karen has the chicken pox – really badly. its the third case in the house in as many weeks. aidan, lachlan then three days later karen. so after a completely fucked up last 3 weeks [and still ongoing now...] i did make my way to the fling. i basically tooled karen up with dinner ready for the kids and left not too long after lunch. i probably shouldn’t have gone but there really wasn’t much i could do at home. anyway i did. when i arrived back home after the fling karen was in tears in our bedroom. with the things pictured below on your face it is really depressing. and for a women i think it seriously quadruples the pain… its all about beauty etc.

poor thing. these aren’t the worst of them

as for the fling i may have been expecting a bit more than what it had on offer. with it selling out so quickly i though this would be the benchmark in 100km endurance races in NSW. it might just be me whinging due to the bad lead up to the race but i was reasonably disappointed with the fling overall. i was tired before i even got there. i feel ill that night in bed and i have no idea why but i was cramping in my upper legs just edging around setting up the tent WTF. i had been taking magnesium tablets for 4 days beforehand, eating salted peanuts… it was just all wrong. maybe it was stress.

after arriving and pitching the man cave, i went for a ride before heading into town to register. i did a shortish 10+km and felt like i had a flu with severe pains in my legs. they were sore and uncooperative probably due to the 165km the weekend before and nothing in between. i made my way back into town and once registered i then waited at the finish of the bundanoon dash. if i go back to the fling i will do the dash. it did look like fun and i like climbing. luckily i saw ben and crew and had a quick chat to them all before heading back to the man cave. i did a quick ride through the event center and it felt a bit like a party that could start but no one really had an invite to it – if that makes any sense???

the neighbor with bling

at the man cave the guy to my left had an envious set up all round. driving a black audi wagon with super low profiles, serious mags and sporting an almost 100% bling yeti 575… i was impressed. although he did have a super huge sneezing attack at 3.30am but thankfully i went bed early enough for this to not be to much of an issue.

carbo ready. still so impressed with this bike. gordo won on a scale.

i slept well getting up twice to wizza – hydrating was obviously working – and i rose feeling much better than i expected. it was one of the better sleeps i have had in about 3 weeks.

in the morning [and the evening before hand] i had done a lot of bike staring. there was some impressive machinery around.
behind me were the gary fisher guys – lots of 29ers.
i saw an amazing singular.
a niner that was so bling it was insane. raw frame with pink king headset and what seemed to be pink industry nine wheelset. – single speed of course.
on course a huge [tall] guy passed me on a ventana 29er. in all i was very surprised at the amount of 29ers and singlespeed competitors and weirdly i found myself in amongst the single speeders a lot out on course towards the last 1/3 of the race.

sunset

as for the fling as a race/event i was far from impressed… my bitch starts now:-
cons:
1. i agree with no bottled water, down with that but i am glad i didn’t rely on water being there. the tanks weren’t turned on till the sunday. i think its much more important to hydrate the day before hand than to wash your bike down after the race. i will however keep that policy and my next endurance race i will be buying a water carrier and fill it each time.

2. starting a MTB race with 500+ riders at once is just ridiculous. seriously stoopid. it basically put everyone in instant stress. the climb out of the paddocks up the hill side [single track] could have been so beautiful – sun rising over the hill with silhouettes of cyclists but no… it was an insane bottle neck with people jumping queue i.e. going around the out side of the track and others talking out loud having a go at them. this part of the course was really nice and would have made for such a great climb to start off with. for me i did pass a lot of the competitors in the two lane paddock climbs before that single track.

3. paddocks are for cows not MTB’s. its like riding on corrugated dirt roads – shit. which there were a couple of those as well. not impressed.

4. to the dickwad no. 3xx on the scott spark who just threw his gu wrapper with total disregard to anything and everything. your a cock. i tried to get his number, but i just gave up on it all. my word v’s him and not the best way to spend the next 5 hours riding stewing on that guy – trying to remember his number etc. sad moment. i kept all wrappers under my lycra and dumped them at the gu garbage/box stations provided. sadly in one of them i saw the top part of a seat post, someone wasn’t going to have a good race NICK?.

5. fire trails are exactly that – fire trails not MTB tracks. i know, i know thats picky but when you have done the angry doctor you will understand. the firetails were awesome – you rode up them and then turned off into single track. they should be a means to get to a height only to be launched back into more single track. honestly the course felt like the course director wasn’t really sure where the single track was and decide to just ride around everywhere the easiest way.

