My First Win.

SUNDAY, 13 July 2008, THE STARS must have lined up for me as I have finally won a mountain bike race. Since my very first attempt at a mountain bike race in Chum Creek on board a 21" Shogun Metro hybrid bike (what was I thinking?) back in 1992, I have tried various forms of mountain bike racing from downhill to endurance events. Most of which had netted me mediocre results or a hefty hospital bill. So today's I think I was a bit lucky, as I originally had no intentions other than just get my fat arse out to have a bit of play in the woods, but everything fell to my favour. Winning today (albeit in D Grade) was a nice & a happy surprise - and to think I nearly didn't enter!

IT ALL STARTED on Saturday with an invitational ride with my trusty riding friend Kathryn to check out the Beaconsfield race course before deciding whether she would race next day or not. As usual, James was there as our tour guide. This track. GWS Scout Camp. Heavens. I have been here before, site of my first ever attempt at an enduro race. An ill-fated 6 hours race a few years ago with Damien, where I was decimated by the cold rain, mud, and debilitating cramps. So I knew this track was going to be a tough one, especially in the wet, but I was not going to miss a chance to ride after weeks of inactivity due to poor weather.

With four solid days of rain prior, slippery mud was expected. So my fully rigid GT Bravado was chosen as it does not have any suspension or gadgets whatsoever to wear out in the mud; plus it was already running Highrollers - the best tires for wet and changeable conditions. And because it was such a simple, basic bike, it would be an easier job to clean up afterwards too. Besides, I haven't ridden it for ages, so it makes a good change from the full suspension GT I-Drive I last rode in the Rockhop track at Beaconsfield.

So our ride started with James leading as usual, followed by me and Kat. The track was tight and technical with short but steep climbs, but it was the kind of track I liked. We stopped at a few drop- offs and sections with steep climb to help Kat out. James was doing the usual great job of mentoring her, while I stood back and gave her encouragement. If Kat was a student, she would be a star pupil for sheer determination in overcome difficult terrains. She won't give up until she has had a good crack at it, or until she literally run out of steam. I on the other hand was having a ball aboard my little GT. She was a real bone shaker but it was also quite a laugh riding it, getting back to basics: no suspension, no disc brakes - just charge and hang on real tight!! This little steel of a beast forced you not to get lazy with your line choices, or she'd slam dunk you face first into the bushes. We did two laps of the circuit together, with Kat getting much better on the second lap, nailing a steep drop off which she had trouble with a lap earlier. I liked the track a lot, so James and I went off and did another lap while Kat winded down to conserve energy for racing next day. In my lap with James, I only managed to keep James in sight for few minutes but soon he was gone. My lack of fitness was really telling.

WHEN THE RIDE ENDED, I recall saying something to Kat: "My friends talk the talk but don't walk the walk", a reference that a lot of them complained about not being invited to ride or race, but when the opportunity arise, all sorts of reasons and excuses come out of woodworks to avoid participation. So when Kat asked me if I was going to race on Sunday somehow I did the hypocrit thing and turned it down with some lame excuses. I was such a hypocrite!! As I was driving home, what I'd said was really bugging me. Although I knew my legs were done for, my head was saying "no more excuses - just go out and ride, who cares if it was race or not!" so when the forecast for Sunday was to be fine and sunny, I had to text Kat to let her know that I was going to race tomorrow. As it turned out, it wasn't too bad a decision after all....

SUNDAY, RACE DAY. Because I was too lazy to wash my bike after Saturday, and knowing that today would be wet still due to overnight shower, I took the little GT Bravado out again for today's race. It didn't worry me too much that I was the only guy with a fully rigid bike in the field, as I knew I can handle the track, but then again no body really said anything bad other than happy pleasantries, unlike the usual shit chatting you get at Anaconda series. People in club races were indeed nicer, as Kat correctly pointed out. James was a no show because he didn't agree with cost of the entry fee. I was surprised with that. Met Kat's sponsor Mick and Nick from Croydon Cycleworks, who are also the event sponsor. Top guys and I really liked their genuine enthusiasm. Race started at 10:30 but I deliberately didn't do much warm up before the race, as I was trying to save my already tired legs, but it was something that I would soon regret.

