The usual thoughts are running through my head and giving me a touch of insomnia in the process, or was that my 32kg Pointer whimpering as the thunder rolled through at 4am this morning. Thoughts like, I could have ridden on Friday arvo last week but opted for a beer and bbq instead. Hmm thats going to hurt on Sunday. Is my bike ready to go, need to get those slick little carbon bar ends installed, that will definitely fix my lower back pains and basically plant me on the podium. What am I going to eat pre race, during and post race? Have I got a goal or am I just there to give it 100%?
Well I can answer most with logical ideas and remedy the other thoughts with procrastination. All pretty obvious when it comes down to it so I'm going to write down a few observations on team racing in 24hr events instead.
We have two local 24hr events that happen during the year, The Mont and The Scott. The Mont (entries opening in 2 days) portrays itself as a friendly but competitive 24hr race, family orientated and targeted at beginners through to Pros. The Scott is a little more serious, the track is more demanding and competition seems to be smokin' hot throughout the entire field rather then just at the pointy end. Both events sell out like a U2 concert and you're lucky to get a spot after a couple days of entries opening. It amazes me that so many people (including myself) make a 24hr event their first MTB racing experience. Talk about jumping in the deep end, maybe there is comfort in the thought that you're doing it with 5 other loonies. But I tell you, those first couple of 24hr races that I did, where I thought I could train for 2 weeks, and expect to finish strongly, were some of the most testing hours that I've ever experienced. Last years Mont was really the first time that I put in a bare minimum of training and prep and it was much more rewarding and enjoyable as you'd expect. I wonder what the percentage is of first timers going on to give other MTB racing a crack.
24hr Team Racing Observations
- doesn't matter where your team finishes, what matters is where you would have finished if everyone had the same lap time as you
- finishing the race seems to be debateable, if it rains and you're not in the top three, then democracy rings true. Except for that one dirt bandit, who just can't stop riding and most likely has some sort of chemical imbalance
- trying to find a bunch of 6 riders all on par with riding speed is like trying to make pandas mate. You either have to split up an existing family or you find the perfect match only to find out that the panda gets cold paws cause they are worried about what the other panda's think.
- there is a fine line between a social team and a competitive team, social pretty much goes out the window once the first round of lap times are set and everyone is trying to get closer to the gun rider
- sponsorship is cool but comes to those who know people and not necessarily those who are fast. People who appear to be sponsored always seem to attract attacks on the track. They always have the best tent sites with flat screens and DJ's.
- the pro's go past you so quick that you often crash a few corners later cause you lose focus and start thinking about how the f'ck they do that and then a rock jumps out in front of your wheel.
- there's something exciting about having a hot shower at 3am. Until you get in there and the steam from a dozen pair of jingle jangles fills your nostrals and you just want to get back to your swag and forget it ever happened.
- Sunday night dinner after the event never tasted so good, even if it is bangers and mash. Half a beer goes down like velvet, the 2nd half does too but you can't remember because you've already fallen asleep on the couch.
I'm entering a mixed team of 6 for the Mont, we tried hard to get a team of pandas to mate but just couldn't get it happening this year. So I'm looking forward to training and racing with the motley crew that we've thrown together.
Triple lap of Stromlo this arvo, about 40kms, there has been some rain so hopefully the dust, and now mud, has settled.
Until next ride..Stay frosty
Monday, 7 November 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
10 days to go...
until race day..I've changed down to the 50km for the upcoming race, mainly so I can get a little less pain for my gain. But I will be entering the Capital Punishment race so will be going for my first 100km race in a couple of months.
I've had some good riding sessions, 55km in 2:15 on the weekend, wasn't a bad effort but most was on the tarmac or fire road. Some good long hills and after putting in a local ride today I can feel that my legs have a bit more climbing in them now. Spent 95% of the time in the big ring today to try and get some strength into my quads. They feel like they have had a work out that's for sure.
I'm planning to do some hill efforts up Mt Stromlo road tomorrow afternoon, I'm thinking 4 is a good number.
Peace out
I've had some good riding sessions, 55km in 2:15 on the weekend, wasn't a bad effort but most was on the tarmac or fire road. Some good long hills and after putting in a local ride today I can feel that my legs have a bit more climbing in them now. Spent 95% of the time in the big ring today to try and get some strength into my quads. They feel like they have had a work out that's for sure.
I'm planning to do some hill efforts up Mt Stromlo road tomorrow afternoon, I'm thinking 4 is a good number.
Peace out
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Highland Fling Preparation - better late then never
I have some cracking rides, all around the 90min mark but at a good hard pace.
