Sunday, November 22, 2009

Pitch Balck 12hr

Well this race is the last one for me for the year and also marks the start of my training for next year the plan for this race was to have fun and race with a good mate of mine Chris. The course is set out at old Hiddenvale were the Merida 24hr was held earlier in the year, the track was 11km long and had a bit of everything little rock gardens, fast flowing sections and afew climbs to keep you honest. Our plan was to do a lap each and then go to double laps for the rest of the race Fitzy[Chris] had been nominated for the first Lap honours,our crew consisted of the usual suspects Kiri, Pearso, Kel, Nat and Boo there was also the crew form actions cycles having a crack at the solo Mick and Grant and Cam and co. came out also for moral abuse, Andy Fellows was there to race the solo category also.





First lap saw Fellows leading the race out of the first corner and Fitzy about forth, 27 min later saw Andy lay down the fastest lap of the race and Fitzy came in 4 min later post a massive crash, I went out and although may lap time was around the 30 min I was all over the show over shooting corners and making lots of silly mistakes by the time I came back in Fitzy was ready to hit the double laps and it was time to settle in for the night, we kept the lap consistent and after 5hrs we finally caught up to Andy [ I think it was because he slowed down] by this stage we had hit the lead outright but there was a 3 man team Red back cycles that were not more then 3 mins behind us the whole race trying to grab the outright position. This went on for the rest of the race they caught us twice throughout the night but we managed to get back in front and by morning I was feeling a little secondhand and by the time Fitzy finished his last double there was only 34 min left on the clock before the 12hr mark so I quickly grabbed the transponder and went for it, I knew the redback team were only 1 min behind and I would have to pull out all stops to keep the win, my lap went really well I ended up back to the start finish with 40 sec left on the clock Fitzy went out to seal the deal with another lap.



Bozz and Fitz 1st pairs

Andy Fellows 1st solo

Mick 2ND solo

Mark Ay Up 3rd in cat on a SS

Rach 1st solo

Race was good and the 24hr out there next year is going to be fun

Keep the legs burning

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Canis Tyre [Onza]




Well I didn't think I would be giving you a little review on this tyre so quick but I think these tyres are the best thing since Ay UP and Sram pwr links hit the market. So this is how it went last night me and my good mate Chris wacked a set of Canis tyres on our bikes Chris rides a Cannondale F1 and I put the set on my XTC we drove to the top of Mt Cootha and our plan was to drop into Gap creek from near channel 9 news HQ. The tyres claim to be a loose over hard, hard packed and medium soil tyre so what better place to give them a test ride then out at Gap Creek, being on new tread that we have never ridden on we were alittle reserved on our approach to the first fire road descent as it was all loose over hard but this reserved feeling was quickly put to bed as the tryes lived up to more then they promised, we found ourselves trying to get the trye to loose there grip [bearing in mind we were on a loose fire trail descent] within 400m of track we were stoked with both of us saying at the same time we had found the best tyre we have ever ridden on.


So how did they perform in the single track well lets just say that I don't think me and Chris could smile any harder then when finished our first peace of single infact Chris kinda look like Lenny off the Simpsons. We found the tyres were just point and shoot they went exactly were you wanted them to go and we had no problem cornering, rolling efficiency was outstand the tighter tread design in the centre of the trye doing exactly what it was ment to, roll and fast I myself had never used small block 8's but Chris told me they are faster then them and he probably won't be using small block 8's again.


Now to finish off our ride we decided to go back up the same fire road we came down to start with, we got treated to the same with the tyre just sticking we had no wheel spin and thats even being out of the saddle and putting the big ones in.


To sum up the best tyre both of us have ever ridden on. Get some on your bike

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

ONZA TYRES [LNYX] Review















Well if your have read the latest Mountain bike Australia Mag you might have come across a review about some new tyres called Onza. There is afew guys getting around on them but KWT hooked me up with a couple to get out on the track and see how they go. The day before the Titus 24hr I ripped off my trusty maxxis Rancheros and Larssen TT and threw on a set of Onza LYNX 1.95, most people [Hubcap] would say you should not even change your tooth paste before a race. My plan because of the grass was to run a slightly narrower tyre so I wouldn't have to push anymore rubber around the course then I needed to, and I chose the LYNX because it was a little more aggressive to give me the traction when I needed it in the soft stuff.



As you can see from the tread pattern it's got pretty aggressive side lugs on it, this worked out great form me on the Canugra course and I had no difficulty biting into off camber corner whether it was on the grass sections or in the washed out sand bunkers. To the rolling efficiency well I didn't notice any difference between these tyres and my trusty tyres I was using previously. I don't use UST tyres so I used the foldable version and wait for it it, it weighs in at a super heavy 400grams [excuse my poor sense of humour] considering one of the fly weight tyres I won at an event once weighed 330 grams and had no tread on it this is pretty impressive. All up I am stoked with the performance of these tyres and I think if you want something different give these ago.

