WOW What a year.

Well once again sorry for my lack of posting.

Riding wise: due to my new job, training rides have been few and far between. I have been managing to scratch about 100km a week which is a far cry from where I be.

Racing wise:
Gatton 4hr. me and Zack came third

Dusk til Dawn 12hr: Best mate Al and me took out 2nd in a mixed pair. Woop

Garrapine 4hr: Me and Zac once again teamed up. this race was really fun with some tight racing for the top 3 team. on the second last lap we managed to pull away with the Win. woop woop 1st

Last race of the year saw me and Ethan team up and this was the Karingal 4hr. the racing here was fast and i was a little out of my depth. It was a close race for third place between us and Zack and Dean. In the end it came down to me and Dean. i went out with about a 15 second lead and rather then flog myself to death I sat up until Dean caught up. after some discussion we decided it was only fitting that we cross the line equal third. WICKED.

I have alot of poeple to thank for my year of racing and for helping through out the year.

Ay Up for making the most reliable and lightest lights. Keep an eye on the website there is some sick stuff happening in Ay Up land.

Silverback for some pretty sweet bikes. especiallly my 29er freaking awsome.

Osprey: these bags are freaking awsome every single one of them they are regarded around the world as one of the best.

Compressports: for the super comfortable compression garments.

KWT: for helping me out with all things tyre related and any other coll stuff i needed.

FTR :[For the Riders] these guys have always been there if I have ever needed anything. Thanks to Tim and his team.

Pedal Power Plus in Gympie: Dave has been helping me right from the start. Thanks heaps Dave I will be in for a coffee soon.

Shotz Nutrition: I was lucky enought to meet Darryl from Shotz at Mountains to Beach. Since then I have been on Shotz products for all my racing and training. Shotz has been great to race on and I am looking forward to racing on it next year. Thanks heaps guys. also if your keen to sample some they do a sampler pack.

Last and definatle not least the Ay Up racing Team: With the forming of the team this year i have been lucky enough to race with all the young lads and watch them get faster and closer to achieving there dreams.. I also get to race with that old guy Fellows LOL but he's fast too. For those of you that dont know about the Ay Up racing team its the brain child of Andy Fellows and is aimed at helping young riders.

Thanks to all who read this web space and i will do my best to keep it updated.

Merry Xmas and see u in 2012.

Silverback 2012

http://www.silverbacklab.com/brand.htm

Check out the 2012 line up, Silverback is surely going to turn heads next year. Cant wait to get on the full carbon Surplus 29er

Catch Up

Well as you can see it has been a while between drinks.

Basically since the 3 ring circus myself and my girls have all been really sick. I tried racing the Flight Center Epic and at the 45km mark made the painful choice to ditch my epic and settle for a recorded time in the half epic instead. since then I have only ridden twice.

On top of all that I have taken on a new job. Hopefully over the next few weeks I can start getting healthy again and get some solid base km in. Might even attempt the D2D.

Stay tuned: I have been using Shotz products of late and a review will be up soon.

Circus photos

Dont ask me about this one. I need my name written on my jersey so I dont forget.

Al and Crummy been along time since we have seen the Crummy. Great to catch up mate

Andy and mysefl after the night performance. Ay Up

Stay tuned report to follow

Off to the Circus

Road trip to the 3 Ring Circus.

The circus is put on by the Wildhorizon the group that give you Mountains to Beach and the Highland Fling. Its been along time since I have had the opurtunity to race down here. The Circus is a 2 stage format with a 20km night stage Saturday followed by a 50km day stage Sunday and 1000 odd poeple entered should make for a great weekend.

Go Ay Up

Avanti 6hr 2011

Well after 2 weeks of racing bikes I was running low on brownie points and decided I was not going to race the 6hr, but Zack and Ethan were racing a 3man team and ended up a man short 3 days out from the race. After a quick plead to the minster of war, piece and finance I was given the go ahead to race. Woop Woop


As you know I don't often race in a team and I have never raced with these lads. I knew from the Parkland session we did last month that the lads were very fast and I would have to be on it to do them proud. The Bekkers family loaded up the Vito and headed down the Hway, we arrived at Canugra, perfect clear skies and a pretty warm morning greeted us. I didn't get a chance to do a whole practice lap but I have raced here alot before and wasn't to concerned. Zack and Ethan arrived and the team was complete. Captain Dave and Ethan parents were there also, Captain Dave basically ran the team throughout the race, he kept track on laps times and when riders were due back through pits. I was voted in to do the first lap, I found myself standing along side Dave Whitney, nothing like some pressure straight up. It wasn't my cleanest start off the line, I pulled my cleats 3 times in 50m. RUBBISH





