The Dark side.

July. This is that time of year when I spend most of my time riding in darkness. The morning commute begins before the dawn & the return is in amongst the headlights & street lights of inner city Melbourne. Always dark and always cold, I layered up, still sweat underneath, but I never feel my fingers or toes until the end of my hot showers. My gear spends more time in front of the heater than I do - drying.

The cool autumn days lead into that constant cold & wet dampness of July & August that really ages a MTB. Brake pads wear & groupsets are reduced to lifetimes measured in days. At Thursday night dirt crits the numbers drop & coming in last still means finishing in the top ten.

There’s been a new section of singletrack opened up on the course, but I’m not a big fan. Mostly because it was cut by just placing some arrows through long grass & assorted debris, then letting the run of MTB tyres wear a groove into the under growth. It’s been 3 weeks now since this new bit was opened up & I’m still getting lost it in all when I don’t have a wheel to follow – and this on a 3kms course! Jumping on the ‘bus’ (after dirt crits, a grouppetto of MTBs usually heads to the city down Lorimar St Pt Melb), you can see grass in just about everyone’s cassette & derailers, even the s/s don’t miss out on taking something home.

I don’t want to go on about my form of late, as there doesn’t seem to be much to speak of , but I have been able to manage an over-the-‘bars effort 2 out of the 3 races out there. I’m blaming this on the odd set up on my Stumpjumper, where the Rock Shox SID team forks I recently bought for it seem to ride quite low (unable to change the ride height). This steepens my geometry & it kinda feels like it wants to tuck in on corners & fastish going. Standing out of the saddle & powering places me way over the front of the front axel. Fox RLC 100 forks on the Anthem seem to ride much higher & actually the ride on that bike comes across as much nicer. I’ll scout out 2nd hand forks & see if I can buy/sell 2nd hand & manage a change over for less than $100 to reduce that nervous feeling the front end has on that Stumpjumper.

Old man back.

Must be that age. That milestone. When bouncing back from a hit doesn’t have that spring it once had. 2 months now I’ve been dealing with a sore back, mostly early morning, mostly happens when I’m laying down. Funny thing is as soon as I get some movement into it, the better it gets.
Sticking to a regime of floor exercises & free weights first up in the mornings & just before I hit the sack goes a long way nowadays, but it’s still there, in the background, just when I need that extra 10% on a climb or snapping out of the saddle for that lunge. It’s getting the point where some riding isn’t as fun as it once was.
I got a few bikes & this problem is at it’s worst on my roadie-commuter. Loaded with over 5kgs of work wear & necessities, stuck with the one ratio while running my drop ‘bars pretty low on the steerer all comes together at the end of the commute with the old man back. I’ve tried running the ‘bars higher, dropping the seat, offloading the backpack, but it doesn’t seem to make a big a dent into the problem as I have been hoping.
There is something else.
Getting the Langster as a commuter was more me ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ of the latest craze – Single-speed &/or fixed geared bikes than anything else. It was fun, the one ratio isn’t the handicap you would think it is & it’s so metro-cool bike-chic, just one step away from a track bike. But fixed was one step too far. So there I was, last week standing in the garage looking at my bikes, thinking about my back & the Langster, & all the other bikes. Maybe I just had the wrong kind of single-speed.
Before the Langster I was commuting on my old slick-shod ’89 Apollo Everest MTB, converted to 48/18 with a chain tensioner. It worked, but only just. Each time the chain got thrown – so did I. So banished to the back on my parents garage it was. But maybe the new breed of production single-speed-frame specific MTBs is what I need? Most aren’t that expencive, & I’ve never ultimately lost money on commuters, because – hey, at least it’s not going to petrol or train tickets. So I tested the waters & posted the Langy for sale on some on-line forumsat a cost similar to how it entered my life. And Lo, it was snapped up in a few days.
Looks like it’s time to go shopping…..

Chase the Sun enduro, round 2. 1st June.

Oops , missed reporting on this one.
Cold foggy start. 6 hours this time. Great grippy track, different 14.5km course to last time. No stacks or mechanicals, but the usual fitness issues from zero training outside of ‘getting to work on time’ .
We (Paulie & I ) finished 24th out of a lot more in ‘Just Good Friends’ in the male pairs category.

Picture courtesy of David Bailey photography.
http://www.dcb-photo.com/MTB%20sample%20page.htm

Over and over.

