Ride Week in Mt.Beauty

Ride Week (that 'week' between Christmas and NYE) in Mt.Beauty is about as official as an unofficial event can get. After all it is organised through Facebook which is surely the yardstick by which the seriousness of events are measured without requiring a black tie.

There is some organisation of the mixed MTB/Road riding week but really it just happens. Meeting times for the next ride are decided at the cafe while refuelling after the last ride. Routes are often decided in advance but even these are flexible and often include shorter options for those less masochistically inclined.

Those who take part come from all around: Sydney, Melbourne, as far as Brisbane and of course a large contingent of locals.

Fortunately the heat that Victoria is now suffering through and the Bay Critters are sweating through came just late enough that we could get our big rides done without expiring from heat exhaustion.

This is what Ride Week 2011 looked like for me based in Mt.Beauty:

26/12 am - 1hr of singletrack madness, pushing myself to my limits (and beyond) with a couple of the van der Ploeg boys. 12km & 370m vert

26/12 pm - 2.5hrs on the roady up to Falls Creek return with some extra climbing. 65km & 1530m vert

27/12 - 2.5hrs, another Falls Creek ascent return. 58km & 1300m vert. The main group summited Mt.Buffalo today but I missed this ride as I was picking up my Ride Week house guest, Jodie Willet, from the airport and we just squeezed in a quick ride in the afternoon.

28/12 am - 1.75hrs of more MTB singletrack action. 21km & 750m vert. We had some great MTB park action with one of the largest groups I've ridden with on a mountain bike outside of a race!

28/12 pm - 1.75hrs of climbing on the MTB again. Not content with one ride a day, Jodie and myself summited Big Hill with another 25km & 1000m vert. A pretty hot, long climb which was worth it for the hectic descent through super sketchy rock gardens and ultra-high speed fire road. Max speed of 62.4km/h on the MTB, not so bad.

29/12 - While the bulk of the Ride Week crew smashed themselves on a 150km round trip to Yakandandah I gave myself a far lower volume day of another 1hr of mountain biking. Not so great for the numbers today, just another 12km & 410m vert.

30/12 - MORE MTB action today. Another summit of Big Hill but this time at gentleman's pace. Throw in some park action before and after and you've got 3.5hrs ride time with 46km & 1640m vert.

31/12 - The Queen stage of Ride Week. The New Years Eve ride has also been dubbed Gerry's Hell Ride (some of them have been truly Hell-ish) in the past and can be either road or MTB. This year it was a Mt.Hotham ascent. Nothing crazy but when my masochistic house guest mentioned her desire to be 'bleeding from the eyeballs' I knew we'd be doing the extra k's to Dinner Plain and not taking it too easily either. 6.5hrs, 170km and 3180m vert. A solid day.

Fortunately, as it was NYE, I felt less guilty about making the mix of cider, beer and red wine my recovery drinks of choice throughout the rest of the day/evening. Perhaps any advantageous adaptation may have been hindered by the evenings festivities but it was worth it! Saw the year out with a great party for Dan VDP at the Farm with many like minded boozy athletes, loads of laughs and a generally bloody great time.

In total - 20hrs, 410kms and over 10,000m vert. One of my bigger weeks lately but probably pretty standard for some!

Look forward to more mates and good times at Ride Week next year, get on it!

Got Mud? A report on my second solo 24hr MTB race.

Friday 16:00hrs - Day before the race, Quiggs and I do a 58min practice lap on a dry, dusty, freshly cut course. I feel ok, not great, not terrible. Enthusiasm builds and I'm focused on having fun to get me through the next 24 hours.

Saturday 09:00hrs - My supremo support team of Jane and Mark Zagorski and I arrive and set up what will be HQ for the next day.

10:00hrs - Social chit chat is had. My spare bike, a Rocky Mountain Altitude 70 is prepped for racing. Lollies are gorged upon.

11:30hrs - A race briefing is mostly missed. I presume it's pretty much the same as always. I'm right. 11:48hrs - I brave the busy, wobbly, un-level, semi-trailer toilets for a final nervous bodily evacuation.