The race was divided into A, B, C & D grade, and knowing how unfit both Kat and I were, we both entered D grade. Didn't bother me since I just wanted to ride for the fun of it and use the race as a training session for Anaconda series at end of this month. Our race started after riders from other grades had departed. I was planning to follow Kat for a bit and see how things would pan out, but Kat had other ideas. Flag dropped and she was off!! She got a hole shot on me to sit second behind Jane Ollerenshaw, an Australian MTB legend and current cycling coach from Fat Tyre Flyers. Hmmmm. I had better get going. The other guys in D grade seem to be content watching the ladies battle it out in front of them. Hmmmmmmmm. Saw a gap and squeezed by Kat on the uphill fire road climb and sat behind Jane up the first big single track climb, exchanged a some pleasantry talking about a squeaky mouse (why? I don't know why!) then she decided to let me by. At that point, I realised that I might just be able to win this, if I stepped up my effort, as the other guys were still behind the female pack at the start of the single track climb. More hmmmmmmmm. Luckily it was all downhill after overtaking Jane, as my legs were finished then from the not being warmed up. Right there and then I felt like puking my breakfast out and had a knot in my stomach - I knew I was going too hard. Anyway, I took a big of risk charging the downhill sections and managed to build up a nice gap from the rest of the chasing group while I tried to catch my breath again. The race was turning out to my favour as long as I can kept this pace up and not blow up or do anything dumb.

The track was a lot greasier than Saturday, making all the off camber & technical section a much more trickier prospect, so extra caution were taken when traversing over logs and rocks, as they would be lethal for I had no luxury of a suspension fork to cushion over them. Nonetheless, the little GT never missed a beat. She was light & fantastic. Danced up the climbs, and bounced (in a jack-hammering kinda way) along nicely down the hills. The short 41" wheel base was neat & tidy for those tight turns and with those super grippy Highrollers tyres below me, I knew unless I got lazy, I'd stay upright no matter how slippery things were. Still, mistakes were made, trees were glanced a few times from to lack of concentration, but nothing major enough to end my race.

At end of lap one, I saw Nick from Croydon Cycleworks who was on side of track, egging me on. It was nice to have someone cheering for you when you are alone all by yourself. Then I caught up with my new friend Alex on the Diamondback Axis - an even older bike than my GT, but tried as I might, I couldn't catch him. I was really redlining my body there and then so I really had to back off a bit, even though I didn't want to. So a small change in strategy. Second lap was to be a steady lap maintaining momentum, rather than hard charging as in lap one. Much to my surprise, the time difference between kamikaze style of lap one vs. using your brain on lap two was only one minute slower. Food for thought. Briefly saw Kat again but I was too knackered to acknowledge her presence. A few drifts here and there was all I could remember for otherwise a steady but uneventful lap. No, hang on. I think I hit a tree somewhere again because I forgot to turn. Ouch. I think Nick saw that one. As I crossed the start / finish line at end of second lap to slowly grind my way uphill for lap three, the race announcer yelled at me to come back - I had completed my race. I wasn't sure if I had won or not as there were already a couple of other riders there waiting in sweat, so maybe I came second or third. Nonetheless, I was glad that I took part on this race event. It was fun and I loved it. I was happier later when Mick from Croydon Cycleworks told me I had won the race. Woah.

Thanks to my friend Kat for inviting me out for the ride, without her, none of this would have happened and I'd just be doing boring laps at Lysterfield. Also to Mick & Nick and Scout camp owner for organising this event. A big hug to my little GT Bravado, I can't believe she'd become the bike to take me to my first ever victory - sans suspension and all! You deserved a full wash down today, well done.

As someone said, once you get a taste of victory, you will want more. Looks like I'll be doing more racing in the future. The little medal makes me happy and the prize of a brand new Maxxis UST tire was a real bonus. A happy day.