By the first hill I got myself back up to 5th and for the remainder of the lap this is were I stayed, i came into pits slapped the number on Ethan bike and he was away. This was rather foreign to me, stopping. Capt. Dave informed me my first lap was around the 19min mark. Ethan came through on about the 20min mark and Zack pretty much the same on his lap. All I could think was wow these lads are in there teens and just about smashing my times, I really need to step up my training. 1hr in and we were sitting 1st in our Category and 3rd outright. My next two laps were OK just kept running into traffic on the course, everyone on course were great at letting me pass and i managed to sneak past most people with no real hold ups. Zack and Ethan said they had the same for these couple of laps also. My last 3 laps i was quite happy with, I managed to rip them back under the 20min mark and i aslso caught sight of the 2ND outright. I caught up to 2ND and just tagged his wheel for most of the lap just before we got to transition i got a very small gap and got Ethan out on course and we were in second outright. Ethan set a cracking pace and although slipping back to 3rd whilst on his lap he showed some good grit and determination to keep within 15 seconds of 2ND outright. Zack went out and smashed his lap also, Zack didn't gain to much ground by then end of the lap but once again he dug deep and kept us within 15 sec of 2ND.





My last lap: by the end of the first set of switchbacks i had caught 2ND and went on to smashed it all the way to transition, once again the boys dug deep for there last laps. Team Ay Up end up 1st in cat by 2 laps and 2ND overall. Well done lads and I appreciate the invite to smash the race with you both.


Having a proud Dad moment now, the best thing about the race was I got to see both my girls race there first ever race. I had brought there bikes down and when they heard there was going to be a race for them i saw them practicing around the paddock. We lined them up on the start line. They started and climbed the hills like little machines. Well done girls.

Catch you on the next post

Later

Bike Fit

Well for the past 3 years I have set my own bike up, adjust this here, tweak that there until it felt about right. Since having my 29er although it's unreal to ride I couldn't get it quite right. For the Tailwind 8hr I had it feeling pretty good, well so I thought.

I went into FTR [For the Riders] the other day, while I was there Tim had a look at my bike and questioned the set up, after a brief discussion about my choice of set up it was pretty clear that a bike fit would be in order. If nothing else I just wanted to see how much better it could be. A very good friend of mine Al had here bike set up by Tim a couple of weeks back and said it was an improvement a Thousand fold.

Below is a clip of my own position on the bike, there were a few stand out problems, my reach to the bars, seat height and the angle of my back was another stand out.

From here Tim could pick some changes without even going to the computer, getting the bars lower and bringing the length of my stem back to 90mm was to be the most dramatic change. Tim started with positioning my cleats in the optimal position and then went on to make me look like a crash test dummy by positioning Velcro dots on my foot,ankle, knee, hip shoulder and wrist. Only one side of your body gets measured at a time. Tim told me that most people are very different from one side to another surely I won't be an exception. As it turned out I am not to Mogny. Whilst your on the trainer the computer has a stick figure of you riding and puts all the data into a spread sheet highlighting the keys areas that need tweaking.

The next clip shows my position after 2hrs of tweaking and adjusting.

I guess it's up to you to decide whether you can see any major changes but if you look at my reach to the bars, leg extension and bar height you can see a difference. For me the bike fit has been awesome, I feel very comfortable on the bike and after some rides over the last couple of days its become clear that it has been well worth it, after racing Canugra on the weekend climbing and descending seem alot better too.

My suggestion to you guys and girls is, if you have thought about getting a proper bike fit done and did what I did " Hmmm maybe one day" I would strongly suggest getting it done. I believe I have been riding with alot of unwanted issues due to my lack of knowledge on setting up my bike. Tim from, For the Riders http://news.fortheriders.com.au/ is more than happy to answer any questions u my have.

I think it's one of the best things I have done to improve my riding.

Monkey off My Back

Last weekend saw the last race of the QLD Enduro series, the 8hr. As you know my past few races have been anything but good, mechanical and the 24hr I saw aside of myself I would rather forget. So the plan leading into this race was to punch out 11 laps, and above all have fun and finish.

