SCUM 4hr Enduro

SCUM has been enjoying XC racing for many years and now in addition they doing Enduros. These Enduros will cover night races, day events and all on different tracks. The Enduro they held on the weekend was over the heat of the day, on one of their tougher tracks. The Superbowl doesn't lend its self to an Enduro but the capable XC team extended the track to almost eight kilometers. This extension was mostly with fire trail giving competitors a chance to get the hammer down or sit up and take on nutrition or fluids. Well done to the SCUM team for providing a great event without breaking the bank. Where else can you race for $5?
The race started with a scramble up a short fire trail climb onto one of the fire trail extensions before heading back into the forest and sweet single track. The elite riders and fast teams I kept in sight for the first few laps before they managed to slip away. The conditions were very dry and there wasn't a damp patch throughout the course. Certain sections became thick with dust and dusty ruts making for technical riding, especially descending. My Canaan from Bikes at the Basin ate all of the descents, but it was my skill and ability that was put to the test by the rock pinch climb. Still with Float 140s on the front and eight block rubber front and rear, I managed to nail the climb four out of the ten laps. The vibe during the event was great with heaps of spectators around the transition area, a BBQ and cowbells. Out on the track there was heaps of space between riders and everyone was courteous when passing. Things were looking good till about the three hour mark. This is when last weeks 100km race and personal best time started to show in my legs. Looking back at the results and times, what I felt in my legs it is reflected in the times. So I kicked it back a gear prepared to punched out a further two laps or so. Well done to Josh Carlson, another FRS rider, who showed his power again to place Fenz and the rest of us in our places. I went on to place 6th in Solo Male against some stiff competition. I felt great to the three hour mark and the bike worked flawlessly, this was another top event by SCUM. I will travel from Sydney to compete with SCUM as it offers great competition, diverse tracks and good value racing.
Note: Bozz went on to win the Merida 24 in QLD a couple of weeks ago. Well done, you are going smash it up for us at the 24hrs of Adrenalin World Championships in Canmore, Canada.

St Albans 100km

Check out that 140mm of travel!

Luckily western Sydney and the greater north west didn't get the rain Saturday night that the coastal regions did. Therefore the track was the usual mostly dry condition it is always in. For those that haven't done an annual St Albans MTB Festival, the 100km course links what is mostly fire trail between sections of bitumen and dirt roads. The first 70 odd kilometers loops 8kms short of St Albans then you hang a left for the remaining 30kms which takes you to the other side of the river and back to the top of the ridgeline. This returns you 5kms past St Albans for dirt road sprint to the finish. The track is a mixture of rock and sand fire trail with limited pure dirt and single track. Some sections hold water year round, like before the 50km mark and the downhill to the 70km mark is always cool and damp.
Like I mentioned previously the weather held off and the morning was cool and foggy. Once we were out of the valley and onto the ridgeline, above the fog, it was nice to find a sunny day without a hint of a cloud. It remained this way all day, a slight breeze kept temperatures around the early 20s.
Having some suspension issues post Australian 24 Solo. I managed to bring the Canaan back on line with a modified front end. On the front I fitted my Float 140s. This brought with it some climbing problems on the steepest sections but made up for it with downhill prowess. I managed the rear end through the pro-pedal lever, stiffest for all climbing and flat sections and then fully open for the descents. I fitted some small block 8s and pumped them up real tight to keep them ultra fast rolling.
The mass start was staged and it really didn’t matter what time you kicked off as everyone was micro chipped. I started at the back of the first non elite start and after the chorus of clipless cleats I wound my way through the 200 plus riders to the first major climb. There wasn’t many incidents to talk of over the first 50km. A few riders would have been happy that they placed ply-wood boards over the wooden plank bridge before the 50km mark. It was after the 50km point that things started to happen around me. The first was a poor bloke with no idea on why he was having trouble shifting. Turns out when I had a look at his bike the rear derailleur had failed. It was the tensioning spring that was the culprit, the only thing I could think of was to put it in the big ring on the front and shift as high as possible on the rear. This would mean he would be virtually single speed to keep the chain tensioned as much as possible. The next incident I came across was a bloke that had just broken his collar bone. He wasn’t far in front when it happened, I had spotted his jersey numerous times prior. He was in some pain and a few other guys had stopped to render assistance. Unfortunately there wasn’t much we could do, he was stable and didn’t have anything else wrong. I move his feather weight and ultra light hard tail off the trail and he agreed not to attempt to move from the spot we found him. I rode to 3-4km to the 70km point which was the next manned point in the trail and informed the RFS and medic staff. It sounded like this was their first casualty for the day. From here it was on the canoe bridge that was created to cross the river. Having ridden the bridge on its inception I had no hesitation on doing it again. I managed it successfully and rode on to the 74km check point, on the way up to the ridgeline. It was from this stage that the climbing was starting to take its toll. My legs felt heavy but I managed to keep with the riders around me. Climbs began it be granny ring spins. But finally I made it to the final big down hill section, the guy I had been keeping up with let me lead down. He later said when he caught up that I put well over a couple of hundred meters between us just in that one downhill section.
I had a good 100km, no mechanical issues and a heap of fun on the fire trails of St Albans. I finished 13th in Open Mens and beat my previous St Albans 100km 2007 by 3 minutes, doing it in 5:12!

