James Downing - Mountain Bike Athlete

Mount Stromlo National Series Round 3 All Mountain Cup

2012-02-13T10:49:00.000+11:00

February 10-12th brought the National Series All Mountain Cup to the iconic trails of Mount Stromlo. The nation’s elite racers gathered in the nation’s capital to lay down some fast laps of the mountain in the new MTBA format of All Mountain racing. For the Stromlo event, which was round 3 in the series, there would be SuperD, Olympic Cross Country (XCO) and Point to Point (P2P) held over the 3 days.

One unique feature of the All Mountain cup is that riders are required to use the same bike over the course of the weekend. You can change components such as tyres, but not the entire bike.

The plan leading up to this race was to come in fresh, and hopefully finish strong. Only time would tell if this would happen... Scanning through the Start List, the mind was doing the mental calculations on where I could fit in within the field. There were so many big hitters and it truly was an Elite field – there would be no hiding out there!

The SuperD was up first held on Friday afternoon, allowing for the riders to get acclimatised to the unique trail conditions of Mount Stromlo with luxurious lifted runs in air conditioned comfort of mini-buses. The bus drivers were digging the adventure and getting into the spirit of racing themselves. There were a few near misses on the tight roads near the top where the buses and the trailers came precariously close to collision on a number of occasions.

After all the practice runs, we were loaded up into the bus to be taken to the start for the actual race. As we were driving up the mountain, it started raining. Firstly, those massive slow drops that cool the air and let you know what is to come. Then it just bucketed down. Then it hailed. And it was windy. The road had turned into a river, and whatever conditions the trails were had now been washed away. We all just stayed in the bus staring gloomily out of the windows secretly hoping the rain would just disappear. Luckily, it only lasted about 15 minutes, and then the sun reappeared.

The show was back on! At 30 second intervals each rider would take on the course that essentially went from the top of Stromlo to the bottom of Stromlo. Skyline, Luge (berm track) and the standard trails that make up the descent were taken at the highest speeds possible. As John Tomac once said, “You’ve got to do SuperD – it is what you do as a mountain biker”.

SuperD – splashing through puddles after the deluge!

The rain hadn’t made much of an impact up the top of the hill, but underneath the DH bridge, where the soil is a lot higher in its clay content, it was a bit of a lottery as to what was going to happen. As the track dried out and more riders went down the hill, it became a fair bit faster.

I managed a time of 10:26 down the mountain to slot into 8th place in the Elite field. Not too bad considering the slick conditions. An interesting side note was that total time on the bike today was 3 and a half hours. Warm ups, practice, racing, warm downs – it all adds up!

After comparing race runs with mates and talking crap, I headed home to chow down some pasta for the Cross Country race on the Saturday.

Saturday morning I woke pretty early, and helped Kylie get her training done before heading out to Stromlo. With the pipes opened up with Friday’s SuperD VO2max, lactic acid bath, I was pretty keen to smack it around Stromlo for another body and mind punishment session. The laps for this race were pretty short. With the change in UCI regulations, the target for the lap times were 12-15 minutes. 7 laps would mean a target race time of 1:30 – 1:45. Nice and quick. The shorter the race, the more intense it is, and the more important that you are ‘on’ at the start and optimise your trail riding ability.

Calm before the storm – grid start for XCO

At midday the gun went off and we were punching it down and around the start loop. This was a 3 minute fire road ‘separator’ that doesn’t really separate anyone. With the first bit of singletrack being a tight left hand entry, I swung it wide right into the corner and was able to sweep around the bottleneck and gain a few precious places. At this point, it was on like Donkey Kong. Flat out pacing up through the tight twisty singletrack, ensuring that the wheel in front was followed whilst not trying to lose any time or make any small mistakes (or large ones for that matter). This was done all the while at XCO pace which is about 92-94% of maximum heart rate. You are constantly fighting the ‘shaky hand’ syndrome where you are battling the lactic acid accumulation that threatens to stop the legs pedalling and the arms and hands from gripping. Definitely an acquired taste!!

Fireroad separator at start of XCO

At the start of the 2nd lap, I was not really wanting to be there. That is a standard feeling and a great sign that you are doing XCO correctly! It doesn’t last too long before you are cursing the climbs and waiting for the descents to recover. Positions were constantly changing as riders were jockeying for position, or having to recover from massive early efforts, or dealing with the dreaded mechanical.

As the laps went by, I was seeing riders ahead and trying to assess if they were going forward, backwards or staying the same. I was also trying to see where riders were fast and slow in case I needed to contend with them later. I was also attempting to pace the race so as to last the 7 laps with consistent lap times as well as avoid the 80% ruling on getting pulled.

Each lap I was getting a bottle hand-up from Kylie through one of the fastest feedzones I have ever raced through! Usually they put them on the slowest part of the course, but this one was on a dead flat fireroad after the start finish chute. There were definitely more than a few bottles dropped by others in this location. With the laps being so short, it was really hard to judge the refuelling vs fighting for positions or even maintaining positions. I had each bottle filled with about 400mL of carbohydrate fluids and I was probably only getting through 250-300mL of that each lap. Luckily, this was all I needed for my hourly intake requirements.

Race Face (ie pain face) on for the XCO

As the last lap came around, the bell was ringing and I put my head down and drilled it as well as I could. An hour and forty minutes later and it was over. 14th place in a stacked Elite field. Not the best feeling day on the bike, but by far not the worst either.

The same theme of race comparison and pasta consumption was done to ensure that I was ready for the Point to Point the next day. It is amazing how quickly you can switch off from one event to the next when they are back to back. Normally I would take a couple of days to analyse the race and determine where time could be gained. It will have to wait for a few days longer!

On Saturday night, the standard pains of XCO racing were apparent to the body. XCO racing is like doing Tequila Shots. It seems like a good idea at the time, but you feel like crap afterwards. I banked on sleep making things feel better.

The next morning was another early start. After my morning coffee, I did the body and mind assessment and was happy with the sensations. Today was going to be good! The Point to Point (P2P) was going to be another smash fest. 20 kilometres of racing in what was essentially a tour of Stromlo’s finest trails. The start was going to be fairly crucial (as it always is) in getting a good position going into the singeltrack. The race had a longer ~ 5 minute fire road separator that actually separated riders this time, before funnelling into the trunk trail. The race course took in the full climb up Stromlo followed by hitting up some old school trails down the back of the western side of the mountain. I hadn’t ridden these ones for ages – probably a couple of years at least and they were as rough as guts. After coming back from the western carpark, I grabbed a bottle from Kylie and dug in for the longest fireroad climb ever – before slipping into the smooth flowing sweepers of Party Line.

After getting back to wombat junction, we headed up the hill again via Blue Tongue and joined up with Skyline before bombing back to the Event HQ and the finish line.

Emptying the tank in the last 1km of the P2P

All up, an hour of racing and 13th place for the P2P. Definitely a great event, and another high intensity smash fest.

So, SuperD 8th, XCO 14th, P2P 13th. Overall for the weekend, I ended up on 11th for the General Classification, which takes into account your overall times for the 3 events. Sort of like a race within the race. With DNF's, mechanicals, bad days, good days etc - the GC takes into account your consistency over the course of the 3 individual races.

This weekend I raced the Cannondale Flash Ultimate 29er. The bike performed impeccably, and after a tyre change Friday night, was railing the specific trail conditions that Stromlo had thrown up.

Big thanks go out to Cannondale Australia and Lonsdale Street Cyclery in Canberra for the best support with bike, parts and nutrition. And a huge thanks to Kylie for all of her excellent support over the weekend.
I was really happy to finish off the weekend strong and feeling fresh which was my objective after only having long miles and minimal intensity in the legs over summer. As of Monday morning, I feel fully recovered and excited to do the finishing touches to tune out the diesel in favour of the turbo. In 2 weeks time, I am off to Adelaide to race the Australian Titles for XCO. I am definitely looking forward to this event. I love Adelaide, I love the course, and after an awesome 3 day block of high intensity training under my belt, I am feeling that some good form is on its way.

Thanks to Russel Baker and Chris Fox for the fine photos of the weekend.

Stromlo XCO race - 29th January

2012-01-31T20:22:00.001+11:00

Blue Steel pose

Me and Brad - quiet week, only raced against him twice this week

Me and Bev - she is a gun Pro Moto Trials rider

Me and Matt

Local Hitters...

Sunday race.

Same course that is being used in upcoming national round.

5 local hitters.

Warm morning.

6 x 15 minute laps.

29er Flash Ultimate - weapon of choice.

1st place.

Awesome crew - seriously, how good is mountain biking?!

Hood ornament.

2012-01-26T11:05:00.001+11:00

Majura dirt crit

2012-01-19T21:23:00.001+11:00

Fast course, dry, dusty, intense.

Fighting the good fight - Adelaide 2012 - Tour Down Under

2012-01-19T11:25:00.001+11:00

The last few days have been spent in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under. I was invited down by the awesome guys from Cannondale Australia to hang out, ride, eat and sleep. And we did a lot of these, except for the sleeping! I managed 6 hours a night maximum, but the days were filled with awesome Adelaide riding, meeting and riding with the Liquigas Cannondale team riders, checking out the expo and tour village and also chasing the race! Cannondale Australia provided awesome hospitality for my stay and they undoubtedly had the most eye-catchig team tent at the expo. A very professional set up.

The time spent on the bike was amazing. 40 degree days, awesome roads, good crew to ride with, excellent coffee. The nights were even better. Great food - Thai, Italian, wine bar, spanish beer, awesome company. When I got back to Canberra I slept for 10 hours - I was exhausted!!

Stats:
3 days riding
4 hours average per day
40 degrees celsius days
300km driven on stage 1
1000s - cyclists seen every morning
$70 - sushi eaten
2 beers per night (endurance athlete!)
6 hours sleep per night
2000 vertical metres - climbed on day 2 of riding
When I will be returning to Adelaide: late February!

Goodbye bike, see you in (r)Adelaide

and we're off and taxiing

Go fast Corolla hire car - good for 200km/hr on the country roads

Royal Coach Motor Inn - pretty much only slept and showered here the whole time

warmish at night

Down Under Classic - TDU warm up crit race on Sunday night

TDU Event headquarters

Sushi Train - Gouger Street - Eel

Custom Cannondale knicks and jersey - nice work by Al Burgess to get these sorted

Cannondale HQ at the TDU bike expo. Cannondale EVO bikes in every size for demo were available for test rides.

Stage 1 feedzone at Kapunda - 40 degrees and 40+km/hr winds

Liquigas Cannondale team van

Nice beer - spanish

not sure if I would shop here

Crusing off to the Liquigas Cannondale team ride on Monday morning

At the start of the team ride

Rachael - marketing guru at Cannondale Australia

Cannondale - fighting the good fight!

See you in the last week of February Adelaide

First Dirt Crit of the year! New bike - New Psyche!

2012-01-13T10:42:00.001+11:00

As is the way, the Xmas and new years block is an awesome chance to redo some mega base miles and enjoy the sun. I tried to cram in as many miles as i could over this time in order to put away some fitness as well as keep off the xmas indulgence. On New Years day I found that due to moving some heavy garden furniture the day before, I had popped out a muscle in the back near the ribs. This was excruciating to say the least. I spent the next 3 days lying flat on my back on the floor filled with muscle relaxant pharmaceutical products and self pity! I finally got into my masseuse and he sorted it a bit so I could almost function, well, i could ride my bike at least - sort of! I then got into my chiropractor and he was able to weave his magic and get the muscle to get back into place where it belongs.