Dirt crits is never boring. Rock up each week, do the same laps but roll home with something different each time. This week the highlight was my graceful over the ‘bars effort halfway through the first lap in B grade.
Had a good start, mid pack & filed into the singletrack heading west alongside the Westgate Bridge, wheel on wheel amongst the other B graders. I was sitting in a taller gear than usual at this pace & was grinding out of the saddle just off the wheel in front of me. We roll into a little decent where the track weaves between some pallets, then off a little timber ramp up to switchback between some trees.
Been through here a million times without a thought in the world, but tonight in a little brain fade moment I rolled just to the right off the little timber ramp & my front wheel finds a hole & something solid to stop up against. Being out of the saddle at this point, leaning way forward ready for the little climb just after the ramp, the sudden stop was a big surprise. In one graceful, almost poetic arc pivoting on the front axle I continued with my bike as it pitched forward, still clipped in, still with both hands on the ‘bars, I pass that point where you might’ve had that chance to fight the forces of nature & instinct with the attempt to right things, I tuck my head in as I roll right over on my back. Coming to a rest pointing back towards the oncoming riders.
I had rolled to one side of the track so most of the B graders behind me were filing through by the time I jumped immediately to my feet. No damage, the Specialized Stumpjumper was still OK ,but being so early in the race the whole field had to pass before I could continue. I actually spent a bit of extra time checking myself out before remounting because I didn’t want to discover any nasties after the adrenalin passed.
Paulie was actually right on my wheel at the time so I really screwed up his place, having to stop & ask if I was OK as the field went through.
I rolled off way after the last rider’s lights disappeared into the trees.
The rest of my race was a solo affair, but I kinda felt good to put in some time doing this MTB caper on my own, being able to rail the corners & pick some tasty lines. I caught & passed some riders but it was hard to tell if they were B graders or one of the other grades. I passed Paulie later on that first lap with a broken chain – sucks.
All in all it was a OK sorta evening out MTBing. There’s always next week…

http://www.fullgaspromotions.com.au/new/dirtcrits.html

Chase the Sun enduro series, Round 1. 11th May 2008

Lysterfield turned on a great day & fabulous track, no dust & no mud, the 10kms course took in some singletrack through the bushland there as well as sections of the Comm Games track. There was a fair amount of open two-track & gravel road used to join the various singletrack. There was a good turn out & what seemed to be a fair amount of new guys to MTB racing.
For this enduro series Paul & I signed up in Men pairs, in the ‘just good friends’ category. It was a 5hour event & the plan was to get in 10 laps. Paul rode out from the gun & we alternated every lap. It was a pretty uneventful race for the both of us, we punched out our laps in the general casual intensity they we bring to these events, but in the end only brought home 9 laps, I just got 4 in which I was real dark on. But I knew that zero preparation & no training (I shouldn’t regard commuting as training) is what affected my result from what I wanted to achieve & what I actually achieved. Sure this can lead to all sort of soul searching &personal reflection, but it’s usually best to let things settle before making any radical plans for change.
The next one is in 3 weeks – June 1st – so I have this window to make a concerted effort & try to make some valuable improvement.

Dumb Ideas

Everyone has them, some more often than others. I’ve had mine & here’s a couple:

Dirt crits 1st May 2008:
First bad idea: rocking up to dirt crits after a spell of rain & cold weather expecting that the track would soak it all up & it’ll be business as usual. Waiting on new parts to replace the worn sprockets & chain on the Specialized Stumpjumper which is what I would have normally taken to a wet event but took the Giant Anthem in it’s place to crits. In the past the Anthem seemed to be the hot ticket to an easy time of punching out fast, consistent laps with a strong finish, so I was blasé & confident. Problem was, the course was a deluge & fitted with Hutchinson Pirana tyres & an eternity since my last muddy ride I rolled out hopelessly unprepared for what lay ahead. First lap I was dead last but managed some nice passes. But then the mud started to play havoc with my forward momentum, I was having real basic problems of just being able to ride in a straight line, let alone the corners. Not sure if it was the tyres or the fact that I was so tence, but the bike would just step out from under me when I least expected it. I was having problems in sections of the track I would normally fly or coast over. Slowing down was worse, the tyres just filled in & would just spin & slide. After coming to a sliding halt against a tree for the 20th time I just got the shits & pulled out after the 2nd lap.
Watching all the other riders go through start/finish I immediately realised that it was a bad idea to pull out as, but there you go. Getting digs for DNFing without a mech just put the icing on the cake. I hung about for the finish – didn’t think it was good just to rack off half way through like that – which is when I found out I didn’t pack my rain jacket, just a light wind vest which was another bad idea.
Ride home was a chilly affair, & having to hose the bike & myself down after a muddy ride in the dark with the garden hose wasn’t the best fun I’ve ever had. Still had to wash the bike properly as rolling it into the shed after the hose down you could still hear the gridin the disks & drivetrain.

