CB's blog

Some things I've learned this weekend...

Mobs of kangaroos get spooked very easily and are very, very bad at emergency stops.
Just because it's easier than the Doctor/Dirtworks/Fling, that in no way makes it easy.
Just because it's flat, it doesn't mean it's easy..... it just means you have to pedal continuously.
35km off road in 5 months is not nearly enough preparation for a 100km race.
No amount of high intensity 60 minute commutes will save you when it's decision time at 75km.
It's best not to have flu in the 10 days before the race.

I was really really looking forward to this one ....... This unbridled enthusiasm lasted all of 3 km's before I picked up a stick in the rear derailleur and badly bent the hanger. Looking at the condition of the singletrack after 800 riders had gone through, I seriously considered turning round and heading back to the start ( as quite a few people appeared to be doing...). Common sense prevailed and I replaced the hanger with a spare form my pack but by this time, I was dead last and probably about half an hour behind the next rider..... not a good start.

What was I thinking ?????

All I can say is that it seemed like a good idea beforehand but by the first waterstop, i was ready to pull out.

Legs felt fine but shoulder was very very sore. I think the push up the first hill really screwed it up. Bizarrely, I could still go downhill ok but really struggled on any bit of tech or rocky uphill, I just couldn't pull up on the bars without sharp pains from the rotator cuff....

Well .... I'm finally off road again !

After 11 months enforced recovery from my last outing ( http://nobmob.com/node/9627) I finally got out to do a couple of very tentative loops at cascades. After the first ten shaky minutes I was ready to sell the Yeti and buy a road bike but common sense prevailed and I kept going.

After beating last years dirtworks time by 2 hours, I was looking forward to similar improvements at the doctor, fling, fat tyre festival, jetblack 12, corc 24 and mont 24....

Not to be however.

During a fairly social lap of Sparrow Hill on Saturday morning, a simple front wheel washout combined with an uncharacteristically rocky landing zone conspired to bugger up my next year of biking activities.