Another great thing about the tyres is they all are 120 Tpi so they are equivalent to your Maxxis exception series tyre. In the XC range they keep it nice and simple there is 3 models LYNX, CANIIS, IBEX but there is a couple of different sizes of each model though.







Maxxis has a strangle hold as fare as the MTB tyre market goes but if any other brand of trye is going to compete I would like to think Onza might be the one.

Review to come on the Canis once i hit the trails again.

Later

Monday, October 26, 2009


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Titus 24hr


The course was set out in Canugra were they held the Dusk til Dawn earlier in the year, the race was going to start at 2pm instead of the normal 12pm start this meant that if the racing was close by day break Sunday it was going to be a case of how can survive that heat temps Saturday and Sunday were about 34 deg.


The solo field was about 50-60 approx and with Andy bell, Matt and Hubcap around I was always going to have my work cut out for me not to mention a unknown field which always seems to produce some dark horses. At 2pm the start gun went and we were off my plan for the race was to try and hang on to Andys wheel for as long as I could. First lap found myself, Andy and Matt within a couple of seconds of each other. I kept pace with Andy for afew laps but with Matt putting in little attacks along the way I decided with the heat I would drop my pace I ended up letting Andy and Matt go around lap 4 approx. and started riding my own race.


The track was 7.5 km but for such a little course it was alot of hard work as you can see by the race results, there was alot of fresh made track which smashed your legs as the race wore on. Matt took some time of the bike which ment I had a fare gap back to him and Andy kept opening the gap to me. For the rest of the race I battle my own demons that wanted me to throw the towel in buti kept trying to open the gap to third so I could get off the bike early before the heat kicked in. As the morning rocked around my lack of consistent training after the world was showing, my plan was to hold second place and not try and chase Mr Bell. 6am I stopped and had a shower put some fresh kit on and went on to hold 2nd place.


The race was good it has got me keen to start training and prepare for next year.


On a different note there were 12 people that were convinced by a mad man solo rider[ me] to get themselves sorted into two 6 man teams and take on a 24hr race when they had limited MTB experience. These guys were great not once did either team stop in the whole 24hr, I think each of them found out what endurance racing is all about. A big congrats goes out to you guys you kicked arse.




Updated

Well it's been a little bit since I have updated my blog. Following my epic fail of a ride back to Gympie a few weeks ago I didn't train as much because I didn't feel 100% and following that I caught one super charged flow for 2 weeks. This bring me up to the week before last were I raced the Delxc flow 6hr. Still not feeling great i decided before the race that it was going to be a warm up for the Titus 24hr. The track was not real technical but had a bit of climbing and overall the field was fast, I rode until 12 were I stopped and had a rest then continued on until on. I placed 10th and with my sights set on having a good race at the Titus I was pleased with my result.

On a different note the boys from KWT have hooked me up with some Onza tyres, I will punch out a review soon.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Wolrd 24hr 2010


Mt Stromlo is going to be the venue for the 2010 World 24hr....... Start Training

Friday, September 25, 2009

Late Night Rides

Well after the worlds I decided that I needed to do some longer training rides [ over 3hrs] so at the beginning of the month I rode from my home in Gympie to Brisbane [ about 196km] with this in mind on Thursday I decided that I would ride from work back to Gympie. I left at 9pm and headed north, I am finally getting use to sitting on my roadie and managed to do my first 120km in about 4hrs which brought up to around Nambour area. Everything went great until the 180km mark Kin Kin area by this time I had done 6hrs on the bike and I totally under estimated how cold it is around the hills there at this time of the morning. I had run out of food and was about 15km from home when I rang Kiri and asked her to come and get me. Kiri's dad came down the rode and picked me up. Basically I had run out of food and I couldn't even climb the smallest of hills I am not sure how cold it was but about 5 degrees would be a good guess, I was very cold it took a good couple of hrs for me too get warm again. Next time I will be a little bit better prepared.

My Ay Ups blazed a path through the night and as fare as a roadie goes my Giant Defy from Pedal pwr Plus was Great.

Later

Go smash yourself

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Giant Bikes

I was lucky enough to be invited to the lauch of the Giant bike range held in Brisbane last night Bling everywhere. I got to touch and see the new carbon Anthem and thats were that will end becuase the bank says NO, the new XX sram stuff looks sick. It was good meeting all the guys from Giant and I might just get myself onto the new 29er.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-AU/

Cheers Dave for picking me up and taking me along.

