Flight Centre Epic 2012

The aftermath of an MTB marathon is never pretty.  Human detritus in salt encrusted jerseys litter the grass just beyond the finish line, containing the vomiters, the crampers, the bleeders.  But overwhelmingly they are also the grinners and sometimes the criers, with sweet, sweet relief at finally making the finish line.  I generally fall into several of these categories, so I’m definitely getting the full ‘epic’ experience.

Road tripping with the MarathonMTB crew that morning we all knew what was coming.  Sure we were swapping war stories of previous adventures and full of pre-race taper energy but there was a general understanding that the next 4 or so hours were going to hurt.  Each of us were establishing the reasons we race and put ourselves through this unpleasantness:  personal satisfaction tinged with masochism; glory; cash to pay for the next race - but mainly to accumulate more war stories to tell on the next road trip.

After beginning its life as a point-to-point race the 10^th Flight Centre Epic is now run in a more participant friendly loop format, starting and finishing at Spicers Hiddenvale.  Even more friendly was the 50km checkpoint which was back at the start/finish so bottles could be left to pick up mid-race but there was also plenty of water, Shotz electrolyte and fruit at multiple spots which took away the usual anxiety of being stranded dry on a scorching QLD spring day.

My marathon races follow a predictable pattern now where I struggle for the first hour, when pace is too fast and attacks are going, and then suffer for the last hour when my legs are empty and seem to have quit negotiations with my brain.  And so it went yesterday with National XC champ Jenni King and 8 time Epic veteran Naomi Hansen gapping me in the 15km.  Being one of the few elite riders with a camelback my plan was to consume as much fluid as possible over the first 50km as drinking would be very difficult with 37km of predominantly singletrack remaining.

On only the 3^rd ride of my new Giant 29er hardtail I was very conservative on the technical sections, not knowing the limits of the bike.  That faded quickly though after several ‘eyes shut’ moments, sure I was headed for a crash only to have the big wheels roll out of it.  If I am ever going to suffer the roughness on a hardtail the FC Epic is the race I do it in, but with 20 psi in the tyres it was strangely forgiving and once we hit the major climb of the race 30ks in it was also very fast.  Feeling renewed on second-hour legs I rode away from King and Hansen on the climb and worked to extend the advantage for the next couple of hours.

Having raced a 24 hour solo out at Hiddenvale in 2010 it was comforting to be on familiar trails over the last half of the race.  The course looped over itself several times which was a bit confusing in the exhausted delirium of several hours of racing, leading to many moments of wondering if I’d missed a turn.  In fact this is the first Epic where I HAVEN’T gone off course and had to carefully hoist my lycra clad butt over a barbed wire fence so kudos to the course marking!  However at 70ks there was an oddly placed sign which read ‘8kms’ which caught many non GPS equipped riders out as they emptied the tanks thinking the finish line was nigh. 

Having drunk to the point of getting a stitch in the beginning I now had a pounding head as my dehydrated brain rock back and forth due to the difficulty of getting bottle to mouth on the trails.  I had regressed to merely riding, not racing, and was very grateful to be coming up through slower riders finishing the shorter 50km race as it gave me an excuse not be maxing out the pace – I was just being courteous, right?  With a few mere hundreds of metres to the finish line some riders lay spread-eagled beside the trail and it was encouraging to see people hurting more than I was.  EVERYONE hurts – some are just riding faster while they do it!

There were no tears crossing the finish line, just a desperate search for fluid and a few all-fours moments to relieve my aching back and my nauseous stomach simultaneously.  Apologies to the people I left mid-conversation throughout the day but my hasty exit probably saved your shoes.  As usual I didn’t get to speak to as many people as I would have liked to and need to book at Spicers one year so I can sit back on the lawn and relax with a glass of wine instead of beating a hasty retreat back to Brisbane and real life.