Then I managed to get an awesome case of gastro!. Luckily this only really lasted about 24 hours or so. Effective weightloss strategy it is not, however, this is what happens. But with weight loss also goes strength loss. So I ate some food to get the strength back - slowly. This leads me to the Thursday. Dirt Crit at Majura. The first one for 2012. The first race on my new bike. I was really excited but anxious as to how things would go. I hadn't done any high intensity work since the Mount Taylor hillclimb 3 weeks earlier. However, I had the new bike pysche happening.

The course was a tough one. A nice fireroad drag that flowed into some twisting tight singletrack that exited onto a flat fireroad drag via an uphill rocky chute. No rest along the flat fireroad - 30km/hr + to the superfast singletrack descent that had awesome drifting turns before climbing out via another rocky chute before redescending through a flowy piece of singletrack that weaved its way through the pines. This opened up onto a fireroad that undulated back to the starting fireroad with a nasty tight right hander to funnel you through the start finish line.

In years gone by, we have raced various incarnations of this course, but not this exact one. That is the beauty of the short track racing - a new course every single time. When the start went off, I got an awesome clip in and was powering off the start with some good forward motion. Brad Morton also got a superfast clip in and we drag raced up the fireroad climb out of the saddle until about 5 metres before the left hander into the singletrack. As Brad had the left hand line, he got the holeshot into the singletrack and I got in right on his wheel and we snaked our way through the twisty, rocky, rooty trail and we were soon out on the top false flat fireroad. This was another drag race keeping the speed up over 30km/hr whilst at maximum intensity. Dropping into the singletrack descent, we had 5 seconds to drop the heart rate 2 beats to try and recover just a little bit.

At the start of the 2nd lap I put the hammer down and attacked past Brad as hard as I could. This got me a few bike lengths, but he was sticking to me pretty well still. We kept going like this for the duration of the race, I would just make sure that I kept attacking trying the get a small gap if possible. It wasn't until the last half of the last lap that the elastic finally stretched a little and I was able to get a 3-5 metre gap. After negotiating the last off camber high speed right angle turn, I headed up to the finish line, crossed it, and slammed it into the granny gear to spin slowly up the rise legs full of lactic acid, and lungs full of dust and pollen, and throat burning.

Ther is nothing quite like the first high intenity effort in a while. Your body isn't fully used to it, it burns and hurts a little more than usual, however, it builds great capability and capacity for the future. 1st race of the year, 1st race on my new bike, 1st place. That is a pretty rare thing and even for a club race it will be savored for a day. After that, it is just preparation to the next race.

I was really impressed with how the 29er went for short track. You always hear stories about the 29er being great for marathon races, and I can't see why they wouldn't be. But, short track has lots of violent accelerations and requires you to hold super high speeds whilst at really high intensities. With the requirement for the bike to hold fast speeds, the 29er had that bit coverered. I did notice the slightly sluggish (relative) acceleration out of the corner that required all the speed to be scrubbed, but you make it up a little later further up the trail. One thing I did enjoy was the 700mm wide bars. The lungs were opened up, the upper body strength was engaged better and the bike was a piece of cake to pilot around the corners. I really can't talk highly enough about this machine!!

So, bakery bunch ride in the morning followed by a few hours in the mountains tomorrow then heading of to (r)Adelaide for the Tour Down Under. The veloCanberra and team Quon dudes will be there as will Trev and Janie. Should be an awesome few days! I also get to ride with the Liquigas-Cannondale guys on Monday. I just need to practice my Italian!

Mount Stromlo Hammerhead - A and B lines

2012-01-01T13:12:00.001+11:00

On the 29th of December, Andrew Hall and I took a bit of a tour of some Canberra MTB locations. Mount Ainslie, Bruce Ridge, Black Mountain, Arboretum, Mount Stromlo were some spots that we checked out. We also had a specific look at the Stromlo World Cup section including the infamous 'Hammerhead' drop in.

I was rolling the Cannondale Flash Ultimate 29er in its 3rd ever ride. I am slowly dialling this in to perfection with my usual tweaks in order to get it to the most perfect set up for long rides. Andrew was generous enough to offer his time filming a couple of line choices up on Hammerhead. These are the A and the B lines.

The A line actually goes over the hammerhead drop. The B line skirts around the drop. The two videos demonstrate the subtle differences in the line choice and also importantly the time difference between the 2 lines.

Interestingly enough there is only 5 seconds difference between the 2 unique lines. This may not seem like a lot when taken in isolation, however, when you do 5-6 laps of this section in a standard XCO race, then this quickly adds up to at least 30 seconds. Again, this may not seem like much, but can be the difference between numerous placings at the end of the race.

The 29er is fun to ride over the extremely rocky terrain in this section. You get a lot of confidence that the extra stability of the 29er wheels offer. It can be a little bit of a handful in some of the tight switchbacks before the hammerhead decents, but this is something that can be checked with a stopwatch and back to back runs between a 26er and a 29er. Soon to come!

Stromlo, Hammerhead 'A' line

Stromlo, Hammerhead 'B' line

Cannondale Flash Carbon 29er Ultimate Review

2011-12-25T14:33:00.000+11:00

You have the website picture....

That awkward moment when you pull it out of the box and you realise that you can't ride it for another half hour.

Bike lust shot. The bike always looks great when it is brand new and never ridden. If you can't look #PRO on this bike then nothing is going to help you.

ENVE wheelset. Bling.

Inches. Stated. Excellent use of white accents.

Canberra arboretum - great views of Lake Burley Griffin and a Flash 29er Ultimate.

Mad balance point for a 29er. Allows you do do monos and breathe through your nose. Fully #PRO.

I just did a 3 hour MTB ride and I am not even tired. Thankyou Flash Carbon Ultimate 29er.

Ultimate. The best. Really awesome. Top Quality.

Big words. A big call also. There are a lot of really good bikes out there, so it takes a lot to lay claim to being 'ultimate'.

The Cannondale Flash Carbon 29er ultimate lays claim to that tag with its solid parts build and amazing ride quality. Keep reading if you have full control of your hand to wallet functions. Keep reading if you are a bit of a tech head. Keep reading if you need convincing that your bike is inadequate and you need something better. Keep reading if..... well you get the drift.

I picked up the box from Lonsdale Street Cyclery on friday. Al from Cannondale had expedited this for me from the last shipment. I have had my eye on this bike for quite a while. Most importantly from the get go, it looks bling. So your confidence whilst riding is going to be sky high. I had the bike put together that same night and took it for the obligatory driveway, gutter, and street test. All good.

Out of the box, we have a 8.5kg 29er. That is not too bad. Subtle understatement. That is with tubes still installed. You also get Sram XX, Enve 29er carbon XC wheelset and bars, Cannondale Hollowgram cranks, one piece integration stem, Cannondale Save seatpost, Fizik Tundra 2 carbon saddle. Superb parts spec that arguably, can not be beaten.

But, that counts for not a lot as what I am after is speed off road. The clock is the only metric that I am really interested in. The flash 29er ultimate does not disappoint. I like a bike to be light, agile, flickable and stable at speed. A few of these are often opposites in what is able to be engineered into a bike.In order to achieve these attributes there are a few key items that are required: Light weight components. Frame - light, fork - light, wheels - light, parts - light. Absolutely dialled geometry. Ok we are fully sorted there.

What counts very importantly is the ride quality and stiffness. Stiffness is what I will discuss first. The wheels are amazingly stiff. You have the bulletproof ENVE rims. 380grams of carbon configured for strength. So much so that the Santa Cruz DH team use these rims. That's ultimate peace of mind right there. There is a high likelihood that these rims could be passed down through your family over time. They also have DT Swiss Aerolite spokes. You essentially have a spoke that has been cold forged to a wicked wind slicer. More importantly though, for a 29er it makes the wheels super stiff. The 3x lacing pattern allows for a little bit of give, plus ultimate strength with 32 spokes. The spokes are white also, which is pretty #PRO. The DT240 rear hub has legendary status employing the optimal Hugi ratchet mechanism.

If you have not had the opportunity to take a lefty for a spin, then do yourself a favour and try one out. They are as stiff as a 7 inch dual clamp downhill fork. I can attest to that. Point and shoot. They are also about 2-300 grams (at least) lighter than a standard fork. Light and stiff, why would you not want that? In a 29er it is even more apparent when these attributes are lacking. The fork also has the amazing rockshox hydraulic lockout. I rely on the lockout feature constantly on a ride or a race. Smooth fireroad, out of the saddle smashfests, efficient climbing. The remote lockout allows me to get at it a lot easier and quicker. It is small things like this that can save you vital energy. You can also set the 'floodgate' to temper the amount of force required to push through the lockout. This allows you to really fine tune the suspension feeling of the ride depending on the course requiremens. Sometimes it's the small things that enhance the experience.

The junction between the seat tube and the bottom bracket is fully optimised for stiffness. This is ovalized at the junction to create a huge amout of lateral rigidity. I do believe that this junction is more ovalised on the 29er than the 26er. With the standard BB30 bottom bracket that Cannondale pioneered, you have amazing power transfer. If that wasn't enough you have the ultimate lightweight stiff Hollowgram cranks. You get absolutely no loss of energy in your pedalling due to the entire package working in harmony. When you pedal this setup for the frist time, you realise how much flex is apparent in other systems.

Stiffness is all well and good but trails aren't smooth as freshly laid hotmix. Vertical compliance. Such an easy term to say, just rolls off the tongue! So how much VC do we have. In conjunction with the SAVE seatpost, and wickedly tuned seatstays and chainstays you get up to 3cm of vertical movement on a hardtail. When you push down on the seat with your hands, you can see the amount of flex that the seatpost offers. The chainstays and seatstays do the same sort of thing which assists to smooth out the trail. It is not a dual suspension bike, but for a hardtail it makes a 100km race bearable and allows you to continue putting out the power in the 4th hour.

I have been riding Cannondales exclusively for the last 2 years. The Flash Carbon 26er MTB and SuperSix road bike have been my tools of the trail and road. The geometry of the Cannondales is perfect, it is like the bike is an extension of the body. You do not have to think much in order to pilot the bike, again, this saves energy. I can take my hands off the bars on the road bike descending at 80km/hr down Mt Ainslie. No speed wobbles. The Flash MTB has dialled every A-line on any course that I have raced on - big call, but skills aside, I do believe that the bike has made a huge positive difference in my ability to ride tricky terrain. The geometry engineered by Cannondale inspires confidence. But why and how?

With the 29er you have the following numbers.

Head Angle - 71 degrees,
Seat angle - 73.5 degrees,
Top Tube - 23.3 inches (medium)
Wheelbase 43.2 inches
BB height - 11.9 inches
Front Centre (BB to front hub) - 26.1 inches
Bottom Bracket drop - 2.6 inches

Ultimately, these are the numbers where the magic happens. A nice steeper head angle (ie higher number) allows you to actually use rider input to 'steer' the larger wheels more easily. This is evident in tight switchbacks. Steeper numbers allow for easier turning of the bars. This sort of number on a 26 would be considered 'twitchy', however, on a 29er, it offsets the larger wheels' inertia and resistance to turn easily and it feels sublime. You just don't think about it and that is the point.

The seat angle at 73.5 positions you nicely over the cranks and BB. A steeper number assists with climbing as it positions your weight more forward over the bike to weight the front wheel whilst climbing. Importantly for a 29er, it also places you 'in' the bike which is the sweet spot zone for this sort of bike.

