Ian_A's blog

Quick point form review;
- Different track to last year with the removal of all but the start fireroad and primarily single track.
- Passing through the single track was fairly tough but after the rain the previous night, the track was quite grippy.
- The nature of the track suited a more skilled rider, rather than a powerhouse.
- The last run into transition was super fun.
- I didn't stack it this year.
- Hooked up with 3 blokes I'd never raced with before.
- We came 3rd in cat and overall.
- I got soaked in my swag from the rain that started after the race.
- Good times.

Just a few quick points from the weekends race;
- Team BMORC re-grouped for the first time in 12 months, around the anniversary of one member nearly dying in a car accident.
- I got sick on the Thursday before the race and struggled all weekend but still managed some OK times. I popped a Sudafed each day so I guess I'm a drug cheat according to the new banned list.
- The solo 24 riders were sent off first which made our opening lap interesting to say the least - at least I got to chat to Gazza most of the way around.

I wasn't going to write up after this event because I was a bit disappointed but thought I would, just for my own future reference; looking back, I'm glad I kept going and didn't pull the pin.

This would be my first 100km race. I've done plenty of 50km's, 4hr's, a solo 6+6 and a heap of team enduro's but I'd never stepped up to the 100km. I go OK over short races, like club rounds and 50km's, but I don't have the endurance to go the full distance.

Round 4 of the SRAM Singletrack mind series was held at Welby in the Southern Highlands.

Having raced at Welby last year, I knew what I was in for; not huge amounts of climbing but technical pinchy climbs that really sap the legs. Getting flow and holding momentum is really hard at Welby. In saying that, it is a really fun track to ride around - perfect place for a social ride to take on your mates.

On Saturday afternoon Craig and myself headed out for a couple of recce laps. The course was dry, dusty and loose. It was fun to ride around but would prove to be a tough racetrack.

For some reason I can't link to the original calendar entry through BMORC but below relates to this race; http://nobmob.com/node/42470

Round 3 of the Singletrack Mind series was back at Awaba. Awaba is a really fun track to ride and pretty fun to race on too.
Craig and I headed up on Saturday and got in a couple of recce laps - luckily we did; Camel Back was bunted off, forcing you up Straw. There was also a new section of track not long after that was loose, off-camber and quite technical. Great for riding, not so good for racing with people of differing abilities around.

Round 2 of the Chocolate Foot series was delayed by a couple of months due to the bad weather but the time had come to ride Coondoo Road single track again.
Team BMORC were coming off a good 2nd place result in round one in a pretty thin field and we knew competition would be much tougher in Nowra. Unfortunately, Paul managed to break his wrist and we needed to find a replacement rider. Cue Mr Pidgeon who performed very well in his first short lap race and allowed us to stay in our category to go for an overall result in the series.

Thanks to Ray and the crew for a good race.
Managed my 1st ever win in B-grade!
Also 1st race on the new 29er dually (superfly 100), bike went well.
Ian

Round 1 of the Choc foot STM series was held in Taree this year - tracks I've managed to ride a few times.
With Taree being fairly far out and away from Sydney, I knew a few teams wouldn't make the trip out - although the trails would prove to be up with the best for racing. All the better for us.
I went out for a quick rece ride 2 weeks before the race weekend and was pretty impressed with the condition of the tracks. Come race weekend they were a bit drier and dustier but didn't show any signs of damage after the race.

This was the last race in the 4hr Summer Series and was to be held at Mt Annan. I really like the twilight format and was looking forward to this one.
Coming into this race I was sitting in equal 3rd place overall in the series (mainly due to some riders only doing 1 or 2 races). I had hopes of an overall 3rd place but knew it would be a big ask.

Round 2 of the WSMTB 4hr summer series was gearing up to be a good one with probably 3-4x more riders than the 1st round.
Last round I went out too hard and suffered towards the end.
The plan for this race was to get a good start then ease off through the middle and hopefully finish strong. The plan fell to pieces in the first 50m getting stuck in the bottle neck and riding the 1st section below walking pace. It took 2 full laps to actually get any clear air and be able to ride at my own pace. I definitely need to get further up the front for the start I think.