MY WICKED WEEKEND AT THE YOU YANGS

A month or so ago Jo from Giant emailed me asking if I could lend a hand at the upcoming Liv/Giant Demo Day held at the You Yangs on December 11^th. The day would involve taking 2 groups of girls out for a skills session. Sure would was the reply and I found myself looking forward to it as getting to ride a heap of other chicks is a rarity for me.

GMBC 3 hour Enduro

That week I was scrolling through a cycling forum and discovered that the Geelong Mountain Bike Club would be holding a 3hr Enduro at the You Yangs on Saturday 10^th. Perfect timing, I felt I had recovered from the Scott and was ready to race again. I was also looking forward to riding the You Yangs as I had never been there.

I left Marlo after school on Friday and stayed at my brothers in the city, unpacking the bike I realised my back tyre was flat. Upon closer inspection I noticed a tear in the tyre and when I tried to put more than 30psi in it would spray sealant everywhere. I hoped it would reseal overnight. I was up early and arrived at the You Yangs with plenty of time to get organised.

I was a little nervous about the race as I had heard the You Yangs were massively technical and rocky but luckily the race was on the other side in Kurrajong. I came back from a practice lap to find a packed transition area, over 120 people had turned up to race! My tyre had held air during the lap however it hadn’t sealed. I wasn’t sure what to do, put in tube or not...? I ummed and arrrrdd and after asking a few guys for advice I chose to leave it and hope it wouldn’t go down during the race.

I wasn’t feeling at all confident as I had hardly been on the mountain bike in the past month and the course contained a lot of sandy corners which have been known to cause me some carnage. I noticed a serious amount of bike bling going on. Everything and everyone seemed to be carbon!!Most riders looked like they rode for a team and I was hearing a lot of carbon wheels roll by making that intimidating sound. A combination of not riding much, serious bike bling and being by myself meant I went against the advice of my coach. I am always told to get up the front at the start as to ensure you don’t lose time trying to pass people. There’s no way I’d be trying to pass these guys though, they looked awesome!! So I put myself about 3/4’s of the way down the field. However that old adage of all the gear no idea shortly came into play when I found myself frustratingly trying to pass quite a few people on the first lap. I reminded myself what the MC had said at the start of the race “Sheep stations were up for grabs a few months ago at the Yowie, if your here to race for those then you better go home”

Three hours is a relatively short time to be racing your bike when your last race was a 24 hour. My race plan was to race hard the whole race, however after the first hour I realised that racing flat out for 3 hours would actually be incredibly hard so I backed it off and found a nice tempo for the next hour and a half. The course was loads of fun, it contained lots of berms and turns. The first half had 1 slight uphill and the second half was all downhill. Although it was a fairly flat course it deceptively made riders tired as we always had to keep pedalling. The weather also made the race harder as it hit 34 degrees and 80% humidity, no wonder I was sweating profusely!! I decided to stop every 2^nd lap for a bottle refill as it was taking me roughly 28 minutes per lap. I made sure I put in a massive effort up that 1 climb and managed to overtake quite a few people each time however was frustrated when they caught me on the downhill more often than not. Must work on those cornering and descending skills over summer!!! I had no idea where I was coming in the field or even how many girls I was racing against (turns out there were 17 which is AWESOME as I had never ridden against that many girls in 1 race before!!!) On my 2^nd last lap I overtook a girl and decided against grabbing a drink bottle for the last lap, it was only 28 minutes without a drink I decided and I didn’t want that girl to catch up. Poor call. Turns out you do need a drink in 28 minutes when it’s hot. Drinking PureSport throughout the race meant I didn’t cramp like I saw many others doing as it was just so hot and humid that the amount of electrolytes lost was insane. My jersey was covered in salt marks!! One highlight would have been on my last lap when I came up to a male rider who said "would you like to pass" I responded with a "when your ready mate" to which he said "Oh man Im about to get CHICKED arent I?" my reply: "dam straight" as I passed!! :P

I went as hard as I could for my last lap and came in over the line in 3 hours and 5 minutes, 3 minutes behind 1^st place and 18 minutes ahead of 3^rd place. Won a piece of rocky road the size of my head, some nice local wine, honey and jam and had an awesome time. A big thanks to Geelong Mountain Bike club for putting on a awesome race ($20 entry fee you can’t go wrong!!) and thanks to Giant and PureSport for their support.

LIV/GIANT DEMO DAY

After the race I headed into Ocean Grove and stayed with my friend Suze who would be coming with me on Sunday. Woke up early and headed into the beach to try to freshen up the legs before heading back to the You Yangs to hang out with the Giant crew and take some girls out mountain biking for the day.

After meeting the other Giant girls we set up all the 2012 bikes including the new Trance and Anthems Giant has and were advised what our roles for the day would be. Sarah and I would be taking the intermediate group out where we would do a lap of the course 2-3 times giving the girls a chance to learn some new skills, test out the new Giants and ride with other ladies. There were about 10 girls in this group and they had some decent skills. I rode at the bike and chatted to Giant rider Stef Hanson for a bit, I think I distracted her asking her loads of questions about her Ironman training that she stacked it into a rock only a few minutes in. All good though she sprung back onto the bike and we proceeded to roll past a group of fully sick Mother drinking downhillers who were looking pretty pleased a group of ladies would be riding past all day.

After the skills session we cooked up a barbie then Norm showed the girls how to change a tyre and break a chain. Shortly after they left another group of girls arrived and we took them through the same as the morning group, with a few of them already raced in a crit that morning. It was awesome to see some of them overcome their fears and go over some decent sized rock drop offs. There was lots of whooping and squealing noises come from the girls and its seemed they were having an awesome time. I really hope they get in to mountain biking now!

We packed up the Giant Van and I headed home. A fantastically fun weekend spent riding, racing and meeting new people. I loved riding with other girls, it was awesome!!! Thanks Giant for letting me be a part of it, can’t wait for the next one!!

PureSport Workout and Recovery Drinks

I’m stoked to announce that I’ll be getting some sponsorship from PureSport, a company with premium performance sports drinks that I have been using in training and for recovery.

PureSport offer 2 types of drinks; ‘Workout’ and ‘Recovery.’ Both have the same delicious flavours Banana/Berry, Grape, Fruit Punch and Lemon Lime and contain whey protein, electrolytes, carbs and antioxidants.  Aside from the awesome taste, what I love most is it provides me with energy but with a low amount of sugar and electrolytes as well as protein so I can recover quicker and be able to back up training and racing consecutive days.

