Trek Ambassador Race Report: Ben Marshall at the Tathra Enduro

I arrived in Saturday afternoon at the sleepy town of Tathra, keen for my first 100km race in 3yrs, and eager to put in a solid performance.  The town had obviously come alive with the race, as over 300 mountain bikers made the trek to the coastal town.  After a visit to the beach and registering at the event centre we headed back to Bega where we were staying the night, before heading down to the local pub for a feed.  One hour later, loaded with pasta and sticky date pudding, we rolled up to our room and crawled into bed.

One disadvantage with the 100km format is the earlier start time of 7.30, which means an even earlier wake up time of 5.45! Ridiculous, but this minor speed hump was overcome, and I arrived at the event centre with about 45min to spare for a quick coffee, which I promptly spilt all over my car boot, before dropping some drink bottles off and rolling around for a warm up.  Rolling up to the event briefing we were greeted with the news that it would be a Le Mans start, a 80m sprint to the other end of the field.  This turned out to be pretty good for me as I entered the single track in about 5^th place.  This only lasted for about 1km before a fire road pinch where the rider behind me charged in front before the next single track.  The next 9km were all single track, which proved costly as the two guys in front of me were unable to hold the wheel of the front four leaders.  I managed to pass both of them before the final single track descent into transition and opened up a gap between them.  Coming back into transition for the first time, I grabbed a drink bottle of Andy (official bottle holder), and began the chase to the lead guys.  After a long tar/fire road section I hit a short single track section before crossing the road, where an official told me that I was about 30sec behind the leaders.  Once across the road, the single track turned to fire roads, and the gradient soon became steep as we hit some of the tougher climbing in the race.  Just before the first feed station at the 35km mark I caught one of the guys who had been dropped from the lead group.  I worked with him until the 50km feed station back at transition where Andy had a very stale honey sandwich for me and two more drink bottles.  I rolled out of transition with my new riding pal before we hit a mown track around some undulating hills along some of the local properties.  At this point the lead guys were about 5mins ahead of us, and we could see them climbing up around the other side of the hill that we were descending.  On the next climb, I dropped my partner and opened up the gap in the single track, as I climbed up out of the transition area again.  At this point I was feeling good and my nutrition plan seemed to be working just fine, as I tried to conserve energy in all of the single track that was in the second lap.  I kept flowing through the single track before I arrived at the feed station at the 80km mark where I halted to grab my drink bottle.  However this was another little mistake that I made, as I ended up grabbing some other poor suckers drink bottle (I am sorry to this guy if you are reading this).  I promptly gulped down a mouthful and quickly realised that this was definitely not my bottle, but rather some strange concoction that someone thought tasted good.  Each to their own though.  However this was all I had for the final 20km, so I had to suck it up and drink it, as anything is better than nothing at this point in the race.  Just past the feed station the signs soon started popping up letting me know how far I had to go, and it wasn’t till the 10km to go point that I started to long for the finish line, and instead of consuming another gel I just kept pushing on.  My muscles disagreed with this decision and with 5km to go I finally cracked in the constant single track, making the last 5km seem like 20.

Despite this I crossed the line in 4^th position (4hr 33), about 10min behind the lead group of three which stayed together until the final sprint.  My bike was awesome during the race and was perfect for the awesome single track that Tathra had on offer.  I was pretty happy with the result, with my nutrition plan working well until the last 10km, and with the beach being just 50m across the road, it was a good end to the race.

Trek Ambassador Race Report: Ben Marshall at Capital Punishment

Ben Marshall is a Trek Ambassador from Canberra store Ride Shop. He recently competed at the 50km Capital Punishment in Canberra. Here is his race report:

The 2013 edition of Capital Punishment saw a new look course for the 50km, with the large majority of it being on Stromlo’s singletrack, with the 100km course remaining pretty much the same.  This year unfortunately it wasn’t part of the XCM series, as the series has been put on ice this year, but hopefully next year it will return.  As a result of this the field was slightly less competitive than last year in the 50km, with last year, in my opinion, being the most competitive field ever in all of the Capital Punishment races.  However there were still some fast people lining up on the start line including last year’s winner, Brad Morton, Ondrej Slezak, Allan Sieper and Daniel McDonald.  

