on how much fun it had been.

Training and 24

A couple of weeks ago Shane from

Bikes at the Basin

and I had a lengthy chat about our cycling, training, racing and ways ahead. We are both passionate about cycling and a healthy lifestyle, balancing work, family and training. There have been times when training took much of my time and our chat was a great reminder to get the balance right and still perform when racing. Quality training has been the focus of the last few weeks with the aim to cut out the wasted or wasteful miles. Using Mark Fenners FTP ideas has given me better clarity, the shorter structured tough workouts have been a nice change. Last week it was a 220km, not a big week but there were quite a few quality hours. On Saturdays I ride with the local Tri club and over the last couple of weeks I have been giving them heaps during the rides. Heaps includes high-speed warm-ups and fast TT sections, I even broke away from the guys on TT bikes during a hill ride and pushed out in front gaining close to five minutes on the next rider.

In the near future I will be riding from Sydney to Canberra, having a days rest then returning. I expect this possible 300km, one way, to be a tough day in the saddle. A set of tri-bars have been fitted to my training/commuter MTB as I will be riding with roadies and my have to spend some time on the front. It may help with the possible headwinds too.

Congratulations must go out to those who participated in the recent 24hr events. Those who punched out laps for their teams at Sparrow and those that did it all by themselves over the Easter weekend. Mr English once again proved that at the moment he is unstoppable. But there are plenty of our other 24hr riders just behind Mr English, great solid efforts by Andy Fellows and Shane Taylor.

Keep an eye out over the next month or so for the new jersey. Proudly supported by

Carman's Fine Food and Wealth Creation Accountants

.

Sport

There is a certain feel of achievement with things you do. On Saturday the feeling came from working my way through the field of A Grade riders. SCUM held their installment of the XC Series on a Saturday afternoon, just for something different. There was the usual large crowd and most Grades had a bit of competition. Being a bit slow of the start, I warmed up over the first lap, slowly working my way between riders and across the ever expanding gaps to the next rider. From what I remember lap one was Nat and a few others, lap two Kurt. Three would have been Dave "The Bike Shack" Tuckerman. Then I saw his bike spin spectacularly and pin-ball between trees. Dave on the other hand made a splendid dismount, superman flight between the trees and land like a cat on the soft soil.
After five slightly shortened laps, there was still fuel left in the tank and felt good enough for more. I crossed the line in 5th for A Grade, after making my way through the field. The Coondoo track was in fair shape and offered challenges for all levels, be it the loose soil and sand, gradual climbs or fire-trail sprints. SCUM continues to offer competitive racing at all levels and great value of money over a variety of tracks.

Check out the new Orbea at Bikes at the Basin, Shane is riding the latest carbon hard-tail variety.
The sense of achievement continued on Sunday with a different challenge. The Southern Highlands Cycling Club held a 5hr Enduro on part of the well known Wingello MTB trails. The field of riders wasn’t big but many rides had traveled as far as I to race. There was quite a bit of open fire-trail from the start before we hit the first great sections of single track. No slow start this time, I was in the right gear during the uphill start. Twenty seconds later someone called out "hold his wheel", the terrain leveled out and I found myself tucked in behind the lead rider wearing a McGee jersey. The trail started to descend and in my pre-race warm-up I had noticed the worn line on the left, I moved out of the riders shadow and across to the line. Briefly I held the lead across the flat, through a very sandy corner and down the next section before the McGee jersey span past me. All I saw were legs ferociously spinning the single gear and the rider pilot the full ridged bike first into the single track.
Leaping forward to the end of the first lap I had managed to hold 3rd position through all the single track sections, till the last fire trail climb this is where the young teams made ground. It wasn’t the last time I saw the teams, we jostled positions numerous times throughout the race. Over the first few hours I maintained a XC rhythm and it was late in the third hour as I was lapped by the lead rider that I kicked back into more of an endurance rhythm.
Highlights of the race have to be the single track sections that are very easy to flow. Knowing the right line through corners, over obstacles and when to or not to brake paid dividends to your speed. Fire trail sections were kept to a minimum but was still plenty for grabbing a bit to eat or drink. The race organisers had quite a few free giveaways and plenty of bits for the podium places. It was nice to place on the podium in this race, a solid 2nd.
Turns out after closer inspection of my tightly tensioned rear wheel on the Canaan, the wheel had been making a bit of sound and a wobble over the weekend, I have busted a spoke out of the rim. Luckily it looks like the nipple has failed and done no damage to the rim. This will be the first time that I will have to spend some serious time on this wheel set.
Good luck to all you riding the bird this weekend.

Our mtb scene won’t be the same without Willo.

March Riding

Last weeks recovery week saw me on the bike a bit and make steps towards further strength training. The strength training will include over gearing short rides, hill climbing and gym work. Ow!
Sunday was WSMTB first round of their XC series. It was nice to line up with a bit larger field than normal. Turns out some of the sandbagging B Graders finally pulled their fingers out and give me some competition at the back of the Grade. I had some really good racing with the new recruits to 5 lap XC. Had my HR monitor on to check out how I was doing, turns out I may need to work a bit harder during training. So it is back to HR based cycling to ensure I get the most out of the training I do. The only disappointment was the increase by 50% of the WSMTB race fee. I am not sure the claims of an increase in National Parks fee needed a race fee increase.

Spriggsy giving it max through the narrowest section of narrow-neck.

The weekend just gone, Saturday included a session with the Tri Club, flat sprints and TT style riding. Sunday a few of the guys and I headed to Katoomba. We rode the narrow-neck fire-trail, it is close to a 40km return from the center on town, and has great weather dependent views. With plenty of climbing, narrow-neck offers a great couple of hours of riding and is popular with MTBers and hikers.

Keep an eye on your tyres for cuts and exessive wearing, I found this nice nick in my Kendas after racing with WSMTB.

In the news this week my cycling is additionally supported by Carman’s Fine Food and Wealth Creation Accountants.