I spent the weekend mountain biking in Bright this past weekend, it was very hot, hilly and the pace was on. I certainly noticed a difference during the ride, I didn’t run out of energy or get dehydrated. When I got home I had a recovery drink and then I was able to head out and do it all again on Sunday. The powder comes in a handy easy-to-tear-open sachet, I carried a heap in my jersey and conveniently added a sachet of powder every time I filled up my drink bottle in the river.  By having 4 different flavours it meant I never get sick of the flavours! This will be great when I race in the 24hour Worlds in Italy as I can keep using the Workout drink right throughout the race, rotating flavours so I don’t get sick of the one flavour. I’ll also be using the recovery drinks in the second half of the 24hour to repair those damaged muscles along the way. Thanks PureSport!!

Head to http://www.puresport.net.au for more info!!

Here is a Michael Phelps commercial, he is sponsored by them too!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mmsrC9S9_g&feature=related

found a couple of picture that sums up what goes on in my head quite often.....

RACING THE SCOTT 24 HOUR

After I had my hip surgery in June I was still feeling a little down and couldn’t figure out why, I was fixed what’s the problem? Conversations were had and we realised I didn’t have a goal. So in July I decided I would be competing in the Scott 24 Hour Australian Mountain Bike Championships to be held at Mt Stromlo on October 8/9^th. That gave me 12 weeks after 5 months off the bike to get back in to the swing of things. I raced in 3 x 6-8hour enduro’s in that time and achieved some good results and began feeling strong on the bike. This is weird, I’ve had all this time off and I am training less than ever yet I am feeling strong. Was it because I was wanting to be out there racing, appreciating every moment I was out there, having let other niggling injuries fully heal and focusing on quality rather than quantity, listening to my body rather than sticking rigidly to a program. Perhaps a combination off all these factors led me to have a great race at the Scott. Somewhere in that time frame I changed my thinking. I wanted to RACE a 24 hour. My previous two 24’s I had RIDDEN, I wanted a greater challenge, I wanted to RACE and I wanted to win.

A race plan was put into place. Only 3 people- my support crew (Al, Loki and Dave) knew the plan and knew we were there to have a crack. The weekend prior had been a pretty busy one, we had gotten married and done quite a bit of walking around Melbourne. My hip had flared up and by Thursday when we were heading up to Canberra I was wondering whether I was actually going to be able to race. Smashing the anti-inflammatorys seemed to help my hip but massively upset my stomach. Opting to rest on the days leading up to the race rather than check out the blue lap which I had not ridden all I could do was hope my hip would hold up. The weather had been ordinary and we were all expected it to be a mud bath, excellent I thought as I know some people are mentally beaten before they step up to the line if it is raining. We set up our pit and waited until the clock struck 11.55 then it was go time.

The course would consist of 2 laps, a blue lap (14.5km) and a red lap (13.5km) coming into transition after each lap. Having ridden the red lap in the 7hr enduro 2 weeks prior I was looking forward to riding the blue lap and had a great time on it for the first 6 hours. However once the dark set in I found myself craving the red lap which was much less technical.

My race plan was to treat it as a long easy training ride, to get myself to 6am and then raise the tempo. The weather surprised us and sitting at the start line it was pretty hot. Race nerves must have gotten the better of me as I went abit nuts on the first couple of laps and Al kept telling me to ease up. I was sweating up a storm and worried I would pay the price through cramps later on. My friend Beth was following my wheel rather closely and over the next few hours I would be convinced I’d dropped her as she would be out of sight, only to come back in to transition to see her right behind me again. On the end of the first lap Phillipa came charging by me and was setting a blistering pace. All I could do was hope she would blow up during the night. I had gone in to total race mode in the beginning, worrying about where my competitors were, not talking to anyone and being totally focused. That only lasted a few hours, by about 7pm I realised I was there to have fun and loosened up a bit, largely thanks to having Brett Bellchambers ride behind me and having a chat I realised it was all about enjoying myself. (Hard not to when you see how much fun he is having out there) What will be will be I told myself and let myself enjoy the ride.

Unfortunately Beth came off and fractured her shoulder putting an end to her race, I have no doubt we would have pushed each other right until the end. Some wicked thunderstorms hit us and some rain, followed by some sunshine which thankfully dried out my kit. At 8pm I decided I would change my socks as they were still wet and I knew the temperature would drop significantly during the night. A couple of mouthfuls of porridge and I was back on the bike. The first 8 hours I was experiencing some stomach problems and had to stop twice to go the loo, cramping in my stomach I was hoping it wouldn’t last the entire race, thankfully it didn’t!

                                                

I was riding my new Anthem Advanced Carbon Dually and it did not miss a beat, I rode a few laps on my 2009 Anthem so Dave could keep my Advanced running clean and smooth. Having the 2 bikes worked a treat and I was able to fly through transition rather quickly. Generally when I rolled in, Al would have a strong carb drink (Hammer Perpetuem) and a Hammer Solid ready to eat, then I would grab a drink bottle off Loki and finally Dave would put some food for the lap in my jersey. This worked a treat and minimised time off the bike.

Al and Loki freezing in the pits!

Throughout the night myself and Liz Smith were swapping places and overtaking each other, I thought Phillipa was still charging out the front and we were in 2^nd and 3^rd. However I later found out Phillipa had stopped and I was actually battling it out for 1^st. At 1.30am I started to feel very ordinary, it seemed everything was in slow motion and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep. I had a very slow lap and the boys decided it was time to have a recharge at 2.30. They sat me down, fed me a bowl of gnocchi, cleaned the bike, massaged my neck and updated me on the race standings. Making sure I didn’t get too comfortable it was time to start on the caffeine. A no doze later and I was rearing to go. Al told me that at 6.30 I would have another 5 minute stop for some porridge and all I had to do was ride smart. At 6am I took the lead and the decision to keep riding was made, there would be no 5 minute porridge stop!

I seemed to feel better the longer the race went and at 9am I decided to increase the tempo and put in more effort up the climbs, then descend smartly easing up a bit making sure I didn’t have a stack. At 10am a rider came past calling track, I told her I would go to the left and there was room for her on the right. I didn’t however see the track sign and run straight into it. Luckily it just bruised my shoulder. I had known coming in to this race that it would be my upper body that would take a hammering and therefore got a bit of work done on my back and shoulders to make sure I could minimise fatigue in this area.

 I kept increasing the gap as the morning wore on and by 11.30 I had a 45 minute lead, still not sure whether I needed to go out for another lap I made sure I had enough left in the tank to complete another lap. I crossed the line at 11.35 and tried to get confirmation about whether I had to head out again, it started to rain and I was hoping so badly I wouldn’t! Liz came up and told me she had stopped and that I didn’t have to head out again as I was already a lap up. The afternoon was a bit of a blur, it hadn’t sunk in at all and I was feeling pretty wrecked and hoping I wouldn’t stuff up the interviews or speeches. A massive thank you to Al, Dave and Loki- best support crew ever it really was a team effort. I reckon that it’s a harder job than riding!! Thanks to Giant for making such wicked bikes and helping me out, thanks to Ay-Up for providing such awesome lights that kept me going all night long, thanks to CORC and all the volunteers for putting on such a great event and for the TICKETS TO ITALY !!!! So looks like we are off to Italy to compete in the World Championships in May next year!!!

