2015 Dubbo 300 Evocities

creeping on fumes

This race turned out to be a family holiday so this is really a holiday report. Thanks Dubbo for being such a great place to bring a family! Its not often Jen will bring the kids and come to a race with me but, the attraction of the Dubbo Zoo and a couple of nights in Dubbo the trip was locked in. Being a 7hr drive from Port Macquarie the trip was broken up with an overnight in Newcastle before making the final 4hrs out to Dubbo. Merriwa was a good place to stop for lunch but would have also been a great place to stop for fuel. The trip from Merriwa to Dunnido was far greater than I had anticipated with the increase in fuel consumption as a result of 3 bikes being carried on the roof. An obliging farmer sold us 4 litres of fuel which just got us the Dunedoo petrol station with a spare litre in the tank! Arriving Friday afternoon into Dubbo, I visited the Anglican School and had a chat to the students about training and nutrition while throwing out G8 handballs. 

Dubbo Anglican

Saturday was a fun day at the Zoo riding bikes with Jen and the kids before running and pram pushing around some of the extensive cycles path. It would be great to have such infrastructure to support riding with kids. I wouldn't feel safe riding to our local Billbong Zoo from Port Macquarie with the kids.

I hadn't got in a practice lap as the rain over the lead up week was significant and I was scared of getting my new bike dirty. From the race start I was a little cautious cornering as most of the corners felt wet and unpredictable. Mud out on track was really only a problem for around 10m, the rest of the track was in perfect racing condition. Dubbo like the other Evocities events have really impressed me with their trails. While the Dubbo course didn't take in all the trails, the 16km loop meant that the track was quite open and even though the course was mostly single track, overtaking was not a problem. The track also had a wide variety of trail types and natural features included to make it a challenging and interesting course to ride. While there were little drops and challenging sections, there were clearly marked A lines providing all riders a chance to stay on their bike and complete the track. I was glad to listen to the local advice and chose to rode on the Pivot 429SL. It was a no brainer, the dual suspension make the race so enjoyable that at times I had to keep remember to keep the race pace on! 

With the race being just over 30kms from town and at 0 degrees I took the option to ride out to the race start. By the time the race started my Garmin had warmed up to 2.2 degrees. I opted to start in arm warmers which only lasted a couple of laps as the weather really came out nice. In fact, I was taking down a bottle lap to try and keep on top of my hydration.  During the first couple of laps Shaun Lewis and Andrew Lloyd started to make a little gap on me. It wasn't until the end of the second that I managed to catch on the back. The third lap felt a fair bit slower. I felt that Shaun was slowing the pace down to save himself for a fast last lap or two. I know I cant compete against him over a shorter distance so I made an effort to increase the pace. As I increased the pace Andrew dropped off and I just kept the pressure on. Part way through the second last lap a little gap formed and I had the chance to ride more sensible. Shaun took it easy for the last lap which meant I too could have a last an enjoyable finish to the race.  

A big thanks to Cattleman's for being so accommodating for families, the location right on the cycle way was perfect for family adventures to the zoo and local parks. 

Thanks to the Dubbo Mountain Bike Club for putting on such a great weekend that my family could be a part of.

Once again, thanks to #teammacdesigns for bring out my Dad's new bike from Sydney and for passing bottle

Thanks to Shotz for having amazing electrolytes that I have become so dependent on!

A special thanks to Pure Edge for supporting me in attending the Evocities Mountain Bike Series. 

Thanks to G8 for being a major sponsor of me and the Evocities Mountain Bike Series

And Dad, thanks for letting me ride your new Pivot Mach429SL, it went pretty good :)

2015 JetBlack 12 Hour

Outer Image Collection

With JetBlack being a major sponsor this is one of the races each year I feel I should attend. Being less than 2 hours from Newcastle and temperatures being less than 2 degrees overnight I decided on driving to the race and back avoiding the coolish and a times, cyclonic camping conditions. 

I relied on a few favours to come together in order to have a bike before race start. With Jason from Macarthur Design and Drafting and Tony from Jet Black Products I had a very nice Pivot Mach 429SL to ride. I was super organised with cameras for this race and started with a camera on my helmet and Fly 6 on the back to record the first couple of laps. I put together a youtube video and as you can see, the fly 6 needed a charge before the race! The video shows the power, speed, gradient, cadence and heart rate overlaid on the screen.

I didn't do a preride of the course, with race information suggesting the track was similar to last year and with 12 hours to get to know the track, I couldn't see a big advantage. The track turned out to be quite a bit shorter than last year cutting out some open riding through paddocks. This meant most of the race now was on single track which was far more interesting! I actually left the race thinking that James Estate actually has a decent and fun mountain bike track. My memories from last year are scarring images long grass sections including open grass climbs each lap.

The race started as I had expected with a few of the gun teams charging off the front. I sat back a few wheels as I tried not to go too hard at the start of the race. It has been interesting to look back at the video footage and see how controlled I was with keeping my heart rate from going much over 80-85% of my MHR. For me, this was possibly one of the more enjoyable 12 hour races I have done. I seemed to build a big lead over the solo field early on so I could spend time just riding with other racers, enjoying the track and the Pivot Mach 429SL. I guess I spent around 5-6 laps riding with u23 solo riders and another couple riding with Tony, the owner of JetBlack Products. Company and conversation makes the time pass at a much more rapid pace and it didn't seem to take long until I was strapping on my NiteRider Lights. 

