A bit of a disappointing effort...

Hadn't done the Fling in 2010, but from what I'd read about the course changes, was hoping I might get in around 3:30. Had some issues with my de-veined left leg swelling in the heat earlier in the week and my right knee playing up from a lot of walking on Tuesday, but after a gentle spin on Friday, all seemed OK by the time I headed off to Bundanoon on Saturday.

Passed on the usual camping option this year and a mate and I took the wives down and stayed in the Bundanoon Hotel. Despite being just about booked out with mtb'ers, they still couldn't bring themselves to provide breakfast before 8.00am, which threw the nutrition strategy out the window a bit. I'd also left the magnesium tablets on the kitchen table at home... The trains don't help the sleep patterns either. Otherwise the place was good.

In the morning, I cobbled together some coffee, bars and a banana, rode down to the start and then topped up with another coffee and some banana bread.

Took off in the 3-4 hr wave and had lost sight of the leaders by the time we turned off the road towards the farm entry. Not unusual for me. Despite having had a look at the map at rego, I was a bit surprised by the new (to me) bit of track through the farm. The Niner's big wheels coped well with the mown grass sections of the track, both there and elsewhere. Lined up for what seemed like about 10 minutes at Early Bath. Had a few impatient buggers move past me in the queue when I re-tied the laces on my old Lake shoes and I left a gap of about a bike length for a few seconds. Jeez. (The Lakes drain better than my other shoes, but had loosened up a bit with the first dunking at Free Bike Wash). Maybe Huw could borrow a few canoes and planks from MaxAdventure and build a temporary bridge at Early Bath??

Love the section from there through to transition however. Got through transition right on 1:30, thinking I was on track. Enjoyed the new (for me) bit of sniggle up from the first creek crossing, although I started cramping in the left hammy and quad staying with a train on the climb. Took it steady from there and was going OK until Roller Coaster, where the uphills really whacked me. It was good to ride the sniggle back through the farm (I'd walked it in the opposite direction in 2009 in a long conga line at the back end of the Full Fling field). The mirror was a bit of a shock, just for a micro second. My mate said that the guy in front of him bailed when he saw it and thought another rider was coming towards him. Brokeback Mtn was a struggle and I walked the last half. Not that walking is much slower than my lowest gear.... I was starting to feel a bit flat by then, but had had 4 Gu's and didn't feel like forcing another one down.

After the top of Your Choice I caught up to a young girl who had overtaken me on the Goodbye Norma Jean section (I thought that was the Great Sandy Desert in previous years??), but I was able to wind the Niner up and let gravity do its work on my 110kg on the downhill road section, passing her and a few others easily while coasting along (in a bit of a tuck, I'll admit).

When I got to the turn off into the last bit of farm tracks, I watched in amazement as a guy about 25 metres in front seemed to misjudge the turn and went off into the gutter on the other side of the road, just missing the barrier. By the time I got there I knew why, as he had tumbled off the bike with cramps.

Liked the finish run in compared to the old set up - feels a bit more like a mtb race.

I was a bit disappointed with 3:47, but I think I had been going a bit easy on the right knee (spinning down through the gears and not attacking a bit harder where I might have) and then backed off a bit more when cramps threatened. Legs felt fine today, so I obviously wasn't going hard enough! Dropped about 30 places in Super Masters from the last time I did the Half, but that Category seems to be filling up with newer, faster people all the time. Over 100 entrants in the Half this year.

Overall, I liked the course and will be back next year. My two suggestions for improvement - a bridge or some other means of getting across the creek at Early Bath (to avoid the queueing, not because I want to keep my feet dry) and - without looking at the map and knowing if it's feasible - linking the end of Boundary Rider with the farm sniggle, to somehow cut out Roller Coaster and Brokeback Mnt if possible and bring it in closer to 50 km.