Lots of people ask me what I ate during the race so here is a bit of a list:

FOOD:

·        White bread with nutella or vegemite

·        Fruit cake

·        Little muffins

·        Bananas

·        Hammer Gels

·        Gnocchi with pasta sauce

·        Couple of mouthfuls of Cinnamon porridge

·        Couple of mouthfuls of creamed rice

·        Hammer Solids (about 15 of them!)

·        Hammer Bars

·        Carmans Muesli Bars

·        Pikelets with honey

DRINKS:

·        Water

·        Nuun electrolyte tablet with Hammer Gel

·        Hammer Heed

·        Strong Hammer Perpetuem (small cup in transition)

·        Strong Sustagen (after 12am small cups in transition)

 

ROCKY TRAIL SHIMANO GRAND PRIX 7HR @ STROMLO

I had this race biro-ed into the calendar as it fitted perfectly – the start of school holidays, a good 8 hour hit-out 2 weeks before the Scott24 to practise pacing and nutrition, and not to mention it would also feature some of the tracks from the Scott.  So when the hip pulled up very sore after the weekend priors training sessions I was feeling pretty bummed when it looked like I couldn’t race. I rested all week and at 9.15pm on Thursday (race entries closed 10pm) the surgeon rang to discuss another issue (I had been hassling his PA for 12 weeks waiting for his call) I asked him what the hell was going on, why was I having the same pain in my hip when it’s been operated on? Easy he said, the scar tissue around the hip capsule had been disrupted, this would happen for the next 12 months bringing some pain but load up with anti-inflams and I’ll be right. Can I race the 8hr? What about the 24hr were my only questions. Go for it he said. Excellent, so jumped straight on www.rockytrailentertainment.com.au and booked us into race.

School finished early so we headed up the Hume, free for 2 weeks and what a great way to start the holidays!! Setup camp at Stromlo and had an ordinary night’s sleep, must have gone bit too hard on the anti-inflams and the stomach wasn’t appreciating it. I had my new Giant Advanced, having only ridden it for about 2hours prior and it was in a totally new position after having a proper bike fit I was wondering how an earth this race would pan out for me.

Waking up in the morning the temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up, we were freezing as we waited for Mike “Tomo” Tomoralis” to kick things off. The race started at the respectable time of 9.15 and with the weather being less than ideal organiser’s cut the race short to 7 hours. 1 lap in and I soon realised it was a mistake to wear a long sleeve winter top as I was sweating up a storm,  and that it was going to be a long 7hrs as my stomach was not feeling the love. Riding around the track I had mixed feelings, I had only ever ridden at Stromlo once on these very tracks- at last year’s 24 hour Worlds and that was the most brutal and painful 24 hours of my life oh how the memories came flooding back!! The first half of the course we climbed, the second half we flew downhill. Thankfully riders spread out across the course after the second lap, but it was a bit hairy on the first couple of laps as the 4 hour riders who set off 1 minute behind us were obviously going full gas from the get go. My race was nearly cut short on the first lap when I went through the bridge at the top of the biggest berm on the planet a.k.a the ‘Luge’ and opted to go right and nearly launched myself off the downhill jump. I somehow managed to not go over the edge but lost time as I waited to rejoin the track as many riders flew by.

Struggling after the first lap I did my best to get into a tempo and decided I would ride a sensible pace until 2 hours to go and then I would try to put the foot down. At the 4hour mark I came within 20metres of Sarah, the race leader, coming up the climb and the switchback nature of the course meant she could see me coming as well. As there was still close to 4 hours left in the race, I decided not to chase, but rather stick to my race plan and hope she would blow up after I noticed she increased the tempo when she saw me approaching.  The track was just as brutal on the upper body as I remember and it was my shoulders, arms and hands that were starting to tire well before my legs. Soon enough 2pm rolled around and it was time to put the foot down, this lasted about 30mins before I felt like I was starting to put myself in the box. I knew I needed to make up the time on the climbs as Sarah was an excellent descender. I was flying down the hills wondering how an earth I could go any faster but knowing I needed to in order to catch her.

The rocky track took its toll on competitors, with many tubes, sidewalls, chains and even a collar-bone being busted. Al’s race didn’t pan out too well unfortunately. On his 3^rd lap he flatted once, on his 4^th lap he flatted again and then ripped his sidewall, halfway through the lap this meant a 1 hour work back to transition. He then set about finding a replacement tyre, specialized were the only ones with a 29er tyre and it had a price tag of $90. Unfortunately we only had $70 in cash and they wouldn’t accept card. Aside from that, it was a very enjoyable and challenging race. I tried my best to focus on being smooth and fast descending but was beaten by a much smoother and better descender! It was awesome having Tomolaris commentating, it was most exciting hearing your name being called out every lap by cycling’s most recognisable voice. It made me feel like I was riding in the Tour De France!!  I decided not to delve too much into the hurt box 2 weeks out, and used the race as training, although I  must admit my last lap I was busting a gut trying to catch Sarah.

Unfortunately the weather turned ugly and we were kept awake by a thunderstorm that threatened to flood our tiny tent. Although it was quite amusing when we decided to move our tent at about 11pm to drier land, and to see our camping neighbour totally confused thinking we had blown away. “There was definitely a tent here last night, oh my goodness the tent here is gone......”we couldn’t help but laugh and in the end I gave him a friendly wave from across the way to assure him we were still there. The Uber weekend had loads on, with a 4X event, a time trial, skills clinics and slalom events however the weather resulted in quite a few people headed home early.

We headed over the Bruce Ridge with a mate to check out the trails. We stopped for a drink break and a heard a cracking noise, thinking to myself that sounds like a branch breaking I looked up in the air and the branch nailed me. Luckily it was only small and didn’t do any damage!  All in all a great weekend and it was good to come away with a 2^nd place. A big thanks to Giant, my Anthem rode awesomely and I can’t wait to race on it for 24 hours in a couple of weeks!!