The wheelbase is a product of the extra chainstay length required by the larger wheels as well as the longer top tube (23.3 vs 23 -- 29 to 26). What you get here is supreme stability on descents. The longer the bike, the more stable it is. The shorter the bike, the more twitchy it is (but easier to do tight radius turns). Normally you would expect a bike this long to steer like a tank. But this is where cannondale have it dialled. The BB height. I have ridden 26er hardtail frames with a higher BB drop than this! 11.9 is wickedly low for a 29er, and coupled with the BB drop of 2.6 inches, it means that the bike sits really low. Why is this good? Well, the lower you are the easy it is to 'lean' the bike over.Your centre of gravity is lower and if you lean a bike through turns you can go faster. Simple!

If you truly 'ride' the bike, you will be comfortable with leaning the bike and weighting the outside pedals to make the outer knobs of the tyres actually do what they are supposed to. The Cannondale Flash 29er facilitates this by placing the key points of the bottom bracket (ie, the bike's centre of gravity) as low as possible between the wheels. This translates into a riding feel where you can lean the bike from the hips down, keeping the upper body upright and in control of the bike in any corner or situation.

The front centre - distance from BB to front hub is the exact same measurement between 26er and 29er. If you stop and think about it, this is where you are making the bike 'do things'. All the rider input is pretty much happening in this zone. They say that cycling is a sport of numbers, and it all starts with the bike. You can have great unique numbers, but if you don't get the whole package right, then you're struggling with certain attributes of the ride. In addition, like with anything, geometry is a compromise. What is a great climbing bike is most likely pretty much a handful at descending and vice versa. Cannondale manages to combine sensational attributes that prioritise bike handling, but do not compromise other attributes such as climbing or descending.

OK, so words are great in theory, but how does it go in a 2 wheel drift? I can't answer that just yet, because, I have to admit, that I am back as the weakest link on this bike. I think also, that it will take a LOT to make this machine drift. I do pride myself on my technical ability and keen eye for a great line on the trail. The Cannondale Flash 26er is the most awesome bike with regard to bike handling, but the 29er ultimate version has just beaten it big time. I purposely went out on my first ride with the intent to ride it like I stole it with little regard for anything but the need for speed. (insert Goose and Maverick soundbite here!)

There is a bit of trail at Bruce Ridge that always puts a smile on my face. When you reach the corner of GDE and Barry Drive, (going anti-clockwise) there are just tonnes of switchbacks, of varying radii that are just a dream to ride. They get a bit of traffic and have some interesting grooves that change constantly. It is not a pure handful but pretty tricky to piece together a 'perfect' run where you just nail them all. So I went and nailed them all, first go on the bike. No way!! Back up round to the front. Yep, nailed it again. At this stage I was getting goosebumps - it wasn't cold and I wasn't dehydrated. I was just pretty excited as I started thinking ahead to all the trails that I could attack a lot faster now.

My next ride was out on the infamous World Cup course at Stromlo. Cardiac Climb, hammerhead, drops, rocks, turns. 7 minutes of verifying whether you can actually ride and pilot a bike over technical terrain. I was loving the bike climbing cardiac. This is a small brute of a climb. It is really hard to get traction. The racing ralph tyres worked with the 29er to get me up here. The next drop in was so easy. I reckon someone has fixed this runout. But maybe the bike made it a doddle. The switchbacks leading up to hammerhead are really tricky at the moment. To be fair, it has just rained, and the lines are just hard to get. I got through them, but need a couple more days to dial them in. They will get a bit of traffic over them in january and february in the lead up to the national round in february.

Rolling over the boulders in the run in to hammerhead was probably as close to cheating as I could go on a bike. I thought this machine was a XC bike. It feels more like a DH bike. So stable, I could nail my lines however I wanted to. This bit requires precision as you don't have much room to play with and rocks always like to throw you off line and bounce you into the bushes. When a bike is this stable over tech areas it inspires confidence. After rolling over the last rock lead in line, I trickled over and down hammerhead before rolling around to the triple drop. 1,2,3. drops in a row, way more easy than I have ever done these before, then up to the DH bridge for a gel.

I haven't done this trail since early 2010 I think, so was a bit rusty technically, but I got through it all. When I get a few more runs through it, I will be attacking sections in a different way than I have done before. The bike inspires confidence and constantly assures you that you are in control and able to get it to go where you want it to. It does feel different through here than a 26er. You notice the extra length in the wheelbase through tight uphill rocky switchbacks, but you adjust the line to suit. It really comes into its own over the numerous rocks through this trail and helps you get over them a lot easier.

'Feel' is one thing, but what does the stopwatch think? I have a standard climb that I do from my front yard that climbs Mount Ainslie via a mixture of singletrack, steep fireroad and bitumen. I am happy if I get 25 minutes flat, with a tailwind the majority of the way. A 24:38 is my fastest time on the 26er. So when I get a 24:15, first go on the bike I've got to think that something is going well. So next day I get back on the 26er. Yep I am having a 'fast' week but still a good 20 seconds off. Why is this? The climb includes some open fast descents as well as tight singletrack climbing rough rocky trails. The fireroads are steep - you are down into the easiest gear in sections. The 29er just takes speed better through this particular track's entire attributes. Horses for courses. For reference, this track is what you would expect for a marathon type course. Tick that box if you are solely into these sorts of races.

Thinking back to the last 2 months of short track racing courses and I have come to the conclusion that this bike will also excel in these sorts of races. If you know how to take speed through corners (essential in short track) then you will be able to take advantage of the easy speed attainable and sustainable with the super stiff wheelset, frame, forks, and crank - essentially the Cannondale System Integration concept.

For pure XC I still think that it will work. For XC you mainly need light weight. You are out of the saddle, pressing out of corners, up rises trying to eke out every second you can. The weight of the wheels will always be the limiter for a 29er. 1450grams for the ENVE 29er wheels is heavier than the 1250 grams of my stans 26er wheels. I could go for some Stans 29er wheels at 1350 grams, but I will lose stiffness there, no question. I will have to report back on this as it is just not known right now. I do think it will be swings and roundabouts and the good old compromise situation again.

So, can you buy legalised cheating? Drugs are bad mmkay, so your next option is to train hard, eat well and become a disciple of the sport. That is good and if you do that then I hope I am not racing against you. Do you crave for the best bike that will make you faster? Tick that box. I worked out that I spend up to 20 hours a week on the bike. That is more than I spend watching TV, driving a car, and just about anything else. So it makes sense to throw hard earned cash at a quality 'experience' that you spend so much time at. You have got to enjoy every minute of your 'activity' time. It is precious. Do you just wish you could get one bike that allowed you to stop craving after other bikes. Tick that box. I felt this way about my 26er when I first got it. I have had it now for 2 years. That is a world record for me. I have been racing since 1989 and have been through well over 30 bikes. You get the point. Cannondales have always been the ones that I have had the longest in my collection.

I have had the following Cannondales - SVDH4000 - wicked downhill bike that Myles Rockwell and Missy Giove piloted back in the mid 90s, Cannondale Six and Super Six road bikes, Flash Carbon 26er, Hardtail M1000 (1992). The ride qualities are always great and they push the boundaries with regard to engineering ability. You do pay more at the point of sale than other brands, however, you will not regret it once you are out on the trail or road. Bear in mind that this is where it really counts.

The Flash 29er ultimate is truly 'ultimate'. You will be the weakest link. But you will be faster!

Cannondale for 2012 - Flash 29er Ultimate

2011-12-19T10:20:00.001+11:00

Great news for 2012. Cannondale Australia are on board as title sponsor for all my racing. I am really honoured to be a part of this professional team. The bikes for 2012 are just the ultimate in desirability and ride extremely well. Flash Carbon MTB and EVO road bike will be the 2 wheeled weapons of choice.

On friday I picked up my 2012 Flash 29er Ultimate. This is a lot of bike. I personally can't remember when I never had to swap parts out on a new bike. I am going to keep this thing absolute stock and not change a thing.

Sram XX, ENVE wheels and bars, Cannondale Hollowgram cranks, Cannondale OPI stem, Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres - ultimate set up.

I will do up a review shortly as there is a lot happening with how this bike is put together and how it actually rides. I have been riding the Flash 26er for the last 2 years and have a lot of miles on it and a lot of understanding of how good that bike is.

First ride impressions. I purposely went out with the intent to hit my standard trails as hard and fast as I could. I then got that awkward feeling where I realiised that I was once again the weakest link and that the trails now have new benchmarks with regard to speed to be set.

Weight: 8.5kgs out of the box for a medium...... with tubes.

Obilgatory bike lust shot - brand new never ridden

Canberra Arboretum to take in the views of Lake Burley Griffin- between Black Mountain and Stromlo.

perks of #PROness - McLaren SL4

2011-12-15T10:07:00.001+11:00

This was at Lonsdale Street Cyclery yesterday.

Specialized SL4 McLaren. Not in production just yet.

Full week of training, racing and bike testing leading up to a 3 hour MTB race

2011-12-12T21:21:00.001+11:00

Days riding: 5

Total races: 3

Total hours riding/racing: 16

Total distance: 450km

Total podiums: 2

Beaten by a singlespeeder: 1

Ok, so that is the executive summary of this week. Road Criterium Wednesday. MTB criterium Thursday, 3 hour MTB Sunday, plus training on the other days.

Tuesday morning I did 6 Strength Endurance Stromlo Hills. I was nicely energised by a massive BBQ on Sunday with the most awesome food, I mainly remember the lasagne and the sticky date pudding. I'm still thinking about this food now, it was that good.

Wednesday morning I rolled around the flat parts of Canberra for an easy 70km before work.

Wednesday night I raced the Canberra Road criterium at Stromlo forest park. The Australian Track team had the same idea and so did 51 riders for A grade. The pace was super high and the racing was really interesting with a couple of the track boys going off the front and holding it for the 1-2. The sprint for 3rd was down to those left in the bunch. I finished somewhere just outside the top ten.

Thursday night I raced the MTB dirt crits at Majura. Dry conditions made for fast racing. The course included one of the most lumpy uninspiring bits of singletrack that exists out there. We all battled through this bit then ramped it up to 40km/hr on the fireroad before hitting some superfast singletrack that featured two wheel drift corners to keep you sharp. Dylan Cooper turned up on his singlespeed and worked on some leg speed to take the win. I got 2nd followed by Mark Tupalski and Brad Morton.

Saturday I did the bakery bunch then rolled Cotter Uriarra with the Solo boys for a nice round figure of 150km in about 4 hours.

Sunday was the CORC 3 hour race at Majura. This ended up being a really tough little course. The heavens opened up early in the morning and made everything pretty greasy as Majura is a nice clay based soil, and has many roots and rocks to slip up an unexpecting rider. However, after the first lap the sun came out and in the pine forest sauna the track dried out.

For this race I was on the Cannondale Flash Carbon 29er. This is a 9kg weapon that can roll and roll as well as accelerate when need be. The beauty of this bike is that it is the exact same geometry as my 26er. So all you have to do is jump on and pedal. I had done a bit of testing with the bike in the last couple of months but had never actually raced it. This is really the true test of a bike as it will show you where any limitations are at.