F1RST - A film by Clay Porter

IT IS NOT OFTEN that a simple movie about mountain biking racing manages to captures so much insight into the the intensely competitive world of downhill mountain bike racing, somehow Clay Porter have not only managed to record some incredible racing footage of the 2007 World Cup racing season, but also capture the comments from star riders in their own words, the respect for their rivals, how they deal with the pressure of racing and what drives them on to be the world's fastest riders. But most importantly, what they have learnt through their journey of being a professional athletes and why they take so much risk busting their butts so hard year after year for so little money.

OF COURSE, getting the racers to talk about themselves is not a new concept, the Collective series of mountain biking movie touched on the subject with their free riding stars in the The Collective, Roam and most recently, The Seasons. Clay Porter on the other hand went one step further capturing the intricate details and recording the human factors that cannot be seen in race results or glossy magazines. The first few movies, "Synopsis" and "Hypnosis" were a bit rough on the edge (in a good way) but the recent "Between the Tapes" and this latest episode "F1RST" are some truly remarkable filming work by Clay Porter, who have managed to produce these movies nearly single handedly without help.

WHEREAS the Earthed series of mountain bike DVD will excite you with its crazy paced footage and English twist of humour, The Collective series satisfying your artistic sense with it's immaculate cinematography of riders in their element in amazing backdrops, Clay Porter's mountain biking movies are far more satisfying to watch because they not only captured the life at the pointy end of international competition racing against no one except the clock, but also the human side of the sport which is both incredibly intense yet at times elegantly fragile.

Simply brilliant and a must watch for mountain bike fans. The ending chapter in itself is worth the cost of the DVD alone.

http://www.f1rstmovie.com/

Round 2 - CTS Series 2008

WE WERE WARNED. Some took notice whilst for the majority it probably wouldn't have made a difference anyway. The smiling blond weather forecaster in the TV the night before have correctly predicted that the morning will be dense with fog and bitterly cold before the sun find its way to burn through the dense fog. Almost on queue, came 7:30 am Sunday morning, those didn't heed the warning were paying for the price of under estimating what mother nature can do in a cold frosty morning in a open field. No, the Round 2 of Chase The Sun Series isn't about weather, it wasn't about having the most technically dazzling bike, or the usual struggle for survival in an endurance event without destroying oneself. It was the defining moment that proved that extra bit of hard work before the event does pay off and those hard kilometers in the cold each morning commuting to work is the catalyst for surviving and succeeding future endurance race events.

PREPARATION. Round 2 was exceptional. More riders, longer tracks and longer time in saddle. Instead of a 5 hour event averaging 10km a loop, 6 hours covering a 17km loop is the menu for the day. As a bonus for me, the race course was on a track where I have practiced and logged many miles on. More single tracks, less fire road to test rider's skill, will and endurance. It was round to forget for Damien. Harbouring a stomach bug from the night before, he bravely saddled up with the masses at the start, only to be halted by rare mechanical failure after one lap. Determined to do better this time after the pain & suffering endured in Round 1, Kathryn had become a battle hardened soloist after finishing in a strong second place (women solo) in a separate 6 hour enduro event a week prior, was focused as ever and ready for another determined assault on another solo event.

THE STING. The usual pre-event shit chat with other cyclist preceded the mass start. Not unexpected, few comments were raised on my choice of Maxxlite 310 dry racers on Xizang. Determined to avoid the masses at the start, a softly-steady start was adopted again for this event, easing into the tail of the pack from the comfort of our marquee to start dead last then picking off others when ready. Event was going according to plan, slowly build up my momentum as my body warms up from the bitter morning freeze.

Half way through the first lap and looking like a wasp in my black and yellow attire, an sudden and unexpected pain was felt on back of my neck. An instinctive grab to the stinging region revealed the source of the pain - somehow a wasp has decided that I was worthy of its investigation, probably the result of my bumble bee race attire. Dissatisfied with with what he had found, it decided to leave his mark behind by putting its sting right on the back my neck. A second later, the wasp was made to pay the ultimate price as a size 11 Fox Dirt Paw glove compressed the winged insect beyond repair.

