2012 Kona Odyssey

My lead up to the Kona Odyssey was looking really good. I was smashing out the low intensity kms during January with the plan to have 1 week of recovery and 3 of hills before the race. As the intensity started so did my tonsillitis leaving me unable to ride. As I downed the second script of antibiotics it was time for some easy wind training and then taper for the KO. Not the ideal prep!

I was pretty keen for this race, it always attracts an impressive field and takes in some really fun trails around Forrest. Normally I try to fly down early to get a practice on the Red Carpet section of track but this year we had to rush through registration to get to Apollo Bay for some carb loading. It was great hanging out with the Merida guys and being able to stay 50m from race start.

My race prep was looking pretty good until I opened my bike box to find my tyre had blown off the rim. At 10:30pm it took a CO2 to get the thing inflated and an obvious lack of Stans fluid had me quite concerned...

The race started in the typical format with no real attacks off the front. The pace just didn't slow when we hit the first climb and my legs weren't prepared to stay with the front guys. Three kms later, through the private property that requires a bit of walking, I managed to catch back up to the chase group. We worked together as we hit the tar road and we must of had 7 riders with us. AJ who had broken his chain rejoined about the 30km mark and started to put the hurt on the group. Around 35km we caught up to 2nd place who was fixing a flat tyre. A few kms later I stopped to check on an injured Shaun Lewis whilst topping up my front tyre. It sucks when bad luck stops you from finishing a race.

At the top of the Red Carpet I made sure I put heaps of air in my tyre and it held up for the rest of the race. This section had changed a bit since I last rode it but is heaps of fun. Coming across the 50km drink station I was starting to pick up a few more places after dropping back to 8th. I was looking out for my drink bottle but I wasn't keen to slow down.

From the next section of single track and back into town I managed to pick up another few spots and I moved up into 4th place. Going through Forrest I was glad JP was around to yell at me to grab a bottle of Shotz or I would have gone thirsty. I was starting to feel good and I was just aiming to stay ahead of 5th place. I really enjoy the single track around Forrest. I only overcooked one corner as I was having a bit too much fun. I'm glad I had the glasses on through here as there were heaps of plants trying to eye gouge.

Heading out onto the final 16km I grabbed another Shotz and headed out for the final 2 climbs. I was feeling really quick until half way up the first climb where I switched over to recovery mode. I like the blind corners in this section to keep you guessing.

When I hit sledge hammer my legs were already hammered. I struggled up looking forward to the downhill home. I punched up the last little pinch with about 2km to go. My chain decided not to join me for this section and I got to scoot / run for the last section. I was sure 2 riders would pass me and I would be out of top 5! I've got no problem getting beaten by the 3 awesome riders in front of me. Now I just need to get some hills in my legs before the Mountain to Beach stage race with some kids from my school!

It was great to catch up with Darryl from Shotz and Chanh from Adidas Eyewear. Its great to see these guys supporting so many events.

A big thanks to JP for feeding me and being taxi.

2011 Chocolate Foot Awaba 8.25hr

With the 8.25hr being rescheduled it was now going to slide between school holidays and family Christmas parties making it a possibility for me to attend. An 8hr is always a good way to justify overindulging at the dessert table.

After riding an 8hr at Awaba earlier this year I had the plan to stay on the hardtail for the whole 8hrs again. The first few laps felt fast, my heart rate jumped over 190 on the camelback climb and Andy Hall was crazy enough to try this pace too. The tracked flowed as well as I last remembered but with a bit of rain falling between this race and my previous visit the track was far more harsh on the hartail. I had to slow the pace on the downhills to prevent my bottles from ejecting.

I rode around with Andy for almost 3hours until some pedestrian traffic separated us. I was pretty sure I would see him again as my legs had seen a hard week back on the bike and were feeling pretty smashed. I took my first full week off the bike which is the longest break I have had since breaking vertebrae in 2008!

I spent the next couple of hours thinking about how flogged my hands were getting until I finally gave in around the 5hr mark and pulled out the Merida 96. I don't know why I didn't do this earlier. It took me a lap or two to get use to the duallie but my wrists started to feel relaxed. I was smashing the downhills heaps faster and started to have a whole lot more fun. It ended up that my last lap was my fastest of the day once I had both the track and duallie dialled in. I was just disappointed I missed the cut-off by two minutes preventing me from getting another sweet lap in on a sweet track on a sweet bike.

A big thanks to Paul and Di who managed to race well in a mixed 3 and also feed me during the race. They did a great job.

As this is my last race for the year it is worth acknowledging all my sponsors for 2011.

Adidas eyewear have been very generous with their support this year, especially given the rate that I break and loose glasses!

Anytime Fitness have supported me for over the last year. The 24hr access gym with a 24hr rider!

Continental Tyes have had me covered all year. I have been running a Protection Race King on the back and X King Race Sport on the front in all races that I attended this year. I only went a Protection on the front out at Alice Spings, just in case!