I scored a ticket to the Highland Fling and currently entered for the 100km. I've only got about 16 days to get into gear. So I need lots of big ring hills, high cadence sessions and more hills. The race has 2300m of climbing, ouch. I'll do a trail race about a week before to see how close I am and may drop it back to 50km depending on how suicidal I'm feeling.
I set out and completed a 20km time trial course this afternoon and finished it in 1:09mins. This will be my benchmark for a maximum effort session. At the end of the ride my hips were sore and I had a little lower back pain. I'm guessing because I haven't done many rides as hard as that over the last 2 months or so.
TLC Cycles have tuned my brakes to near perfection, new pads and a bleed and my levers are back out to where I like them. That is with minimal free-play, I like to be able to just tap the brake sometimes without going into a full skid or front wheel wash out, can be the difference between staying on line or getting sent into the bush. My descents felt good cause I could easily tuned the bike and speed on the way down.
I'm doing a 55km ride tomorrow morning. Its mainly tarmac and firetrail so 2:30mins is probably a good goal.
Until next post.
Keep your bike tuned up :-)
I scored a ticket to the Highland Fling and currently entered for the 100km. I've only got about 16 days to get into gear. So I need lots of big ring hills, high cadence sessions and more hills. The race has 2300m of climbing, ouch. I'll do a trail race about a week before to see how close I am and may drop it back to 50km depending on how suicidal I'm feeling.
I set out and completed a 20km time trial course this afternoon and finished it in 1:09mins. This will be my benchmark for a maximum effort session. At the end of the ride my hips were sore and I had a little lower back pain. I'm guessing because I haven't done many rides as hard as that over the last 2 months or so.
TLC Cycles have tuned my brakes to near perfection, new pads and a bleed and my levers are back out to where I like them. That is with minimal free-play, I like to be able to just tap the brake sometimes without going into a full skid or front wheel wash out, can be the difference between staying on line or getting sent into the bush. My descents felt good cause I could easily tuned the bike and speed on the way down.
I'm doing a 55km ride tomorrow morning. Its mainly tarmac and firetrail so 2:30mins is probably a good goal.
Until next post.
Keep your bike tuned up :-)
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
I'm back in the game
I've had a little break from training, been doing the odd ride but nothing serious. So it's time to get back into it.
Daylight saving has arrived and so have the regular afternoon rides. I'm going to start doing some short and sweet entries about individual riding sessions and see if I can get some progress on the board.
Next ride booked in for tomorrow.
Here's a little photo of my son Callum. When he is on my shoulders he just moulds around the back of my head, I couldn't resist.
RIP Marco Simoncelli - Super Sic #58
Daylight saving has arrived and so have the regular afternoon rides. I'm going to start doing some short and sweet entries about individual riding sessions and see if I can get some progress on the board.
Next ride booked in for tomorrow.
Here's a little photo of my son Callum. When he is on my shoulders he just moulds around the back of my head, I couldn't resist.
RIP Marco Simoncelli - Super Sic #58
Monday, 25 July 2011
Bushman Blow - CORC Rd 3.3 Stromlo West
I was excited to go to work today, not because I’m a professional windsurfer living in Maui, or a professional skier on training camp in Aspen. I was excited about coffee and because the weekend just gone was so full of action packed racing I just wanted to sit down at my desk and reflect on how good it is to be Aussie.
The racing kicked off on Saturday afternoon when we all got in on the action with the CORC Rd 3.3 race. Then after a home cooked cassoulet, we watched Mark Webber get pole at the German Grand Prix, he went on to get 3rd in the race. A quick flick to SBS had us back onto the Tour de France, we watched Cadel Evans smash the time trial (and the haters) to take him to the pinnacle of his career. Then it was MotoGP in the USA, qualifying on Sunday morning and Casey Stoner started from 2nd and went on to win.
CADEL, Aussie! WEBBER, Aussie! STONER, Aussie! Good little Aussies racing in Canberra, OI! OI! OI!
Race Preparation
Not much to talk about here, I slept pretty well through the week and my diet was pretty solid and fibrous. Thought about riding everyday but didn’t actually turn visualisation’s into effort until Thursday. Felt a little sore on Friday so decided to rest easy and then race day had swung around. Poor effort I know, the lure of a frozen bike seat in the garage just wasn’t enough to get me out there on the trainer. Just a little too much of everyday life stuff getting in the way, longer warmer days aren’t too far around the corner and I’m sure this will get easier. Right?!
I recently read that if you want to get the full effects of coffee for performance enhancement in sport, you need to abstain from drinking it for at least 5 days before the event. I haven’t actually tried having a few cups before a race or hard ride and most definitely didn’t abstain from coffee during the week. I’m sure I’ll try this one day but it wasn’t to be for this one.