12:00hrs - Someone fast and presumably riding in a team gets the holeshot at the start and claims the prologue clams. 100 of them.

12:30hrs - Half way around my first lap and I'm almost already as muddy as it's possible to get on a bike. Enthusiasm is high. I'm sure I've settled into 'round-about 5th in Solo.

It's raining.

13:00hrs - I fear I'm burning through the new brake pads I installed at the start of the race. It's raining.

14:00hrs - Two laps in and I'm transitioning well. Ash Hayat and I are duelling for what I'm sure is 5th and 6th. I sneak a glimpse over the handlebars at my front brake callipers. A build-up of fine, silver dust confirms I've used up my brake pads...and some of their backing.

It's raining.

15:00hrs - Bike swap. Me to Dad "That bike needs new pads front and rear". Dad to me "You're sitting comfortably in 2nd." Wow. Bottle. Gel. Banana sanga smashed. I melt into the 5inches of travel of the Altitude and am overjoyed at working brakes.

It's raining. The sun is not out.

18:00hrs - It's raining. The mud is crazy. I'm not so much steering as sliding from one bend/corner to the next. It's actually pretty good fun, I'm riding it well and I've made a gap on Ash. I think on one lap I even rode the whole track without having to hike-a-bike. Sitting in 2nd has motivated me somewhat.

20:00hrs - Laps have pretty quickly ceased to be fun and are plain hard work. Slow, even cadence doesn't work in the mud. Staying off the brakes doesn't work in the mud. My front derailleur doesn't work in the mud. I walk some of the climbs.

It's raining.

21:00hrs - I stop mid lap. I walk at least 3 or 4 sections that I just cannot muster the energy and skills to ride. I stop a couple more times.

It's raining.

22:30hrs- My transition lasts too long. 1 minute. Then 2. Then 5. Then Quiggs comes through transition. He does a full kit change and encourages me to do the same but I tell him I'm done and stand there in awe of this tough endurance machine. I'm angry, jealous, depressed, sore and tired. But shit I'm glad I've decided not to do another lap in this crap.

It's still raining.

Sunday 08:00hrs - The sun has come out. It's a different day and we could be on another continent such is the contrast in weather from a few hours ago. Due to reports of the track now being 'dry and superfast', 'tacky' and, unbelievably 'fun' again I'm encouraged to do another lap.

09:15hrs - I can confirm the track is dry, superfast and would be fun but my legs, bum and most other parts are sore and I still don't want to do another lap. That's it for my Garmin 24 2011.

It's not raining.

____________________________________________________________

Even to make it just 10.5hrs into a 24 I needed a lot of help and owe many thanks.

First to my folks for being such great supporters. Together we're getting this whole deal down to a fine art. Dad is more experienced at replacing brake pads than I am and Mum's washed my bike more times than me too.

Dad couldn't have replaced any brake pads if they hadn't have first been supplied by Ross from iRide. Having shop support that I can confidently call on is invaluable. Next time I'm doing a team lap with you guys. That looked like too much fun!

Some people race solo with just one bike but I wouldn't want to, and the spare bike supplied by Simon Ross from Adventure Brands/Rocky Mountain was oodles of fun. Thanks! Everyone should test ride a Rocky Mountain Altitude. Yes, especially you Llew.

Cheers,

Zigga

Garmin 24 Preview

The Garmin 24 or one of its many previous name holds a special place in the race calendar for many Victorians due to its history as well as been the only 24 we have down here. This year promises to be good as ever with it being round 3 of the Ross Wilkinson vs Ben Vlass showdown as well as a move back to Reidsdale and hopefully away from bad weather.

IRide is fielding a 6 person mixed team so we thought would we provide a preview/form guide.

Ross Wilkinson

Experience plays a big part in these events and the big dog is an experienced 24 hour campaigner. Knowing what gear and food to pack will pay dividends during the 24 hours. With Ross having started packing the van a week out from the event he looks set to not leave a thing at home.  Ross is even going as far as to bring a female companion to take care of rub downs, cooking, cleaning and generally keeping the well oiled athlete running.

