FORREST FESTIVAL!!

This weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to make it down to the lovely town of Forrest for the ‘Forrest Festival.’ True to our blog sub-heading “The unprepared adventurers” I followed this down to a tee. I hadn’t entered the race yet as entries had closed when I realised I was able to pop down and race. I was hoping to see a supermarket on the way from Melbourne but soon found myself in Forrest set to camp for 3 days armed solely with gels, muesli bars, a loaf of bread and nutella. I was keen to hit the trails as I had had limited time on the mountain bike, nearly didn’t get there as I almost locked the car keys in the boot and managed to bend the key in the process. Took off down the trail like Usian Bolt down the sprint track, so excited to be riding in Forrest, the place I learnt to MTB and where I fell in love with the sport. It had been over 2 years since I had been on these gorgeous trails. 50m down the trail it was clear my bike was having other issues, had a go at fixing it but as I’m not the most mechanically minded I decided to leave it in the one gear and all would be sweet. This worked until the first hill and the hills that followed, single speeding up the climbs was not ideal prep for a race that was starting in about 14 hours.

Arrived at the caravan park and set up my housemates tent, snapped the pole rendering the tent useless. Luckily my new mate Sandy had a spare tent and kindly lent it to me and also set it up for me!! The rest of the crew arrived, most I had met once before and I broke it to them that I had not brought any food. Once again, luckily they were seasoned experienced professional campers and had a wicked set up with a heap of food. Sandy and Liz save the day again! Headed to the Brewery and watched the concerned looks on people’s faces when the lightning, thunder and rain came hammering down. In 4 years I have raced at Forrest 3 times, all in Summer, and each time I have been greeted with a thunderous storm and mudbath so I was kind of expecting it!! Or maybe I was the jinx?

So far Sandy (who I met that day) had given me his tent, set up my tent, shouted me some delicious fries at the brewery, cooked everyone a bbq, and I was yet to ask him if he could fix my bike!!! Perhaps he should have pretended not to see me when I was walking around the caravan park a little lost that day!!! Finally off to bed to discover a massive spider hanging out in there, “SANDY!!” (Tony was closest so came to the rescue!)

A quick run-down on the race:

SATURDAY:

AM- Race my bike to the Corner Store for Sandy to fix, turns out my derailleur had come loose (100% my fault as I had to do a major unpacking to fit it in the car but didn’t put it back together properly!!)  Phew.

 Stage 1: 15k XC Sprint Race. Loads of fun, my mind and body had no idea how to react to the fast paced race. I had to keep reminding myself to go hard!!

Stage 2: 5k Hill Climb TT. Hurtfest. (Nearly missed the start as I miscalculated my warm up and arrived with 1 minute to spare)

Stage 3: 5k Descent. Funfest. Stoked to have stayed on my bike and arrived at the bottom in 1 piece. Yehaaa. So tired from all this racing at full pelt that I fell asleep after this stage.

Stage 4: 5k Pairs TT. Got smashed by the super speedy and smooth Jaclyn Shapel. I was still holding on to the start pole with my jaw dropped at how quick she took off before my brain kicked in and told me to PEDAL. Feeling like Steve Monaghetti trying to beat Usain Bolt in the 100m sprint.

SUNDAY:

Stage 5: 50k Race- loads of singletrack, loads of fun. Finally got my cornering a bit smoother. Loved it. Managed 2 over the bars but somehow landed on my feet. Had enough left in the tank to hammer it home and finish strong in the last 5k which was a good feeling.

This festival was a blast, you get to ride awesome singletrack and hang out with your mates camping all weekend. Get down to Forrest to ride the tracks, drink some beers and eat the best chips ever at the brewery, grab a coffee and muesli slice as well as a heap of bike gear from the ‘Corner Store.’ It’s awesome. So a few thanks, obviously to Liz and Sandy for feeding me, fixing my bike, providing me with the bare necessities to survive a camping weekend! Thanks to Norm and Jess for putting on such a great event. Thanks to Adz, Kylie, Bec, Bec, Tony, Dave, Corinna and Tracey for being such rad people to hang out with! Next time I promise to be a little bit more prepared, or at least try to!! Thanks Liv/Giant, bike and gear ran a treat and great to see the other Liv/Giant riders in action – Well done Jess on 3^rd place! Thanks HSR seeds for helping me get to the race which was an 8 hour drive, and to Ay-Ups lights for all your support!! I'll post some photos when I get some!!