The Race
I rocked up with my family and bike at the ready. With a comfortable 30mins spare to sign on and to get that race plate on I went for solid warm-up just before race start. I made sure I cracked a good HR in the warm-up, an older, wiser, faster guy told me that the warm up is key to getting a good lap. Thanks Dylan you old man.
I thought that I had a pretty good idea on the track layout from studying trail maps of previous races at Stromlo-West. I was spot on for the 1st half of the circuit but the 2nd half presented trails I haven’t ridden before and ended up contributing to the most testing MTB race/ride that I’ve done so far.
The way the starter lady let us off was surreal and ended up being a perfect paradox for what was about to unfold. She was so relaxed, so at ease with her job that she pretty much let us start ourselves. She called the A graders up and said “Oh well, rightio, just go then“…I can understand not having a gun but you have to say ‘Ready, Set, Go!!!’ Come on…
The course ended up taking me over 2hrs and was about 40kms long. Normally its 90min race and maybe about 30kms. The extra distance and challenging track made it a big effort. This link is to a GPS track of a guy who also raced B grade, he finished a few minutes in front of me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101622778
As per usual the first lap pace was fast and I was on full throttle, and with a start straight that gave us few hundred metres of climbing I barely held on to the Top 5. But once we set into a groove, and the corners started getting tighter I managed to pull them back a little. Ended up riding the 1st 2nd and 3rd lap with two other guys but half way through the 3rd lap they left me to ride out the rest of the race by myself.
There were some awesome sections on the track, the undulating Willow Link was fast and flowing. Terminal Velocity is an intense little bit of track that is basically a top gear roller coaster dipper that is fast enough to shoot you back out on top of a rocky hill. I remember feeling my grips compressing as I was holding on over the 100s of 1 inch marbles that were trying to send you off the track. With a few nice jumps and berms down the last section you were left with a smile on the dial ready to do it all again.
The last lap was killer for me, I’d had a GU before the start and one during the 3rd lap. I think they might have helped a little but I was really feeling it. It was the first time in ages that my shoulders and arms were actually getting tired from riding. My calves hinted at cramping at one stage but I managed to spin them out a little and didn’t have to stop. Lucky I wasn’t actually racing close to anyone at that stage because it could have been the end of my race. Coming down the hill to the finish was a great feeling and I was greeted with a bunch of fellow riders all looking very pleased with themselves. I stopped, looked around and then got slapped in the face with my own 3 inch snot worm. This seemed to please the crowd for some reason and they began clapping and cheering like something shocking had just happened. I was the last finisher in B grade and with a few DNF’s behind me I ended up in 8th. There is no doubt this game is tough and everyone out there on Saturday did well to finish, or nearly finish as the case may be for some.
Another race down, and I’m looking to the next month of training for more good times on the trails.
Until next post
Ride on
Dave
The racing kicked off on Saturday afternoon when we all got in on the action with the CORC Rd 3.3 race. Then after a home cooked cassoulet, we watched Mark Webber get pole at the German Grand Prix, he went on to get 3rd in the race. A quick flick to SBS had us back onto the Tour de France, we watched Cadel Evans smash the time trial (and the haters) to take him to the pinnacle of his career. Then it was MotoGP in the USA, qualifying on Sunday morning and Casey Stoner started from 2nd and went on to win.
CADEL, Aussie! WEBBER, Aussie! STONER, Aussie! Good little Aussies racing in Canberra, OI! OI! OI!
Race Preparation
Not much to talk about here, I slept pretty well through the week and my diet was pretty solid and fibrous. Thought about riding everyday but didn’t actually turn visualisation’s into effort until Thursday. Felt a little sore on Friday so decided to rest easy and then race day had swung around. Poor effort I know, the lure of a frozen bike seat in the garage just wasn’t enough to get me out there on the trainer. Just a little too much of everyday life stuff getting in the way, longer warmer days aren’t too far around the corner and I’m sure this will get easier. Right?!
I recently read that if you want to get the full effects of coffee for performance enhancement in sport, you need to abstain from drinking it for at least 5 days before the event. I haven’t actually tried having a few cups before a race or hard ride and most definitely didn’t abstain from coffee during the week. I’m sure I’ll try this one day but it wasn’t to be for this one.
The Race
I rocked up with my family and bike at the ready. With a comfortable 30mins spare to sign on and to get that race plate on I went for solid warm-up just before race start. I made sure I cracked a good HR in the warm-up, an older, wiser, faster guy told me that the warm up is key to getting a good lap. Thanks Dylan you old man.
I thought that I had a pretty good idea on the track layout from studying trail maps of previous races at Stromlo-West. I was spot on for the 1st half of the circuit but the 2nd half presented trails I haven’t ridden before and ended up contributing to the most testing MTB race/ride that I’ve done so far.
