Adversary of the singletrack mind (seriesRnd2)

Round 2 of the SINGLE TRACK MIND series took riders to the sleepy lollie shop town of mogo, South of batemans bay.

Little did we know the singletrack gold that awaited us at the end of the rainbow.

(Just passing Kiama) 

Once again this 7hr race became a battle of mind over body, the lead up was great for the mind but not the body as 7days prior I raced a12hr event in pairs. Although the adrenalin was pumping all week to do winning that race.

It was a Wednesday morning enjoying my last week on holidays from uni. It was a day to pimp my bike ready for Sunday. Once the new Conti tyres were fitted I noticed a spoke had pulled through and cracked my room. Everything begins to implode now.

The guys at whooly wheels (an old mechanic of mine) assured all could be rebuilt by Friday.

With the wobbly wheel I ride to paddington and leave them the task of rebuilding a wheel and shortening the remote lockout cable.

Stress level are now quite elevated due to financial pressure, so selling a crankset on Friday afternoon allowed me to breath I'd have some pineapples in my back pocket and might make it to payday next week, to save some money and had already bought a few bars the week before I'd thought I better not spend any money on gels and just race using bars.

Nom nom nom nom. 

Picking up the bike on Friday all was not 100% as their was a fault in the production of the tyre which made it run untrue. I was to find out later that I now only have lock and fully open on my DT Swiss forks, where is had 3 settings before. Along with my free hub not making it's usually sound and feels it's been jammed full of grease and just not having any rolling speed. I left feeling sabatouged.

As you can see the stupid things playing on my mind.

It's the day before the race and as per usual my trusty traveling buddy Phil arrives at cyclestudio to pick me up, this weekend being so much easier and fitting only 2 bikes in his 3door hatch we were away fast, but it's lunchtime in sydney on a Saturday so it was a slow trip to bondi to pick up my gear.

Once on the road we would realise that making it in time for a practise lap would not be possible, so we drove through the wind and rain and solved a few world issues until we stumbled across a real issue on a road trip. 

The car and it's occupants needed fuel. Petrol for the car chocolate milk (oak) for us.

We drove on for miles. (Because once you drive more than a few kilometres everyone reverts to measuring a trip that takes longer than expected in miles) to find a Coles servo so Phil could use a fuel saver voucher.

We arrive and no joke the one voucher Phil had was out of date by 2days. I go and hunt down some OAK, phil walks into the servo and I'm empty handed. That's right..... No chocolate milk.

Could this servo get any worse.

Servo guy: hi guys what are you up to today

Chops & Phil: arr ummm ( a servo guy wants a conversation) we are off to a mtb race

Servo guy: oh yeah where abouts? 

Chops & Phil: down in mogo

Servo guy: so you race mountain bikes ?

Chops & Phil: awkward silence 

Chops: yeah mate, we race mountain bikes..........! 

Leaving the servo. 

Chops: we are not visiting this servo on the return trip Phil.

Pre Race dinner was with a host for the night (Grant) and Jase & Kylie McAvoy at the local Thai restaurant.

Kudos to you if you can race off this stuff.

Grant hooked us up with 5star accommodation and the wood heater was amazing.

It was actually hard to leave for the race, maybe it was the coldest start line of the year that had me thinking that way or the zombie mode I was in.

Getting to the start line or event centre was not an easy task, and best to leave a lot earlier to reduce the stress. So I'm lucky to have Phil help me with bottles so I can focus on just getting ready.

LETS GET RACING I hear you say.

We traverse down single track and through the bush to the start ready to race flat out on a track unseen.

My start was horrible..The kudos I got from people about the 12hr had me in good spirits though, unlike my body.

The pain in my hips was horrible and could barely pedal without lasting to long and I'd have to stand and stretch. The next 2.5hrs was a constant battle on staying in the game but I've never ridden so much with my headspace so filled with other things. Plus eating bars sucked...only have plan A is such a bad plan.

Closing in on the 3hr mark and my body started to feel good and I could do a lap without the need for stretching.

