Marathon Challenge Avoca

I had the option of going to the Formula 1 this weekend but when I realized the Big Hill Events Marathon challenge was on at Avoca I knew I wouldn’t be able to join Ross is sneaking into the pits to get Bernie Ecclestone’s autograph.

The 45km race at the Big Hill events Marathon challenge was my first XC race 3 years ago, it holds a special place in my heart. I really enjoyed the course 3 years ago but wasn’t able to get back to it for the next 2 years. The course contains some amazing single-track; rocky, loose and steep. Just the way I like it. I vowed to myself that if I did a slower time than I did 3 years ago as a chubby mo fo on a 6 inch trail bike I would quit Mountain biking.

I choose to drive up this morning whilst others including Jade and Aleisha choose to camp at the winery where the event is based out of to make a weekend of it.  I’m not sure if my sensitive body could have dealt with camping because when I stepped out of the car at 7am I was immediately freezing, it was cold enough the freeze the balls off a brass monkey.

As with all events run by Big Hill Events everything was running like a well-oiled machine. I picked up my race plate and free gels in 2 seconds. I then was overjoyed to discover there was no porta-loos but ACTUAL toilets in the winery, the only downside was that due to the tough nature of the course everyone was shitting themselves resulting in a long line. With both the 45km and 90km having a lot of climbing you didn’t want to be giving a free scenic bus ride to My Hanky Poo.

I choose to ride my Rocky Mountain Vertex 990 for the race. The large amount of climbing meant I wanted something light but I knew the 990 could not only handle the rocky single track but would allow me to enjoy myself and the complaint frame would provide all the comfort I needed for the 45k’s. I also had a set of Enve carbon wheels to use for the weekend, I don’t want to sound like someone who has just got rich and become a scientologist but as soon as I rode these wheels I was a believer. Sure you can get some light aluminium wheels but they are no where near as stiff as these bad boys. I found myself riding along thinking how direct and stuff my bike felt. All I can say is try a pair, you will be a believer.

The first 50 minutes of the course involved a blast around the winery then an 8km climb. I figured on the climb that as I was only doing the 45km distance I should be able to stay with the 90km guys until the top when I turned off. Unfortunately my legs had other ideas, I tried to go with the first attack but all my legs did was blaze their middle finger up at me. I also realized at the point I hadn’t quite set my new saddle up level and it was pointing up slightly. My gooch was going to cop it today.

So with everything from my waist down in pain I settled into a rhythm and spun my way to the top. Once at the top of the climb I turned off and hit the Pyrenees endurance trail single track.  From here until the finish I was loving life. I would rate this as some of the best single track I have ridden in an XC race in Australia. It’s steep, rocky, fast and loose. Plenty of the corners have ruts or are banked so you can really dig into them. I ran Schwalbe Racing Ralphs 2.2 and they were perfect. The low rolling resistance was great for the climb and yet they provided ample grip for the steep and loose single-track.

A lot of people in the past have complained about the difficulty of the single-track in this race but variety is the spice of life and not every race should be run on groomed trails. It’s great to ride single track that is real challenge were you are constantly thinking about line choice and body position. Unfortunately I didn’t listen to my own advice and wasn’t paying attention to line choice, scrapping my tyres sidewall against a sharp rock. After realizing the cut was too big for my sealant to seal I changed the tube, as I was putting the tube in the tyre I saw 2^nd place ride past me.

I set off on the remainder of the uphill switchbacks after 1^st place but as soon as I hit the singletrack called “Sams Cherry” I forgot about racing and was just having fun. From there it was a little more climbing then then 3 steep pitches known as “the 3 sisters”.  Once over them it was a straight down a steep fireroad filled with water bars. This section has claimed a few riders in previous years so my plan was to keep my powder dry and my pecker hard, going fast when I could but being sensible.

After that it was a quick blast across the flat, some more rad single-track then a rip through the winery and across the line. I pushed hard across the flat sections hoping to catch first but realized it was not meant to be. I rolled across the line in 2^nd place less than a minute behind first and looking forward to ginger beer.

Jade managed to keep herself out of the winery cellar on Saturday night and finished in 4^th place in the women’s 45km while Aleisha was not far behind in 6^th.

I really hope that some form of event can take place here in the future as I really rate this course. Its races like these that make Monday’s hard. A big thanks most go out to Rohin and Alan at Big Hill Events, I cannot recommend their events enough,they are always well run, great value and good courses. They run some of the best events in Victoria including Buxton Bootcamp, Dirty Gran Fondo and Double Cross.