The way the starter lady let us off was surreal and ended up being a perfect paradox for what was about to unfold. She was so relaxed, so at ease with her job that she pretty much let us start ourselves. She called the A graders up and said “Oh well, rightio, just go then“…I can understand not having a gun but you have to say ‘Ready, Set, Go!!!’ Come on…
The course ended up taking me over 2hrs and was about 40kms long. Normally its 90min race and maybe about 30kms. The extra distance and challenging track made it a big effort. This link is to a GPS track of a guy who also raced B grade, he finished a few minutes in front of me.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/101622778
As per usual the first lap pace was fast and I was on full throttle, and with a start straight that gave us few hundred metres of climbing I barely held on to the Top 5. But once we set into a groove, and the corners started getting tighter I managed to pull them back a little. Ended up riding the 1st 2nd and 3rd lap with two other guys but half way through the 3rd lap they left me to ride out the rest of the race by myself.
There were some awesome sections on the track, the undulating Willow Link was fast and flowing. Terminal Velocity is an intense little bit of track that is basically a top gear roller coaster dipper that is fast enough to shoot you back out on top of a rocky hill. I remember feeling my grips compressing as I was holding on over the 100s of 1 inch marbles that were trying to send you off the track. With a few nice jumps and berms down the last section you were left with a smile on the dial ready to do it all again.
The last lap was killer for me, I’d had a GU before the start and one during the 3rd lap. I think they might have helped a little but I was really feeling it. It was the first time in ages that my shoulders and arms were actually getting tired from riding. My calves hinted at cramping at one stage but I managed to spin them out a little and didn’t have to stop. Lucky I wasn’t actually racing close to anyone at that stage because it could have been the end of my race. Coming down the hill to the finish was a great feeling and I was greeted with a bunch of fellow riders all looking very pleased with themselves. I stopped, looked around and then got slapped in the face with my own 3 inch snot worm. This seemed to please the crowd for some reason and they began clapping and cheering like something shocking had just happened. I was the last finisher in B grade and with a few DNF’s behind me I ended up in 8th. There is no doubt this game is tough and everyone out there on Saturday did well to finish, or nearly finish as the case may be for some.
Another race down, and I’m looking to the next month of training for more good times on the trails.
Until next post
Ride on
Dave
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Manna Maniacs - CORC Round 3, Manna Park, South Coast, NSW
Winter has come, and it has hit really hard, with some days seeing temps drop to zero before the sun has gone down. We can see snow on the Brindabella Mountains which means the ski season has kicked off, and the tracks are consistently moist and grippy. Riding and training is still possible but I’m finding it hard to stay motivated. I came down with an URTI (Upper Respiratory Tract Infection) in the days leading up the 7hr so I had to make a last minute decision to pull out. Thanks to Matt for stepping in to race for me, I think he had the sniffles as well but pushed through with the team to complete with a good result.
As per usual I’ve had a mixed bag of training ‘weeks’ over the last month or so. I ended up losing 2 weeks of training with being sick, but then made the most of the weekends with some good interval sessions and spun out the stationary trainer during the weekdays. On average I’m doing 4 sessions a week with about 5 – 6hrs in the saddle. Now that I’ve locked myself into B grade for the rest of the year I’ve been trying to push out the sessions to 90mins to 120mins. Hopefully this will improve my endurance and give me some more ammo for that last lap. My diet is a little better but this cold weather just makes me want to eat Double Cooked Pork belly all night long. I’ve dropped another skin fold down to 84kgs but still have my eyes set on sub 80kgs by the end of the year. TLC Cycles have been maintaining my Scott to near perfection. The shop hooked me up with some new Ritchey grips and a new Maxxis CrossMark tyre, all at the right price. Thanks for the help team TLC.
We have started a facebook group as a gee-up for friends who ride and race to get organised with rides and weekends away like this. It’s proving to be a handy tool and we ended up with 8 like minded Track Elves making the pilgrimage to sunny Merimbula. It’s refreshing to be hanging out with easy going folks who like to race hard when the gun goes off.
The Race
I’m still at bit puzzled at the rationale for having an ACT round of the CORC series in NSW, but for me, to get a taste of a new track and score some points at the same time seems like a great idea. So with no better excuse, Cathy, Callum and I packed up the car as a family unit and headed to the coast.