I arrived at the start line with no more than three minutes to spare after some confusion as to where the start line actually was, but adequately warmed up after my ride to the start line.  I got a slow start, as I got stuck behind some very patient riders who were in no rush to race off the line, but managed to make up the ground to the lead group by the first climb.  I jumped on the front and led the group up the first climb.  As we crested the climb I tried a little attack to see if anyone was keen to join me but there was no one to follow, so I quickly ended that attempt.  Following this there were a number of other attacks but all were shut down by the time we had left the arboretum and a group of about 8 of us had formed by the time we hit the Stromlo single track.  By the time we had climbed half way up Stromlo our group had dwindled down to four of us (Glen Columbine, Brad Morton Daniel McDonald and myself).  As we neared the top, Brad and Daniel attacked me and Glen and neither of us had a reply and all we could do was watch them ride off.  We descended down Skyline and Luge and I was able to put about 50m into Glen by the bottom of the descent.  We passed through the first feed station and began the ride back up and over Stromlo along the “Willo” link before continuing on over to the many fire trails out the back of Stromlo.  I had a minor moment and came down in the single track and had to get back on Glen’s wheel as he passed me again.  As we hit the fire trails over the back of Stromlo I could see Glen no more than 50m in front of me and just up the road from him the 2 leaders.  I bridged the gap to Glen on one of the many climbs out the back and was still able to see the two leaders.  However I could see Glen was starting to fade and was unable to get any help from him to bridge the gap to the other two in front.

We hit the 40km section and the final section, with effectively 10kms of single track left.  I had just squirted an energy gu down as well as finished my first bottle and was feeling good, and decided to put some pressure on Glen in the fast single track.  With 5km to go I had opened up a gap and was still trying to catch the 2 leaders. 

However this was not to be and I crossed the line in 3^rd place in a time of 1hr 53min, 2 mins behind Brad Morton and 1min behind Daniel McDonald.  I was happy to go under 2hrs and stoked to get on the podium, with there still being plenty of room for improvement.  Definitely looking forward to my next Mtb race on 14^th April, the Wombat 100 in Victoria, but for now some road racing and lots more training.

Trek Ambassador Race Report: Ben Marshall at the James Williamson Enduro Challenge

Ben Marshall is a Trek Ambassador from Canberra store Ride Shop. He recently competed at the 75km James Williamson Enduro Challenge at Wingello, NSW. Here is his race report:

The 2013 edition of the James Williamson Enduro was the third race of my season for 2013, after I did the National Championships (19^th U/23) and the Rocky Trail 100 (5^th 66km Open Male) in February.  This was the third year of the event in memory of the former mountain biker James Williamson, and saw a strong field with the likes of Andy Blair, Shawn Lewis, Dylan Cooper, Sid Taberly and Trenton Lowe, just to name a few.

We arrived at the event centre at 8 o’clock, and hopped out of the car where the temperature was almost 20, about 15 degrees warmer than last year (thank god).  I got myself ready before doing a warm up, and then headed down to the start line.  I lined up in the third row of the grid behind the elite field, just behind Shawn Lewis.  I got a good start and was in the lead bunch until the start of the single track, about 2km up the road, where the field split up into small groups.  I was about the 20^th rider to hit the single track and found myself in a group of four by the end of the first section, with Mike Blewitt, Justin Morris and one other rider.  We stayed in this group for the whole way around the first lap of the 25km loop, about 200m behind a group of three just up the road from us, which included Ed McDonald.  Coming into the transition area for the first time our group split up as some riders had better transitions than others.  I had the worst one as Ajay, my loyal support crew, had his first ever stuff up, as he struggled with the bottle of honey, finally managing to get it on the sandwhich and all down the front of his pants and shirt.  After this entertainment I set off for my second of three laps, about 200m behind two of the riders from the group I was previously in.

I worked hard on the climbs to try and bridge the gap back to the other two riders but they remained out of reach as I struggled to find a rhythm in the single track.  Towards the end of the second lap I was caught by one of the lead 50km riders and I worked hard on holding his wheel throughout the single track while I set the pace on the climbs and a lot of the fire roads.  I was starting to feel the increased tempo as I came into transition for the second time, and was suffering a bit from lower back pains.  This time transition was back to regulation, as Ajay had the honey bottle under control and it was a smooth transition.  I grabbed a bottle of water and jammed another sandwhich into me and a gel and I started to feel a bit better again as the back pain just became a numbness.I headed back out on track with another 75km elite rider who had just come through transition.  I worked with him until the first section of single track where I managed to drop him.  I had finally found my rhythm in the single track and was able to conserve a bit of energy as I was able to hold speed a lot better.  Knowing it was the last lap  I started to lift the tempo a bit and caught Justin Morris in the final section of singletrack.  I managed to pass him on one of the climbs before dropping him with about 5km to go.