Cx out Crummys blog for his product reviews

Later

Monday, September 7, 2009

WHATS HAPPENING

Well its been a bit over a month since the worlds and the plan was to get back into training at the end of August but I ended up pretty crook so that didn't happen. A week ago and with alot of advice from different people I have crossed over to the dark side and bought myself a roadie at least for the long training rides. I got 2009 defy 1 from Dave shop http://www.pedalpowerplus.com/ he has a wicked special on at the moment if anyone interested.

Last week I spent cruising around Brisbane getting use to the bike and over the weekend I decided that sunday nights weather look nice to ride from my home up in Gympie to Brisbane to start work 6:30 Monday morning. After getting some sleepI started my ride at 10:30pm sunday and road my usual ride though all the back ways to Brisbane airport. The traffic was great because there wasn't any and my AyUp's blazed a path through the dark, all up it took me 6hr 40 mins to punch out 196km.

Later

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Pwr Breather part 2

As you know from a couple of post ago I have been trialing a pwr breather over the week I have been sick so I haven't spent any time on the bike but I have been using the pwr breather. It is hard for me to give you any figures on my improvement as I don't train or ride with any heart rate monitor etc. what I can tell you is over the past week or 2 every time i use the PB i find it easier and it's nearly time for me to step it up to the next setting. I think at this stage there are benefits in using this product if anything I think you would get a similar benefit to training at altitude. I will give you a update in a month

Later

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

For the Riders

Becuase I work in Brisbane and go home on the weekends its impossible for me to get all of my work done through my Local shop http://www.pedalpowerplus.com/ when I spend so much time in Brisbane. Tim and the boys from For the Riders have helped me out with heaps over the last year, and in the week leading up to me leaving for Canada were able to fully service my bike forks and wheelset to ensure I wouldn't have any problems. So if your in Brisbane and need some help to get out of a jam give Cx these boys out http://www.fortheriders.com.au/. Like wise if your up my way Pedal pwr plus will help you out.

cheers

Bozza

FOR SALE FORKS






I have a set of 100mm Fox RL's with remote lock out if anyone is keen. They have seen appox. 12hrs use there off my new xtc that i got a couple of months ago. They have been serviced and are good to go I am asking $1000 ono. I thought I would put them on my blog before i go throw them in the paper.

Later Bozza

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pwr Breather

In the week leading up to the worlds a mate of mine rang me and said that he wanted to through my name to a guy by the name of Tim Perkins who is the general manager of a company called Health Management group http://www.healthmg.com.au/. Grant has be using a product of there called a Power breather and I was lucly enough to get one from Tim to give it ago myself, Grant told me they are basically dumbbells for your lungs.

From what i have read and been told they don't increase your lungs capacity but they increase the efficiency of your lungs instead. In a nutshell the exercise your lungs. It's about 4-6 weels before you notice any real change in your breathing and studies have shown that there a gain of about 3-4% in your performance which sounds like stuff all but when you add that up over 24hrs of riding even 1% difference is alot.

Firstly you start on a build up phase of 30 breaths twice a day for 4-6 weeks then you go onto a maintenance phase.

I have not had alot time to use it but I will keep you posted on my progess. If your interested give me and email or you can get in contact with the boys fro Action Cycles in Chermside.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

World Solo 24hr


Well I just want to say Cananda rocks, great palce to ride and I wish I had more time over there.




To the race,




race day rocked a round with a scorching 36 degree's so it was just like racing in summer back here. There course it's self I think is best described as Mt Stromlo and Majura Pines course in one for those of you that have raced around Canberra, The course had around 500m of climbing per lap and stretched 16km.




After been introduced to the start line just before 12 it was a 500m lamonze start had a good run and had no idea were I was in the pack so on the bike and on with the job. My plan was as always go out farely hard get into a good position and work from there. After 3 or 4 laps Kiri told me that I was leading my category which I was surprised to hear. So all I had to do was stay in first for the next 21hrs easier said then done.


Basically for the rest of the race I battle the course and my body and then hit the wall around 12hr mark, the course was rough and even though I needed to eat a didn't want too. After taking some advice from Andy I loaded up on everything bad like coke, redbull and Gels to get myself back in the game.


By morning the hills seemed bigger but it didn't matter I rode well through the night and by the 20hr mark I think had put about 2 laps into second. I basically rode the rest of the race just to finish and not do anything to stupid. I ended up taking the win in the 25-29 category and finished 18th overall. I need to say thank you to my beautiful wife Kiri for looking after me and kicking my arse back out on course whenever I stopped for to long, also to Vang Andys mate that came down to the race to help cheers mate. Thanks very much Andy for showing me and Kiri around and helping to get me ready to race and well done on being the world #3. Ay Up


Big thanks to my sponsors and to everyone that helped me achieved this result.


