Timaru 6hour

I finally got the result I have been looking for in a 6hour Solo race,  It couldn't have come at a better time leading into my 1st season as an Elite MTBer.

Friday was a mixed day for me, I was excited about the race on Saturday and about my bike turning up, trouble was, the bike didn’t turn up in time for me to get my hot little hands on it, which then made my mind go mental about 6hours on another loaner bike! (Not the Surly….anything but the Surly PLEASE!)

Kristie and I headed down to Timaru Friday night to stay with some mates… That night I set up the bike I was going to race the next day… I used to race a Giant XTC in a Large, so we whipped a 120mm stem on the Medium and went upstairs and had a couple of cold ones…

I headed down to the scenic and set up the pop ups that the Christchurch Singletrack Club would operate out of, chucked on my shoes and lid and pedaled the course….. 1^st time on wee wheels in about a year and this was a comical we ride…  Lucky no one was there to see the mishaps! I liked the track and thought it suited me well…. Some awesome singletrack trails, rock gardens, roots, long 4wd tracks and some good pinch climbs in there to keep you honest!

After briefing we line up on the start line and set off to start the event.  Brad and Anton take the lead for their teams and Tayler and I settle into a rhythm… After a few wrong turns on the grip shift and some interesting moments, I found myself with a gap on Tayler, I pushed the pedals hard for the first couple of hours then found a rhythm for the remainder of the race…

The legs felt awesome, so I kept smashing the climbs and spinning the flat sections.

Cramp did come, but I stayed in the big gears as I knew if I started spinning smaller gears I wouldn’t  push the big gears again… this proved to be how my legs liked it, the cramp passed and it was game on again….

As usual I didn’t eat enough and had 2 laps that went out to 27mins, but otherwise I was happy with my lap times, 14laps down in 5hours 45mins… I managed to ride through the field to be 2mins behind 2^nd place  Taylor Reed, I was 4^th overall (TBC) on the track including the 12hour teams when I finished.

As always the Cycleways vs. North Canterbury team had a good battle… with the Juniors of the North Canterbury Club taking the overall win for the day.

Also a mention of a stella ride by Mr Craig Tregurtha winning the 12hour Solo and Kristie Fogarty taking out the women’s 6hour Solo… seems all the Christchurch Singletrack Solos won!

A couple of weekends off racing now, looking forward to finally getting some saddle time on the Scott!

See you on the trails….

Spring Crusher

Hanmer Springs.... the alpine village has some awesome trails to shread and what better way to show it off with the Spring Crusher MTB race utilising almost all the single track available!

We arrived on Friday to a nice day, a few mates had texted and said the trails were wet and slippery. After an awesome meal we drift into our rooms to get a good nights sleep...zzzzzzzzzzz

The forecast was right! We woke to rain and a lot of water on the ground.
Only the dedicated turn up to the startline...

Off we went across the river to start this awesome event... after some conversation on the flat gravel road we headed up the 1st climb, by the top there where 9 of us, we drop down and cross the river to complete the start loop... the next climb had a sharp pinch at the end and it sorted out the men from the boys, or in this case the boys from the men! Anton, Craig, Ben and Brad (aka the whippets) pedaled away, Tom and Nick were just in front at the top, I managed to pop past Tom before the yankee decent and set my sights on Nick... too much time on the roadie! I slipped and slid the whole way down, I didnt feel comfortable for a lot of the ride, I found my groove and kept pushing.

The tracks were wet, the mud was slippery, I was surprised how well the trails held up to the beating we gave them.

After chasing Nick for just over half the race I managed to get on his wheel... this was short lived as we got into the lower dog stream single track and Mr Roadie came back...

The gap didnt seem to grow or shrink much between us, it was a good honest race and no doubt will be the 1st of many this season.

After some final attacking to try and close the gap on the last climb, I started the last and what I deamed as the worst decent in the race. A clay based puddle infested slip n slide, with this done a short squirt to the finish....

5th overall and 2nd to Nick in the Open Men (couldn't get the pinner) Great result for me and highlights how far I have come (beating last years dry time by almost 5mins) and what I need to work on.

I was riding a Medium Scott Scale Expert 29er that I had leant to me and found it an awesome machine to ride, light, stiff and fast! The slightly slacker head angle makes for a very stable decending bike, with a longer top tube and shorter stem, the steering is still positive and maneuverable in the tight techy stuff... Not long now until I will be on board my Large Scott Scale Pro for some much needed trail time to get the skills up.

Well done to all the competiters who toughed it out in the wet and cold conditions, I'm sure your mechanics will love to service your bike after that mud fest.... Give the guys at John Bull a call to get your ride ready for the up and coming summer season!

Till Next Time....