6. to the train i created with the 5-6 riders behind me. it was the road stretch into the last transition. i was out front and flying putting in a serious effort. i honestly reckon i was pushing 35+ but only twice did anyone come and take the lead out. not impressed at all. one person was a girl sponsored by giant. she did her bit [sort of] but the bastard on the GT who came around as we climbed a hill it was all a bit late mate. he didn’t even attempt to keep me with him but took the girl*. the other lead out was steve [ex WSMTB guy i met on the day - see below]
so pissed about this as it happened a couple of times. another time i had a girl on a cannondale lefty who sat on my wheel for about 1.5-2 km. i slowed for her to at least help but no, gave her the elbow to lead out, nope… she didn’t budge… so i stood up and sprinted and spat her out the back.
there’s no excuses, if you know how to use the train, you know how to lead out.

sunrise

pros -
1. well elites. i loved the way they started late. it made my day to be honest. they caught me at the first transition. i had just taken off then all of a sudden i was in the middle of them. it was a bit surreal to be honest. they were all chatting about english. i heard one of them say “leave him out there to fry” then they all giggled. i think gordo then sat up and said, “hey we still have 2 minutes from there – pissa” then within less than an eye blink they had left the “swarm” and were all pulling over for a nature break. i pushed on and as we started into the forest stage they caught up. it was pretty amazing as they were a working as a train. about 15 of them? who ever was on lead out basically called “comin’ through on your right… a shit load of us”.
once they passed i couldn’t help myself – i jumped on. so funny. i had a weird kid like grin going. i sat with them for about 1km going through some of the descents before the climb into the forest. i was happy i could keep with them technically but when it went slightly uphill it was a different story. ciao!

2. the forest/pine stage i enjoyed. i like riding in the pines, its a lot different to the bush/scrub. the soil is softer, much softer and you can see further ahead so i felt a lot more confident knowing/seeing what was coming up.

3. darryl [BMU] thanks – you were dead right. i chose to ride through the water bath. it was awesome till about 1km up the road and the squeaks started. my drive train, chain to be specific was dryer than… well you know what… it was dry.
until the last transition where i rock and roll’d it had been a very noisy ride. next time [if there is one] i will carry my bike through the bath.

4. the water bars were unreal. i got some serious air and loved it. only one almost took me but i really loved the wake up call.

5. i am now a big fan of the monorail, lots of grip. only once in some of the soft sandy single track the front started to give but i was able to keep it upright. i did however clip a tree in the main single track section. we were in a group of about 6-7 of us and the guy behind was like “whoooo” … “that was close”. i just replied “thought it was in your way so i was moving it for you”

6. nutrition and hydration is now sorted. i think i am at a point now where i have it almost right. i just need to work out why i was cramping. that was weird… very weird considering it was even before the race.

7.carbo was once again amazing to ride. i did have some issues with granny but once i rock and roll’d him that almost went away. he does have a little cable stretch for sure after the last service. the fork lock out was a little sketchy as well towards the end. i do lock it out a lot on the climbs and it had some crap in the turn key and was getting slightly stuck. i have since cleaned it and it is all a-ok again.

i did have a good race. i met up with a guy in a WSMTB jersey and spoke to him for about 20+km. we rode together for ages. i probably could have gone a little harder during this session but i really enjoyed the company. he had a lump the size of a golf ball on his knee even still he was there when i was out in front of the train took his turn but was pretty spent/exhausted – which i knew. he commented on how strong i was when i was lead out so i was pretty stoked about that and he too didn’t have to many kind words about the train. the amazing thing was he was over 50+ and came 6th in his category. nice guy.

it does sound pretty negative my take on the fling and i am a little uncertain if i will try so hard to get an entry next year. as for my results i did well – i think anyway.
i am still improving and can do more. it was rumored to be 112km long so

distance: 112km
time: 6:05:05
avg: 18.4km/hr
cat pos: 47th – 223 finished
overall: 143rd – 582 finished

now just waiting on the joe friels training books. the final race for this year will be the WSMTB 4hr enduro which i now have something to do with as i am on the committee… more on that shortly.