The Cannondales are well known for having superb geometry that enhances the ride experience. The lower bottom bracket allows you to rail corners so much more easily, which saves energy down the track. Majura has lots of corners: tight, twisty, flowy, non flowy and you are constantly moving the bike around getting lines dialled then redialled. With 3 hours of a 98% singletrack course you get to hit up the corners a lot. So it does pay to have a bike that assists you.

I did put a set of superwide bars on the night before. I think they are about 67cm wide. This allows me to throw the bigger wheels around a little more like the 26er.

So, back to the 3 hour. Ed MCDonald, Brad Morton and Matt Rizutto were the hard men who weren't made of sugar and joined me on the start line! By this stage, it wasn't raining, bt it was really humid. Ed had shown me where the start went, so this was good. Ed had also checked the full course out the day before. Ed's a strong nugget and he had raced the Jet black 24 hour race the weekend before for 21 hours stopping early with Jason English as they had got 4 hours up on 3rd place. I expect that he mentally wanted to finish the 24 hours of racing by tacking on another 3 hours. This was the 3rd time this week that I had lined up against Brad in a bike race! It was his 4th race of the week. Matt has been racing on and off this year. Mostly off, with not too many days of racing under the belt.

The gun of Kris's voice went off and we clipped in and smashed it up the climb. This pretty much went up the fall line from the start and hooked up into auto alley which is a really cool little bit of singeltrack with roots, rocks and switchbacks. Loving it.

Ed had donned the skinsuit and was taking advantage of its aerodynamic qualities which was probably offset by his facial grooming choices. He was also on a singlespeed. This means that they pin it up the hills. As Ed was in mega race XC mode, he was also actually pinning it on the descents also. We were cruising around the forest in a pod of 4. I think this lasted like this for about 4 laps. After this Matt started to dangle off the back.

Ed had belted out a pretty decent tempo on the front for 5 laps and we were enjoying the racing on the hero grip trails. Ed had even asked me if I would ever ride a singlespeed, and told me about a dude he rides with who always gets hit by kangaroos. Brad mentioned that this enduro caper was quite easy and was almost considering hitting up a 24 solo - this was at about 45 minutes in.

I was doing the mental calculations based on lap times and expected duration and figured out how many laps I had to do. On the 3rd last lap, I got in front and put in a few testers to see how things were gong for everyone. A small gap opened up back to Ed and Brad and allowed a nice advantage going through the start finish chute and up the climb. Ed came back as i expected up the climb and attacked past me grinding the single gear as hard as he could. I responded immediately and sprinted around him and hammered the next slightly downhill section before carefully negotiating the rooty and rocky singletrack.

I was able to put a minute into Ed over the course of the lap. A minute seems like a lot, but I could see Ed through the trees where the course snaked back on itself. You could never be sure how long it was at any time. Plus you can never be sure what might happen to you or the other rider. So it kept me honest. As I went through the start finish line I came through at 2:58ish. This allowed me to go and enjoy the course one last time. And it rained. So all the roots, rocks and wooden bridges were super slippery and super slick. Good practice for the future!

So all up, the lap times were consistent, the racing was strong and the conditions were excellent for wet weather racing. I was pretty happy with how things went for the week and how it culminated in having enough energy to race a strong fast paced 3 hour race with some excellent competition.

Lonsdale Street Cyclery came through with $3000 worth of prizes, there was a tonne of SIS gels and electrolyte drink for people to try out, Osprey gear and heaps of Specialized spot prizes also. I am still sore today as I type this. Did I mention that the course was rough? Even on a 29er? Thanks to Kris and the crew from CORC for giving up their Sunday morning and the rest that is involved in putting on a race for those who love the bike and would race sticks down a drain in stormwater!!

2011 – The Year in Review: Numbers and ‘Best of’

2011-11-25T15:50:00.001+11:00

I have been pretty happy with how 2011 has gone with regard to cycling. I have enjoyed the journey this year racing in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. I have enjoyed the atmosphere of races that I have been to – especially the 100km races.

About this time of the year, as we roll into Summer and the best opportunity to ‘re-base’ , I will go through the ‘best-of’ moments as well as the statistics of the year. I enjoy doing this as it gives me a chance to reflect on the year as well as remember why I have made the choices to ride my bike every week.

Total races: So far it is 26. By the end of the calendar year it will be 37. Out of these, there were 6 individual races that were ‘A’ races. By this, I mean that I cared about the result more than normal. This included Australian Championships for XCO and XCM, and the 4 races in the Cyclenation Real Insurance XCM series. If I was being totally honest, then I would also secretly include the Back Yamma Bigfoot race. For some reason I really like this one!

Total kilometres ridden: As of today it is 19,296km for the year. Interestingly enough, as distance doesn’t always tell much of a story, I am also pushing over 650 hours. It’s a good thing I like riding the bike. You reap what you sow.

Holidays: I took 2 weeks off in June to go to Thailand just to chill out and recharge the batteries. Bangkok was fuelled by double shot espressos. Phuket was sponsored by 7pm happy hour cocktails.

Massages: 48 so far this year. In order to ride, race and recover, massage is one of those things that I incorporate into my weekly regime in order to get the most out of my legs.

Chiropractic Adjustments: Cycling is the most ‘wrong’ thing you could do to a body. 12 adjustments in the calendar year keep things straight(ish).

Results: 6 x 1st, 6 x 2nd, 8 x 3rd, 1 x 4th, 2 x 6th, 1 x 7th, 1 x 9th , 1 x 12th on the Mountain bike over Short track, Cross Country, and Enduro Events.

Total indoor trainer days: 3. I hate the trainer. Even if it is raining, windy and cold I would prefer to be outside! However, after 2 to 3 of these in a row, it is quite hard mentally. It can also be hard on the bike if you ride in the rain a bit!

Coldest day on the bike: Minus 6 degrees. 2 pairs of gloves, 2 sets of booties. 20 minutes in the hot shower afterwards.

Hottest day on the bike: 37 degrees. Yeah well, it was hot.

Hardest day on the bike: Australian XCM nationals. Mt Joyce course. This event was a multi lap affair covering 3 x 29km on an extremely hilly course. I think that the total vertical gain (climbing) was about 3000m. I managed to get a National Title out of this (Veteran Men) as well as 7th overall on the day. It was so hard that there were only about 18 finishers (ie those who made the last lap time cutoff).

Longest day on the bike: Not overly long by some of the 24-solo dudes, but 185km on a Saturday out with Andrew Arundel in the Brindabellas was the most I have ridden in one day this year.

Most enjoyable weekend of racing: Back Yamma Bigfoot 100km. A week of Twitter trash talking with the solo 24 crew leading up to this event set the scene. Caught up with my family. Took over a local restaurant on Sunday night with the Canberra Wolfpack crew cranking Phil Tucker’s Katy Perry CD!

Best blog: Apart from mine (http://pin-it-you-muppet.blogspot.com/) of course :), I would have to rate Ed McDonald for his writing style: http://edridesbikes.wordpress.com/

Best Eyewear for cycling: Oakley Radar Path. And a few spare for apres bike.

Best Grips: ESI Racer’s Edge. Perfect size, lightweight.

Best tweet: This was in response to the new GDE route on the Saturday Morning Bakery Bunch ride. This was Bear’s response to riders letting the wheels in front go. The new route was Jeremy Ross’s brainchild, which turns out to be a much better route than the old one down Horsepark Drive. On this particular morning, which was the first occurrence, Jeremy, Jason Chalker, Shaun Lewis, Andrew Arundel, Dave Rae and myself managed to ride off the front. The bunch is wiser now!

Best half wheeler: Without a doubt this has to be Andrew Hall. Whenever we do a turn on the front he is half wheeling me for the first 2 – 3 minutes of our mandatory 10 minute block. Kylie Webb is a mentionable runner up also. Since she got her new S-Works Amira she likes to rub it in that it is faster than my bike!

Best Event (overall): Again, the Back Yamma Bigfoot brought a smile to my face for the entire weekend. The Highland Fling definitely had the best atmosphere.

Most #PRO statement: Jason McAvoy stating that he doesn’t even get on the bike for less than two hours.

Most #PRO tan: Dylan Cooper.

Favourite Pasta Dish: as a cyclist, pasta is just one of those things that often tends to work pretty well as far as fuel goes. Pasta Carbonara is one that I regularly do up. Prosciutto, bacon, parmesan cheese, condensed milk and fettucine is what goes into this one!

Best bike: Once again this has to go to my Cannondale Carbon Flash. Apart from the occasional pilot error that pops up every now and then, it has been bullet proof, dependable, and most importantly, fast over the course of the year. The frame and forks are coming up to 2 years old and are not looking at wearing out anytime soon. This is a great testament to the bike and the value you gain by selecting a superb model such as this. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, (except my closest competitors!)

Cannondale Flash on Hammerhead at Stromlo

Best tyres: This one is always subjective, but for me this year I have relied on 2 sets. Specialized Renegade S-Works and Schwalbe Racing Ralph Snakeskin. Horses for courses as they say....

Best ‘closer’ of a race: Jason English without doubt. He can drill home the last 3rd of a race better than anyone.

Best wake up call: Adelaide National Champs in February. Riding into the X-Trail that Kylie had parked at the side of the road whilst looking down at my gears. The day before the XCO race.

Best waterbottle cages: King titanium. I have had a set (2) since 2006. They weigh 28grams each and never drop bottles. Priceless in any MTB event.

Best ‘I don’t belong here’ moment: Raceview Leagues Club, Ipswich. Door staff wouldn’t let me in with my white ‘Globe’ thongs, whilst locals with double pluggers and blue singlets just strolled through.

Fastest Postcode in Australia: 2602. I have gone through this before in a previous post. It does not look to be changing anytime soon. 4 out of the top 7 at the recent Highland Fling 100km, 2nd place in the 100mile version, and 3rd in the Half Fling (female) support this purely scientific fact!

Best mountain bike promotion: Cyclenation and Real Insurance hands down. Raised the profile of Marathon MTB events. It’s pretty cool when workmates mentioned that they saw me on TV!

Best ‘in-joke’: One of my ‘mates’ set up a fake twitter account @Fake_jdowning26 in response to another fake account @fake_Jeebus . Purely satirical content within and not to be taken seriously. Scarily close to reality at times though.

Best team mate: Will Bowron. Got me back up to the front bunch at the Fling after a ‘ground’ moment. Training partner for climbing in the mountains.

Best clueless moment: Will Bowron not realising that there was a half marathon XCM series with truckloads of prize-money for the winner. Which, he actually ended up being.

Best mis-interpretation of a request: I asked for 3 sugars in my espresso, but the barista though I said ‘three shots’. Needless to say, I was in a great mood that afternoon! Garden City Shopping Centre, Brisbane after XCM nationals.

Best race course: Capital Punishment. This event takes in all the best parts of Canberra and links them together in a true point to point race. It also happens to pass by my house during the untimed section. Fresh bottles, sunglasses, gloves are pure luxuries that I was happy to take advantage of.

Best socks: De Feet. Black. Appropriate height of course.

Best crew: Jason McAvoy, Andrew Hall, Brett Bellchambers, Ed McDonald, Kylie Webb, Brad Morton, Dylan Cooper, Greg Collis, Trent Smyth, Phil Tucker, Carmel and Michelle Ainsworth, Mark Tupalski, Lachlan Paton, William Bowron.

2011 Highland Fling - sort of a big deal

2011-11-14T12:02:00.001+11:00

I have never done the Highland Fling Marathon race before. Conflicting events had conspired against me so that the timing was never aligned. I don't ever recall actually ever being to Bundanoon or Wingello either for that matter, for racing or other reasons.