Summers nearly here-time for some night riding!!

Now that summer is nearly upon us and the weather is getting better, dust off that bike, chuck some lights on and get out night riding!
If your looking to get some lights, or wanting to upgrade your current set you neednt look any further than Ay-Up lights. By far the most popular of lighting systems, I see loads of people using Ay-Ups at our club night rides and at races all around the country.

I'll try to keep it short and sweet, this is why you should get Ay-Ups:
- They are AUSSIE MADE. Support your country!!
- They are much cheaper than other lighting systems yet they do not compromise quality and work just as well, if not better than there more expensive competitors.
- You can use the lights for other adventures such as running, hiking, kayaking. We use them as a torch when we go camping or lose power at home.
-  There's loads of different options and kits and ordering extras such as batteries, mounts and custom Ay-Up Jerseys is simple and quick!

The half epic battery lasts 3 hours on high and 6 hours on low whilst the epic battery lasts 6 hours on high and an incredible 12 hours on low. The low setting is by no means low and lights up the track well enough to use confidently in training and racing. Included in this kit are 2 lights, a handlebar and helmet light which you get to choose from 12 funky different colours for both. I use a narrow beam for my helmet and an intermediate beam for my handlebar.

Sweet range of colours to choose, and now you can choose a black or white lightbar

Also included in the kit are red saxon caps to put over your lights to put on the back of your helmet to use as a rear red light. The Adventure Kit comes complete with all the bits and pieces you need as well as doubles and spares so you can mount lights on more than 1 bike. The extras include mounts, velcro straps, mounting bounds, cable ties and battery pouches.  It also includes head band kit and an awesome feature called the Gecko helmet mounting kit which allows you to easily and quickly put your helmet light on and off. A charger which charges 2 batteries at a time and an in car charger ensures you can always charge your batteries, and they do not take long to charge.

What I really love about the Ay-Up lighting system, apart from the excellent quality, ease of use and reasonable pricing, is the weight. Each bulletproof, waterproof light weighs a measly 50 grams. Unbelievable!! During my Enduro races I use the Epic battery, with an extension lead to the battery which sits nicely in my middle pocket of my jersey and it’s no wonder I can’t notice it as in weighs in at 250 grams for the whole getup. The battery on my handle bar light straps conveniently on to the handle bar stem or at the front of the top tube with no dramas at all. I do most of my training in the early morning before work, in pitch black on the road and Ay-Up provide such an impressive light that approaching cars slow down as they are not sure what is heading their way! So if you’re looking for a quality set of lights, to enhance you mountain biking experience and provide safety whilst out training, Ay-Up is the only way to go. 
 www.ayup-lights.com

There’s something magical and mysterious about riding at night, and night rides are by my favourite ride of the week. Likewise, the night stage of a 24 hour solo race is when the race really cranks up and makes you feel invigorated and alive! You can ride the same track you’ve ridden loads of times and it feels completely new and different when you ride it at night. Everything is more exciting, each berm, switchback and drop off more challenging yet the stillness of the night provides a calmness and pure bliss.  I can be out on the track, in pitch black with no one else around and have complete faith that my Ay-Up lights will get me home, not once have I experienced any issues with them.  

Al modelling the very bright, very cool Ay Up jerseys which can be seen a mile away, not only do they look totally radical, they make sure you are seen when out on the road or tracks

Time to rest..... BOO.

I made a few not so great decisions in the past couple of weeks that lead to me not being fully fit for the Scott. Racing your bike for 24hours requires your mind and body to be fit and healthy and unfortunately mine is currently not in the required state. The first mistake I made was ordering prawns for dinner in Albury the night before our 440km mtb ride back to Canberra. (see previous blog for more gnarly details on what went on there), my stomach has still not recovered and I am awaiting test results from the doctor regarding parasites in my stomach from our visit to Cambodia earlier this year, let’s just say things haven’t been real peachy in the stomach department since then.

