Pre Xmas scare

Its reminiscent of my running career when I was always pondering “is it a stress fracture…isn’t it…”. The type of injury that hurts, but not enough to stop what you’re doing. My running friends go through this a lot with the calf-niggle, the Achilles-niggle and the pain-in-my-butt-that-I-can’t-quite-describe. The injuries where training is possible but slightly less fun and done with a pall of doubt across your mind when you wonder if you’re actually doing more damage. They are also the ones where you would give your right arm for a definitive MRI result and diagnosis, but rarely get.

After a run-of-the-mill crash on the MTB a couple of weeks ago my hand felt a bit bruised but shaking it off as just that, I kept training and working. I went out on the usual Thursday morning ride with the crew this week and noticed my hand was getting sorer instead of better. It was even starting to hurt during my work doing massage which it had not before. Self diagnosing as a possible small fracture of the 5th metacarpal near the wrist I set about trying to organize the impossible – a doctor’s appointment for an X-ray referral 2 days before Christmas. Most of the MDs I know are already vacationing on islands or shacked up in their ski lodges waiting for the next fall of powder. And the doctors that aren’t – do I really want them assessing my riding injury? Ok, for all the hard working doctors sans-ski lodges, that was a joke, but the bottom line is I’m probably not going to find out before ‘ride week’ in Mount Beauty and I probably don’t really want to know anyway as it sounds very difficult to ride in a cast.

Being Christmas time – the time for excess – I imagine there are a lot of good intentions being thrown away as training is bumped for another Christmas party, shopping or eating. The less-committed let it become another excuse the lose weight or improve their fitness whereas most people I know are looking forward to making use of work holidays doing long rides and runs on quiet roads, quite possibly with a nagging pain here and there because they just can’t let an opportunity like this pass by. I can relate to that.

When dealing with people I can cope with those who lack knowledge but will always struggle with those who lack will.

(Footnote: The fantastic staff at Cavendish Road clinic made room for me and just rang through the result – all clear, phew. Just a ‘day in the life of’.)

10 Weeks

The week before Christmas tends to encourage reflection of the year just gone. What a ride! Wins at the QLD series, State champs, Dwellingup and Saipan being highlights. I’d rate my 3rd at Langkawi International MTB Challenge as my ‘ride of the year’ (actually probably ride of my career) and certainly the most fun I’ve had for a bit. Once I’ve finished pursuing my goals in XCO I’m definitely getting into more stage racing – its got travel, riding and socializing all wrapped up in one neat package.

So the big goal for this coming year, unsurprisingly, is Olympic selection. If you are really interested the selection policy is here http://www.cycling.org.au/default.asp?Page=8021&MenuID=High_Performance/20012/0. Trying to work out a viable way to jump through all the requisite hoops is a struggle at best. I’m trying to remember the last time I wasn’t drowning under a mound of debt – oh that’s right, BEFORE I discovered cycling. The help I’ve had over the last 5 years I am incredibly grateful for, and am very lucky to have had. Reducing the costs of competing has been the only way I’ve managed to stay in the sport and all I hoped for ( I certainly never expected to make a living out of it). While its scary as hell I’m ready for one last throw-down – one last year of living and racing beyond my means so I can look back and know that I gave myself every chance to do something extraordinary. No, I won’t retire from the sport, but doing races for fun and experience will feature more than chasing points or fulfilling selection criteria.

Coach Donna of PCS and I have been working on a slightly different approach to training, fine tuning after a few months of seeing what works for me and what doesn’t. I’m definitely doing less overall time on the bike than with previous coaches but at times have never been so smashed. What it lacks in volume the program sure makes up for in intensity. There are so many schools of thought when it comes to training and I look forward to delving in deeper now that I am coaching a bit myself. My tendency to do too much is apparent and something I need to get a grip on. Having to report on each session, how hard I felt it was, did I enjoy it, what did I think about while I was in the pain cave – these all make training conscious and purpose driven which I think is important.

The excitement of a countdown is also a new thing and also a way to stop the time sneaking away from me. This time in 10 weeks I will be in Adelaide racing the National Champs – 10 weeks to do everything I can to be standing on the top step of the podium. Strangely that is only the start of craziness which then rolls on to Rotorua, South Africa and Belgium. But that is all still a bit daunting for me to think about this weekend! I’ll be blogging more frequently about training which I hope some of you will find interesting and helpful. Its time for me to start planning another adventure – ride week in Mount Beauty. It will be my first time and am looking forward to some crazy climbs and new trails. Say ‘hi’ if you’re down there.