AY UP

Australian Aerospace

Pedal Pwr plus [ Giant bikes]

Hammer nutrition


The race itself and the course was tough and beat me up but I would go over and do it all again. The race next year is coming to Australia so get training. How good will it be doing the worlds on our own turf.


Bozz



Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Canada

THIS PLACE IS WICKED.

Just went for a strap with Fellows on the world 24hr course, pretty tough little course but it's going to be fun. I will hopefully get some photos up soon

Later

Whip them legs

Bozza

Monday, July 13, 2009

PAIN is just the WEAKNESS leaving the BODY

Well it's less then a week till we board the plane and land in Canada for the worlds. Have I done enough training I think so but I will let you know when I get back. Ay Up will be over there in force with Mr Fellows taking on the big boys for the World title and myself having a crack at my age group 25-29.

Had a crack at the noosa enduro on the weekend and just got away with a 3rd place finish in the open class. The course is pretty taxing especially in the 2nd half I faded pretty bad at about the 60-70km mark due to my poor nutrition paln. Good race, not my usual type of race and I will be back next year. No more sand bagging in the opens though HUBCAP.

Just to let you guys now I will be selling my Fox RL with remote lockout once I get back from Canada so if anyone is interested give me a bell.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Whats Cracking

Well its not long til Canada now but the Noosa enduro is this weekend which is good becuase I am a bit more focused on that then thinking about the Worlds. I have no real expectations for the Enduro as it is 100km race and not the type of race that I usually do, it will be good training though. Training lately has consisted of longer less intense rides and after this weekend I will be tappering off.

I don't have to much else to report.

Bring on the worlds

Keep the legs burning

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Insomnia 24hr Report

Well it was a dusty dry course. NO the Insomnia lived up to expectations wet wet wet. The course got shortneed to 7km and about 6.5km of this was soaking. I didn't do this race solo as the World 24hr is just around the corner so the 2 man team was the go.

My partner in crime was Mr machine Fellows, basically the paln was to get out and smash the first few hrs and see how we were travelling then do 3 or 4 laps at a time to get some km's into the legs. As it turned out we managed to get well out in front and by midnight we both were sick of the Mud and the bike component eating conditions as were alot of other poeple. We came first in the race and were fare enough in the lead to enjoy the morning without any time on the bike.

I want to say thanks Andrew from Ay Up for the Heater and for the best lights Ever made, also to my partner in crime Andy for a good race and a big congratulations needs to go out to the solo guys and girls who raced the whole race you guys are legends.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Insomnia 24


Yes this is wear I will be on the weekend. Can't wait to hit the trails rain, hail or shine. Hubcap I am not racing solo this race I will be in a 2 man team instead. You have some pretty tough competition ahead of you though with the likes of Sick Mick and Matt.

I have been pretty busy lately but still managing to get the K's under the belt, anyway looking forward to catching up with the usual crew and getting the tyres dirty
If you have read the latest Enduro mag you will find a speel on Esi grips, and they great. I highly recommend them if you are having trouble with comfy grips

Smash it

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Mt Perry

Firstly I just want to say it was a great track with good hard climbs and big rewards coming back down to transition. I am already making plans to go back up for next years event. My goals for this race was to try and get into the top 5 if not 3, give the XTC a run and have fun.

As it turned out this was not my race, going into the first cornerI think I was in around 15th and after the first couple of climbsI am pretty sure I made it to around 6th and that was pretty much the end of it for me. Coming down the first technical switch back I ended up over the bars and flated about 2 minute after that.

To cut along story and excuses short I ended up pulling out of the race after three laps, not real proud of it but thats racing.

The XTC is wicked

Next up Insomnia 24

Well done to Andy Fellows who took number one spot and to Sick Mick who came 2nd in his catergory and 5th over all.

Keep the Legs Burning

Monday, June 1, 2009

My new Bike


Here it is the my new ride from Giant. I have changed a couple of things from when I got it, I took the 819 mvic wheel set off and put my XT wheelset on instead and also put a set of Next raceface Carbon bars on it to. After going for a thrash on the 50km Noosa enduro track I have got to say it's very sweet bike to ride and very very comfortable cant wait to have a good run on it at the Mt Perry race this weekend.
I have also been trailing a set of Esi grips and they seem to be pretty good also, will do a review after this weekend.
smash it

Monday, May 25, 2009

TRAINING

With about six weeks of training left as well as the Insomnia 24hr and Noosa enduro before the Worlds I am at the stage where I have to be on the bike no matter what the weather. As I was on late shift this week and didn't start work until 2pm Monday I decided that Monday morning would be great oppurtunity to put some K's under the belt for the week.