Bear and Courts Tour De Cabbage Adventure

I felt as if I would either sink or swim, I was either going to really love this type of riding, or I was going to yearn for the comfort of my own bed, being clean and warm and having proper food. Obviously heading out for one night is different to going out for 30 days but I felt I could get a bit of a sense for what it’s all about. We ordered a lightweight cooker and headed into the camping shop after work on Friday night to pick it up, all set for our trip. It hadn’t arrive, dam. What to do now, we decided to ponder our options at the coffee shop then an invite for a drink at the pub with the boss sounded appealing. When chatting to the others about what we were thinking of doing, heading out for a bikepacking weekend,  we were told to be careful of snakes, wild dogs, wild farmers with guns whose land we would have to cross, ticks, angry cows and deers. Excellent. A beer, a bowl of chips and some pizza slices later we decided to go jump on the bikes and go. I told my boss if I wasn’t at work on Monday to send out a search party. Al (Bear Grylls) convinced me he knew the tracks and we would be safe. Lights on, energy bars packed, map in hand we headed off.

First part of the trip involved riding 10metres, walking 10metres through cow patties in a muddy cow paddock. I had attached a drink cage under the down tube of my frame and wasn’t overly impressed to see my drink bottle was now covered in cow crap. Let’s hope we find a tap soon. We rode for 2 ½ hours and only diverted off the track once. I have a ridiculously bad sense of direction (I sometimes get lost in Marlo, which is a pretty small town, only 300 people live here) but thankfully Gryllsy can navigate with his eyes closed. We found what we thought would be a nice place to camp and I set out the bivvy and sleeping bags whilst Al set about making a fire. Jumped into bed, and this is where we learnt a few things:

-          Don’t get into your sleeping bag when you’re sweaty from riding. It makes you clammy and uncomfortable and cold

-          Take an inflatable pillow with you. Stuffing a jacket into a sleeping bag cover does not provide any neck support.

-          Don’t get out to pee at 4 in the morning then step in it

-          Don’t decide to camp on a slope

Laying there I felt as if I hadn’t gotten any sleep, but presumed I had or I would have been incredibly bored laying there for 5 hours. When I woke up at 6am freezing my butt off, I felt somewhat of a connection with Rose from the Titanic, feeling similar to when her and Jack are floating in the ocean on a plank of wood. So the first thing I huskily said to Al was “Jack.....Jack......Blow the whistle Jack.....” which then became our catch phrase for the rest of the ride.

 We jumped up and quickly lit a fire to dry to thaw out. Our drinks had turned to ice and a frost had hit. We had some apple energy bars so we put them on a stick and toasted it for breakky. Rode for another hour, with the sun coming up and spectacular views over the valleys I couldn’t imagine any other place I’d rather be. Rolled into Cabbage Tree (yep that’s the name of the town...) to the one and only cafe and ordered some food. Unfortunately all they had were sausage rolls. Having not eaten a sausage roll for years and being a fairly health conscious person it took some self talk and persuading that I need energy to continue riding. It was very delicious and I followed it down with a nice big coffee. Then spent 25 minutes on the loo, there are downsides to eating a healthy diet all the time, you’re not used to it when you have to eat unhealthy foods. Bellies full we headed out on the back tracks towards Bemm River. It was a perfect 25 degrees and we were loving every minute of it. Somewhere along the way I dropped and lost a drink bottle and spent 10 minutes backtracking to find it, with no luck. Starting to get hungry and parched again, I was dreaming of a nice salad sandwich I was hoping to get at Bemm, 3 hours down the track. The trails were pretty rad, fireroads but quite rutted which meant you had to concentrate and use skills making the ride more interesting. We rolled into Bemm and headed to the pub, receiving a less than warm welcome and not seeing anything except greasys on the menu, we headed to the general store for a feed. I wonder what the minimum amount of supplies a shop needs in order to call themselves a general store.... Ice creams, chocolate bars and a jar of vegemite were the only edible items in the shop. A mango ice cream and a cherry ripe later, we were heading out on Old Coast Road to make it back home. Riding along the coast was beautiful, until we hit Pearl Point Track. A 6km sand track, which took us over 2 hours to get through. Ride 10metres, push bike for 10metres repeat over 6kms. It was good fun trying to fly through the sand without coming a gutza the first 3 times, then it got a bit old.

Baking in the sun pushing the bikes though deep sand we ran out of food and water, luckily we were only 18km from home. Cruised in on the bitumen and headed straight to the Marlo store. Relatively incoherent the store owner gave us some delicious big milkshakes to get the sugar levels back up!

So....did I sink or swim?? Looks like training for Tour Divide has officially began!!

ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE “WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE” MOMENTS

About 18 months ago, I came home with a world map and a book titled “Cycling Around the World” and declared I was planning a bike trip around the world. I mapped out my route, write out an equipment list and even planned out a departure date. Now I must admit, I regularly have these “What am I doing with my life?” mid life crisis’ and come up with lots of things we could and should be doing instead of saving for a house, sipping lattes and going to work 8-5 every day. I love travelling, but I always miss riding my bike too much to go away for long periods of time. I figure I can combine my love for both by bike packing.

 I have a million quotes I regularly spout off to Al, about “We’ve got a long time looking at a lid....you only live once..... life is too short...... etc etc” Unfortunately for the short term me, Al was focused on saving some money to one day buy a house, but none the less this is lucky for the long term me.

Fast forward 12 months, and we have been saving hard, have moved overseas, interstate and across the state, grinding away 8-5 every day, doing lots of races and meeting loads of cool people. Then I brought home a DVD titled “Ride the Divide.” For those of you who haven’t seen it, see it. It’s a doco on a 2700 mile (4000ish KM’s) race from Banff, Canada to Mexico. It is a self supported race and the cut-off date for females is 30 days, and 27 for males.  The same way Gordo in 24 Solo inspired me to sign up to Kona 24 hour 2 months after seeing the DVD, Matthew Lee and Mary Metcalfe Collier make me want to do this race. The idea was planted.

So now I have 2 ideas, one involved travelling around sort of like cycle touring and the other involves ultra endurance racing self supported style events. Now these ‘underground’ events are starting to get big. It involves a group of like minded people turning up to a point at a certain time, riding the same trails and then comparing times ad experiences at the end. There is no entry fee, no prize money and you are only allowed to use services accessible to every other competitor, so no support crew. This is way harder,  way fairer and heaps cheaper than racing. Whilst I love racing, the cost of entry fees, the wankers turning up in all the gear no idea, and the team racers in endurance events screaming TRACK when you’re flying down a technical single downhill section 22 hours into a solo race is making the Ride the Divide events somewhat more appealing. This type of racing involves being really tough, no one to wipe the snot off your face, feed you or provide you with motivating words or massages. You have to navigate, you have to make sure your getting enough energy and water in, setup camp, keep warm, fix your own repairs, keep pedalling through all elements of the weather and what’s best is having 3 of the same bikes on hand won’t help you a bit. It starts to make 24 solo’s look somewhat tame. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love racing and I am super pumped for the Scott 24 in about 3 weeks, and the loads of races after that, but I reckon I can combine training for endurance races with bike packing and going to see the world this way. I am now finding myself looking at bike packing websites and seeking this underground movement on bikepacking.net, looking at the Colorado trail race and reading blogs by these crazy people that race stupidly long distances all the time. We have recently watched Race Across America, and Off the Rails, 2 DVDs about riding massive distances, pushing mind and body to the limit. They truly are inspiring and made me feel quite pathetic living my somewhat mundane life.

