Steve 01's blog

Arriving early around 8:00am left me plenty of time to register,get ready and go for a warm up lap with Gaz & Damien.Rode up Demtel in granny not to wear myself out before the race the downhill section after demtel was down the DH berm track which was fun in a little traction way.

Well I started in the second row behind Gaz and Pete as I haven't done any proper racing for quite a while and I thought if I could just keep there wheels for the first half lap that would be good.The start gun went the pack surged and immediately found myself in around 12 place with Gaz & Pete out of site this wasn't going to plan,over the next half a lap I managed to get past quite a few people and eventually caught a train of about 5 riders with Pete on the tail end but no Gaz.Sat on the back of the train and recovered for a little while then on the climbs Pete made an effort and overtook t

Wow so lucky with the weather was so mild temperature wise that I only needed to add arm warmers to my summer riding kit.Had a good position on the starting grid so got a really safe run up till the first hill which was a mix of riding & a bit of walking.Had lots of fun on the technical ups & downs managed to stay on the bike and no punctures(thanks Stans and RR),felt good till just after the canoe bridge(didn't fall in)then the pain started, the last 25kms where tough most of them were spent alone grinding up hill after hill with my drive-chain making the most terrible noises left me wonderin

The heat was on in more ways than one as it was very hot with what felt like 100% humidity and team mates turning up the heat on me for good positions going into the first turn of the single track this signaled game on! so I through away the walking stick and got on with the job.There's some new single track since the 8hr which is an improvement as it takes out the flat fire road where we were transitioning at the 8hr.I'll be back next year to do both the cross country & downhill can't wait

After a week in the kitchen discovering a new endurance super food I knew a good race was about to unfold
I had a good spot close to the start before the race so I wouldn't be held up in traffic too much,the start gun went and both Shaun & Whisperer rode away from me I couldn't seem to go fast at first must have needed to warm up.
Caught Whisperer at the first transition were we joined forces and rode together for a while then it was my turn to ride away.The half way hill was long and tiring had to get of and push to give the legs a rest.

Well got off to a good start in the uncrowded 5:30 -6:00hr group it was moving at a fast but sustainable pace with no hold ups or traffic jams.For once I had spent some time on getting my bike in tip top working order or so I thought,could hear a grating noise from the drive train the gears were changing perfectly so was a bit stumped to what was wrong around 10km's in a decided to get off the bike & check what was happening before things go pear shaped.