2013 Otway Odyssey

The Otway Odyssey doesn’t really need an introduction. If you’re a mountain biker who hasn’t heard of it you must be the world’s biggest shunter. It attracts mountain bikers from all over the world better than Costco attracts obese people.

Myself and my teammates weren’t the most organized coming into the race. We had pre-ridden the course but that’s as far as it went.  Accommodation was left to the last minute and most of us had a shitty week leading up to the race which was topped off with the usual last minute rush to pack kit, clothes, food and gear. Its lucky for us that our bike and tyre choice generally takes care of itself. Myself, Ross, Cam and Quigley all chose to use our Rocky Mountain Vertex’s. Their stiff yet compliant frame was perfect for the fast hilly course and long hours in the saddle. As always, Schwable Racing Ralphs were perfect for the course due to low rolling resistance yet decent, predictable grip in the singletrack.

 



A very dusty iRide Rocky Mountain team.



Despite having raced a heap of Enduro’s this was only my second marathon and first Odyssey. Mid-week I started to shit myself, and my pre race nervous poo's kicked in around wednesday. Would I have the legs to carry me over the hills come race day?

My preparation for the Otway had been good, I had a solid 7 weeks of training under my belt since breaking my arm in December. I was intimated after hearing about Cam Winn’s Otway training diet consisting of doing a 5 hour ride, coming home, drinking a litre of mineral water, taking 3 sleeping pills then sleeping through to the next day.

The 7:15am start meant I had to get up early a 5:15am in order to ensure I had at least half digested my breakfast by the start of the race. There is nothing worse than feeling sluggish on the start line while 1kg of porridge is playing jumping castles inside your stomach. With a race as big as the Otway the nerves took care of my pre-race bowel movement not long after eating breakfast meaning I would not have to use a porta-loo at the race start or carry 2kg of weight up those hills. I heard Ross had no such luck and had to prarie dog it for at least 5 hours.

Due to my half-awake state and slight darkness on the start line, I thought I saw Mark Cavendish only to realize it was someone in a full replica kit. My dreams of coming off Cav’s wheel coming into the finish line at the Forrest Football oval were crushed. As we rolled out of town the pace was quite high with many over keen rider exerting themselves to try and be at the front, riders started to drift backwards as soon as we hit the first climb which was minuscule compared to everything else in the race. Once we turned onto Mahers road and started riding off-road the racing really began. The pace kicked up a notch once we hit the bottom of the first climb. Those pretenders who had been fooling themselves being at the front started to disappear.

When we hit the portion of the climb that was covered in sand the front of the race essentially exploded with riders going anywhere they could to get traction. Phil Orr was just in front of me and stalled in the sand for a second. As I rode past him I accidently roosted him with sand, this would be the high point of the race for me. From here to the top of the KOM small groups formed, I settled into a good tempo wanting to maintain a good position but not wanting to exert myself to much. I came over the top of the KOM in 25th happy with my position and how I felt. 

I rolled into the first rocky road decent thinking things could not get much better, little did I know I was about to get fisted. I ripped the sidewall of my tyre on a large rock then due to a rookie mistake and not being properly prepared, I incorrectly tried to re-seal my tubeless tyre. By the time I put a tube in I had watched 100 of my closet friends ride past and to make matters worse, due to my poor mechanical skills I only manage to get about 15psi in the tyre. I decided to nurse it back to the football ground/2nd checkpoint. My Leyzne levers and C02 chuck made the whole change super easy but my mechanical skills along with a dodgy C02 canister were my downfall. I spent the next 15k’s to the checkpoint riding slowly due to my semi-flat rear tyre and being stuck in conga line of traffic. At the point I was pissed off and getting keen on the idea of pulling the pin. Once at the checkpoint I grabbed my drinks/bottles and pumped up my tyre.

I then set out on the Super loop which was almost entirely made of some of the best single track getting around. I knew I would have to pass a lot of riders so I set about doing it as efficiently as possible.  The quality of trails they used for this loop make it hard not to have fun and go fast so I started to get over the fisting. I kept the foot on the gas passing when I could. I received quite a few positive cheers/comments from riders I passed in this section, unfortunately none of them were about my riding they were either “Nice socks, where can I get some?” (for those who didn’t hear me yell back, they are 4shaw Merino socks and iRide Bikes stock them) or “rad kit”. I caught up with Quigley in this section, he was looking drained after a week of illness leading up to the race, possibly due to also following Cam’s diet?