Bike carries bike:
I’ve been toying with rigging up a rack on the Hornet to carry the MTB & gear to events, but it’s not all that easy. The initial idea is to run a single skid on one side, fixing the MTB by removing the front wheel & using the Quick Release & strapping the rear wheel down. Also looking at a side pannier on the opposite side to carry gear/food etc & hopefully balance up the weight. I was looking at having the load effect the handling as little as possible. I’ll trial some rough racks & go from there. I’ll post pix as it happens .

New commute:
New hoops for the Langster commute: Continental Ultra Gators. Opted for 25mm instead of the standard 23mm, I thought the slight width difference might make the commuter ride, umm ,I dunno better. These Conti Gators are springing up on everyones commuters nowadays so I figured I’ll go with the masses & give them a try. Been through a million bike tyres in my time, but never got 2 sets that same, seems the ‘next new thing’ is always popping up.
Used the opportunity of working on the Langster to wash it, really don’t like working on dirty bikes. Looks 100% now but wouldn’t you know it, it’s developed a clicking noise in the Bottom Bracket. Might just need the BB cups tightened which is hard to tell, but there is no discernable play or binding in the BB, so I wont think about replacing/servicing the BB until it becomes obvious there is work to be done. I’ll just run my headphones a little louder on the commute…

Stumpjumer money pit.
After dropping a bomb on brakes/shifters on the Stumpjumper, the drive chain & sprockets become shagged & needed an update. Shopped around locally but nothing could come close to what was offered on-line, so 4 days later & Chain Reaction (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/?PartnerID=1002&gclid=CPz1nOmdopMCFSahiQodaWcIow )
supplied a Shim XT 9spd chain, XT cassette & 2x LX chainwheels (the granny gear wasn’t replaced).

BMC100, Crits & new brakes.

The Stumpy goes hydraulic! 24th April 2008.
Bit the bullet & lashed out on XT dual control hydraulic brake/gear combo set up to replace the cable V-brakes & shifters on the Specialized Stumpjumper. A nice price from Cambira Bike Centre (http://www.cambriabike.com/ ) & good exchange rate sweetened the deal. Already had a set of disk wheels left over from the Anthem (which now has Shimano XT disk wheels). Rushed the fitting the night before Dirt Crits so the gear changing wasn’t ideal & I swapping the brake hoses over between the levers( I like the moto set up - rear brake left, front brake right - but from the US they weren’t that way) might have got a small amount of air in the lines giving a slightly spongy feel which needed bleeding – which I didn’t do.
Still, the commute into work in the morning was OK so it was looking good for the evening's crit.
The race itself was a so so – dead last from the off, I missed shift left me way way behind with work ahead of me. But, buoyed by last weeks 7th place I got to it & strung together some tidy lines. While I was doing this I noticed gear shifting wasn’t the best with delayed upshifts & some ghost shifting in the rough stuff. Regardless I soldiered on & actually made a few passes. I tried to keep my gear changes to a minimum & found a handful of gears that worked well, although there were a few occuations that crunching the gears lost me some pace & spooked me into holding a too low or high gear in places instead of changing which effected my pace. All this resulted in a 10th in a B grade field of 13.
Closer inspection after the ride home from Westgate revealed some very worn cassette cogs & sideways kinks in the drivechain. Well that looks a whole drivetrain how ever you look at it: Chainwheels, cassette & chain.