Race day came around really quick, when we got out to the course Sunday morning it was nice 2 degrees or something none QLD like that. From doing a practice lap the day before I knew it was going to be a rough course and although I had my dually there ready as a spare I was determined to ride the 29er and not let myself throw a race due to lack of time on a bike. I started back off the front and rolled through the first part of the course which would eventually turn into a Muddy pit, once at the first climb I decided to stay up in the gears and keep a little pace up, Clint Peirce was riding in front of me and from previous races I knew he was in good form. Having done alot of training on a single speed in the past and even now on the road bike now knowing that I climb out of the saddle on every hill, this was to be my approach for the entire race keep it in the big ring and climb every hill out of the saddle. SS roots.

As the race went on Clint kept opening up a lead and on the 3rd lap he bolt away, at this stage of the game I had no intention of chasing him down and I concentrate on keeping my lap times consistent and keep my nutrition right, I seem to always fall down in the nutrition department when it comes to racing. Kel pit crew expert kept me informed of my laps times and gap to the next rider, Mickers thanks for throwing me some splits as well. Every lap I kept increasing my lead on third as did Clint from me. The Segma 29er was great to roll on the course and handled everything that I could throw it over, but like everyone else on the course the it was punishing on the hands and arms, for the last few laps I was literally peeling my hands of the grip so I could stretch my hands out especially at the end of Rock Bottom.


All up for the race: My 29er was a weapon on the course, I got my target of 11 laps and depending on whether you use your garmin or the lap detail this equates to either just over or under 160km in 8hr 1min for me. STOKED. My average for the race was 19.4km another victory. !st in Opens and 2nd outright, a special mention goes to Kel, she crewed for 4 or 5 of us the entire race and as always had our gear ready to go.. Thanks heaps Kel. Pearso, Mikey and Richard rode well and Al coming over the line 4th and taking out 3rd in the series. Congrats to you all. Team mates Andy and Nathan took 2nd in the pairs category, Go team AY UP.

Rumour has it next year there will be a 5 races series.

Afeter some consistant weeks of training things are looking up fro getting some form back.

Keep the rubber down

Tailwind Promotions Super series Race 3

Team Launch

Well life is finally starting to settle into a routine which means my riding and training is becoming more consistant Woop Woop. But for some exciting news the Officail launch of the Ay Up racing team is this weekend, so keep your eyes pealed for the boys rocking the tracks.

Osprey Transporter

Ok so it's been a little while since I gave you a review on some Osprey gear.

Over the past couple of months I have had the oppurtunity to try some of Ospreys gear, I want to show you this awsome little bag. They come in a couple of different size pack but this travel pack wieghs in at a touch over 800grams, it folds up to about the same size a small football and once open it has a a large center compartment with two smaller end pockets.

So I guess your wondering what sets this little bag aside from all the brands out there? Well not only do you get a well manufactured bag but it comes with it's own shoulder straps that are easily attached by two quck release buckles. Even chockers the bag still feels comfortable on your back.

Once again osprey has created a very practical bag that looks great and is super versitle. Apart from my Talon pack that I ride to work with, I use this bag all the time and carry all my mountain bike gear in it when I am packing up for those little adventures or even to a race. I have noticed more and more shops getting the osprey gear in and in alot of cases it is out doing other leading bags and hydration packs. http://www.ospreypacks.com/ get on and check it out you won't be diappointed.

Later

Silverback is the new kid on the block as fare as bike manufactures go but, there already making an impression on the Australian mountain bike scene. The Segma 29er in Silverbacks range is fast becoming a popular model.

What do you get straight out of the box? German engineered Alloy frame, Reba Sl forks, ZTR wheelset Tubeless ready, XT 10 speed drive train, Silverbacks own brand bars, stem and post. The only real draw back for some people would be the SLX brakes but, when you add it all up you get a race ready bike for $3000. It’s a very competitive bike build and price.

My own bike has been has had afew upgrades, it runs full XTR 2X10 with RavX carbon stem and post and a set of orange Esi grips thrown onand I have a secret weapon on the xc endurance scene.


To the ride: I have never ridden a 29er before this one, so being on big wheels was going to be a massive shock to the system, at least the impression I had. After some tuning around the backyard it was time to hit the trails, I head to Bunya in Brisbane for a bit of testing. Straight into the first bit of single track the Segma felt right at home. I was amazed by how agile the bike handled through every twist and turn. Having bigger wheels the tree rooted sections and rock gardens were almost effortless to tackle. Descending I didn’t feel at a disadvantage being on the Segma 29er and climbing was great, having a bit more rubber on the track definitely helps with traction. I felt well balanced over the bike also.