I crossed the line in a time of 3hr 16min, putting me second in U/23, in a time that would have me in 16^th place in the elite field.  The winner was Sid Taberly in a sprint finish with Shawn Lewis, in flying time of 2hr 56min.  I was pretty happy with the time as I headed into the race having a hard week of training, and was super fresh for the race.  On a similar course to last year I improved my time by 17mins, so I was pretty stoked with that.  So now for a proper taper ahead of Capital Punishment this weekend and hopefully I can pull out a good result.     

Bontrager Pro Cycling Team: New Year, New Name, Same Resolve

The Bontrager Pro Cycling Team recently launched for the 2013 season and with it introduced their new line up of young riders. This team is aimed at developing talented young riders into professionals ready for the World Tour stage, and has a proven record of doing just that.

The team had a dramatic launch recently, taking part in the second 'Hullabaloo in Waterloo' at Trek's head office, matching up against Bontrager staff in head to head roller racing sprints, with Jasper Stuyven emerging victorious. Check the gallery on VeloNews.com to see how it unfolded.

You can also get an insite into the preparations that go into a season of racing with this VeloNews.com gallery of the teams HQ in Boulder, Colorado.

To learn more about the team and it's riders, check their website, bontragercyclingteam.com or you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

The team will be riding the Trek Madone or Domane, and using a full complement of Bontrager accessories, including saddles, bars, wheels, tyres and shoes.

"Spartacus Vs The Wolf" - WIN a custom Project One Domane or Madone

 

Choose your weapon: The all new Trek Domane or Madone.

Spartacus, Fabian Cancellara, chooses Domane.
The Wolf, Jens Voigt, chooses Madone.

If Spartacus went head to head with the Wolf who would win?

Make your choice and register below for a chance to WIN a custom Trek Project One Domane or Madone.

Will it be the Domane of Fabian Cancellara with the Project One 'Spartacus' paint scheme?

Or will it be the Madone of Jens Voigt with the Project One 'Shut Up Legs' paint scheme featuring 'The Wolf'?

 THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED.

The Spartacus Domane prize bike, RRP $7,030:

 The Wolf (Shut Up Legs) Madone prize bike, RRP $7,030:

Entries close February 15th, 2013.

Download Spartacus Vs The Wolf-T&Cs

Trek Ambassador Race Report: Kym Jaenke at Hawaii Ironman

Kym Jaenke is a Trek Ambassador from Ipswich store Yellow Jersey Bike Shop. She recently competed at the legendary Hawaii Ironman. Here is her dramatic race report:

Kona 2012 – What An Experience.

Race week was unbelievable, the atmosphere and vibe of Kona was exciting but I remained focused on what I was there to achieve on race day.  I rode and ran various parts of the course in the week leading up to the race and swam in the ocean nearly every day.

I woke on Saturday morning more nervous than I had ever been.  I felt nauseous, anxious and concerned about the unknown of the day ahead.

After entering transition to pump my tyres, get my nutrition set up and do a last time walk through of the transition I was feeling a little more relaxed.  A few family photos with Peter, my parents & family who had travelled to watch the race, and then I was set to race.

I had seen the mass start photos, seen it on TV and I knew I wanted to be in the water and settled somewhere near the front for the race start.  I entered the water at about 6.45, did a few swim throughs and then made my way to the front line.  Treading water there among hundreds at that time was a bit surreal, an amazing feeling to be part of it.  Looking underwater you could see photographers & cameramen amongst the fish trying to get those great shots you see following the event.  The hundreds treading water became a couple of thousand closer to the race start. 

The canon failed to fire so it was a mass start before the big bang, but once we were off, there was white water, arms, legs, torsos everywhere.  It did not take me long to settle down, find my own place and water and swim hard trying to stay on men’s legs and wash for the first 400 metres or so.  It was an amazing swim, the reef fish below, the patches of nothing, swimming towards the turnaround yacht.  What a marvellous turning buoy, no one could say it was not clear where to turn from a long way out.  Swimming back to transition I was focussing on keeping the shortest possible line, closest to the buoys, taking advantage of swimmers in front of me to sit on their feet when I could.  Finally, I was in line with the pier and it was a great feeling to swim along beside it and to know one leg nearly done, time for the cycle.

