Natural Born Masher

Mixed up

2012-01-24T07:25:00.000+10:00

No traffic dodging for me this last weekend.
Just me and the bush Saturday and me and the velodrome on Sunday.
No cars, no pedestrians, no horses, just other cyclists.

BLISS!!

Also got chatting to Bicycle Stu (see the pic above).
If you are time poor and need some work done on your bike, this guy may be your answer. He offers a mobile bike maintenance service.

Saturday is for dirt

2012-01-14T15:03:00.001+10:00

I dont ride dirt so much any more but am trying to make sure I get in at least 1 dirt ride a week.

Up early this morning to meet Deefa for a short, sharp spin and then back home for Dom's 13th birthday.

Something very calming about sitting, waiting for you riding partner in the early morning cool.

Watching the walkers with their dogs and listening to the quiet.

Flying the colours of course.

Today was Blacksheep day.

Me on my ti Highlight and Deefa on his Steel Stellar.

Gorgeous bikes both of them.

Judging by the number of cars in the carpark when we got there a lot of others had the same idea. Funnily, we did not see another rider on the trails though.

Perfect!! Even my socks were smiling.

Base

2012-01-08T15:15:00.000+10:00

Lots of talk about base km's at the moment so I guess I should do some.

Got myself out the door with the view to fit in 80 odd km's under the belt for the day.

I had no particular route in mind but thought I might like to go out through Redcliffe.

Along the way I just made decisions as I saw options come up.

It has been a long time since I rode up Clear Mtn and it has not gotten any easier.

Especially when you hit the first 17% gradient in completely the wrong gear.

I did not make that mistake on the 2nd one.

From the top you get amazing views of the city on one side and out toward the Glasshouse Mountains and dams on the other.

We will be down at that dam pretty soon.

See. Told you.

From here we head east to the coast and follow it back toward the City before heading back west and heading for home.

The day after

2012-01-08T14:42:00.000+10:00

Organising dirt rides over drinks the night before is probably not the best idea I have ever had.

But that is what Deefa and I did and so we stuck to it.

Just a short sharp spin through some of the Bunya trails.

On our big wheels.

Deefa brought out the Toxic Green Sir Nine for a change from his Black Sheep.

He decided on rigid for this ride which must have been a test through "The Tuning Fields".

No wonder he lost his water bottle.

Short and sharp 16km but it was just what I needed.

Another year down

2012-01-06T13:35:00.000+10:00

44 of them done now.

Started into my 45th.

Lots of dumb stuff done again.

1st Crit.

1st road race.

1st TTT.

Dumb, all of it.

But fun at the same time.

So the 45th year started like this.

Yep, standing on the side of the road.

At 05'ish early o'clock.

Rolled into town and found the crew.

Sedate little ride around the Loop.

25km/h tops.

In the small chainring.

Then to Southbank where the lovely Miff organised me a birthday cake.

Which I of course shared.

Ocean View's

2012-01-02T11:53:00.000+10:00

Headed out for some km's with the Koiled Krew and some other mates for what was meant to be some slow base this morning.
Like many good plans this one was doomed to failure when Truck commenced the 60 sign sprint competition.

I was smart and knew I had no business sprinting against Truck or Shannon. Others were maybe not so fortunate with their decision making.
Pinkie got a run today and I have to say that I was pretty impressed.
She climbed well and seemed pretty balanced on the descending too.
Look forward to taking her out again soon.

Time out for fun

2011-12-31T16:15:00.000+10:00

Always fun to get out on the MTB's and especially with some good mates.

Today was one of those days with the Koiled Krew and some members from University in tow.

Plenty of the usual trails ridden along with some that I dont usually do.

Plenty of dabbing.

Some walking on sections I had not ridden before.

Some sudden and unexpected off trail adventures.

Some even more unexpected spontaneous lie downs.

Plenty of extremely expected smiles.

Cheers all for your contribution to the fun times.

See you all next year for more of the same and some other stuff.

(Big thanks to the lovely Miff for the pics)

Well it's over....

2011-12-27T08:05:00.000+10:00

So time to get back into it I guess.

Had a great break at Rainbow Beach.

No bikes, no training, no racing.

Must do that more often.

Bike free

2011-12-16T13:41:00.001+10:00

*

AKA:

Time out

Time off

Time away

Down time

Time with family

Christmas time

Hope you all have a great Christmas

and get some or all of the above.

I know a good few of you need it.

Time out for fun

2011-12-12T10:58:00.000+10:00

On big wheels.

In the mud.

With shithouse sock height.

It has been a while.

2 hours of dirt was tough work.

I need more of it.

But weekends are just not long enough to fit all of it in.

What to do???

A big week

2011-12-05T07:08:00.001+10:00

Crit racing in abundance this week.
Twilight crit, Club Crit and the opening event for the new Toowoomba Crit track.
A week of fun but hard work.
Especially the last 2 but for different reasons.
Saturday saw a plan formulated to chase everything, be in everything and then go hard for the win.
The first 2 parts went to plan and we did plenty of work. Attack after attack was chased down and lots of time was spent on the front.

Sunday was the inaugral Crit on Toowoomba's new track. And what a track it is!!
3 uphill sections and plenty of snaky twists. After a hard day at the office on Saturday, this took some work to get through. A small field did nothing to help with nowhere much to hide out of the wind to take a rest.

Right now I am SMASHED, and definitely know I have done some racing.
But I am looking forward to Wednesday, when it all starts again.

Watch the front!!!

2011-11-26T20:32:00.001+10:00

(Photo credit to Morbo)

No use sprinting for the win if there is a breakaway that is still away.

That was the lesson that was learned today.

Breakaway of about 5 with probably 10mins to go.
Seems like the front of the 2nd group was oblivious and did not chase.
Even at the end the front guys had no clue and were celebrating their "victory" until someone pointed out the 5 riders 500m ahead that had crossed the line before them.

A good safe race for the most part.

Good riding by all the Koiled crew but the breakaway, stayed away.

Thanks to all at HPRW for putting on the event.

Going the distance

2011-11-21T14:44:00.003+10:00

It has been a big week.

Almost 400km in the bag.

Uni club crit on Saturday and a 2,3, 4 finish for Koiled. See if you can spot me.

(photo credit to the Mighty Morbo)

On Sunday I got out with Jimmy, Scott and Tim on the weekend for one of my favourite road rides out through Dayboro and all the way up to Mt Mee village.

This week sees the start of the HPRW midweek Summer Series. You can never have too much racing.

Mental health day

2011-11-16T15:30:00.000+10:00

Always good to get some rehab happening a few times a week.
Some of this:

Then a bit of roadie singletrack

And even some Belgian style socks dont hurt.

Off for some nocturnal km's tonight. First time for a long time and I cannot wait.

Mad Fiber

2011-11-09T16:23:00.000+10:00

Well if you are on our Facebook page you will know that Koiled is the Australian distributor for Mad Fiber.
I got to see these up close and personal for the first time on the weekend on Shannon's bike and aren't they a beautiful thing.
And light!!
Ridiculous!!
I could not believe how light Shannon's bike was with the Mad Fiber's on.
So now it is time to wait.
They wont be long.
Tubulars are available now and clinchers in the New Year.
Better order those tubular tyres I guess?!?!

Head over to Koiled for more information.