Thanks to Donna Dall from PCS for my race winning form, Liv/giant for the sweet new bike, the boys at For The Riders for another mechanical-free race (owner Tim did the 87ks on a singlespeed – pure madness), Darryl at Shotz nutrition for fueling not just me, but the entire event, Schwalbe tires – the Snakeskins are now Epic-proven, Owen from Ride Mechanic and his amazing Bike Milk chain lube and Moonshine chamois cream (no friction in either area, thankyou!), and the Fleur & Hayden Brooks in conjuction with Spicers for the great organisation and trails.  Also thanks to the 1600+ competitors who supported South-east Queensland’s iconic event.

New Season Bling

I was waiting for an opportunity to have a big ‘ta-dah’ with my new toys for the upcoming season.  But with the best plans going astray (and this plan not even being close to my best) the cat is out of the bag.  Yes, I am on a 29er hardtail this year, riding for Liv/Giant.  Despite being thought a 29er ‘hater’ I have never been – I have merely been bemoaning the lack of options for someone of my sub 165cm stature.  The strong demand for 29ers has resulted in basically all new imported bikes coming fitted with the big wheels and 26 inch wheels seemingly confined to European world cup courses.

Having accepted that 29ers are possibly faster, or at least no slower, than 26ers the choice which remained was choosing a brand.  Of course I wanted a super light bike with nice geometry and lots of carbon and titanium goodness but I am also focused on what I can do off the bike to promote the sport.  Liv/giant is the perfect fit with their commitment to womens’ participation in cycling for fun and a healthy lifestyle.  In my coaching role at Progressive Coaching Systems this is also a big goal for us and an area we hope to make inroads in the future.

With the Flight Centre Epic on this weekend it has been a bit of a rush to get used to the bigger wheels but also being back on a hardtail for the first time in 2 years.  I have become such a lazy rider and my butt is now paying the tax!  We are still awaiting the 2013 model so Giant have generously loaned me a bike until it arrives.  Being pretty keen to perform well in Queensland’s premier MTB Marathon a few modifications have been made…

• Enve carbon wheels, on loan from For The Riders.  Always nerve wracking riding borrowed wheels and I wish someone hadn’t mentioned how much they cost to replace!
• Bars straight from the 26er: not wanting to change too much at once I’m still running my narrow bars.  At 580mm I’m unlikely to get them stuck anywhere.
• Selle Italia SLR Carbon seat: again, straight from the old bike.  It looks like it should be uncomfortable but it is honestly the most comfy saddle to grace my rear end to date, and only 115g to boot.
•  The boys at NS Dynamics wound the forks in to 80mm to lower the front end.  In future I will be winding them back out when I get a seriously negative rise stem but due to the bigger steerer tube we couldn’t get our hands on one to fit by the weekend.

Schwalbe Racing Ralph Snake Skins which are the second lightest in the range with a slight weight penalty for the security of added puncture protection.  Good for 90% of trail conditions the RR model has been my go-to tyre for 3 years now – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Also continuing their support are Shotz nutrition and Ride Mechanic keeping body and bike running like well-oiled machines.  I love both of these companies for making great products which perform, but also because they are Aussie businesses. 

I’ve heard there are a record 1600 riders entered for the Epic this year which shows that mountain biking is très popular in south-east Queensland.  I can’t wait to tow the line at the race which started it all!

State Road Race Championships - Goombungee

Where the hell is Goombungee?  The question on everyone’s lips and evidently quite a few riders never managed to find it as there were a total of 5, count em, 5, in the Elite Women’s race.  At 2.5 hours from Brisbane it might have been a paddock too far for many competitors, especially considering we were all racing for glory and a $2 medal.  One saving grace was the discovery of a Zarraffa’s café in North Toowoomba which opened at 5.30am – there is a god!

With only five elites and two under 19s it was difficult to know how to play the race.  It was one of those lively spring days where the wind seems to come from everywhere.  When you think you have the direction pegged and try to shelter behind another rider you’re still being buffeted.  I decided pre-race that I wasn’t going to endure 5 hours of driving to tap around and sprint it out in the last 300m.  Forcing the pace up every climb the bunch was down to four by the second lap – the elite podium with an under 19 tagging along for the ride.