Last weekend saw me race it for about 14hrs at the Merida 24hr. The bike was comfortable all the way through and it almost felt like cheating on the fire road sections I almost felt bad for the other competitors riding micro wheels [26 inch]. During the race I was asked whether I felt any fatigue from being on the Alloy frame apposed to being on a carbon. To be honest I don’t really know last year saw me racing a full carbon dual suspension this year a 29er hard tail Alloy. I felt I could have ridden it for the entire 24hr and still had smile on my face.

To sum it up: The Segma 29er is a ready to race bike straight out of the box at a competitive price. On the XC scene, this will bike will do it all and I don’t really run into anyone else on the trails that has one either. Rumour has it theres going to be a carbon version out fro 2012.

Can’t wait for it.

Merida 24hr 2011

I was wanting to have a good crack a the Merida 24hr this year and although my race prep was not great I still had high hopes for a good result.

From the start I was riding the 29er, it was a bit of a weapon on the OHV course. The conditions were perfect after having so many wet races or having them called off it was great to get a mostly dry course apart from two boggy spots. I rode well for the first 8ish hrs and was sitting top 5 somewhere. I think from here mentaly I lost mental drive to race through a 24hr, I stopped got off my bike and in my mind that was that. I have never felt like that before and I felt guilty for stopping. I think it's only fare to everyone to let you know that over the past 6month we have moved house twice and the last move was the weekend before the race. I didnt prepare myself well enough for this race.

All that aside I got to see Richard and Al very good friends of mine complete there first ever 24hr, with Al getting a 3rd, well done to you both. It was a different aspect of 24hr racing stepping off the bike and watching everyone roll around the track. In the early hours of the morining I decided to hit the track once again and had a ball, Ay Ups blazing through the trail, I really do enjoy night riding. Then hit the sack for some sleep.

Around 8 sunday morning, I was standing in the coffee line, Kiri turned around to me and said I should get out and get afew more laps in. By the time Kiri had got back to the tent with the coffee I was changed and ready to roll. Kiri said I was still sitting about 10th so my plan was simple, go out and have fun. turned out after horus off my bike my legs wetre feeling great i manged to smash some sub 50 minute laps which dragged me back up into a top 5 position.

Like I not how i want to race a 24hr but some valuable lessons learnt. Where to from here? well while i am still busy getting our life sorted and into a routine i am going to focus on the 8hr coming up, post that i will try and focus on a big race towards the end of the year.

Look forward to seeing you on the track and once again congrats to all the raced the 24hr and acheived there goals.

Thanks to all my sponsors and last and very much not least My support crew, Kiri you did a amazing job of keeping me alive and thanks heaps Mikey for your help and Hamburgers.

later

Merida 24hr photo

Rolling out of transition during the 24hr on the Segma 29er.

5th in open solo.

Report to follow

29er Ay Up Team Issue

Here is a bit of bling for your eyes.

I have never really ridden a 29er before this one and wasn't to sure if i would even like it. That was soon put to bed as soon as i rode it in some single track. to be honest I really couldn't tell the difference between riding this and riding my normal small wheeled version. LOL

My not so secret weapon for the looming 24hr

later

Pre 6hr

Before the destruction of my bike. Mike took some good pic will post a little later

6hr Race #2 of the Enduro series

Pictures worth a thousand words, up until this happened I was sitting in the top 3/4 and had found my groove for the race. My Surplus matched with Onza Tyres was great for tearing through the mud. This was an all to familiar seen from the race and for me I am personally happy with how raced even if it was cut short. Time to focus for the 24hr next month. Bring it Well done to everyone that race in those condition you deserve a medal. In particular AL congrats 3rd in open women's is outstanding and the AY UP lads your guys were killing it. Thanks to: AY UP racing Team FRF[Silverback bikes] AY UP Onza Osprey Aussie butt cream[ pretty obvious really]

Pedal Power Plus

As like most people and businesses in QLD and other states earlier in the year, Dave shop was severely effected by flooding. Even after a massive clean up and moving stock by Dave and Jacob and other people that know Pedal power plus, there was still alot of work that has too be done to fix up the floor space and shop before Dave could fully get underway with business again. Dave not being one to dwell on things outside of his control saw this as an opportunity to give the shop a face lift.