Once I was done with the super loop it was back to the Football oval/checkpoint 3. I grabbed more fresh bottles and some gels.  I am one of those weird individuals who likes eating gels so I was looking forward to pounding a few. It was then time to tackle the climb up to the quarry. I pushed hard up the climb as I was still feeling good. I freshened up enough on the short descent down to the Lake Elizabeth carpark to keep some punch in my legs for the climb out then hit the Red Carpet descent. Mentally from here I was on the home stretch. I grabbed a bottle of coke at the 80km checkpoint on the way over to the Southern loop. Once there I gave what I had left but by this stage it was hard pushing it on the descent due to my upper body being rooted. I could feel the twinges of cramps coming during the last few short climbs.

I caught 2 riders coming out of the southern trail and even through my chance of a good result went out the door with my ripped tyre the racer inside meant I couldn’t allow them to hit the line in front of me. I kept upping the pace on the undulating road heading back to the finish trying to sense what they had left in the tank. One of them dropped off the back, the other one seemed to still have a bit left in the tank and due to the road descent into the Football ground I figured I was best off coming around him just before the finish instead of attacking on the last climb.

He charged over the top of the first climb and I eased myself onto his wheel, as we entered the football ground he body language seemed to suggest he thought he had me, not today buddy. As soon as we hit the finishing straight I swung out and hit the gas, If only Cav had of been there to see me.

A big thanks must go to Rocky Mountain Bikes, Schwalbe Tyres, Leyzne, 4Shaw and Louis Garneau. Our Louis Garneau kit had us all looking pro while keeping cool in what was very hot conditions. I’m not a mind reader but as I was riding the climb up to the quarry Euro style with my jersey unzipped I passed a group of young female spectators on the side of the road, I knew exactly what they were thinking.
 


The full thrust that is Will Geor

A special mention must to my physio at Lake Health. 2 sessions in the week leading up to the race and strapping meant I could get through the race with having to worry about my elbow or be in too much pain. Even rigs like mine need some extra help getting over injuries.

In the end I finished 62^nd with a time of 5:25.

Cam 49^th 5:14

Quigley 84^th 5:39

Ross 104^th  5:47

Mel 7^th 5:45
Aleisha 15th 3.39 (50km)

Will

Wombat 100 (or “Played like a Fool”)

So, the email goes out, “Who’s doing the Wombat 100?”. Before long the discussion’s in full swing. “How about accommodation?”, “Who’s driving?” etc. It all sounded good until Will started spouting some rubbish about not paying extra for the elite entry. With the team’s interests in mind I went and put my entry in, forcing the issue. This seemed to put an end to the argument and I forgot about it for about a month.

Imagine my surprise then, less than a week before the race, when the subject came up in casual conversation and I discovered that Ross hadn’t entered! “There’s still time!” I exclaimed, but he seemed reluctant. After some mincing of words and shuffling of feet he let on that he was considering some bohemian, social cross ride instead! “Huh?! Whatever man, I’ll talk to Will.” “Nah, Will’s not going either. He’s studying.” (Yep, you read that right...)
Panicking I called Rudzki, “Dude, tell me you’re racing on the weekend!”
“Yeah man, calm down, it’s gonna be great!”
What a relief! Rudzki was my lift, I would have had to drive!

Two days later Nick and I got a very business-like email reminding us about our obligations as the team’s representatives at this event, and the penny dropped; we’d been set up. Most of the rest of the team got burnt by this race last year (it was longer than advertised, which can hurt in an endurance race). Predictably Ross and Will wouldn’t want to do it again (not being hardmen) and I was a logical choice as the fall guy having not done it before. Nick was going to be necessary collateral (and was an easy target, being the indomitable hardman that he is), and getting the rest of the team on-board with the plan was child’s play. Hook, line, sinker.