Dirtworks lined up an arrangement with Ritchey this year for me which was great. The hollow carbon rail 130gram seats are really comfy even for 24hrs.

JetBlack Products have looked after me through:

Crank Brothers - I'm running eggbeater 11 pedals which are the lightest pedal on the market. They also work well in mud and clay as they are so open.

NiteRider - I run the 3000 lumen lights on the bar and a minewt 700 on the helmet which has worked very well.

Stans - I have a set of the new stans titanium 1200 gram wheels on my duallie and my hardtail also run podium rims.

Weldtite - I have been running wet lube all year. My bike only needs re-lubing under 8hrs in really dusty or muddy conditions. I have also started using wax on my road bike which keeps the whole bike a whole lot cleaner.

Merida have invested heavily in me. This year I have had two 96 Meridas for 24hr racing, an 0-nine hardtail for shorter races and a team roadie for training and road racing. I have been very lucky. These bikes are impressive, not only the weight but the way that they ride.

I'm going to miss the 96 bike when it goes. I have only ridden it at races over 10hrs. This will change next year when I get on the 99's and start enjoying how much fun duallies can be. The 0-nine will stay in my garage for a while as I compare it to the new carbon big nine (29er).

SRAM have also made it possible for me to race so successfully. They have helped build my bikes up with their amazing XX kits. They have also provided ongoing support at races which has been much needed.

Gordon Street Cycles in Port Macquarie have spent hours keeping my bikes in perfect working condition. My bikes have gone into the shop several times barely working only to come out like new every time.

I'm sure Darryl from Shotz Nutrition didn't know how much I ate until he started sponsoring me. I'm really a big fan of the caffeine gels during the night, electrolyte every second lap and protein recovery bars after hill repeats.

Lazer helmets have been looking after me for the past 4 years and I still love the ability to adjust the helmet tension on the fly.

On The Go have been looking after my casual gear. Next year I'll be matching my year 12 students in their On The Go year 12 hoodies!

2011 Sydney 24hr (again!)

The Sydney 24hr is an important race to me as my sponsors JetBlack are the major event sponsor. It's great being able to show off their cool products and race at the same time!

The JetBlack 24hr also fell at a time of the year where I knew I would be getting over doing high intensity races and it gave me a good excuse to have some time off the bike to complete the Overland Trail in Tasmania with some kids from school the week after the race.

I had the intention of doing this race on a single speed to give Ed Macdonald a chance to flog me but the only way I was going to single speed it was on a 29er. Unfortunately I won't be seeing any 2012 bikes for a while so, much to Ed's dissapointment, it was XX gears for me!

With Jen deciding to stay home with Archie, I was thinking I was going self-sufficient until my parents decided they could help out. I think packing for a 24hr is getting easier. I now have a lights box, a nutrition box, a gear box and a tool box. Too easy!

The race started out with a seeding lap and Ed attacked off the front. I didn't want to get dropped quite so soon so I tried to stay with him. This was my first lap of Mt Annan. It had at least one "A-line" that was just as quick as the smooth "C-line". It had quite a few rocky gardens that made me wonder why. It had some pinchy switch backs that were not single speed friendly but it also had quite a few fun little sections where you could carry some good speed.

We took a few turns early on to see who was going to do the pace setting. After a couple of laps Ed rode away from me but I eventually caught back up and tried to maintain the pace we started at. The temperature seemed to get hotter as the race progressed so fluid intake was critical. I was surprised at the amount of people out on the course cramping. I guess they don't all use Shotz!

It wasn't until 4-5pm when I eventually got a small gap on Ed. I was feeling really good during this time and managed to stretch this lead out in the first part of the night. However feeding eventually became a bit of a challenge. I was doing around 30min laps which were half the time of the laps at the Scott 24hr where my parents had their first real go at feeding me. They were generously feeding me the same amount of food each lap so by 7pm when the pizza arrived I was only able to put down a couple of slices. From 7pm to 5am all I had were Shotz gels and fluids as I had developed quite a full stomach. I still felt ok during the night energy wise and the caffeine gels did the trick to keep me awake.

During the early morning I had settled into a comfortable pace and Ed was starting to catch back up. I knew he was working harder than me to make up the time and I was getting prepared for a very hard finish to the race. At around 7:30am I got a message from Ed's support that he was on his last lap which really surprised me. We were eight laps up on third place. As Ed didn't go out for any more laps it meant I didn't need to either to keep my position. At the time we were sitting 3rd and 4th overall against the teams and my mum was dissapointed I didn't go out and race for an overall position! It was time to recover and get sorted for a 60+km walk rather than destroy myself!

A big thanks to my mum and dad for stepping in and looking after me! Thanks to JetBlack for all the great stuff they give me - Stans wheels, Weldtite lubes, Nite Rider lights, 661 gloves and Crank Brothers pedals. Thanks to Gordon Street Cycles for keeping my bikes going. Thanks to Shotz Nutrition, Adidas Eyewear and SRAM for their ongoing support. And finally, a big thanks to Martin and Juliane for another great event!