Rubbings Racing

2011-11-09T10:05:00.003+10:00

Well if this is true then I must have done some racing on the weekend.
Lined up in 2 Crits on the weekend and found myself rubbing shoulders with other racers or taking evasive action from them in both.
I guess that is one of the differences between Crits vs endurance MTB.
It is rare that I have to evade another rider on the MTB.
It is pretty much the done thing that they announce their presence and which side they want to overtake on.
Not so much in a Crit.
Usually they are just suddenly there beside you (or zooming past).
The weekend was eventful with Shannon, Rach and I all lining up for the Vault Crit.
All was going well coming into the 2nd last lap with all 3 of us positioned well in the pack.
Unfortunately the smell of the finish line seemed to send some racers a little crazy as this was when people started to lose their lines through the bends and people (including me) got pushed off the track.
Coming into the final lap and I heard a horrific noise as 2 bikes came together. These 2 became 3 and then 4 and I saw someone ragdolling along the track. Somehow I came through all of this unscathed before realising that the ragdoll was in fact wearing Koiled kit. Knowing that my race was over as a result of the carnage I stopped and went back to check that Rach was OK. Skin off but nothing that wont heal up.
Headed over to find Shannon only to see him walking his bike down the straight. Seems he too got caught up in someones desperation to reach the line first leading to an over the bars dismount.
All in all an unfortunate result for Koiled.

Mind you we did have a 1, 2 finish the day before.

**Photo credit to Morbo.

Up!!

2011-10-21T09:22:00.000+10:00

There definitely has not been enough of it lately.
Last week gave me a chance to do a climb I quite like.
Out to Dayboro and then up Mt Mee to Ocean View.

I would like to have headed through to the village and Look Out but time was against me.
So back down and through to Samford for lunch before heading back home through Ironbark Rail Trail.
Hopefully get to do some more up next weekend.

This one is already full with racing and Track.

Novel.

2011-10-19T14:27:00.000+10:00

No not Mills and Boon.

Was in Maryborough recently and came across this business and thought it was a pretty novel name and idea.

Some beautiful architecture in Maryborough too.

What's doing?

2011-10-16T14:51:00.000+10:00

Well lots of stuff really.
Entered some more road events that I had no business entering.

Went to Maryborough to watch my son's school participate in the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge.
Did a Crit while I was there.
Got smashed.
Joined a Uni team for the State Team Time Trial.
Finished mid field and loved it.

Bought a Track bike and have so far impressed at least myself in being able to stay with the guys I have been asked to ride with.

Best of all I have made some time to get back on dirt and have some fun.

Red hot tip

2011-10-16T14:27:00.000+10:00

If you are going to make a change to your bike setup before going on a ride, make sure you have one of these with you.

100km in the wrong position is not quality.

Dumb things

2011-08-26T09:57:00.001+10:00

Sometimes you just do them.
Sometimes on purpose.
Sometimes by accident.
QLD State Road Championships goes waaaaay up on the top shelf of dumb things I have done.
Entered it.
Bit off a big piece of "WTF am I doing here??"
Tomorrow will be spent chewing that.
Looking for a spot in the pack.
Breathing deep.
Trying to keep calm.
Hoping to make it to the end.
With all of my insides still inside me.

Dumb stuff.
TICK!!!!

Photo credit to the Mighty Morbo.

The build

2011-08-18T13:20:00.000+10:00

Projects.
Love them.
Especially if they are bike projects.
They are always unique.
They always have their issues.
Their frustrations.
Their head scratching, chin stroking moments followed by the "BING!!!!" as the light goes on.
Doesn't matter if it is a uber expensive titanium custom or a lowly off the shelf steelie.
Always something fun to learn or something that you have to find a "fix" for.
The latest was no different.

Soon!!!!

The Clock

2011-08-13T20:55:00.002+10:00

You have got to watch it.
Don't rely on someone to tell you when it is 2 to go.
45 minutes plus 2 laps.
Simple really.
Get it wrong and you are no chance though.
Ride strong for 45 minutes but be misplaced for the 2 laps.
Noted as a participant instead of a competitor.
Timing and position is everything.

45 plus 2.
Next time.

What a day

2011-08-07T19:48:00.000+10:00

An invite to Noosa for my brother-in-law's birthday got the mind ticking over and a plan was hatched for an epic solo ride.

Got lost.
Took wrong turns.
Went the long way.

Had my route directions fall out of my pocket.
Had some WTF moments.

5hrs, 59mins and 38secs later though and I rolled into our accommodation tired; hungry; thirsty but happy.

A great day on the bike all round.

Cadel

2011-07-23T19:23:00.000+10:00

My summary of his tour:

He's gone!!
He's baaack!!
He's lost time.
He's gained time.
He's caught them.

Go you little drop lipped, furry eyebrowed, horse kicked beauty!!!

In support of Cadel I did some climbing of my own today.
It was slow.
Not because I am crap of course.
Just because I wanted to spend more time hurting. :D

And so I could have more reward at the end.

Conflicted

2011-07-18T08:02:00.000+10:00

Road or dirt this weekend?
Lets do both.
On the same bike.
Better than riding through Ironbark on the road.

Early

2011-07-15T18:29:00.000+10:00

Something cool about being out early.
Everything waking up.
Getting moving.
But still sleepy.
Still not hustling and bustling.
Just quietly creeping.
Rubbing it's eyes.
Quietly yawning.
Ignoring me as I do my thing.

All except this guy.
He is always awake.
This Inuksuit is a long way from home and always makes me smile (even more so now that I know that the traditional meaning of these "human likenesses" is "You are on the right path").
Good to know.

Circles

2011-07-10T15:04:00.000+10:00

Big anti-clockwise ones.
Fast ones.

Slightly slower ones.
Sprinty ones (they look like they hurt).

Lots to learn.
And oh so fun!!

New bike needed.

Banked

2011-07-08T10:54:00.000+10:00

Been a big week of repeats; sprints and hills.
Today was time for spinning the legs; enjoying the views; drinking coffee and eating Bacon at my favourite Brisbane breakfast destination, Corner Store Cafe, with good friends.

Ticked off a leisurely 70km along the way but tomorrow it is business again with hills on the agenda.

An artistic self portrait for Miff.

The Hills are alive

2011-07-04T08:40:00.001+10:00

With the sound of legs shearing off and fungus growing.

After the Saturday Crit plus another 30 odd km's a hilly couple of hours the next day was the last things my legs wanted.

Shut up legs.

Loved it

2011-07-02T20:19:00.000+10:00

Uni World Cup crit today.
2nd crit in 3 weeks and I have to say I am really enjoying them again.
Surging.
Accelerating.
Decelerating.
Break aways.
Lots of fun.

Got in the sprint but was probably a couple of wheels too far back.
Got 7th I think.
When is the next one??

Photo credit to Morbo.

My "Work" place

2011-06-30T09:55:00.000+10:00

I think I have found it.
Long enough for efforts.
Nice flat section for sprints.
Not too busy.
Nice wide shoulder.
Just far enough from home that I get a warm up on the way there.

Except for hill repeats; what more could you want?

Lucky

2011-06-29T11:03:00.000+10:00

That I dont work in the City and have to drive through this mess you can see behind the trees.

And that I have this just outside the office door.
So I can go this way to the City or West.

Or this way to head toward the Wetlands, Sandgate and other points further along.

Either way can give me a leisurely 2 hour ride without any traffic drama's.
Perfect!!

Dumb Dirt Fun

2011-06-26T18:55:00.000+10:00

Was looking for a way to spend 3 hours on the bike today and had almost convinced myself that it would be road.
Then I got the call from Jimmy saying he was heading out through Ironbark and up Camp Mt.
That sounded like much more fun than solo road km's.
Lots of rolling hills between my place and Ironbark before a comparitively short sharp climb up Camp Mt followed by a short sharp descent back to Ironbark and then more rollers back home.
I always forget how sharp the sharp bit is though and it got me again this time around.

STEEPER THAN IT LOOKS!!