BMC100 – Wombat State forrest April 20th 2008.
http://www.maxadventure.com.au/bmcclassic/TheCourse.htm
Tried, legs feel like they’re 100yrs old, but feeling happy about how it all went.
I originally headed off wearing bib-nicks, jersey, arm warmers, MTB gloves, helmet, sunnies & vest. Had my hydration pack with straight water (as a drink mix in the hydration pack stinks up the bladder for future use) with bars/goos/lollies & 1x biddon with a Staminade drink mix. Had 2x tubes, tyre levers, [instant] patch kit & multi-tool in a saddle bag on the bike.
Clear but very cold morning dawned as a field of about 900 starters set off from 7am in clusters a few minutes apart. Using transponders strapped to your ankle it really didn’t matter when you actually started, as the clock began as soon as you rolled over the startline. Rolling out in a group with Paulie, we settled into just cruisy ride to enjoy the trails & make it home in good time. With about 40 guys rolling out in our bunch the first part of singletrack wasn’t really that crowded. As we sorted ourselves out it was catching slower riders from the previous group that began a kongo line through the singeltrack. We weren’t in a hurry & only made passes when the opportunity came up, calling out "passing on your left/right" but we still kept a good pace.
The water/rest-stations, about 5 throughout the day, was stocked with water, energy drinks , watermelon, bananas & lollies. I stopped at each one & went to town on the fruit which left me not touching the bars/goos/lollies I took with me from the start.
Just before the 2nd water stoop, Paul copped a flat, but he told me to roll on. I stopped at the next water stop & waited for 15mins but he hadn’t come in, so I continued on.
Within the next lot of singletrack there were some ramps & bridges which were kinda spooky, on one bridge I remember was only a foot wide over a pretty deep gully (no railing at all), I rolled into it at a funny angle with a bit of speed & nearly didn’t clear it, rolling off to the side right at it's end.


There was a fair bit of open gravel road connecting the various bits of singletrack, at the time I thought that it was alittle too much open going , but in hindsight the breaks rolling along these roads were appreciated between the singletrack sections.
By about the 2nd hour into it, I removed my arm warmers & vest & crammed it all into my jersey pockets (no room in the pack). Even though I had my bike computer I didn’t have my ‘distance traveled’ showing because there were times early in the event, at some pinch climbs & technical sections that me knowing I still had more than 50kms to go might work against me. I just left my average speed displayed & tried to keep that at 16kms/hr where I could.
At the 68km rest point just after a switchback pinch climb of the 'Wombat MTB trail loop' (used the granny gear extensively but didn’t walk it) there was a section of singletrack in the ‘pines’ which I knew about from the previous week's State XC round I did so I was saving myself for the choppy sections there & tried to make the most of it, but it all caught up with me as I exited the pines & followed the route on some open gravel roads back where I kinda hit the wall & had to pull over for some jelly-snakes, Gu & whatever was left of the Staminade in my biddon.

Just after that the route looped back to the previous rest stop & knew I only had 8kms to go so I didn't hang around,just filled the biddon & shot off. There was still some singletrack & at this stage I was feeling pretty weak & just stayed in the saddle & spun a high cadence in a low gear to get me through this bit as efficently as I could. I was getting dozey too, missing great lines in the singletrack & losing momentum, just plain riding sloppy really. But luckily up ahead & just behind me were other riders all in exactly the same situation as me, so we all just silently got on with the last few kms.
The finish was back onto the main access road to the Convention centre where the start/finish was, but then we were directed to ride around a lake they had there which looped right around to the back – so close but yet so far. Across the finish line and a little girl gives me a beer in a stubbie holder. Time to find a piece of grass & polish this beer off.
Offical time: 7hrs 16mins. (Riding time was 6hrs 15mins, but this does not include the time spent at the rest stops during the event). 245th place overall (600 finishers approx, 92nd place in Vetrans (30yrs-39yrs).
No major stacks or mechanicals & I got a great opportunity to enjoy the trails instead of riding along with a head full of red mist & race fury.

Smashing it.

Westgate weekly Dirt Crits.
Persistence pays off. Out of the blue I find myself mid pack in B grade on the first lap. It’s cool & dark, we’re all jamming away wheel on wheel, nowhere to pass. Up ahead the field slows & we all bunch up, then it spreads out as we open out onto some open two-track, for some reason I’m making a pass on guys who would normal leave me for dead. The Giant Anthem beneath me is set to pro-pedal, plush on the big hits but still solid when I’m out of the saddle grinding that too tall a gear. Through on the first lap I look behind me and see a trail of spot-lights from the other riders, it looks crowded back there but I’ve got a break on them & the rider just ahead is making good progress & slowly slips out from my view. I keep my head down & jam away at the pedals, stay off the brakes in the corners. It’s loose in places but there are tuffs of grass & firm ground in places to help me rail some corners.
Riding out on my own like this can be a blessing because you ride your own pace, but that double-edge sword of getting dosy & loosing pace can bring the field back down on you. I was also stressing about how I usually fade on the tailend of these crit races so I tried to keep the heavy breathing going, spin & hold onto that momentum, sometimes taking wider lines & smashing through the rough stuff at speed – grounding the pedals in places. Had to keep on it, had to smash it.
7th in B grade, in a grade of 22 approx riders.
Worth bottling.

