Australia

The time has ticked around into day 1 of the trip, but I have just finished packing in the stuff from moving house.

What does a 3 bedroom unit looks like packed in a single room?

Like this:

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Better hope I don't want to brew some beer straight away when I get back... The stuff is right up the top in the back corner...

20060301-020100

So the weekend was the Mont 24 Hour Mountain bike race. Absolute monster of an enduro. Having busted my arm 8 weeks ago, and not really ridden off road for about 3 months it was going to be interesting how well I went. In the end my arm wasn't too bad, but the lack of some serious training ment I blew up when I couldn't keep the pace I set for myself on my first lap. I'm pretty sure I'd been fighting off a virus for a few weeks as well, as I started to feel pretty sick by Sunday morning.

Friday

As usual some of us tried to head down early to set up campsite and do a practice lap or too. On the way down the Hume highway we came to an absolute standstill, as a semi trailer had spun the truck into the middle devided road section. It must have happened at least a few hours before as there were some pretty permanent "Traffic Accident Ahead" signs by the side of the road. They must have chosen that exact moment to extract the truck as both the north and southbound lanes were blocked. Turned the engine off and got out for a bit of a stretch. About 20 minutes later we were off and moving again. Luke and I arrived at Kowen a bit before 2pm and went for a quick wander around on the bikes to see if anyone else was there. Couldn't see anyone so I guess we must have been first. We ended up grabbing the campsite pretty much exactly where we were last year.

The Campsite

Tim and I rigged up a pretty awesome tarp, as it started to rain. Plans to go for a test lap were canned and we settled in for some pretty solid drinking. Most the guys turned up over the next few hours, so the "Wild Pony" and "The Peddlers" campiste was pretty well established. Lots of people seemed to have taken the option to stay in town, as while the campsite was full of tents, there wern't many people.

Sometime after midnight the beer ran out, so we had to turn it.

Transition

Saturday

Hangover! I guess I must have overdone the "carbo loading" the night before. Some breaky, and plenty of gatorade and powerade and I was pretty much sorted by the time it was my lap. The usual antics about who was going ot go first. (and do the 800m run) Grant was pretty much keen from our team, and Luke stepped up for Wild Pony when nobody else seemed interested. They even drew straws for the other spots. We racked the starting guys bikes down in transition and they wandered off to find the start line. The jolly roger flag was there to help them find the way. I was pretty happy with my first lap, but I felt pretty exhausted after. I wasn't too sure how well I was going to hold up.

I'd got a heart rate monitor to play with in the last few weeks so I wore it for my laps.

Red: Heart Rate: 100-180bpm
Brown: Altitude: 800-1050m
Blue: Speed: 0-55kph

First Lap (Day) I maintained my heart rate accross the whole lap, cranking it down and up the hills. I felt really good about the whole course. Heaps better than the previous 2 Kowen courses.

Second Lap (Night) I started hard on this lap, as I missed Terry in transition. It had taken me a while to get my lights sorted. I felt pretty good on this lap after that up until the top of the main climb when I suddenly felt very tired. Then it started raining for a bit. Instantly the track was sticky in places and slippery in others. You can see I start to freewheel the downhills, as my heart rate takes a break. Still an ok time seeing as I lost 5 or so minutes at the start by not being there.

When I got back I felt pretty sick. While I was out the other guys had "got a plan" they said. "Does it involve stopping" I said. Nope. We would pair off at night and do laps like a 2 man team to give us longer breaks. Starting with Terry and I. I was exhausted so had a bit to eat and went and lay down.

Sunday

Third Lap (Night) With about 15mins to go till I needed to head out Grant woke me up. I wasn't feeling any better but no matter. I was still sorting my bike when Terry rolled back into camp. Its raining now, and pretty damn cold. I decide to wear my raincoat to try and keep in some warmth. I pushed the bike up a couple of the bigger hills, and rolled down everything. A horible lap time, I handed over to Terry and said I probably have one left in me, and that is it. I hung around in camp trying to eat and drink bits and pieces and generally try and stay warm. Didn't work.

Forth Lap (Night) This time I actually was in transition to meet Terry. I took off slowly and went slower. Pushed the bike up everything, and rolled down everything. Got off the bike and stopped a few times to take a piss, and eat a mars bar and apricot stick. Started to get daylight towards the end of the lap. It was a real struggle to get back into camp. If there had been an easy way to give up I might have. You can see my heart rate gets down pretty low..

