Hey All
This weekend was the Howick Highlander, and was definitely going to be a really tough race. After riding the course with Craig on Saturday morning, I went home got the bike prepped and ready for the next day.
Sunday morning dawned, and there were some big names that would be contending for top honours, Craig Paul, Roan Exelby, Pete Smith and Travis Walker. A long fairly dusty neutral zone lead us out of the start/finish area. As soon as we hit the district road, Jedson Tooms put in an attack which was short lived due to a snapped chain. The bunch began splitting up slightly as the pace became faster and faster on the undulating roads.
Craig put in a small attack on a really bumpy section, which left the rest of the bunch fighting for the minor places. Craig’s gap increased slightly all the time and by the time he reached the top of the biggest climb of the day, he had close on a minute off the bunch. The bunch was now pushing super hard to close down the gap, and I was soon found in no mans land, just off the back. I stayed as calm as possible, knowing I would close the gap in the super long single track section coming up. I managed to catch back up in one of the super technical single track sections. Unfortunately, being super eager to catch up to the next guys in front, I tried to pass by going around the rider by taking the more technical line. Around 50m or so later I found myself in a heap on the exit of the rock garden, with an intense pain coming from the inside of my right knee.
I got up, looked around for my watch which had been ripped of my arm and tried to piece my race back together. But from there the race just started going backwards, I dropped from my position and soon found Andrew Hill (6th) leaving me to frizzle up. I tried my absolute hardest to push through the pain and try find a good rhythm but as soon as I put any form of pressure on my knee it would feel as though someone was sliding a hot piece of metal under my skin. I eventually made it to a marshal, who notified the officials of my withdrawal, and took a chilled cruise back to the finish.
Congrats to Craig, who managed to pull off the win, with Pete claiming 3rd respectively.
Now to try and recover a bit and get back into the training…
Until next time
Ciao
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Cowan House Super Classic
This weekend was the Cowan house super classic, possibly one of the greatest classics in the country due to the mind bogglingly awesome single track!
After arriving at the venue, it was clear that the racing was really going to be hard and fast! Burry Stander, Max Knox, Brandon Stewart, Craig Paul, to name a few, were some of the top riders who were really going to make life hard on the bike. Even the Junior categories were going to be hotly contested, with Rourke Croeser, James Reid and Travis Walker in attendance.
With half an hour or so before the start, I hopped onto the stationary trainer to heat up the legs. The weather was perfect for racing, Sunny, but not too hot which would make for awesome racing conditions.
Off the start, the usual Jedson Tooms, went balls to the wall, but was soon caught by the freight train as we exited the school grounds. After a few dodgy 90degree corners, I found myself in a group of around 7 or 8 riders. Some of the big favourites slipped away from the bunch with ease leaving us to fight out our own race. I caught Craig after he took a nasty tumble, with Trav, James and team mate Pete just in front of us.
We entered one of the super dusty single tracks, unfortunately, with me being on Craig's wheel it was like riding straight into a wall, in more ways then one. After taking a super fast left hander I heard a loud bang, felt my bike jerk under me and suddenly went head first into the base of a tree. I got up dazed and pretty confused, squinting through the dust to see what I had smacked, A ROCK... With the taste of blood in my mouth, a dead arm and glasses sitting awkwardly on my face, I bent my bars and try to get back into a rhythm. I had dropped a number of places but just tried to push on. Eventually 3 or 4km later, Dave leiman caught up to me and gave me a good tow, which helped tremendously.
We worked really well together, and were reeling in the time gaps quickly. Up the KOM we pushed super hard and slowly began catching up. Upon exiting one of the single track sections, we passed James Reid who had suffered from a puncture. I tossed him my bombs to try and help out, so that he could get back into the race and commenced with the task at hand. Dave and I now sat 7th and 8th overall, and were really trying to close the gap to Craig who was the next man up the road. But we both knew that that would be a tall order with Craig being a single track machine.
Dave and I rode hard to the finish with him crossing the line just in front of me. I ended up with a 8th overall and was 1st youth in. The race was an awesome experience, especially with such a highly pedigreed field. Thanks to the organisers who put together an absolutely mind blowing course!
This weekend is a free weekend, with a lot of mileage happening. Good luck to all the riders (junior and up), who are flying out to Australia on Monday to compete at the highest level possible! World Champs!