The first few kilometres on the bike were “busy”.  I was somewhere in the first five females out of the swim so was surrounded by alot of male cyclists in the early stages.  I used that time to eat my protein bar, drink alot of fluids and set me up nutrition-wise for the day ahead.  I was pleased to feel a tailwind out on the highway but knew it would not last all day.  After Waikola the headwinds and the crosswinds started.  I really had to fight the crosswinds at same stages.  I stayed relaxed, I was even surprised to see I was passing riders on the uphills, I remained seated and just churned the pedals over thinking just let the bike glide through the winds, maintaining consistent effort and power.  The headwinds grew as I approached Hawi and I was glad to see the turnaround.  Coming home, I felt like was riding faster than I ever had, I felt strong, the extra bike work I had done was paying dividends.  Then I hit the dirt.

I was on a descent at around the 120km mark.  A gust of wind came across my bike and I tried to push into it.  I couldn’t.  I felt myself heading towards the side of the road to my right and could do nothing to stop the sideward motion.  I am not sure what happened once I hit the dirt until the thud of my helmet hitting the ground.  I think I must have been really relaxed and kept my arms in the aero position because after lying there momentarily I got up and despite being sore was somehow fine.  Yes, I could continue.

I used water from drink bottles to clean wounds on my shoulder and face.   My head hurt but I could think straight, I was not concussed and I was going to finish this race.    I must say I rode conservatively for the remaining 60kms.  That may be why I ran a faster marathon than ever before.  I couldn’t stand up in the saddle as the pain in my arm and shoulder was unbearable.  My muscles tightened and my back seemed to stiffen as the race went on but I used water from the drink stations to remain cool and pour over my legs and back at any chance I had.  As long as I was moving forward I had a chance....

I was relieved to come into town and give my bike to a handler at transition.  In my head I said “you are fortunate to be back at transition Kym, the run is yours to lose now.”

I knew I had 10 minutes to run until I saw my mum for the first time and then even if I was hurting I had to look like I wasn’t for her sake!  Corey, my cousin, had a bright yellow singlet with the words “It’s All About Kym” written in Nikko, it stood out in the crowd & I gave him a really poor effort at a smile and wave in the first couple of kilometres.  The turnaround on Ali’i Drive seemed to take a long time to appear, when it did the slight uphill on the way back into Kona seemed a struggle.  I saw Peter at this stage and whatever his words of motivation and encouragement were at that stage; they were what I needed at the time.  Running up Palani Road hill was very satisfying, it was by no means a fast run but it was quicker than a walk which is what everyone else seemed to be doing.  Once up the top and a left turn onto the highway I knew I was in my comfort zone. 

A benefit of doing long runs by myself is that I was mentally ready for the next stretch of highway running, surrounded by hot bitumen, dead grass, black lava and not much else until the drink stations appeared on the horizon.  I passed quite a few runners on route to the Energy Lab; I felt strong and was keen to see at the Energy Lab turnaround how many females were in front of me.  After my fall from the bike I had no idea how many passed me, how far in front they were and if I was losing or gaining time.  I could see maybe six or seven girls in front of me, one was in my category and the others were in younger age groups.  From what I could tell I had a fair gap back to the next person in my category.  Out of the Energy Lab and back onto the Queen K highway home.  Only 10 kilometres left I told myself – stay focussed.  I spotted Peter in the distance riding towards me on the other side of the highway. Again, he yelled words of encouragement, not only to me but other runners around.  He was yelling to the guys to stay with me, not to let a girl get ahead of them.  It picked them up as well on a long, lonely stretch of bitumen.

I was picking the runners off one by one that were in front of me.  I felt like I was getting stronger, I definitely was not dropping off.  Then my dad had made his way out to the highway.  I could tell he was proud and he was cheering and saying motivating things like never before.  That was when I let myself for the first time think “I could place here today.” 

Running down Palani hill was painful, every fatigued muscle hurt, my right knee hurt but I didn’t care, not long now.  Turning into Ali’i Drive I saw a girl in front of me, I had to beat her to the line, she may be in my age group.  I did pass her and kept running strong.  I couldn’t turn back and see if she was my category or if she was responding as I thought I may fall over. (She wasn’t)

I could see my family along the finishing chute with their flag – what a feeling.  I had made it.  Smiles & cheers to them and then I made my way up that ramp to be told “You are an Ironman”.  What a feeling!