As you can see the shop has had a complete change around with the display cabinet being moved up the back of the shop and this had left more space for bikes and gear for us to drool over. Well done Dave the shop is looking great.

Dave does alot to support the local biking community around Gympie and has supported me from the very first 24hr solo I ever went in. Dave continues to support me now with my new training bike [ Giant TCR ] to help me out with my commute from Bribie Island to Brisbane Airport. If your ever in Gympie and need so gear or good advice drop in and see Dave at Pedal Power Plus.

Thanks heap for your continuous support mate.

If your in the Gympie area Ay Up will be in town in May to run a night ride. Get your name down on a list at Pedal Power Plus to book a set of demo lights, Stay tuned for the date.

Onza Tyres

If your not on them you dont know what your missing. Super grippy tyres I have raced these in just about all conditions and terrain. Never had a flat with the tubeless. What more could I say: they are WICKED Thanks KWT

Silverback Surplus 2 Review

As you know I am on a different bike for the 2011 season. As hubcap has told me in the past you never even change your toothpaste before a race, but how about a whole new bike and on top of that going from a dual suspension back to a hardtail before a race that's in another state. Well that exactly what happened the day before I flew out for Mountains to Beach.

Da Bike: My Surplus 2 is a full carbon frame that is designed in Germany. It has a set of Rebe Rlt up front with Xt wheelset. Drivetrain is XTR 20 speed [this stuff is so nice to use], XTR brakes and after some tweaking to my own liking I am running a set of monkey light bar with Esi grips and my to finish my favorite tyre, Onza Canis. As with most top end race bikes they all look the goods so what sets Silverback apart from the rest? At first glance they look racey and the graphics a pretty appealing, you can still see the intricate weave of the carbon as you look over the frame and unlike some carbon bikes it doesn't have that real boxy balky look.

Stay tuned for the ride report.

My Race Face

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I'm stuffed and Andy is ready to go again. LOL

Best race ever, book yourself in for next year

Reviews

Stay tuned reviews to follow

MTB Day 4 and 5

Sorry been super busy this whole last week.


Day 4 90km race stage with a 40km cruise/ hill stage. It started nice and fresh at Cooma I was a little worried about how my ribs would hold up but what the hell. The race started with a lap of the Cooma race course and the first man and women across the line would get a prize. So once the race got underway there was some foxing going on amongst the bunch, basically I was going to hug Andy wheel then just before the line go for it. Great plan hey. I got three quarters around the track and when it was time to punch it I had nothing the legs weren't keen to play at all.




After we left the race course the next 30km were all fire road, everyone knew that the best place to be was up the front and try and break away before the wall at the 30km mark. The pace was on from the start well for me it was LOL but, after the 10km mark everyone was kinda strung out over the country side. For me this was good I was sitting up the front with Andy, Garry and David thanks to Andy helping me out, after that we hit the wall, it was this fire road type climb that just seem to go on for ever with water bars dotted all the way down. Until this day no one had ever climbed the whole thing without stepping off there bike. Andy was the first out off all before him to master the climb. Congrats mate.





After the climb we crossed down through paddocks and into another farm where the one and only feed station was set up. 40km mark. Bart Hickson came sailing past me at this point and although I was keeping him insight for a while but I couldn't drag him back. I did the rest of the stage on my own. The country side we were riding in was amazing, so super long climbs backed up with some super descents. I came over the line 5th and super happy with my ride. Once again Andy dominated the field and won the stage.



The cruise stage started at Yowie [ where thats right in the middle of nowhere] from here we cruised for 40km into bermigui, we got sorted on our accommodation and then straight to the fish and chip shop. Best fish and chips ever.



Day 5:



Last stage and with 1 minute and a bit between me and Scott from GSC it was going to be 50km with the throttle wide open. The stage started under police escort and Hews car until we hit the paddock. From here it was a dash across leg zapping grass until we hit the Bermigui dirt surfers trails. This was great single track, the track had everything at this stage Scott was right behind me and even though I was trying hard on the single track my ribs were not happy. Scott waited for the perfect spot to attack and I had nothing to respond, a couple of corners later I was once again off the bike. This stage was split into 2 because of the tide and beach access or lack of it, there was an time unraced section, basically you had 30 min to get to the start of the last 30km. By this stage Scott had put another 1 minute into me. 2.5 minutes down.