Fitness wise Ross is coming in under a cloud of suspension, Legs may be the one thing he does leave at home. Having pulled the pin at the Mt Major enduro early and a few flat tyres in race’s since then combined with a lot of solo rides meant he hasn’t shown his cards to anyone. This looks to be all part of his plan to keep things on the low down from Ben Vlass but he isn’t the only person Ross is out to lap quicker than.

Luke Garside

Being fresh back from a 6 month high altitude training camp in Canada where they have relaxed views regarding performance enhancing drugs we can only expect Luke to be in tip top form. Combine that with an intimate knowledge of the track having spent the last month and a half building it and you’ve got yourself a bit of a weapon.  If its slippery out there expect Luke to be sliding around the course taking any man, woman or child with him.

Luke biggest issue for the weekend will be avoiding getting distracted by the many ladies spectating at the event.  The last thing we want is Luke to miss his start time because he is practicing the fine art of seduction. A word of warning ladies the last woman who looked deep into Luke’s eye got instantly pregnant

Lew Thomas

It has been the case for most of the season that most bike time Lew has had between races is when he is rebuilding his hub the morning of the race. Despite his approach of spitting in the face of 50 plus years of exercise physiology Lew has had a very solid season.

Recently Lew has taken time away from his main passion of video games amd is getting out on the bike quite a bit; mid week crits, and big weekends on the mountain and road bike.  Such a drastic change could be disastrous , chances are Lew is going to turn with a body this is bordering on chronic fatigue and only put himself in a deeper hole over the weekend.

Simon Ross

Simon is the dark horse of the team. No one is quite sure what to expect. After handing a few team members their ass on a plater during a road ride in the Dandenongs he has been in hiding.

Details are a little sketchy but the rumour is that he has spent the last 6 weeks having a few of Luke’s special milkshakes and destroying climbs in the big ring. Keep an eye out for a bloke on a rocky mountain pushing a huge gear with ease.

Aleisha Bald

Being the only female member on an otherwise all male team is no easy task, which is why we have someone who brings their A game.  As shocking as Will found it Aleisha is not there to cook and clean but to lay down fast laps. Having completed more races then the average male racers this season and found her way onto a few podiums Aleisha is looking good to lay down some fast laps the whole 24 hours.

Aleisha is a school teacher so no doubt she will be used to the immature humour and will be able to keep Will in line.

Will Geor

As always with Will his biggest issue will be organization or lack of it.  No doubt he will be the last team member to arrive having bought a shitload of gear and food yet somehow forgot to bring essential items.  Attempts have been made by Ross to have Will’s Mum attend all races with him to make sure he is organized and looked after but at 24 she feel’s it time he learnt to do a few things for himself.

Will is also not the most outdoorsy person so spending a weekend camping may cause serious issues for a guy who cant understand how anyone can get a good nights sleep while camping without drinking till they pass out.  He is also sharing a tent with Lew after he was advised he couldn’t put a mattress in the pack of his Ute, park it trackside and sleep there.

Will would ideally like to only have to race the last hour of the race where he can lay down every but of power onto the track. As there is no chance of that happening Will is going to have to be very careful not to fall into old habits of blowing himself up at the beginning of the event.

Due to Will ever patchy form we were not sure whether he will be on or off this weekend. Having just won D grade in the Ballarat’s weekly road criterium should see will come in mentally strong. One thing we can expect is him to sit around eating most of the weekend and talking a lot of shit.

Big Pimpin' Mondays - Cyclocross

Cross season is over in Aus now but here's some sweet pics to keep the cross fire burning in our hearts until next winter.

Big Pimpin' Monday - Jan Ullrich

As much as I wanted to dedicate today to the All Blacks today after fulfilling their destiny last night I knew I had to keep it cycling related.

So ive gone with someone who like All Black teams of the past may have been the best rider at the time but for various reasons failed to reach ultimate glory.

Jan "The Kaiser" Ullrich spent his youth attending an East German Sports School no doubt crushing the hopes and dreams of East Germnays young cyclists. When he was 19 he won the world amateur cycling champs. He was also rad enough at age 17 to get 5th at the cyclo-cross world champs.