Well done Kym on 2nd in 35-39 Women at the Ironman World Championships!

 

Trek Ambassador Race Report: Ben Marshall at the Kanangra Classic

Ben Marshall is a Trek Ambassador from Canberra store Ride Shop. He recently competed at the 50km Kanangra Classic in the Blue Mountains. Here is his race report:

The Kanangra classic is held in the Blue Mountains, around the many fire trails that exist within the national park.  This year was the second year for the event, with Saturday consisting of an optional prologue mtb and a 50km ultra marathon run for those doing the duathalon over the weekend.  On the Sunday was the main event, the 50km and 100km marathon mtb events.

Getting there Saturday afternoon, we set up our huge tent, one of the biggest in the event centre.  Heading over to the main marque we grabbed some dinner and sat down under a heated mushroom (gas heaters), and prepared ourselves for the night time live band.  We headed back to our tent at about 9 o’clock, with the band continuing on until 9.30 that night.  This was one of the coolest pre-race entertainment set-ups that I have ever experienced, in the middle of a national park with an 80’s rock band playing in a marque!

Ben racing at the Three Ring Circus in July.

6 o’clock next morning I woke and headed over to grab a coffee and some breakfast, ready for the 7.30 race start. The race started on the main fire road with both the 50km and the 100km field starting together. As the gun went off, the field was quickly strung out into single file, as I sat in about 3^rd wheel. We began the long gradual climb up the fire road, still in single file, and continued this way for another couple of hundred metres. About a quarter of the way up, I moved up to the front and began putting some pressure on some of the riders behind, as I worked with a rider who was doing the 100km event. About 2km later we crested the climb and, with two other riders we had created a sizeable gap back to the chasing group. Both these riders were in the 100km event.

Following the climb we quickly turned off the main fire road onto the double track, where it flattened out before we began a descent down into the first creek crossing.  With very little signage this proved to be a tricky descent, resulting in all three of us flying off the track into the bush at least once.  Coming out of the creek was a steep pinch that surprised us all, as we were all in too big of a gear and had to hop off and run up the other side.  One of the other riders (Paul) had a problem with his shifting and was left behind.  I also had a problem, as I noticed that all too familiar hissing sound coming from my back tyre; yes another cut side wall.  I continued on riding up the major climb of the day with the other 100km rider (Andrew), hoping that the tyre would seal up, but unfortunately it continued to go down ever so slowly.  Nearing the top I had to stop and put a tube in as I watched Andrew ride away, the eventual winner of the 100km race, as well as the chasing group as they passed me on the side of the track. 

With an inflated back tyre again, I began the chase back to the lead riders.  Riding hard and nearing the 1 hour mark I shoved an energy gu down, hoping for some more energy.  However my stomach didn’t agree with this and let me know accordingly, with some constant stomach cramps.  However with the major climb of the day now over with, this meant a fast chase along some undulating double track.  I managed to pass a number of riders along this section as we wound in and out of a number of creek crossings.  Finishing this section of the race, we then continued along a well maintained fire road that was very flat.  I had to work by myself along here chasing the lead riders before we hit another section of double track with some more creek crossings and some more climbing.  As I came out of the first creek crossing I recognised some of the riders who had been part of the lead group.  I caught them before the next crossing and knew that I must be getting close to the lead guys.  Coming out of the double track back onto the fire road, it was all downhill to the finish, where there was a short grassy hill to climb.  However unfortunately I was unable to catch the guys in front, as I crossed the finish line about 500m behind second place and roughly 7 mins behind the eventual winner of the 50km in a time of 2hrs 10mins.

Finishing in 3^rd place in that time wasn’t the best result, as I was hoping to do a sub 2hr time on this course.  However I was feeling strong and fit until my disagreement with the energy gu, so the training is paying off.  And a third place prize of a litre of German beer and jug, is definitely a plus.

Madone 5.9 ride review

Trek Australia recently partnered with the Australian Cycling Executives to help encourage cycling amoungst the business community in Australia. One of their directors, Gareth Williams, recently took his new Trek Madone 5.9 for a ride through some great scenery and punishing climbs south of Sydney. Below you can read his account of the ride and impressions of the bike.