I decided to ride from my home in Gympie to work in Brisbane Aiport, the route I went is starting Cedar pocket i would stay off the highway an go all the back ways through all the little towns Kin Kin. The hills around Landsborough are pretty big and great for training. It turned out to be 207km ride in abouot 7.5hrs on my XTC.

I just want to clear up one thing most poeple have told me that I am insane I just want to say you are 100% correct and I even went to the doctors and had it confirmed, he put a insane stamp on my hand but it washed off in the rain.

Smash it up no excuses

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Fully Sick Mick

My number is 0407260310

Bozz

Monday, May 4, 2009

Training Rides




Well, a week after I competed in the National solo event I decided to give the Merida 24hr a go. I wanted to approach this race as more of a training ride more than a race. Even though I had a good result at Nationals there were a few problems with my eating plan that I was not happy with, so another 24hr seemed like a good way to iron out those problems.




I got out to the Merida 24hr about 3 hrs before the race and Mick from Action Cycles had already set up, so I got my stuff together and set out for a quick practice lap. I was happy I went on this lap, as it prepared me for the hard race ahead. The first half of the course was pretty much a rock garden following the first grass hill climb, not much flow and pretty rough on the bike and body. The second half was a lot more flowy with not to much climbing, but as we all know, at the end of a 24hr race a little climbing is a lot.






With a little help from Mickers it was time to get on the start line, Mattdog being the only competitor on the list that I had heard of. I thought I was in with a shot at a top 3, but I never under estimate an unknown field, as there are usually a couple of dark horses in the mix. My plan was to go out hard for the first 6 hrs and see how I was travelling after that. I was aiming to complete the race but wasn't sure just how hard I should push myself. I had positioned myself just back from the Flight centre team and found myself cruising up the first hill in about 5th outright. After about 3 laps, my crew made up of Kiri, Don and Bubble, informed me that I was in a position I have never been in before - 1st! Stick to the plan - go hard for the first 6hrs then see what happens.





Well it was all starting to look like Canberra by 4 or 5pm with rain coming over. My Xtc was fine but the hard tail was starting to take its toll. On my anthem I was running 1.9 Larsen TT, banking on it remaining dry. Oh well. By the seven hr mark the rocks were slippery the track was wet and I'd had enough of the Hardtail smashing my back. The rain had stopped though, so I jumped the Anthem still with the 1.9s on. My crew told me that I had a good lead, can't remember by how much, but I had been starting to lap other solo riders by this stage. So back to my plan. Well, in my first six hrs I had a good lead - do you think I wanted to slow down? No! New plan - keep going and try to increase my lead, keep the lap times consistant and see what happens between now and Morning. To my supprise the tyres were great on the track, I had no problems at all and I was hitting all my lines. To cut a long long story short, by morning I was well clear of second and was able to finish my race at about the 23hr mark. I managed just over 350km on a pretty tough little course and to boot i have got my first ever 24hr Win. Hell ya




Chris with about 12hrs notice switched from a pair team to solo, and until his back played up had managed to get himself into 3rd during the race. Mickers in his first ever solo attempt got 10th. I need to say thankyou to my pit crew - you guys were great - and also to Pearso and Kel who came out at midnight to help out, it was great.








To add to my epic weekend, Giant has come onboard as a sponsor, i got my new XTC on Friday so stay tuned for some Photos soon.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Merida 24

Well you would think after completing National 24 I wouldn't want to look at a bike for a while let alone another 24hr. I decided within a week of competing at nationals that I would give the Merida ago, i dont know whether this is a good idea or not. I am going into this race thinking of it as a training ride, its a good chance to get my eating plan down pat as well as some extra training in the dirt. I have no real expectations of myself but i would like to keep up with Chris and Mick as they are doing it as a pair.

I also need to say thank you to Duck. He sent me up a sweet set of Next carbon bars, i have never riden with carbon bars before so i cant wait to give it a go.

Whip them legs

Bozz

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Thanks

Its time to say thanks to a couple of people that have helped me on my mission to be a 24hr rider. Apart from my sponsors these people help me a hell of a lot.

I want to say thanks to Crummy as he's the one that got me to do my first ever mountain bike race back in 05 and since then it has always been about pushing/beating each other no matter what race or ride, Crummy has achieved some great results and has always been a bench mark for me in the sport.


Chris AKA the Forehead and his wife Bubble i met at my first ever solo attempt at the Merida 08 and since then they have become great friends, Chris is one of my training partners [coach] in Brisbane and always gives me a run for my money. Sometimes I think Chris is more excited about going to the Worlds then me.