We still had at least an hour and a half to race and after a few attacks on the third lap the fourth was pedestrian as everyone conserved energy for the inevitable attacks on the final go-around.  While it is not the most mountainous of courses, Goombungee has three short climbs where gaps could be formed.  It was the last of these, just 1km from the finish line, where a sharp acceleration by my Pensar Hawk team mate Kat Garfoot, decided the race as she pulled away over the top.  I tried to go with her but I’m definitely feeling more ‘diesel’ like these days and going from tooling-along to warp-speed is not something my legs will co-operate with.  As Kat disappeared down the road, I kept looking back as I had managed to gap previous State Champ Simone Grounds and hold it to the line for a silver medal.

People often ask me if I prefer racing mountain bikes or the road.  While MTB is my first love, road racing can be awesome, but is very dependent on who shows up.  Therefore, is far less fun when hardly anyone shows up!  Such a shame as the last two state RR champs I have raced, I’ve shared the podium with two-time national Crit champ Kirsty Broun, Oceania TT champ and Olympic rep Shara Gillow, Italian pro-rider Carly Hibberd (RIP), and Katrin is currently ranked 4^th in the National Road Series so it can’t be said that the competition isn’t hot! 

Although I understand the struggle to get permits to race on roads with such anti-cyclist attitudes in society it would be nice to occasionally race for a state title within shouting distance of interested spectators.  A little closer to the charming regional centre of Toowoomba would be nice…if only to make the coffee run shorter.  A big thanks to Ian, David and Robyn of Pensar Hawk Racing and to all the girls who came out to hurt.

LOSING INTEREST HURTS

I was prompted in the non-racing blog by this article http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-shorts-losing-interest-time-trial-preparation-and-drinking on Cycling News regarding Matt Lloyd.  Apparently the Lampre rider had what we term a ‘carpark crash’ where he fell off, not in the heat of battle at 60kph, elbow to elbow with the world’s best, but cruising in the neutral zone before the start of the race.  Embarrassed much?  The reason he gave was that he was “just losing interest”, which struck me as odd.  He’s in the biggest bike race in the world and it’s all a bit of a yawn?  It would be interesting to know exactly what DOES excite Mr Lloyd!

It was also how I had been feeling for a while about my own racing and training.  Chalking it up to a ‘comedown’ after the World Cup circuit I have continued to phone-in my training sessions, putting my body through the motions even though my head and my heart were often not in it.  I’ve still managed good results with a 2^nd at the National Marathon Championships and an unbeaten streak in the Queensland XCO series.  I am fortunate to be able to get on the podium despite not particularly being ‘in the zone’ or in the mood.

Being prone to periods of depression I’ve become quite good at managing it but with such a long stretch of being ‘up’ perhaps I’d become bit blasé in monitoring myself and using the mental tools that have been working so well over the last 12 months.  There had been some emotional low points lately too, with the loss of my grandmother and some family upheaval.  I wondered if I’d fallen out of love with mountain biking, the way one realizes in any relationship and has to tell their partner “I’m sorry, but I’m just not as in to you as I was”. 

I’ve never particularly liked the winter months and my major bouts of depressive illness have usually coincided with this time of the year, which is what had me reading about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_affective_disorder.  While my friends in southern states or in countries like Switzerland and Canada scoff that Brisbane does not even have a true winter, the disorder is less about how cold it gets and is more related to the reduced hours of sunlight exposure.  I’m luckier than some and have a lifestyle that lets me wait until the sun is actually up before I train, but even then, covered in arm warmers, leg warmers and sunglasses coupled with the grey skies we’ve had lately it’s doubtful the poor little UV rays have had a fair go.

So I’ve added to my mood disorder toolbox a couple of new strategies and will try spending the last 20 minutes of my training session with a few less winter layers and with my sunglasses in my pocket to see if this makes a difference.  It’s free, easy and must be better than sleeping for 12 hours a day and waking up tired and completely lacking in motivation. 