As with most of us my weekends get pretty packed with family activities but when there's a chance to negotiate a longer bike ride I'll take it. Last weekend was one of those and with a great opportunity to properly test ride two of our partner's products, the Champ Sys ACE kit and Trek's Madone 5.9 which both Ryan and I have been riding for the past few months.

The Route - 228km Sydney, Stanwell, Macquarie Pass, Kangaroo Valley, Kiama

Starting in the Inner West of Sydney I headed out along the well ridden route south towards Waterfall through to Stanwell Tops before going through Thirroul and Wollongong then heading back inland to take on the 750m climb of Macquarie Pass.  Once over that I continued on to Kangaroo Valley, Berry and finally Kiama.

Heading through Kangaroo Valley

The great thing about this ride being used to review product is that it had everything in it, a cold start (around 6c at 5.30am), some fast and full power efforts, long steep climbs, great descents and a mixture of road surface, all of this and over 220k's would make for a solid test.

The Trek Madone 5.9 with Ultegra Ui2

Apparently Trek has provided more bikes to Tour de France winners than any other manufacturer over the years. With a current stable of pro tour riders competing in and winning some of the toughest single day classics and grand tours, these bikes are engineered with both speed and endurance in mind.

As the bunch takes off south out of Sydney, the usual club banter within takes hold and before you know it no one is talking and the gas is full on. The 5.9 accelerates rapidly and once up at speed holds it there nicely. Having been fitted for the bike, the position is aggressive, yet comfortable and there are no wheels being dropped.

The point at which the 5.9 really comes into its own is on those 'dead' country roads.  Typically its on these roads where your upper arms and shoulders, not to mention 'under carriage', take a beating... not so with this bike. It's ability to absorb vibrations in the road, both through the front forks and seat post is impressive. These same attributes gave a major benefit on the three major descents of the day. The absorption of the bumps and this flex, sits the bike comfortably into the corners at speed, no bounce or wheels popping out.  The frame geometry seems to balance the bike evenly.

There was over 3000m of climbing in this ride so the bike's ability to go uphill (and carry a rider who's touching on 80kg's) was pretty important.  Its fair to say the 5.9 with the Ultegra Ui2 isn't the lightest bike around, although at around 7.4kgs it's not the heaviest either.  Again it's the position on the bike that really makes the climbing very comfortable.  Having now ridden Shimano electronic gears, in either Dura-Ace or Ultegra form for over a year now, I can't go back.  Changing gears under load whilst climbing is one of the key differences for me.  This combined with the new hoods that Shimano have put on the brake levers make climbing out of the saddle very comfortable.

Still smiling!

The Champ Sys – ACE Kit

Make no mistake, all cycling kits are NOT the same.  For many people it's a personal preference and I've been fortunate enough to try quite a few.  The real differences in kits come on rides like this where you have a mixture of terrain and temperatures.  Firstly, the ACE kit fits.  It doesn't ride up your back or have arm warmers that slip down your arms (presuming you've ordered the right size).  Some of the common or cheaper synthetic fibres either keep you too warm and condense on the inside, or everything just blows though. This kit appears to have the balance just right.

Normally with longer rides, especially over tough terrain its the 'saddle area', arms and the upper and lower back that start to feel the strain.  Its this part that I was most impressed with. The bike and ACE kit still felt comfortable at the end of the ride, even if the legs were telling me it was time to stop :)

 

Ed McDonald: 24Hour Solo 'Recovery' Race

Over the Easter weekend, Ed McDonald finished second at the 24hour Solo National Championships. (You can read his insightful blog of the race here.) Below is his blog about what he did the weekend after: raced and won a solo 7 hour race at Mt Stromlo. On a single speed.

 

Immediately after racing a 24hr, you know a few things:

• Everything hurts, particularly joints such as knees, wrists etc
• You can feel OK on the bike, but you're actually down about 20% in power
• Sometimes the massive endorphin high lasts a while

Backing up for a 7 hour the next weekend is, therefore, probably not the best idea.  But at the heart of endurance racing is a desire to push limits, and I was curious to see how I'd back up after the 24.

One of the other goals was to redefine the racing vibe a bit.  The 24 had been a very stressful race for a number of reasons, so I was looking forward to remembering the "other " part of racing: just cruising around trails in the sun on a singlespeed.