So why don’t you just go and do it instead of banging on about it I hear you say. Well, for those of you that know me I am full of great ideas but regularly change my mind. One minute I’m moving to Alaska, the next Alice Springs, and the next Orbost. One minute I am loving being a teacher, the next I’m on seek.com looking to be a mtb instructor, work in a bike shop or study journalism. Al let me sit on this idea for 18month, thinking I would love the theory of bike packing but being stuck out in the cold and rain, with no food I would be a grumpy bitch pining to go home. He had seen me crack the sads out on training rides when we got lost, copped an unnecessary spray because I was hungry (I become a completely different person when I am hungry and Al has learnt to carry spare food so when signs of hunger hit he can try to prevent this from happening) We always laugh at the Snickers Ad “Your not you when your hungry” cos that applies to me so much. However I was convinced that if I was getting to ride my bike, I would be happy and that I had mellowed a lot more in recent times, largely due to having so much time off the bike with injuries I feel I am just glad to be back riding and not sweating the little things that can go wrong when you’re out on the bike. I have realised I can train for enduro’s by riding with my mates, by heading out on a bikepacking trip, and not having to follow a strict training regime that state I must do 4 x 4minutes strength efforts on the ergo. Yes I will do these, but it’s not the end of the world if I miss a session to go out for a night ride with my mates. I have tried this theory since being back on the bike, and I have actually achieved some pretty good results, am less injured and having heaps more fun, I reckon it’s the key to staying the sport a longer time.  

We started talking more and more about Ride the Divide, Colorado Trail Race and other exciting adventurous rides, and last weekend finally bit the bullet and bought some good quality bivvy’s, sleeping bags, thermarests and a portable lightweight cooker and decided the only way to see if we liked it was to head out into the bush for the weekend. Read the next blog to find out what happened!!!

THE ‘A’ LINE WANTS YOU: JUBBALAND ROCKS!!!!

THE ‘A’ LINE WANTS YOU: JUBBALAND ROCKS!!!!

It was that time of the year, the last weekend of August. That means only one thing. JUBBALAND 6 HOUR ENDURO was here. I freakin’ love this race, it reminds me of when I first got into MTBing and it means I get to home for a weekend of fun riding and catching up with mates! We rolled in on Saturday and I was keen to take Al on the sweet single track that goes from my folks house right to Jubbaland, do a practice lap, then ride home. Should only take an 1 ½ hours or so. My navigation skills are extremely ordinary and even though I had ridden the track 2 weeks earlier and was feeling confident it took a bit 5 minutes and I was lost.

Finally made it out to Jubbaland for a practice lap and I remembered my love hate relationship with the track. The hate stems from some of the technical, switchback rocky climbs and descents, getting frustrated when I stuff it up and going back to try it over and over. Then feeling the love when I finally nail that A line. The first A line on the track, took me almost a year of riding to it then chickening out before I finally went over it. Looking back over my training diary I have written NAILED THE A LINE AT JUBBALAND WAHOOO thats how special that day was for me, and the feeling of satisfaction I got from finally going down it. However that A line is scary that I think I simply felt relief that I had made it down alive. There was no sense of wow that was nowhere near as scary as I thought it would be, I can do that no worried now. It was all HOLY S#*& how did I not just kill myself. So I decided I wouldn’t be attempting it in the race, and when I went through on my second lap of the race and it had been taped off, I seriously wondered if perhaps someone had died on it the lap before. So our Saturday ride turned into a 3hr stint, not ideal and it would seem my race would follow the ‘not ideal’ routine as I did things that you know you shouldn’t do.

1.      Long ride with not much food and drink the day before instead of resting

2.      Using nutrition on race day you’ve never used before

3.      Not taking weather into consideration and having not enough bottles out

4.      Following other people’s advice on how much to drink, knowing I drink a lot more

5.      Changing bike setup dramatically 2 days before a 6hr race.
(Also not ideal was the Le Mans running start when I was under strict instructions from the surgeon not to run, but as Jake told me I could cheat I made a ew shortcuts to get to my bike)

The first 2 hours were painful, it was hot and I was using Hammer Perpeteum which is a high carb drink that one drink bottle would last me 2 hours for. However, due to the sun being out and me knowing I drink loads of water I was cursing this decision. I was feeling dehydrated and wonky in the head, I needed more fluid. Third lap I decided to grab a Nuun, take my time and get myself feeling good again. Just wanting to get through the race, I settled into a rhythm and decided to ride my own race, not chasing down the solo rider in front of me.

The Thursday before the race I changed my flat narrow bars to riser bars, flipped my stem, changed my saddle and chose a comfier higher position on my bike to try to negate the wrist pain from the weekend before. After Saturday’s ride I woke up with sore hamstrings and lower bike. Not ideal. Once again I set out with ‘this is just a training ride, I’m not here to race, my goal is to finish upright.’ And once again as soon as the gun went off, those thoughts went out the window.

The track is like 1 massive 10km rock garden. It’s tough to eat and drink as its 97% singletrack and the fire roads are loose and uphill. It’s a challenging course and any errors can result in significant damage. I saw loads of people with busted sidewalls, flats, busted derailleur’s, busted chains and even a busted bike or two. It seemed you needed to carry a spare bike with you just to get through the race!! Knowing the course and the conditions was a massive advantage and running my bike suited to the conditions results in no mechanicals or stacks for the day. The track took plenty of casualty’s as some were impatient in waiting to pass as well as fatigue hitting towards the end which resulted in silly mistakes being made. I decided with 1 ½ hours to go I would see what the legs had in them and up the anti a bit. On my second last lap I managed to get myself into what I thought was 3^rd position and decided to go hard until the hard.  (Pic: Marty nailing the A line with perfection as usual)

My legs were feeling surprisingly good up the climbs, but I was erring the side of caution on the technical descents to avoid stacks. I found myself struggling to get up the technical climbs which I had gotten up no dramas earlier on, I didn’t have the concentration or fitness to get up them in the latter parts of the race. I was taking comfort in seeing many other riders feeling the same way!! I was saying to myself ‘don’t hit that log’ and 3 seconds later would hit the log, or ‘don’t go off the track’ and no doubt I would go off the track. It was on the tight switchback rocky climb I knew I needed to get up to try to maintain my position, and that’s where I stuffed it up. A chick overtook me here, looking strong, and I thought she’s looking too strong to be a solo rider, she must be in a team. I convinced myself I didn’t need to bother chasing her, and I would keep my tempo and roll into 3^rd all going well. What I didn’t realise was I was actually in 2^nd, and that strong fresh looking chick was in solo, and she had just overtaken me in the last 15mins of the race. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I have been kicking myself that I didn’t go harder and chase her down however I’m pretty sure I was going as hard as I could, and she was definitely looking much stronger than what I was feeling!! Turns out the solo chick was local rider, Kim, and she got back just before the clock struck 4pm and smashed out another lap, whilst I got back 1min after. Which I was massively relieved at the time as I really don’t know if I could have done another lap even if I had of known where I was at.  Pretty stoked with 3rd though.