THE RUSH. The pain in the neck was both literally and figurative, as I increased the pace in an attempt to see the paramedic to ease the effect of the sting, now that the area has become both numb and painful sore. Luckily, I was not allergic to the sting and a quick stop and inspection revealed all's good. Now properly warmed up and a little ticked off, the second lap was all about making up time lost on lap one struggle. Mindful of the mistakes from last enduro event, food and water was consumed systematically as the race moved into the long fireroad along the lake. With the thinning of riders on the complex single track section and being relatively fresh and pissed off, lap 2 of the event would end up to be my fastest lap ever at Lysterfield Lake clocking a time of a sub 38 minute lap.

ATTRITION. Towards the returning climb at end of lap three, an unusual sight of Kath standing and talking to another cyclist on side of track caught me by surprise and the uneasy feeling that something was wrong came to my head. A quick dialogue with Kath resulted an rather despondent "Yeah, I'm OK" response from her. I have heard this tone of voice before when she's down and I knew right away something was wrong. I thought of pulling over to see what was wrong but the facial expression from her said it all, she doesn't want to hold my race up nor any sympathy from me. Later I was to find out that she have fallen heavily on a botched log crossing and busted her hand. An unhappy ending for another determined racer. Later the X-ray found nothing broken except for cuts and bruises. Kath will be back.

CONSISTENCY. The next 3 laps was text book endurance racing for a soloist. Keep rolling, drinking and feeding where ever possible and focus on not doing anything stupid as fatigue sets in. A couple of momentary laps of concentration nearly resulted in big shunt in the single track. One was braking too late and ended up nose wheeling into a tree and another was being lazy with body english and clipping the tip of handle bar against a tree trunk whilst travelling at a fair pace. Besides those small but significant mistakes, everything was going according to clockwork, both bike wise and body wise. No last minute dramas from leaking Stan's this time as the bike was immaculately checked and prepared for battle after last event. Only hiccup was the need to pull over and pee each lap from over-hydrating, plus a sore left knee which was a manageable pain were holding me back. Lap 6 was my last lap before the clock ticked past 6 hour mark. Paul pulled up shortly afterwards with 7 laps completed. Then it dawned on me that for the first time in a solo race, I wasn't lapped by Paul. A pathetic little personal triumph I realise, but nonetheless a much needed milestone of achievement and the spark necessary to sustain my enthusiasm for future enduro racing events.

All photos by Stephen Rowe & Richard Jupe for braving the freeze to take such quality photos.

Mud bash at Woodend

Despite the much needed rain in the past 2 days, I was a bit peeved because it meant no bike riding unless I was ready to put up with the shit, cold, wet arse and big cleaning up afterwards.

So, when Damien buzzed last night saying it was all go for another ride at Woodend today, I was rather sceptical. Lately, there's been a lot talk about rides but people tend to pike when rain / cold / lack of sunlight / baby / work / shitty girlfriend / etc., gets in the way. Nonetheless, I made sure I was packed and ready to roll tomorrow if the ride eventuates.

Anticipating a mud bash, I had to think about which bike to take and what tires will keep me upright. (Yes I'm blessed with choices). I-Drive would be perfect in Woodend as it's proven at our last epic ride in there, but I was sure the mud, shit and corruption will kill the fun, if not destroying the bike. So, it was my trusty old Zaskar's turn again, booted with HighRollers because they're loved by UK riders riding crappy English mud, so they can't do too badly here in Oz.

Woke up nice and early at 7am to see pouring rain outside window. I was sure the ride was canned. Wrong. A quick SMS to Paul and Damien and both were as keen as mustard to go. Brilliant. Wolfed down my breakfast, loaded the bike up in the rain and shot off to meet up Damien and Paul.

Arriving at Woodend, the rain's eased considerably although the ground was soggy as expected. Interesting tire choices between the three of us. Paul still on his dry racers (CrossMarks), totally confident with his ability to deal with slippery conditions, and Damien, out on full wet spikes (Tioga Black Turtles). My choice of HighRollers would be somewhere in between Paul and Damien. It would be interesting to see who ends up face first in a pile of mud. Paul noticed I was running V-brakes and was sure I was going to kill myself. He's onto something there.