Kiri my wife and my two girls Charlotte and Kaitlin are great. Kiri has supported me from the word go, I think she gets sick of me talking about bikes though! Both girls are also shaping up to be good little riders!


Last but by far not the least, Pearso [Slingshot], who has been looking after me at races from my very first race. He has driven with me to Canberra both times i have gone. He has been there crewing for me no matter what the weather conditions or where the race is. He is head pit crew and seems to enjoy watching me thrash myself in a 24hr (payback for all the riding I make him do!). Thank you very much Pearso for all your help.

Thanks

Now smash it

Thursday, April 16, 2009

National Report






It all started for me last Thursday when Slingshot & I started the long drive down to Canberra. By 7am Friday morning we had arrived in Canberra, & while setting up we noticed fully sick Mick had rocked up. I managed to get out and do some practice laps with Slingshot, Sick Mick, Duck and Graham. The track was great and went down as the best 24hr track i have ridden. It was mostly single track, with a couple of small fire road sections. The single track itself had heaps of tree roots and pine needles which in the dry made the track a little slippery. Anyway, on race day i woke up and to be honest, after all the driving, i wasn't really fussed about doing the race. By the time 12pm came around i was in the mood and ready to go!

The start line had all the big names there: English, Fenner, Fellows, Claxton, Sick Mick and Crummy. As usual, the start of the race was flat out with all the big names gone. I took off with a bit of pace and then tried to get into a rhythm which worked out well. By the 4 hr mark i had taken third place in my category and was in the mix for a top 10 finish, but with 20hrs to go anything could happen. I pulled into pits at about 5pm to put lights on and some warm clothes...... little did i know that the rain was about to unleash. On the next lap I picked up my jacket and got on with the job. By this stage my lap times started to suffer but i was still on my XTC and the harness of the hardtail was setting in, the course was pretty wet but it was not raining anymore. By 12am my XTC had no brake pad left on it and it was time to get on the Anthem for some relief.



By morning and after having a couple of small issues [ falling asleep ] i was pretty stoked to hear that i was two laps clear of 4th place but my lap times left a little to be desired. Slingshot and Duck said the guy in 4th was hammering some laps and if i didn't pick up my game my 2 lap lead would pretty much be gone. With this in mind i managed to go out and pull my lap times back down by about 10mins which was a good feeling after sitting on a bike for 18hrs. Pretty much the rest of the race i had my crew cheering me on where they could, and i just kept myself going until 12. By the end of the race I was told I had finished 3rd in my category to Andy Fellow and English, and with an outright finish of 8th I had achieved my goals for the National race. Fully sick Mick won his category and finished 11th overall with crummy finishing 6th in his category and 21st overall after suffering bike troubles. Standing on the podium with some of the machines around you is a great feeling.


I want to thank Duck and Sling shot for helping me, i couldn't have done it without you guys!
& my wonderful wife Kiri for all the telepathic support she sent me.



Check out crummys blog for his race report


Smash it

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

National Solo








Here is some photos from the National solo last weekend, slingshot, duck crummy, Go sick Mick and myself. Duck and Slingshot crewed for me and did a great job i might add. on the results seen English 1st outright and Fellows 3rd outright, Sick Mick got 1st in the 40-44 age category and finished 11th outright my mate Crummy finished a impressive 21st outright after some some troubles with his bike and i finished 8th outright with a 3rd in my age group 25-29 i was happy coming 3rd considering English and Fellows were the ones that beat me.
Full report to follow
Smash it
Bozza



Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Face,the Forehead and the Window licker











This was the name of our three man team that enter the geocentric 6hr held on at a property at Kurwongbah. Our team was made up of myself Chris[ The Forehead] and Pearso[ The Face] and you can work out who the window licker was. Chris manage to put us in first place right from the first lap with a 19:09 min lap so for the rest of the race all we needed to do was maintain the lead, i headed out for my lap and put in a solid time, pearso was then out for our third lap and literally smashed himself [27:48] he came in pretty smoked but recovered well to continue putting in solid time for the remainder of the race. The course itself had a bit of everthing in it hills, single track and fire road, but the challendging part was the mud. With the amount of recent rain the track was soaked with two sections pretty much unriderable, dispite this we all had a ball and the 1st place was the first time any of us have got a 1st in MTB racing. I will say thanks to everyone involved in the race it was great and to our support team[ wombat inc.] thanks alot.