Andy had a quick chat with me and like he said have a crack at every hill and I might just drag it all back. The paddock we were riding through here were freshly cut and after about 500m my rear derailleur was choking with grass. Richard from anytime fitness had the right idea and was busting out this stage on his SS. No problems with grass for him, a couple hundred meters again and then once again I had to stop and rip out grass. Ok so by this stage of the race all I could think was I have had quite abit of bad luck. Then over the next hill and round the corner I saw about 3 or 4 people that ripped the derailleur's clean off the frame due to the grass. To my surprise one of them was Scott, hey was in the process of putting a new derailleurs hanger on his bike. This was my only chance to gain some time back, then next 30 km consisted of grass paddocks, on and off beachs and running up stairs. I smashed about 4 gels into me on this stage and didn't look back. By the time I got onto the last beach to the finish I was stuffed., at this stage Richard handed me a soft drink best thing ever. Scott came over the line only minutes behind me.

I managed to finish 4th over the line for the last stage, my best result of the whole week.

I just want to say this race is amazing, super well organised event, great country side and a heaps of fun. Thanks to Garry and Richard, great meeting you and already looking forward to the next race you guys are at. [ Thanks for the lift to Canberra to Richard]

As always thanks to the people that made it all happen for me

Ben from Osprey hydraulics: everyone that used one of these packs at the race Loved it, including me.

Ay Up: for the best lights ever, bright and reliable

Onza: heaps of grip and I had no flats the whole time

Silverback bikes: considering I have never ridden this bike before the race I am super stoked with how it performed.

Infinate for keeping me going.

Aussie butt cream for the obvious reasons.

Compressports: I rode in this gear on the long stages and for recovery. It really helped with the muscle fatigue.

Day 3 MTB

So day 3 starts with the Ay Up dawn raid at 5:15am, the loop was about 14km long around a dam, the loop had some big ruts and afew hills to keep you honest, no real single track and couple of sandy corners.

So the plan, because these little pegs of mine are not made for sprinting I thought the best plan of attack was to hang in the top 5 for the first lap then hopefully wind up and take a podium position, being a Ay Up rider this would have been great. The coffee van at the start of the race was under the pump it was freezing. I got into a good position for the start and after a couple of minutes it was on. I found myself in the top ten to the first corner, afew early attacks by people didn't faze me to much, just kept the legs turning and stick to my plan.

lap 1 complete sitting in 5th sweet, I knew the guys in front weren't to far away so on the first little climb I upped the pace and got away from the guys I was with and kept the pressure on. All was going great until a slip in concentration or plain bad luck washed the front wheel out from under me. I had put my hand out to break my fall but managed to land over a rutted section and instead of my hand breaking my fall it was my ribs that took the blow. For what seemed like ages but was probably only a minute I had winded myself and as you could imagine my ribs and hip was killing me. Lloyd road past just as I got my breath back and asked if I was OK, I responded yes let them ride past and then HTFU got back on the bike and pushed as hard as I could to finish. Along the way I noticed my back break felt really weird. I got over the line in 10th. Pretty stoked all thing considering.

I thought I had buckled the back wheel but upon closer inspection, I had actually moved the whole rear brake caliper hard up against the disk when I crashed. I must have hit the ground hard. Now post race I had damage to my ribs and trying to get to a doctor to confirm it is a joke, from what people are telling me they are fractured.

After breaky it was time to do the 40km cruise stage. The cruise stages are compulsory stages that must be completed by every rider, if you pull out of any stage or don't make it by the cut off time then you DNF, so for me there was nothing left to do but get on with the job. Pretty uneventful really road 40km across paddock, road and fire road all the way to Cooma. Bring on with day 4.

One of the highlights of the morning stage was seeing the amount of people that had never tried night riding before, come and borrow some lights off Ay Up and give it ago. By the time they came over the line they were completely converted into night riding.

Pretty satisfying really.

Day 2

I was rather concerned about day 2 starting at the top of Perisher because we woke up to the wind punishing our accommodation at 3am. Anyway had breaky and headed up the ski tube once at the top we were greeted with 5 degree temp and a wind chill factor of cold. Andy said it would be cold for a bit then warm up after we got down the mountain but, on the start line with rain threatening this QLD mtb rider donned the jacket.