In 1996 on debut at the Tour de France the Kaiser got 2nd whilst riding in support for his team leader Bjarne Riss, many commented that the Kaiser. The Kaiser won the Tour in 1998 and the future looked great for the young German unfortunately he would never wear the yellow in to Paris again due to an Italian coke head and brash Texan who along with his team took juicing to a while new level.


Without going into to much detail, The kaiser would go on to finish the Tour 2nd 5 times as well as get a third and a 4th. During this time he was also Olympic road race champion and world time trial champion. The kaiser was always so close yet to far, he was the man Lance turned up to beat and the only won ever able to challenge him for a long time.

In our eye's though the Kaiser is the man for many reasons, the guy was a cold and calculated soul destroying machine. Yes he served a doping suspension but it was for Ecstasy, the Kaiser liked the disco techs in the off season. Sure you can say that he was involved in a doping scandal at the end of his career but in that period of cycling everyone was on the juice, event the team car drivers were on the juice.

He also had a cool earring and used to push a big gear up climbs like a steam train of destruction carrying a load of hurt to deliver to the peleton.

The Kaiser also loved to eat, he was known for turning up to big races a little overweight but fuck, he's the Kaiser he can do what he wants. Once when questioned about he he replied  "I have seen many lean riders in the peloton, but very few Tour winners".

Off season training

This is also the Kaisers sex face.

Making Alpe D'huez his bitch.

Big Pimpin'

Came across this one whislt looked for pics. it isnt the Kaiser but a woman who has gone for the Jan Ullrich look

The Kaiser was about to flip Lance the bird after winning the stage but Lance grabbed the Kaiser hand early thinking it was a gesture from the Kaiser.

LIMBC Stage 5 - XCC - It's A Wrap!

What a great way to finish the week!

I'm so glad I had a successful day to end on a high note after a week of ups and downs.

My support crew of my Dad, Mark and my Sister, Laura have been just tremendous and I'm so thankful that they've come here for me this week. Dad hasn't been feeling well for the last day and a half so for him to bear the 40deg heat to watch me race today was beyond the call of duty I think.

With about 8hrs all up of riding over 5 varying stages through all weather and all trail conditions to not have one mechanical is almost a miracle...but it's not. It's because I have a great bike, built up exceptionally welland with the proper set-up and for that near miracle I have to thank Ross from iRide and Simon from Adventure Brands for supplying my Vertex 70 RSL.

So Stage 5: A 2km short course cross country criterium. Now I'm glad I did those CX races! It also took me back to Westgate Dirt Crits in Melbourne, something I miss very much about the big smoke!

Of course it was ON from the gun and all I saw from the leaders was the slight puff of dust left from their smoking fast rear wheels. After a surprisingly calm first lap (I was convinced there would be a crash with a couple of tight, skinny corners on the course) the pace was held high. I'd drift from the back of one pack to the front of another, get a spurt of energy, sprint in front of the gap I'd just fallen off but struggled to get any useful work done for anything more than a lap with any one group. A bit of an energy wasting style but from reports that's how it played out for a lot of us. Finally Andrew Mock caught me and we did some work together (him more than I initially!) and once we caught fellows and the pressure came off us a little, the pace dropped slightly and I could pull my weight with some turns on the front to get us around the last three laps of the crit without being caught (by anyone but the race leaders who had already lapped us once!).

Just before the finish on the last lap the leaders came around to lap us twice. I looked back and recognising our race was over if they lapped us again before the finish, tried to outsprint them to the line..hahahha..what was I thinking! They passed me like I was standing still and I was giving it my absolute all! Seriously fast!

Slight downer about today is that Dan McConnel and Paul VDP weren't allowed to race due to issues with them missing the first stage with food poisoning. I would have paid money to watch Paul tear up that course today!

Thanks for everyone for reading these posts thus far! Sometimes it's been a chore to write them but I always enjoy it once I've finished and hope you've had some entertainment from them.

We have the 'Jamboree Ride' tomorrow which is a social/casual loop around the island similar to the first day that I think I'll do for some extra k's so I might do a nice wrap up sometime after that and before I head home on the 26th.