The Race was held at Manna Park which is situated about 15mins north of Merimbula. The park presented typical Aussie coastal flora and fauna with ferny gullies, loamy blackened soil then to tall eucalypts and rocky trails on the top of the mountain. Driving into the park I could feel every little tight and sore point in my legs, my hamstrings felt a little tight, my throat felt a little sore and my body was trying hard to convince my mind that flogging around single trail for 90mins isn’t a good thing. Bad luck body, because my mind knows better!!!
http://www.mannapark.com.au/
It wasn’t a huge turn out of riders and the officials decided to run A and B grade together. It was a bit hard to know who entered what grade but some familiar faces told the story fairly well. I went in with the attitude to keep the lead riders in view for the first lap, find a good pace for the middle 2 laps then punch out a quick last lap. Without a practice lap I also committed myself to hitting all the A lines at pace, that’s logical isn’t it?!?!
The first lap went to plan, I found myself towards the back of the pack but with a few riders behind me. I was pushing and breathing hard at a HR of 175bpm and made a little space between me and 5th place. On the descent I managed to recover into a manageable 165bpm and was feeling ok. The A lines were designed well and you didn’t really need to be 100% committed to make it over them, the drop off’s were actually steep down ramps and the rocky descent was smooth enough to hit with speed without losing it. Lots of fast flowing berms were you could carry heaps of speed but as per usual the downhill just wasn’t long enough.
Early into the second lap and with the last lap in mind, I told myself to conserve and recover. I locked into a pace that was still pushing hard but without going anaerobic so my legs could clean themselves out a little. It didn’t take long and 5th place was on the move and got past me up the steep switch backs. I let him go and convinced myself that any chance I had would be to get him in the finals stages of the race when he wrecked himself. Well that didn’t happen, he got faster and I had a mechanical.
The third lap is a bit of a blur but I got passed by another rider and was riding in 6th, or last as there were only 6 riders. I remember feeling a strong pain in my hip down to the outside of my quads so I’m going to have to get some advice on that one. I changed up gears, down gears, and back up again until I found a cadence that didn’t hurt as much. Being a bit slower on the steep up hill section I knew I had to punch out some strong downhill action to have any chance at getting that place back. I locked in, thought about being smooth and fast, thought about Luke Skywalker and the force, and hammered the descent as fast as I could. Man it was a fun track, off camber long turns, gullies into tight berm’s and wide open big ring sprints through grassy firetrail’s, it had it all.
The last lap, time to give it everything. Near the top of the climb right when I had punished my legs as much as I could, I noticed my front tyre was going down slowly. It was only a minute later and I had my bike over my shoulder and was jogging through the bush from one single trail to the other. I found a friendly marshal (Andy), on the track and asked him for a tube. He said no but ‘take my front wheel if you want’. Sweet….After a quick pit stop, I was back on the trail, but his front disc was smaller then mine so I had to hit the downhill with only my back brake. All good, ‘channel those BMX days and find your inner bandit’ I said to myself. Also had to repeat out loud, left brake only, left brake only. I knew if I grabbed my front brake it may lock up and leave me on foot again, or my pads would seize together leaving me with a trip to the bike shop. Luckily Carmel (fastest lady on the track) rode past just as I pulled back onto the trail and she was able to get me back into a nice pace and give me a dusty warning on fast approaching tight corners. After a couple of moments and massive skids, I made it to the finish. I probably lost about 6mins with the flat but at least I finished. I’m hoping all this bad luck will come as part of my steep learning curve and next year will bring better luck and better results. Might even get some better luck in the next race :-)
Race Work Rate
Max HR: 179bpm
Average HR: 165bpm
Highlights
- awesome track with heaps of technical stuff
- fun steep and fast downhill section
- Saturday night dinner with the gang
- coming into 2nd lap ahead of a few quick B graders
- hanging with my little family and having them at the race
- currently running 11th in B grade standings
Lowlights
- steep switchbacks wasn’t very well suited to a heavy climber like me
- downhill was over way too quickly
- bloody puncture, going tubeless soon for sure
- back axle is still slipping in those carbon drop outs
- B grade first lap pace is still well beyond me
Next race is CORC Rd 3.3 for locals who couldn’t make it the Manna Park. It's on this weekend. My goal will be similar to the last, Top 10 will be good but Top 5 I’d view as a win.
Until next post.
Ride On!!!
As per usual I’ve had a mixed bag of training ‘weeks’ over the last month or so. I ended up losing 2 weeks of training with being sick, but then made the most of the weekends with some good interval sessions and spun out the stationary trainer during the weekdays. On average I’m doing 4 sessions a week with about 5 – 6hrs in the saddle. Now that I’ve locked myself into B grade for the rest of the year I’ve been trying to push out the sessions to 90mins to 120mins. Hopefully this will improve my endurance and give me some more ammo for that last lap. My diet is a little better but this cold weather just makes me want to eat Double Cooked Pork belly all night long. I’ve dropped another skin fold down to 84kgs but still have my eyes set on sub 80kgs by the end of the year. TLC Cycles have been maintaining my Scott to near perfection. The shop hooked me up with some new Ritchey grips and a new Maxxis CrossMark tyre, all at the right price. Thanks for the help team TLC.
