You are hereCalendar / The Mont 24 hrs Race 2012
The Mont 24 hrs Race 2012
The Ride Canberra site describes the main forest entrance as being the corner of Kowan Road and Sutton Roads. There is a parking area 5km into the forest along Kowan road with gates that may be locked.
What is the Mont 24hr?
It's catching up with mates you haven't seen all year. Trying to beat the team captain. Cranking off the best night lap. Stumbling amongst a sea of tents. A great excuse to buy new bike bits. Wondering why you do it at 3am in the morning. Saying you are in it just for fun but seriously trying to beat the field. The great mix of all types of riders that compete. Wishing you remembered your pillow. Looking for the best cappuccino fix. The massages. The local derby between friendly teams. Eating as much food as you want all night long. Discovering there is some sweet new single track. Being more excited than a wolverine zipped up in a sleeping bag full of prairie dogs. The mechanical that converts your bike into a scooter at the halfway mark. Keeping up with a Pro rider for 5 corners before your legs give out. Vowing it will be 6 when the next one shoots past. Checking out the latest bikes. Drinking Red Bull and Gu till your head spins. Standing at transition wondering where the heck your next rider is. The bravado of claiming you were close to the 4 note 12 second fart. Claiming 5 riders at each climb. Coaxing your lights through the last 2km. Slipping on someone else's knicks just before your next lap. Double flatting and realising one of your team took your pump to inflate their bed. Half an hour after the event thinking it's one of the best things you have done all year. Putting your hand up to ride the last lap. The questions raised at 3am and -5 degrees. Wok fried bacon at 6am. Having great fun. Taking the next day off work. The beer at 24hrs and 10 seconds. Packing up and agreeing to do it all again next year.
http://www.mont24.com.au/index.asp?IntCatId=14
Blog entries about this meeting (as this is a race standings and times are shown, click on the title for more and to comment)...
| Who | Title | Status | Laps | Time | Pos.Gen. | Category | Pos.Cat. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antsonline | The Mont 24hr - Jet Cycles Mixed 6 | Finished | 25 | 24:15:06 | 5 | 2 | |
| ps | Mont 24hr - 5 Nobs and a Luddite | Finished | 23 | 25:03:50 | 39 | 11 | |
| Matt_B | The Mont 24 Hour | Finished | 23 | 25:03:50 | 39 | 11 | |
| Brian | Five Nobs and a Luddite | Finished | 23 | 25:03:50 | 39 | Six Packs - OPEN - Male | 11 |
| Whisperer | Mixed Nuts - 4th Mont Podium! | Finished | 23 | 25:10:05 | 40 | Foursomes - Honest 40s - Mixed | 3 |
| daveh | Always an awesome event! | Finished | 22 | 75 | 27 | ||
| obmal | a heater would have been nice.. | Finished | 20 | Foursomes - OPEN Mixed | 10 | ||
| hawkeye | Mont 24 2012 | Finished | Brady Bunch Team of 6 'Sons and Dads' | 10 |
Were you there and have a story to tell?
This gallery is empty.
- Login to post comments
- Bookmark & share
Get in quick - it sold out in 4 days last year!
I've got my ticket. See you at The Kow!
Just entered our team of 6
The 'Team Big Test Icicles' is fielding a 'Brady Bunch' this year...
= 3 dads (Flying Al, Hawkeye, Hans) and 3 sons (Ethan, Josh, and Benji).
Passing the spirit of MTB'ing to the next generation!
See you there!
Cheers, Hans
=================
Happiness is a warm shock.
Over 50% sold out in 2 hours
http://www.mont24.com.au/news/?IntCatId=20
90% sold
97% full
The Mont is sold out.
I'm glad this is a while off. Apart from my dodgy shoulder needing to recover, my young bloke Josh has been crook for the last 10 days and just had a diagnosis of glandular fever confirmed
Ah well, can only improve from here
Oh man - what have I done?! I have a team of 6 entered and that will include me, despite my open hatred of night riding.
Need to buy some lights!
I also need some more team mates (currently there are 4 of us, and one of them is only just out of a wheelchair), but will wait a while before I panic!
Jet Cycles / Specialized will be there in force - with one staff / customers team, and one 'serious' team being captained by a bloke that hates night riding. We'll be there somewhere towards the front - I hope!
