Tristania's blog

I feel as though I've been run over by a cement mixer this semester with my load of university work. This is due to having happened to have chosen subjects that are a) badly taught, b) have lots of work or c) are difficult. No semester in an electrical engineering degree is straightforward but this one for me has made life more difficult and hectic than I ever guessed. Every minute of the day must be spent wisely so that the rate of having assignments set doesn't greatly exceed the rate that I am completing them.

Well, most minutes.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To stay upright you've got to keep moving.“
- Albert Einstein

After being told that we (my mum and I) were going to Jindabyne after one night in Canberra, I wasn’t sure whether it was worth the hassle of taking the bike. Sure, I loved riding Stromlo and Kowen Forest, but I didn’t think it’d be worth extra effort and expense in fuel to cart it down all that way, considering that the lack of information I had received about bike tracks around the Snowy Mountains was due to a lack of trails. I mean, I knew there was a great DH track at Thredbo, but figured that there wasn’t much more beyond that.

A little reflective piece on the year gone past, thought I‘d put it up for anyone who's interested.

In order to do to justice to my whole 2013 Highland Fling saga, I would have to explain a careful analysis of decision to enter the event at all due to firstly having exams at that same time and later realizing the poor prospects for the weather on the event day and deciding whether I should do it at all. Instead, I’ll simply confess that I will NOT do it justice and leave you to read only the best parts.

BACKGROUND

Question 1: 650 cyclists approach a track junction with the course marking towards the singletrack off to the left. 50 miss the turnoff and keep going straight down the firetrail. How many cyclists enter the singletrack?

Question 2: A course has a 20 vertical metre climb, a 100 vertical metre climb and a 70 metre climb. The race starts and finishes in the same place. What is the net elevation change in the descending on the track?

Answer 1: Total riders entering junction = total riders leaving junction.
650 = 50 + n(singletrack)
n(singletrack) = 600

There are few tracks that I've ridden that I think more of than the Wagga Pom Park singletrack loop. With as much flow and dipping as Awaba, epic descents such as Stromlo, it's hard to fault this track. Even in the 6th lap of the course when I was absolutely exhausted, it was hard not to smile as I descended the mountain with adrenaline pumping dips and newly made berms.

BACKGROUND

Finally got some time to finish the blog for what turned out to be a very *memorable* event in an unexpected way...

In St John's Gospel, Chapter 14, Verse 6, Jesus says, “I am the way.” Well, if only Jesus had come along to Brownie Points Burner, everyone wouldn’t have gotten so darn lost!* It said on the race website, “This race is not to be missed.” But from what I saw, plenty of the signs that were meant to show the route on the course certainly were (missed)!

UPDATE: My friend Graham kindly came along to watch, first at the canoe bride and then at the end, and has a short clip of the river crossing

http://youtu.be/vn3sEe5Z2jU

BACKGROUND:

BACKGROUND

After doing well above my expectations in Convict 100 (My first MTB marathon) last year, I decided to sign up for CP and C100 this year hoping to match or better my time.

No dramas there.

Several weeks later, I mentioned to my friend Tanian, a very promising all round MTBer in his early high school years who had given it up over the recent past in trade it for rugby, and without warning, he announced he would sign up with me; Canberra was a good halfway point from his university in Wagga Wagga.