Pretty sure that the couple in their car were having just as much fun as I was (in a slightly different way). :D

Dumb fun

2011-06-25T16:55:00.000+10:00

Since my last post I have had a big think about what I am wanting out of my cycling.
Do I really want to just coast along and hope for the best?
Or is there a way for me to have fun in amongst the "work".
I am pretty sure that there can be some balance and I am out to find it.
This week has seen a combination of "work" and "dumb fun".
Night rides and early morning dirt with Deefa and Jimmy have been the "dumb fun" with more chatting and laughing than riding happening.

Coach Cupcake's plan is the basis for the "work".
But even with this "work" I am out to find places to ride that are enjoyable; times that are not earlier than sparrow fart and temperature's that are not lower than 10 deg's if possible.
Todays ride was Samford for some hill repeats.
Gorgeous weather, gorgeous scenery, quiet road.
What more could you want??

Reward for effort

2011-06-17T12:08:00.000+10:00

Made the effort and got out of bed despite the early and hour and low temps.

Got the reward of a beautiful clear morning in the City.

Makes it all worthwhile.

Just ride

2011-06-13T19:09:00.000+10:00

This is my plan.
Just ride.
No "training".
That just makes it sound like work.
Riding is not work.
Work is work.
Riding is fun.
Riding is escape.
Riding is time to unwind.
If escaping and unwinding leads to work that is OK.
But to look for work?
Un-fun work?
Meh.

So if you see me out there and I look like I am not having fun.
Kick my ass and send me home.

Recent rides have been structured with this in mind.

Solo Bunyaville.

Bunya - Ironbark maiden voyage for Robbie

Coffee ride with Spennie

No un-fun-ness was had at any time and yet my legs still hurt and my lungs were still worked.
I call that a win - win.

Ride safe.

Yeehaar!!

2011-05-17T07:09:00.000+10:00

Well the Merida has come and gone and what a ball tearer of a race it was.
The course was sensational due to the awesome work of Pete. Hayden and their merry band of helpers.
I really did not know what to expect from myself but went out with my usual action plan.
First lap saw me riding with Gary who I have raced against a number of times, with Rach and Nick only metres up the track.
Coming through to Airplane I just thought I was feeling a bit quicker and headed off on my own.
Each of my laps I still felt strong although a little off my chops and a niggly knee pain that I kept telling myself would settle down.
I kept checking for Gary and Nick who I felt would be some of my strongest competition but no sign. The only solo in my category that I did see was Clint Pearce who I think overtook me about 10 times in 9 laps. An absolute machine.
Came in from my 12th lap with the realisation that this knee pain was in fact ITB pain. Spent some time massaging my leg and also changed my shoes in case it was being caused from cleat position.
Decided I was good to go and pedalled off. From the first pedal stroke I knew it was not but just hoped that it would be OK and would somehow cure itself.
Rode down the hill and through the berms to the dam but quickly learned on the first incline that I was stuffed as I could barely turn the pedals. Basically I had left myself with 2 options. Keep going and ride another 13km or turn around and head back 1km. I decided 1km sounded better and rode back up the hill wincing the whole way.

I was extremely happy with how I was riding and felt great but ITB is a bitch and basically I was left with no option.
It hurts to be running 2nd and then have to pull out but shit happens and then you die.
I am now looking to try different pedals as I never had these problems until I started using Shimano.
Then again I have spent the last 3 week (2 days a week) getting my back almost sorted and I have to wonder whether this has had a knock on effect.

Next time.

Massive, massive thanks to each and every person who came and helped out in the Koiled tent.
Special thanks to Shannon and Jezza for keeping the bikes running even though I could not.

One

2011-05-12T21:15:00.000+10:00

One day until it all starts.
24 hours of solo riding.
the ONLY solo race in QLD for the year so lets make it a good one.
Bikes are prepped.
Gear is mostly packed.
Just a day at work and some last minute shopping for food supplies.
That mountain of food that you always take to one of these just to bring half of it back home again.
Funnily I have not had one dose of "Race Hate" yet.
It is all positive thoughts.
Have really eased back on riding for the week with just some cruisey rides to check that the bikes are running how I want.
One last coffee cruise tomorrow AM and then switch it all off until midday Saturday.
Weather seems to be looking nice (although quite cold) so here is hoping.
Looks to be a few people I know racing so hopefully I will have some friendly faces around me to keep spirits up. If not, the Shuffle's are loaded and fully charged.

Tick, tick, tick......

It is what it is

2011-05-08T08:55:00.000+10:00

The amount of training I have done
The amount of riding I have done
The attitude I have had
The motivation (or lack of)
The injuries
The weather

All of it is what it is
Because IT is now only 6 days away
And NOTHING can change that now.

Let's go

2011-04-19T18:34:00.000+10:00

The past few months have been up and down.
The long wet has seen me struggle for inspiration.
Wet training and wet races have seen my mind turn decidedly negative.
I had struggled for any inspiration as a result and this in turn saw me lose focus on training.

But now, 4 weeks out from the 24hr, that focus is back. These are the races I really love. It is such a shame that we have only one up here in QLD this year.

So, back into it. It is time to really ramp things up so that I am ready on 14/5. Not only do I need to be physically fit but I also need to be healthy. I have struggled with a hip and back injury for over a year now and I am working hard to have this as right as possible prior to the 24 so that this is 1 less thing that can put me off the bike.

After that the Koiled team has plans to complete the Mawson Marathon as 2 teams of 2. I will be looking for some more endurance races and will continue my education in road racing.

Our team kit was finalised today and will certainly get us noticed.

All of this now has me pretty excited.
Excited about riding;
Excited about training;
Excited about racing;
Just excited!!!

See you out there!!

Koiled kit

2011-03-18T17:15:00.002+10:00

Want to get your hands on some Koiled Kit?
The new public offer kit design has been completed and is now available for ordering.
Want some?
Email rach@koiled.com.au and request an order form.

Whatever!!!

2011-02-27T18:11:00.000+10:00

Crit racing has taken a hold.
Short, sharp, fast and a whole lot of AWESOME!!!
And unlike the QLD endurance MTB scene it is on almost every week.
My new club (University) also has its own club races which is a great place to cut your teeth.
They have their own training sessions and there are a few there who are happy to give you some instruction and tips mid race.

And it is a HUGE learning curve.
In endurance events you have plenty of time to make a decision whetehr to go around or stay where you are.
There is no chasing wheels in my endurance world. It is just gritting your teeth and pedalling.
Just one more lap, followed by another.
The internal war against my brain and body.
Crits are about snap decisions.
Do I lead out?
Do I follow?
Do I sit where I am?
Is the right person on my wheel, or am I dragging someone up who will then attack my team mate?

So many questions and decisions to make

I dont have an awesome pic to post so I will put up a clip from Jaman instead. That is me with my jersey all tucked up.

Race Report - LunarC lunacy

2011-02-06T10:20:00.002+10:00

First race for the year done and dusted.

The LunarC had seen a venue change and rescheduled due to the high rainfall and eventual flooding in Brisbane.
The new venue was just down the road from Slickers at the Murrenbong Scout Camp but was a completely different beast to Slickers.
Track was tough with lots of ruts, log piles ad nasty pinch climbs.
I had gone into the race with the plan to just cruise, do the laps that I felt like doing and having absolutely no ideas of being competitive.
First lap was not a good indication of what was to come with 2 stupid crashes.
From there I kept circulating for half a dozen laps before deciding to have a break.
Dawn came and as often happens, something flicked on and I headed out again. 3 laps later and I was done and (for someone who had just done 9 laps on a fully rigid SS with a fat front), I felt pretty OK.

I did learn that the fat front has its downside. The tyre weighs over a kg. The tube weighs 1.5kg. The wheel itself weighs about the same. So all up it is a big weight penalty over a normal 29er wheel. Hopefully by the next race I will have my Koiled Truss fork which will be a big improvement from this point of view.