I had however, heard all the stories from friends who had done this event. Fireroad, fast, rough, paddocks, creek crossings, yada yada yada! I think I might be the only person in the world who hasn't done this race. That might be a slight exaggeration, but I definitely had a lot to learn.

Two days before the race, Andy Blair posted on his blog - http://andysracingblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/briars-highland-fling-preview.html - a bit of a preview of who would be in the mix. I also scoured previous year's results to get a feel for the length of the race, who had done the race and also get a feel of the times for the individual stages. In addition to these metrics, I also analysed course profiles posted by people on Garmin Connect to see how hilly the race was. I was essentially trying to arm myself with as much information as I could in order to negotiate the 110km that this event throws up.

The next item on my race prep agenda was bike choice. At my disposal I had identical Cannondale Flash Carbon bikes. One 26er and one 29er. My 26er is the ultimate bike. I have had this same frame and forks for almost 2 years. It is perfect. The 29er also is perfect, however I don't know it as well as the 26er and this is purely more mental than anything. Everyone I asked said 'definitely go the 29er'. It was good to get everyone's opinion, and it was greatly appreciated. I also discussed the bike choice with Dylan Cooper, and ultimately I said to him, 'the Fling has only been won on 26ers'. This pretty much says that 'it's down to the rider'. Footnote: next year I will definitely be on the 29er J

The Highland Fling has been running now for 7 years. This year it attracted over 2000 competitors making it the most popular ever. From rider analysis, there were at least 2 Olympians, one TDF rider (and holder of leader's jersey from every Grand Tour), multiple National XCO, XCC, 24 hour champions across every category (male, female, junior, veteran, masters), multiple world champions (24 hour), and just a bunch of fast dudes and dudettes. It appeared that this race is a big deal!

Arriving at event HQ on the Sunday morning, the anticipation was high, commentator already going off, people sorting bikes and getting their stuff together for the ensuing hours ahead. At about 7:45 we started getting into position. The Elite 100km riders were starting with the 55km riders, so the start chute was packed super-tight. It was quite comical. We could barely even sit on our bikes. When the gun went off hundreds of riders clipped in and the race was on.

My initial race plan was to ensure that I was with the lead bunch at the first transition. At about the 3km mark, I got chopped off and hit an erosion channel on a fireroad. Bam – hit the deck! As I was skating along the gravel, I copped a wheel in the back of the head, and I saw another rider ride over my back wheel. First thoughts were, I hope the bike is OK. 2^nd thought was, crap, there goes the lead bunch. One good thing about crashing is that you get a wicked burst of adrenalin. I got back on the bike, amazingly nothing was bent or broken and basically chewed the stem as hard as I could for the next 10 minutes to try and reel back the front group.

At this stage, Will Bowron (Lonsdale Street Cyclery team member and Sunday training partner – half fling) saw what had happened and dangled off the back of the lead bunch until I was back on to his wheel. He then drilled it and dragged me back up to the lead bunch. This goes down in my book as fully PRO.

After that effort, which was probably higher than Thursday night World Championship dirt crits intensity, I hung on at the back and tried to recover a little. I knew I had used up a few matches and that I needed to get some fuel in so that I wouldn't hit the wall later on.

The first stage was reeled off at an average of 31km/hr for the first 52 minutes. This is off road. That is flying. The group of 12 crossed the first timing mat at the Wingello transition and picked up fresh bottles. At this stage, 4 of the 12 turned left and headed back as they were doing the half fling. The remaining 8 headed off to stage 2 in the full fling. Here we also had 5 minutes to cross the train line, and get to the start of the next timing mat. This was done at a pretty chilled pace, everyone thankful for the slight reprieve in the racing. At the start of the next section we all hammered through the slight downhill section before the right hander onto the smooth fireroad. Someone started the rush out of transition, and someone said 'I don't want to miss that train'. It was back on.

The pace was back up over 45km/hr over the slightly flat fireroad. We then entered the pines of Penrose State Forest, and the first singletrack of the day. Stage 2 contained a fair bit of singletrack, but to be honest, it is a bit of a blur. After about 15km in the 2^nd stage or so, the lead bunch whittled down to 6 with Troy Glennan and myself going out the back. We rode for a while and managed to have Matt Fleming get back on. Matt was not having a great day, but was hanging tough. Troy and I swapped off on the fireroads and also took turns leading through the sinuous singletrack. We wanted to keep the pace high. Matt was unable to stay with us after a bit of climbing singletrack, so we kept going. Troy was riding really strong up the hills and I was feeling as though the elastic was stretching just that little bit too long. Probably something to do with going a little deep at the beginning.

Once we finished climbing out of the lowest point, the course opened up onto massive dirt roads. I could still see Troy up ahead occasionally, but he was at least 45 seconds in front, and I wasn't getting that back easily. I tucked in a Triathlon position and drilled the fireroads as hard as I could. At times it felt like I was flying, then as I rounded a bend and copped a block headwind, it felt as though I was dying and going backwards!

I couldn't wait to get to transition 2 so I could pick up some fresh bottles and food. I also had a nice cool 300ml bottle of Coca Cola with my name on it in my esky. The 500 metres to transition sign was heaven, and I drilled it to get every second I could.

At transition, I scoffed as much as I could trying to top up my fluids. I had seen goosebumps on my legs pretty early on, in the 25 degree heat, and know from experience, that this is a simple sign of dehydration. I downed a bottle of verofit, put 2 750ml bottles on my bike, got fresh gels and got out of there.

At the 80km mark in a Marathon, you do the sums and think 30km to go, piece of cake! It is actually the hardest 30km to ever do. You have so much fatigue in the body and are pretty much going on mental strength at this stage. I made the deal that at the 90km mark, I would empty the tank. The tank was pretty low so this emptying would have to be a finely dosed affair.

With 10km to go, I busted a spoke in the rear wheel. Delirious with fatigue I just let it dangle and clang around. It then started making more sounds. I should have just stopped and wrapped it around another spoke, but fear of being overtaken by a fresh opponent and also the fear that I might not get back on halted me from doing so. At this stage the noise was such that I thought that the rear wheel was imploding. Going down a hill the back brake started pumping up, then the loudest noise occurred and the brake lever went all the way to the handlebar. I had busted the rear brake housing with the spoke somehow snagging it and snapping it right through.

The brake cable then wrapped itself around the outer hub flange and flapped around wacking the brake calliper every time the wheel went around. Luckily I only had to endure this for 10 kilometres. What was more fortunate, was that the last 10 kilometres could be negotiated with just a front brake.

With 1 kilometre to go, team mate Ben Carmody was yelling encouragement as I rounded a farm dam. I looked over to the left to see where he was and almost veered off the edge of the trail into the dam. I could see the event centre over to the right and knew that I was almost home.

After crossing under the bridge, it was a slight rise and about 100 metres to the finish line. All over. 7^th place Elite Men, 10 minutes behind the winner. 4 hours 22 minutes for the 110km. Absolutely spent.

I went and sat under a tree in the shade for what felt like half an hour. I was toasted. I had a coke, a bottle of water and some food. So slow to get back up on my feet.

It seems like the Highland Fling is a big deal.....

Random number items:

With the results being sorted with the transition taken into account, 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd were within 0.5 seconds of each other.
Places 5^th to 7^th were within 17 seconds of each other.
4 out of the top 7 were from the 2602 postcode.
Winner was on a 26er as was 4^th, 7^th, 8^th, 10th
2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th, 9^th were on 29ers

I also managed to take out 5^th place in the inaugural Real Insurance XCM series. It was an absolute honour to be on the podium with riders of the calibre of Dylan Cooper, Ben Mather, Matt Fleming and Shaun Lewis. This was definitely one of the highlights of my cycling career.

The day after the Highland Fling, like most hilly marathons, I am smashed, feeling like every muscle has been used, I am still dehydrated and starting to understand the importance of this great event in the overall scheme of things. All I can say is, thank god it is not on for another 12 months! Just like any standard marathon really!

Road Crit racing

2011-10-31T15:19:00.001+11:00

This summer I decided to race some road crits. Canberra has a pretty good road scene. Well, it has a pretty good cycling scene in general. At the moment you can race road crits Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday as well as Dirt crits on Thursday. There is also different racing on the weekends also.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I know the club handicapper, and he said that I would be fine in A grade. Therefore no sandbagging allowed!

I hit up the Wednesday afternoon road crits, splitting my day up into Endurance Hills (TM) in the morning and riding out to Stromlo in the PM to race the road crits then spinning home afterwards. This nets me about 120-130km onthe bike for a Wednesday. That is just awesome. It doesn't even feel as though I have been out, well sort of. I am creeping by Thursday morning that's for sure!

2011/12 CORC Dirt Crit 1 - Stromlo

2011-10-28T09:31:00.001+11:00

The week started with the expectation and anticipation of the Thursday afternoon Dirt Crits being back on. I love these races. You have a good bunch of guys racing a brand new different course each week at sub-maximal output testing the higher abilities of both physiological and bike handling. This was my 86th short track event in the last 5 years. It is pretty easy to build up some good experience in a relatively short period of time with that pure volume of racing.

Tuesday was Stromlo SE repeats, Wednesday morning was pinned runs up Stromlo and Black Mountain, Wednesday afternoon was Road Criterium racing. By Thursday morning I was happy to be sleeping in and not having to get up and ride. Later in the day, Kylie and I rode over to Stromlo as a nice cruisy warmup taking in the fresh easterly tailwind for the 20km over to the western side of Canberra.

The course was the standard crit loop this week. This requires a fair amount of power output as well as technical ability, with log ledges, triples, drops, berms, off camber corners stimulating the rider whilst racing falt biscuit for the relatively short period of time.

On the line were Dylan Cooper, Brad Morton, Mark Tupalski, Ben Cory, Lachlan Paton, Michael Brice and a host of other local fast dudes making for a relatively large group of 15 for A grade. When Garreth fired the gun (metaphorically speaking) I got my patented quick clip in (actually worked this time!) and pinned it for the first straight. The sensations in the legs were letting me know that things were 'muy tranquillo' so I kept it wide open for the first lap and collected the highly sought after first lap prime. \

As I expected, Dylan came by down the start finish straight and I got on his wheel immediately. In the 2nd corner his front wheel started to drift, which was followed by his rear wheel and a tripod to foot drift occurred. As we had hit this corner at about 35km/hr this occurred over the course of abotu 10 metres. Luckily for Dylan, fate intervened and his bike righted and avoided the dreaded highside and he was able to clip back in and not lose too much speed. This obviosuly gave him some good adrenaline as he then took off and got a bit of a gap.

Meanwhile I had Ben Cory, Brad Morton and Mark Tupalski creating a Giant Onya Bike TTT behind me. These guys are talented on a bike so it was taking most of my ability to stay in front of them. By the 2nd last lap, the order had changed and Brad was doing his best to get around me. I can not count the amount of times that Brad and I have contested positions in the exact same circumstances. When the last lap came around, I drilled the start finish straight and kept the pace super high so that passing maneuvres were out of the question. Just as I have done in the past when the positions have been reversed, Brad made one last passing effort down the start finish straight. However, there is no way at all that a move can be made in this location as the finsih line comes up way too early and the sprint is only about 75% wound up.

Dylan managed to hold on with a comfortable 10 metre lead, I was second, Brad trailing me for 3rd. As expected, the crit was run at red-line for the entire duration. I did not see the HR drop below 180bpm which is fairly standard. As usual, the Cannondale Flash performed flawlessly allowing me to pilot it around the course whilst having the internals flushed with lactic acid.

