Tristania's blog

(I don't normally write blog entries for such small events, but this one was so spectacular that I'm making an exception.)

When I was in Year 12, a motivational speaker named Glen Gerryn came to my school, who's favourite line was, "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. AND TRY IT AGAIN!" I think he'd be proud of me for this effort, because this is LITERALLY what I did*

Hello! Welcome to the first of hopefully many posts on my MTB racing journey as I approach the elite level riders in the coming year. One main race, the AMB "100" is done and gone (read about it here!) with a decent, but not amazing, result, one week until uni begins again (gasp!).

I write this at 9:30pm as I am sitting outside my tent at Stromlo about to turn in. It's about 16 degrees, an almost full moon with a few clouds and a light breeze blowing. This is paradise. As many rides and races that I do, few of them seem to have these type of stress free nights before them and I am deeply grateful to be able to just enjoy some peace and quiet. I sometimes wish all my life could be this stress free but at the same time, it is only because of all the stress I seem to find myself facing that I really notice the lack of it, even if only for a couple of hours.

IT DON'T MEAN A THING...
... if I ain't got that Fling (finished)

It's Sunday night. My wheel will need replacing. I have a massive bruise on my knee, and I'm physically and mentally exhausted, and finished far further down than I'd hoped. But hopefully I can make up for that with a really good write up of what led to all this.

As promised, I thought I'd link up my blog for those outdoor fans to show what I do off the bike (and how I get motivated to attempt the challenge of a 24H MTB race), this time of the Australasian Rogaining Championships in Castlemaine, VIC, last weekend, and what it was and why I recommend it for those adventure fans out there:

A SPUR OF THE MOMENT DECISION

What's this?!?!? A post not about MTB!?!? Am I spamming the site?

I hope not. I hope to give some insight on something else I get up to and share my passion for it with others who love outdoor adventure sports and show how it complements my cycling.

I have entered the Australasian Rogaining Championships which are set to take place in Castlemaine on Oct 11-12, despite my heavy workload and wanting to focus on my cycling for the Highland Fling.

You often hear people using the term "serious fun," but when you think about the term, it's really an oxymoron.. I mean, if you're just having fun, like out at a party, even if it's a lot of fun, you're not taking something seriously. And then when you're serious about doing something, say a job, or for me, a university degree, it's rarely fun. Or is it?

Mild Start, Wild Finish!

Some races have been just a matter of an individuals having good bike handling, pacing and fitness in order to do well. Others have had the whereabouts of other riders - being able to work with and against them - as the critical factor to what determines who stands on the podium at the the end.
The WWR was the latter.

A NEW LEVEL OF FATIGUE!

Ever since I discovered that there was an Under 23 category for 24 hour racing, I had contemplated having a go at one. Although the most I'd done in previous races was 100km events, I have done 12 and 24h rogaines (on-foot navigation competitions), so I had hoped that I'd be able to merge my cycling ability with my long-term endurance. To put things mildly though, a 24h (solo) on the bike is a a big step up from a marathon, so before I did one of them, I needed an intermediate type of event that would get me a feel for what this type of riding would be like.

UPDATE: There are some advantages to finishing the same time as the women's champion! The C100 video is now up here: http://www.marathonmtb.com/2014/05/05/video-2014...
That's me at 2:05, finishing just in front of Jenny Fay! Very typical pounding on the pedals as I go over the line!

It’s Thursday night, May 1st, and I thought I’d take an opportunity whilst stuck in a computer lab waiting for a friend to write a pre-blog for Convict.