Sunday 13th April, State XC series, Wombat dam.
Entered this event on a whim, Sport A 4 laps of a 6kms course. This event actually took in some trails in the pines near Wombat Dam which I’ve never ridden. Got the chance for a slight lap & was mightily impressed with the singletrack they were using. The race itself was less enthralling. I rolled out with a group of riders who were in a different league, and about half way around I was well & truly dropped, circulated on my own.
Suffered a stomach bug the week before – dropping 3kgs in 4 days - & I had not ridden a bike for all of that week, so what felt good on the sight lap quickly degenerated into a suffer-fest. Only completed 3 laps before the fun ran out and thought that was enough. Next time, better prepared & Sport B.

Great Ocean & Otway Classic ride.

Organised road ride, 145kms, Torquay> Moriac > Deans Marsh > Lorne > Angelsea > Torquay.
Early kick off from Torquay @ 7:30am, Paulie, BC & I rolled out for our first go at this ride. Main draw card for us was that it took in the Great Ocean Rd & part of the Otways, on roads we normally would not ride because of the traffic, but in an organized event like this, the weight of numbers & signage gave us more precedence.
30degree with light winds, we weren’t sure what to expect, except for a 10km climb @ the 83km mark up from Deans Marsh through the Otways, so we took it easy, leaving something in the bank for that.
The first few hours rolling through the countryside to Moriac was almost picture postcard perfect riding. Even though they did stagger the start, the usual bunching occured, riders traveling 4 abreast & large packs meant that you found yourself braking for no apparent reason, so you needed you wits about you. Between Moraic & Deans Marsh is all sorted itself out & we rolled along from one little bunch to another.
The rest stop at Dean Marsh wasn’t too well catered for, almost running out of water while we were there. The climb out of Deans Marsh was pretty hard going, being gradual for the whole of the 10kms, but there were parts where it flatted out to spin-out the legs or go up a few cogs to take a breather. I did spend some time in the lowest 36/ 25 that my Campy Centur groupset, although I rode the whole climb in the saddle, just working on keeping the cadence up, which was easier on my aging legs. Stopped at the top to regroup & then we flung ourselves down the other side all the way to Lorne. BC & Paulie both broke away from me on the corners of the decent, but I put it down to their extra 20kgs they had over me.
We regrouped at the Lorne rest stop. The ride out to Angelsea along the Great Ocean Road was great, the car traffic wasn’t the problem that I thought it would be, but there were a few climbs I didn’t count on, like just going out of Angelsea & Fairhaven.
Again we separated at the climbs, but as we rolling across the finish we were only a couple of minutes apart.
I rate this ride better than the Bay Ride, & would highly recommend this one for anyone thinking of taking up 100kms bike rides.
Along the way I came across another rider on a Wilier who said: "5 wiliers!, only the fifth one I've seen!"
(Pic taken @ Lorne rest stop, BC left, me right, Paulie's Avanti Giro bottom).
http://www.supersprint.com.au/Default.aspx?Menu=442&Content=3065&Template=16

FGP dirt crits.

37degrees, dry & it was a handicap ‘pairs’ event (where the fastest rider is matched with the slowest, then the next fastest with the next slowest etc). I’m not the biggest fan of these because it turns out I end up doing less laps (riding) & the starts are usually later because of the extra organisation etc. Total laps is 5 , usually the fastest rider does the 3 leaving the 2 for the slower of the team, I did 2x laps.
Mass start, my fella was out first to punch out his 3x laps (a top 10 placing B grader). The track has been developing a lot of loose sandy corners & straights with all this dry summer racing . My Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail runs RockShox SID Team forks with 80mm travel, this set up seems to result in a lower overall front-end ride height compared to my Giant Anthem that runs Fox FL100 (100mm travel) forks. This in turn tightens up the steering (rake?) & some of the tighter corners with loose sandy berms the Stumpjumper tends to want to tuck-in. It’s great on hardpacked technical corners, it feels real sharp, but it sometimes catches me out on the loose stuff. Holding the ‘bars tight & showing it who’s boss seems to help the tuck-in thing.
As Dan came ‘round on his 3rd to hand over, we had to switch the race number between the bikes which was lots of fumbling. I just stuffed it under my jersey & elected to flash it as I rode past the start/finish. Out on the course it was great to ride straight-up without the argy bargy of your usual dirt crit start. These handicap races can be good at the end as you near the final lap the riders start to bunch up again, catching the slower riders & faster guns coming up on your wheel.
In the end, not sure how we placed but for me it was a good run.
Seems that there was a motorbike out on course, tearing up some of the trail during the tail end of the race, Snozza & some others took chase, Snoz copped a rock intentionally thrown by the m’cycle rider & this bloke also played ‘chicken’ with another MTBer who was in pursuit. Got away in the end though.
Ride home: jumped on the ‘bus’ for the tow into Docklands.

