Capital Punishment 2012

Absolute corker of a day for racing, the tracks were in great condition, the organisers had worked in some of Sparrow and removed the horrible paddocks near the airport. I had put myself in group three which seemed like a mistake but positioned myself near the front so it was actually pretty good having a reasonably clear track.

Unfortunately, for some reason I was riding like an absolute gumby, it felt like I was steering a truck and I was all over the place. About 400 metres into the first singletrack I took a corner too wide, hit the sandy edge, the front wheel washed out and I took some skin off the knees and shins. It didn't feel like it was going to be a great day and I just wasn't feeling comfortable at all. This was a real shame as I love Kowen but just wasn't enjoying it all that much. Stopped at the first feed station as my bottle cage was almost coming off so decided I may as well fill up and have something to eat.

Pretty much felt like this until about 50 kms when I hit Majura and sat on someone's wheel for a while. Started seeing the track and riding a lot better and really enjoyed Majura (how could you not ?!). Stopped for a minute to fill the water bottle at the final feed station but otherwise pretty uneventful for the rest of the race. Never really hooked up with a group for any length of time which makes it a bit tougher. Love Stromlo, it's such an awesome way to finish an event. I even like the climb, switchbacks aren't a bad way to go up a hill and that decent is just so much fun as a reward for getting up there.

Sort of didn't feel like the best day out but I can't complain about the time. Next year will be about finding my groove sooner, taking advantage of the untimed section so that I don't need to stop at the feed stations at all and getting down to 4 hours. Maybe need to think about the bike set-up before the next enduro so that I feel more comfortable. Seat height? Bar width? Tyre pressure? Maybe just harden up!