Convict 100

Managed to get sick leading into this race so was still a bit apprehensive sitting on the start line even though I had done a good training session on Thursday. Got to the first hill in the lead pack fairly comfortably and then got blocked by an inconsiderate rider on the early part of the hill. Doc rode past me while I walked up to a water bar to restart. Didn't ride that well in the first fire road section through to the first water stop although after that sharp right hander and the start of the techie section began to enjoy myself. Had picked up a big stick at some stage that managed to bounce off both my legs before disappearing, only noticeable issue was that I couldn't ride in the two smallest cogs without it constantly ghost shifting.
Rode until the 50k stop with Johnny Miller, one of Gazza's mates and we spent a fair bit of time talking about his recent race in the cape epic. Seems that about 40% of the field in that stage race ride spec epics. Not sure what drove the other 60% to ride a different bike but I guess some had limited options due to sponsorships.
Passed a lot of people on 29ers in the techie stuff so it seems my 26in wheels aren't that bad after all.
Didn't ride as well after the stop though the GNR section so will need to practice a bit more there. Got caught in a fair bit of traffic and eventually got clear just before the big rock step. My brother caught me at that stage after getting punted into the roadside ditch on the road section and set a cracking pace through the last of the GNR. Had a smooth and fast run down Shepherds Gully trying to get back on my brothers wheel. Strava's such a great resource for seeing where time can be gained. I "only" averaged 30 through that section so Andy Blair must have been impressively quick to be nearly 5kph faster.
Had a short queue for the bridge and a huge wobble when I got on the canoe's. Relieved when I passed the point on the last big climb where my chain broke last year. Got most of the way up the first hill before the chain broke again so I guess thats an improvement. Took a while to sort things out as the derailleur had bent into the spokes and the chain would come off each time I went to the lowest gear. Finally got the hanger bent back so the chain stayed on and after a short walk to a water bar started riding again.
A huge thanks to the guy who volunteered his lube. Don't think I would have finished without it. My repairs meant that I now had one gear on the rear were it wouldn't jump each pedal revolution. Luckily it was a low one so I got to the of the climb and then changed into the big dog and got swamped by people overtaking with my top speed under 20. Sadly noted that my average speed had now dropped down to 19 so pushed on as best I could and after a bit of fiddling with the cable adjusters was able to change my rear gear from 2nd to 6th. Have only ridden this part of the course twice now so was pretty pissed off each time I got to another pinch climb as it was off the bike to walk. At this stage with over 25k to go I was just worrying about getting to the finish and my race goals were out the window. I could do 10 or 25 but not much in between without a fair bit of effort. Seemed strange getting out of the saddle on gradual inclines but thats what it took to try and keep the speed up. My legs had come good so they were able to handle some of these sections pretty well. The ave speed had started to pick up again and I wasn't getting passed anymore so worked out that I would be pretty close to the 5 hour mark once I started the downhill bit.
Spent the last 15k trying to get the best out of my two speed and finished as the first person not to break 5 hours.
Ended up 5th in Masters which is a hell of a lot better than a DNF. Went 2:19:24 for the first 50k. Looks like I was probably in 3rd place although a long long way behind Steve 01 when the chain came apart so will be back next year to have another go at getting up that second hill in one attempt.

Thanks to Anthony, Mark & Rob from Jet Racing. The bike was awesome and the mechanical was my fault not yours.