Until next time
Ciao
After arriving at the venue, it was clear that the racing was really going to be hard and fast! Burry Stander, Max Knox, Brandon Stewart, Craig Paul, to name a few, were some of the top riders who were really going to make life hard on the bike. Even the Junior categories were going to be hotly contested, with Rourke Croeser, James Reid and Travis Walker in attendance.
With half an hour or so before the start, I hopped onto the stationary trainer to heat up the legs. The weather was perfect for racing, Sunny, but not too hot which would make for awesome racing conditions.
Off the start, the usual Jedson Tooms, went balls to the wall, but was soon caught by the freight train as we exited the school grounds. After a few dodgy 90degree corners, I found myself in a group of around 7 or 8 riders. Some of the big favourites slipped away from the bunch with ease leaving us to fight out our own race. I caught Craig after he took a nasty tumble, with Trav, James and team mate Pete just in front of us.
We entered one of the super dusty single tracks, unfortunately, with me being on Craig's wheel it was like riding straight into a wall, in more ways then one. After taking a super fast left hander I heard a loud bang, felt my bike jerk under me and suddenly went head first into the base of a tree. I got up dazed and pretty confused, squinting through the dust to see what I had smacked, A ROCK... With the taste of blood in my mouth, a dead arm and glasses sitting awkwardly on my face, I bent my bars and try to get back into a rhythm. I had dropped a number of places but just tried to push on. Eventually 3 or 4km later, Dave leiman caught up to me and gave me a good tow, which helped tremendously.
We worked really well together, and were reeling in the time gaps quickly. Up the KOM we pushed super hard and slowly began catching up. Upon exiting one of the single track sections, we passed James Reid who had suffered from a puncture. I tossed him my bombs to try and help out, so that he could get back into the race and commenced with the task at hand. Dave and I now sat 7th and 8th overall, and were really trying to close the gap to Craig who was the next man up the road. But we both knew that that would be a tall order with Craig being a single track machine.
Dave and I rode hard to the finish with him crossing the line just in front of me. I ended up with a 8th overall and was 1st youth in. The race was an awesome experience, especially with such a highly pedigreed field. Thanks to the organisers who put together an absolutely mind blowing course!
This weekend is a free weekend, with a lot of mileage happening. Good luck to all the riders (junior and up), who are flying out to Australia on Monday to compete at the highest level possible! World Champs!
Until next time
Ciao
Monday, August 10, 2009
Harburg Super Classic-Tough Luck
Hey guys, this weekend was probably one of the most frustrating days on my bike to date.
We arrived in the small town of Harburg for the Tour de Kranz early on Saturday morning. Despite the marathon champs happening on the same day, all the usual snakes were present, Craig Paul, Dave Leiman, Trav Walker and Andrew Hill. Straight out the start attacks came hard and fast, but they were countered very quickly and the racing resumed to normal.
As soon as we hit the first kick, Craig put down the hammer and split up the field. It caused a group of 6 of us to peel off the front. My legs were feeling a little dead and I could seriously feel the super hard week that I had had, but pretty soon it burnt off and I was rolling on at full speed.
After hitting the first climb, I dropped off slightly, but managed to close the gap back down. We rode on now only four of us up front. We hit one of the tougher climbs in the race and I was forced to drop off. I tried to limit my losses and got into a good rhythm and just pushed on. After cresting the climb I started to real in the gap again.
I pushed super hard to try close down the gap but unfortunately, while being caught up in the moment, I missed a turn and went down the wrong contour road. Luckily, I heard Carl Calvarley and Dave whistling. I turned round to notice that I had now lost two positions because of the silly mistake. Now being really frustrated I chased Carl and Dave really hard, but heard the dreaded sound of air being forced through rubber, before catching them. Now Nic Porteous had passed me and I was seriously frustrated. I got back onto my bike and tried to catch Nic, but punctured again on a rocky climb. I was now really irritated, I bombed it again, but was now out of CO2 canisters. Mike Smith had now caught me. I managed to put a small gap between Mike and I, but my tyre was losing air yet again.