Jubbaland is a rippin course, its brutal on the body and kudos to the SS RIGID rider who broke his downtube. I was smashed on a dually 4 inch travel bike. Some people say it’s a XC course or for team races only, however it is a race that challenges solo riders, you’ve gotta be fit and you’ve gotta have good technical skills. And best of all, it doesn’t suit roadies and puts guys who rock up with all the gear no idea back in their box. There are lots of enduro’s out there that all you need is fitness to go well, here you need to be fit and be able to handle a mtb. There was a greater sense of accomplishment as I got home feeling absolutely smashed from head to toe.

The atmosphere at the event, on Saturday night and Sunday is stella. Camping, a bon fire, kids races and 16” races its a weekend the whole family can enjoy. A big thanks to Jake, Rocky Riders and the Jubba family for organising such a rad event. Thanks also to Giant, Ay-Up Lights and Nuun Hydration for our support and counting down to next year’s race already!!!

sweet as handcrafted trophies

WET AND WHINGING IN WINGELLO

So when the surgeon told me I could start mountain biking on August 21^st I was stoked that the SRAM Singlemind 7hr Enduro at Wingello was on that very same day. Ripper I could enter that, but not before heading out on a sneaky 5hr mtb the weekend before from Castlemaine to Daylesford to get the feel of my bike back and some endurance in the legs. (hadn’t been ridden since March) About 1hr in we hit a kangaroo, us 1, roo 0. Then it was a quick stop in the bike shop in Canberra as we live in hillbilly central nowhere near a bike shop we got some supplies. After leaving Marlo we arrived in Wingello State Forest some 8hrs later to rain and mud whilst Marlo was having its first sunny day in about a month. We set up the tent and headed out on a practice lap. My knee, hip and throat were feeling sore and I was started to get bad vibes about being at the race. No showers out in the bush so we cooked up a quick pasta then jumped into our tiny tent all muddy and tried to get some sleep through the downpour.

I was started to have massive doubts about racing, with 1 very slow 5hr mtb all the training I had had, and some short road rides I was massively underdone and concerned if I fell on my hip that I would break my femur. I convinced myself that I would take it very easily, stop when I wanted to stop and be careful. It seems the closer you stay to race HQ, the later you are to the event. 30mins before the race I asked Al to put some more ait in my rear tyre, my tubeless valve decided to bog itself and we decided to put in a tube. Madly trying to organise food and drinks for the race, we just made it to the start line in time and consequently started way back in the field. All I had to do was not fall off I kept saying to myself. According to my polar clock on my bars, this plan lasted all of 4min 32seconds. Heading round the first bend it was quite sandy and the competitor next to me slid out and lock straight into my bars and 5 of us hit the dirt. Quick examination of the hip and I was good to go, fuelled with adrenaline and angry at what had happened, I hammered out a 38min lap and came through in 1^st place solo female, not realising it at the time.

Halfway through the next lap I realised my back tyre was going flat, having never gotten a flat on my MTB in training or racing, I was significantly annoyed but set about changing it as quickly as possible. My co2 canister failed miserably, as did the next 2 I tried that some kind folks lent me. A fellow competitor lent my her pump which I had no idea how to use, and then a guy called Dave in a totally rockin CLIF bars ONESY skin suit quite easily pumped it up with his co2. Made it back round to transition and headed out for another lap, keen to catch the solo chick who I’d been chatting with before the flat. Got about 10mins up the road and rear tyre had flatted once again. Ok time for a new tube me thinks. New tube in, c02 on, and kapow co2 explodes without putting any air in, try another one, same result. What’s the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over expecting different results..... That seemed to be what was happening to me right now. So after having 4 c02’s fail, a tubeless vale and 2 tubes fail I had a quick tanty then started walking back to transition and realised my polar computer had broken off my bars. It was at this time I saw Al coming up the climb, so focused on getting up on his SS rig that he didn’t even realise I was there until I yelled at him. Sitting in 3^rd in SS, he was torn between helping me and racing. I was upset and whinging declaring I was going to go back and sit in the car. He tried to tell me to get it fixed and get back out there. Having a small domestic on the top of what we named “Tanty hill” ongoing competitors came up the climb looking a little bewildered and asked if we were ok to Al’s response “It’s ok, she’s my girlfriend” Scooted back to transition where I took my bike to the mechanic to get a new valve and ran into a mate who I hadn’t seen for 8 months so chatted to her for a bit then I got bored and cold so decided to head back out on the track. I also thought to myself HELLOOOO I have been sitting out on the sidelines for 6 months, no amount of flats, exploding co2’s or dodgy tubes could ruin my first race back as it was just RAD to be RIDING!!

The track was surprisingly tacky and not a lot of mud which was great. There was quite a lot of fire road and I was feeling for the SS riders who were busting their guts up the climbs only to be caught again on the flat and downhill sections, legs spinning like crazy. Then again, who’d be silly enough to ride a SS....... The single-track was smooth and flowy and a couple of pinch climbs were really felt towards the end of the race as the legs were burning. I soon learnt that racing unfit requires you to leave your ego at home. I had to keep reminding myself that this race was only for training, that it was simply to get fitter for the Scott 24hour. Easier said than done though, and continual thoughts of how much fitter I used to be, and how my skills used to be heaps better, and how I COULD and SHOULD be in a better position. I kept comparing my race to if I was fit, and you can’t do that when your racing unfit. I guess I can see why some people only race when they’re fit, but racing is what makes you fitter and you need to work with what you’ve got.

I was lucky enough to catch up to Al and ride the last 3 laps with him which was good fun as we don’t usually get to race together. We pulled each other along, both absolutely spent and I was relieved when I crossed the line 2 minutes after the 7hour mark, no chance to go out on another lap!! Thank goodness. Packed up the esky and tent, this was the first enduro we had done where we did our own support and it worked pretty well.