Does anyone have a Winnebago they want to rent to me for the weekend? I like my creature comforts.....
The better prepared you are the better time you have down there.
Good shelter and a real good comfy place to sleep are most important.
We've had some cracking setups in the past with 240v power, ample lighting, even heating! Last year I even took my shower tent so I could have a quick cleanup before bed. It takes a bit more organizing but man, it's worth it.
Next year we may have something "really special" planned???
Oh, and if you hate night riding, I'm sure a man like yourself can get hold of some you bute, top notch lights. It makes all the difference.
How can you not like night riding? Is there something wrong with you?
+1 What Gaz said.
Good camp is a happy camp. Happy camp makes a happy team. Happy team makes a fun time had by all!
My first night lap this year was easily one the best mtb rides that I have ever had. The track was awesome, the traffic thinned out, just seeing the track in front of you and not much else, it was nice and cool, it was just so much fun. A good set of lights is a must (Phil, I like your double handlebar setup - do you use a helmet mounted light as well?).
The only thing that we're doing differently next year is to have a better camping setup. We are ok last year but missed a few small creature comforts that would make a world of difference. Oh, that and entering a 4 man team so that we get more laps in!
Ants, surely a competitor of your standing will get themselves into one of those comfy and well appointed sponsored tents!?
Yes I had one on my lid too, x3 sets of Ayups = AWESOME! The doubles on the bar was great. I could offset each light to give me a really long throw. Plus the lid was great for seeing into the corners. Def recommend this set up.
..its mostly because I am a whinging pom - my dislike of night riding.
I love to ride hard, and then relax. I'll be all warm and chilled out and then will have to crawl up and go and ride hard again! In the dark!!!
Regarding lights - I probably can get something sorted for the team I'll need some ideas. I know Ayups are the popular choice, and am personal friends with Andy Fellows (you can see where this might end up) but is there anything else I should look at?
Are Ayups actually like Maxis tyres - the curse of the Crossmark - just because others have them, they are reasonably priced and available everywhere, people assume they are the goods?
If you could get them free (and I'm not saying I will) what would be the lighting system of choice? I suppose burn time is irrelevant as it will be 1 or 2 hrs max, and even then they'll get a charge in between....
Thoughts people?
I find with Ayups unless you put two pairs on the handlebars you don't get enough light, for my next 24hr I'm testing out a NiteRider Pro 1400.
Radical Lights seem to be popular now with a number of solo riders and teams, talk to your Rockstar connections
Ants you get setup with these - one for the bars and on for your lid - and you wont even know that you are riding in the night.
Very $$$ but german engineering at its best !
Local distributor website
http://www.virtuascape.com.au/lupine-light-sets
What's the saying about never talking about religion or politics. Well, on this forum, you can almost add lights to that. I use Ayups for mtb and for my commute and they are simply bullet proof. They're not the brightest but I find them much more than bright enough and they are not the most expensive either. They come in a very nice set and being Aussie made is a bonus. If I weren't paying for them? I'd have a good look at http://www.klite.com.au and the http://www.hidtechnologies.com.au. Radical look awesome but $$$.
Ants, I felt the same way about getting up at night to go and ride my bike when there are no many good hours during the day to ride but is just so much fun at The Mont. Getting up for a night lap and seeing someone coming back from their with a big grin in their face. Then 50 minutes (maybe 40 for you) coming back being that person with the big grin on their face. Marathons are awesome but it's the big single slog whereas it's great to be able to enjoy mtb as as team sport.
And shocking but true, the Australian distributor actually is charging competitive prices!
CP has been postponed to a date in late April yet to be confirmed. Apparently much of Kowen resembles a lake, with more of that "R" word expected to fall this week: http://regonline.activeglobal.com/builder/site/e...
Kowen trails are currently closed: http://www.mont24.com.au/news/?IntCatId=20
not much talk about the mont ,anyone still going?
I was thinking the same thing!
Well - I am going, breaking a 3yr absense from 24hr racing.
) and she goes relatively well.
Jet Racing has a Mixed 6 team entered, featuring myself, Kyle Ward, James 'Chops' Lamb, two MTB novices (who are gun Triathletes) and one female rider (who normally rides for another team, so can't be named!
Actually quite excited. But racing for fun, not prizes this time.
Come and find us and say hi.
Packing the car tonight, pick up camper trailer in the morning and outa here!