As the sun dropped I was expecting a cool change to kick in. The temperature was actually really mild and at times felt my arm warmers were making me too hot. This sensation only lasted to around 9.30pm just before the race finished as a storm started to kick in. On my last lap while I was pretty keen to get home and stay dry, I tried leading a rider around the track who had run out of light. After several good crashes I decided to just give him my helmet light so he could get home.

Shortly after crossing the line a massive storm blew in. I don't know how Rocky Trail managed to put on presentation between down pours however, I was impressed it still went ahead and I could get home to a nice and warm bed around 1am.  

Looking back I was quite impressed with the 429SL. After starting on a hardtail last year, I thought I would take the more enjoyable option of riding the duallie the whole time.

A big thanks to Tony from JetBlack for brining out my 429, Jason and Ian from #teammacdesign for passing me bottles and Rocky Trail Entertainment for putting on a great event. Thanks guys for putting together such a fun little track at James Estate.

2015 Albury 6hr Evocities

My decision to race at Albury was only cemented when my wife decided to do a first aid course in Newcastle on the same weekend. This meant I could look after kids on the sat while she was at the course before jumping on a train for 3hrs, flying to Albury finding accommodation and dong the plane / train / drive combo on the way home.

Photo cred: Mark Geary

I had been wanting to do this race for quite a few years. It had in the past clashed with closer and easier races to get to however, now also being part of the Evocities MTB Series I had a pretty good incentive to attend. I had only heard good things about the tracks including how rocky and technical parts of the course were however, my hardtail was my only bike available.

The race started with a massive (relatively) climb for the first lap and I felt comfortable at the pace being set even though my thought were on trying to get an action camera working at the same time. Almost at the top I could tell I had dropped my high intensity training as my legs were burning event though they felt strong. Just a lack of lactic acid tolerance. I went out thinking it is only a 6 hour race and that I normally have heaps left after this time but with the sustained high intensity on the first few climbs and a lack of easy pedalling my legs started to pay for it mid race.

The track was great fun, on a dual suspension bike I would have felt far more comfortable letting the brakes go and just letting it work through the rocky descents. At times I felt I was being cruel to my hardtail as I tried to ride a good pace. After a few laps, I started to learn where I could carry some serious speed. On the hardtail I had to really think about picking smooth lines. I kept looking enviously at others on duallies. I'm not sure if I am just getting old or if I want to enjoy my racing more as I think I will be taking the dually out next time I have a race over 4 hours and especially at Albury!

Photo cred: Mark Geary

The way home was a little longer than I had anticipated. The trip started with a 6.30pm flight that arrived into Sydney around 8pm. The next train to Newcastle left at 8.45pm and arrived in Newcastle just before 1am which meant my head hit the pillow just after then. The trip was finished off with a drive just under 3 hours straight to work Monday morning!

A big thanks to Dan for organising my lifts around Albury.
Jamie for the company on the way home and organising accommodation.
Pure Edge for their assistance through the Evocities Series.
G8 for supporting both me and the Evocities Series

2015 Jacks Ridge XXX

In the past I have competed in this race in ridiculously muddy conditions. So bad in fact that my derailer became jammed and ripped off. Looking at the forecast in the lead up week I was contemplating finding a single speed! I was looking at driving up in the morning before the race however, with a 9am start leaving at 4.30am I had an easy 4hrs to ride the 110km to the race. I haven't completed a warmup so thorough and I was quite interested to see how I would go in the race. With a few elite riders on the line and with the kms in my legs I knew the race would hurt.

I let Andrew Lloyd set the pace from the start and my legs felt pretty good. By the 3rd or 4th lap out of 8 I could tell the pace had dropped off however, I had planned on winding up the intensity for the last 3 laps. On the 4th lap I was starting to get some cramping twinges which I was quite surprised to have. The gastrolyte wasn't doing a thing to help. After a desperate plea my support managed to find some Shotz tabs and my cramps actually went away. It was time to race! I guess I take my nutrition for granted. I have a system that works and I rarely change from it. Basically on any race under 8hrs I have Shotz tabs in every bottle I consume and aim for 2 gels per hour. Never again will I race without the tabs! Unfortunately on the same lap I got my nutrition sorted, Andrew and I came across an injured ride. He had destroyed his helmet against a tree but, seemed to have held consciousness through the ordeal. I could related to this situation as I have in the past hit a tree and broken vertebrae. I stayed with him while Andrew continued to notify the next marshal. When first aid arrived on the scene I completed the rest of the lap and expected to see Andrew at the start finish ready to race the last 2 laps. I didn't know, but he had directed the ambulance to injured rider and was expecting to see me there. Either way, I did a fairly fun and fast shortened last lap and we called it a tie!

The Jacks Ridge track is great, the guys that get to ride in this location often are very lucky. I have already made a commitment to the Softcogs function in August otherwise I would have been keen to come back and ride this track for the 12 hours. Generally the track is quite fast and flowy. I think the average speed Andrew and maintained was close to 23km/hr on a mostly single track course. Even with a little moisture the track held up great. The new section of track that was put into this course will be great with a couple more berms under dry conditions. The trails had the challenging A lines taken out leaving a course that was still great fun and suited riders of all ability.

I need to thank the club for inviting me back again, I had a great time and hopefully will make the journey again. Sue Wood also needs a big thank you for passing bottle and having pity on me by providing a lift home. I need to thank my major sponsors JetBlack, Pivot and G8 but Shotz nutrition for coming to the rescue and making sure I have enough electrolyte for the Albury Evocities round next weekend!