Handed over to Matt, and carried his and Lukes lights back to camp as it was full daylight by now... Fell into bed as the commentary started up. Meh. So tired it didn't bother me. Slept till about 10am. Got up to watch the other guys do their last few laps.

It was muddy
My 2002 Cannondale Jekyll 800 with Tim in the background

How did we go?

Provisional Results:
Summary
Detail Part 1
Detail Part 2
Detail Part 3

The Peddlers: 42/120
Wild Pony: 40/82

Well done!

The big comp of Phill versus Matt, goes to.... Matt! The margin: over 4 minutes.

And Damn did I blow up hard.

1:05:26 4440 Grant Dowell 17.5
1:06:21 4440 Grant Dowell 17.3
1:07:28 4443 Terry Rodgers 17
1:08:46 4442 Colin Humphreys 16.7
1:09:30 4440 Grant Dowell 16.5
1:09:53 4443 Terry Rodgers 16.4
1:12:28 6470 Mark Tarlinton 15.8
1:12:40 4440 Grant Dowell 15.8
1:14:51 6469 Luke Binsted 15.3
1:16:24 4441 Matt Costain 15
1:16:24 4440 Grant Dowell 15
1:19:01 4443 Terry Rodgers 14.5
1:19:17 6469 Luke Binsted 14.5
1:20:36 6466 Phill Maher 14.2
1:21:05 6468 Phil Purdy 14.1
1:21:19 6470 Mark Tarlinton 14.1
1:24:22 4442 Colin Humphreys 13.6
1:24:37 4443 Terry Rodgers 13.6
1:27:50 4441 Matt Costain 13.1
1:28:07 4441 Matt Costain 13
1:30:15 6465 Tim Courtney 12.7
1:30:56 4443 Terry Rodgers 12.6
1:32:00 6467 Ben Moir 12.5
1:33:24 4441 Matt Costain 12.3
1:34:04 6465 Tim Courtney 12.2
1:35:18 6468 Phil Purdy 12
1:36:08 6465 Tim Courtney 11.9
1:37:17 6468 Phil Purdy 11.8
1:40:12 6470 Mark Tarlinton 11.4
1:40:21 6467 Ben Moir 11.4
1:41:11 6469 Luke Binsted 11.3
1:45:51 6466 Phill Maher 10.8
1:47:19 4442 Colin Humphreys 10.7
1:54:29 4442 Colin Humphreys 10

Then it is pack up and head home time. Thinking about next year already...:)

All the images are in http://encypher.net/image/tid/148

Did I mention it was muddy?

Present:
Colin - Cannondale Boing
Ben - Specialized HT
Matt - Giant HT
Mikky - Trek HT (The man lives!)
Tim - Learsport HT (No Golf!)

So I was late as usual. Ben appears to have the seat collar fixed, so no
silly riding like last time. We set off and decide to try out the yet
unexplored, by us, sections of Red Hill closer to Lady Penrhyn Drv.
Lotsa cool drops and much fun was had by at least me, but I think all.
The loggers loop seams way over grown, and plenty of scratches are
scored in the often fast and tight single track. I had a quick OTB, and
jamed my left shin in between the handlebar and top tube. ouch. Just
sore though, no big deal.

A democratic desion is made to exit at the Retirement village, and try
to hook up with the close 4wd track back into Red Hill. Looking at the
above map, we can't have missed it by much, but we didn't locate it. A
bit of backyard riding, and an explore up to a fortress house in the
bush, and we managed ot find a trail connecting back in at the top of
cromer heights. I was taken here about 6 or 7 years ago by a mate from
Dee Why cycles and was riding quite a bit from memory. Worked out in the
end. Cruised up to the sand pit for a longish break.

Set off to do drop zone. weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Another OTB by me trying to pass some newbies trying to ride up the
trail. sily silly silly. Smashed my bad knee. Ouch. Had a go at the main
bit of drop zone at speed. Cleared the first two drops easy, but had the
wrong line into the last big one, and the bike ends up in the bushes.
Lucky the flats are on, and I end up standing next to the bike. Many,
many spectators, with a general concensus of "That could have been
good".

Off to the dam, with Mikky performing one of the biggest nose manuals I
have ever seen, so much so that I forgot to brake and almost ran into
him.