Hell of the Mariana's - Saipan

What did we do before Facebook? Seriously. I made a passing comment about needing inspiration which was spotted by fellow MTBer Les Heap and through a six-degrees-of-separation type phenomenon I had accepted an invite to race in Saipan despite not really knowing where it was. A friend told me that even Google didn’t know where it is because when he searched for it there was just a flag in the middle of the ocean just off Taiwan. I told him to zoom in…closer…closer…closer…there you go.

The journey went Cairns-Guam-Saipan and we were escorted to the Pacific Islands Club resort where our host Kieren Daly had previously been Manager for 10 years. The Hell of the Mariana’s 100km road race was started by Kieren and is now in its fifth year – the first year he has been hands-off since moving to the Gold Coast with his family. I am mystified how he managed to tear himself away from the resort as I was definitely ready to set up there permanently. The water park includes a body surfing wave machine which is great fun until you stack it and the current almost rips your bikini from your body – when the attendant told me board shorts were a good idea, I really should have listened. Water slides for the kids, the grown-up ones too, and the resort is absolute beach-front for snorkeling and kayaking. Humidity, temps in the low 30s – I’m getting used to this.

I wouldn’t normally bother with a course reconnaissance for a road race but Kieren highly recommended it due to some interesting ‘features’ of the race – namely the steep climbs and road surface. With pinches kicking up to 15% and a shell-composite road surface which comes with a ‘slippery when wet’ warning, it was starting to feel a lot more like mountain-biking. We did a practice run of the last couple of climbs including Suicide Cliff where the Japanese soldiers and civilians jumped to their deaths when cornered by US forces during WWII. The race is a tour of the island which conveniently starts and finishes at PIC resort which meant the 6.15am start was going to be a 50m roll from our accommodation. This turned out to be just in time for sunrise as its technically winter in Saipan despite the balmy conditions.

Rolling out, the day was going to belong to those who hydrated well, stayed upright on the slick roads and had a bit of luck in not getting flats as there is no official ‘spares’ vehicle. I was regretting bringing tubular wheels as there was no plan B but it was a case of ride what you brought. With 150 riders total the field broke up quickly on the first climb with the lead men’s group pulling away. I cobbled together a few stray guys to form a grupetto to help each other on the flats between the hills. Being conservative on the descents I could only gasp at how fast some of the local guys were taking the corners. I never came close to crashing but there was a bit of excitement on a cyclo-cross-like section where road works became dirt littered with shallow pot holes – cue: stray dog with a penchant for cycling shoes!

With the tough first 50km behind me I started to feel a bit more confident. The field was strung out in ones and twos so there was little chance of being caught by another female in a larger group. I had been working with Pete, a rider from Guam, in the middle section of the race as it helped to have at least one person to swap off with in the gusty conditions. As the last 25km was a dead flat drag back to the resort I was hoping to maintain the situation but unfortunately he was hit by the dreaded cramps just before the turnaround. He apologized profusely for his recalcitrant legs and dropped off to continue his suffering alone.

We were virtually promised a tailwind on the way home by Kieren and I was cursing him all the way as I time-trialled solo into a cross wind for the final haul. I kept looking back, praying for someone to catch me but with 15km to go I decided to just get on with it. Crossing the line for my first international win I even remembered to zip up my jersey – what a pro – although I resisted the temptation for the two arm salute lest I crash and knock myself out two metres from the finish line. Every rider falls straight into the healing hands of the team of Thai massage therapists who sort out the kinks from the last few hours. I nearly fell asleep and regretfully got up at the conclusion of treatment, only to have both my hamstrings cramp, much to the amusement of others still receiving their rub.

Finishing the day with official presentations at the buffet on the beach it was time to kick back and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Watching the sunset over the Pacific with a glass of red wine in the company of locals and visiting riders from as far away as Russia, it capped off what came close to the perfect day. Yep, I’m getting used to this.

Many thanks to Kieren Daly, the organizers of the Hell of the Mariana’s and PIC resort for your amazing hospitality. As always a shout out to my sponsors: For The Riders, Santa cruz, Shotz, Sram, Schwalbe, Adidas Eyewear and PCS Coaching.

All Mountain Cup - Perth

A bit of a funk set in after leaving Langkawi. On such a high after a big performance and a top event there were a few post-race blues. I lined up for Noosa crit simply because it is a big event and one of the few times we get to race in front of a crowd (no, a proper crowd, like more than 50 people). After getting worked over by the teams I finished in the bunch while Olympic road champ Nicole Cook won the sprint in the break.