The other mistake I made was letting a mate have a spin on my anthem the day before the epic ride and not remembering my seat post height, getting it wrong and riding for 10 ½ hours with it, waking up with a very sore knee which is also still hanging round. And the third mistake was to ignore the niggle in my lower back in the weeks leading up to the epic ride, although the only reason I ignored it and didn’t see anyone was due to living in a pretty remote area it takes about a month to see anyone or a lengthy drive which with school being so busy I wasn’t able to get it looked at.

The epic hike a bike section on the ride turned that niggle into a more substantial injury that is giving me some grief. When deciding whether I  would race the Scott lots of things were going through my head, but I haven’t got to race a 24 this year, you’re just making excuses, your back and knee and stomach will be fine come race day...... in the past I probably would have listened to these voices! But the older and wiser..? me realised my body is yelling at me for a break, it wants rest, I really don’t want to give it rest but I know if I am to be healthy and fit again my mind will have to give in. I was ready and rearing to go to Canada for the Worlds and then to try to fit in another 4 weeks of hard training to maintain that fitness for the Scott ended up not working, and that again was through my own mistake of being told to have 3 days rest but riding with the boys into a massive headwind doing efforts on those days, what was I saying about me being ‘older and wiser....?’

So I’m bummed not to be at the Scott and wish all competitors the best of luck, I’ll be heading to Melbourne to do a cruisy road ride with the Liv/Giant crew which I’m most excited about, heading to AusBike Expo to see all the latest toys and gizmos and then watch some mates run the Melbourne Marathon! On the upside I’ll be able to do a heap of races in November/December like Highland Fling and, SS Nationals and Rosewhite 12hour, which I am normally too stuffed from the Scott to do.

I'll try to enjoy resting as much as this fella is

HUME AND HOVELL ADVENTURE

Our good friends Beth and Seb and their Canberra friends (Alex, Steve, Aaron, Lee, Nathan) organised a bunch of keen adventuring cyclists to go to Albury and ride back to Canberra via the Hume and Hovell Track. (The route taken by early explorers William Hume and Hamilton Hovell back in the 1800's)  It turned out to be quite the adventure and I learnt a lot of valuable lessons!!

At the monument tree ready for departure

Lesson 1- Don’t eat seafood when you cannot see the ocean. I soon regretted not listening to the older, much wiser adventurer Lee who heeded me that warning when I ordered the Prawn Risotto.

At 11pm the prawn belly hit and I proceeded to spend the next 3 hours being up close and personal with the toilet bowl and the bin with some rest breaks lying on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor. It was not pretty and made worse by the fact we were sharing rooms so I did a good job in keeping everyone else awake until 2am.

Up at 5, I was feeling surprisingly better, I think I was just stoked to have survived the ordeal! Feeling dehydrated but not too bad, I decided I would join the others on the journey to Tumburumba.

An epic day, I clocked 10.5 hours riding time, which included a fair bit of hike a bike up a couple of ridiculously  steep mountains, up and over and under fences, it was a real off road and even off trail adventure that brought us 4 seasons in one day including sunshine, rain and sleet. With 40km to go we were stoked and thought it would be a cruise into town, how wrong we were, epic climbs all the way. Thankfully Jess was tracking us via Seb’s SPOT and found us with 40km to go with water and salad rolls, legend!! Soon we were watching the sunset and luckily ALL of us had our AY-UP LIGHTS on either our handlebars or helmets or both. We would have been in alot of trouble without them. Al had had a couple of mouthfuls of my dinner the night before and the dreaded prawn belly hit him in the last 20km, stopping for a quick spew here and there we were both surprised and elated we had both made it through the day.