Big congratulations to Rach for her 2nd place; Matt Powell who podiumed in the SS category on his new Koiled rigid SS and Al who also got up on the podium in SS. Also Nick, Andrew, Shannon and Matt's son Jaxsen who all smashed themselves silly.

Matt's Koiled SS and truss fork.

How's that for some eye candy?!?!

It's COMING!!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-20T12:11:00.000+10:00

The long awaited public offer of Koiled Kit.
I had a heap of people at races who wanted to know where they could get hold of some Koiled Kit.
Well soon it will be available.
An all new design in keeping with the spirit of our 2010 race kit.

Want some??
Flick through an email to Rach at rachel.m.edwards@gmail.com to register your interest with the subject : Koiled Kit. She will add you to the mailing list and when it's ready you will receive a mail out of the final design and order forms.

2010 Koiled Race Kit in action

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T21:13:00.000+10:00

Last day
Last ride
Hope you made it a good one.
I did
See you all next year.

Devolution

2010-12-17T19:00:00.000+10:00

Time to do it.
Time to devolve.
Time to simplify.
Time to be one.
Time to be single.
Time to lose the gears.
The shifters.
The suspension.
Time for the hardest fun you can have.
Big wheels, rigid, H-bars, a fat front and lots of gold bling.

Can you say Frankensheep????

Just for fun

2010-11-24T17:39:00.000+10:00

Well it has been a while since my last post.
Still been riding fairly consistently each week but have just been doing my own thing.
No plan.
No "training".
No timeframes.
Just riding when I want and how I want.

In line with this idea, I have been tinkering with the Blacksheep.
The first few races of the year will be SS
With crazy bars
And a completely mad wheel and tyre.

Stay tuned.

Race report - 2010 Worlds

2010-10-13T15:55:00.002+10:00

Well the Worlds have now been and gone.
Got there early.
Pre-rode the course once, twice, 3 times.

All good.
Nothing to fear here.
Some parts were tough.
Some not so much.
But all rideable.
All ready, set and go.
But sometimes things dont work out how you see them in your mind.
Sometimes your wheels dont grip.
Sometimes they slip.
Results may vary but my slip led to a twist.
This twist led to pain which in turn led to an inability to pedal.
8 laps in and I called it a day.
I was not the first and definitely not the last to finish prior to the alloted time.
Talk is that next year is Europe's turn.
Hmmmmmmm...

Many, many props to Rach and Nick for their 2 excellent results and to each and every person in the Koiled pit area who went out of their way to help every one of our riders when they came in.
Now when is that next race?!?!?!?!

Another day

2010-09-24T17:49:00.001+10:00

Tic tic tic.
Another second
Another minute
Another hour, day, week, month gone by since I signed up to this
Now it is just a fortnight away
Another 14 days to train
Another 14 days of pedalling
Another 14 days of early starts
Or late finishes (depending on work)
Of being up and gone before the family wakes
Or still pedalling when they go to bed

Then there will just be that 1 big effort
24 hours of effort
24 hours of focus
Of pedalling and hurting and laughing and grinning

24 hours of pain
24 hours of fun
24 hours of good times with mates
Cant wait, but don't want, but will have a ball.

Rough and Tough

2010-09-04T13:41:00.000+10:00

It has been a rough, tough couple of weeks.
Family stuff both good and bad has happened and this has all taken my focus and motivation away from the bike.
The alarm has gone off many mornings only to have me turn it off, roll over and go back to sleep.
The trainer has seen a lot of work when I realise mid week that no riding has happened and I attempt to catch up.
This morning, the day after my grandfathers funeral, I decided enough was enough.
Time to get back into it.
Time to jump in with both feet.
At the deep end.
Without a lifeguard.
On the Moots.
Time to finds some hills
And point my front wheel up them
Time to pedal and stand and grunt and hurt
And dont stop till it flattens out at the top
Then reward myself with the run back to town
Time to stop feeling sorry for myself
Time to stop saying, "I am so tired"
Even though it is true
Because in the immortal words of Bon Jovi
"I'm gonna live while I'm Alive
And sleep when I'm dead".

If you are reading this, text me to make sure I get up at 5am when my alarm goes off.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Curves

2010-08-07T09:02:00.000+10:00

Minds out of the gutter!!

I am talking curvy titanium goodness here.
My Blacksheep has them in all the right places.
And not only is she a sexy looking machine, she is also fantastic to ride.
James was given the brief that this was to be one of my 24hr race bikes and he certainly delivered on what I needed.
I have absolutely no concerns at all in switching between my Tallboy dually and my Blacksheep hardtail.
Did it at the Merida a couple of times and other than the fact that I quickly realised I was on the HT everything else felt instantly comfortable. I love this bike but am spoiled for choice between it, the Tallboy and my Moots roadie. It is tough, but I would not have it any other way.

Recovery

2010-07-31T20:59:00.000+10:00

Wow, it has been quick this time.
Obviously fitter than last time and it shows in how quickly I came good after the weekend.
Monday I was a bit shabby but after that it was just a little fatigue.
Something like jetlag.
Now thinking about what is next.

Dusk to Dawn in a week or so??
Boonah Marathon??
Something else??
Nothing??
So many choices but no real idea.

Happy with that - Merida 24hr race report

2010-07-26T22:05:00.001+10:00

The Merida 24hr was always going to be my dress rehearsal for the Worlds Solo's.
It feels like the endurance racing up here in QLD has been somewhat lacking this year and along with a busy work schedule this has not provided me with many options.
I hoped for a good result but had told myself that the plan for the race was to ride, survive and ride some more (repeating as necessary). With this in mind I had set myself a steady pace and did not want to do anything stupid.
Unfortunately a lingering case of "dodgy guts" that I had had all week was still there and after a couple of laps a niggling pain started in my left knee.
The first few laps seemed to go quite quickly and it was not long and I was asking my support crew Jimmy to give me my Blacksheep and to get lights set up on the Tallboy and my other helmet. Night is usually fun but this race was one of the only 24hr's I have done which was in the middle of winter. By the end of every lap I was OK but the start was always cold as you went flying down the hill toward the dam. So it was zip everything up and then unzip it all again 10 mins later.
OHV is a rockfest and within a few hours my hands, shoulders, arms and back were all unhappy at the same time. I definitely need to sort out my grips and bar ends as I was not happy with either on both my bikes. Anyone have any suggestions??
Bad things started happening during the night. My dodgy guts seemed to intensify and during one lap I found myself micro sleeping. Then it was the sleep monsters. At one stage a large rock ran across the track. Another time I saw a caravan with bikes hanging up outside it. Turned out to be a big pile of wood. I also saw lots of "people" beside the trail that just did not exist. Caffeine by any way possible was the answer.
Up came the sun and with it came the call that I was in 3rd with only 10 mins between me and 2nd. Unfortunately this would remain virtually unchanged right through until my 22nd and last lap when Jimmy told me to pull the pin as you are still 10mins down from 2nd and 4th is 3 laps behind.

So race done; 22 laps/330km; 3rd in category and 14th overall.
Happy with that.

Big congrats to Rach who came 2nd overall woman and to Nick for smashing himself into pieces to hopefully qualify for his place at the Worlds.
Massive thanks to Jimmy who was awesome as support/ mechanic/ driver and also to Shannon for all his help to the team.

23 until 24

2010-07-23T13:20:00.001+10:00

Hours that is.
The butterflies are starting.
Still heaps to do including shopping for food and drinks, packing the pile of stuff that I have been settting aside; loading and charging ipods, double checking the charge on my Ayups; packing the car etc etc.