Singlespeed is great for an enforced "fun" attitude in long races.  It's almost impossible to get a good start - especially given the prevalence of overseeding - and you can only go as fast as your gear dictates.  In many ways, the whole concept of racing a single-speed bike is so silly that you have to shrug, grin and toddle around.  Singlespeed racing is a curious phenomenon that has become rather huge, simply because you can find the "Happy Place" easily - and it's great to see Trek recognise this with bikes like the venerable Rig and Superfly Single. 

So, on Sunday morning, I turned up at Stromlo for Round 1 of the Rocky Trail Shimano MTB GP, armed with a box of bottles and a bunch of bananas, and my Superfly Singlespeed.  I rode this race without any clue of race standings, and basically focused entirely on intrinsic motivation (just enjoying the ride) throughout. 

The course wound its way up to the top of Stromlo via the usual climb with 10^6 switchbacks, and then down via the new Pork Barrell descent.  This has some fun jumps and drops, and had me wishing for a 6" duallie for some quality messy hucking.  The course returned to transition via Party Line and Breakout for a fun 13km loop.

I soon discovered that there really wasn't any power in the legs, so it was time to relax a bit and aim to ride to a nice easy rhythm in the sun.  Singlespeed enduro pace is a nice social pace, so it was great to catch up with pinners in the 4 hour such as Paul Brodie, Callum McNamara and Jamie Bailey (1st masters, 1st SS and 4th overall respectively).  Funnily enough - and in contrast to the 24 - I had absolutely no idea about the race situation this time around, and was basically riding around in the a blissful and oblivious bubble of single-speed happy place. 

Coming through the last three hours of the race, I started doing the mental arithmetic concerning the possibility of an 11th lap.  10 seemed like a nice round number.  Having been self-supported all race, I had absolutely no idea about the racing standings, and was happy to hear from Brad Morton (before commencing my last lap) that I was over 20 minutes clear of second.  This meant the last lap could be a fun cruise, aiming simply to keep the rubber side down and avoid any mechanicals.  Having said that, I couldn't avoid the temptation for a few dirty whips down the jumps on the course!

It was great to follow up the 24 with a nice win and a long, stress-free day in the sun on the singlespeed.  Unlike most 7 hour races, this one never really hurt at any point, and it was interesting to see that it's easier to back up with low-intensity, long-distance than with short-distance at high intensity.

A big thanks to On The Rivet and Trek Bikes Australia for the support - doing multiple climbs of Stromlo is made easier by a stupidly light singlespeed! Thanks also to Rocky Trail Entertainment for a great fun race.  Riding bikes is fun!

Two Days, Two Venues, Two Races, One Bike

Ed McDonald is a mountain biker from Canberra who is known for the long miles he racks up in training, as well as being fast racing over long distances, particularly 100 mile and 24 Hour events. He has recently become a Trek Ambassador and rode a Superfly Elite test bike to 2nd in Solo at the Scott 24Hour, and his Superfly SS to 2nd at the Sydney 24Hour. Last week he got his own Superfly Elite, and proceeded to tackle two races on the weekend! First up was the Rocky Trail Entertainment MTB Cruise 100 Mile at Stromlo Forest Park on Saturday, and then a CORC 3 Hour at Kowen on Sunday. Below you can read how he went in his own words. If you would like to read more about his cycling adventures, you can check out his own blog here. (Sorry there's no photos for this one!)

Most mountain bike race reports begin with a heinously early wake up call.  This one is no exception.  Despite being only 20 minutes from the race start, this race start was scheduled at 5am – meaning a 3-30am wake-up call and a severely addled brain. 

The race was put on by Rocky Trail Entertainment at Stromlo, with 33, 66, 100 and 160km (nominal) distances.  The 160km was scheduled to start early to provide the extra dimension of night racing – dodging errant kangaroos, guessing the surface composition through the tacky dew, and peering over your shoulder at a string of bright lights winding their way around the exposed waste lands and rocky outcrops of Stromlo.

I entered the 100 mile race along with a few of Canberra’s more established endurance riders – most notably, Andrew Hall of Team Radical Lights, and singlespeed legend Brett Bellchambers.  For the past few years, the 100 mile category has become something of a form guide and test run for the Solo 24 Hour National Championships.  I had bailed on the singlespeed category to try out the gears on my new Trek Superfly Elite, but it was still an excellent singlespeed course, with lots of climbing, and probably the highest singletrack proportion of any “marathon” distance race in Australia.  Tricky rockgardens dominated the course – with the treacherous Slick Rock descent combined with the Deep Creek rockgardens and the appropriately titled “Heart Breaker” climb.   The loop featured over 500vm ascent each lap, and took around 1:25 to navigate.