Till then, more HR data from the last stage HERE and see/speak to you all soon!

Zigga

Game face: ON

The freight train of pain!

Stage 4 Garmin Data

I finally got my Edge 500 to talk to my computer so I could download and look at my HR data from the King of The Hill stage yesterday. It's a pretty cool looking elevation profile and it's very obvious where I settled into my nice threshold rhythm. Then you can also easily see when I got my flat and got a bit messed up. Also, a max speed of 73km/h on a MTB! Did I mention it was a fast start?!

Check it out HERE.

Had a good day today on the fast XCC stage 5. Report coming soon!

LIMBC Stages 3 + 4

I'm feeling a bit flat right now and even super syrupy Malaysian Red Bull doesn't seem to be kicking it..

It's because I've just had a couple of short, disappointing stages in the last two days.

First off was the second XCO, yesterday. This race was supposed to be a 7hr enduro which they reduced to 6hrs (fine) then to a short cross country race (not fine!). The UCI track inspector was not sufficiently satisfied that the course was safe to ride multiple times as it would have meant riding through suspect water courses and bogs so they had no choice but to cut this section of track out. Which meant the track was now 4km long instead of 7km, a bit short for a 6hr enduro.

Anyway, it's all good XCO training I guess!

My start was average despite having a much better grid position due to a decent effort in the first XCO. My mind was telling my legs to sprint and my legs were chillin' out at the beach... However, they did eventually fire up, enough even to put in a couple of sprints when I needed to. Then after a few laps I looked back and saw the race leader, Lachy Norris hot on my tail. As we were near the finish I gave it all I had and made sure to stay in front of him so I wouldn't get lapped until after the finish line so I could complete another lap before being pulled. The *expletive* commisaires thought differently and soon after passing the finish line I was pulled. I didn't agree, caused a fuss and stated my case strongly and probably loudly and won myself a reprieve, I could do one more lap. However once I'd almost finished that lap, they once again tried to pull me off the track before the finish line (I know it all sounds confusing, I was pretty confused by this stage) and this time I wasn't getting a second shot...

Anyway, I finished 34th and was also a bit disappointed with my lack of technical skill on some of the slippery, rooty, muddy climbs. Not a great day at the office.

Then came today's stage. The King of The Hilll. An all-tarmac, 26km point-to-point to the top of the largest hill on the island, Gunung Raya at 900m ASL.

The mass start (all categories?!?) was fast and furious. Fortunately I managed to stay with the lead bunch and for the first 13km we cruised to the bottom of the climb. Once the incline started I was totally prepared to find a happy zone at threshold and climb like I've done a hundred times before. And that's exactly what happened. And I was faster and stronger than a lot of people, even a few riders questionably pushing the 'no slicks' rule. This was until my front tyre started leaking. My Furious Freds were letting me down. A slow leaking front tyre isn't a huge hindrance on a climb but I certainly noticed my efficiency dropping and on the one or two short descents on the way up I had to descend with stifling caution. I topped her up twice with a C02 cylinder but that meant stopping, undoing valves, redoing valves and losing my valuable rhythm. I lost a bunch of places that I just couldn't make up and came in 50th. A really disappointing result today. I KNOW I could have done a lot better.

The kick in the nuts? Once at the top I topped the front tyre up again and it held all it's air on the commute back to base. WTF!?!

Photo's can't illustrate the frustration and disappointment I'm feeling right now so here's some gratuitous travel pics and some slightly related riding pics!

Myself, Andrew Mock and Paul VDP not looking as wary as we should have been before today's mountain climb stage. Mocky went onto have a good day (finally!) as did Paul considering all his domestique work of late!

Not sure why I'm smiling here.. the top of Gunung Raya, I feel like I have to conquer it again now!

This guy deserves to smile, Dan McConnell takes victory in King of The Hill stage. He and Paul VDP broke away early and Dan held onto the lead to win by 30secs!

We went swimming in this waterfall after stage 3 and it pissed down rain. The waterfall went from a tame trickle to this gargantuan, heaving cascade in minutes. And there were chicks in bikinis everywhere. The only good part of today.