I hopped back into regular training but soon started to feel a bit hollowed out. I rode Karingal 4 hour with team mate Kylie Maduna and we won convincingly, beating most of the guys too. Locked in a battle for pride with 4 cross world cup champ Jared Graves and Kylie’s boyfriend Shaun, I ended up working a lot harder than I wanted to. I’d like to say I learned some skills following Jared on the single-track but in truth he disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Travelling to Perth for the new All Mountain Cup I was still feeling a bit flat. Bad news for me since Jenni King brought her A game (as usual) and gave me a flogging all weekend. Its now common knowledge of how disgruntled I am with the new series format but I did enjoy the XCO track – appropriately brutal! Ironically my only crash was in practice on the least technical section when I clipped a rock with my pedal and punched a hole in my forearm, lost skin from my hip to my shoulder blade and mangled my seat. A just punishment for riding with my head in the clouds. It was hard to find anyone who wasn’t sporting Fixomul by Sunday afternoon including Olympian Sid Taberley. I was happy to come away with a second place for the weekend and an oath to brush up on my cornering skills before the next race.

Despite my scathing review of the event the basics were there with interesting trails and an enthusiastic club. The XCE track would have made a fantastic short track race with table tops, doubles and rock drops. Likewise with the Super D – awesome track, we just didn’t get to ride it enough times and spent too much time in our kit, standing in the sun waiting to be told what the hell was going on! I think the point of having the extra events is not to elevate them to the same ranking as the XCO but to encourage people who don’t want to race the XCO to participate in the support events. Trying to grow the series by forcing the current pool of riders to enter ALL events is the wrong solution. The way forward is to bring in new blood and tap into the thing that makes events like the marathons and the 24 hour events such sell out successes.

Thanks to Perth MTB club, cycling legends Jo and Tim Bennett for putting me up, and sponsors ForTheRiders, Sram, Shotz, Adidas, NSDynamics, Schwalbe and PCS Coaching.

Langkawi International MTB Challenge

I’ve been wanting to visit Malaysia for about 12 years so the LIMBC was a great excuse. Five days of racing on a tropical island, hotel accommodation, all transport and meals included – I could see nothing bad in this proposal. Race-wise I didn’t have too many expectations – a top 5 finish on a stage or two in a field which included world number 8 Natalie Schnietter and Australian XCO champ Kath O’Shea.

My first time on Singapore Airlines proved to be a seamless experience – frequent flier here I come. Arriving Sunday night there were shuttle buses there to greet the riders and escort them to the Bayview Hotel in Kuah Town. The whole week continued like this with regular transport to venues for riders and supporters, plenty of post-race refreshments and three delicious meals per day at the hotel. Some people were a bit tired of rice and curry at the end of the week, but this tends to be my staple diet so it was ‘situation normal’.

Maybe I missed the communiqué on health but I didn’t get any pre-trip jabs, I ate the food and drank the water from the tap and stayed healthy, although quite a few riders were hit with stomach problems in the first couple of days. The main challenge was hydration due to the temps in the low 30s and 1000% humidity. Losing litres of sweat during each stage it was difficult to keep forcing the fluids in. I cramped badly in the first stage and doubled up on the Shotz electrolyte tabs for the rest of the week and didn’t have a problem.

Stage 1 & 2 were also stand-alone UCI XCM and XCO events respectively. The initial stage was a tour of the island, cutting through the jungle on mainly double track with some technical sections, short stretches of tarmac and some memorable muddy hiking. Almost every afternoon was punctuated by a storm which necessitated bike cleaning daily. The trails held up well though and Racing Ralphs were fine without resorting to anything more aggressive.

The XCO track was my favourite stage and also best result with a second placing. An initial climb littered with slippery rockes and roots broke the field up early. Midway through the course it was all downhill on some tight single track through a rubber tree plantation. The farmers agreed to remove the liquid rubber collection buckets to avoid the riders being coated in a sticky mess. The clay descents proved intimidating for some as the course dropped down the terraced hillside. My Santa Cruz Blur was perfect for stages 1 to 3 which more than made up for being slightly outgunned by the 29 inch hardtails in the remaining stages. I was surprised at the quality of the single trail which left you smiling despite the sauna-like conditions.

Stage 3 had initially been slated as a 6 hour, but due to adverse trail conditions (the terms muddy and sewerage were used) it was cut to another XCO race, but more like a long duration short-track with minimal climbing and stretches of flat grass. I was prepared to hate this course but it was so much fun as well as fast and furious. Again the quality trails saved what could have otherwise been a boring stage.

Sitting in third place I had two days left to survive with a head cold coming on. The legs were feeling pretty empty and I just tried not to bleed too much time on the 14km hill climb up Gunyung Raya. Falling off the back of the bunch several times on the way to the foot of the climb I wasn’t confident of reaching the top! Focussing on finding my own rhythm for the 50 minute climb and fighting the urge to climb in one of the support vehicles I only lost a couple of minutes to the 4^th placed Italian Benzoni. The descent was uber-fun though and I got to chat to Chris Froome of Sky and Adam Blythe of Omega-Pharma who were making guest appearances for the final two stages. Looking a little uncomfortable on the event-issue MTBs with questionable geometry and positive rise stems, they still seemed to be enjoying the break from skinny tyre Euro adventures.