We have started a facebook group as a gee-up for friends who ride and race to get organised with rides and weekends away like this. It’s proving to be a handy tool and we ended up with 8 like minded Track Elves making the pilgrimage to sunny Merimbula. It’s refreshing to be hanging out with easy going folks who like to race hard when the gun goes off.
The Race
I’m still at bit puzzled at the rationale for having an ACT round of the CORC series in NSW, but for me, to get a taste of a new track and score some points at the same time seems like a great idea. So with no better excuse, Cathy, Callum and I packed up the car as a family unit and headed to the coast.
The Race was held at Manna Park which is situated about 15mins north of Merimbula. The park presented typical Aussie coastal flora and fauna with ferny gullies, loamy blackened soil then to tall eucalypts and rocky trails on the top of the mountain. Driving into the park I could feel every little tight and sore point in my legs, my hamstrings felt a little tight, my throat felt a little sore and my body was trying hard to convince my mind that flogging around single trail for 90mins isn’t a good thing. Bad luck body, because my mind knows better!!!
http://www.mannapark.com.au/
It wasn’t a huge turn out of riders and the officials decided to run A and B grade together. It was a bit hard to know who entered what grade but some familiar faces told the story fairly well. I went in with the attitude to keep the lead riders in view for the first lap, find a good pace for the middle 2 laps then punch out a quick last lap. Without a practice lap I also committed myself to hitting all the A lines at pace, that’s logical isn’t it?!?!
The first lap went to plan, I found myself towards the back of the pack but with a few riders behind me. I was pushing and breathing hard at a HR of 175bpm and made a little space between me and 5th place. On the descent I managed to recover into a manageable 165bpm and was feeling ok. The A lines were designed well and you didn’t really need to be 100% committed to make it over them, the drop off’s were actually steep down ramps and the rocky descent was smooth enough to hit with speed without losing it. Lots of fast flowing berms were you could carry heaps of speed but as per usual the downhill just wasn’t long enough.
Early into the second lap and with the last lap in mind, I told myself to conserve and recover. I locked into a pace that was still pushing hard but without going anaerobic so my legs could clean themselves out a little. It didn’t take long and 5th place was on the move and got past me up the steep switch backs. I let him go and convinced myself that any chance I had would be to get him in the finals stages of the race when he wrecked himself. Well that didn’t happen, he got faster and I had a mechanical.
The third lap is a bit of a blur but I got passed by another rider and was riding in 6th, or last as there were only 6 riders. I remember feeling a strong pain in my hip down to the outside of my quads so I’m going to have to get some advice on that one. I changed up gears, down gears, and back up again until I found a cadence that didn’t hurt as much. Being a bit slower on the steep up hill section I knew I had to punch out some strong downhill action to have any chance at getting that place back. I locked in, thought about being smooth and fast, thought about Luke Skywalker and the force, and hammered the descent as fast as I could. Man it was a fun track, off camber long turns, gullies into tight berm’s and wide open big ring sprints through grassy firetrail’s, it had it all.
The last lap, time to give it everything. Near the top of the climb right when I had punished my legs as much as I could, I noticed my front tyre was going down slowly. It was only a minute later and I had my bike over my shoulder and was jogging through the bush from one single trail to the other. I found a friendly marshal (Andy), on the track and asked him for a tube. He said no but ‘take my front wheel if you want’. Sweet….After a quick pit stop, I was back on the trail, but his front disc was smaller then mine so I had to hit the downhill with only my back brake. All good, ‘channel those BMX days and find your inner bandit’ I said to myself. Also had to repeat out loud, left brake only, left brake only. I knew if I grabbed my front brake it may lock up and leave me on foot again, or my pads would seize together leaving me with a trip to the bike shop. Luckily Carmel (fastest lady on the track) rode past just as I pulled back onto the trail and she was able to get me back into a nice pace and give me a dusty warning on fast approaching tight corners. After a couple of moments and massive skids, I made it to the finish. I probably lost about 6mins with the flat but at least I finished. I’m hoping all this bad luck will come as part of my steep learning curve and next year will bring better luck and better results. Might even get some better luck in the next race :-)
 |
| Andy my savour |
Race Work Rate
Max HR: 179bpm
Average HR: 165bpm
Highlights
- awesome track with heaps of technical stuff
- fun steep and fast downhill section
- Saturday night dinner with the gang
- coming into 2nd lap ahead of a few quick B graders
- hanging with my little family and having them at the race
- currently running 11th in B grade standings
Lowlights
- steep switchbacks wasn’t very well suited to a heavy climber like me
- downhill was over way too quickly
- bloody puncture, going tubeless soon for sure
- back axle is still slipping in those carbon drop outs
- B grade first lap pace is still well beyond me
Next race is CORC Rd 3.3 for locals who couldn’t make it the Manna Park. It's on this weekend. My goal will be similar to the last, Top 10 will be good but Top 5 I’d view as a win.
