Unlucky not to crack 100km

Thanks to Gavin and Vanina for giving me some of their gels, congratulations to you both for your awesome results. Apart from forgetting the gels my preparation for this ride was so much better than the WWS 8hr at Appin, I've now got a large number of bottles and containers with segments so I can organise all my food and drinks before the race start.

This was the debut race for my new bike a Salsa Selma 29er SS, it was so nice to ride. I was just starting to get used to it and thinking how great it would be to complete 100km on the SS, when at the 20km mark it developed a problem. The walk back to the transition area is something I hope not to have to do again, my second lap took me 1h 30 minutes and cost me the chance to crack the 100km (Ended with 94km). At the 8hr in two weeks time I'll be aiming for a trouble free run on the SS and 120km.

Luckily I also had my Epic at the race so I jumped on it, although I was very tempted to pull out of the race and entertained these thoughts for the next couple of laps. The first lap on the Epic the steering felt off, stopped to check it but all appeared fine. After a few laps the headset started to get loose, it held on to the end of the race but looks like it needs replacing.

With the dramas I still ended up having a ball, my bikes didn't they are both now at CBD getting some attention. I'm really looking forward to the WWS 8hr in two weeks.