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Pipped at the post...
Hi Paul
You beat me by 30 seconds - even though we rolled across the line together. Some cunning tactic?
Anyway, well done mate!!!
Nic
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Oops, I read the wrong line...
Paul was just 1 (yes, just one) second ahead.
Next year I'm sure we can go under 3 hours (just 17% faster) ... unless we have crazy thoughts of doing the Full Fling!!!!
Nic
Nic we touched down together, so much for their electronic timing.
Next year if there's no muddy paddocks, we should definitely give it a go, but I will need to up the intensity of training and figure out how to overcome the lethargy during the first half of the race.
We should also remember to get closer to the front at the start - the delay in starting plus negotiating past other riders in the muddy twisty single track didn't help.
I'm tempted with trying to "finish" the 100k, but I thoughtly enjoyed "racing" the 50k, so if sanity prevails I'll do the 50 again.
At this stage I'm inclined to go for a great Half Fling time, rather than a (much) slower Full. More fun getting back early, chilling out and watching everyone come in.
Lessons learned - opportunities to save time:
- Get a great start, which will help at the bottlenecks.
- Difficult to gain much position on the firetrail before the first river crossing
- River-crossings - not much you can do, but wait - so get as far ahead as possible
- Single trail - I was being held up all the way, hard to pass - again, get ahead
- Flattish firetrails - I had a good rhythm going, but could improve
- Downhill firetrails - I passed a few people, but there's not much in it; tended to pass people on corners
- Downhill gully section - Wasn't much traffic, but I passed a couple of people and flew down
- Hills - That's where the gains to be made - fitness, fitness, fitness - nutrition, nutrition, nutrition
Re cramps: I tend to get them really badly, but adding a few grams of table salt and taking magnesium tablets works for me. I should probably have eaten better the night before.
Bike ('07 Giant Reign 1) as pretty good for the trail, though a bit of an overkill and a bit heavy a 14kgs - Mojo would be good. I rode with pro-pedal the whole way - could perhaps pump up the suspension a bit harder. Used the 2.1 WTB Weirwolf tyres, which were pretty good.
Cheers
Nic
you should seriously consider a hardtail and drop almost a third of that bike weight
Are you trying to tell us something Stuart?
No, no - you done good with the pro-pedal Nik. I had mine on 'hard' to begin but flicked it off on a couple of the rougher descents. Then later on, when I figured comfort was getting more important that efficiency clicked the PP down to 'medium'.
I'm with you on the Half fling next time!!! We have to catch Tien!
I set my bike's rear suspension (brain) up as hard as it would go and also used the poploc on the front suspension to nearly lock that out so they barely moved hen i was on the firetrails. I found that drafting was the way to go on the firetrails.
Andrew
Yeah you'd be mad to go back to a hardtail surely.
Those paddocks were surprisingly bumpy and I sure felt every little bump
With all the advances in mountain bike suspension you are thinking of going back to hard tails?????
On the way to the bike store drop into the car yard and trade in the car for a horse and cart, I'm sure a cart would be lighter and harder on your bum.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm time for the shrink!
we might as well go fully rigid.
Actually, why not drop the wheels as well and just run the course - a decent cross country runner should be able to do 55km in 3 hours? Is there any rule to say you actually need to have a bike?
Nic
Yes, but you dont have to ride it.
...that half of the bike's I saw there:
yes , Hardtails...and the winner's: hhmmmm I think I know what he/she rode!!
Bernd
Sorry mate, don't want to be around to see that.
As for the bike going fully rigid, well they already do, its called a crosser and there is only one in our midst mad, sorry man enough to do that, and we all saw what happened to him last time he tried that off road.
Now maybe I read a little too much into your comment "rode with propedal the whole way" I envisaged an almost locked out rear end as is this case when I engage my propedal, maybe that doesn't happen on the earlier versions, not sure what year or model Fox shock you are running.
Anyway, horses for courses and all that.
So next year its;
29inch hard tail with front shocks locked out, single speed, no brakes, crosser tyres and maybe drop bars.
We start down the road to avoid the bottleneck, draft whenever possible and yell out "race leader" or "track" every 10 seconds. If we see an obstacle e.g. river, corner, hill, etc we leap off the bike and run with it in impossibly inflexible carbon roadie shoes. We wear spray on lycra body suits, nipple tape and take Gu intraveniously washed down by a weak decaf mocha latte on skinny.
... they won't believe you."
http://youtu.be/GqNGhcdtMbc