With a loop this long, one of the most important aspects was hydration. Possibly my favourite aspect of my medium-sized Superfly is the ability to fit two bottles in – thus avoiding the inconvenience of carrying and refilling hydration bladders and allowing slick transitions.  There are a lot of things to like about 29er hardtails as endurance race bikes – the Superfly was very comfortable over the distance, with no back pain, and the blistering climbing response of a genuinely high-performance carbon frame.  Combined with a comfy Evoke RL saddle and the superb Race XXX Lite foam grips, I couldn’t have asked for anything better in the bike for a 7 hour singletrack stint.

Appropriately, I tried to put the bike’s climbing pedigree to good use right from the start, and was able to run just a single light with my K-Lite lighting the way into the pre-dawn gloom.  With over 20 minutes of continued climbing near the start of the lap, it wasn’t long until Andrew was the only rider holding the wheel.  We edged cautiously down the descent, and nearly cleaned up about 4 separate kangaroos. 

On the Deep Creek rockgardens, the 29er hardtail showed its prowess.  It’s nice to be able to stomp out of the saddle through the steep pitches, and G2 means you can easily loft your front wheel through tricky uphill rock step-ups. I opened some small gaps here to Andrew, but he shut me down in other areas, and we concentrated on opening a big advantage over Brett. 

Late in the first lap, Andrew got a puncture which allowed me to get about a minute off the front – he fixed it quickly! I quickly swapped bottles and helmets in the pits, and tried to establish a strong rhythm.  With the rising sun and the kangaroos mostly off the track now, I was able to push a higher tempo and began to open a steady gap. Adrenaline was pumping and I was loving the rocky gardens, nasty climbs and swooping berms.

Endurance racing is about controlling your adrenaline though, and making sure you plan ahead.  I focussed obsessively on appropriate nutrition and – most importantly – hydration – to ensure that I could maintain the pace.

The last few hours of the race became very hot – Stromlo is exposed and the white surface radiates the intensity of a burning summer sun straight back at you.  The trails were littered with cramping bodies and exhausted riders pushing their own limits in the challenging conditions on the tough course.  Between the comfortable bike setup and a solid hydration strategy, I was happy to remain consistent, and my final lap was my second fastest.  I crossed the line after 7 hours and 13 minutes, stoked to defend my title and hold off a consistently fast Andrew, who put in another characteristically strong performance for second. 

The following day saw a 3 hour race at Kowen held by Canberra Off-Road Cyclists.  Where a few of us use the Stromlo 100 miler as a test run for 24 Hour Nationals, everyone in Canberra uses this 3 hour as a test run for the Mont or Capital Punishment, and there were over 280 riders in attendance!  On the Rivet in Phillip sponsored this event and everyone enjoyed a great day’s racing in perfect conditions.

This course was the opposite of the Stromlo course in many ways – fast and flowing, with a steady climb through pine forests and native bush followed by the swooping, rollicking flow of the “Rolling Thunder” descent.  Riding 11 laps of this was fantastic fun, and it was no surprise to see 29ers in abundance on this fast and flowing course. 

I wasn’t sure how well I’d back up from the heat and distance of the previous day, but after the chaos of a self-seeded start, found myself in a reasonable position heading into the singletrack.  The previous day’s 100km winner – Dylan Cooper – soon moved to the front and belted out a very solid pace and was flying down the descents at a remarkable pace.  I hung on the wheel for a few laps before feeling the elastic stretch and eventually got popped off.  I managed to keep the gap down for a few laps before the inevitable “flatness” from the previous day’s racing caught up with me, and while I chugged some caffeine in an attempt to fire up some adrenaline, it was clear that I was going backwards.  In the meantime, the trails were far too much fun not to enjoy, and I started chatting to a few riders to roll out the distance and round off a fun weekend.

It was a great start to racing on the new Superfly – the same bike which, in the hands of super XC riders Dan McConnell and Bec Henderson – took two national titles on the same weekend.  I can’t wait for Mountains to Beach, and then the big goal, 24 Hour Nationals.