* i saw my first every true professional race strategy at the fling. steve said to me – and it all made sense then that the guy who road my freight train and took the girl up the hill was a lead out for her. he was pretty certain he was taking her to the finish line. i have no issues with that at all but don’t abuse other people along the way. do your fair share

with the lead up the the angry i wasn’t happy i didn’t get out to do a full discipline so i was determined to make time before the fling.

i had the one window which was last saturday even if it did mean setting out solo at 1.30pm in the warmth. it was a great move to do so as well. conditioning the body for heat, checking/testing foods and hydration and pushing out an almost 6hr ride i hope is going to be a great lead up to the race on sunday. i really wanted to focus on my food. the angry taught me a lot and the main thing was to keep eating no matter what.

the ride itself was awesome. i basically rode to the city via the M2, across the bridge, and returned along the M4. on the M2 the head wind wasn’t friendly but i dealt with it. the M2 is good to ride, you fell pretty safe and it does have some hills unlike that on the M4.

unfortunately the battery ran out on the M4

i made my way to the harbour bridge and once there i was feeling bloody unreal. i wasn’t sore as i had taken a good but not over zealous pace. the sky was blue, the air was fresh and the riding was just great.

as i crossed the bridge a P & O liner was departing through the harbour and under the bridge. it was a really blissful moment. the people on board were so happy, as was i, and they were pumping out the tunes [land downunder] super loud. i had to stop and take a pic and just generally soak up the moment.

… he just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich …

through the city is always slow and it breaks my rhythm everytime. to may stops and starts etc. i stopped to grab a drink and a mars bar, then kept on only to be held up on the pyrmont foot bridge as it closed after letting a boat through and into darling harbour.

once i hit the M4 i had a small tail wind and with its help i was flying along comfortably. i rode into the sun happy and still feeling reasonably good. when i hit mamre road i was starting to feel the km and i had weird notions of catching the train from penrith to springwood but there was just no way i was going to do that. i hit lapstone and the bastard hit me back big time. it’s a nasty hill after you have ridden 140km. it hurt my lungs more than my legs and about half way up i had to start a different breathing method. much deeper and longer just to keep on keeping on. i made it up – filled the bottles at glenbrook service station and just powered home.

in total it was a 165.72km ride – 5:40:23 time – with an average of 29.21km/hr. i really wanted to keep it above 30km/hr avg but the city killed me there.

its monday night and my legs are feeling good so i really think this will help me with the fling. i’m going to say it out loud – i have a target time of 5:45min for the fling. its a tall order, it is a 113km race now, but i will give it my best shot.

the one and only thing i was annoyed with on the ride was i didn’t have the film for the XA-2. i saw so many pic opportunities that just weren’t captured. more on the XA-2 Shortly. i may try and ride to work on wednesday as a mild paced hit out. all weather dependent.

we were warned and sure enough it happened. poor adian has had the chicken pox for the last two weeks. its pretty full on, i had forgotten how full on it is as a virus. he has had the shots against it [so has lachlan] but he seemed to have contracted it some how.
the first couple of days sleep wasn’t something any of us had, well lachlan did, but we were up all the time with him. he basically cried for 2 days which was so sad to see. i spent a few days working from home but he is all good now and went back to school today… but…
now lachlan has the pox! FFS. so i am guessing the same kind of couple of weeks will occur again. poor little man.
all this has mixed up my training a little but but i guess you just have to deal with things as they come.
i have done a pretty solid week of core last week and with this being the lead up into the fling on the weekend i will do some core again this week.
i did however manage a massive ride on saturday. will post about that some time this week.

i hate my kids being sick. you just feel hopeless

so i took to the track today but this time in B-Grade. as i always promised to myself i would go up if i placed. honestly i was in two minds about the decision but there was no way i was going to backout. the stragety was i would just “feel” it out see what the pace is like, understand how they ride and take my time to stay upright.

i hadn’t been feeling 100% fitness wise. i didn’t get to ride to work all week due to aidan and his horrible chicken pox. because of this most nights this week i only had a few hours sleep. i had been lazy and not done any of my core work or stretching either. the race was never going to be a winning effort in an shape or form.

