Very sexy legs and a lost dog.

Arrived in the mail today. The replacements for the ill fated Pace RC29s, a very nice pair of White Bros Rock Solids. Don't think I'll race with them at the Scott 24hr but can't wait to get them on a bike. They feel a lot more rigid than the RC29s, so it'll be interesting.


And if you see Muppet (the little one) anywhere, catch the little f*cker. The delivery man obviously let her out when he delivered my goodies. Hope she's having a nice night out.

RIP TPR David Pearce

Poor bastard.


That's me in July last year. How quickly I've forgotten.

Tarin Kowt was a hell of a place then, just as much as it's a hell of a place now.

Uncertainty

One thing I like most about racing is the uncertainty. I know every race I ever do will hurt (so much so that I'll promise myself never to do one again), I also know that once I'm racing all I can do is commit to giving as much as I can, and nothing more. But the uncertainty that comes in the details is what makes it so exciting. Next weekend is the Scott 24hr Mountain Bike race in Canberra. This will be the fourth time I have raced this race, and every time I have crossed the start line it has been different. Different courses, people, weather, fitness level and of course different bikes. The weather in Canberra throughout the years I have raced the Scott has ranged from sub zero temperatures to heavy rain and even heavy dust.


I have had great laps in the middle of the night where I have flowed through the single track comfortably. While other races have left me out in the dark and cold with no energy, fading lights and a kilo of mud stuck to my bike, promising I will never ever race a 24hr again. It's funny how the human mind can censor your memories (although it can't censor the fact that in 2005 I couldn't feel my big toes for a month after the race).


Looking back at those moments I laugh, but will I be there, in that state of mind again this weekend? Time will tell and the excitement builds.

Vicki Porter Awareness Ride

Last Sunday was the first edition of the inaugural Vicki Porter Awareness Ride. The back ground to this ride is that Vicki Porter, a 33 year old cyclist/triathlete, was involved in a hit and run at 5:30am one Staurday morning in Townsville City. She was left a paraplegic and is currently undergoing intense rehab in Brisbane. The spineless coward who hit her is still at large; however, the fuzz claim that they have a suspect, time will tell. So the ride is billed as an opportunity for the cyclists of Townsville to raise awareness about cycling and demonstrate how strongly we feel about our lifestyle, whether it be commuting, recreating, racing or even triathlete-ing.


It was a great morning with 1300 riders showing up. The organisers expected 1000 and I think everyone was a little overwhelmed at the support shown for the cause. The ride was 14km long and without a word of a lie, it felt great to hold up those gas gusling auto-commuters at every set of lights we went through. Considering our convoy spread to about 500 meters long and we averaged about 15km/h, they would have been waiting a while for the traffic-fuzz to let them through.


At the conclusion of the ride a local radio personality broadcast Vicki's voice from Brisbane over loud speakers. It was quite a moving moment as you heard a young and active woman whose life has been changed forever, respond so positively to our efforts and the prospect for her future.

Glory through suffering

Well I've been crazy busy lately, moving house, working and trying to train for the Scott 24hr, but as promised, I headed down to the velodrome for the first time in two years and it all came rushing back. The first few laps at speed and in a pace line were pretty tense, until I remembered how to ride a track bike on a velodrome and could finally relax my shoulders and get into the flow.

I only tried to stop pedalling once, which came as a shock, but everything else came back so naturally. The new wheels are awesome. I think I’ll leave the tyres a 160 PSI as apposed to 180 (at least until I figure out how grippy the cement is) as there are some nasty lumps in the track coming out of the last corner where I could feel the back of the bike bounce sideways at speed.

The interval/sprint work quickly reminded me of the intense pain this type of racing is all about. Short and sharp hit outs with no chance for recovery, your legs have to keep spinning even after you’ve expelled all the energy your body has to spare, something that takes a lot of getting used to. You can’t slow down too much on the corners either; otherwise you’ll find yourself sliding down the bank of the track.

Wow you get some speed up though! The bikes are super efficient and it feels like you could roll forever. In the pace line the wind in your face is surreal as you hit 50 or 60 km/h on an enclosed race track with no brakes and two or three others within 150mm of your front and rear wheels.

It’s all about speed, efficiency and courage; with a lot of pain in their for measure.