Looking forward to a good race and definitely some laughs along the way.
Training is done so all there is left is to pedal the bike and ignore the demons along the way.
As the Coach said, this is the dress rehearsal for October.

Team Koiled will be there with Rach, Shannon, Nick and I all flying the flag.
Shannon sent me a little sneak peak of the upcoming Koiled headtube badges.

Looking forward to getting mine.

Looking for something different??

2010-07-17T13:53:00.000+10:00

Koiled cycles should be your first stop in Brisbane.
Specialising in high quality mountain and road bikes including custom options in titanium and steel.
Watch for the Koiled racing team at a race near you soon.

Some mountains

2010-07-06T10:43:00.000+10:00

Seemed to be a weekend for riding in the Mountains.
First a solo trip out through Samford, up the Goat Track, through Nebo, down through the Gap and back to home.
I quite enjoy this ride.
A steady climb up the Goat Track before lots of rolling hills back down to The Gap.
Next was a long ride out over Clear Mt; through to Dayboro; up Mt Mee; down to Wamuran; before heading toward home via Morayfield, Narangba, Kurwongbah, Kallangur, Petrie, Strathpine and Eatons Hill. Clear Mt is always tough work with 2 very steep sections on the way up. By contrast the climb up Mt Mee is very pleasant. Like the Goat Track it is a steady climb which really does not hurt you too much.
From the village the ride was a little unknown. I had some notes on what roads to look for but little idea what these roads were like. As it turns out the first road we turned onto was steeply down hill and winding. The recommended 30km/h speed limit was obviously there for a reason.

Some days are diamonds

2010-06-27T17:07:00.001+10:00

And then there are the days when you just cant seem to get a break.
Today was one of the latter.
Started out OK.
Got up and took it easy.
Breakfast, coffee, checked my email, had a cuddle with my youngest before hitting the road on the Blacksheep.
A quick chat with the Dog, Kirsty and Rach on my way past Bunyaville.
On through Ironbark, and up to the start of the Camp Mountain climb,
Stopped at the gate to check out what was going on with my shoe.
Loose cleat.
No problem, I will just get out my.....damn it!!
No multi tool, and it is amazing how difficult it is to do up a cleat bolt with a rock.
Made it to the top and headed back around and over to Ironbark again.
Across the road up a little pinch and BAM!!!!
Broken chain.
Oh crap. I have been meaning to buy a new chain breaker.
Ring Sandie to come and pick me up.
Bikes are useless things without chains.

More fun than thresholds??

2010-06-25T09:10:00.000+10:00

Thresholds on a trainer.
Followed up with Coot-tha repeats within 9 hours.

Stupid I know.
But when you are getting smashed with running a business, being a good dad and trying to fit your training in as well, stupid happens sometimes.

It doesn't have to be ALL hard work

2010-06-12T21:01:00.004+10:00

Got out for a 4hr hilly ride today.
Out the door.
Through Bunya.
Over to Ironbark.
Up Camp Mountain.
Down Camp Mountain.
Do it in reverse.
Finish off with an hour and a half of singletrack in Bunyaville.

Along the way there was lots of interesting stuff to photograph.

EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-05T16:01:00.003+10:00

Set off at 0615 this morning for a tough day in the saddle.
With 1660m of climbing over 75km of riding the "Best of Brisbane" ride is always going to hurt.

Started off with about an hour and a half of singletrack at Bunya before heading across to Ironbark where we did Sunset and the powerlines tracks. From there we headed up the bitumen and then back down the fireroad before climbing back up the bitumen from Bellbird Grove.
A short climb up Mt Nebo Road before turning off onto Centre Road and then across to Gap Creek. Stopped at the top of Vietnam where the others were planning to do some more singletrack. I elected to bail at that point as I knew I was already staring an 7 hour day in the face. Another of the group decided to join me on the trip back via Camp Mtn and Ironbark. I finished off with Jurasic at Bunyaville and it was the slowest anyone has EVER ridden it I think.
View at the top of Camp was fantastic today. Especially in the direction of Brisbane.

The gang is all here.

2010-05-13T18:39:00.000+10:00

Finally stopped procrastinating on cutting the steerer on the Tallboy.
No idea why I took so long.
Usually it is a quick measure and then chop, off it goes.
This time I just could not make up my mind and even when I did cut it I left 10mm extra for some reason.

Anyway, the Blacksheep is now joined by the Tallboy for offroad fun.

For some reason I have always liked the toxic green colour that ESI and Ergon have for their grips.
So, I shouted myself a couple of pair for the bikes.
Sure they dont match anything on the bike (except the grip on the other side and the grips on the other bike) but I like them.

New toys

2010-04-28T19:01:00.002+10:00

It is here.
It is big.
It is black.
It is beautiful.
It is my Santa Cruz Tallboy.
This is the 2nd of my race bikes and will join the Blacksheep.
Just need to cut that steerer.

I REALLY need to find a race for May.
Maybe the Lunatic Fringe???

I'm baaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-18T21:44:00.006+10:00

Been a long time between drinks.
Lots has happened.
Work has gotten nuts.
Guests have visited from Canada.
Injuries have happened and been treated.
Bikes have been built.

The latest has been a mystery illness that turned out to be Whooping Cough. This saw me off the bike for the past 2 weeks.
This weekend was the return to pedalling.
Unfortunately the elements did not co-operate and saw the Noosa 000 Challenge reduced to a mud frenzy. 3 laps and a set of brake pads in and I decided enough was enough.

Oh well, back to training this week and then The Rogue Multigaine this weekend.
Should be a fun event with Rach, Prof and Shannon. We will either have an awesome time full of laughs or we will kill each other. We shall see.

Test rides

2010-02-28T18:37:00.004+10:00

Got to test ride what will be my new dually over the weekend.
Absolutely amazing bike.
The front end is nice and light and picking it up to put it over trail obstacles was just too easy. It hugged the curves and FELT fast.
Again, what an amazing bike.
Cannot wait for mine to show up.

Unfortunate

2010-02-20T14:59:00.004+10:00

Been a bit of a bad run for events since December.
LunarC - pulled out injured
Dusk to Dawn take 1 - rained out
Dusk to Dawn take 2 - rained out
Nothing more on the calendar up here until April.

Time to start looking for some more events to do.
Maybe interstate??

Until then more riding needed.

UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-10T06:33:00.005+10:00

Sometimes you do stuff that you later wonder about.
Latest in the line of these has been the new Fizik bar tape that I installed.
It seemed a good idea at the time.But in retrospect maybe not.

Many, many thanks!!!

2010-01-29T21:23:00.006+10:00

After much discussion with the guys from Blacksheep Imports regarding my hardtail options the decision was made for a Blacksheep Highlight to replace my Salsa Mamasita as the first of my race bikes for the 2010 racing season.

Blacksheep?? Who are they??
Well Blacksheep Cycles are based in the US and manufacture some of the most beautiful high end custom titanium bicycles that I have seen. James is an artist who specializes in magnificently curved frames.

And Blacksheep Imports are the guys in Australia who help you make your dream of owning one of these bad boys a reality. They stepped me through the whole procedure including fitting, geometry, assisting with part selection and even building the bike into the early hours of this morning.

I have to say that I have had many very nice mountain bikes over the past few years but none have come close to the ride or build quality of the Blacksheep. The finish on the bike is superb. It certainly seems to smooth out the trail and it handles as though it is on rails.

I wish to take this opportunity to wish many, many thanks again to Shannon and Pete from Blacksheep Imports for all of their support and assistance with this project and I look forward to the coming season aboard my Blacksheep.

