Got that one out of the way ...

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....

I almost went down the 50km course but Christine persuaded me to man up and head for half way... I stopped feeling sorry for myself when I seen Christine was riding a singlespeed ! ( and she finished in around 7.45 ... Unreal !)

Anyway, I rode most of the downhill and the smooth uphills but had to walk up embarassingly small rocks.... I just kept persuading myself to just get to the next checkpoint. ( and kept taking pain killers ...). I waded through the river then strangely enjoyed the Womerah range section... I'had no illusions about how many hills there were but at least they were smooth...

At the finish line, I was more interested in getting an ice pack than a cold beer ( jeez, I'm getting old....). All in all, given the events of the last year, I was very happy to just finish albeit way slower than last year . By the end, I was starting to feel more natural on the bike ( apart from the shoulder pain that is...) and was slowly learning to let go of the brakes again. Still nowhere near as relaxed downhill as I used to be, but the confidence is improving.

Just got to keep the rubber side down at Capital Punishment and hope the shoulder recovers from it's pounding.

CB