Just a shot of the awesome tropicalness of Langkawi from the Westin Resort balcony.

Once again, Garmin data HERE of stage 3 (note, the last lap I did is not shown because I'd already stopped it timing and forgot to start it again) for those interested and none yet for the mountain stage, my Edge is playing up...grrr, another source of frustration (not to mention this fucking useless hotel internet!).

LIMBC Stage 2 - 4.7km/lap XCO

After my recce ride earlier in the week of this XCO course I knew today was going to be tough.

The 4.7km course which Elite Men had to ride 6 times was actually similar in some ways to riding at Mount Beauty in that it was a long climb followed by a long techy descent then repeat. In most other ways it couldn't have been more different.

The 160 or so blokes in the Elite Men category (notice how I didn't actually call us Elite Men!) started on a tarmac descent down which we hurtled at 45km/h only to get straight on the anchors and get our shifter fingers busy for a slimy, muddy, steep, rooty and rocky climb. I reckon this was walked by all but probably the first 10 riders to hit it. It was a shambolic mountain biker stampede. At one point I actually did lose my footing and go ass over!

Once we got a chance to get back on our bikes the climb had backed off from what felt like 45% to a more sedate 25% (possibly exaggerating) and I could keep some traction. We kept climbing for another couple of k's or so with one or two short descents for some minor relief. Once summited we dropped into the terraced rubber plantation downhill. More greasy terrain with a thick rubber tree canopy and sneaky slippery roots to catch you the second you dropped your guard.

If you made it down this descent alive you got shot onto a high pace fire road descent which, if you were brave enough, was a brakes-off roller coaster of speed. Then through a little more undulating rubber plantation and back onto the tarmac for the rise to the finish line to start all over again.

All in all, great fun. I loved the technical nature of the course and it certainly sorted some riders out. I was really disappointed with myself for not being able to ride the climb, I walked part of it every time. I could have easily made a couple of minutes by riding instead of walking here.

And those couple of minutes might have been all I needed to avoid being pulled on my last lap. I even pleaded with the UCI comissaire to let me go out for my last but of course he was having none of it. I really wanted to get all 6 laps in. Sure, I can say that the field was excellent and the course tough but the fact of the matter is that I just wasn't good enough.

The next stage which was originally a 6hr Enduro has been dramatically changed to another XCO which means I either have a chance at retribution.

Wish me luck.

Once again, Garmin data HERE

Results for yesterday are HERE

No GC results yet.

In our start pens, me and another Rocky Mountain rider (nice Vertex 90!)

The business end of the field on the start line. You'll notice Paul VDP and Lachy N up there.

Sweaty much? Mixed emotions immediately after being pulled from the race.

LIMBC Stage 1 - 62km XCM

I finished the 62km marathon stage a few hours ago and now I'm writing this from my blissfully air conditioned hotel room and still have mixed feelings about my result.

I came 29th today.

It's not a particularly low number but the field was large and pretty bloody strong. I think I should describe my performance today with another placing.

I was the 5th male elite Aussie today.

That's not so bad!

It wasn't the longest of marathons and over the 62km only had 900m of climbing but I still found it as tough as any that I've done. I think it was the heat and the humidity that made it so tough. An average temp. of 30deg is not cool.

I actually had a really good race. Mine certainly started better than the blokes that KO'd themselves (or possibly worse!) by running into a terribly placed steel road barrier no more than 3km from the start. I think it will be a very short tour for them. These guys were probably 30 wheels back from me and the thud of body on steel and scraping of pedals on tarmac certainly turned my stomach.

We rode through jungle complete with monitor lizzards, monkeys and water buffalo. Through rubber plantations careful to avoid hitting the small black pots nailed to the trees full of the sticky white sap of the rubber plant. And through villages, back yards, weirs, creeks and extremely suspect quagmires...

My infallible support crew scootered to all three feed zones which was a lifesaver as some people missed out on even a bottle of water at some feed zones. My sister said she felt sick for the unfortunate people who had no one helping them (for the record, my Sis and Dad were also helping a couple of other riders too).

I'll spare you a blow-by-blow of the race if you're interested in the finer details you can check out my Garmin heart rate and GPS data here.

