Blogs

Camped out in the field next to some guy who had a noisy tarpaulin that made crackly noises all night long.Made for an interrupted nights sleep. but then i had done my usual trick of hyper hydrating all day before and had to use the portaloo anyway.
For once i had everything perfectly set up... Suspension, hydration, nutrition and my cornering and general handling was great and i rode all parts of the trail. i was very pleased.

Did the whole race in granny ring. Bike was fine the night before. 5km in couldn't change any rings at front. Could go up but not back. Tried to adjust but couldn't. Max pedalling speed was 25kph for whole race - but it was actually quite pleasant!! Last year only had a front brake... What is it with Woodend and me. Oh - also got seriously lost the night before in the woods... like 25km lost in the middle of nowhere until the ONLY car in the whole area came past on a dodgy firetrail. Yes - lucky. Note to self - READ THE MAP BEFORE RIDING NEXT TIME (or take a GPS).

Ok i have now done this ride twice and enjoyed it, but i tell you some sign posting would be nice. Especially when you are on the road next to the factories on the dam. And you turn up Awaba Street and go through the car park. There is NO signposting there which is really annoying. So yeah some signs there would be rather nice. But the ride itself is brilliant. I love the (rare) views that you get that show you the golf course and dam. And the two metre drop down is pretty fun, i have only done it once. Oh well better go, but i will post more later. Lucas

So after a couple of chats with Carlgroover about 24hr racing some months ago Vanina decided she would not mind having a crack at one of these. I, of course ended up being support crew.
I don’t think you really understand what is required by the riders when they undertake one of these "crazy" races. I really didn’t think about how much work was required from the support crew both leading up to, during and post race.

Basically the riders are only focused on riding their bike for 24hrs.

I had such a great weekend I'll certainly be back next year. We had the whole MoB camped in one area which made for an enjoyable time.
CORC did an amazing job of the track and running the race, thanks a lot Guys.

Thank you to the support crew (my family and the NoBMoB clan) who worked tirelessly though out the 24 hours to keep us all fed, watered and the bikes running nicely. I'd bring a bike in filthy due to the rain and when I came back in for it, it was shiny clean and the drive all running sweet, awesome effort!

What a brilliant weekend!

I can sum up the 24 solo champs in 2 words...

SUPPORT CREW !

We had the best team on the hill. Dylan (Ladytoast) was my support director and he did a flawless job. Including non-stop tech/nutrition & emotional support ....as well as some sponsorship. At one stage the only thing I owned was my helmet everything else belonged to Dylan, go the Yeti! Thanks mate! There's no way I would have made it without you on the team.

Second team in the Mont 24 2009 "6 Packs Mixed Over 40" Category. Will not say how many teams in the category. Team: Andy D, Sarina T, Brian L, Bernd, and Hans

It has been a long way since 3 years ago when I put my bum on a saddle for the first time in my life…My dad would not believe it ! I finished my first 24hr solo race, just to finish something like that it is a reward on its own you learn so much about yourself that you can not imagine. We were 6 people who made the challenge to go and spend 24hr on the saddle. 6 crazy people and 10 amazing support people were side by side in two different worlds one, out on the track dancing between pine trees and the other one on the side of the track feeding, cleaning and managing some deep mental down.

Great weekend.

Finished 6th in age group (last still riding), 7th singlespeed (last still riding) and 38th overall from 57 finishers and 73 starters.

Its a good thing this race is only on once a year as it is a real battle just to keep riding and finish which this year I did.

Geeze... we were lucky with the rain (missing it) this morning.

Today's ride was absolutely tops. It was highly amusing on a number of occasions.

Firstly following Alex down to the creek and seeing him almost loose it (left foot unclipped drifting waaaay right) on the sandy left hand corner (the one before right hand down steep smooth rock). I was riding the inside line almost next to him and slowed somewhat to view the carnage that never came - another lucky break for the young 'un