Out onto the Wakehurst parkway, and one of the nastiest uphill climbs I
have ever seen. Big rest at the top, and a ride all the way up the 4wd
trail to the top of the xc trail. On the way Mikky performs a superman....
execelently executed by all accounts, and takes the rocky downhill
section on his sholder. Brushes it off, and we continue.

A quick lap of the xc course is in order, and a decison is made due to
the fading light conditions to skip little moab.
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Ride back out to the top of
Oxford Falls, for my forst trip down the downhill track. A more
experience guide is needed as I ended out on the road far tooo early and
a little backtracking is required. 3 of us make it outto the bottom in
fairly quick time, but nothing like the record of around 2.5 mins. Ben
and Matt take much longer. This is apparently due to a huge stack by
Matt. Another superman according to Ben. (Watch those brakes Matt). We
tar it back to the bottom of 100m hill, and slog up there. A quick ride
back up the main trail to the starting point at Red Hill.

Lights are rquired to drive off in the cars.

As Tim has mentioned the first beer went down like water.

Distance: ~25km
Time: Around 3.5 hrs I think. We started around 2hours and it was pretty
damn dark when we were done.
Mechanicals: 1 - minor brake lever bendage
Flats: 0 - Frigging hell, how the fark did this happen.
Injuries: Hard to say. No breakages, but maybe 3 minors.
Crashes: Many. 2 big ones.

Present:
Ben - Specialized HT
Matt - Giant HT
Tarlo - Shogun HT
PhilM - Shogun Rigid (Ow Ow Ow)
Colin - Cannondale Boing

An early mechanical was had by Ben, snapping the seat collar getting his
bike out fo the car. A quick look for replacement parts saw nothing, and
the idea was to pick up a hose clamp at the hardware store, which was
going to fix everything.

Most met at Central station for the 9:02 train, and then met Phil at Blacktown.
Plenty of bikes about, and just managed to jam all the bikes in the end of the
carrage. A couple of people tried to get past, the first Tarlo politely
told to fuck off and wait for the next station, while the other looked
like he was goiing for a hurdling record.

Got to the Wentworth Falls hardware store, and attenpted the repair.
Ben's bike proves to strong, and we need to resort to some zip ties to
maybe improve things.... off we go... 11:30am. Andersons is only newly opened
from the bush fires and newely grading, so the going is different. A call is
made to mikey to see if he knows the way in a fork in the road, but it
sounds unlikely that he will meet us at Woodford. Tarlo recons the
hangover sounds worse.

Cruise along, and then down the steep bits to the creek. I score the
first flat of the day, and the others go onto the creek. Lunch stop at
the creek, then its off for the big climb. In attempting a photo shot of
the creek crossing, I notice the other wheel has a slow leak, so I score
the second flat for the day. Stupid new tyres they were meant to help
stop this.

Tarlo and Ben attempt to grind up the hill, but both stop at one of the
pinches about half way up. Into Woodfood around 2:45, for a very slow
running of Andersons.

Set off on the Oaks just after 3pm and after the forst small ascent
everyone looks pretty tired, and Tarla and Ben are thinky they probably
shouldn't have attempted the ride out of Bedford Creek. Up and down with
many stops all the way to the helipad, where we all lay about for a bit.
An XC wippet flies by, looking very fresh, I'm sure he got a kick out of
cycling past us on that hill.

Then down the smooth hill to the gate. Much slipstreaming was had, most
fun. Phil avoids the front wheel flat of last time, and doesn't through
his bike in the bushes. The singletrack is now marked, so we took off
on this section. I was being silly, taking "interesting" lines, and very
quickly, scored the thrid flat of the day. While stopping to fix this,
noticed I had managed to pull a spoke out of its nipple. Explains the
slight wobble in the wheel. Quick tighten seems to have the spoke
holding, so its off for more ST. Everyone is dragging by now, especially
Phil on the rigid. Somewhere along the line Tarlo flats and then flats
again, just as we come out onto the road near the causeway.

On the final grind up the hill to Glenbrook, we are passed by someone
actually riding the hill, and a few people riding in, maybe looking to
ride up to Woodford and back in the dark. Fools. Glenbrook station is
made around 6pm, and the next train is only 15min away. No-one risks a
run to the shops, and we sit hungry on the station.

Plenty of room for the bikes, and seats for all on the way home. Whoot.

Distance: ~65km
Time: A slow 6.5 hours, about 2 hours slower than my aim.
Mechanicals: 2 (Ben' seat collar, plus my spoke)
Flats: 5
Injuries: none