Paying closer attention to my Magellan GPS I notice my avg speed is not that much slower than the 12hr race, you know what choose you may not being going as bad as you think.

Now I would overcome adversary:

Let's make it a 4hr race now

Let's try to keep the avg speed from dropping.

I found a game within the game to keep me motivated.

I managed to succeed in my goals and began enjoying my day and actually chatting to some riders instead of grunting in response.

The long climb out the back became my friend as early on in the race I could not push my HR up so now hours in, I could still punch my HR up to 85-90%.

Lap on lap from berm to berm between the creek crossings and off the jumps, mogo presented 12kms of amazing trails. At times you felt it was the Australian version of Cool Runnings, and the bobsled tryouts were on.

It's to be said that trail fairies build mountain bike tracks,  well these must be on the trails built on cloud 9.

Closing in on the final hours I pulled up in transition to chat with Phil and find out my position and I was coming 4th so I rolled out for another lap thinking it would be my last arriving back in transition with 15mins to go. I stopped to chat with Kylie who knows more timing data then the actual timing system and with 5th place a chance to make it in before the 7hr I should of fuelled up and headed out, alas I just chatted with Gary James and Kylie then Lloydy arrived and was happy to call it a day..

With seconds to spare 5th place came rolling in, so I stepped on it.

I could hear Kylie cheer me on. Actually she was yelling at me to stop as 5th place was not going out again. 

After a rest I enjoyed that last lap and knowing it was my 12th to match Loydy and Callum on the same amount of laps I was happy... Pockets empty of food made for a few blury glycogen depleted minutes before adrenalin fuelled my veins to keep me going to the finish line.

With over 3000vm it was the easiest track to obtain it on as it was butter smooth and descents took you to a happy place every time.

I finished the day in a better place mentally, it just shows if you push through adversary you be happier on the otherside.

Battered and exhausted bodies left Mogo that day the roadtrip was filled with the epic tales of how Phil won the Men's pairs a Mac attack and a very late arrival back in sydney.

I fell in love with this bike even more at mogo and having fresh rubber on the rims made it a great ride..

How will round 3 go I wonder..

Just chops.

Team MAGELLAN take line honours at the JETBLACK 12hr.

Shadows created by the moon on a flat piece of ground among the grapes with hot ambers warming the cold country air. The harmony of car, tent & marquee that creates a small town built in an afternoon greeted myself and Phil as we arrived after everyone's bed time on Friday night. 

It had been a 4hr drive to set our minds ready for a race that would test the mind body and fitness of everyone involved, with that Friday being quite a stressful day getting out of sydney I was relaxed to see my team mates campsite after seeing his bike posted on Facebook laying on the freeway after falling off at 110km/hr.

So the build a tent competition was clearly won by yours truly but alas Phil atleast had a useable air mattress, so I grabbed the blanket used to protect the 3 bikes in the back of a Hyundai excel safe (chops can pack a boot) as my bed for the night.

Setting my alarm for 730am would mean I get the same number of hours sleep tonight as I would the two previous nights combined, which I'm sure had Paris (Team MAGELLAN captain) worried when he rang on Wednesday asking how my taper was going, I dare not tell him about the 2.5hrs I'd spent that day doing spin classes. So begs the question, which is more important? Have you prepared correctly? Or Are you ready to ride until you can't to achieve a goal? The latter I know I always am going to do.

A correct taper has it's place though, stay tuned for my next blog entry on what I do to prepare physically and mentally.

RACE DAY

                The day begins with me replacing front brake pads and my front chainring ( supplied by SCV IMPORTS) then I take my bike to the mechanics for a new cassette and chain with them tuning my bike it's was extremely crisp. Thanks BLACKMANS cycles. I've got my bling and I'm ready to race.

Paris was to start the race for us, standing in event centre when everyone was racing was a bizarre sensation, I didn't know what to do. So began the ramblings of myself and MC Crafty on what position riders would finish the first lap.