MTB ride, Wombat MTB loop.

Entered the BMC 100kms on 20th April, so I figured it’ll be a good idea to get some kms doing some of the trails to be used for the event. I printed up a copy of the route sheet – showing all 100kms of the BMC trails. Rolled up with Paulie & Stu near the Wombat MTB loop on the Monday Labour day holiday. I once did a Fat Tyre Flyers XC event there a year ago & this MTB loop off Fingerpost Rd is used for a number of MTB events throughout the year. Not my fav course but it has all you need to encounter to prep for any XC event. A hot day we started out @ 9:30am to in a lap or 2 of the 20kms course before heading home. It’s got a real nice flow to it, but I always seem to have problems with the log roll overs, illustrated by Paulie doing an over-the-‘bars on a pretty innocent looking example. Stu was firing as he usually does & we left him to punch out an extra 2x laps or so while Paul & I circulated at our, more tentative pace.
We ended up with 2x laps which was about 40kms of singletrack.
http://www.maxadventure.com.au/bmcclassic/default.htm

Chain breaker. FGP weekly dirt crits.

A good solid mid pack start in B grade, then a dodgy gear change on the first lap crunched a link in the chain. The furore that is crit racing in the early stages, I had no idea & labored through some pretty 2nd hand gear changes & dismissed the incessant chain jumping & crunching as dirt in the cassette that’ll eventually clear out. Start of the 2nd lap I couldn’t hold the large chainwheel & the amount of ghost shifting happening out on the cassette had me free spinning more than drive. After the penny dropped as well as the rest of the field, I coasted to a stop to suss it out.

Yep, one of the plates on a chain link has totally given out , holding on by the remnants of the distorted link. I coasted back to the start/finish & waiting for the race to finish before I fished around for a chain breaker off someone to drop the stuffed link & run a SRAM tool-less link.
Jumped onto the ‘Bus’ for the ride home, there were about 15 of us headed towards the city from Westgate. At the Waterfront @ Docklands an area was fenced off for a launch event for the new Mini Clubman, but as we rolled along the water’s edge along the ‘boards’ we pretty much rode straight through it all in a pack, which was kinda funny & irresponsible ,but hey, it’s a public space…..

Saturday 8th March, wife & I rode out to Healesville on the Hornet for breaky with the family. Noticed a tappety noise on a stone cold engine & also a little bit under load below 3500rpm, might need to do the clearances. After doing the clearances on the Ducati Desmo system, everything else seems almost pedestrian. Might Goggle it & see how straight forward it is. Only difference between me & a shop mechanic doing it is that the mechanic has the tools & the ‘feel’ which comes from experience. Well, it’s never too late to pick up something new, we’ll see how I go

Mad cow disease.

Hit with a stomach lurgy after Bushy Park crit which I put down to the cow patties, I rode the porcelain bus for 4 days. Missed Westgate crits, cut short farewelling a MTB mate who’s off Stateside & dented my hopes to catch the World Superbikes @ Phillip Island that Sunday. Without Foxtel I got a mate to record the WSBK round which I haven’t watched yet.
Sunday, feeling better after a massive sleep-in I noticed a classic car show @ Flemington Racecourse which I caught that afternoon & it was a pearler. 1964 Merc 230SL, very nice & almost in budget too, maybe when there’s room for more toys.

Commuted in on the Langy, legs felt almost refreshed after the layoff.

Bushy Park Dirt Crits.

On Wednesday (27/02/08) I had the day off work, so I figured I could fit in a ride over the other side of the city at the Bushy Park Dirt Crits @ Croydon.
http://www.knobbysports.org/
I expected a similar set up to the FGP Westgate dirt crits , but I understood that this week was a ‘championship final’ round where there may be a problem for a newbie like me, so I dropped an email to the organizer & it came back with an all clear.
I fronted with the Specialized Stumpjumper in place of the Anthem as I wanted to spend more training kms on the hardtail & leave the Anthem dually for the big races. Besides I wasn’t expecting a too heavy going as the races seem to go for 30mins & the hardtail is great for those short fast events like this.