Until next post.
Ride On!!!
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Sore but not Sorry – CORC Round 2, Mt Majura
Race Prep
My preparation for this race wasn’t bad, but there were plenty of areas for improvement. There was only 3 weeks between Rd 1 and Rd 2 so I really needed to get riding as soon I had had recovered from Rd 1. I didn’t get out for a few a days after the race, probably because of those competing priorities again, the state of origin, family dinners, spending time with wifey and the young fella, keeping warm. All beautiful priorities when it comes down to it. I only got two rides in that 1st week and 3 mediocre rides in the 2nd week, and then with 5 good sessions I smashed myself on catch-up in the 3rd week. I’m going to put it down to not committing to this blog with regular posts and updates I’ll look to improve on that in coming weeks.
Other things I need to improve on:
- earlier nights to get some morning rides in.
- my eating habits in the last few weeks would have got me on biggest loser if it wasn’t for the riding that I’ve been doing.
- more shed sessions on the trainer while watching Will Ferrell movies to shave those skin-folds, I view this as free speed so have to get down to a decent race weight ASAP. I’ve levelled out at about 85.5kgs, goal to be at around 80kg by the end of the year.
The Race
Before I knew it, race day had swung around and I loaded my freshly serviced bike into my cousins van. It was to be his first XC race and awesome that we’ve finally found common, competitive, and dusty ground that we can share. It was cold yesterday morning, very cold, probably zero in the sun and minus 2 in the shade with a slight breeze to chill things off even further. Is coffee good for pre-race preparation? Who cares its bloody cold and I need it.
We got to the track and with the car park over flowing, the excitement was starting to build. I had already made up my mind about what grade to enter, partly because of peer pressure, but mostly because I have me eyes set on racing A grade in the final round next year. “So you’ll be entering C grade today” the lovely volunteer asked. Nope, put me down for B Grade please. Game on Dirt Monkeys!
I did a little warm-up wheelie, said hello to my family who had come out to cheer me on and took my place behind the A graders and in the guts of B grade. Looking around it seems that B graders are all a little leaner, a little taller and have cleaner bikes then C grade. It’s the clean bike’s that worry me, that spells preparation and a switched on competitor. I entered the race with a totally different game plan to the last, my friend (Trent) and new rival was in the race so I planned to lock onto his back wheel for as long as possible and then see what happens in the last lap. An A grader friend said, just try and keep the front guys in view the whole time.
The plan worked for some of the first lap. Then I overtook Trent before a decent, it was all going ok, but I remember thinking, “oh I hope you didn’t follow me through that section because it was a massive hack”. Next thing I know my front wheel pushed through a sandy berm and I laid it over, price for not doing a practice lap I suppose. 5 riders went passed me before I was back up and running, but my rhythm was gone, skin on my left leg gone, my mate, gone. Crap this wasn’t in the plan. So I enacted plan B, get back on the wheel of Trent and get back to plan A. I managed to get back on the tail of the bunch in a few minutes and was back on Trent’s wheel as we went over the start/finish. Sweet, got my tow back!!!
Same section but on 2nd lap, I went for the same move, went passed Trent before the decent and made it through the sandy berm this time. He even let out a ‘yahoooo’ for my efforts. About 3 minutes later I hear a nasty chain noise and looked down, my front derailleur slipped and my chain was jammed up against it. Pulled over to try and force it back but needed some tools to do so. Rode as a single speeder for the rest of the lap and did a 2min pit stop at the start/finish. At this point I was having serious thoughts about quitting, I knew that any decent result was now out the question, but my nephews were there, my family cheering me on, and the young riders need to see commitment from the older guys. So I pressed on. New plan was to try and get myself off last place and put in a good fast lap on my last lap. I pushed through, found a good rhythm and with the help of some wind from Dylan Cooper screaming past me on single speeder with no suspension, I punched out my fastest lap on my last lap. Finished in 13th out of 17 starters and left with a few sneaky points on the board.
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I learned a hard lesson from this race! Don’t smash the descents on the 1st lap if I don’t know the track. Otherwise it was a RACE and I got race conditions. I ended up a full 12 minutes behind 1st place so I still have a long way to climb before thinking about A grade. It was an eventful one that didn’t return a good result but I finished and I’m happy with my first B grade initiation.
