Damien's blog

Best days racing I have had in years.

Great to be all sorted and back on the bike racing again took it real easy and enjoyed the ride.

Where was everyone I know the tour was on but my 3 hours sleep was more than enough to get through.

Wow 7th in C grade got to be happy with that after two weeks with the flu staying up to watch the tour before the race and no riding for the last few months.

Wow how much mud was there and not just any old household variety it was the anti gravity stick to anything sort.

Headed down with Gav on Thursday night picked up a frame in Melburne on Friday morning arrived in Forest early afternoon built a bike in a couple of hours rode to event central to test bike build registered rode back a few tweeks to the bike had dinner went to bed up bloody early hoped on a bus for an hour or so trip to Apollo Bay had a cup of tea and started the race.

Top weekend thanks to the Nobs for a good bunch of laps and a great relaxed attitude.

My Laps

1 - 0:58:55 (Team Lap 5)
2 - 1:06:10 (Team Lap 15)
3 - 1:06:23 (Team Lap 16)
4 - 1:08:30 (Team Lap 22) - Cruzing around with Lozza

I was very organised arriving early with plenty of time to do a bit of a warm up ride before rego. Then a look at Demtel hill again before the race start with Steve and Gazza, which was a good idea as it wasn’t the way we rode the week before.

Great fun in C grade 3 laps was perfect and all I wanted to do after spending the previous week moving house and business.

Ok now back to some regular riding to climb up the rankings and maybe move up a grade later in the year.

No plan to race very hard today just wanted to circulate at an easy pace and have a fun ride, which I generally did.

Started of nice and relaxed with very consistent lap times not pushing my limits at all and enjoying the ride. It was a great morning for it but it didn’t take long for the day to heat up which started to sap my energy levels and with no gels to stick in the tank it was going to be difficult to keep going.

Three hours sleep a belly full of shit food the day before and no warm up before a hard and fast start wont get you to the end of a 4hr no matter how much you try to HTFU.

But I had fun.

My lower back really played up today and I decided it really wasnt worth the pain to keep going (should of warmed up).

But I mangaed to clear some technical sections relatively easily today that I have had the ocasional problem with in the past so am happy with my effort if not the result.

Gazza's looking bloody strong top effort - well done.

What a great afternoon and evening of riding and racing.

And a really nice change to ride in conditions that weren’t like a blast furnace. I went back to my tried and true strategy of just enjoying the ride and saving the racing if there was to be any for the last lap or two and it worked as I was able to finish the race with a quick lap and some solid uphill climbing to hold on for second place.

Lots of fun and a great short track that really was very enjoyable.

Round 2 - Sunday 17th Jan.