Better with age...

Three years ago the half fling took me 3:30, 2 years ago 3:15 and last year 3:01. I keep telling my wife some things do get better with age, and this year I was determined to improve again.

I started about 5 rows back from the elite riders, and from the gun went reasonably fast, determined to stay ahead of bottlenecks. The start was a bit manic - lots of people passing on the flats then slowing on the climbs, but I maintained a comfortable pace and just tried to stay out of trouble. It was my first time doing the fling on a hard tail, and the paddock sections were pretty rough - definitely nicer to ride on a dually. I arrived at the transition area at about 1:08 feeling pretty good and didn't stop - took on some food on the road section then settled in for the next stage. Sat on the back of a train for a short time, then they pulled ahead and I rode alone for a while. At this stage I was feeling great, and found myself passing a few people on the fire road climbs. At about the 40km mark I felt a few twinges and started getting concerns about cramps - especially since all the singletrack was ahead of me. But I just shifted to a lower gear and spun the legs out and that seemed to be ok.

Singletrack has never been my strength, but I was pretty pleased with the way I rode it today. I rode all of the climbs/ pinches, and I took the short option at your call. Lots of friendly banter out on the track, and everyone was very polite about passing or being passed. Crossed the line in 2:51:30 feeling very spent but happy with my new best time. This is a fantastic event, and I'll be back next year, hopefully a bit faster again.