Held in an open field with cow patties to boot, it wasn’t a very technical track. Most of the course was fast hardpacked dirt surface that criss-crossed the field between what trees there are there & various obstacles. I signed up, well paid my $6 & strapped the number they gave me to the front of the bike, then set off for a sighting lap with maybe the only other person I knew there Tim R. The layout of the course started at the top of the hill & wound it’s way to the bottom of the paddock then climbed straight up to the top of the paddock along a fence line. Most of all the climbing was done on this last bit. There was a little drop off near the start/finish off a dam wall which was fun, but I only cleared it once racing on the first lap.
That evening there were 2x races, first one, which I was in was the kids & over 40’s, 30mins plus a lap. The following race was everyone else - 16 to 39yr olds.
It true Oz MTB fashion the off was a casual send off which conveyed nothing of the tension some riders in the field were feeling. I slotted into a nice spot 4th along & everyone was really behaving themselves, no elbowing or rough stuff. Through the course of the first couple of laps I settled into the groove & found the corners fun, grippy surface, lots of time to set yourself up & great visibility out of them, so I was all out of the saddle & elbows out, true 4cross form. Although I did find the climb a problem & got caught there a few times.
Mindful of the other racers, the regulars that, for them, this race was going towards some end of season points tally so I didn’t want to foul, or slow them up. There were really only 2x riders that came up to pass me & I swung off the track & coasted to let them by.
Was having a ball & smiling for the camera (a MTB race-face sneer actually).
6 laps later I passed through the start-finish to the sounds of a cow bell, suppose that’s one lap to go then.
It wasn’t a very big finish I was pretty pooped by the end. It was cool that they had pizza there, but after watching the 2nd race & having a bit of hawaian I couldn’t hang around too long because it was getting real cold & with only my sweat soaked Goombah jersey to keep me warm I racked the Stumpy onto the car & headed for home. Finished 7th in over 40s, even though I’m technically not really….

http://dcb-photo.com/images/Bushy%20Park%2027-2-08/DSC_9476.JPG

Hard Day At the Office MTB XC & crits

After the anticipation, comes the event itself. The Hard Day At The Office, 8 hour MTB XC event @ Eildon was looking to shape up to be a hot dusty one if last years swealter-fest was anything to go by. A short 7kms course in/around Eildon sounds too-easy but with virtually no flats, just climbs & descents it was a slog & a half. Entered in mens’ pairs both Paulie & I approached the kick off with much caution, him for coming out arse up at a MTB ride @ Toolangi 2 weeks before with a sore back & busted helmet, & me with my “just don’t feel like turning the pedals in anger today” headspace.
I had major performance anxiety issues with the climbs, bailing on the 2x biggies & walking up every lap. Sure, as with any self respecting racer I tried to make up time on the descents but boy did they chop out through the day & made slamming down them feel like you were on the edge of breaking the bike in two.
As the day rolled on, we both sat out a lap – think it was mine – were I chose to sit down & eat my pasta. Still that last laps I did @ 3:30 was a fun one & I came across all racer-boy like with my elbows out & constantly out of the saddle ready for anything, past a few people too.
Apart from that the other Goombah Vipers entries that day were in mens pairs, Bonar/Stu & Dave/Huw who rocked the lap sheet with top 6 placing in a field of 27. We managed a 20th, but lets not dwell on yesterday, when there's always tomorrow.

Dirt cirts the following Thursday evening (21/02/08) saw some long overdue improvement for this little black duck. Even though it was a 14th place, it was a race full of place changing & balls to the wall MTB crit racing just like the good ole days in C grade. I was astride the Specialized Stumpjumper hardtail as the Anthem was still in last-lap trim from the HDATO weekend. I flipped the stem on the Stumpjumper to bring the ride posie lower at the ‘bars to place more weight over the front, seems to work, placed me more in a ‘attack mode’. Also ran my tyres pressures @ 35psi. The introduction of some bunted track through loose dirt was not a crowd pleaser, but it did make things intresting - I made a real neat pass there on one lap. I faded again through the 2nd half of the race but my consitancy is building.