Not a single mechanical or crash which makes me love my Vertex even more (probably should go and show it some of this said love) and I'm sooooo glad I had this bike to bring over. A hardtail was DEFINITELY the right choice of bike and am, as always, very thankful of the iRide/Rocky Mountain guys.

I'll post a link to the results as soon as they're online.

Link to my Garmin data HERE.

And some pics from today:

Dad, 50% of the best support team at the race

My Sis, the other 50% of the best support team at the race

Contemplation on the start line with Morgan Pilley (already drenched with sweat)

My Rig ready to roll in the bike basement

The Bike Basement - someone could do seriously well to roll this joint!

Big Pimpin' Monday - Greg Lemond

So we may have missed a few weeks and its pretty late on a Monday but Big Pimpin Monday is so awesome that it is not bound by such constraints as time plus we've also been busy as Lew Thomas at a Star Trek convention.

This week it's all about Greg Lemond. Long before that other American, Greg Lemond was blazing a trail through Europe leaving a bunch of pissed of Euro's in his wake all whilst looking cool.

Greg was the first Non-European to win the Tour De France, being a professional in Europe from a non European country was hard enough in 1986, to win the Tour in simple amazing. Greg was also a contender for the 1985 tour but was dedicated to helping the leader of his team Benard Hinault at the time. Who a year later in 1986 would show classic French sportsmanship by agreeing to ride as a support team-mate for Greg due to his work in 1985 then attacking him on every stage.

In 1987 in a hunting accident Greg was hit with 40 pellet from a shotgun at close range, 37 of which are still in his body. These days we hear alot of rappers getting shoot but those nancy boys all seem to die, Greg came back 2 years later to win to more Tours. To make the dude even cooler he has spent the last few years harassing Lance Armstrong about doping and pushing for cleaner cycling.

Livin' Large in Langkawi

I like Langkawi.

I like it when my flights are all on time.

I like it when the in-flight movies are good.

I like it when there's a race official greeting me at arrivals.

I like complimentary airport-hotel transfers.

I like it when the race organisers call me at my hotel room to make sure everything went well.

I really like it when my bike arrives in one piece.

Fortunately all this happened for me! The Vertex is built up and went for it's first very brief spin around the area this morning but I want to change the tyres so avoid wearing out my 'race' tyres early, they've already got some serious signs of wear from the Beaconsfield 6hr whose rocks tore them up a bit. I've identified a nice little bike shop which has a compressor if I need one to seat the spare tyres I have.

There is advertising everywhere about the race and lots of people in town know about it. It's certainly all over the hotel we're staying at. They know how to make the racers feel important!

Yesterday I familiarised myself with Kuah, the town where the hotel is in and stocked up on water and chocolate and not much else! I did smash heaps of local food, some of it totally unrecognisable and almost all of t delicious. No upset stomach. Yet. And I may have given into the temptation of a 60cent imported Stella...or two..hey, it was cheaper then Carlton Draught here! (they had CD and Coopers Pale Ale!).

Today I will change my tyres and go for a decent ride and also hire a scooter to check out the further reaches of the island.

Some pics below:

My airport transfer. Ooh la la!

The Rocky Mountain made it! Now to build her up in the bike storage area.

The official race hotel, Bayview Hotel Langkawi

Had a yummy chicken and rice dish here...then went around the back where they did the dishes....

It's Business Time! Langkawi here I come!

Like my Kiwi comedic-musical mates say, it’s business time everybody!

Ok, so they’re not my mates and I’m talking a different type of business but the fact remains that I have one week until I fly out to Langkawi, Malaysia to race in the Langkawi International Mountainbike Challenge and I have to start getting my shit together!

This will be my inaugural overseas race and I reckon I’ve picked a corker! I, undoubtedly like many others, was initially attracted to this race because of the game-changing prize purse of US$130,000! However as the entry list grew with riders of door-blowing awesomeness I took relief in the knowledge that they still pay to 15th place.