I couldn’t stay mad for long though. Nick’s endless optimism, the weather forecast, the prospect of racing on top notch singletrack and the news that Adam Llewelyn (another Kingsville local and Rocky Mountain Slayer rider) was coming too, all served to put me in good spirits. Having opted to camp at the site (because getting up at 4:30am was clearly not an option) we headed out there on Saturday evening. Showing an uncharacteristic lack of discipline, both Nick and Adam ate dinner before we left which meant they were unable to fit any Maccas in enroute, putting them at a significant disadvantage in the competition to come. Having arrived, rego’d and set up camp, we discovered there’s not much to do in the middle of a paddock, except of course arrange playlists for extended hours of partying in the saddle, so we had no choice but to get ourselves an early night.

Playlist selection and bike maintenance are activities that can be undertaken in a dark paddock.

Sometime in the early morning it started raining, with vigour, and above the rumble of droplets hitting canvas you could hear an entire paddock of people simultaneously groan, roll over, and wish they were somewhere else.

As predicted by Nick, any discussions about what time to get up which may have been had the night before were rendered moot by the arrival of ‘the early risers’. Climbing out of the tents we were greeted with a conga line of red eyed people in cars, a well sodden paddock and a sunrise that promised good things for the rest of the day. Breakfast was eaten in silent contemplation of coffee and man’s elusive ability to create fire to cook it (ie, Nick forgot the matches) and aside from some brief discussion about what to wear we quietly got ourselves together and ‘warmed-up’ over to the start line. Despite having slept one hundred metres from the line, we’d somehow managed to miss briefing and be amongst the latest arrivals at the start.

The race started fairly sensibly, with only small amounts of jostling and healthy amounts of banter, and with little to no singletrack in the first few ks the field gradually stretched out into smaller groups. Buoyed up by sunshine and maybe a little adrenaline I eased into the race by trying to ride with my betters, and promptly found myself put in a box to contemplate a hurried breakfast eaten too recently. With nearly the whole race in front of me and already hating life I mumbled some very helpful commiserations to Andy Blair who was fixing a puncture and turned my brain off for a while.

Some time later I had managed some form of recovery and had found a rhythm of sorts, only to be totally demoralised by a flying Andy, who (given his friendly manner after the race) managed even to outrun my retraction of aforementioned condolences. Nevertheless, as a few more lengths of singletrack came and went I was once more on top of the world and happily settled in to spend the rest of the first 50ks listening to tunes, rolling around short bits of singletrack and rough, steep fire roads, ignoring the patchy rain and having a generally good time.

As I rolled through the feed zone at the halfway point I picked up my bottle and another bar and had to face the fact that I still had all the food I started with. I knew this wasn’t good, so despite the objections of my breakfast I got stuck into a bar. Shortly afterwards Jenny Fay rode past, triggering a series of events culminating in me foaming at the mouth with half masticated muesli bar flying everywhere, trying not to choke and watching her ride clear out of sight.

Jenny closing in at the half way point.

Well aware that the next twenty five kilometers or so was mostly amazing singletrack that I know backwards I calmed down, cleared my airways, popped a gel (one of the exciting caffeinated ones) and hoped I could get my heart rate back to a manageable level good before ‘the good stuff’ arrived.


That worked a treat. I’ve ridden the Wombat singletrack and surrounding trails innumerable times over the years, but I’ve never had the chance to race on it before. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the hour that followed is a contender for the most fun I’ve had on a bike recently. The rain overnight and during the morning had left the trails slightly greasy, but hadn’t robbed them of their characteristic ‘reward for commitment to turns’. In short, they were perfect.

The Rocky Element's slung nice 'n' low, you can't help but commit!

The motivation of racing drives you to hold a little more speed, push it a little bit harder, brake a little later, and to top it off my music player chose this point to play several Rage Against the Machine tracks. Say no more; I picked up something like five category places (and probably another five in the race overall) in this section, and I didn’t even feel like I was trying.

I love this bridge, it's a good blend of 'rickety' and 'not broken'.

Unfortunately, it turned out I was trying... with three quarters of the race done I exploded. I knew the feeling well, from there to the end it would be all about hanging on and “getting it done” as Nick would say. With the odd morsel of single track keeping me just nourished enough I managed to hold off the places I picked up earlier for quite a while, but finally they all came storming past me at once. Peter Malcolm did the gentlemanly thing at least and slowed enough to have a chat for five minutes before rolling away.

Black and white, like my view of the world at this point.

A few kilometers out from the finish I clawed back a couple of these guys and hopped on the back. We rode along with our heads down for a while, but as the end got closer I couldn’t just sit there any longer. Seeing a piece of single track approaching I figured I’d have a crack at dropping them. I squeezed past with elbows out, doubled a pair of roots to make the point, and disappeared.