Cruisin into Tumburumba at sunset
Photo:Steve Hanley

Day Two saw us leave Tumbarumba and make our way to Tumut, a pleasant 90km trip proved abit harder than initially thought as pine logs had crashed and blocked the track. Initially we ventured up and over the logs, taking about an hour to get to what we thought was the cleared track. A congo line of people passing their bikes up and over huge logs, scrambling losing balance in their cleats sure was a sight! We then had to turn back and congo line the bikes back as it became apparent there was no clear track. A few big climbs in today’s ride, I found if I rode my own pace I felt ok, it was when my heart rate would go up that I would feel as if I was going to be sick. I also had nothing in my legs and I think this was because I had not eaten much the day before and started the journey fairly dehydrated from the Prawn Belly episode. 6.5 hours riding time with an upper body workout meant for some tired adventurers rolling into Tumut. A few of the adventurers partners had been enjoying a lovely day out and had everything unpacked for us in our cute B & B we were staying in, out for dinner where we were all trying not to fall asleep!! Thankfully I had my appetite back and did a great job in refuelling!!



racing through the water.
Photo: Steve Hanley



having a blast
photo:Steve Hanley

I decided not to ride from Tumut to Canberra as I am preparing to race the Scott next weekend. The other guys rode 120km home over a massive amount of climbing and finished off with a hot lap of Stromlo. I had such a great time riding with the 8 other people I had met and it was a real adventure. The navigators did a wonderful job, and I honestly believe the sections where we had to ride fast from the bull, got chased by the farmer, lifted bikes up and down and over logs, climbed fences, rode back the way we came and pushed bikes up the steepest mountains; all those bits that were considered a stuff up; THEY WERE THE BEST BITS!!! They made it an adventure and they are the parts that make me laugh when I think about the trip.

SS Al Cruisin
photo:Steve Hanley



improvizing and creating a bridge
photo:Steve Hanley



pre-ride coffee at the coolest cafe with loads of teddies and it even had drop bears!
photo:Steve Hanley

photo:Steve Hanley

A massive thanks to everyone who organised it the trip, it was a great weekend.

For more photos check out: http://svana.org/photos/humehovell2012/

Alice Springs Enduro Media Articles



When I raced in the Central Australian Rough Riders 6hr Enduro in August I featured in the local paper, the Centralian Advocate a few times. Here are those articles!!

Centralian Advocate Newspaper August 3rd 2012



Centralian Advocate Newspaper August 3rd 2012

Centralian Advocate Newspaper Tuesday August 7 2012

Nowa Nowa 4hr Enduro

An event that only took us 35 minutes to get to!!! For once we weren’t having to pack up the car, spend hours in the car and then camp the night, we were able to sleep in pack a few drink bottles and some food, load the bikes and get to the race 45 minutes before the start. It was rad.

Last weekend a few of us had spend a few hours clearing the tracks at Nowa Nowa as some recent windstorms had blown loads of trees all over the track. Awesome effort by Mick and Jac to get the tracks in tip top shape, with a few improvisations and additional log rollovers that made the course even more fun. With 50 or so riders it was a great local event that attracted riders from Melbourne and Mt Beauty, all finishing with massive smiles on their faces and praising how fun the course was.

We spend the first half of the lap climbing, with a steep fire road pinch at the top to really get the legs going, and the second half the lap was mostly downhill.

As excited as I was to be heading to a local race, I was a tad apprehensive as my cornering skills aren’t my strong point and this course has that many corners that I was started to feel dizzy towards the end! As much as I was out of my comfort zone with all the corners I knew it would be doing wonders for my skills and as they say practise makes perfect. By the end of the race I was much more confident and comfortable tearing down the descent. The weather was awesome at the beginning of the race and at the 2 hour mark I was feeling pretty cooked with the garmin reading 30 degrees, but 30 minutes later the clouds came over, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped considerably making the descent a tad chilly.

Managed to get in 7 laps for the win, was hoping for 8 and came in with enough time that I could have left for the eighth, but thought better of it as I had been fighting off a cold and exhaustion all week. (Week 10 Term 3 every year I fall into an exhausted state) And with holidays now upon me I have plenty of riding to do over the next 2 weeks!

