Go & get dirty...

Slowly adapting…

2008-07-04T01:33:00.000+10:00

The I-day ride....Eat some breakky at 7am. Leave town headed west out on highway 160 on your mountain bike. Make sure you have a posse. Ride over Hespreus (8200’), and take a right up La Plata Canyon past Mayday then Climb. Then climb some more. 1 hour to Kennebec pass (12000’; 3650m). Descend slide-rock goat track which is in fact the Colorado trail. Continue descending the loamy Colorado Trail singletrack for 1 hour, then single-track climb for an hour, then descend some more mind-blowing singletrack again for two, yes two hours!! I was lucky enough to meet up with Todd Wells (recently confirmed on the USA XC olympic team), Troy Wells, Tad Elliot (USA U23) & Ben Kneller (jittery joes). This meant a solid day out. A 5 hour treat both up & down.

Get back to town & eat a tonne.

some local scenery...

2008-07-03T03:32:00.004+10:00

One of the loops on the edge of town is animas mountain. a 6 mile loop (3 up , 3 down) that overlooks each of the valleys that durango is centered in.

getting high in Durango...

2008-07-02T03:23:00.002+10:00

After day one my decision to use Durango as a base for some altitude adaption is a decison i'm quite proud of. At a svelte base elevation of 2000m rising to approx 4000m up in the hills & the hometown of legends like Ned Overand & Mr T Tomac, the decision to be here was made pretty easily. As the worlds elevation is at 1350+, adapting to that altitude will reduce that initial shock from the thinner air & I’m sure will make racing over 24 hours bearable, as opposed to unbearable if I didn’t. If it means having 3 weeks riding in a place like this, then I’ll happily oblige. Once off the plane (after a very very fortunate upgrade to business class for the long haul flight!) & I was greeted by Mark & Jeanne of the Pastore family. They are a sporting family & their names are synomous with mtb & Nordic skiing in the region. Their two kids Gino & Alicia are taking the mtb scene apart here.

I could feel the altitude straight away & my first ride with Mark to show me the main trailheads was a real eye opener to how unfit the altitude made me I feel. He showed me several areas & the quality of trails in the area are outstanding. They are generally highly polished, flowing, packed loamy single-track and miles & miles of it. The riding areas border all sides of town. Up the road from where I am living is the start of the Colorado trail which winds its way 480 odd miles to Denver. A definite for some serious backcountry single-track adventure. A quick look around at the snow speckled mountains in the distance combined with the knowledge of what lies on the edges of town, the enthusiasm to get out there & explore is sky high. Stay tuned.

Alice springs adventure - 5 days racing

2008-05-26T14:46:00.013+10:00

ANACONDA ENDURO

11th - open men
prue - 197th

event details : (write up to follow soon...)

Stage 1: 46km
Stage 2: 300m hill sprint time trial
Stage 3: 50km
Stage 4: 100km
Stage 5: 26km offroad time trial
Stage 6: 26km mass start night race
Stage 7: 56km

Enduro Ceramic Zeros...

2008-05-25T21:24:00.005+10:00

...and you thought the normal ceramic bearings were good!!! These new models are named zero's for a very good reason.

Something has to be said for cranks that turn with next to no resitence whatsoever. This stuff from Duncan at DIYMTB is pure hidden Bling! and in my book, well worth every cent in maintainence & the energy it saves over long distances.

a race where things finally went right...

2008-05-20T13:13:00.006+10:00

MATRIX 6 hour - weekend warrior festival

1st solo mens, Prue - 1st solo womens

I felt like a pinball through all those rocky sections on this brand new track. And like any XC race, not even the downhill sections gave much respite. It's very obvious that Bill & his track team from TWP has put in a huge amount of work getting these tracks going though. Time, some new flowy additions & a bit of rain will hopefully see the track bed in & be a bit more enduro like. Getting through & over that rocky stuff is energy sapping at the best of times, 6 hours of it made for a really challenging day.