We headed into the Pine Plantation attempting to retrace the BMC 100 course. This time, equipped with maps, we were confident in not getting lost like last time around. It only too us 45 min before we were lost again. No big deal, we were full kitted to deal with the worst and I've brought along plenty of Enduro / water / food after last weekend's stuff up at Chase The Sun Event, so march on we went.

The first casualty of the day was Paul, who, as usual, was inches behind me doing cowbell jeers. Down an embankment awash with mud, I braked, leaned back and held on for dear life and skidded down into a valley. Survived. Next to drop in was Paul, full of usual confident self. However mother nature was out to get him today and his choice of dry racers didn't pay. Out of control and out of shape, tumbled into a log he went. The crash was rather spectacular but Paul and his baby bike came out all OK, other than a slightly dented ego. Damien and I had a good laugh but the funny business soon stopped for Damien as it was his turn next. Well, what can I say about Damien? Super efficient as usual, no mess, no fuss. Cleaned the drop in as if it was dry. Damien & myself 1, Paul 0.

After that rather unexpected incident, we continued our way in search of the single tracks, to no avail, so we stuck with fire roads for most of the way and this is where Paul kicked our butt. He can ride and ride strongly. No hill is too steep for him and the only thing holding him back is the fact he was getting crap flung into his eyes as he forgot to wear eye protection.

Eventually we gave in and retraced our way back to our car. Paul wisely decided to take things a bit easier the second time around the scene of his last crash. Damien went first this time, again nailed it as if it was dry. I was next, sketch as hell, much to the amusement of Paul. Damien had his camera ready to record all the glory of Paul's descending antics. This time, he wisely chose an alternative line with lots of leaf litter, and with better traction than skidded out mud, Paul got down no dramas this time. Good thinking - no point being a sheep and follow blindly.

Our back tracking brought us back to our car, and a much need stop for a food break. We had another hour to burn so the decision was made to tackle the know single tracks. I've done these tracks before and loved them, so I was in my element in there. Love tree dodging and not even mud could hold me back from having a blast. Even managed to drop Paul & Damien through a fast twisty section, although I have to admit, it was because I had the right tires, not so much because I was a better rider. Damien was falling back in an unusual way and it soon became clear that his rear brake faded. Typical Avid Juicys - V-brakes never fail.

Eventually, the mud bath had to come to an end. We were all caked in but happy. Damien's bitten by the Commodore Bug and tried to roll his car doing handbrake turns, while Paul was being the usual funny sarcastic self when we were having Maccas, and his antics while in the car wash was legendary, but politically incorrect . I won't go into details here but Paul's one liners are can make a stone statue laugh.

Lesson for the day:

1. Always ride with better riders, it will teach you more and it will be more fun.
2. Can always count on Paul and Damien for a good ride, rain hail or shine.
3. I have a long way to go fitness and endurance wise to be able to hang out with either.
4. V-brake sucks in the wet, HighRollers are utterly brilliant all rounder tires.
5. Hanging out with Paul is like having fireworks in your hands - good fun but potentially volatile if you let him get carried away. Damien is the safety switch that Paul needs.
6. Damien wants to be a race car driver.

All photos copyright by Damien Waddington. He's too busy taking photos that's why we don't have any shot of him here. Thanks for driving again and nearly rolling your own car with bikes on roof still!

Round 1 - CTS Series 2008

Well,

Can't believe it's already been a year since the last Chase The Sun event. As usual, I entered this event at 11th hour with Friday night beers as my pre-event training, so any thoughts of self respectable results are pretty much out of window before the ink had dried on the event entry form.

This year, I couldn't find anyone to join me to enter as a team. My former team mate Wifee have hung up her cycling boots to take up extreme sport of ballroom dancing, and other riding mates all went "nah mate, next year" when I shoved the race entry form down their Camelbak. So after a few heckling emails from Paul and Damien, I was left with no choice but entering solo, as if I didn't enter, I'll never hear the end of it from Paul.

Let's be clear, my past solo attempts left me bruised and crippled for weeks after the event. I blame my genes for not built to last in enduro events, but the sad truth is I that I sit on my arse when it comes to training. So this time around, I've decided to over come my physical deficit with some preparation and technical superiority*.