My love affair with mountain biking is not waning and if anything is becoming deeper now that I have taken on a role as coach with http://www.pcscoaching.com.au/ and am looking forward to living vicariously through my athletes for my fix of athletic success.  It IS time to find some new riding challenges though so any suggestions will be welcomed.  J

Battle On The Border - Women's National Road Series

Swapping my MTB for a road bike it was off to stunning Kingscliff for the long weekend and the second round of the Women’s National Road series (NRS).  It felt a bit weird being back on skinny wheels again and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d raced on the road but was looking forward to the ‘newness’ of it all.  After a week off post-Europe then a bit of strength and endurance work I was also dreading the pace of racing.  Thankfully the rain that had dogged the South-east corner over the past couple of weeks cleared on cue leaving a perfect autumn sky and friendly racing temperatures. 

Kicking off on Saturday with a 7km TT I was like a fish out of water.  Someone attached funny bars to the front of my road bike, put a disc wheel in the back and encouraged me to wear a reverse cone-head style helmet.   Wondering what a 10 minute race felt like I visualized the 3km time trials my old running coach held for us monthly – push to the point of nausea, then push a bit more.  Fumbling with my hand position I made my way around in under 11 minutes so was reasonably satisfied while the other girls took out 2^nd and 5^th in closer to the 10 minute mark.

In a good position to have our rider Ruth Corset move into the leader’s jersey we started the road race a couple of hours after the TT.  Despite the ominous looking profile there was only one major climb and the bunch stayed together over the top.  Soon after I managed to get in a break of four which looked good until one rider got a puncture and dropped back to the bunch which left me, a strong rider from the Holden team and a KOM contestant who kept ducking turns saying she couldn’t possibly pull through.  Welcome to road racing!  Figuring if I kept the gas on the VIS and other teams would have to chase, leaving our team to sit in, we stayed away until well into the final lap.  After the catch Ruth attacked up the main climb and was not see again gaining almost a minute advantage on the next on GC.

Backing up for another 85k’s of racing on Sunday was something my body was strongly protesting.  Our job was to control the bunch, follow any breaks and keep Ruth in the leader’s jersey.  Managing to ride near the front in the first lap and hang off the back of a few half-hearted breaks I settled back into the bunch to suffer quietly while our rider Zoe Watters went up the road in a group of four.  After feeling quite strong the previous day my legs were screaming on the rolling hills.  My bunch sense had improved though and I managed to avoid becoming a casualty of the fast descents, pot-holes and touch of wheels which were claiming a few in the group.  People think mountain-biking is risky.  These girls are pinning it down mountains at 70+ kph just centimetres from each others’ back tyres – pure insanity!!

Monday saw the finale of a 30 minute criterium on the winding streets around Mantra and Peppers resorts.  With such a tight circuit the field was immediately strung out leaving riders in a lung-searing, leg-exploding game of accelerating out of corners and trying to get back on the wheel of the rider in front.  I knew the first 10 minutes would be brutal but thought if I could survive that then I just might make it to the end in the main bunch.  After the initial flurry of attacks which shelled half the field and resulted in a few riders ending up in the garden beds there was a brief lull before the call came for ‘3 laps to go’.  Getting a bit excited I overcooked a corner, locked up the back wheel in a spectacular skid narrowly avoided the barricades and kept riding leaving onlookers catching their breaths.   I , like, completely meant to do that *life flashing before eyes*.   Despite being absolutely no help to our stage and overall winner I managed to finish with the bunch ending the weekend at 11^th on General Classification. 

The team rode unbelievably and it was such an honour to ride with the girls.  Team management pulled out all the stops to enable a big performance with lush accommodation (with spa!); organizing all the equipment; delicious meals; hand holding; wine purchasing and even had a coffee machine firing up in the team tent with heart-starting Di Bella coffee.  Also thanks to Anouska for your magical hands and the post race massages.  It was very nice to be on the receiving end for a change.   The first win for Pensar Hawk in the women’s NRS and hopefully there are more to come. 