And how's this...Prue & I got through without any major mechanicals or any such zucchini slice adventure. Yep, things went really well for both of us. We pushed our support crew to the limits once again. Kaz & Ratty were absolutley awesome providing food, drink, good cheer and underneath it all was that unquestionable expectation that we would stay on our bikes. As always it was really encouraging to see a lot of new riders at this event. I'm sure many would be pleased to know that they were introduced to mountain biking on one of the most rigorous tracks around.

AY-UP lighting...

2008-05-19T21:41:00.007+10:00

I used some AY-UP Luxeon lights for the first time at the world 24 hour in California last year. They were really light weight, with a simple robust design and a perfect bar mounted light. That was then....they've got better...

I'm fortunate enough to have the newest high power version which I've been running on my helmet since April. Andrew from AY-UP tells me that the new switchable battery (making lights capable of 4-40 hours burntime!!) will have this high power capacity. I ran HID lights as soon as they were available because they provided superior lighting to everything else on the market at the time but they have traditionally been heavy. The latest AY-UP LED's (CREE Q5's) provide a broad centre brightness without the washout that sometimes happened with HID's. At a third of the weight & price for the same burntime, it's an easy choice.

We are fortunate to have this innovative company in Brisbane leading the way in lighting systems for mountain biking and road cycling internationally. AY-UP have been supporting races locally & abroad allowing riders to borrow sets of lights for events. They will also be at the 24 hour world's in Canada and I look forward to being part of the team showcasing this brilliant Australian product.

click here for an interview with Andrew from AY-UP

AY-UP at sea otter....

24 hour experiences...

2008-05-02T21:12:00.002+10:00

This was my third 24 Hour Solo Race. I was using it as preparation in the lead up to the 24 hour World's in Canada at the end of July. I wanted to learn and I wanted to deepen my experience in solo 24 hour racing. It's difficult to predict what might go wrong in such long events & for both rider and support it is crucial that they can be managed.

The Merida 24 hour certainly provided the unexpected. For 15 hours I was reaping the rewards of the previous months training and I was really happy with how it was going. I was on the new Superlight Felt RXC Hardtail paired with a cushy 2.25 rear tyre & a carbon seatpost. I felt like I was at home: the bike was light, comfortable, responsive. My body felt good, my support were faultless and nutrition & hydration were spot on...well so it seemed. I'd added home cooked zucchini slice at the last minute to my nutrition arsenal and it was going down a treat.

The "unexpected" arrived at about the 16 hour mark: cold sweats and blurred vision forced me into the pit. Things got worse very quickly and when I could keep anything down it was off to Beaudesert Hospital. I recovered in a few hours still confused by what had gone wrong. The mystery unravelled itself that afternoon when three hours after the race and after knawing on some zucchini slice, Prue found herself in a similar mess. Back to Beaudesert Hospital it was for us!

It's so often the simple things that are completely overlooked. The zucchini slice had travelled with us from Mooloolaba, it spent most of its life in the esky but certainily not all of its life there. Overlooking things like this in race situations can quickly become dangerous as our body's are already under stress.

FELT...

2008-04-12T16:15:00.008+10:00

Introducing two new members to the team:

Mr Superlight Felt RXC Team Hardtail

& Mr Felt Virtue R1 with fancy redbits

Both bikes are paired with modified Pace (now DT Swiss) Carbon Forks.

What I love about them?

We're talking comfort you can instantly feel. The compact design of the hardtail allows for a long seat post which provides additional cushioning over the wishbone rear end. At the Koorablyn 24 Hour, I rode for 16 hours straight on this bike and didn't want to get off it. The bike is really light at a touch over 9kgs. which benefits everything: climbing, braking, cornering ...and Prue when she's packing the car.

As for the Virtue dually... in the tough midnight hours of a 24 hour I would change to a dual suspension to help preserve the body for the morning. I've been training on the Felt Virtue dually and six hour rides suddenly now feel like three or four. Good for the old bones & more importantly leaves me with more energy to clean the house & Prue's bike when I get home!

12 hour dusk to dawn...

2008-03-03T09:25:00.008+10:00

Having decided to sit on the sidelines for this one, I thought it might be a good opportunity to be a support person. I've always wondered what it would be like watching everyone spending eveything in their own personal pain bank just to keep moving forward....well, for a moment there, I thought a shared support role would be easy. It was not a decision i should have taken so lightly. I have to say that all this week i am seriously exhausted & looks like a week or two in full recovery mode.