One of the best things about the local dirt crits is the socialising afterwards. Everyone has a good story to tell about the race that just unfolded and everyone is always keen to see who has been training in the leadup and what other races are on your agenda. It was also really encouraging to see 3 of the top juniors step up and race A grade. this will definitely bode well for the future for them and the sport. Even more awesome, is the sheer number of young kids under the age of 5 racing in the Junior category. Some of tehse guys are on bikes that weigh more than they do, push pedal bikes, bikes too big etc, however, they are having the best time in the world and it is great to throw encouragement at them as they just lap it up and smile even more.

When it was almost too dark to see and just about everybody had left, Kylie and I cruised off away from the deep red sunset over to the other side of Canberra. The spin home always makes the body feel better the next day flushing out all the crap that the body has produced in the brief, but violent activity that has just unfolded.

Next race, next Thursday, Majura Pines. Got to be happy when a race is a 5 minute ride from your front door!

Dirt crits are back

2011-10-27T15:51:00.002+11:00

What a better way to enjoy Thursday afternoon than hitting up tthe Stromlo Dirt Crits.

Throat burning, lung searing, high intensity lactic acid bath.

It's a well known fact that by developing the higher abilities, you are making yourself faster for the future.

Looking forward to this one today at Stromlo

Race Photos

2011-10-17T12:17:00.001+11:00

It might be a slightly narcissistic tendency, however it is a slightly satisfying feeling to find a picture of yourself racing or riding your bike on the interweb.

It's even better when you didn't know that it was being taken.

I am pretty sure that this is in the high speed berm at Stromlo just above the 4X track, but it could be in a few different places as there are no real reference areas.

It is in a fast location, I am in the 2nd hardest gear. I am already on the gas (pedalling) as evidenced by the right foot (technically the inside of this bend) being down, and actually pulling throughfor the left to begin the downstroke.

The keen eye will also note that my shoes, helmets and eyewear all match. That's not really an accident. However...... the gloves are not quite right. No amount of Napisan is getting these suckers back to the pristine condition that they require for smooth speed assaults.

So, as of Friday, I am rocking the new 2012 661 Raji gloves. These have been my glove of choice for about 6 years now. Light, ventilated, thin, they just get the job done.

Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25 Snakeskin Review

2011-10-14T14:07:00.001+11:00

For the Scott 24 hour race this year, Bike Box (Australian distributors of Schwalbe) were awesome enough to be able to supply me with my tyres of choice for the harsh conditions at Stromlo. I have ridden at Stromlo since it was constructed and know that Stromlo is incredibly tough on components, especially tyres. There are a lot of rocks. That is probably the understatement of the year. Whether you are pinning the Red lap or smashing the blue lap there are a lot of rocks set up strategically to test your ability as a true mountain bike rider. You need your equipment to be bulletproof as Stromlo will just wreck sub-standard bike gear. If you don't have good tyres, then you are at the side of the trail spending 3-5 minutes practising your tyre changing abilities.

A 24 hour race is a unique beast. As a teams rider you will hit each lap refreshed and wanting to punch out the laps as fast as you are able. Add into the mix up to 500 riders on the track at any time and your ability to pick the 'perfect' line is hugely diminished. When picking your way through traffic some people peel off into the bushes and give you the entire track, some people give you half the track and some people give you nothing! What this means is that your line choice is constantly compromised. We are all aware of the randomness that you encounter at the edge of a trail. The unseen rocks that grab at the sidewalls threatening to shred them and your forward momentum.

Add into the mix night riding where you can see even less, and fatigue where you are just pointing and shooting, and you start to realise how vital your tyres actually are. They are the contact between your bike and the ground.

With this in mind, the tyres of choice were the Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25 Snakeskin. That is a bit of a mouthful so I will attempt to decode this below.

Schwalbe Racing Ralph - this is the brand and the model name of the tyre. The Racing Ralph is the standard tyre in the Schwalbe range for cross country, marathon and other sort of riding. It sits between the Furious Fred and Nobby Nic. It is a 'do everything' sort of tyre pretty much.

It has closely spaced lugs in the middle to allow for straight line speed. It also has strategically placed side knobs to allow for extreme lean angles. The soft rubber compound allows for speed and grip.

2.25 - this is the width in inches. I run a hardtail 26er. The 2.25 allows for a fair bit of float in the tyre and the extra width provides a very large footprint which equals grip. If you haven't looked into the benefit of wider tyres for reducing rolling resistance, it might be worthwhile doing some research on this. Tracks are only getting rougher these days, so the ability to run a bigger tyre at lower pressures is quite a benefit for straight line speed.

Snakeskin - this is the major reason I run these tyres at Stromlo. The sidewalls have a 'light and flexible woven layer on the sidewall which guards against abrasion damage' The picture below shows how this is (the grey component). These are bulletproof when it comes to sidewall protection. I can run these at Stromlo and ride as hard and fast as I want through rocky areas with maximum confidence. I am not going to lose 3 minutes fixing a flat tyre with these on my bike.

Now the 26 x 2.25 size tyre weighs in at a competitive 575grams. Not a superlight by any means, however, when you think about what the tyre is designed for and compare it to a true UST tyre at 650+grams, then you can appreciate that this is actually quite competitive in the weight stakes.

The rubber is Schwalbe's special compound which grips amazingly well in all of Stromlo's conditions. I won't go into the fine detail here about the actual compound. However, as a racer you want fast straight line ability as well as absolute confidence in corners when leaning at extreme angles both on smooth surfaces and uneven rocky surfaces. The Schalbe Racing Ralph has this in spades. They are my 'go-to' tyre for Stromlo when speed and grip is required. I never, ever lose grip at Stromlo with these tyres.

I have used a few different types of tyres in the past 5 years and have about 4 that are favorites. Kenda Small Block 8, Continental Race King, Specialized Renegade and the Schwalbe Racing Ralph. At Stromlo you need 2 things with tyres. Grip, and Sidewall protection. As a racer you need a couple of things also. Lightweight(ness), and Straightline speed. On these, the Racing Ralph Snakeskin scores 3 and a half out of 4. Pretty much th others only score 3. The Racing Ralphs are only reasonably light weight in the Snake Skin version. However, compared to riding Stromlo with 450 gram tyres, you can only really do this for special races where you are taking a big risk trying to avoid sidewall issues, OR you need to have the track to yourself to pick perfect lines.

For 24 hour racing at Stromlo and other locations that require speed as well as sidewall protection, I would not hesitate to recommend these tyres to anyone. They are extremely fast in a straight line, and inspire awesome amounts of confidence in the huge number of corners that Stromlo has. For standard courses where you don't have copious amount of rock, you could quite easily get away with the standard EVO tyre offering from Schwalbe.

This year at the Scott 24 hour race at Stromlo you had just about every condition that could be thrown up at you. Dry and Dusty, Wet and Slick, a bit of mud and hero grip. You can pretty much ride a slick tyre when there is hero grip. It's when it is dry and dusty or wet and slick that things can be highly modified by a good tyre choice. My lap times at Stromlo were pretty consistent, both day and night. Training and conditioning aside, I am getting as much out of the trail as I can. This is purely down to the tyre being run. People who race downhill know that it's in the corners where it counts. The Stromlo cross country tracks have more corners than you can count each lap. If you can take speed, or create speed into and out of every corner then you can go faster. It is pretty much as simple as that. If you are fighting for grip, then you are bleeding precious seconds from your race time. The side lugs on the Racing Ralph allow you to lean the bike harder and longer than you could on other tyres. This creates and keeps speed. Speed is good for fast laps.

A big thanks to the guys at Schwalbe for supplying me with tyres that allowed me to get the 10th fastest day lap and the fastest night lap of the Scott 24 hour race at Stromlo. Consider checking them out for the future. They may make a difference to your confidence, cornering ability and your results.

2011 Scott 24hr wrap up

2011-10-11T11:09:00.001+11:00

The Scott Australian Championships 24hr race. Stromlo. Red and Blue laps. T6PRO category. 533km. 37 laps. 22.21km/hr.

Well, that is the executive summary. Not since 2008 has Stromlo used the hourglass red and blue his format is highly popular with competitors as it allows for the extra track spacing on a track almost devoid of fireroad. To say that the traffic was low would be the understatement of the year. I would have been lucky to pass 20 riders on any of my laps that i did. This is close to perfection with regards to enjoyment of a 24 hour race.

Backtrack to friday and Trev and I went out to Stromlo to set up the tent. We were again sharing with the Specialized crew who were out there with their top end demo fleet. 2 Televisions, change room, 2 patio heaters, 20 chairs, 10 tables, carpet, bike racks, electricity, fluoro lights - this is absolute pure luxury for the handful of laps that we would each do. However, it also facilitates ideal recovery to allow for consistent fast laps day and night.

The team was made up of our core group of riders; myself, Trev Rix, Al Sieper, Ben Carmody, Doug McLean and Will Bowron. We had our plan and Will started us off with the run and the blue lap. The blue lap takes you around the mountain out to the western side of Stromlo. It is considered flatter, but more technical due to the rocky nature of the Western trails. Will handed off to me for the red lap. The red lap goes up and down the mountain. It is reasonably technical, but is also extremely fast.

From this point on we rotated riders for the next 24 hours with some super fast times being pumped out for both laps. 25-27km/hr avg speed for the red lap and 20-22 km/hr avg speed for the blue lap. Experience and knowledge of one's ability is crucial in 24 hr racing even in 6 man teams. On a six man team you may only do 5-7 laps but each one of these is done at Short track pace. My first red lap was done pretty hard. My HRM was never showing less than 180bpm as I kept the intensity close to 95% max. Each consecutive lap was done just as deep with the accumulated fatigue. The whole team did exactly the same, with the lap times barely differing each time the individual went out.

The basic plan was warm up, stand in transition, smash out a lap, warm down, eat, clean up, rest ---- repeat.

After my first 2 night laps I retired to the tent to attempt to get some sleep. That never really eventuated, and I spent the majority of the time lying still for 2 hours. At 5am after my graveyard shift lap, I again retreated to the tent after a nice warm shower and this time I managed to get the HGH boost that pure sleep can provide. 1 hour!!! However, when I woke up I felt awesome (all relative of course).

Trev was brewing coffee on his Moka stove top device. Espresso cups were produced and Ben, Trev and John (4 person mixed LSC team) each had a coffee. In the next 15 minutes the caffeine kicked in and they all started talking really quickly to each other. Hysterical scenes ensued. It is no wonder coffee is a commodity in the world.

So, back to the racing, which was actually being done in the 4 and 6 man team categories (as well as the pointy end of the solos) - the positions were moving around a fair bit as teams had their riders of different abilities hit up laps at different times. Around midnight though everything seemed to settle a little bit and we grabbed a hold of 2nd place in the 6 man team and 3rd overall. The young fast dudes of 'Nothing Specific' had set some really fast laps, but halfway through the evening we had predicted that they would fade during the early morning laps, and this did eventuate. The ONYA Bike Belconnen Blokes kept hitting up fast laps like our team and were able to pull consistent time out of us just about every lap, and were the well deserved winners of the 6 man category. GU Sram again topped the leader board in the 4 man team, and also took out the overall win.

Like every 24 hour race that is done, you feel jetlagged after it. The sleep is pure, and it might take a week to recover, however, it is a really satisfying feeling being consistent and achieving pre-race objectives.