The weekend before the event, I hooked up with my professional racer / race paparazzi friend Kat, to do a bit of pre-event reconnaissance ride. Now I've ridden around Lysterfield Lakes more time than I've had sex in my whole life, but still it was worthwhile to take this training ride seriously as Kat is a committed racer and I can learn a thing or ten from her. I rocked up a bit late and this did not impress Kat who waiting by her car raging to go. Once we were underway, Kat informed me that I was about to get schooled by her friend James, who's just clinched VSS men's XC championship. Great, more reason to feel bad about my lack of fitness.

Meeting James was exactly what I have pictured, a perfect example of pure lean race machine of a human being, immaculately prepared to tear through the XC pack. After exchanging some pleasantries, we're off to meet up forth rider Sharon, who's on the other side of the park.

Following James through the single track revealed a couple of things. One - he's a freaking powerhouse. That guy can ride. Easily putting 2 meters into me coming out of any corner, as long as there's a piece of straight or up hill section. Two. I can corner pretty quickly, maybe a tad quicker than James, but XC racing isn't like BMX or DH race, going faster around a bend won't give you a massive advantage. Kat on the other hand was being the professional self, sitting back and observing, saving energy and not getting too carried away like I was chasing after James.

Upon hooking up with Sharon, we followed James and his hand drawn map to do a lap of the race course. It dawned on me that the best XC racers have something in common. They all train, and they all know how to ride a bike efficiently, taking lines with minimal risks. Call them conservative if you like, but it's all done for a good reason - to finish first, you gotta finish first. Charging and crashing in a rock garden isn't going to get you to front of pack fast. Eventually, our training ride comes to an end. James and Sharon both have plenty of gas left in them while Kat and I decided to wrap things up before we got rode into the ground by these two athletes.

The Saturday before the race, Sandy decided to take her brand new Giant Anthem for a good flogging. So we did a lap of Lysterfield lakes together. I used this ride to check the course condition and to decide what tires I should bring on Sunday, while Sandy was loving her new hardcore XC race rig while I bounced along on my fully rigid GT Bravado. I love the feel of a good steel frame with sticky tires, but when it came to charging down a fire road, Sandy on her high tech Anthem left me breathless. Ran into Rob who just happened to be an event official so after a bit of chin wag, Sandy got conned into signing up to race solo on Sunday as well.

Now back to technical superiority*. This year, I've got an little ace on my sleeve. My GT Xizang will be used. If you've been mountain biking in the 90's, a GT Xizang won't need any introduction, otherwise, let's just say Xizang is a special bike. Knowing the track was bone dry, I took a bit of gamble by choosing to run Maxxis 310 dry racers - the aim is obviously to overcome my endurance deficit by running as lightweight as possible.

So to Sunday, the race day. Picked up Kat en-route to the starting gate. Kat knew her stuff, packed as lean as possible. Helped Damien and Paul set up the marquee while bumping into a few old friends and did the usual pre-event shit chat. My choice of tires raised a lot of eyebrows, copped plenty of flak from people "who knew better" but I was determined to proof them wrong, and to a degree, convince myself that I was man enough with skills ride on these super sketchy tires. Paul put on his war paint as usual, while Damien went about with his underwhelming but efficient preparation. Sandy sat back reading newspaper and was having a yawn, while Kat said she was nervous but sure as hell wasn't showing it. What was I doing? Queuing for the loo because I was pissing myself with anxiety!

So the race starts, Sandy, Kat and I decided to hang back and start at the back. The usual traffic jam happened at the single track entry so I peeled off from the pack to - guess what - to the loo again for another leak! (Something in my drink is a bit suss). So when I got back I was in dead last position but sure as hell beats carrying a bladder full of Gatorade around.

It didn't take me long to catch the back markers, but then again, so I should, they were on freeride rigs. First lap was encouraging, caught up and passed Kat who was pacing herself, then Sandy who was jammed up behind some fat dude, and generally had no problems other than occasionally scaring myself drifting sideways on loose gravel. Damien and Paul were no where in sight but I knew I had no hope of keeping to their pace so I just went on about my business.

Second lap, which turned out to be my quickest lap of the whole event, was a happy lap. Legs and body was feeling good, and I had a clear lap with no hold ups.