We had what we thought was a well executed support plan. Al & I had radio comms, plenty of food, sleeping accomodations & most importantly of all, a bar nearby. Personally for the event I managed to properly prehydrate & in my taper I ensured that my nutriton was well balanced & thorough. I might just add here that i was a bit lax about the training required for this one & knew i was in over my head.

I'll be honest, during the event, we both suffered pretty bad. There were very rushed bottle hand overs, wrong food, there were times when i wasn't even there when our rider needed. There were other times I struggled to remain upright & veered off into my tent for some much needed recovery. I think i remained upright for about 8 of the 12 hours. Pretty good going if you ask me, assisted of course by the abundance of easter eggs. Thankfully Al made up for my shortcomings as a support person & brought the team home. Thanks Al.

A huge congratulations to Prue, our rider, who battled through the night and showed us how it is to be done with or without support. 12 hours on a bike will never be easy but to see her & so many out there doing it with a smile is what its all about. I seem to remember an article about this at the last 12 hour?

click here for Prue's write up

Local trails are where it’s at…

2007-11-21T09:07:00.000+10:00

Noosa & the sunshine coast has another string to its tourism bow that has the proven ability to attract visitors & assist in economic benefits to the local area. Surprise, surprise, I’m talking about Mountain biking & also about a great social activity that you can be involved in to help look after our wonderful trails.

Attracting interest is one thing & events like the Noosa Enduro (60 & 100km off-road cycling event), adventure racing, orienteering events & local businesses are instrumental in achieving this here. But looking after what we’ve got is another. On the community front there is a very successful & collaborative effort between the local forest users, bushrangers mtb club & NPWS (National Parks & Wildlife Service), called the Noosa trailcare advocacy group.

With off-road cycling continuing to be a growing market in both sales & participation rates, we all have the potential to make an active contribution to support & manage this growth. Getting out there, getting the hands a bit dirty helping maintain & repair the trails, having a say in introducing interesting & sustainable trail features & getting fed a lovely morning tea for your efforts.

There are 6 mornings throughout the year (every 2nd saturday, every 2nd month) that are open to anyone who wants to be involved in this initiative. All you need is your willingness to get a bit dirty. See you at the next one (Sat dec 8th) to find out for yourself what it’s all about

bearings...

2007-11-01T10:29:00.000+10:00

I’ve been fortunate enough to be giving these little guys a tour of the trails up here on the sunshine coast in an attempt to find out how long they last.

These are of course some external ceramic bb bearings that Duncan from DIYMTB has kindly forwarded on to me to ‘thrash test’. To speed up the process, I thought it might be worthwhile to throw them in the deep-end, so to speak, & run them without the external cup seals as well. So I did.

Out in the rain, sand, mud, dust, & some more sand. After months & months of this, & including the wintery (yes qld has a winter!) conditions prior to the 24 hour worlds, I am just now onto my 2nd set. I can safely say that the ceramic option not only free’s up the cranks in terms of resistance but I’d have a stab at saying the off-road longevity of these compared to a standard set is improved by roughly 3 times. And that’s with pure neglect & running them without the seals. A figure confirmed by some bike shops around the area as well. Nothing like a click free bottom bracket for months with the added bonus of increased rotational freedom.

I’ve just received a set of ceramic bearings for my pedals too. I dare say I won’t need to be getting new ones of these for quite some time. Thanks Duncan.
.

Who turned the heater onto full?

2007-10-29T10:26:00.000+10:00

The Kooralbyn 6 hour mtb endurance event over the weekend posed a unique set of challenges for everybody. The track seemed very empty in those middle two hours & I’m not surprised. Did anyone notice how hot it was? I saw the pool at the resort at the end of the race. Is that where you all were!!? A big mud bath probably a more apt description.

