Highland Fling 2012

That i wouldn't even wager a bet of double or nothing on this one!
Or maybe i could????
The thought of beer would make me go faster!

I've had about 4 training rides in the last month, all less than 2 hours, and have just come down with a sore throat. I'll still be in the Dash on Saturday evening and the half fling on the Sunday though and I reckon with all of those excuses to fall back on I'll enjoy this one more than all of the others, as long as I stay in front of the slow coaches on the techy sniggle.

See you there soon boys (and girls?)

P.S. Gazza, it's not in your style to go soft, I reckon unless your back is really bad you will be give it everything and bash a heller time. As for Logan and Brian.. can't wait to see how that's going to turn out

The pressure is on now. Two days to go now before we're all lining up.

I was going over my nutrition calcs last night and that's all sorted. Checked the bike again, all good.

Good to hear you were ok. Re Mark Fenner, at least his not in my age group

The race organisers sent out an email early on warning people about accommodation as there's some other event happening down there as well.

There is still some accom in Goulbourn which isnt to far away from a driving point of view if you didnt fancy the really early drive in the morning.

Personally, I prefer my own bed and happy to get up early, quickly eat some breakfast and hop in the car.

I believe there is a music festival in Bowral this w/e. The good news is it runs late on Sun night so hopefully no traffic chaos on the way home.

I thought about shacking up in Goulburn, but then realised that it only really saves me about 20 minutes, and as you say Logan, i'll take my own bed instead, for that amount of time!

What do you typically eat in the car on the way down by the way? I'm wondering if I should try and keep it relatively light (bananas, meusli bars etc), a little heavier (peanut butter sandwiches), or more substantial (left over pasta). I'm slightly annoyed at myself for letting myself have to figure this out on a race day!

Double or nothing on the six pack if you want mate?
It might be just what I need to keep me motivated when I'm in pain?

Well, the last touches are being appliend (I'm on the massgae bed getting a final rub down) and everything is in order.
See you all down there on Sunday. I have accome but am staying in syd till later on Sat, so won't hit rego till 8ish.

I hope everyone has a good ride, and hits at least a few of their goals. If I am going well enough to pass you during the race (given the Elite starting behind) shout a hello. I'll try to be as polite as possible calling track. Once I'm passed, feel free to block the route for everyone else

Team Jet will be there in full force, and some big results are expected. Kyle, Garry, Jayden, Brian and Paul - good luck.
Jenny (surrogate team member) is looking good for 6 from 6 and the series sweep after the Cape to Cape too.
I'll go with everything I've got - and maybe something that I don't (yet) have too (maybe revealved later - depending on the post).

Safe riding everyone.

Doing the half fling for the 1st time and have read the course guide, studied the profiles... BUT can anyone who has experience of the Half fling give any ideas of what it is actually like? In terms of grade, surfaces to expect, hardest sections etc? The official race guide we all receive says nothing on this.

I have done Wingello Red trail a few times as practice - would you say that is comparable to the Penrose Forest sections in terms of difficulty?

Any ideas welcome. Thanks!

The first "half" to transition at Wingello while you are fresh is pretty easy, although it does involve a creek crossing that is not rideable, usually has a long queue and, depending on the water level and your height, could see you wet up to and possibly including your shorts. In the longer second half, towards the end there is the "roller coaster" section with some very sharp pinch climbs, followed by a few k's of techy sniggle, a long grassy uphill and the "your choice" ascent before hitting the dirt roads to home.

Although the distance split between the two halves is about 46:54, my split time last year was about 40:60 between the two "halves", which was pretty close to the winner's split also, although his actual numbers were much smaller.....

And don't forget that it is not a "50" - it runs closer to 60 km. There is still a fair bit of work to do when you hit 50km.

basstard hill is not really that bad, its the pinch climb on roller coaster that's the worst of the last section.

To Mark and the Jet Cycles guys.
With no warning, or even clue (as they were due for delivery in December) I hace ridden home on a brand new bike for the Fling.

My 2012 S-Works Epic was a sweet ride, and I had it prepared to race.
Little did I know when I popped into the shop that it would swapped out for a 2013 S-Works Epic running the new Sram XX1 drivetrain.
1st ones in the country!

Myself, Kyle, and Garry are all very lucky. Come and see us at the Specialized tent after the race to check the bikes out.
My XL weighs 9.4kg!! I reckon Garrys 'S' will be close to 9kg flat!!!!

A huge thanks to Jet. We'll do you proud - nothing like the extra 'pep' of a new bike on the start line!

Thanks to all for the tips - appreciated.
I will ask the organizers to include some basic course descriptions in the info for next year. Its not like its some sort of secret .. is it?

Thanks got it

I've registered, had my pizza. Time to sit back and relax

There was no waiting at the single track when I went through

Was looking for those.

Although it doesnt seem to have taken off the time at the transition?

Oh well a time of 5h 22mins, 25th in Elite Mens.

Will stick up a blog post in a day or two.

turns out that 113 is just a normal number after all. didn't turn it upside down and completed my first 100 mile fling ever without any mechanicals or any other bike related issues at all. just a reaaaaaallly long day in the saddle.
my only mistake was riding up 'the wall'. that went alright on the first lap but on the second lap the effort put me really in the box and it took me to the end of the wingello single track to recover.
8.36 it was in the end and by far the most climbing i've ever done on a single ride.
what an experience though. and big thanks to all the organizers and incredibly friendly helpers. great job.

In there, some people looking particularly broken.

I've sent them an email. If you use the same email address to register for the race as you do for cyclenation they normally run an overnight process to assign the results to you so check back in the morning.

Looks like cycle nation have now linked the results to riders.

Only problem I can see is that the categories are different across the races (I'm veteran for most but masters for the fling) meaning you can't get a reliable category classification. Oh well, still happy with overall classification.

It looks like cyclenation have fixed the categories but most of the results have allocated to the wrong people. I have fixed mine as I had someone else's results etc. I've sent them another email.