Disappointing

2010-01-17T07:39:00.003+10:00

Lined up for the LunarC feeling keen to ride and do well.
For a change the conditions at Kurwongbah had been kind and it was dry.
Midnight was go time and off I went.
Passed a number of people on the first hills but could feel the back pains that had been nagging me during training starting to raise their head again.
So far though they are not too bad and I cruise through transition and out for a 2nd lap.
The track is bumpy and I can feel my back spasming with every bump and drop. By halfway through the 2nd lap I am even getting spasms when I lean through right hand corners.
Rode through transition without stopping and over the start/finish line before heading back up to camp and pulling the pin. No use injuring myself more and then ending up off the bike for even longer.
Sadly my legs were feeling great and I felt like I was riding well, but the back was not going to let me keep riding for 8 hours.
Spent the rest of the race helping out any of the rest of my group that needed it before heading home. Sandie jumped on the phone and found a local Chiropractor who could see me on short notice. His diagnosis is that I have been riding with a twisted pelvis. He has adjusted this and the resulting spinal twisting but has said that it will need a series of manipulations along with strengthening exercises to get it right for any long term result. In his opinion the physio sessions that I have been getting have been treating the result and not the cause of my ongoing hip pain. I also have an appointment with a masseuse that I have been recommended to by Steve at U-turn. Hopefully between them I can finally get my back , hips and ITB issues sorted out which can only help me on the bike.

Up next.

2009-12-29T16:22:00.002+10:00

LunarC nocturnal 8 hour.
Starts at midnight 15 January and finishes at 8am on the 16th.
Sounds like fun.

A short break

2009-12-23T15:58:00.003+10:00

The office is closed for the year.
So in between trips to see rellie's and eat and drink too much it will be time to get on the bike and churn out some km's.
Hopefully both the MTB and roadie will see some action in the mountains around Brisbane.

Merry Christmas to all and ride safe.

Friends and fireroads

2009-12-20T20:11:00.002+10:00

Nebo and back with plenty of laughs and meaningless attacks today.
Followed up with a swim and some great food courtesy of G.
What could be better???

A great end to the week.

The heat is on

2009-12-14T08:57:00.002+10:00

Break out the ice vest.
The weather is heating up.
2 mornings in a row on the weekend where the temps were in the high 20's before I even got on the bike at 6am.
What to do??
Suck it up I guess!!

4.30am

2009-12-01T13:00:00.003+10:00

Amazing how quickly you get used to being up by then.
Lately I beat my alarm by 5 minutes or so regularly.
Best to make use of the cooler temps and early morning daylight hours as I know that sooner than I will want, winter will be back and it will be back to riding in the dark and cold.

Hills today.
Decided to try out the Mailman's Track over on my side of town rather than heading into Mt. Coot-tha.
My tiny little brain convinced me that the Mailman's Track was just down the road, so off I went on the bike for the toodle over to it for some repeats. Well, my tiny little brain was also a tiny little bit wrong. It was a good few km's away and up and down a few decent hills along the way. Once there though the climb was perfect. Exactly 6 minutes on the steeper section which married up nicely with the length needed on the training plan.
Knocked out 3 repeats but was then out of time given that I had another 30 minutes or so to get home.
Luckily there was also some decent hills on the way home.
So I called them 4. :D

Goodbye 2009 season

2009-11-26T21:23:00.004+10:00

Last weekend saw the last race of the season for m with the Pitchblack Dusk to Dawn out at Old Hiddenvale.
OHV is always a tough ask. Rocky, rutted and more technical than anywhere else that I have ridden locally. Add a liberal dose of dark and it is another level of tough again.

Plan was to keep a steady pace and finish the race. Having only completed 1 other long solo event (24hr at Canungra), I really did not have any proper idea of what sort of pace was needed but decided that I would stick with the sort of speed that I had used at the 24hr. Started off with Rach and it was fun to be able to stick together for a good number of the laps.

Ultimately I finished with 15 laps, and while I was pleased to finish the event and felt that this was a reasonable result, ultimately I recognise that I was just not riding fast enough.

Oh well, it was a learning experience.

Until next year, it is back to training.

One day to go!!!!!

2009-11-20T05:16:00.004+10:00

Yeehaaaarrrr!!!
Cannot wait!!

Back in the saddle

2009-11-05T14:47:00.002+10:00

Well it seems that training has started again.
Early mornings, turning pedals, talking crap, drinking coffee, laughing hysterically.
But while the mind is willing the legs are not so sure about all of this.
Time for a trip to the masseuse to see if he can get them going again.
The back is another area of concern so strength training is needed.
Not keen on lifting weights.
Pilate's??
Yoga??

Beuller??

Recovering

2009-11-01T14:42:00.003+10:00

It has been a mad week since getting home from last weeks 24hr
I was exhausted on Monday and it was all I could do to sit up and stay awake at the same time.
Tuesday and Wednesday were a little better, but it was not until Thursday that I decided I should try riding again. And the result was that I realised the level of nothing that I had been left with from the race.
The nothing hung around Friday, Saturday, and to a lesser extent, today.
Despite this, I am HOOKED.
Hooked with the 24hr Solo bug.
I cannot wait for the next one and have big plans for this season.
The World Solo 24hr Championships are firmly in my sights. I am also researching hard on what race bikes to buy to replace the Mamasita and Jet. I cannot wait until May next year for the replacement Jet to arrive. There are too many events between now and then.
In the mean time there is training to be done and specialist advice to be obtained in relation to diet and strength. It will be a massive learning curve.

Cannot wait though.

Well that hurt!!!!

2009-10-27T07:45:00.007+10:00

Well that itch became something far more painful.
30 laps giving me 2nd in masters men and 5th overall.
I started off with a plan to survive the heat in the daylight hours.
This saw me toodling along at what was a very comfortable pace.
I could see no reason to change this pace when dark came around so I stuck with it.
For a while during the night I held first place, but around midday the eventual winner had 7 minutes into me. Went out for 2 more laps but quickly realised that my pace would not see me catch him and that I held 2nd by about 9 laps.
Had a couple of bad moments:
1. a crash that saw my bars spin resulting in the shifter putting a lovely ding in the TT of the Mamasita. Sorry everyone with dibs on her, I am taking her off the market I think.
2. a 2nd crash resulting in damage to my front brake and nearly putting me out of the race. I ended up riding about 25 laps with a front brake that was working at about 50% power.
3. the sudden realisation during the early hours of Sunday morning that this race did not start and end at midday and that instead I would have another couple of hours on the track.

Funniest thing was the guys with the inflatable penguin at their tent and later out on the track. It became a ritual for me to cal out "PENGUIN!!!" whenever I saw it, often followed by :"FUCK YOU PENGUIN!!!" as in http://www.fupenguin.com/

Thanks to Matt for the lift down and back.
Also Matt, Ty, Kirsty, Robyn Bell and another guy from Ayup whose name escapes my munted brain for all their help with feeding, bottles, batteries and chain lubing.

New bike hauler

2009-10-22T19:44:00.002+10:00

Well the fun of my little turbo XR5 finally wore off and it was time to get something more suitable.
She may not be much to look at but she is perfect for carting bikes and dirty bike gear around.

The itch!!!!

2009-10-18T12:49:00.004+10:00

The Scott is done and I had a ball.
We ended up with a team of 5 including Rach, myself and 3 guys we had never met before.
Alistair, Ian and Lachlan turned out to be great guys who were up for a fun weekend of riding.
And ride we did. We all lapped in similar times and managed to come away with 4th place despite being down a team member and having some reasonably stiff competition.

So the itch is back and I am now looking at the events calendar to see what is coming up.
Next stop is my first Solo 24hr this coming weekend.
Plan is to go out, have fun and pedal through.
Just for fun SS will be the weapon of choice.