Being caught out in the middle 2 hours of this race with a head that had switched over into ga ga mode was not quite my idea of keeping it together. The heat, high humidity & early pace was a guarantee to take me there though. Nutrition this time was excellent but once again, proper heat acclimatisation, just a “minor” element of preparing for this event that didn’t quite happen for me. I somehow managed to find a way to keep moving forward between these bouts of mild delirium. I find laughing at what happens during this time is the only strategy left. Most of what happens is damn funny anyway. Sentences come out completely wrong, thoughts of far away places at a time when trying to negotiate a descent at speed, understanding what people are saying is often a very time consuming exercise.
Seems many others were in the same bizarre little world that I was in too. Did you all enjoy it as much as me???

It goes without saying though, thoughts of a couple of cold ones at the end is the other way to deal with situations like these.

From the early XC pace set when Andy Mallet laid on the gas, it was going to be an early attrition rate. 2 solo riders in the overall top 5 for a couple of hours is not the best way to start but from there it was just ride & try to conserve some sanity for the finish.

It’s very inspirational to me to see all the new riders out there giving it their all & doing so well. Many new faces learning the ropes of mtb & with a smile on their face at the same time. The friendly vibe & enjoyment of events like these is what keeps me coming back.

& my support crew too…once again, nothing short of sensational.

one of those days...

2007-09-28T21:35:00.000+10:00

Today it was time to pull my finger out. I would go for a stiff am road ride with strongman Danzilla and, stop press, write something on this page.

So yesterday arvo 5pm mtb, on my way to my favourite AT track running session, I had two flats within 30 minutes. This resulted in a 1 hour muddy run home along with the bike to get more tubes (I totally deserved this only having one spare), two bush ticks which I only found on my ankles this morning, a tree collapse from a fire in the forest missing me by at least 5 metres, a slide down a rock slippery dip on my left hip after a pedal unclip & a totally un-functional & leaking front hydraulic brake (as a result of the slippery dip). Needless to say I missed the track session.

Welcome back to mtb.

So back on the trusty road steed this morning, and after yesterdays laughable mtb effort, it left me wanting. It didn’t so much as appease my appetite for some nice solid road k’s as merely whet it. In the unbeatable sunshine coast spring morning there were no flats, no running, no near misses, no ticks, no grazes & no mud behind the ears. Quite lackluster in comparison to my previous ride. Apart from the company that is.

24 hours, 1 hour at a time

2007-09-09T22:35:00.000+10:00

After the Le Mans start, up the road went the hitters. Lap 1 my gap to the leaders was 5 odd minutes. Lap 2 another 8 or so minutes. 3 hours in & I was amazed to think that the front pace was sustainable for a 24 hour race. It was so damn hot & those front guys; Tinker, Magelky and Claxton were absolutely flying.

What other way would you expect a World Championship event to begin? Slowly? I don’t think so.

Laguna Seca Raceway and the surrounding BLM lands was the location for the 24 Hour Solo World Championships for 2007. A mentally gruelling 22km circuit with approx 550 metres of climbing per lap. Most of the track was around a basin which meant that the air was very still & hot on the lower single-track sections, but very exposed up on the ridges. Around the 19 km mark of the track was the aptly named ‘Hurl hill,’ which I became personally acquainted with later in the day.

The heat was smashing us all. 38 degrees will do that especially when the body is not conditioned for it. I knew all I had to do was get to about 7pm & my race could start in earnest when it was a lot cooler ...that was my plan anyway.

By the 3rd hour I thought I had found the overly conservative rhythm that i was looking for, but it was about Lap 4 when it all started going horribly wrong.

I’d been well on top of my hydration plan, drinking plenty of fluids & electrolytes all day knowing my race was over if I didn’t. Suddenly within about 10 minutes or so, what food or drink went in, was coming straight back out. I was a mess. My laps had slowed, my legs were fine but I just couldn’t eat or drink. Even plain water was a struggle.

It is immensely difficult to remain positive when your stomach is not playing the game. It was still relatively early in the race and we had come a long way for this. I heard (and could plainly see) that the heat was forcing the hand of many competitors. Conversations were short & weird, lines were erratic. It was a torrid heat-wave & becoming a race of attrition. I was quickly becoming a statistic.