Bozza

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hammer Nutrition


Well i think its about time i did a review on the Hammer nutrition product i have been using since the beginning of the year. Before i picked up my sponsorship with Hammer i was using Endura optimizer and the Endura electrolytes for my races and they worked pretty good with no major problems. When i started on the Hammer products i started using Hammers equivilent [ perpetuem]to endura optimizer, it took about a week to get used to the taste but apart from that worked great. I got about a month of training with Hammer Perpetuem, and the Gels before the Dusk til Dawn in Feb. The Dusk til Dawn was going to be the first major test to see if Hammer was going to be as good as Endura. The first two hrs of my race i felt very average and it basically came down to me putting to much food in my head. So at the three hr mark i cut most of my food and just lived off perpetuem, it went down very easily and didn't feel heavy in my gut.






As it turned out i didn't eat for about five hrs and was still putting in great lap times, and perpetuem was the only thing fueling me apart from the odd lolly or two. To sum up the dusk til dawn has probably been my best race to date and i managed to put in great times in against a quality feild. Since the Dusk til Dawn i have been using Heed [ which is Hammers electrolytes sports drink ] is very easy to get down and dosn't have the really artificial taste like some other drinks. In the past when i have used other sports drink and i would always give myself a half dose of what was recommended because the recommended amount would just make me feel sick. Heed is the first sports drink i have used that i can have the recommended amount and dosn't make me feel sick.

I have also started using the recovery drink by hammer nutrition [Recoverite]as well because i have not used recovery drinks in the past i cant give you a comparison to other drinks. I can tell you that i am not a huge fan of the taste but it has worked very well for me i have been recovering in between my ride alot quicker in turn letting me train harder.

To sum up you would expect someone sponsored by a company to say good things about that product. I really do believe that Hammer products are very very good and if you want a quality product to race and train with then give it a go. Hammer nutrition go into alot of detail on there website about there product.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Some photos from last week













Here is a couple of photos from last weeks ride up Mt Cootha and across to gap creek. as you can see chris is a very happy Lefty owner. Three weekend til National 24.


Keep the wheels turning


Bozza

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Touching Base

Sorry I haven't been putting any posts together lately. Kiri & I got married two weekends ago and i have not stopped since. I just want to say thanks to all our family and friends who were there for our day, we are both very grateful.

Ok, back to the bike stuff . Over the past couple of weeks i have stepped up my training, and it seems to be paying off. National 24 Solo is next month and i am sure crummy is going to give me a run for my money, as well as the likes of English, Ha i wish, i am sure i will be left in his wake. Also Australian Aerospace, the company i work for, are going to sponsor me for my flight to the World 24 in Canada. I have booked my slot in the 25-29 age group and we will see how i go. Lots more training to be done between now and then.

Today i decided that i put a solid training ride in From Brisbane back up the coast to Eumundi where Kiri and my girls were going to meet me. I left at 4am. My Ay Ups lit the way, My Xtc Alliance performed perfectly and my Hammer Nutrition gels and drinks kept me fuelled for the whole trip. The Maxxis Overdrive tyres i have on my bike were great in the wet conditions also. I ended up doing 144km in a touch over 5hrs and the stretch from Landsborough to Nambour through the back roads gave me alot of climbing practice.

Keep the wheels turning

Bozza

Friday, February 13, 2009

Ay Up D2D


After a quick stop at Brisbane Airport to pick up Crummy, a good mate of mine, we headed straight down for the D2D. We got to the track at about 330pm and Pearso [new nick name Sling Shot] and Kel had already set up camp. I quickly ripped my bikes off the roof and went for a practice lap. The course itself had changed heaps from the Verticon 6hr held last November. The track was a 6km loop made up of switch backs, a fair bit of grass, some loose sandy sections and a few little rock gardens, but over all was not to technical.


Before I knew it, it was time to head over for the riders brief and get into a position for the start. Crummy and I settled into the second row while Andy and Bellie were on the start ready to rip it up, Sling shot was back in the Pack. The gun went and as expected the start was fast and Andy and Bellie were gone, I had a good start and as i usually do went out pretty hard for the first lap then tried to settle into a rhythm. Well like most good plans they fail. My first 6 or so laps were good but then my stomach start tying itself in knots. I stopped at the pits and got some encouragment from my crew and at the same time Crummy passed me. By this stage I think I was in 6th position. I decided to stop with the gels and just live off my Perpetuem [Hammer Nutrition product], this plan worked out and after a lap i had caught crummy up and started to feel better. Whilst i had finally found my rhythm i still had alot of work to do to try for a top 3 finish with fellow Ay UP rider Matt having about 10 minutes on me. I am not sure what lap i was on but coming into a corner after the long grass straight I hear Bellie telling me to jump on the Ay Up train and it was then i knew that i was about to be lapped and this was also my opportunity to make up some ground on 3rd. To my suprise i picked up the tempo and was able to hang on the back of Bellie and Andy Fellows wheel for a lap or so. By this stage it was about 1 am. I had all my lines down pat was in a good rhythm and my crew telling me i was making up time on 3rd and i also put a lap on Crummy. [Anyone who knows me and Crummy will tell you it does not matter what race we are in, as far as we are concerned the race is between us]. By daylight i had managed to get up into third and had a small break on 4th [matt] I pulled into my pit at about 5am and was handed a coffee and told all i had to do was keep it consistant if not try and step it up a little if i could. In the last hr of riding i managed to hold off Matt and also put another lap on Crummy. By the finish Bellie 1st [31 laps] Andy Fellows [ 30 laps] myself [ 30 laps] Crummy[28 laps] and Matt [ 27 laps] slingshot finished on 16 laps.