Two turns later we were back on fire road with me looking like a total prat. To save face I had no choice but to tear myself apart on the front whilst pretending I was fresh as a daisy. The gloves were clearly off now and the battle for nineteenth place began, ending ten minutes later in a sprint finish. With Shane Roberts and myself recording the same time it could have gone either way, but unfortunately for Shane I had laid a trap hours earlier. My late arrival at the start of the race meant I crossed the start line at the back of the bunch, so the clock started a few seconds later for me than for him, giving me the win (well, the 19th win).

Daggers.

Nick took the above photo at the finish line, and it wasn’t until sometime after this was taken that I registered that he must have smashed me; he had already changed and looked fresh! Unfortunately it turned out that he’d smashed his elbow and his shifter instead and wisely decided that riding the second fifty kilometers with two gears and slightly less skin than he'd like didn’t appeal even to his hardman sensibilities. Well done to Adam for a respectable finish in the middle of a hotly contested Sub-Vets category and a solid demonstration that you really can just have one bike for everything.

The Slayer killed it.

It needs to be said that the few members of the iRide Rocky Mountain team who didn’t show up for this event (ie, basically everybody) missed out. The weather, course, trails, event management, competition and Red Bull chicks were awesome; I’d do it again without hesitation. I'll see you all there next year!

2012 Mt.Beauty 6hr - VES Rd 3

I haven't raced in a pair (or anything except solo) in a 6hr race since my very first enduro about 5-6years ago.  What a revelation!

I wish I could say that going lap-for-lap with Mt.Beauty local (and Team Mount Beauty President) Cam Dickinson meant that I could get out on course after just under 30minutes rest each time and smash myself to pieces but my body just doesn't work like that...yet!  After so much training to race longer, uninterrupted races and very little short, intense training plus diminishing general fitness from too much work and not enough riding recently, it was a tough lesson.
Cam and I went lap for lap all day. I put in a reasonable first lap after which we were both cutting similar times around the 7.5km course with ~230m of climbing/lap.  A slight addition to last years course meant for a smidge more climbing which earned a really fun descent all the way to transition.  The inside word was that the real race was to see who could get the Strava KOM for the main descent. At time of publication, I'm sitting in second by just a handful of seconds.

Unfortunately this race was not to be won on the descents (the intermediate descent '3rd Parallel' is another Strava segment of which I share a KOM with the bloke who beat me on the main descent..grrr) and I just don't have the legs/lungs/heart for smashing climbs at the moment.
So despite risking life and limb on the descents, Cam and I held 2nd place in Male Pairs at the end of the day.  Which was nice.
More exciting perhaps is how iRide's newest Solo Racer King, Llew Thomas rode throughout the day.  After a steady, smart start Llew kept riding comfortably through the pits with a wide smile all day.  Reports from marshals out on course were that Llew didn't even look like he was trying but he's assured me he was!  Despite a far smaller field at this race than others in the series, Llew's competition was no less stacked as he battled it out with the Chancellor Cousins, Phil Orr and Peter Casey.  Llew was leading from Peter for quite a while and I was sure he'd hold his place on the podium but it looks like Casey had the legs on the day putting Llew into 4th place.  Bloody stellar effort Llew!

I think Team Mount Beauty put on an excellent event overall, thanks guys and gals!  Of course I am biassed and I may have enjoyed the socialising as much as the racing with (at a guesstimate) around 20%-30% of the field made up from Mt.Beauty locals.  Unfortunately for the racers and the club (who won't make any money from this event I won't imagine) numbers were pretty low. A Sunday race 4hrs drive from Melbourne is always going to be hard to get people to and the club will no doubt rethink this next year. Those few that did come got to ride our tracks at their tackiest and without a spot of mud all in the finest of weather.

I look forward to seeing you all here next year!

Results HERE

Official iRide supporter Laura (my Sis), Llew Thomas and Me

Solo Female podium (L-R): Jenny Kromar (2nd), Eve Burrell (3rd) and Tory Thomas with the prestigious winners sash.

Photo courtesy of someone else

This shot of me was taken near the bottom of the main descent.  I was as knackered at this point as at the top of the main climb!

Photo courtesy of someone else

GMBC Crazy 6 – solo effort by the Short One

Started the day with the forced enthusiasm of someone who would have preferred to stay in bed. Ross arrived and the mood didn’t get any better. Jas was full of beans and Will seemed focused, so much so he focused his energy on anything but putting up the marquee. J I’m learning.