Next race is this coming weekend, SCUM 7hr at Stromlo in a team of 3. I’ll have a well earned rest day today but will be back into the training by tomorrow night.
Until next post.
Skids and wheelies!!
My preparation for this race wasn’t bad, but there were plenty of areas for improvement. There was only 3 weeks between Rd 1 and Rd 2 so I really needed to get riding as soon I had had recovered from Rd 1. I didn’t get out for a few a days after the race, probably because of those competing priorities again, the state of origin, family dinners, spending time with wifey and the young fella, keeping warm. All beautiful priorities when it comes down to it. I only got two rides in that 1st week and 3 mediocre rides in the 2nd week, and then with 5 good sessions I smashed myself on catch-up in the 3rd week. I’m going to put it down to not committing to this blog with regular posts and updates I’ll look to improve on that in coming weeks.
Other things I need to improve on:
- earlier nights to get some morning rides in.
- my eating habits in the last few weeks would have got me on biggest loser if it wasn’t for the riding that I’ve been doing.
- more shed sessions on the trainer while watching Will Ferrell movies to shave those skin-folds, I view this as free speed so have to get down to a decent race weight ASAP. I’ve levelled out at about 85.5kgs, goal to be at around 80kg by the end of the year.
The Race
Before I knew it, race day had swung around and I loaded my freshly serviced bike into my cousins van. It was to be his first XC race and awesome that we’ve finally found common, competitive, and dusty ground that we can share. It was cold yesterday morning, very cold, probably zero in the sun and minus 2 in the shade with a slight breeze to chill things off even further. Is coffee good for pre-race preparation? Who cares its bloody cold and I need it.
We got to the track and with the car park over flowing, the excitement was starting to build. I had already made up my mind about what grade to enter, partly because of peer pressure, but mostly because I have me eyes set on racing A grade in the final round next year. “So you’ll be entering C grade today” the lovely volunteer asked. Nope, put me down for B Grade please. Game on Dirt Monkeys!
I did a little warm-up wheelie, said hello to my family who had come out to cheer me on and took my place behind the A graders and in the guts of B grade. Looking around it seems that B graders are all a little leaner, a little taller and have cleaner bikes then C grade. It’s the clean bike’s that worry me, that spells preparation and a switched on competitor. I entered the race with a totally different game plan to the last, my friend (Trent) and new rival was in the race so I planned to lock onto his back wheel for as long as possible and then see what happens in the last lap. An A grader friend said, just try and keep the front guys in view the whole time.
The plan worked for some of the first lap. Then I overtook Trent before a decent, it was all going ok, but I remember thinking, “oh I hope you didn’t follow me through that section because it was a massive hack”. Next thing I know my front wheel pushed through a sandy berm and I laid it over, price for not doing a practice lap I suppose. 5 riders went passed me before I was back up and running, but my rhythm was gone, skin on my left leg gone, my mate, gone. Crap this wasn’t in the plan. So I enacted plan B, get back on the wheel of Trent and get back to plan A. I managed to get back on the tail of the bunch in a few minutes and was back on Trent’s wheel as we went over the start/finish. Sweet, got my tow back!!!
Same section but on 2nd lap, I went for the same move, went passed Trent before the decent and made it through the sandy berm this time. He even let out a ‘yahoooo’ for my efforts. About 3 minutes later I hear a nasty chain noise and looked down, my front derailleur slipped and my chain was jammed up against it. Pulled over to try and force it back but needed some tools to do so. Rode as a single speeder for the rest of the lap and did a 2min pit stop at the start/finish. At this point I was having serious thoughts about quitting, I knew that any decent result was now out the question, but my nephews were there, my family cheering me on, and the young riders need to see commitment from the older guys. So I pressed on. New plan was to try and get myself off last place and put in a good fast lap on my last lap. I pushed through, found a good rhythm and with the help of some wind from Dylan Cooper screaming past me on single speeder with no suspension, I punched out my fastest lap on my last lap. Finished in 13th out of 17 starters and left with a few sneaky points on the board.
I learned a hard lesson from this race! Don’t smash the descents on the 1st lap if I don’t know the track. Otherwise it was a RACE and I got race conditions. I ended up a full 12 minutes behind 1st place so I still have a long way to climb before thinking about A grade. It was an eventful one that didn’t return a good result but I finished and I’m happy with my first B grade initiation.
Next race is this coming weekend, SCUM 7hr at Stromlo in a team of 3. I’ll have a well earned rest day today but will be back into the training by tomorrow night.
Until next post.
Skids and wheelies!!
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