A big thanks to Lonsdale St Cyclery and Specialized for hooking us up with a luxurious corporate tent to chill out in between laps. Also a big thanks to Guy from Bike Box for hooking me up with a selection of Schwalbe tyres which were absolutely perfect for the course. Review to come in the next few days. Also a big thanks to my team mates, half of whom I have known for 20 years. It is extremely awesome racing with a bunch of motivated guys who are also good mates as well.

Pictorial version of 2011 Scott 24 Hour Race

2011-10-10T15:58:00.000+11:00

Empty Car before heading out to the Scott 24 hour race.

Car with enough things for 24 hours of existing at a MTB event centre.

Scott 24 hour event headquarters at Stromlo Forest Park, Canberra.

LSC team just chilling.

The traditional LeMans style start.

Trev and I checking out results online during the race.

The front of the Marquee that we shared with Specialized.

PRO - making the Sportograph highlights reel.

Kylie and Jayson - 2 of the best people in the LSC family.

Scott 24hr - bust out the podium shoes

2011-10-10T10:21:00.001+11:00

Testing between a 26er and a 29er

2011-10-04T14:00:00.001+11:00

It is nice to have all bikes matching and a bike for all occasions, surfaces, trails etc.

29er added into the mix to determine suitability. Testing undertaken over course of the weekend. The Bear would be impressed.

26er and 29er set up identically. Same groupset, tyres, geometry and measurements.

29er Flash out on the secret testing trail on Mount Ainslie. Huge wheels take a bit of getting used to visually. Riding it was a no brainer though.

Fresh coffee (thanks to Trev) to assist with the analysis of data that came back from testing.

Andrew Hall - Interview with an endurance specialist

2011-09-29T20:40:00.000+10:00

Andrew Hall is a rising star in the Enduro scene in Australia. He is an extremely talented cyclist and you can also tell that he has an analytical mind, which is always a benefit in the cycling world. I've ridden a fair bit with Andrew training on the road, and one thing that stands out is his ability to hold a very high sustainable pace for a very long time. You just know that there is a pretty good engine there inside.

He also resides in the 2602 postcode, so you know just by default, he must be pretty handy!

Sit back, relax and read about a rider you will be hearing a lot more of in the next few years to come.

For the tape, please state your name, age, race category, website, and
current sponsors:
Andrew Hall
32
Elite men
http://24hrsolo.blogspot.com
ACT Bike Superstore, M5 Networks

How long have you been racing \ riding bikes for?

I first rode Majura in the early 90’s … racing mtb for the last 2 years

OK, so you’re into the enduro scene in a big way, I take it that Solo
24 hour is your major focus?
The 24 Solos are major races in my year. You have to prepare your race
calendar around the solos, as they take so much preparation and take
so much out of you.

Outside of the 24s, I tend to focus on the longer multi-day events and
6 - 8 hr races.

I really enjoy the 8 hour races. They are long enough to be an enduro,
but short enough that you can push a solid pace all day and recovery
is only a few days.

Do you do any other sorts of racing during the year? If so, what sort
of events do you hit up, and are these just training events for you,
or are you targeting any specific events for different reasons?
I hit up a range of races throughout the year. Often I just
incorporate these into my training schedule. They give me something
different to try and usually require different skills then the
enduros.

I end up doing a bunch of XCO, 100km and 6 - 12 hr races. The shorter
races are good for working on top end performance, and bike skills. I
will often go into these races after a full training week, and it is
certainly good practice to be pushing it on less then fresh legs.

How many races in total would you do in a 12 month period?

Not including local club races, this year I will tally up;

* 2 x 24 hr solos
* 1 x 24hr pair
* 1 x 7 day stage race
* 1 x 6 x 6
* 8 x 7-8 hr
* 1 x 12 hr
* 4 x 50-100km

As an enduro specialist, you’d be racking up some hours on the bike.
What’s your standard week look like, with regard to duration, km,
climbing, specific workouts etc?
I don’t really pay too much attention to distance and climbing
metrics. I’m a power junkie so I’m more interested in Chronic Training
Load (CTL).

So, in training for a big event, I’ll peak my CTL to just below 130.

What this means is that on average, I am riding 130 TSS (Training
Stress Score) per day.

To put that in context, a 1 hr time trial is 100 TSS.

Looking at my log, before a big event I will do over 1600 km / 70 hr in a month.

My weekdays are usually 2 - 3 hours of specific training. VO2s, hill
repeats, long tempo etc.

My weekends are usually about long hours.

Saturday is usually Bakery Bunch on the roadie with a cotter +
tidbinbilla + corin.

Sunday is often up into the Brindies with the boys for big climbs and
big distances.

Are you into quality or quantity when it comes to time on the bike?

Quality - what’s the point in doing junk miles?

You’ve tried to convert me over to the Powermeter world many times. I
can see the benefits of this sort of technology for training purposes,
but what does it do for you?
The powermeter and associated software gives you an objective measure
of the intensity of your ride and a measure of how you are performing.

Doing long hours it important to track your build and more importantly
your recovery. If you use the power numbers correctly you can plan
your pre-race taper and recoveries. You can be confident that you are
going into a race at your peak form.

I also find I am pushed harder when sticking to a power number then to
heart rate alone. Heart rate is slow to react and slow to recover -
whereas the power numbers are instantaneous. You can’t hide a 30
second reset in the power data!

What sort of numbers can you put out?

FTP 340w @ 70kg

I have seen Jason English’s Heart Rate Monitor files for a couple of
solo 24 hour races. From my analysis, he is pretty much racing a
standard XCO race for 2 hours then riding at sustainable tempo (it’s
all relative) for the following 22 hours. Is this how you race a 24
hour event?
Generally speaking you race a solo at 70% of your capacity. The first
few hours can be pretty hot. But it becomes a fine balance, as to when
you back off and hope the guys up front blow.

You can’t win a 24 in the first 12 hours, but you sure can lose it.
The race really begins in the early hours of the morning.

I am still a newbie compared to guys like Bellchambers, McAvoy and
English. These guys know how to race 24s. They stay in control and
stay within their limit. Their lap times are consistent without too
much sway throughout the day or night. Importantly, they finish
strong.

From what I have learnt so far, to truly race a 24 you need three
things; fitness, nutrition and luck.

I think anyone can ride for 24 hours, but to race it you need a big
base fitness.

Nutrition will make or break your race. You have to be able to keep
eating and processing for 24 hours. Your stomach has to survive.

Luck. 24 hours is a long time and a lot can go wrong. You have to be
prepped for all sorts of contingencies - gear, food, weather etc

Jason English has set the bar for the last few years in the solo 24 hour
scene. He is incredibly talented on a bike at 24hr solo, 100km, and
even XCO. Do you think that he is able to be matched or beaten by
anyone at the 24 hour solo discipline?
I know there are a few guys who would love to take his crown. It is
hard to gauge how close everyone else is to Jase, as he has not really
been pushed in the last few years. Once he laps the field he shuts it
right down, and we are left guessing what he really has left.

I think some of the keys to Jase’s success is that he is very
technically skilled on the bike. This equates to him being a very
efficient and smooth rider. He conserves energy well. He also has an
amazing metabolism. He can eat so much food and not have any stomach
problems. Food powers the engine, and he can really keep that fire
burning.

How did you get into Enduro racing? How many solo 24 hour races have you done?

I’d been training a lot on the road with the New York City Cycling
Club, falling in with the guys doing the longer rides. We would do up
to 400km in a day! The weekend I arrived back in Australia it was the
Scott, and I was out supporting a friend. A few hours in and I knew I
had to give this a shot.

The Scott will be my 4th 24 hr solo.

This year you got 6th at the Australian Solo 24 hour championships.
Last year you got 11th at the World Championships in the Elite class.
Were you satisfied with these results?
Yes and no. I consider both events big learning experiences. In
retrospect, I was not prepared for Worlds. I made lots of mistakes
with pacing, nutrition and bike setup. But I got through it and put
the lessons learnt in the bank.

Solo Nationals taught be more about pacing. I had a great first 12
hours, and lost 3 places in the morning. It was a good insight into
the pace I should be setting early on.

I expect the Scott to teach me more again, and I hope I can pull it
all together for a top end result in the new Solo World champs in
Italy next year.

Can you improve on this for the future?

Of course! My fitness, skill, form and results have all significantly
improved in the past 12 months, and I am still on the way up - Thanks
Fenz. I want an overall podium at Solo Nationals.

For solo 24 hour racing, it is for the most part, quite a selfish
pursuit of the sport. How vital is a good support crew for your
success in the sport? Who is in your support crew?
Good support crew is essential. You need someone you can trust,
someone who knows you and can give you what you need - even when you
are in no state to tell them what you need!

My wife Robyn does my support, with the help of Kylie McAvoy. We go
into a race with a plan for nutrition, bike swaps and lights etc. But
nothing goes to plan, and once you really get into the race the rider
has to rely on the support crew to improvise.

Come the early morning you can barely think or put two sentences
together. You have to just accept that your support crew knows that
they are doing and eat/drink/do what ever they say.

Sleep deprivation is sort of something that comes with the territory
of 24 hr racing. Is this something that you can train, control or
mentally manipulate in any way?
It’s called no-doz and caffeine gels … going to your happy place.

A recent announcement that CORC was going to create a ‘proper’ World
Championships must have been quite stimulating for solo riders. How
has this changed your 3 year plan?
A big hats off to CORC for stepping out of the box and organising
this. It is really exciting.

It changes things a little - more around prioritising which races to
do. Overseas racing is not cheap, and there are lots of other big
races I’d like to get too.

It will really depend on what extra sponsorship I can find.

It’s a major endurance feat to ride, let alone race at the pointy end
of a 24hr race. What sort of distances, calories burned and consumed,
power numbers are you creating in an average 24 hour race?
A 24 will take riders to around 360 - 400km, and at least 10,000 calories.

A 24 will be around a 1200 - 1500 TSS, and roughly 200 watts average.

You have also participated and done quite well at MTB stage racing.
What’s your take on this and do you think that this is a niche that
can grow over time?
I love the MTB stage racing. It’s great being in the zone for multiple
days and just focusing on riding and recovering.

There are already a lot of MTB stage races around, with something for
everyone. I personally prefer the events with the longer and more
challenging stages.

I think promoters have to balance the “epic” races with those that are
achievable by a wider range of riders.

For me, I plan to get to Terra and Croc Trophy next year, and maybe
Cape Epic after that ...

Where do you feel your strengths lie on the bike? Any place for improvement?

There is always room for improvement. My biggest strength is my
fitness and ability to backup and repeat solid day long rides. My
biggest weakness is technical skills. More skills will mean more flow,
and more energy conserved.

Describe the most epic day on the bike you have done in the last month?

4k vert / 140km on the MTB with McAvoy riding the ranges between
Tidbinbilla and the Brindies - after a full training week. We got
rain, snow, sun and head winds. Big day out!

What is your take on the colour ‘white’ in cycling?

There is no excuse for white knicks in the rain. Bad!

Apart from myself :), who are riders that you rate highly (for whatever
reason), and why?
* Jason English - oh der - and he is a really nice bloke - always up
for a mid race chat
* Brett Bellchambers - never underestimate the Big Beard - he knows
how to tactically race and is amazingly strong on his single speed
* Garry James - cause he is just a tough nut. After binning it on
Skyline a few weeks back, and getting yet another round of stitches …
he pulled the stitches out himself and was back out doing epic rides
within 10 days! I hope I can still race 24s at 50 years of age!