Got kitted up, put out my food and drinks. From looking at the start field for the women’s solo, I’d pretty much got the mind set, go out, ride and race yourself; the other girls are going to be WAY up the road, if you try to race them, you’ll blow up and only ride a 3 hour.

First 2 ½ hours cruised by, was getting passed on the fire road ups, only to zoom past on the single track downs. Soon learnt to push harder on the fire roads, to get good position going into my favourite single track sections so I didn’t get grumpy being held up on the fun bits.

Between 2 ½ and 3 hours my legs decided that they were going to warn me of oncoming cramps. Crap! I’d forgotten to have my magnesium this week to prepare. Oh well. More Staminade, toilet stop, Rich lubed my chain and off again. 3 hours to go and I was asking Tom (out on course doing Physics study) for some questions to keep my mind occupied. Alas, he was fine, so no problems for me and mind back to figuring out where the chick in the black and the one in the Fitzroy Revolution kits ended up after my toilet break.

Saw the black kit girl, only to have her blast away on the fire road. Crap! Really got to learn how to not blow up on those. I know they can be helpful, as evidenced by her. In the early stages I’d catch her back up in the single track, but soon she just had more legs than me. So back to the early mental game of just keeping consistent laps and racing myself. Might need to work on how to actually race other people...

Came in with 20 minutes to go, to be greeted with Coke in my bottle, put there by Rich (thoughtful one!) and I left with a huge grin on my face and the knowledge that there was only one more time up the bitch fire road. Found legs (I don’t know where they came from, perhaps the Coke) and pushed hard to finish in front of whoever was following me.

Great race, great team, great support, great iced chocolate post-race and a great sleep to follow.

Geelong MTB Gazebo Series Rnd 2

Round 2 of the GMBC 3 Gazebo series was a 3 hour twilight race from 7pm to 10pm, meaning lights would be required for the last hour. Having just seen Kanye West during the week both Ross and Will turned up pumped and with their swagger on 11.

Both Ross and Will are normally alseep on the couch with a cup of tea by 8:30pm on a Friday night so just finishing the race could have been a challenge for the two, Will fell alseep on drive down and both rolled up to the start line with minutes to spare looking half awake. As akways Aleisha was organized and ready to go before Ross and Will had arrived.

As always GMBC are well organized with the race starting bang on at 7pm despite the fact 150 riders had rolled up and registered in just an hour or so. The start was furious with riders bustling for position in the early stages of the race.

For the first hour Will was sitting with the top 8 and at times was working together with others on the fireroad sections. Will's plan was to ride his own race at a pace he could sustain for 3 hours. At the halfway mark he found himself sitting in 5th and working with the winner of round 1 Tim Corbett. As night fell he realized he hadn't charged his light properly and as a result he had to stay behind Tim in the single track and could only lead on the fireroad. An agreement was made that if they came to the line together Will would let Tim have the win due to having to suck as wheel for the last hour. As it would happen Will and Tim rode a final hour of the race catching the leaders then putting a few minutes into them. Will showed that he has a heart and isn't just an attractive man with a 40" python and stuck to his word and was happy with 2nd place.

Good friend of iRide Bikes Cam Day has written the below reports on how thier races went.

Ross

Race 2 of the Gazebo series kicked off with a twilight/night race at the You Yangs.

My Friday nights usually consist of a table at one of the fine establishments in King Street, followed by several hours of Formula 1 on the PS3, so the chance to race under lights was a welcome change.

I took a chance and got my beautiful girl CFS to come along for her first ever MTB race which she was very hesitant at first, but when I said that Cam Day was racing, I couldn’t stop her from talking about this race, and how she was confident of beating the shit out of him both on and off the track.

We rolled in, got our gear together and we were ready to race. After a quick kiss to wish CFS all the best, we were off.

Tonight I was on board my new Rocky Mountain Vertex 990 RSL. I had ridden this puppy previously but not under race conditions. I knew with a pretty tough field, it would be a bit like a blind man at an orgy, I would have to feel my way through.

3 hours later and 80kms down, I felt like the Energizer Bunny thanks to the awesome ride of the 990, I could have kept going and going and going.

