Kanangra Classic 2011

Don't forget the family fun day on the saturday too.

Blue Mountains Region staff & Oberon Council have put together a
fantastic array of activities and stalls for the inaugural Kanangra
Family Fun Bike Day, on Saturday 15th October at Oberon Common from 12
-4pm. This family day precedes the Kanangra Classic Endurance MTB ride
on the Sunday in Kanangra-Boyd NP.

The Boyd River campground is now fully booked, so I might do the same as you Ian. Was even thinking about a quiet roll around the Rydal track on Saturday afternoon to check out the good work that the CTMBC crew have been doing (weather permitting, of course). The calendar shows nothing going on there, but I'm sure Flynny or someone will let us know if the track's closed / busy for any reason.

The Todd and I are heading up to BM Friday arvo, so we'll see you there Bloot. We're heading out on Sunday morn also so if it's a convoy you want, a convoy you shall have!

You better wait in the car Todd
Better safe than sorry

I worked out we're going to need to meet opp BM Sunday morning about 5am to make it in time
About 2 hrs from Wenty to get there
And another halfer to get shit together for 7.30 start

According to Elders weather,

http://www.eldersweather.com.au/nsw/central-tabl...

the forecast for tomorrow is mostly sunny, with 6 deg. overnight with a daytime maximum of 16 deg. A chance of rain as well, but it doesn't look like too much.

See you all tomorrow.

Weather is shaping up for a pristine day in the wilderness
Anyone keen to convoy, we are meeting on the hwy opp Bikeminded at 5am sharp

Anyone got a camera? - I have my phone camera and BMORC stickers
And will be wearing my chick repellent BMORC jersey

Looking forward to many tales of triumph and woe

Well I had a pretty good run. A bit of a story about Todd and JP getting lost somewhere and riding much more than they should have.
WIll be good to find out results, not sure why they didn't tell us as we finished. I can't find a link on their website to where the results will be posted.
I found I rode basically the whole race by myself and didn't manage to get on any trains. I did lead a big one for 2 or 3 km along the first fireroad about 6km in, but they dropped me as soon as they passed later.
I found the track quite good - a few tough climbs and some nice downhill sections. Average speed was 19.6. Was tougher than I thought it would be, especially the climbing with about 7 or 8km to go. Wonder how it would have gone in reverse and being able to motor down the initial 12km uphill run to finish.

Legs are feeling pretty sore but it was a fun day. Me and Blooty rode the whole ride together, lost JP and Todd on the first tough climb and Blooty sucked my wheel for about 38km. He dropped me for a bit but kept taking wrong turns and like a good mate I stopped for him. Then he dropped me again and I chased him down with about 3km to go. We rode to the finish and he missed the turn into the causeway so I waited again. Then we crossed the line together. That last few hundred metres uphill across the grass into the headwind really finished off the legs.

We started slow and let most people go which was fun as we passed so many on the first downhill. Hope Todd and JP can be found.

This jog any memories fellas?

http://youtu.be/wlUcUfHkdYk

Strange things were happening out there
I took 3 wrong turns
Would have got under 3 hours if Vince could have yelled better directions

So Todd and JP win the 70km category, Andy and Vinno win the 60km category, and those who made it in under 3 hours got to eat all the free donuts...

There was a great turn-out today. Not quite as eclectic as the single-speed world champs, but I did see a few cyclocross bikes and one balloon-tired beach cruiser.

I rode most of the way by myself, but seemed to be playing tag with a couple in the middle section. I managed to ride through all the creek crossings and passed scores of people that way (but they probably all caught me later on).

No real incidents, except a dodgy landing off the back of the first waterbar that really woke me up.

Oh, and a slight chest wound.
About 35km in, as the 4x4 motor bike is passing me, I see a guy working on his broken chain on the side of the road, and ask him if he's allright. He said, "um, yeah, I think so," so I left him to it. The 4-wheeler also stopped, so I thought that between them they'd have the chain sorted in 5 minutes tops. 5 minutes later, the 4-wheeler comes past again, with the bike and rider hanging off the back. As I'm watching them go past, musing over whether that kind of assistance should only be allowed for those with injuries, I run into a big fallen stick that's pointing into the trail like a lance, which grazes my arm then spears me right in the chest, almost knocking me off my bike. I still don't know whether you should be able to get a ride home if you get a simple mechanical like a broken chain, and you're out there with no tools or spares. Seems a bit ridiculous to me. But I guarantee you I would have been on the back of that 4-wheeler if the stick had hit me an inch higher...

Not having ridden off-road for 50km non-stop before, I rode the first three-quarters pretty conservatively. Trying to work out when would be a good time to push the pedal, I caught up with my tag-team again at the 40km mark. I'm chatting to the bloke and he says, so you're doing the 100, right?
It can hurt, but shame can be a very good motivator. Got me home just in time for the donuts...

It was a good day out in the high country. Beautiful day for a ride, although that wind was bitey along that first 11km of dirt road, and the creeks had iceblocks floating in them.

Didn't even know I had a broken spoke until I got home and started cleaning the bike.

By the way, BMORC nav classes start next Monday week. We'll warm up with some left-hand, right-hand disambiguation, then move on to the advanced topics like green arrows, red crosses, pink tape, fire roads and other directional indicators. I'll give you the GPS directions for getting to the classroom...

Looking at the last email we were sent with the inner and outer loops, I realise we missed one of the turn offs to come back around to complete the 50. I do recall riding past and seeing a guy there but he was messing around with a barrel of water and didn't seem too worried we were riding past so off we went. Oh well.

Other than the dodgy distance issue, I enjoyed it. The KHS held up beautifully. I had 29 x 2.4 Ardent's on and even though they aren't the most fast rolling tyres, they still rolled pretty well and they did add some cush. The 1 x 9 drivetrain handled the climbs easily. As I was waiting at the top of one of the climbs I did manage to break my track stand record of 3 mins 17 secs by an extra 13 seconds, so that was probably the real highlight for me (I'm easily pleased!).

Next year anyone?

Was he on a silver coloured CXer? I recall seeing a guy walking with one looking dejected.

I think, not sure of the colour!

It was an adventure alright!

I did have the filthy shits at about 53k's in and remember thinking "WTF!", and actually yelling it, but shit happens.

Stephen, young Toddles had that look of unsurety and bewilderment on his face for the whole race after the first climb! I still can't understand how someone can ride 70 odd km's with the blue BMORC jersey as a baselayer, followed by a cycling jersey as a midlayer, topped off with a black winter jacket! Every time he'd chug up a climb and come in to view I'd shake my head at his attire.

Anyone knows whose it is? Here's the activity profile:
http://bmorc.com/node/31901

Oh, it says "Epic" on the back...

4th in Male opens, 12th overall in the 50km - 2:43:23. Pretty happy with that.

http://www.jpphotography.net.au/galleries/kanang...

I recommend using the search in the top right corner.