Competition Stage 4 Montezuma Falls.

Sun Arvo. 6km bitumen climb. Tramway trail. The infamous suspension bridge. Singletrack and fireroad. 38km

The big stage. It was hot for the start and the 6km road climb straight out of the gate was going to be hard for me. I just tried to stick with the lead group as long a possible but as the climb progressed the 'quick guys' rode off and the rest of us spread out a bit. Finally the trail pointed down and we hit the old tramway. it was nice and cool in the trees and damp in places. Slowly weaving our way down to the suspension bridge at Montezuma Falls.

Didn't really get a chance to look at the falls as i could see the front runners crossing as i arrived. But as only a few were allowed to cross at a time, they were gone by the time i got across.

The tramway then slowly climbed for what seemed like hours, huge puddles, switching lines and the occasional sleeper. Just about had enough of the slow climb when we started to descend again. This was more like it. I was riding just behind one of my close competitors and it was great to have someone to chase.

After some big ring descending we hit singletrack and i could feel myself getting a little vague. The guy i was riding with had some chain/shifting issues and after a quick "you ok mate" i was off again chewing at a gel.

The next section was 4x4 track that climbs up around Mt Razorback. I hit this and felt like i was going backwards. The trail at times seemed to be part of a river bed. Eventually the gel i'd had started to pick me up and I was on better roads. The 5km to go sign was a welcome sight.

300m to go and we turned off the road onto what looked to be a pile of sticks. Recent logging had left the last bit of trail a bit worse for wear.

At the end of this stage i was ready for some energy food.... roadtrip style

YETI ARC

The YETI ARC is a legend of a MTB frame, has been around for years, helped win many races....and it still one of my favourite bikes to ride.
They are a truly amazing frame....

Competition Stage 3 Sterling Valley.

Sun Morn. Rocky 4x4 track to a narrow horse track that climbs dense rainforest. At the top another rocky 4x4 track leads to an awesome single track decent. Rocks, roots and mud. 14km.

A fast start along rocky 4x4 saw Sid T off the side with a puncture. This was the story of the day for a few of the top riders. Quickly the 4x4 trail turned upwards and got narrow. Riding "tempo" I caught a few faster riders and managed to overtake.

In the course notes it warns of large unstable rocks when the track points down. I took this as a green light and cranked the old dh skills up leaving my chasers behind. Mackin the downs the track turned back onto the narrow horse trail and some of the sweetest tech sections. Passing Ben Mather(flat) then AJ(flat) i was havin a ball.

Plenty of rocks and roots. A couple of times i lost momentum and had to take the safer option and run. Mud also featured in this stage and one section while it looked solid, it quickly swallowed my front wheel. Stopping the bike dead and throwing me over the bars. After digging myself out of the bog it was back to pinning the d's. At the bottom we came out onto fireroad and headed for the finish. Turns out this stage I came 3rd in Open. Awesome!!

Competition Stage 2 Que River.

Sat Arvo. Smoother Fire road. Single track. Powerline track 4x4 access trails. 20km. Easier to get a flow happening.

The B group started about 2 mins after the A and I was looking to catch the back markers to drag myself back up. The start line was an unknown bunch and when the whistle blew they were off like a rocket. Funnily it was more like a sport XC start with one or 2 guys going flat out for 500m then slowing down. I took the lead in the early singletrack and smashed away chasing hard.

On one of the fast fire roads my chain dropped off and jammed up in the cranks. Quickly fixing the issue i'd only just been caught. Putting the power down i heard a crunch from the rear. My derailleur was being bent around the cassette. At this stage bellie rode past and i was in the middle of cracking the shits. Luckily the derailleur was good, only a small piece of the carbon cage was broken.

Back riding it was angry time. I caught bellie up and we rode together. Time trialing around the tailings dam of the Hellyer mining lease I was cranking it as i could see the back end of the A group up ahead.

Arriving at the Que river was a surprise for me. The trail dissapeared in the trees on the bank and i realised we had to get wet feet. Jumping off the bank with my bike i got a last minute warning from the camera man on the other side "its deep!! over knee height!" thanks mate. I nearly went under.

From there we were on a section that followed powerlines and i was back on form. Catching and passing the A group stragglers.... The strong ride had me back in the A group for day 2.

Competition Stage 1 Cradle.

Sat morning. Alpine terrain stage from Cradle Mountain. 16km. Mainly 4x4 trails. Pretty rough and hard to get a good flow going.
Rather than send everyone off as once we were split into groups according to our potential pace. I was in the A group, bellie too, Guess someone has heard of us...
Everything was good on the cruise to the start and when the starters whistle blew i was riding well. Crossing a small bridge I found myself no longer attached to my bike. i don't know what happened, those behind me couldn't tell me what went on. Landing heavily on my shoulder and knee it wasn't the start i was looking for...

Back on the bike and chasing the body seemed ok but a bit knocked about. Sadly I'd lost some air from the front tyre and while chasing the pack it let go. Tube time. Lost plenty of time and places and rolled into the finish disappointed.




Finished in 39th place. probably about 5-6 mins off the pace. Got a few gouges out of my knee and some bruising but luckily none of it effected the knee joint. So pedaling was still fine. Turns out my knee didn't hit the ground at all. All the damage was caused by it hitting the bladed spokes of my front wheel.

How did i figure this out??? (warning, unpleasantness ahead)

on fixing my front tyre at lunch i found a piece of my knee skin stuck to a spoke... boo..

Bellie had a bad first stage too and our average times relegated us to the B group. The arvo stage would be chase time.

Back from the West Coast...

well, it seems that Telstra has most of Tassie locked up. Which makes my Optus internet and Vodafone mobile useless.

Finally, a week later, I have connections again.

Wildside was a blast. unbelievable weather. Sunshine and sunburn was the order of the race. Brilliant.

I started with a fall and flat in stage 1 but dragged myself back to get 12th overall and 7th in open.

My impressions and stage breakdown shall be posted soon.

Off to Tassie!!

well, packed at least...




All ready for Wildside and beyond.


Sneaky upgrades ahoy... New wheels should make the race go faster... Super awesome Jetblack Pro Carbon



lack of interest meant they were heavily reduced, I couldn't pass up the deal. Converted them to tubeless and gave them a thrashing all week. Awesome....

now all i need to do is pedal.







Happy Birthday Rhino.