The final crit of 30 mins plus 3 laps was held in possibly the warmest conditions of the week. Half-tarmac, half dead, corrugated grassy slog the lead bunch stayed together until the last two laps when a few riders, myself included, dropped wheels as the pace turned up. Finishing 30 secs adrift, 3^rd place on GC was assured and it was time for some R&R.

Exploring the island on scooters is a must with the open roads and courteous drivers making it quite safe. Even getting caught in the short intense storms is quite pleasant when temps rarely drop below 30C. The beach near the Sheraton resort on the north-west of the island was a highlight with the quintessential brochure setting of white sand, crystal clear water and mini-islands within swimming distance. Other options are jet ski hire, para-sailing, cocktails on the beach, massage…the list is extensive.

In only their second year the organizers, Human Voyage, have pulled together a super event and a truly international field in a spectacular setting. Definitely a great way to combine racing with a value for money holiday. Keen to return to this one next year!

A big thanks to Donna from PCS Coaching for all her work in getting me prepared for racing and also the boys at FTR for getting my equipment in tip-top shape.

Dwellingup 100 - Perth

Last year I was flown to Perth to do this race in a joint effort with Shotz nutrition and Trievents.  Apparently they didn't hate my work so the opportunity came up again this year and I quickly accepted.  The course is great but deceptively tough and the people like, Tony Tucknott from Perth MTB Club, are just incredibly passionate about their riding.

 

Its not just a junket though and I, Andy Blair, Gracie Elvin and Jason English visited 6 primary and secondary schools, doing Q&A with the students, a roll around with them if they had bike and even a mini race utilizing a set of stairs and a beach volleyball sandpit just to give them a proper taste of mountainbiking.  Some kids were more receptive than others but if it encourages just one of them to get into the sport and maybe go on to represent Australia I think that would be pretty cool.

 

Our plans for a roll before race day were thwarted by a freezing torrential downpour so I didn't have the chance to have a first ride on my new Santa Cruz Blur XC.  Luckily the guys at For The Riders are complete wizzes at building and setting up bikes.  During the race everything just worked and my position felt like I was riding an 'old faithful' for the upteenth time.  Even my new shop-issue knicks were non-chaffing.  But do as I say, not as I do - no new gear on race day kiddies!

 

Darryl from Shotz thought it would be a great idea to have Gracie at the race to "give me some competition".  We are pretty evenly matched most of the time in XCO and I was looking over my shoulder the whole race expecting her to stomp past me on the flats as she's an excellent TT rider.  By her own admission she ended up having a creeper but I'm glad another one of our top riders has experienced the race so they can recommend it to others.

 

I hit the first 40km hard as that was where most of the climbing was.  After the feed zone there is a long stretch of bitumen that you do not want to get caught on alone so I was lucky to be riding in the Mens Masters group for most of the remaining 60km (or not, as they were setting a hot pace, attacking each other frequently).  Although the climbs are not long it is just continuous rollers for the whole course which gets very taxing.  Dealing with the unfamiliar surfaces of pea-gravel and the infamous green clay that is like riding on ice, all adds to the challenge.  I keep banging on about the singletrack here but it really is THAT good.

 

Finishing up with a convincing win I was happy to chalk the first one up for the new sponsors of FTR and Santa Cruz - hopefully the first of many for the next season.  In marathons I think what you feel in your last hour of racing reflects what you did in the first hour.  I hydrated well with the Shotz tabs and regularly took in the gels to avoid the 3-hour-blues when you run out of sugar and start to wonder why you put yourself through these things.  Remember:  its not your head, its your stomach talking!

 

See you at the next one.

 

Its a brand new year!

This weekend is like NYE for mountain bikers.  The culmination of the current season in the World Champs in Champery and the start of a new season with a clean slate and some resolutions to 'do it better' in the next 12 months.

 

Whether by chance or design its also a time to sort out new bikes, gear and sponsorship and I have some exciting news in that department.  For The Riders have supported me for 3 years although I've never actually be sponsored by a bike company they've stocked.  In short, they are awesome guys and their work on the tools is without equal.  So, speaking to proprietor Tim, I said I wanted to become an FTR full-blood.  He replied with the words Santa Cruz Carbon Blur XC and we were on!  SRAM XX, Louis Garneau, NS Dynamics, Shotz nutrition and Schwalbe tyres are also on board with a couple more to announce soon.  Many thanks to all for making another year on the trails possible.  Also, to my family and friends for your continuing support - its greatly appreciated.

 

PS.  Pics or the new rig are coming soon.