This coming weekend is the Otway Odyssey – 100km MTB point-to-point event starting @ Apollo Bay to Forrest in the Otways. I haven’t entered, but I was looking at riding up there on the Hornet for the town's main street start & catch up with a few blokes I know riding it. Saturday night is a cocktail benefit for Motor Neuron @ St Kilda & Sunday it’s the Sydney Rd festival where we’ve got a friend on a belly dance show we had looking at catching up on.

HDATO build up

A bit excited here, first of the biggies – Hard Day At the Office, MTB XC Event @ Eildon. The day before, stocking up on supplies, you’ld think it’ll be a bounty of natures’ goodness, but venturing into the goodie hamper you’ll find BBQ shapes, jelly babies & Coca Cola amongst the bananas, Saminaide & diced fruit. It’s a 2 man entry this time around, 8hours, hot 30 degrees+ & dusty bitch climbs. Fun.

Last Thursday’s dirt crit (14th Feb) was a good run, mixing it in amoungst the bottom third of the B grade field. Got spooked by a suddenly loss of power in the legs on the 2nd lap, but then seeing the next fellow up ahead spending some time in his own living hell I got up on the rivet & punched out another two laps that defied my recent form.
Kudos.

Motorcycle – Hornet 900. Oil change.

Oil change @ 4200kms. Very straightforward, just like a car. The spin-on oil filter to the front of the engine behind the exhaust extractors was done up too tight to remove without a tool, which I didn’t have. So I just replaced the oil with Shell synthetic fortified 10w/40. I’ll do the oil filter with the next oil change in next 6 months/5000kms. Air filter was clean. Which reminds me I haven’t removed the vacuum hose which closes an aperture at a higher rpm for [noise] emission standards, but robs a little power – must fix that.
Lubed the chain. I propped the rear wheel off the ground by placing a car stand under the right footpeg mount with the bike still on it’s sidestand (I don’t have a centrestand) & then holding the ‘bars I leant the bike over to it’s right (keeping the front brake on) & using a free foot slid the 2nd car stand under the left footpeg mount & then returned the bike back from leaning to the right to vertical– rear wheel now full suspended off the ground. (the Hornet weighs 220kms with fuel).
The chain was tightened a little bit, this can be awkward as the swingarm with the rear wheel unloaded has it’s chainline shorter than loaded (while riding). So with a little guesswork to leave the right amount of chain slack – about 5cm slack either way.

Great working on a near new bike, all the bolts 100%, no 'surprises' & al lthe other bit & pieces like coolant & other fluids & spot on.

FGP Westgate weekly Dirt Crits.

Oh dear. It might be best not to go into too many details. Last in B grade by a considerable margin. No power in the legs, no technique in the bends & no motivation to chase. Sometimes staying at home is the best option. 2nd lap I was considering pulling out due to abject uselessness, but C grade wasn’t bearing down on me ( they start 30secs after B grade) & I could see some tail enders in B slowing up on that last lap which held me out there for the duration.
Always next week.

Westgate FGP weekly dirt crits.

Felt like a better ride in the 4 laps of B grade than last week but the results don’t really reflect it. Sure it was good to circulate & feel like I was putting in some good work into those pedals, it didn’t feel like I was just out there getting dirty & tired for nothing.
With a pretty flat, short 3km loop & 50 odd riders out circulating, the dirt crit format doesn’t leave much time to worry about bike squeaks & tiredness you might be feel, it’s just head down & punch out those laps.

Getting a good momentum & staying off those brakes is the business, with the tight laps you get the opportunity to nail the corners & really jump onto that love-train of rhythm & groove.
Still fading badly but, the legs aren’t there in the end, or more correctly after the 2nd lap which isn’t that much - just 6kms & about 20 minutes of balls-out MTB jiving. Looks like extending my daily commutes from 10kms to 25kms isn’t the nice, neat little answer to MTB stardom I was fooling myself it would be.
Got to get the kays up, got to get some cross training - running maybe? Got to get some form & direction with meaningful goals and, well…. it starting to sound like a lot like hard work.
There’s always tomorrow….pizza sounds nice.

http://www.fullgaspromotions.com.au/new/dirtcrits.html

Product review - Thule Euroway bike carrier.

Tow bar mounted, it’s a pretty heavy thing & kinda awkward to fit. But I like the way the bikes sit on their wheels & it can tilt to access the boot (wagon tailgate as well) with the bikes still on there.
Some assembly required & it’s not the cheapest bike carrier going.
Yet to trial it , to & from an event so I’ll make a mention when I do.