Lap 3 was a mixed bag. The leaders have by then caught up and I was being an unwilling mobile chicane, so I was riding with one eye forward and another back and generally not paying attention to what I was doing. Coming down the fire road gravel section, I pulled off a Sam Hill trick of big 2 wheel drift. Unlike Sam who drifts at will and won't shit his pants doing it, I nearly soiled mine. Let me tell you, despite the other behind me who witness the whole thing, and giving me a big thumbs up on how cool it looked, I would not never ever attempt that again without full face helmet and body armours. Sliding for like a meter sideways doing 40km/h was knife edge, and I was very lucky to have caught the slide and not crashing.

Lap 4, fatigue was starting to show. I knew it and I was starting to suffer. My former 12 hour enduro team mate Peter Kutchera flew by and blew the water bottle off my bike on his way lapping me to eventually finish 4th outright. Great work P.K. Everything was getting hard but there was a nice looking girl who kept riding ahead of me, so she became my rabbit for the race.

Lap 5, it hurt. Cramp were setting in. Must had my Endura mixture wrong because why else was I cramping? Caught up with the hot girl in front but she snubbed me off, wasn't keen to talk. Saw Kat again and we both pulled up for a long break. Kat didn't look happy, complained of tired legs but was determined to do another lap. She's a real racer - I would have packed it in. Paul pulled shortly after, and was bleeding and bruised, after pile-driving himself into ground at Mach 5 over a log jump, when the guy ahead decided to stop half way over the logs. Apparently this happened on lap 2, so for Paul to carry on for another 4 laps before quitting shows his will do well. A hard man Paul you are, hats and band aid off to you mate. I demolished a power bar and stole a magnesium tablet from Damien's ration in a battle to keep cramp in check. Sandy pulled up, topped up with some cordial and toddled away to beat me again at another solo event. Great race debut on her new Anthem.

Lap 6. Cramps were getting bad. Really struggled to go up A-line climb, thought of walking it but didn't want to be snapped by a photographer walking a Xizang uphills. That would be an ultimate photo of shame. Had another big scare sliding on gravel down the Comm's Game track, but was hurting too much to gave a shit. I said to myself this was going to be my last lap.

Lap 7. How on earth I managed to finish this lap is beyond me. At the end of lap 6, I saw no-one inside marquee. I figured that everyone has decided to keep going, so I thought I'd the same as I didn't want to be the first quitter. 2 Big mistakes. 1. I decided to do another lap. 2. Because I knew it was going to be my last, I threw away my pump, spare kits thinking that it'll be all ok. Half way through the lap, I cramped so badly that I had to stop. I couldn't walk, pedal or sit, so I froze. Somehow I got going again albeit very slowly, then I noticed I was sliding around a lot - the back tire was going down - arrghh crap.

So the last 5 km of the race was a battle to control cramp, keeping weight off the back tire and praying that the Stan's would hold. Every rock was deliberately avoided and use of rear brake was forbidden, to make sure the back tire would not be torn off the rim. The last downhill section of the Comm's Game track was....interesting.... to ride on front wheel only with the back doing whatever it wanted to do. But it held up in the end and I eventually crawled my way to 67th place or something to see a beaming Damien, relaxed Sandy, dazed Kat (from dodgy Gel sacks) and Paul doing his usual funny business under the marquee, despite hobbling on one leg and all.

From this event, I have learn the following:

1. Training is essential in surviving & enjoying an enduro event.
2. Good preparation can make or break you.
3. Get Endura mixture right.
4. Maxxis 310 is a scalple of a tire, in the right hands, it's razor sharp, otherwise it's going to kill you.
5. Paul, Damien & Sandy are better rider overall.
6. Kat is a pro in making.
7. Enduro is best tackled as a team, for me at least.
8. Mountain biking is fun, despite the pain.

Roll on round 2.

I can't feel my legs. :(

A special thanks to Stephen Rowe for all the superb photographs and he's the copyright holder of all the above images. I haven't paid for them yet. He was nice enough to let me use them in my blog. Must buy him a beer or lunch at the next race meet.