We jumped in the car and headed on the 6 ½ trip home. At about 10pm we hit the windy sections and the logging trucks came whizzing by we knew it was stupid to be driving but needed to get home for an 8am start at work the next day. Then we hit another roo, this one was bigger and this one got wedged underneath the car. Pulling onto the side of the road it took a bit of manoeuvring and Al trying to yank it from out of the grill to be able to continue driving.  Us-1, Roo-1. Needless to say the Nescafe’s were being smashed at work the next day. In regards to the event itself, for the entry fee of $80 it would have been good to get some more goodies in the show bag, and an acknowledgement of the top 3 SS riders at presentation as there was a category in the race. Organisers did a fantastic job handling the weather conditions and provided a well run event. A massive thanks to the 4 people who stopped along the way to help and at the end of the race I had acquired 4 co2’s, a pump and a tyre lever! A big thanks to the volunteers, race organisers, Ay-Up Lights, Giant Bikes and Nuun Hydration, boy it’s GOOD TO BE BACK ON THE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!

Interview with local legend- Jason Tolland AKA Jake, Frank the Tank, Gary Fisher

Chances are if you live in Central Victoria you have come across or heard about a guy , Jason Tolland, or Jake to the locals. He is a local mountain biking legend in the small but massively expanding town of Castlemaine, located smack in the centre of Victoria. Jake owned Castlemaine Cycles for ten years, until it recently sold and is now known as Cycle Concepts, in which Jake is now the Manager. (Which is great for all as it gives him more time to ride and build trails!) Jake is the driving force behind why Castlemaine is being put on the map as being one of the best places in the country to ride. Jake has spent countless hours over many years, building tracks all over the town, and organising social rides and club races. He is however quick to point out “I have had over the years a lot of support from the local guys and gals that have gotten into the mountain bike scene here in Castlemaine.  We have through the development of the club gone from 2 guys running a race to a team of people within the Rocky Riders who come together for club races, enduros and social rides. “

Each week the club has 3 rides leaving from the shop and all abilities are welcome, the riders are extremely friendly and always wait up for people. These rides are also great as they always finish with a compulsory beer and pizza at the cafe next door. Home for school holidays, I found myself in at Cycle Concepts annoying Jake most days and after hearing so many of his hilarious stories, passion and knowledge for bikes, I wanted to dig a little deeper and find out what keeps this old school, hardcore mountain biker so passionate about the sport. Here’s how it went:

Name: Jason Tolland

Also known as: Jake, Frank the Tank

Occupation: Bicycle Retailer (Cycle Concepts, Castlemaine)

No. of years riding:  20 something  years

Current Bikes: Giant Anthem Advanced SL 0, Yeti 575, and a Giant Anthem 29er (forcefully by my employer and strictly for scientific purposes only)

Dream Bike: 25^th Anniversary Yeti 575, Yeti 66 and Scott Genius LT and anything that is new and shiny from Giant

Favourite place to ride: Castlemaine, Morzine in France. Places that are technically difficult and that scare the shit out of me.

Favourite cyclists:  In the old days it would be John Gregory, he raced the World Cup series with less than $2000 in his pocket and camped at races. Nowadays it would have to be local talent Lach Norris, and all of the local boys as they’re always willing to have a crack which I greatly admire.

You’ve been likened as the Gary Fisher of Castlemaine, some might even go as far as of Australia, how did it all start?

God I hope I am not anything Like Gary Fisher ! I have never invented anything or made masses of money . Back in the day I was living in Melbourne with no car and could only go as far as the train could take me, heading out on rides around Kinglake and the Dandenong’s.  I would come home to Castlemaine once a week for a ride and then one day it just clicked that there was so much potential for riding here and it was the place to be. I bought the bike shop in town.  I happened to run into a man named Evan Jeffery, who has excellent skills and is super fit. Evan had started a loop of technical tracks in the Pineys.  We both knew that it needed more. Together we set about creating a network of trails we could ride. We built the tracks to suit both the terrain and our preferred riding style; all the steep nasty climbs are thanks to him, and all the fun stuff like flowing berms and switchbacks are thanks to me.  Through the shop and my many riding buddies, Castlemaine was a must go location for quite a while.  Before my kids came along our house was an unofficial B&B for lots of my mates to drop in for a ride and a cheap bed.  Cross country racing was more popular in the early 2000s (remember Cadel @ the Sydney Olympics ) We wanted to run races and make use of the trails that we had built, so after a few races run by other clubs helping us, we got a committee together and formed our own club subsequently the ‘Rocky Riders’ club was formed.   

You’ve been on the riding scene, and in particular mountain bike scene, for most of your life, what is it that has kept you hooked for so long?

The sense of adventure I get every time I get out on the bike, I love that.  Achieving the right balance of flow , speed and smoothness  on the trail is high on my list .  The best riders make riding look easy, that is what I aspire too. Also, it gives me friends that aren’t boring; otherwise I’d be going to bbq’s at people’s houses talking about pets, kids and house renovations. Mountain bikers in general are the right kind of people, we all share the same ideals and sense of purpose.. Riding also means I can drink heaps more beer.

What has been your craziest bike moment?

I used to head to Mount Beauty and race in the cross country on Saturday, sleep in the back of my old Land Rover  then back it up on Sunday for the downhill race with the same bike (minus the bar ends and  add motorbike goggles and chest  armour ).  Some awesome crashes but such good times.  The hairiest moment would have been on a long back country ride in the Victorian Alps.  When time, distance, huge mountain climbs and the weather took a turn for the worst.  Our pickup vehicle could not get through to where we were supposed to meet. It left our group exposed and with a long ride out.  Riding through the bush 20 miles north of Licola in the dark, without lights, food or any sort of survival gear was scary and quite dangerous.  Eventually the back-up vehicle found us and we were, tired cold and ok.

It’s a well known fact that you’re an old school hardcore hairy mountain biker who has a massive passion for all things bike related. How has the mtb scene changed over the past 10 years?

There are a lot of people that come over from road riding, buy all the latest gear and expect to be awesome at it. They need to put in the hard yards and practise the skills required in order to have an appreciation of the sport. These days if you’re fit you can go quite well, where as,  back in the early days of mountain biking ( before decent brakes, forks or frames ) you used to have to demonstrate some form of finesse. I really admire the people who practise the skills over and over until they master it, who give it all a crack in an attempt to get better at the sport. In order to succeed you need to fail, and I think a lot of people nowadays want to be good without having to put in the effort or have a crack.

You have created a heap of sweet single track all around Castlemaine, how do you decide on what to name a track?

Pretty much if someone has put in the most effort, or had an epic stack or it’s on their land etc. we name it after them. Not a lot of thought goes into the naming of a track, we try to keep things simple here.  Jubberland is named that because the guy who owns it surname is Jubber (actually spelt Dzioba), Ken’s track is named that because Ken built it, and Porno track got the name because found a porno on it one day. Baco trails sit right behind the Bacon Factory, and the Pineys, well there in a Pine forest.