Another Brittany moment

2009-10-07T07:14:00.003+10:00

Oops, I did it again!!!
A chat with Rach yesterday and she tells me that one of her team mates for the Scott 24hr in Canberra had had to pull out.
Jokingly she asks if I want to race.
"Yep, just let me check with Sandie and whether I can get a flight".
10 minutes later and I am committed to a race in Canberra, on a track I know nothing about, with 4 people I have never met and with bugger all riding under my belt comparitive to before I went to Canada.
To top it off, Rach tells me later that the team of 6 that I thought I had entered is actually only a team of 4 currently.

Oh well, bring it on.
What could possibly go wrong?!?!?

Mamasita is ready and willing.

What did I just do????

2009-08-20T07:55:00.006+10:00

Seems that I have bitten the endurance racing bullet and entered both a 12hr and a 24hr as a solo rider. I guess I have done some good base training with Rach over the past year and I have a couple of months to really get back in the saddle after a bit of a lull in proceedings after Canada. It seems silly to me to have done the training but not really have put any of it to use. Four unfinished events so far this year through injury, sickness, poor nutrition and a general feeling of CBF due to the weather and course conditions is nothing to be happy about.
So, time to get back in the saddle and crank out some km's including at least one long, hilly MTB wide a week. With the days getting longer and warming up again, hopefully getting out of bed early should get easier too.
This past weekend's ride was a good start with 6 hours of riding time and several descent climbs along the way. Follow this up with the Epic this weekend and then Super V loops the weekend after and I have a good start.

Close your eyes and tap your heels together 3 times.

2009-08-04T07:11:00.004+10:00

Had a fantastic trip with good friends and family.
But getting home was the highlight in the end.
I think that we tend to take those closest to us for granted from time to time and it is not until we are apart that we realise what we have.
Being apart from my family has given me time to think about what I have and how I can make our life better. The next few months will be spent getting all of this on track.
Balance will be the key.
Between work, bikes and family.
Unfortunately, even though Sandie never said it, there has been way too much of the first 2 and nowhere near enough of the last.

Sandie, you are my best friend.
Now and always. No matter what.
Love you heaps.

Hours only

2009-07-25T09:53:00.003+10:00

It is now only hours until Rach's big day on the bike and I only have a few things to say.

relax and just enjoy it.
you earned your spot.
the only thing that you should be disappointed in is if you quit.
leave nothing behind at the end.
trust yourself and your team.
Jaman is right, you are AWESOME!!

Having fun yet???

2009-07-21T00:21:00.005+10:00

Hell yeah!!
We are finally here.
The training is over.
The countdown has hit and passed zero.
The flights have been endured.

And now we are spending a few days in what I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Been here 4 times now and every time I come, I love it. Every time I leave I just want to come back. Accommodation is awesome and cheap (2 good bottles of Scotch) and comes with its own tour guides, taxi service and MTB guide. Helps that the owners are my cousin and her husband.

Now time for some tourist type action before hell is unleashed.
First off a trip up Cypress Mtn for a good look at this beautiful city.

Next a stop at Cove bikes to pick up some supplies and to check out the goodies.
Along the way we had to stop at Chris' (cousin's husband) brothers company. He is the local distributor for Banshee bikes, Manitou, Formula brakes along with various other cycling, windsurfing and snowboarding products. A virtual Alladin's cave of goodies.

Almost there

2009-07-17T11:38:00.005+10:00

Well after many months training with Rach we are now only a day out from departure.
There have been some tough sessions; some wet rides; some cold rides; some wet,cold rides; some stinking hot rides; some rides where the wind always seemed to be into your face.

But I must say that there has been one constant.
FUN.
Every ride has seen us laughing our asses off at some point.
We may have come in completely munted, but shit we had fun.

Thanks Rach, I have had a blast.
And I have learned some stuff along the way too.

Cant wait to get to Canada.
But most of all cannot wait to see you smash it.

Preparation

2009-07-07T19:50:00.006+10:00

Following the Insomnia I decided that it was best to pull the Jet completely apart, clean it all and reassemble. I saw this as a good opportunity to give it all a good clean in preparation for Canada in 2 weeks.
What I had not prepared for was the damage that muddy slop can do to your bike. Under 50km riding in this grinding paste had turned functioning bearings into solid cylinders. On top of this paint had been worn off the frame, soft foam grips had become solid and generally mud was embedded in every nook and cranny of the frame.

So several hours of cleaning and a trip to the bearing shop before delivering the frame to Jezza for them to complete the bearing installation for me.

Hopefully she will be back in my hands by the end of the week for final prep and packing into the bag and ready for the flight next weekend. So far I have a list and the bags. So all I have to do is everything else.

Mud

2009-06-28T18:44:00.002+10:00

This week culminated in Rach, Deefa, Rach's mate Mick and I competing in the Insomnia 24 hour. Heavy rain prior was not a good sign. Arriving to see the dam overflowing the track and road was worse.
No turning back now.
We were here to race so race we did.
Mick led us out and a 20 minute lap saw him come in with the 3rd fastest first lap.
By our 10th lap we were leading our 4 man team category.
Unfortunately this was the last time anyone looked at the leader board and this would come back to haunt us later.
Headed out for my 3rd lap and turning onto a minor climb suddenly realised I had no drivetrain. Ran back to our camp and sent Rach out for her laps while I tended to the damage (Wipperman quick link had snapped off the pins on either end). So as a result we had suddenly lost 30 minutes.
Plenty of talk of someone checking the leader board to check our position but unfortunately nobody followed through.
In the mean time the track was deteriorating in front of our eyes.
Plenty of it was virtually unrideable and about as wide as a 2 lane highway in a lot of places.
Lots of talk about whether anyone really thought we should keep going given the conditions.
Come back to transition after lap 6 to find no team mate waiting for me and correctly assume that a decision has been made to stop for the night.
Game over for Team Black Death it would seem.
This morning there was talk of heading out for more laps but not for this little black duck. While nobody checked the leader board, I assumed that we were way out of the running and could see no good reason to get wet cold and muddy in a slippery bogfest of pivot grinding paste again this morning.
Rach, Mick and Deefa decided that they would ride some laps "just for fun" vefore packing up early and heading home prior to the finish time.

Arrived home to receive a msg from Rach saying that we had finished 3rd in the 4 person mixed category despite the fact that we pulled the pin at 10pm and then finished off with 6 half hearted laps this morning.

Lesson learned.
Check the leader board!!!!!!

Time

2009-06-21T15:52:00.003+10:00

I seem to have so little of it currently.
It flies by.
It amazes me every day that another 24 hours has raced past.
Work is churning through hours coming into the end of the financial year.
Training hours with Rach chew up a few more.
This leaves me with a few hours a day to spend with my boys and Sandie.

Todays smashfest up Nebo and back was brought to you by the letters O and W.
Up and back in 2 and 3/4 hours on the SS.
Rode crap, but made it.

Great food and company at Rach's afterward.
Thanks G, great job.

Single

2009-06-16T07:45:00.005+10:00

Nope, no change to the marital status.
But as a result of this happening to the Jet, I have been forced back onto the SS for MTB riding.
The weekends ride saw us tackle Nebo.
Approx 1100m of climbing in the round trip.
4 29'ers (2 geared and 2 SS) and 2 geared 26'ers.
6 smiling faces.
Heaps of fun downhills and just as many not so fun climbs.
Mother and Mother of Mothers climb was as un-fun as usual, but I cannot say that it was any worse on the SS.

Matt embraced SS very quickly on his first SS dirt ride and smashed it in both directions. Food and coffee at the top were good as ever. Apparently the proprietors are off on an OS trip for the next 3 weeks so we will need to make other plans for refreshments.
Rumour is that this weekend is Nebo again.
At race pace.

WTF does that mean????