Totally under prepared in the fitness stakes, but whatevs. I'm in it for the fun, not the glory.
Any late takers for spot in a team of four? We had a late drop out. PM or call me!
Works done now - get home start packing - head to the Mont tomorrow !
Looking so forward to getting on the MTB again. So much rode riding lately.
What away to get back into it.
Ants - that sounds like a pretty crack team - I think you won't be far from the podium
I got back from South Africa this afternoon, I'm packing my gear now and heading down tomorrow
Still at work tying up loose ends, just about to hit the door and run. See y'all down there some time tomorrow arvo.
From what I see of the forecast, we may well be testing some icicles overnight.
Pack your woollens, long sleeve jerseys and base layers for the night laps!
This is my only race this year ....so far.
Not been back to Canberra since the inaugural Capital P.
A return to 24hr form not heard of since the Scott 2009 which was 9months after ACL reconstruction on my left knee.
Picked up some 9 Tales, packed the thermals got some new tyres on the old machine and ready to rock!
Just don't get too pumped on the first lap.........
Staying Sunday night for the team celebrations....
Good luck and stay upright!
hopefully the training at altitude worked for you brian
It took a long time!
HIC!
Drop the child at school amnd then pretty much on my way. Have a safe drive and hope to see a few people down there. It's a cracker of a weekend either riding bikes or talking cr@p about bikes and I am excited!
layed in bed with my heart racing ,had to get up and recheck the list , stare at my bike ,two cups of coffee ...OMG I am bouncing off the walls, can't wait.
Safe travels all, catch ya's down there.
Trails were great I presume? Camp ground dry?
Trails and camp all dry. Just cold and windy.
Windy was putting it mildly. Huge headwind all the way down but has dropped now. Trails are dry with just a couple of damp spots only. Tomorrow's gonna rock.
Broken fork!
Anyone got a spare bike????
XL Remedy suit Gazza? The forks are TALAS so you can drop it down to 100mm!!
Got a few options. Call me if you need me to bring something down in the morning. Leaving at 6am
How much fun were Kowalskis Sideshow and Kowalskis Beer Garden? Need more light though... the Sideshow sections I fkew down in the arvo were hard at 4 in the morning...
The results are up on rotorburn. We came 11th in our category of open six males.
I'll write something when I get back as a bunch of us are now touring Bright, Beachworth, Mt Beauty and Mt Buller
Can you post an update on the Mt Beauty conditions when you have been there?
Top 10 maybe next year - only on the condition we have warmer weather! Great weekend!
Have no idea where we placed - doesnt really matter, we all came back in one piece. My tent, however, came back in more pieces than it arrived thanks to a nasty, nasty Friday gale/cyclone! On our team, myself and GiantNut did most of the night laps averaging around 1:03 per lap. After my third lap with lights i was ready to just curl up and pass out - was totally spent.
Managed to say hi to a few of the Nobmob'ers out there. i think i confused a few of them as i didnt quite introduce myself properly - so sorry to PS, brian, hawkeye, hans, pancakes, Ants etc... One that note - it was really nice to see someone of Ants calibre singing the praises of lesser mortals efforts. I was close enough to overhear him mention "now that guy can ride singletrack! And im going to tell him that!" Quite a compliment from someone whom i think had the second fastest day lap! So Ants - youre a scholar and a gentleman!
On another note, how good is the brotherhood/fraternity of mountain biking! Every single person i met on the track was courteous and friendly! Even at 3/4/5/6 in the morning!
As for the track, i havent done a lot of single track racing - but that was by far the most difficult track ive ridden (at night) Not much room for error at all! Quite an experience!
Thanks to all that made it totally awesome.
How awesome was that? Had a great weekend. It was my first race and LOVED it (well didn't like my 2nd lap much...I'm sure the hills got steeper for that one >:( ).
Loved it, loved it loved it! Day/night it's all good. Loved it.
Being slightly competitive, but with no chance of passing anyone on a climb, I was extremely chuffed to catch, pass and leave behind dudes who blitzed past me on the hills. FIGJAM!
We had a couple of guys on the team who had done 24hr races before so it was great to have the logistics and tactics sorted. We managed to crank out 20 laps, top 20% of our category (Six pack open mixed) and well under top 200. Ages in the team ranged from 15 to 49. Very happy!