The age old burning question in MTB circles. 26er, 29er, or dually?
Why do you ride what you ride?
Scott Spark for me … 26 inch / dually. It is a fast race bike and
comfy enough for the long rides. Easy to adapt to different trail
conditions. One of the only bikes to survive Terra Australis without
any mechanical issues!

My new Scale 29er should become my bike of choice for the more fire
road based races.

I have ridden with you a fair bit on the road in training bunches. Why
do you always half wheel me? But seriously, why do you think that
riders behind us stop talking when we are on the front?
If someone is talking behind us, then we are not going hard enough.
There will be no talking.

Canberra is a pretty awesome place to live if you are into bikes. Who
is in your standard crew of riding homies year round?
Jase McAvoy, Ed McDonald, Garry James, Aaron Thompson … and of course
JD for some Bakery fun

If you had to pick the perfect day on the bike, what would it consist of?

Warm weather, epic climbs and epic distances … finish it off with some
pizza and garlic bread on the couch!

At Stromlo, are you comfortable with a two wheel drift?

You have to be to ride Stromlo!

Word Association – respond with one word (or a sentence if required)
to the following....

Saturday morning Bakery Bunch – Puff Pastry
Sock Height - @Fake_jdowning26
Internet Forums – Not interested
Social Media – Good time waster
24 hour solo racing – challenge
Cross Country MTB racing - lungs and heart in mouth
MTB stage racing - super fun
100km races - almost as fun as stage racing
Effective training – sticking to the schedule and getting in recovery
Long rides – training
Brindabella Mountains – Two-Sticks descent and Webbs Ridge climbing
TCP equals 13 - SYN
Favourite MTB tyre – Racing Ralph
Flat bars or riser bars – what ever works
Scott 24hr Australian Championships 2011 - goal
Australian Solo Championships 2012 - goal
World 24 hr Championships – Italy 2012 - big goal
Brett Bellchambers - Don’t under estimate the Big Beard
Jason English - talent
Ed McDonald - future Aussie 24 hr champion
Jason McAvoy - Jedi Master
VO2max, Threshold, all day epic – all three - just a usual Sat training ride!

Thanks Andrew, it's been great. Any final words?

Fastest average speed always wins #jdfact

Ben Henderson Interview

2011-09-24T13:30:00.002+10:00

I'm pretty sure most people in Australian MTB circles know Ben or have heard of him. He is extremely talented on a bike, both physically and technically, and backs this up by posting superb results both domestically and overseas. I have known Ben for about 5 or 6 years, and one thing I can say is that he is extremely down to earth, loves the bike and also the sport as a whole.

Ben recently took some time out of his hectic training schedule to conduct a small interview with me. The answers demonstrate that he is very switched on, and brutally honest with his assessment of key incidents in his cycling and life experience.

Read on.....

For the tape, please state your name, age, race category, website, and current sponsors:

Ben Henderson. 25, elite men, www.benhenderson.com.au, Anytime Fitness, Trek Bikes, Stromlo Forest Park, TORQ Nutrition, Capital Bicycle Hire

What is your priority MTB niche (XCO, XCC, XCM, 24 solo etc)?

XCO/XCC

Why is this where you channel all of your time and energy into being good?

Because MTB racing and riding is what I love to do and I'd like to know just how good I can be at it.

So, what’s a standard week of training look like for you?

Between 10-30 hours per week depending on what part of the season and stretching and strengthening sessions throughout the week.

Are you into quality or quantity when it comes to time on the bike?

Quality without a doubt. But the secret is knowing what quality you are looking for.

Do you use any electrical devices on your bike (GPS, HRM, Powermeter, Di2 etc)? What sort of numbers can you put out?

Garmin/Powertap. 350watt threshold @ 65kg. Heart rate max 191.

In the lead up to the 2009 MTB World Championships, I stated on Facebook that you were a ‘Stromlo Specialist’ and would achieve a top 35 result. When you actually raced that event and got a great result of 35^th, what were your thoughts, feeling, sensations?

It was probably the most amazing experience of my life. To have everything fall together over the previous months to be able to race my first world champs in my first year elite, on my home track, was a dream come true. It was a huge buzz from start to finish and to have a great results just put the icing on the cake. During the race I just concentrated on doing my own thing on the track and not making mistakes. The other guys around me had no problem riding the sections but as the race wore on they struggled to clear the sections consistently. I was gone by the end, barely making it up the the steep climbs, but having everyone there just made the pain insignificant.

Shortly after the 2009 MTB World Championships you got the opportunity to ride with Team Drapac Porsche on the road. How was this as a life experience and how did this compare with your MTB experiences?

Honestly, it was horrible. It was straight after Worlds and I was cooked. It was a 10 day tour and I felt like I went to hell and back. It made me stronger but it showed to me that it's not what I want to do at this time. It's so different in so many ways. Playing footy on the weekend probably has more in common with what I do.

Your Dad is a 24 hour solo MTB World Champion, Your sister has won a couple of junior and U23 Australian XCO Titles. Your sister’s boyfriend (Dan McConnell) won the 2010 Australian XCO Championships. At times your house has some pretty fast racers living under the roof. Are you the fastest in the 2904 postcode? Are you even the fastest in your house?

It's been a battle and I guess we've each had our time owning the title. I can tell you it's definitely the most competitive household in the universe. Both Dan and Bec put in some great performances overseas so I actually decided to move out before they got back. I just couldn't face being the dunce of the house once they got back. I'm hoping 2903 has some good things in store.

Flashback to Tasmania last year. You have really good form going into this race. You won the opening round of the National Series. What was going through your mind as you were standing underneath the overhead timing equipment and it fell down on you?

I'll keep it short. I'd just had a little off in my first practice lap. I'd put that to the back of my mind and I was loving the course and really getting into it. I was about to start a hot lap and I was super amped. I was opening it up going through the start finish and out of the saddle and looking up the road. Out of the corner of my eye the timing board I was riding past suddenly fell towards me. I was still going full gas as the board started falling towards me. I actually didn't look as i was focussed on the track, but the impact was so hard into my leg that I just buckled and hit the ground. I'd say disbelief was going through my mind from that moment until a long time after.

Is this the worst ever bad luck that you have experienced on the bike?

Considering the odds and the severity I'd say yes. The Nationals incident was probably not so lucky either. I've had my fair share of mechanicals and flats at inopportune times but I believe that's just part of racing.

2011 season seemed to be a bit of a breakthrough year for yourself with regard to excellent results at the national level. What do you attribute this to?

I just built on the confidence I gained from the season before and made some training changes with my coach Mark Fenner. I did win the first National round but at the second one in Tassie there was an accident with a timing board basically falling on top of me and I never really recovered or regained my fitness and confidence for the remainder or the season. I was just getting back on top of thing when the incident happened with Chris Jongewaard at Nationals. The result of this was great motivation but even greater pressure and that recipe didn't transfer into results. I was relieved to grab 67th starting 120th in South Africa but I needed a top 60 to give me a start position, and without that my international season went dormant.

You have raced a fair bit in Czechoslovakia. What’s the go with that?

Hey it's been Czech Republic for 20 years! I've got some good friends there including the Ivanator, Ivan Rybarik. It's been a great base and I've had some great times there but it has proved not to be the place I'm looking for and I don't expect to spend much time there in the future.

Where in the World is your favourite place to either race or ride your MTB?

I rode some great trails in New Zealand in 2009 and Oceanias are in Rotorua next year so that may well take the cake. Otherwise I thinks it's two hard to choose where there best riding is. The best racing is any world cup when there are 30 000 people lining the track and you are racing against the best in the world. I do love Stromlo when I've got the feel for it and can just drift around a bit.

Apart from myself (J), who are riders that you rate highly (for whatever reason), and why?

Dan McConnell, because he has some unbelievable power when he wants to use it and has proved he can ride with the best in the world. I want to beat Dan but on a personal level, I'm truly happy to see him do well. However I don't feel like I want to be, or be like, anyone else.

The age old burning question in MTB circles. 26er, 29er, or dually? Why do you ride what you ride?

29er hardtail. Because I think it suits my style and power profile the best on average. We'll see if it takes me where I want to go this season.

What is your take on the colour ‘white’ in cycling?

The right amount looks classy, too much looks like you’re out of place.

Where do you feel your strengths lie on the bike?

My efficiency and my persistence around all aspects of racing.

Canberra is a pretty awesome place to live if you are into bikes. Who is in your standard crew of riding buddies in summer?

I guess those you mentioned from the 'house' , Dylan Cooper, a group of older guys (they're not all old, sorry) and a lot of time is spent with my buddies, Ipod and Garmin.

Word Association – respond with one word (or a sentence if required) to the following....

· 2 wheel drift - optimal

· Roadies – depends

· Skyline at Stromlo – flowing

· Contact in XCO racing – happens

· Fast starts – helpful

· Junior racers – Prosser Brothers

· Internet Forums – anonymous?

· Effective training – knowledge

· World Championships – improve

· Club Races – home

· NSW State Titles – beginning

· Favourite MTB tyre – Bontrager

· Flat bars or riser bars – flat

· Latino women – handful

· Excellent Support team – easier

· Adelaide. National Championships 2012 – focussed

· Dylan Cooper – ability

· Mitch Codner - reformed

· Dan McConnell – climbing

· Sean Lewis – mentor

· Short track MTB racing – pain

· Cross Country MTB racing - dedication

· 24 hour solo racing – slow

· VO2max or Threshold sessions – Threshold, but it depends how long. Completing a session of VO2 efforts is endorphin central.

Thanks Ben it’s been great – any final words?.......

Now or never.

The Scott 24hr - Australian MTB Championships

2011-09-20T11:39:00.001+10:00

Planning has already started for the Lonsdale Street Cyclery assault on the prestiguous team events at the Scott 24 Hour MTB Australian Championships. This race will again be held at Stromlo in Canberra on the 2nd weekend in October.

The Scott this year will be held on the well regarded red and Blue hourglass loops. This is a fantastic way of getting the course spacing spot on. When you have 2500 competitors entered, with up to 650 riders on course at any one time, then course spacing is paramount to enjoyment.

It is not uncommon to overtake 100 riders per lap at some of these events. It is a very fine balance between keeping speed high and still being polite out on the trails chasing an Australian Titles whilst maneuvring around all sorts of riders out there having fun.

The last 3 years the 6 man Lonsdale Street Cyclery High Performance Racing team has made it into the top 5 overall, beating out other fancied teams. Course knowledge and a consistent approach is the name of the game here.

This year we have the following team returning

James Downing, Will Bowron, Trev Rix, Allan Sieper, Doug McLean and Ben Carmody.

Experience counts big time in 24 hour racing. Out of the team myself, Trev, Al and Doug have all been racing bikes for over 20 years each.

Last year, 6 man teams occupied 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th in the overall, therefore surpassing many of the supposed 'pro' 4 man team setups. 6 man teams are here it is at for quality of racing that's for sure.

This year we are set up in a corporate tent with the Specialized crew again. Specialized will once again be offering up their demo fleet to the riders to try out $10,000 demo bikes. Get down there and check out the industry's top bikes once again.

The corporate tent will once again give us a luxurious set up with a fantastic crew right outside the transition zone. Big thanks to Trev and Janie from Lonsdale Street Cyclery for setting this up again.

Secret training out on the course has begun......