What tips would you give someone wanting to build a track in their area?

Read the IMBA Trail Book, it has some great advice in it. Also, make sure you build them legally. I attempted a degree in Environmental Planning and Policy and have a basic understanding of the bureaucratic framework and implications of trail building. Following the correct processes is important if you want the trail to still be there in the long term. It’s about consulting and advising the right people before hand and maintaining a positive relationship with them. It’s when people build trails without consulting the land managers or obtaining the current permits which result in conflict and a negative outcome.

It’s because of these trails that Castlemaine is being put on the mountain biking map and races are being held here. Your weekly Wednesday night rides are getting massive, with people travelling from Melbourne to ride. Is it a good feeling to know you helped create it all and people are out having a blast riding your trails?

It’s funny, for a long time we tried to keep the trails a secret but as new members joined the club our views slowly began to change and we decided we wanted as many people to know about the trails so they could see how awesome the riding is here. I love running the events, and I always try to make the courses as fun as possible. I set out to create a course for each race that I would have loads of fun riding.

What events do you guys have going on here?

July 17^th we had the Inter-Winter Series over at the Baco Tracks which will be an Olympic Cross Country course. August 27^th/28^th we will have our 6hr Enduro as part of the State Series, which has loads of novelty events, camping and fun times. The club also has 3 social rides every week, Wednesday night, Saturday morning and Sunday arvo. In summer we also run a Crit Race on Thursday nights, and on any other given day there are people out riding and keen to ride with others.

The mountain bike purist that you are, you were a non-believer- dare I say – hater of 29er’s. However you were recently spotted stealthily riding the Giant Anthem 29er. Please explain.

Yes this is true, I was seen out wearing a pink tutu riding the 29er. However, you can’t be a hater if you’ve never tried it. What I didn’t like about it was when every man and his dog jumped on the bandwagon and then stated paying out on those who continued riding 26er’s. The course and what you want to do with the bike dictates the best choice of bike. There are definitely some good things about the 29er, but there also some not so good things. I hope that 26er’s do stay around and that 29er’s will just be another aspect of mountain biking.

Where do you think Castlemaine will be in terms of mountain biking in the next 5-10 years?

 I think Castlemaine will be seen as a mountain bike mecca for offering a massive amount of diverse tracks; we have pine forest, the Great Dividing Trail, rocky goldfields single trails and old mining access tracks. They range from stupidly insanely technical to easy and flowing. If you are a beginner there are tracks here to suit, and if you’re an Olympic Cross Country rider there are also tracks to suit.” What I don’t want to see is the trails being turned into a mountain bike park.” The fun of mountain biking is the journey; starting in one place and finishing in the other, getting a little lost in between and making your own adventure is what it’s about. I think having mountain bike parks takes that sense of adventure and the fun out of a mountain bike ride.

What has been the most significant equipment development since you’ve been in the business?

Affordable dual Suspension bikes have allowed riders to push their capabilities a little further and take their mountain biking to the next level.  It has allowed us older guys keep riding comfortably and to keep on pushing ourselves to go over higher drop offs and ride more technical trails.

Pretty much every time I walk into this shop you are either bruised, bleeding, broken, fractured or concussed. I have seen you do some gnarly moves out on the trails, your one of the most talented and skilful riders I have ever seen. How does someone with your skill level end up pinning it so often?

Well, those gnarly moves are all flukes!  Most of the time I just stack! Every time I have nailed a trick, I have fallen off half a dozen times trying to get it. The trick is to keep trying until you get it, you will never succeed if you first don’t fail and try again. I will continue to practise until I nail it, and that generally results in a lot of stacks first! The main reason for all the stacks however is I try to show off. Generally, pulling a mono whilst sliding round a berm at a quick pace will most likely result in catapulting over the bars (ed. which explains why he has brace on his wrist at the moment) most of my stacks are a direct result of trying to be a show-off!

So that’s how my chat with Jake went, his knowledge and insight into mountain biking are phenomenal. I have definitely learnt a lot from him and what I admire most is his attitude and values of mountain biking. He loves the sport at its purist and most basic form. His stories about racing cross country, early days of downhill, enduros and completing massive self supported rides across the country have me wanting to make sure I am in this sport for a very long time! Jake works full time, is a father of 2 young children, president of the Central Victorian Rocky Riders club, teaches MTB skills to school kids, build and maintains trails and coordinates the events and social rides and still finds time to ride his bike and share his awesome stories. Certainly take my hat off to him, and on behalf of everyone who has ever ridden at Castlemaine would like to say Thanks Jake!!

Another one of Jake’s ‘Where Am I?’ moments

Castlemaine is located 1.5 hours  Northwest of Melbourne smack bang in Central Victoria. There is an amazing amount of diverse tracks, ranging from pineforest to goldfields and bush tracks. The main track networks are the ‘Pineys,’ the ‘Baco,’‘and the Great Dividing Trail. The Pineys are full of tight switchbacks and technical trails, the Baco has some steep climbs and lots of fast flowing berms, whilst the Great Dividing Trail or “ Goldfields Track “ runs from Ballarat to Bendigo

( www.goldfieldstrack.com.au )has a great mixture of trail types, fire roads, double trail, singletrack ( the best is located between Daylesford and Castlemaine )  lots of harsh rocky drop-offs combined with cruisy less scary trails. One thing is for sure, these trails offer something for everyone, whether you’re a beginner or an Olympic cross country rider you won’t be disappointed when you come riding in Castlemaine.

CLUB RACES AND SOCIAL RIDES:
Sunday July 17^th: Inter-winter series “Chasing Bacon” XC Race

Sunday August 28^th: Victorian State Series ‘Jubberland’ 6 hour Enduro. Be sure to head out and setup camp on Saturday as there’ll be lots going on, the novelty events are priceless to watch.

Saturday Morning Shop Ride: Leaving from the Theatre Royal at 9am

Sunday Afternoon Shop Ride: Leaving from Theatre Royal at 2pm

Wednesday Night Shop Ride: Leaving from Cycle Concepts at 6pm, finish with a beer and pizza at the Theatre Royal

Thursday nights in Summer: Crit XC races

LINKS

-          Jakes blog containing hilarious photos, stories and general info about cycling http://castlemainecycles.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

-          Rocky Riders website: www.rockyriders.com

-          Cycle Concepts website: www.cycleconceptscastlemaine.com.au

-          Follow Cycle Concepts and Rocky Riders on facebook

Some of the Races that Rocky Riders have organised:

Pineforest enduro  2002-2003 60kms of hard work,

Singlespeed Nationals 2004  Castlemaine Fat tyre Fest 2005

Singlespeed  World Championships 2004

Interwinter 2010-2011

Castlemaine 6 hour enduro from 2006-2011