I want to say thanks to Chris, Nat,Kiri, Kel, and Boo for all the help that you gave all of us in the pits and without you guys i couldn't have achieved my 3rd. Also to Slingshot for giving me a run up the hills every time i came across you on the track. I also need to say thanks to the support crews from Ay UP and around the track that cheered me on the whole race, it was great and makes 12hrs on the bike just a little easier.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Dusk til Dawn in short


In short how things went at the Dusk til Dawn. In a top 30 position is good mate Pearso, Matt dog ended up in 5th, Crummy in 4th myself 3rd, Andy Fellows 2nd and Bellie defended his title and came 1st. All up the track was good, the weather was good also. I want to say thanks to Chris, Nat, Boo, Kel and a massive thanks to my soon to be wife Kiri, legendary support crew. I will do a full report soon

Monday, February 2, 2009

Dusk Til Dawn

Well the D2D is just about here. After checking the compeditors list everyone aiming for a top 10 finish is going to have there work cut out for them. With some big names around like Bellie, Fellows, Russell Worthington, Matt Powell and of course Crummy the race is set to be fast. Tapering off for this week has given me time to think about the race and my preparation, race i think i will be in the hurt locker for the 12hrs as far as my preparation goes i am pretty happy. I have been training for the last week and a bit using my Hammer Nutrition gear. I am very happy with it all, the Perpetuem took a little bit of getting use to and i cant wait to hit the race using it. For my last big race i relied on Endura optimizer alot. I have no doubt that Perpetuem is going to live up to my expectations.

Whip them legs

Bozz

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Hammer Time


I just wanted to give you guys a little look at some Hammer products I got last week. I think the bottle of Hammer Gel is a great idea and you can get these little gel bottles that fit into your pocket. The Gel bottle holds 150ml of gel in each bottle, so the equvilant of 3 or 4 normal packets of gel. Heaps better then a hand full of empty gel packets in your back pocket after a long ride. I will give you a run down on the products next week. Happy training

Monday, January 19, 2009

Crummy

If you cx out my blog list you will find a link to Crummys blog. Crummy is making a special trip up from Nowra for the D2D. Crummy layed down some good results last year, definately someone to watch out for.

Bozz

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday Ride

During the week i decided that i would ride from Brisbane back to the Sunshine coast. I had no expectations of doing any Records but because i didnt have a lift up the coast on Friday arvo it was a good excuse to get on the bike and ride. I had most of the guys at work calling me an idiot crazy and so on but this only made me want to do it more. At 12 o'clock i got on my bike and headed for the boondal wetland bike paths. By the first Km i was roasting, it was a cool 34 degrees and with a good 4hrs or so on the bike it was going to be hot.

My plan was to stay away from the Highway so i headed straight up to Redcliff then on to Anzac Av and then got onto Deception bay rd over the Bruce Highway onto Old Gympie rd then started heading North. I rode along Morayfield rd onto Beerburrum rd then onto Steve Irwin way. I ended up at the Ettamoga Pub in just after 4hr and 30 mins and 120 km under the belt , not bad considering i was riding into a head wind most of the time.


A bit more exciting news i picked up a sponsorship with Hammer Nutrition. [Epic]

Monday, January 12, 2009

On your Bike

Second week on the bike after the holidays and everthing is going very well. As i do most of my training on the SS, I decided over the holidays I wouold up the gearing from a 34/15 to a 34/14. This morning I did my 46km ride into work and in favourable conditions knocked 7 mintues off my time. [ Stoked ]

I am not sure if doing the majority of my training on my SS will pay off but I guess I will fing out at the Dusk til Dawn. With the likes of Bellie, Russell and Matt Dog planning on doing the race I have my work cut out for me.

Whip them Legs

Bozza

Daves shop

Daves shop
Big thanks to Pedal Pwr for their support