Well the mountain traverse stage from Perisher to Buckenderra lived up to it's name. By then end we completed a bit under 90km with about 1800m of vertical ascent. For all you Qld folk that like doing Mt Nebo it was Nebo twice at race pace. I really don't know how to describe it, you start in alpine forest and end up down on farmland. From the get go there were about ten guys that were out to make a statement, after 5km I was dropped by the lead bunch, I didn't let this bother me knowing that there was going to be alot of climbing ahead of us. The first feed station was about 20km into the stage and Ben from Osprey told me the guys were about 5min ahead of me. By the time I got to the bottom of the gully the bunch was insight and then the climbing begun. Over the climbing part of the course I manged to get past afew guys, knowing that towards the end of the course was going to be fire roads and wide open space I wanted to put some time into the guys rolling on 29 ers. I got to ride with Lloyd and Scott from GSC for a while and after a bit I got myself in a really good rhythm and rode out by myself once again. The picture above shows one of the sheep stations we rode through for the last feed station. No we didn't eat the dogs.

For the last 20km I managed to hold my position and drag abit of time back that I had lost from stage one. Once I rolled over the line Darryl from shotz was kept busy trying to keep everyone hydrated and from what I saw all the competitors were thankful. It wasn't until this time I actually realize how hot it was either, pretty interesting starting in almost frozen conditions to finish in the baking hot sun.

I manged 6th over the line for the Osprey mountain traverse stage.

Day 3 soon

Mountains to Beach 2011Day 1

I had never done a stage race before and Mountain to Beanch 2011 was going to be my first, the event is organized by Wildhorizons the same group of poeple that bring you the Highland fling and the 3 Ring circus.

Before I get started a big shout out to Ben from Osprey for sorting me with an entry for this race. Big thanks mate

I met up with Andy machine Fellows at Canberra airport on Saturday before the race, on my arrival to Canberra I realized that I had left my riding shoes at home. Time for an upgrade anyway. Got out to Thredbo assembled my new Silverback HT [doing a review soon] and we hit the trails, so much fun up there but I knew that come race day I would have to be on it and hopefully get a good position to set me up for the rest of the week.

So race day: Stage 1:

I had everything ready to go the night before I got up and had breakfast and for me, if I could get on the chair lift without dropping my bike or making an arse out of myself I was happy. I had made it to the top of thredobo in one piece. First sucess of the day. We were sent down the hill in a time trial set up instead of a mass start. Obvious reasonsing.


Andy took off a couple of position ahead of me, then before I knew it, it was on. Surprisingly riding my hardtail down the side of Tredbo was pretty good my Canis tyres stuck like glue and I was getting past some guys on soft tails. All was great until I came through a shaded area didn't see a rock and smashed my pedal in. So for the next 9km or so I couldn't get my right leg into the pedal. This was the first problem. All good if keep going I shouldn't loose to much time.

We had been told in the brief before that we would be going on the 4X track. Remembered that as I went sailing past the end of the 4x track, didn't see the arrow onto the track. So I slammed the brakes on went back up the hill and tried not to muck anything else up. By the end of the stage 12km I smashed a pedal, went the wrong way and managed 3 mechanical. WOW nothing like pressure.

I recon I probably lost close to ten minutes over the stage. I rolled 22 over the line. Not my best start. The first stage was great and I really did enjoy the course.

Stage: 2 was a cruise stage from Thredbo village to Lake Crackenback resort about 20km. Once a there we check our bags in set up Denis the Ay Up truck and basically chilled out. I wish, in my head all I could think about is how much time I had lost from stuffing up the first stage.

Stage: 3 was going to be 2 x 15km loops around the resort utilising single track and new multi use track around the resort, some of the single track went right alongside the Thredbo river and you had the occasional wombat whole to negotiate. I was abit nervous on the start line knowing that short track racing is not my thing. Finally the gun went off and I took off up the hill, I settled in the first bit of single track in about 5th or 6th once I got half way around the first lap I tried to make a small break and I didn't pay off. The guys from Gordon St. cycles and Torque Anytime fitness got away from me and my legs did not want to play. After the 2 laps were done my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest and I crossed the line in 7th. This pushed me into about 14th overall.

With day 1 over and smiles all round it was time for a beverage and some dinner. Day 2 involved a trip up the ski tube to Perisher to start the Osprey mountain traverse. A 90km stage.

Stay tuned for day 2

Mountains to Beach

Stay tuned for a full Mountains to Beach report as well as reviews on Osprey bags and silverback bikes

2011

This year is bringing some changes for me and my racing. As you know the Ay Up racing team is formed and we have some great sponsors that are going to support us through the 2011 season, Andy Machine Fellows is team manager so as you can imagine he has us lined up for some fun.