i arrived solo, registered and took to setting up carbo. i set out for a couple of warm up runs and still felt it best to just lay low today it wasn’t going to be a fast day in the saddle. after the climb to the tower over v-ditch and through the garden i knew carbo was ok but not perfect. i dropped down through the ess’s and nearly dropped the front. it didn’t feel right and it wasn’t until the bottom before the right into max’s bridge that i realised i had a front fat. bah! i had to walk back up to the transition area and then search for a tube. i knew i hadn’t brought one with me which was very unlike me.

lynchy hit up the PA asking for a spare tube and thank fuck some nice guy lent me one. i was stoked as i was about to drive back home to grab one. then, as i started to change the tire i realised i had also dropped a bottle. WTF! i never drop bottles. so once again out on the warm up rolling again looking for it.

thankfully i found it and made my way back realizing it was going to be “one of those days”. i lined up at the start with just the one bottle – in the front holder – thinking back now it was a stupid thing to do. needless to say i dropped that bottle on the first 1/4 of the first lap. idiot maneuver and i should have known better. the rest of the race when i had bottles i placed them in the seat post holder.

the race began and i was pushed back a fair bit off the front straight up. i wasn’t that keen to be aggressive anyway so i just took the first lap as it came. i was stuck behind a guy for a long time and didn’t bother asking to pass. another rider passed us both about half way through the lap and i was really stupid and didn’t past the guy in front at the same time.

the rest of the race was just a sit back and ride. i stopped a few times to take on drinks, i pick up my dropped water bottle on the third lap and the rest was a general nothingness whilst racing. i actually made it up and over every technical section without as much as a balk which was awesome.
carbo was running ok but needs a serious tune up because the cable stretch was insane by the end of the final lap. i am also keen to give the monorail a run up front. the raching ralphs didn’t feel as good today.

i checked my times and my first lap was a 24.40. doing my usual -hypothetical/mathematical- equations if i had keep that pace [i think that is slower than my best pace on a good day] i would have finished top 10. but… at the end of the day i finished 15th, with 16 finishers and 20 starters in total. almost last.

in all i am pretty happy. i am now in B-Grade for good. i need to work more but that is perfect. a more intense training program and further away goal is great to try aim for. checking my first lap against my old C-Grade it was the right move to go up a grade. now i just have to try and get some serious KM in before the highland fling and stop eating shit food, and more core, and more hills…. and blah blah blah

so i took him down the hill for a quick hit out very late this afternoon
hes in pretty good form atm. the full service was worth it. the forks felt “clean and smooth” – they weren’t any more plush but the rebound felt really dialed in and bloody nice. so i’m extremely happy with the forks. just above them now looks pretty clean as well. its the small things but it really helps me not having that cable shit fight going on anymore. i am really liking the gold bling outer chainring bolts. decadent i know but wtf and why-t-f-not. the cranks, now they are soooo different. they feel solid. i didn’t realise before but there really was quite a lot of play in the arms. power goes down very nicely… well nicely enough to snap the chain, again so i found out… ffs.

i am thinking all the hill are starting to really pay off. i was climbing out of the garden of eden up to the second tower when i just snapped the chain in two. luckily i was seated at the time, thats what my nuts were saying anyway. it was a snap at the power link so thankfully i was carrying another one. i just replaced it and continued along. i guess i have learnt a lot over the past year + of racing, you don’t go out on virgin equipment – it will always end up in tears – even if it is only for a 1hr bedding it.

the gears were bang on but i know they will be just off after the race on sunday. cable stretch has already begun! yellomundee does that and does it well. the south western end is brutal on the drive chains, with many pinch climbs, technical sections etc.

as for sunday i am in no-mans land as to how well i will go. i thought i was doing ok but it always so hard to tell. i no longer time my laps, i no longer use the HRM, i no longer do anything apart from ride. training is just ride the bastard, most of the time hard and sometimes point it up the hills again and again. i am thinking i will really hold back on the first lap to just settle [ha, not as if that has ever happened!]. i am more interested in bringing it home fast and upright. the forecast is for rain so the set up will be racing ralph on the front with a cross+mark out the back. the KSB8 is a shit in the slippery stuff. i’ve never raced in the rain so i am looking forward to it.

i’m pretty pumped for the B Grade start. it will be a first and a pretty happy moment, its a long time coming and a lot of work to get there. i do want to take it as a training ride for the highland fling [in two weeks!]