Cam

With race 2 of the Gazebo series now upon us, I chauffeured the Bike Buller poster boy down to the You Yangs while he signed trail maps to hand out at the iRide Bikes tent for all the fans.

In the lead up to the race, I became the target of repeated threats and abuse from none other than CFS, and so ‘The Showdown’ was announced. The winner would have to drink a box of UDL cans and then complete an obstacle course which consisted of parked cars, chairs and trees over a 1km course. I thought about ‘tanking’ this race, as I would be happy to see CFS complete this challenge again after her exploits at Mt Beauty a few years back, but decided on a fair race.

After Will had given out all his Bike Buller trail maps and signed a few young ladies chests, we were off and racing. The next 3 hours is still a bit of a blur, very fast track and pretty dusty but got 6 laps in and felt good aboard the Rocky Mountain 50MSL.

The trip home, I had to comfort Will after he had some issues with his lights which forced him to follow the winner into the finish line, but still a great effort jagging 2^nd. I remember him saying that he did his best work with the lights out, sad to say it didn’t eventuate this time. I was a little worried in the car, as he had the Dawson's Creek theme tune on repeat for an hour, but I’m sure he will tough it out and be back bigger and stronger for the last race of the series.

Gravity 2012

The move of the Gravity 12hr from it's original location of Rosewhite to the new venue of the caravan park centrally located in Bright was a smart move by the organisers, Finish Line Events. It worked so well that many wondered why someone hadn't done this earlier.

This change of venue, comfortable weather (some thought it was a bit hot) and a really excellent track made for a great race and despite the pain and suffering I went through f0r 12hrs as an under-trained, over-rested solo rider, I'll be back next year for sure!

My recent work commitments have made training difficult and a 12hr solo race is not the type of race to compete in at the drop of a hat but I've never had the opportunity to defend a 'crown' so I couldn't pass up racing in this popular event that I won back in late 2010. At about 7hrs into the race, I was wishing I had passed-up on this opportunity.

Gravity 2012 attracted a pretty impressive line up in all categories this year from the high paced male and mixed pairs tearing up the course to the male and female solo riders who battle it out all day. I had my time at the pointy end of the solo field sitting in 4th for a few laps and even felt pretty good out there but I couldn't keep up the pace and was soon back in 5th. Never really threatened was Andy Hall who took out the solo male on 16 laps, one up on an insane single speed effort by Ed McDonald. Impressive.

My laps times were slowly and reasonably stretching out until my lap times started including pit-stops that went for much longer than the desired less-than-a-minute..

Then came my horror lap.

Picture your worst day on a bike. You've bonked, you know you've got a long time to go, you're talking yourself down, you've got chafe on both thighs, your ass hurts, molten-salt sweat stings your eyes like capsicum spray, all your mates are passing you while you're stopped on the track.

I had this for 15kms. And then I knew I'd have to deal with it for another lap.

I'd made the decision to complete this lap and stop there.

Which brings me back to the very well designed track. The last 2-3kms was flat, fast and fun singletrack along a river in the shade so even though you'd been hurting for the last 12km by the time you're back in pits you actually feel ok and have forgotten the pain of the pinchers and kilometres of brutally hot, exposed fire road.

I kept getting back to my pit crew (who were AWESOME!) wondering how I could have felt so bad only a few k's ago. My decision to stop was reversed by some proper food (pasta, a welcome change from smashing gels and energy drink all afternoon), great support from my parents and mechanic, Dean Barter and a desire to Just Bloody Finish.

So one more lap and believe it or not I enjoyed it and was glad to finish on a high.

12hrs is a long time to ride a bike essentially non-stop. On average would you say most MTB training/social rides are 1-2hrs? And in those rides I'd say it's likely that you'd have some sort of mechanical 'event', not necessarily anything major, maybe even just a dropped chain. Which makes it remarkable, I think, that I can ride for so long and have absolutely NOTHING go wrong with my bike. Having Ross check it over in the work stand at iRide was part of it and my new wheels (Easton EA90XC) which are light, strong and dependable is another while finally having my mate Dean there to check that all was lubed and ready to roll capped it off. Thanks to my wrench Deano, bike shop owner extraordinaire Ross and Simon from Adventure Brands for the Rocky Mountain Vertex.

Righto, I have to get some well earned rest before another 9 day camping stint starting tomorrow. No photos up that I can find yet so here's one my Dad took of me quite clearly having a rough day. Ride hard y'all!

Zigga