Fun and games

2009-06-02T21:07:00.004+10:00

OHV has become my favourite place to ride off-road.
It is a little out of the way but IMO has some of the best singletrack in South East QLD.
Smooth and flowing.
Rocky and flowing.
Rocky and technical.
A few of us headed out there this past weekend.

It is great to do some riding on some trails where your skills are tested.
OHV is such a place.
I managed to fail one of the days tests and was punished with a saddle to the gooch.
But not punished enough to keep me away.
Already looking forward to the next trip to OHV.
Probably geared and suspended next time though

Time out

2009-05-24T19:44:00.004+10:00

Got to spend some time away with the family and some good friends last weekend.

Stayed at the Old Hiddenvale cabins way down the back of the property.
They sleep 8 each (16 in total).
There is a firepit out the front and an outdoor kitchen.
Also a separate toilet and shower block.
Solar alectricity and gas hot water.
Cost is great too at $160 per cabin per night.
The OHV property has some awesome singletrack of various skill levels too and my friend Deefa and I got to spend a couple of hours checking it out on the Sunday.
Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera on Sunday but we will be heading there again soon so I will make sure it is packed for then.

New tricks

2009-05-06T19:38:00.000+10:00

I am too short for a 29er says Rach a while back.
Then on the weekend she got a chance to ride a Ventana El Ray during a 24hr event.
Quote Rach, "this bike is a retarded amount of fun" along with something along the lines that she was smiling and laughing while riding it as it made everything so easy.

Too short??
Looks tall enough to me.

Morons

2009-04-27T13:45:00.000+10:00

In all walks of life there are morons.
Cycling is no exception.

To the guy who overtook us this morning without any form of warning, almost causing Rach to crash and then not offering any form of apology but instead abusing her for not indicating where she was going... you are a Moron.

To the guy in footy shorts who rode straight through the stop lights in a very busy Brisbane intersection......you are a Moron.
To the commuter who rode on the footpath without a helmet, hit the pedestrian crossing button on 2 seperate occasions but did not wait for the light before he crossed... you are a moron.
All of you are Morons who the Darwin theory has not caught up with.

And this is for all of you.

An awesome event.

2009-04-23T18:56:00.000+10:00

Awesome but extremely tough that is.
Last weekend myself and a few mates participated in the BMC100 MTB event at Woodend in Victoria. Now I have done a number of 100km event sin the passt and so thought I knew what to expect and how I would go. I was sooo wrong.

Although I knew that the BMC had a greater amount of singletrack than any other event that I had done, I had not realised that it was approximately 80km. This meant that my speed was far lower than I was used to in other events. On top of this the continual singletrack riding was draining both physically and mentally.

Everything started well.
Arrived early.
Registered.
Sorted our gear.
Out to the "corral" and ready to go.
Pedalling along being passed by some and passing others.
Caught Rach up after she managed to get further up the front at the start and out in front of me as a result.
Into the first singletrack behind a long line of other riders.
Finally out the other side and onto fireroad again.
Ride, ride, ride for what seemed like a couple of hours before spotting a sign saying 80km.
And no this did not mean I had ridden 80km.
It meant 80km to go.
80km to go????

My head was spinning.
My internal calculator was telling me that this meant I will be riding for another 8 hours.
Another part of my brain started telling me that I could not do it.
Yet another part of my brain was telling me that it would get easier; that it would get easier; that there would be less singletrack.
None of this was true.
But finally the 50km mark arrived.
Unfortunately the doubt did not subside. No!! This cannot be right!?!?!?!
In fact it had been joined by a complete lack of interest in riding and a loathing of the singletrack.
I was fine on the fast flowing stuff where I could let momentum do its thing, but the rest of it I could not wait to be out of.
I was almost begging for an extended section of fireroad, but when it did come it always seemed to be uphill.
60km down.
70km down and I told myself to just survive this and finish.
Missed the 80km somehow.
Asked someone how far to go and was told that his computer said that we had done 90km.
Looked up soon after and spotted the 90km mark.
Grabbed some watermelon, banana and Gu2O drink before heading off again.
Controlled myself for another few km before putting the pedal down and heading for home.

I have never felt more relieved to cross the line at one of these events and I have done 3 tough 100km events on an SS in the past.
I was spent, smashed, busted and over it.

I feel like a broken record of excuses but I know I am still not over the flu.
I still cough every night.
I still have a tight chest.
I still do not have the energy to ride that I have had in the past.
And I am sick of being sick.

BMC done.
I wont do it again.

Perhaps.

Wet

2009-04-05T10:40:00.001+10:00

We have had some very wet weather locally with rainfall of over 100mm over the past 2 days and approximately 130mm over the past week.
And with all of this wet weather, there was only 1 thing to do. Get over it and ride like nothing had happened.
And ride we did.
River Loop - check.
MTB singletrack - check.
Coot-tha hill efforts - check.

The only concession that we made to our normal routine came yesterday when we decided that due to how wet it was we would do the 4 hour ride that was on the program on MTB's rather than on our roadies. 75km on road while riding MTB's is probably not something I plan to do again too soon. I was surprised how much tougher this was than the same loop on road bikes.

Even these guys thought the weather sucked enough that they took refuge in our pergola.

Lets hope this week is dryer but if not we will just have to GET OVER IT!!

Why???

2009-03-30T20:50:00.000+10:00

Why is it that you can have great weeks in training??
Why can you feel so strong for weeks and weeks on end??
You can ride and ride and ride.
You do extra's because you feel so good.
You feel that your climbing is better,
You think you are faster,
You think you can ride further,
You think you are more attractive to women (and possibly some men).

But then.....

Sick!!!!
I hate being sick.
It is rubbish.
Hopefully I am nearly over it though.
Another race interspersed with coughing fits is not an option.

Oh well, back to the part of cycling that I am probably truly best at.

The only way is up

2009-03-19T18:20:00.000+10:00

This week has seen a continuation of the climbing that was commenced last week.
And that is fine with me.

I have come to actually enjoy riding where the surface slopes upwards. Dont get me wrong. I am not saying I am great at it but I am a lot better and more comfortable with it than I used to be. And it is certainly not that I am built for it at 6'3" and 85kg. I cannot even say that I have the lungs for it as I puff and pant like a steam train. But I am now wlling and able to push through this and PEDAL HARDER. This new focus has seen me do 4 recent MTB hill sessions on the SS. I have pushed myself hard on each of these sessions and have been able to keep myself out in the pointy end of the group each times. The same can be said for last weekends road ride out to Mt Mee.

This road ride was not particularly long at 100km but once again there were plenty of hills to keep the legs hurting. I certainly knew that I had done some climbing by the end of it.

Tomorrow is the final session for the week with out of saddle climbs in the dog before completing the Mt Coot-tha Challenge on Sunday. Hopefully the training sessions and my willingness to hurt myself will give me a good result.

Good times

2009-03-10T19:32:00.000+10:00

Well, after a solid week on the bike last week we are backing up this week with some even tougher km's.
But during all of this I have been lucky enough to be able to include some time on a very fun bike. My Singlespeed 29er is my go to bike for offroad. To make it even better it had rained all last night meaning that by the end of today's session I was wet and coated in mud.

For some reason riding my singlespeed always brings a smile to my face. Yes it i can be hard work and yes it can hurt. But there is always some sense of achievement when you clean a climb or obstacle that others struggle with on their geared bike.

I have also found in the past that if I want get myself fit in a hurry, time on the SS will get me there quicker than anything else I know. So it will be interesting to see what happens given that my fitness is far better than it has been in the past.

Tomorrow will be another fun day with some sharp hill repeats scheduled and the SS packed in the car ready to go. Hopefully the SS and I will still be on speaking terms afterwards.