A great day out, a big thanks to Jac, Mick and the Gippsland MTB Club you guys always put on awesome events. A big thanks to Liv/Giant for your support, I was most excited to be wearing a new kit that is uber comfortable and looks pretty schmicko too!! Thanks PureSport Nutrition, I would have been in trouble without the workout drinks during the race when it was heating up. A massive thanks also goes to HSR Seeds for their support, without which getting to so many races would be impossible. Great to be at a local Gippsland race.

THE SECRET BEHIND 24HOUR RACING (IN MY OPINION)

Now, I’m definitely no expert but after completing three 24 hour events I believe I’ve learnt a lot and would like to offer my opinion on how to do well in a 24 hour event.

1.       Know why you are racing- You must know exactly why it is that you are at the start line in the first place. At 2 o’clock in the morning when you see no one out on course, when transition is fast asleep, when your back, knees and wrists are killing you and your slogging it up a hill or trying hard not to bin it down a descent when you feel like you need toothpicks in your eye balls, you need THAT reason to come in to your head!

2.       Get your nutrition and hydration right- Your body needs the right amount of fuel to replace what it is being used during this time. It’s simple, if you do not replace the energy that is being used and the sweat being lost, you WILL start to feel dizzy and sick, and your body WILL slow down. Practice eating different foods during other races, for me it is more about the texture rather than the taste that allows me to eat the food or not. 

3.       Support Crew- 24 solo is anything but, it should be called 24 solo but in a team. Support crew can allow a person to succeed or bomb out of a race. Make sure your support crew knows why you are racing, your goal for the race, how to fix your bike, what to say and what not to say at 2 o’clock in the morning, how many carbs and electrolytes etc. you need every hour and that you are consuming those. To do well in a 24 you need to spend as little time in transition as possible, ideally you should still be on your bike rolling through whilst your support crew runs beside you loading you up with what you need.

4.       Goals- It is important to have a goal for the race and this is often linked to dot point 1-why are you racing, however it is important to be flexible with your goal. In my first 24 my only goal was to ride as long as I could until I couldn’t ride anymore, I would sit when I felt like it and I just wanted to finish it. However at 4 o’clock in the morning when I was told I was in 2^nd place, my goal obviously changed to try to go for the win.

5.       Have fun! You cannot ride your bike for 24 hours if you are not enjoying it! It is too hard of a thing to do to not be having a blast. This is the main reason I do 24s, I love riding my bike so why not ride it for as long as I can? The challenge of completing such a task is also a big motivator for me, I love to push myself to see how I react and see how far I can go!

6.       Realise that at times it WON’T be fun! 24 hours is a long time to be doing anything, let alone staying awake and riding a bike! At times you will feel like total crap and every part of you will want to quit. However know that it will pass, you won’t feel like crap for the rest of the race. Like someone has flicked a switch you can go from feeling on top of the world- nailing the lines and riding will seem effortless, to being in the hurt box, but then you will go back to feeling good, and then bad, and then good again!! Not giving in to that voice (unless you’re in danger of really hurting yourself or injured!!) will make you a stronger person both on and off the bike.

7.       It’s 90% mental – I made that figure up but you get the idea. Your mind is what controls your body, it is what controls dealing with the pain and will ultimately control what you do in a race. It can be hard to race a 24 if there are other things going on in your life, you have ALOT of thinking time and if you have other stresses happening then it can make the race even harder.

Once you have finished racing a 24, the elation (and soreness) will be epic. You can transfer these accomplishments into real life situations, gaining confidence to try things you wouldn’t have usually of tried. You can also draw back to those dark times when you are in other races or hard training sessions and remind yourself it was nothing like how you felt during the 24, and you got through that!

It also gives you kudos amongst other people (for me it is the students I teach which can make my day job a bit easier at times!) and I guess a bit of an ego boost when people who don’t ride bikes think you’re unbelievable (or perhaps crazy and ridiculous?)