Kudos to Dave and Al and all at the Mont24 team, you would not believe how much work these guys do to get this event done. A BIG thank you to the volunteers, we all had fun because of your efforts.
And what can you say about the Kowalski Brothers? You know who you are, excellent work lads! May the Kowalski half-track never run out of fuel and may there always be a full esky of beverages to reward your fine efforts at the end of the day.
Awesome!
PS. Black Flash, you guys came in 89 spots behind us and yes, it does matter.
Oh and next time I'm at Kowan I'm going to do Beer garden, Sideshow and Rolling thunder over and over and over again 'til I can't stay upright.
Don't worry, Pancakes
You can relive it as many times as you want later on today.
Video upload coming very soon
Speaking of which, anyone got any links to any of the photographers that were there? I tried to pull a stoopid grin for all of them. It comes naturally.
So - 3yrs passed and I did my 2nd 24 at the Mont.
I have to concede to still hating night riding.
With. A. Passion.
However, I had a great time. We had a team that consisted of 2 complete virgins to MTB riding, 1 ex downhiller (who is now a continental road pro) and three proper MTB riders - myself, Jenny, and Kyle.
Kind words 'Black-flash' - but going fast doesnt stop me appreciating others riding. We all enjoy the same things, I just get up at 5am to train more than other people. What is amazing is how the slower riders take the wrong lines or dont see the fast lines as they dont have the speed to jump rocks etc. I was behind a group and thought "man - I could make you all 3mins faster a lap just by teaching you to spin your gears instead of turning such a huge one!"
I'll do a bit of a write-up in the blogs later on, but did hugely enjoy myself.
Highlights - the last lap I did on Sunday morning (about 10am) when the ground was so sticky I could have run slicks and still railed every berm.
Lowlights - night riding. Oh - and riding my first lap completely blind only to lose the fastest lap of the day by 8seconds. I know exactly where that 8 seconds was, and I want to go back and ride it again!
It was awesome to meet all the Nobmobbers and have a chat. It was also very nice to ride with guys who have a completely different style to the XC racers I normally ride with. I was behind some baggy-short, non-clipped pedal wearing dude for one of the descents, and thought to myself "oh god, this will lose me another 20secs" - but he dropped me. Completely. Foot out on corners, mad skidding - the lot.
Its ok - I got him on the fireroad, but had a quick 'nice descending' style chat with him.
Without wanting to sound like a sponsors drone - I must save a word for my bike. It was like cheating. 29er S-Works Epic - seriously was the fastest bike out there, my idiot mistakes cost it the official title.
See you all again at Wombat, or Cap Punishment, or Convict.....
It's an absolute cracker of an event on so many levels - the organisation, the track, the sponsors, the camaraderie, the camping, the banter, the competition, the night riding (I love it Ants - there's something awesome just pointing your lights in the right direction and making sure your wheel heads that way!)...oh, and the showers, can't forget the hot showers. Was also great to put faces to the names of a bunch of nobmobbers. Didn't get out to meet many beyond our campsite, we opted for a team of 4 this year and whilst getting in more laps was awesome, it's a whole lot more brutal than a team of 6.
I struggled a bit at the start of the first lap on the Epic 29er but once I figured a few things out, it was rocket and made up for some of my lack of legs and/or skill. End up 27th in our category (Open 4s) - damn tyre blow-out and double flat on the last lap (thanks to the guy that stopped to swap supplies for water that he forgot to take out with him!), could almost have squeezed into top 20 (yeah, yeah, I know, shoulda, coulda)!. Another reason to come back next year. Big thanks to Chris, Dave Vass and Conrad - great team, same again next year?!
Antsonline,
Haha I wish I could say that was me, but looking at your times I fear I may not have had quite the speed to drop you. What I found was there are a lot of fast climbers out there with spring steel for legs, but many of them can't descend. This is an awesome turn of events for someone like me, who can't climb but can descend and get better with each run.
I guess that's the buzz of mountain biking and particularly on a mixed bag track like the Mont24. There's something for everyone, and when you're ready to throw you're $$$ bike into the trees because you suck at a particular skill, there's a buzz around the next corner or over the next hill that keeps you going.
I see it the other way. Rather than climbers that cant descend...
There are lots of very talented, skilful riders out there that cant climb for shit!(I am refereing to noone in particular with that comment)