Houffalize - World Cup #2

Waking up to 20cms of snow was the best sign I could think of that it was time to leave the Swiss Alps. I had loved my time there and it will always be remembered for its’ many kilometers of quiet training roads and strength-building climbs. I thought I had spent enough time doing downhill runs of impossibly steep and muddy ‘trails’ to have conquered my fear of the vertical. Then I arrived in Houffalize.

An exhausting 8 hour drive from Gryon (I wasn’t driving but it’s hard on navigators too) the town in the Belgian Ardennes was a sight for sore eyes. It was quintessential everything from the traditional stone houses, cobbles, verdant rolling hills and cozy beer cafes on many corners. I’ve given up taking photos of towns like this as my skills with a camera have no doubt been far surpassed by those before me so I acquired this one from the internet courtesy of chalet-houffalize.be.

Houffalize is one of those places that seem to be stuck in time and you just want to hug it and tell it to never change. Yep, I am smitten! Situated between Bastogne and Liege these are also hallowed roads for road cycling and some of the infamous ‘hard man races’ are held close to here, renown for providing the riders with no place to hide. And so it is on the dirt too.

Television rarely does justice to mountain bike races. It just never conveys who truly steep and treacherous the landscape is. I predict the Houffalize course will make less than exciting viewing as it lacks the man made obstacles of Pietermaritzburg where the difficulty is obvious. What is does have is my official ‘steepest course I have ever ridden’ title. I think I had previously awarded this to the Czech race of 2011 but it has now lost its crown. Not content to be merely steep it also desired to be rainy, muddy and then it hailed just for good measure making for an interesting first practice session. Of the 4 very technical sections I rode two of them, hard a good hard look at the other two and decided to sleep on it.

I’ve developed a habit of spending a lot of time looking at sections that scare me. There is something to be gained through the vicarious experience or watching other riders choose their lines. Even repeatedly approaching the obstacle and stopping at the last minute I find helpful in memorizing exactly what it looks like and exactly where I want my bike to go. Then there will be one ‘practice run’ when I just keep rolling and suddenly I’ve ridden it. Well, if everything goes like I saw it in my head anyway. Sleeping on it just gives me a whole night to see myself acing the line.

It worked like a charm and Fridays’ practice session was a picture of smoothness and control, in stark contrast to the UCI registration process that saw half the elite field border on hypothermia after waiting in a line for 2 hours. Apparently being the governing body of cycling they are more concerned with the ‘big picture’ issues than streamlining their sign-on procedures.

As an atheist it’s quite hypocritical for me to pray but I was doing something close to it to ensure a dry race on Sunday. A quick open of the window on race morning confirmed the fact that it was bloody cold with ominous grey skies but luckily no rain. The roll to the start was excruciating and resulted in numb extremities and what I can only describe as an external ‘brain freeze’ experience. Undressing to race was almost unthinkable but in the end I peeled off the leg warmers and settled for arm warmers and a double-jersey arrangement.

The start loop was akin to a wall of dirt and I had anticipated that we would be off walking it once the first person unclipped. Bingo! But it was a bit of a relief considering what the next 90 minutes or so held for us. It was an course that would see a lot of riders ‘blowing up’ after starting too hard so I planned to stay out of trouble the first couple of laps and ride consistently for the remaining. After locking bars with someone on the start line in usual form I was dead last at the top of the first climb. Working my way through the back markers I was grinding up the ascents, working to keep the front wheel on the dirt, and then seemed to pass most girls at the top of the climbs as they slowed to recover while I put what power I had left into the pedals.

The only people colder than the racers were our long suffering pit crews, standing atop the plateau in a howling Belgian wind with the chill factor close to zero degrees. Belgian fans seem impervious to the weather though and lined the course with their cheers of “Allez!” and the smell of hot chips and cigars thick in the air.