WSMTB/MWMTB XC Round 2

Just when I thought I had seen the hardest sections of Yarramundi the course is altered again. There were two tower of power climbs to the power lines. A new section to me that had been dubbed the V-ditch, which required some precision riding. This was linked back to Bens Bridge and the associated technical rocky climbing tracking right from the bridge. With all this extra work on the eastern and southern side of the start/finish area most of the northern sections were not utilised.
Again I lined up with the A grade riders, with the likes of State Elite and Australian Championship representatives in the mix. All these XC racers could mean I get let behind a bit but Shane Taylor, a great enduro rider, was also there. He was the rider I wished to keep up with.
The A grade riders did whip them selves into a frenzy straight off the mark and half a lap later were out of sight. I kept my lap times consistent and within a minute of Shane's times as the XC racers did leave us fairly well behind. I went on to place 6th, which I felt was good for such a challenging track and not all riders finished their designated laps (even in A grade).
Numbers were down from the previous round which could have been because of the school holidays. Even still, they did have a mix of competitors from A grade through to Novice.
I was another technical track by the WSMTB crew and I enjoyed my first race back post the Australian 24hr Solo Championship.
On further inspection this week it has been discovered I have worn through the left upper tube of my F100 forks.

24hr Solo World Championship

The list is out for those that qualified for the World Championships. I have qualified from both the Scott 24 and Solo 24 two weeks ago to represent for my age group. So I have reached another goal for the year, "qualify for the Worlds".
Check out Bozz's blog as he will be traveling to Canmore to participate at the Worlds. If you can help him out or have words of encouragement, drop him a message.

Australian 24hr Solo MTB Championship

Australian Solo 24hr MTB Championship
The championships were held at Majura Pines with race central inside the Innabyanna guide camp located beside the pines area. I was surprised to find corc was able manage a 8.2km track out of the 3km length of pines. The track was nothing short of what to normally expect from Canberra conditions. Mostly hard packed and well worn tack snaked its way through the pines. A variety of fire trails were used and gave ample opportunity for food and liquid consumption. For every downhill section there was uphill with most being brief in nature. The main concern was the most northern climb which felt to be the steepest and
I spent the most time climbing. The other of note was of medium tech rocky climb which benefited those who could spot a good line.
Weather always plays a big part in endurance events and this time it effected some of the strongest competitors. It was warm and the forecast was rain. It happened around five and changed the mood and conditions for almost everyone. The rain was solid for over two hours with a gradual fade out to a warmish moonless night. As the bunny moved through the camp he brought a brilliant sunrise to an almost cloudless sky. The track conditions followed the weather turning wet, slippery and muddy with the rain then throughout the night it dried out to be a sticky, well packed and mostly dry.
It was easy to tell the corc crew are experienced in the organisational department. With no line up at rego, coffee, cakes and BBQ. The guide camp had some nice facilities with showers and flowers. The only surprise was the lack of access for support crew to the track. Unfortunately most of us were unable setup camp beside the track. Those that weren't camped beside the track found or made other arrangements using the crew area, pit lane or not. The race commentator was always near the transition reporting on the to and frowing of riders and their support. There were always progressive results being posted and the award ceremony was shortly after race completion.

Some form of support crew is almost essential in solo endurance racing. I had my partner Donna who is experienced at crewing and my sister of which this would be her first MTB experience. My crew did a sterling job and attended every lap transition with food and liquid. Members of other crews helped out with bike maintenance where it was needed. Enough can not be said about the lengths crews go to, to ensure riders only have to think about ripping up the track.
With my Canaan having some down time for servicing the old faithful NRS was brought out to play. While not being near as comfortable as the Canaan, the NRS has been proven time and time again to be race worthy. I removed some of the nice bits off the Canaan to ensure the NRS was going to be light, fast and well balanced. The front end was lightened and lowered with F100s, eastern 90 bar and stem, Ultimate brakes and a Stans Olympic wheel. The rest of the bike stayed realistic with X-9 shifting, RP2 rear shock, WTB speed saddle and an American Classic rear wheel converted to tubeless. The bike performed well under the conditions with only shifting issues with all the mud that was getting around. For a while, well quite a bit of the race, I rode the bike as a three speed, shifting only on the front cogs. Then there was an intermittent shifting issue which lasted for the rest of the race, I only discovered the cause during the post race inspection. Also had a rear brake misalignment that I discovered mid-race and fixed mid lap. Overall it would have been nice to have had two bikes running but I made the most of what I had.
How did I go? Well it turns out that mud, nicks, saddle and I don’t mix well. I received some major chafing problems. This mixed with the shifting issues came to a head about 3-4am when I had had enough abuse and took a two hour or so break in an attempt to recharge. This was the first time I have had nicks/body problems. My lights finally found their niche conditions, with no dust the HID lights blazed away all night. With all the ample light, dusty conditions can reflect the light making it all fog like. But not this time. My hands and feet coped a fair flogging and came out much like a shorter race which was good.
How was the race? This was the most competitive field I have ever seen at a 100 competitor race and from the start gun the freaks were gone. I liked the track as we rode around and I rode with Mad Mick from QLD for the few laps till he set a pace I didn’t want to commit to. Mick went on to win his category. There was a stage where I may have been eating to much and got to a point where I wasnt comfortable. I then had the chance to ride with the fastest in the female fields, these women out rode many of the men and got a chance to see just how strong and skilled they are. The freaks lapped me, with the winner doing so every three to four laps at times. If I hadnt have stopped for a break with chafe and bike problems, I beleive I could have for the first time ridden a full 24hrs, especially with the positive effects of FRS. My lap times in the morning were good then seemed to get better, I felt faster, stronger and in tune with the trail. I rode within my ability and went on to place 6th in the 25-29 category and 21st overall in the Australian Championship.

Just a quick view of my rear brake pad and the uneven wear I experienced.