Some other info about 24’s if you are interested then read on!
FOOD- What I ate during my last race (I can’t eat gluten or wheat but am yet to race this way)

·        Gluten Free bread slice with nutella (crusts cut off and folded in half)

·        Fruit cake

·        Little bite sized muffins

·        Bananas

·        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 (awesome texture)
·        Muesli Bars

·        Pikelets with honey

DRINKS:

·        Water

·        PureSport Hydration Workout Formula
 PureSport Recovery Formula in the last 12 hours

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

·        Coke

OTHER- No doze

TRAINING

Generally I try to get in 1-2 long rides (4-6 hours) per week, plus 2-3 ergo sessions (hard efforts, either high cadence, e2 work or strength efforts), plus 1-2 MTB skill rides. Also some core and upper body strength work, 1-2 runs and yoga.

I used to be really strict with my training and never deviate from what was written down but I continually got injured so now my coach tells me on a day to day basis what I will do based on how I’m feeling, how I’ve recovered from the previous session and who is going out training that day. It’s important to have fun just riding with your mates and being flexible with your program and not getting too caught up in it all.

Well those are just my thoughts on 24 solo’s, it what works for me, but everyone is different and you just need to find what works for you, at the end of the day riding bikes is fun and if you have ever thought of doing a 24 solo then just have a crack, you have nothing to lose!! (the worst that can happen is you to stop for a few hours and that isn’t all that bad!

oh and make sure your bikes are ready to go and ideally 2 bikes in simialr knick!!

WSC24 Canada Cancelled.

Plans had been made, flights had been booked, hours had been spent training, sponsors had sent new gear, hours had been spent planning online lessons for students whilst I would be away and committee meetings had taken place just to grant my leave. All for nothing. Yesterday 24 hours of Adrenaline cancelled their World Championship event, only 4 weeks out from the start gun going off. I know at the end of the day it was only a bike race, but to me it was a big deal. It’s what I had to look forward to when my day was shitty and I felt like my job was too hard, it was what got me out of bed at 5.30 to train in the rain, cold and darkness. The elation of being able to go to Italy and then then the disappointment at not being able to go, the elation of going to Canada and now not being able to go. Is it worth spending all this time training and having your heart set on something if it’s not even going to happen.  Now I don’t know what to train for, I don’t have an overseas epic adventure to look forward to and I am angry. The decision to cancel a World Championship event 4 weeks out makes a mockery of the sport, a sport I love so much and have invested so much in, has left me wondering what’s the point? If race organisers don’t take it seriously why should I. Could you imagine them cancelling Kona Hawaii Ironman 4 weeks out? I don’t think so! 24 racing is bloody hard, why does it not get the respect it deserves? It makes me think perhaps I should train for 100km events or XC as they seem to be a ‘recognised’ sport?  But that’s not what I love, I love 24’s I just wish more people did and understood the commitment that goes into just getting to the start line of one.

Here is the cancellation letter:
http://www.24hoursofadrenalin.com/worldchampionships/worldchampionships/2012/08/w24c-2012-cancelled/

Mt Gillen Subway 6hr Enduro Alice Springs

It’s not until you live somewhere with limited cycling (no cycling club or single track) that you realise how awesome a place that has such a strong cycling club and such wicked single track is. I had taken Alice for granted when I lived there and having raced in the ICME in May it ignited my desire to ride there as much as I could.

When JP phoned and said there was a 6hr Enduro on in August, I bolted into my bosses office and asked for the Monday off. Granted, it seemed I was heading up to Alice for a sneaky visit, up on Saturday and back Monday. The drive to the airport from Marlo is actually longer than the plane time travelling to Alice, needless to say I was pretty tired by Monday night but had one of the best weekends ever.

It was a club race however felt more like a state (or territory) event, as  the Central Australian Rough Riders has over 160 members, and had the biggest field to date with 82 competitors signed up for the day.

 

looking down at the finish line on Saturday afternoon as the sun is setting



 I left a rainy, overcast cold Melbourne and arrived in beautiful sunny 27 degrees in Alice. Race transition was on Yipirinya School oval and a solo marquee amongst the teams was set up. I did a practise lap of the course on the Saturday afternoon however somehow managed to ride it in reverse and completely miss a section.