In the unofficial race to finish higher than your number plate I came up short with a 73^rd placing after starting 70th. My form has been static since the National Championships which is a bit disappointing. Looking at the Australian results in general though it is a good sign that riders are finishing on the final lap which was not all that common a few years ago. This race was likely to be my last international World Cup and I am delighted to have seen it out on one of the iconic Euro XCO courses.

To all those who have been part of the journey, my sincerest thanks. A special mention to Donna Dall of PCS Coaching for her program and putting up with my emotional rollercoaster. Also, to the lads from For The Riders MTB shop who have supported me for 4 years both with equipment and making me ride stupidly gnarly trails early on Thursday mornings. I’m working on the next phase of my riding so thanks for reading and stay tuned!

One for the gear heads

Race week at last! I’m super excited to be at the pointy end of my training and racing block. It has been such a special experience having this opportunity to live and train in Europe so I can arrive in the best possible condition for the World Cup in Belgium. I’d like to thank everyone who made this possible especially my hosts Vaughan and Rose who opened their home to me in the Swiss Alps. It wouldn’t have been possible without you – Merci!

I’ve compiled a list of equipment I have also found indispensible in the Euro conditions so, as well as being a plug for some of my sponsors, I hope you can find it useful if you are thinking of making the trip or just searching for some better options for the local trails.

Sram XX 26-39 Chain set

Initially running a 28-42 I swapped to the smaller chain rings before I headed to NZ as I remembered how steep the World Cup courses were. Having the 26 is great for keeping the legs at a good cadence while climbing and the 39 means I can ride longer in the big ring when the course calls for it. XCO courses don’t call for a 42-11 combo so it’s no loss, but I’ve kept the bigger rings for when I’m racing marathons.

Adidas windproof jacket

Surviving the cold is all about layers. Having a wind and waterproof jacket helps take out the ‘chill’ factor that makes cycling most uncomfortable in winter. Wearing arm warmers, a jersey and an undershirt beneath the jacket was enough to get me through 2 degree training sessions. The advantage with the jacket is when it gets warmer I just folded it up and put it in my back pocket. Very handy.

Thermal gloves

The extremities always take the brunt of the cold weather so even when the body is warm, the hands are likely to be cold due to reduced blood flow. A good pair of weather proof gloves literally saved my life – not being able to brake when you’re hands are frozen is sub optimal. They give a bit of a ‘michelin man’ feeling so not ideal for mountain biking, but for road sessions which tend to be faster and windier they were a godsend.

Adidas Evil Eye Half Rim Pro Glasses

I have 2 sets of these glasses, one for racing and one for every day. I love the lenses, which are interchangeable, but the LST Actives are great for the varying light conditions of MTB. They feel really firm on your face and even after some of the biggest crashes I’ve had they are still stuck there! An absolute must shading the retinas and keeping pesky branches out of your baby blues.

Santa Cruz Carbon Blur XC

Okay, so a dual suspension is not the obvious choice for racing world cup and I am among a small minority, but it is a seriously fast bike and also a lot more fun for general riding. With a 69.5 degree head angle it’s slightly more relaxed than an XC racing hardtail (between 0.5-1.5 degree) but still feels snappy in the single trail and more confident in the steep descending. At 9.6 kg it’s on par with the pro 29ers so there’s no weight penalty either. The guys as NSDynamics worked their magic on the RP23 shock so it pedals efficiently to the top of the hill while saving my butt on the way down.

So that’s just a few things from the armoury. I’ll wait until I see the course in Belgium to decide between the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs or Nobby Nics but the latter certainly have the mud clearing advantage. Crank Brothers Egg Beater 11 pedals really come into their own around here too when you’ve hiked-a-bike and need to clip in with muddy cleats. It’s a brave soul who runs Shimanos and a frequently frustrated one as my riding buddy found out yesterday.

Next week will be my race report from the Houffalize World Cup. Thanks for reading! J