With the team not looking for sponsorship with Tomac this year meant, LunarC 8hr was the last ride for my Tomac carbide. I just want to say thanks to Rodney and Bec for all your support throughout the 2010 seanson.


Stay tuned all will be revealed in good time.

LunarC 8hr

Location: Scout Camp

Start Time: 12 midnight

Expectation: with this race being the first of the year I was pretty confident that there would be some stiff competition. With the like of Boothy, Crawford, Tim, Matt and the ever present dark horse my aim was for a top 5 result over all.

It was good to see the guys and lady [ kitten] from AA out and ready to punish themselves for 8hrs, Pearso, Richard, Smac, Al and Mike have all been training hard leading into this event and apart from trying to beat each other they all had there own goals they want to acheive. Firstly I want to that Kiri, John and Kel for all there help in keeping my nutrition up to me.

Well as usual you try to do the right thing and have a sleep leading into the race, that never ever happens for me so once 11pm rocked around I was on the bike and out for a warm up. I had already riding the track earlier in the day so I knew a good start would be key for setting me up for a good result.

I foud myself on the front of the start line [not usually where I like to be sitting but what the hell] Boothy was on the left of me, I knew from past racers that he would be off like a shot so my plan was as always ride my own race and see how we end up. The gun went off and as expected Boothy had put the hammer down, I found myself in the top 10 into the single track which right where I was hoping to be.

The first 2hrs were really well and the 2-4hr mark was terrible I was all over the show messing up corners it was pretty gross. But looking back at my lap times they didn't vary too much.

The rest of the race went well I started to come good after the 4hr mark. For the entire race I managed to average 30 min laps with my quickest 26min and slowest 33min.

All up after 16 laps the course had just on or over 2700m of vetrticle ascent. I had never riden this course before but it was heaps better to ride then slickers, more tech and hills.

With Alister Cook giving me a good run on his SS, I made break for it with 4 laps to go and kept the pressure on I managed to finish 2nd outright to Tim.

All up I am stoked with my race, nutrition was great Infinite was key with a bottle of coke for good measure. I also ran my compressports calf garment and it worked a treat absolutely no pain, cramps nor did my calves feel fatigued, I am sure these things work.

Tubeless Canis tyre were the go for the course, no flats and heaps of grip what more do you want.

Last and definately the best on the market, Ay Up lights kept me riding in daylight. Check out the website there are some pretty cool options for you at Ay Up now.

Until the next race

Later Bozza

Osprey Hydration pack review

As you know, I used the Osprey packs when I did World 24hr last October and was very impressed. This review is more to do with the Talon 22 pack that I have been using while commuting to work.

Just before Christmas we moved to Bribie Is. and now I have just under a 3 hr commute to work. When you sit on your bike for this long you really learn to appreciate products that are comfy, and in my case carry a fair bit of gear ie: uniforms, lunch and spares. I have to say that I was really impressed with how comfortable the Talon 22 bag is to ride with even packed with lots of gear.

As you can see from the picture they are a pretty cool looking bag. They have two side pockets on the waist straps and a clip on the front of the bag so you can attach your helmet without it flapping around all over the place when you're travelling. It also has heaps of pockets that are great for spares, keys or wallets. I think the one thing that stands out for me more then anything is that the bag follows the contour of your back/spine and it also stays cool because it has a corrugated piece of foam to keep it off your back enough to stay cool. The Talon 22 bag also has a whistle on it so you can scare the pants off those pedestrians that don't want to move over on the bike path. :-)

So just keep these awesome bags in the back of your mind when you're in the market. They are light, comfy and a little different from what everyone else is using!

Later

Compressports review #1

Well I guess the first question you would have is, what makes these little beauties better then anything else on the market? Sure Skins and 2XU are a very well known product and I have used both in the past.

So what makes compessports different? I have individual garments, meaning that I have a set for my thighs and a set for my calves. I know you thinking so what other brands bring out calf garments and this is true but, when you want to buy a compression garment just for your thighs you usually have to buy another set of knick [ which costs heaps] with compressports you can wear it with your normal riding kit.

I have to say wearing this gear while riding is really comfy and i can't wait to wear it during my next race. I usually don't ride with compression garments on and only use them for recovery, I have notices a huge difference with my training while using the compressports gear and would recommend it to anyone who is in the market for it.

Compressports brings you compression garment s at a resonable price. So if your in the market for some new gear have a little look

Stay tuned for the Osprey bag review. [ Crummy]