Being out there on the track when the body was trying to shut down from the heat was an interesting experience. Time slowed down to an incredible snail pace. My mind started singly focusing on each pedal stroke, each breath, each tyre track in the sand, each lump & small rock that went under the bike. The next 3 hours felt like a lifetime and this was, without doubt, the extreme low point in the race for me.

Nothing that I tried was working and if this kept up any longer, I was going to find myself with some serious issues. Into my pit & it was a magic orange shot of concentrated electrolyte & minerals from John Claxton’s pit crew (thanks so much Kate) that got me going again.

Within about 10 minutes I was able to eat again. Within another 30 minutes I was back on track eating & drinking properly. I entered solo alley for the next lap feeling much better to the relief of my support crew.

The night hours were good to me. The temp was quite crisp in the early hours with the thick sea fog threatening. The cooler air was a comforting change to the previous cold sweats in the heat-wave. And away the laps went.

The sun broke and with it came some new enthusiasm. Where was I in my category? Where was I overall? How many more laps could I fit in? Each lap in the morning was another small step forward and brought about another set of questions to answer.

Totally stoked with how the rest of my race went, I finished with 18 laps under my belt at 24hrs:09mins. I had the 30-34 age category win and a very surprising 3rd place overall. Even though I had entered age, the result was confirmation to me that my preparation was spot on.

Like every event & training week for me, there are things that can be improved upon, refined & lessons learnt. This event & result is no different.

My support crew are the best. They were the key to my race in the highs & the lows. They were the clear head on my weary shoulders pulling me into line at any opportunity. Together we had a great race. Together we brought an age category jersey back to Australia.

There are many people I would like to thank. My sponsors MAXimusSolutions Australia, VOODOO cycles, Sunshine Bicycle Works, DIYMTB (Enduro Bearings), FCm Travel Solutions, GEAX tyres, Nick Gonzioulis Chiropractic & Race Elements. Without the support of these companies, this trip would not have been possible.

Many thanks also to the many emails & text messages prior to, during & after the race and I hope to catch you all up soon. All of your encouragement & support went a long way towards getting each lap out of the way.

Congrats to all the other Aussies who also made the trip and toed the start line. Unfortunately for some it was just not their day. It was awesome to be part of such a large Australian turnout at a World Championship event. 3 age category jerseys in the bag!

Thanks for reading and hope to see you out there in the dirt sometime soon.

So there i was...

2007-07-19T09:43:00.000+10:00

...dripping wet & absolutely soaked from head to toe thinking I’m SO glad no-one saw that.

It was just another night out riding in the dark. Out in the freezing cold, getting dirty in preparation for this 24 hour solo world champs in California.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened and everything was going so well up to that point. You know when the trail is really sticky, every corner feels like your bike is on rails & your speed just keeps building & building & you feel you can do nothing wrong?

I’m sure we’ve all been there, total mtb euphoria, the stuff you write home about.

Well, around the last corner down in the valley, the bike starts a much larger than usual two wheel drift. This time the new rear tyre decided to bite. The bike straightens up & proceeds to b-line it, shotgun style, into the scrub on the side of the trail. In amongst my efforts to correct this, the front spokes get caught in a rotted log & I high side it, face first, in the foot deep creek a couple of metres away. Trust me when I say it was a very pathetic scream type noise that followed.

The fruits of my mtb bliss were instantly spoiled & my enthusiasm dripped away with every icy cold drop of water off my gloves, jersey, knicks, arm, leg & foot warmers.

I was over an hour from home. An hour I will not forget.

Despite my mediocre attempt at some creative writing my training has well & truly ramped up for the 24. With about six weeks to go, things are progressing well even though I still can’t do a one handed wheelie. With the unwanted distraction of too much work, some recent results have been quite surprising to me too. Especially considering my aim is to be raring to go for the first weekend in September.

I am already looking forward to the celebration straight after the event with my #1 support crew. Ratty & my sister Kaz. And of course any of you lot who are interested upon my return. As just getting to the finish line will be more than enough of a reason for a couple.

See you all on the trails sometime…Hopefully when I see you I will be dry.