jp's blog

Last year at Capital Punishment I came 8th in my category. I was only 3 minutes off a podium place. After training pretty intensely for the last few months I knew I was faster than last year, so was hopeful of at least a top 10 again, maybe even top 5 place in my category. My result today was actually 5 minutes faster than last year, but I only placed 14th in my category. So it seems that the faster I get, the faster everyone else is getting! I guess it's a good thing that our sport is getting more popular, people are training more seriously and competition is increasing.

My 9th fling, and despite the weather my favourite. Not just because it was my best result, but I really enjoyed the race. Yes there were times when it hurt, a lot, but I found myself smiling and really enjoying the experience more than ever before.

A little piece I wrote on my birthday a few weeks ago... Just thought I'd post it here for anyone who's interested.

Before I start, I just want to say right up front that this is written by a bloke, about blokes. There are many women out there who are way better mountain bikers than I'll ever be, and no doubt have great stories to tell. But this is about blokes.

I'd never been to Kowan before this race, so I spent the ride feeling like a kid on Christmas Day - every turn was like opening a new present, but instead of toys I got an endless supply of singletrack. I spent the first 30kms grinning my head off, riding and occasionally chatting with a great bunch of guys. It really didn't feel like a race, just like a fun day out with a bunch of mates. My training for this event was rudely interrupted by a couple of weeks off the bike with flu, so I didn't have great expectations of a particularly fast time. But in a way that was nice...

So far this year I've had some ok race results. Top 10 in my category in capital punishment, and just outside top 10 for convict. So my goal for three ring circus was top 10 in male masters and top 50 overall. This was my first time doing this race, so I looked at last year's results and figured I would need to go well under 2 hours 30 to achieve my goal. My preparation had gone well - personal best times in my last couple of training rides, and I had one practise ride on the trails at Wingello 2 weeks ago - the stage was set to achieve my goal.

This year the 50km race started in 4 self-seeded waves, with the first wave being for riders expecting to finish under 2 hours or place in the top few in their category. I certainly wasn’t expecting a podium finish, but 2 hours was my goal so I decided to go in the first wave. While we waited to start the announcer was making some pretty negative comments about how many people had seeded themselves in this wave, especially if they were wearing “cotton t-shirts”. Apparently lycra was compulsory for this group…

Lined up in the first start wave at 6:50am, with about 65 other riders... sun wasn't up yet, and with plenty of nervous anticipation and high expectations for the new course, waited for the start. Off we went, with a bit of flat fire trail leading straight into a couple of small climbs. With plenty of dust flying around and a bit of fog about, I had very limited visibility through my dark-tinted glasses. Lesson learned - wear clear lenses next time!

Three years ago the half fling took me 3:30, 2 years ago 3:15 and last year 3:01. I keep telling my wife some things do get better with age, and this year I was determined to improve again.

Well despite the lack of single track or technical riding, I really enjoyed this race - beautiful location, great atmosphere and a fast pace. The first climb saw us gain about 280m in elevation, and really strung out the riders. It was steeper than I expected, but that suited me as I train on hills a lot. I passed a few people on this section and felt pretty good at the top. Some very fast downhill then on to the second climb which wasn't as steep as the first, but was quite long.

My goal this year was to finish in the top 10% in a 50km XCM race, and having placed 33rd (out of 232) in my category at last weekend's Capital Punishment, I was determined to do better at Convict 100. I didn't really know what to expect, but most of my training is done in Lane Cove National Park, so I like steep hills and rocky fire trails. So I lined up at the back of the first wave, shivering cold and waiting for the start. The guy next to me said "make sure you ride in a bunch - you don't want to be alone in a headwind on the final dirt road section".