The club put on a kids race which had 20 or so young kids tearing round the oval displaying no fear and showing us all how it’s done. The course distance was roughly 11km’s and consisted of red dirt and rocks. A Le Mans start saw us running from one end of the oval to the other and straight on the bikes. Everyone was super friendly and keen to chat, all were so welcoming I felt like I had never left and it was still my hometown!

First lap out and I decided I would race hard and smash myself for 6 hours, about 2 hours I was hanging off the back of a couple of guys and felt a cramp lingering in my foot. My Victorian body was not used to this 30 degrees thing. Hoping it wouldn’t eventuate I pushed on, until at the 2 1/2 mark TWANG the cramp went full blown and I let out a swear word which I shouldn’t have. Ok new plan of attack needed as this clearly isn’t working and if I keep going this hard I will end up a blubbering incoherent mess on the side of the track!!  Ok time to back it off a bit, drink more, eat more and get out of this fuzzy head cramping state. This worked a treat and I found a good tempo. I was also happy that by the 3^rd lap I had completed the lap correctly without going off the trail onto another equally appealing piece of single track. This was purely due to not only my navigational incapability but also my inability to read a sign!!

Happy to be riding wicked trails, in the sun with a heap of friendly and fun people! Photo: Kirrili Whitehead

lovin the alice rocks. Photo: Kirrily Whitehead

at times I couldnt help but tun out from racing and take in the breathtaking scenery! Photo: Tim Hill

Photo: Tim Hill

 Coming through transition there were people cheering and throwing out a bunch of support, making me feel like a rockstar it was simply awesome. I was able to dig myself out of the fuzzy head cramping state and finished strongly, finished 1^st female and only 31 seconds behind the male winner who was on a SS! Thanks so much to the Central Australian Rough Riders! These guys and girls seriously know how to put on a great event. I discovered JP has some kind of real life super man abilities as he ran around all day Saturday organising the race, then worked night shift, then ran the show on Sunday. Unbelievable!!

Photo:Tim Hill

Everyone racing and supporting did an amazing job, it was a stella event, it running without a hitch, had a great vibe and uber friendly people left me wanting to stay! So my advice is to get up there asap to ride or race, the trails ROCK, quite literally as well.

A big thanks to all the volunteers, marshals and sponsors of the event, and a big thanks to Liv/Giant, PureSport Nutrition, HSR Seeds and Ay-Up Lights for your support.

AL's blogs from Dirty Cranky Epic

As mentioned in a previous blog, Al and I have joined ours so here are the blogs he has written transferred over: Enjoy!!

Fingers crossed the bikepacking events take off here like they have in the US and UK!!! I headed out to see what all the commotion was about. 6 1/2 hours through the rain to cabbage tree and back. LOVED IT!!!!!

revelate designs bags ready to rumble!!

The 8 year old in me was lovin it! All I could hear in my head was Courtz is not going to be happy with me and my dirty kit... think i`m on washing duty tonight.



Niner all set to go

                              



The 6 hours of riding felt like 10 minutes with views like this and no cars to worry about. Although after meeting some DSE employees that told me that there is some dirty big wild dogs around i was on the lookout!!!!

 

Met this storm trooper who is walking around Australia. Had a bite to eat with him in cabbage tree, what a great guy to raise money for the star light foundation. He was super motivated and obviously has super mental toughness to keep going on those hot days! Support him if you can!!

 

HOPE YOU ENJOY SOME PICTURES OF MY RECENT ADVENTURES (and misadventures!)CHEERS AL

love these old fashioned bike photos, wish I could ride back in these days before all the marketing and associated bs

love these old fashioned bike photos, wish I could ride back in these days before all the marketing and associated bs

holidaying in Mandeni was awesome fun

holidaying in Mandeni was awesome fun

Me with my buddy Seb enjoying a creamy iced chocolate. Challege:try to out eat this man, make sure you have your health insurance paid!!

latest project building a fixie for Courts