Now sitting without anything to re-inflate my tyre, I rode until I got to a rode crossing where I could hopefully find a pump. By the time I had reached the road crossing, I was well outside the top 20. I found a pump and pumped the tyre up as best as I could. I got going and was now riding as hard as I could. I set a goal to try at least get back into the lead of my category and possibly the top 10. With Only 15km to go I knew it was really going to be a tall order, and knew I had to dig really deep.
I started catching the people one by one and soon was back in the lead of my category, and around 15th overall. The positions were coming down and was soon in 14th with 3km to go. A bunch of 4 were about 1km ahead, I set my sights on catching them and gave it my all, unfortunately, I ran out of time, coming in about 20sec down on the small bunch.
I was really bleak with my overall result, but performance wise I was really happy to have come off with a 13th overall and first in age, after 3 punctures. Well done to Craig who pulled off a good 3rd overall.
Next weekend is a really big one for me, especially for the sponsors, Cowan House Super Classic is always a must, so if you've got a bike in the garage, come on out to Cowan House for an awesome days ride!
Ciao
We arrived in the small town of Harburg for the Tour de Kranz early on Saturday morning. Despite the marathon champs happening on the same day, all the usual snakes were present, Craig Paul, Dave Leiman, Trav Walker and Andrew Hill. Straight out the start attacks came hard and fast, but they were countered very quickly and the racing resumed to normal.
As soon as we hit the first kick, Craig put down the hammer and split up the field. It caused a group of 6 of us to peel off the front. My legs were feeling a little dead and I could seriously feel the super hard week that I had had, but pretty soon it burnt off and I was rolling on at full speed.
After hitting the first climb, I dropped off slightly, but managed to close the gap back down. We rode on now only four of us up front. We hit one of the tougher climbs in the race and I was forced to drop off. I tried to limit my losses and got into a good rhythm and just pushed on. After cresting the climb I started to real in the gap again.
I pushed super hard to try close down the gap but unfortunately, while being caught up in the moment, I missed a turn and went down the wrong contour road. Luckily, I heard Carl Calvarley and Dave whistling. I turned round to notice that I had now lost two positions because of the silly mistake. Now being really frustrated I chased Carl and Dave really hard, but heard the dreaded sound of air being forced through rubber, before catching them. Now Nic Porteous had passed me and I was seriously frustrated. I got back onto my bike and tried to catch Nic, but punctured again on a rocky climb. I was now really irritated, I bombed it again, but was now out of CO2 canisters. Mike Smith had now caught me. I managed to put a small gap between Mike and I, but my tyre was losing air yet again.
Now sitting without anything to re-inflate my tyre, I rode until I got to a rode crossing where I could hopefully find a pump. By the time I had reached the road crossing, I was well outside the top 20. I found a pump and pumped the tyre up as best as I could. I got going and was now riding as hard as I could. I set a goal to try at least get back into the lead of my category and possibly the top 10. With Only 15km to go I knew it was really going to be a tall order, and knew I had to dig really deep.
I started catching the people one by one and soon was back in the lead of my category, and around 15th overall. The positions were coming down and was soon in 14th with 3km to go. A bunch of 4 were about 1km ahead, I set my sights on catching them and gave it my all, unfortunately, I ran out of time, coming in about 20sec down on the small bunch.
I was really bleak with my overall result, but performance wise I was really happy to have come off with a 13th overall and first in age, after 3 punctures. Well done to Craig who pulled off a good 3rd overall.
Next weekend is a really big one for me, especially for the sponsors, Cowan House Super Classic is always a must, so if you've got a bike in the garage, come on out to Cowan House for an awesome days ride!
Ciao
Thursday, August 6, 2009
MUD MUD and more MUD!!!!
Hey guys, sorry about such a late post, my web page hasn't been working... irritating I know!
Well on Sunday was the Eston Illovo Marathon and Half Marathon. YOH!!! was it super muddy, Craig and I drove in and the fields were smothered in thick brown sludge and it was still trickling down. It soon dawned upon us that this was going to be a super SUPER muddy race. Surprisingly the terrible conditions didn't scare off that many people.
With 45min to go I hopped onto the stationary trainer. The weather was also freezing, so it was definitely a good plan for the trainer to come along :) After a really good long warm up we were called into the starting pens. Fortunately I was seeded in the 'A' batch so I was able to get a really good position on the front row.