Why this and not Tour de Timor? Well, had I been thriftier over the last few months I may have indulged in both but this 5-day stage race includes a real variety of disciplines from XCO to a 7hr Enduro and a couple of half-marathon point-to-points, hopefully with much of it on singletrack. This interested me more than what I’d heard about Timor. I’m hoping that if I’ve got a chance to have a crack at any point during this race it will be in the 7hr (competitors reading this, please disregard last sentence). The 7hr Enduro being of a time, distance and format I’m certainly familiar with, hopefully more so than most. Only time will tell how it all pans out, the level of competition is high and there are a lot of unknowns, it’s a recipe for an exciting few days.
I’m certainly not doing this alone. I have to be one of the most fortunate racers around to have both my Sister and Father coming as my support crew. Both have supported me in races before and this will be a true test for all of us. I’m just so grateful of their interest in what I do, confidence in me and willingness to help.

I’m taking my Rocky Mountain Vertex 70 RSL which has lately proven to be an extremely capable machine by putting up with 6hrs of the infamously rough and tough tracks of Upper Beaconsfield to get me to 2nd place in the last round of the Vic Enduro Series. I wouldn’t have this bike if it weren’t for a similar confidence and generosity of both Ross Wilkinson from iRide and Simon Ross from Rocky Mountain/Adventure brands.

There are 4 important factors in this race I can control, me, my support crew (x2) and my bike. These all make me happy. There will be innumerable factors in this race I have zero control over. These make me anxious, nervous but also excited and pumped!
I hope you’ll check back here occasionally before the 17th of October and regularly for daily race updates thereafter, I look forward to sharing this race with y’all!

Zigga

Race information and live results from the 17/10 HERE

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Check out this rad little helmet cam vid filmed by Mik of Ross and Will. Keep an eye out for Ross's Jittery Joes Kit.

Big Pimpin' Monday - Cold war track sprinters.

Weve decided to do something a little different for this edition of Big Pimpin' Monday. Some of you may have expected us to go with Cav seen he won the world champs last week, Lew has been pestering us to do an edition on the Kardashians. Today were going with an era as opposed to a person.

Along with the ongoing space race and the arms race during the Cold War, sports competitions were important to the international reputation for members of the Eastern Block. Winning gold at world championships and the Olympics created a perception of the success of one way of life versus another and was just as important as the various other races the USA and USSR were running.

It was a time when men where men and some women were pretty close to being men too. Track cycling, especially the sprint events were big business during the cold war. Huge gains were made in the field of sports sciences in regards to the training of sprint athletes.

It's well documented that the Eastern Bloc countries may have been also experimenting with some cutting edge supplements at the time but hey the racing was fast and action was intense. Sure some woman ended up with moustache's and there were a few retired athletes with anger issues but it seems like a price well worth paying.

Just fucking look at the guy.

If the Eastern Bloc counties werent so poor this Mofo would have been wearing a gold chain around his neck, thats how big Pimpin' he is.

You can bet these two went through handlebars about as quick as they went through the women.

Big Pimpin' Monday - Mario Cipollini

When it comes to big pimps, they don't come bigger than Mario Cipollini.

At the peak of his career, Cipollini's speed was unrivaled, and he is credited with being the first rider with a sprint train. The red jerseys of his Saeco/Cannondale team were commonly seen at the front of the peloton toward the end of the flat Grand Tour stages in the late 1990s. The train kept the pace high in the closing kilometers, to dissuade opposing riders from attacking and to ensure that in the final 200–300 meters, Cipollini was the only cyclist able to maintain the speed.

Cipollini made no secret that he did not like climbing stages, and while he completed all stages of the Giro on many occasions, he infuriated purists by not attempting mountain stages at the Tour or Vuelta. While this is a common practice with sprinters without points jersey aspirations so as to save themselves for the rest of the season, Cipollini's practice of releasing photos of himself lounging at the beach while the others struggled in the mountains earned him more than his fair share of attention in this regard.

Cipollini, despite being married through much of his career, was regarded as a sex symbol and rumored to be a womaniser. He did little to dispel these notions with comments such as, "If I weren't a professional cyclist, I'd be a porn star".

Super Mario, we dip our big ass, fuzzy pimp hat to you sir!