Off the start things already became very clear how slippery the race was going to be, as even the lead bike crashed in the mud (yup camera man and all, with first 300m or so being thick sludge most of us took it very easy until the first climb. James Reid came to the front and set the pace with myself, Luke Roberts and Trav Walker all in tow. As we approached the KOM (king of the mountain) the pace heated up. Over the top Trav and James opened up a small gap, which I tried to close but couldn't get any grip with my tyres. I pushed super hard over the top and onto the flat section that followed to try reduce the gap. Unfortunately with them working together the gap slowly began to stretch.
In the attempt to close down the gap, I noticed Luke had dropped off, and this left me to chase down by myself. I got into a good rhythm and just kept pushing. The gap would open and stretch depending on the traffic, and I was hoping to close in the single track sections, and it worked to an extent, the gaps would get smaller but would open again as soon as we hit the road sections.
Approaching the 60/40 split, I was forced to run the majority of the climb. My gears were totally caked in mud, and my tyres were slick with nasty brown snot. Luckily I stopped at a water pumped and cleaned what I could out of my cassette (thanks to the guy that helped me).
Now came our long single track sections, and the gap started creeping down again, but not quite fast enough. The dodgy single track saw me buying a huge piece of Eston land, which saw me landing in a small ditch. I got up quickly and scrambled to my bike. Now in the last couple of kilometres I just rode as hard as I could in case a mechanical occurred with James or Trav.
I brought it home in 3rd (1st youth), just under 5min behind the two leaders, with Luke bringing in 4th. I was massively impressed with my race, as I'd been off my bike for 3 weeks and didn't exactly know the form I'd be in for such a big race.
But now its time to start cracking that whip again. Got some seriously tough training over the next couple of weeks. With Harburg Tour de Krantz this weekend, which should provide some fantastic racing.
till next time
ciao
Well on Sunday was the Eston Illovo Marathon and Half Marathon. YOH!!! was it super muddy, Craig and I drove in and the fields were smothered in thick brown sludge and it was still trickling down. It soon dawned upon us that this was going to be a super SUPER muddy race. Surprisingly the terrible conditions didn't scare off that many people.
With 45min to go I hopped onto the stationary trainer. The weather was also freezing, so it was definitely a good plan for the trainer to come along :) After a really good long warm up we were called into the starting pens. Fortunately I was seeded in the 'A' batch so I was able to get a really good position on the front row.
Off the start things already became very clear how slippery the race was going to be, as even the lead bike crashed in the mud (yup camera man and all, with first 300m or so being thick sludge most of us took it very easy until the first climb. James Reid came to the front and set the pace with myself, Luke Roberts and Trav Walker all in tow. As we approached the KOM (king of the mountain) the pace heated up. Over the top Trav and James opened up a small gap, which I tried to close but couldn't get any grip with my tyres. I pushed super hard over the top and onto the flat section that followed to try reduce the gap. Unfortunately with them working together the gap slowly began to stretch.
In the attempt to close down the gap, I noticed Luke had dropped off, and this left me to chase down by myself. I got into a good rhythm and just kept pushing. The gap would open and stretch depending on the traffic, and I was hoping to close in the single track sections, and it worked to an extent, the gaps would get smaller but would open again as soon as we hit the road sections.
Approaching the 60/40 split, I was forced to run the majority of the climb. My gears were totally caked in mud, and my tyres were slick with nasty brown snot. Luckily I stopped at a water pumped and cleaned what I could out of my cassette (thanks to the guy that helped me).
Now came our long single track sections, and the gap started creeping down again, but not quite fast enough. The dodgy single track saw me buying a huge piece of Eston land, which saw me landing in a small ditch. I got up quickly and scrambled to my bike. Now in the last couple of kilometres I just rode as hard as I could in case a mechanical occurred with James or Trav.
I brought it home in 3rd (1st youth), just under 5min behind the two leaders, with Luke bringing in 4th. I was massively impressed with my race, as I'd been off my bike for 3 weeks and didn't exactly know the form I'd be in for such a big race.
But now its time to start cracking that whip again. Got some seriously tough training over the next couple of weeks. With Harburg Tour de Krantz this weekend, which should provide some fantastic racing.
till next time
ciao
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