This event centre was the best I've ever seen, as riders where 4-6mins from the finish line you could see them take on wine hill. My predictions of Paris coming in 4th were correct as he was glued to Gordo's back wheel, a slick transition and I was off on my first lap and over taking 3rd place almost immediately.

The slick transition.

The track was extremely dry and sketchy which filled me with instant regret I didn't put the new tyres I'd bought on my bike, so I rode quite conservative so I could learn the conditions and adjust to riding my bike in my 2nd race this year. Watching my heart rate throughout the first lap had it punching over 85% a lot and 90% a few times! which I'd rather not as I did not have faith that my legs were free from fatigue.

Tagging Paris we were all smiles as it was very apparent that after being riding buddies for 10years we had never done a race together, he was always a guy I have looked up to on how to live and enjoy life and a rider I spent along time chasing to match his ability. Paris has had a year filled with victories hitting his prime at the age of 40 with a baby only 5weeks away, I had the privilege of Carrie looking after us in the Team MAGELLAN tent. I was able to focus on what I needed to do and never had to watch the time as Carrie would give me a shout when and what I needed to do with 10mins before Paris was due in.

RACE LEADERS is belted ( I just got goosebumps typing that) out across the hunter valley as Paris comes stomping into the finish chute. A smile is spread across my face with the tag consisted of paris giving me a big push I shot off on my lap with a huge turbo boost and friends cheer me on as I passed their campsites hearing I was in the race lead. Up the fire road and into the wind I shake my head as the words race leader has now sunk in with a depth of disbelief. After receiving some what might say friendly sledging before the race I found that the sharing of hidden agendas plain rude. It never fuelled my fire but would only make the day sweeter if I was to prove them wrong.

Entering the singletrack my swooping skills had returned and ripped through there with ease all the while waiting for someone to catch me. Punching out another 30min lap I tagged Paris with the words of ' keep the pace and keep it smooth' Paris being a rider who has won 4hr events 50km races and some 100km epics I didn't want him to bury himself to early in all the hype of a 12hr race.

My time off the bike was filled with chatting with mates and feeding my face and receiving compliments of leading the race, which I would brush off as the finish was a long way away. But deep deep down it had become my new goal, something I wanted to share with Paris in the 2seconds we spent together through transition. If the meaning of motivation was to leap out of a book and read a book or watch a YouTube clip on motivation Paris would be that motivation. So I never got to share my thoughts on trying to win the whole race but, 

On a day like this over a mountain bike course on the edge of a valley two mates set out to battle into the night in honour of each other's ability and desire to achieve as much as possibly from the life we have both chosen. Each lap proceeded to only ride for a fellow mate, lap times where created out of respect for a team mates ability with the clock only stopping once the job done was worthy of the company that shared the battle. 

That's teams racing in a nutshell. Your inner self can achieve amazing goals if what makes your heart beat can push your body past what others can not achieve, enter in a mate and the goal becomes to ride for that common goal until the heart can no longer beat. 

 Note the sunnies...http://www.revantoptics.com 

Lap for lap we ride until the sun sets and our lead was only to increase on second place and by watching the lap times of other riders it was interesting to see peoples lap times drop unlike team MAGELLAN's, surely night laps will be slower but that's the same for everyone. 

My first night was more like a pinball game as I bounced off many trees and failed on many occasions to choose a smooth line through the powder filled trails at James estate winery. 3 trees per lap was my average for the 1st two laps.

The event centre was becoming a place where people felt the cold, I never really thought it got cold. Maybe the racing was just to hot or the adrenalin was keeping me warm, so many riders would huddle around the fire buckets where as I did my best to stay well clear and my lungs free from smoke.

We had now lapped 2nd place and taking off on my next lap my lights were to go flat, so I rush over to my tent to grab my 2nd battery that I had fully charged for it to only just die instantly once I switched on my lights, so I back track to see Paris and steal his helmet and lights, catching and passing second place just before the wine tanks.

Once back in transition i meet Paris who awaits for his helmet and has a fresh battery good to go. This was to be our only non rolling transition so 20sec later he was away.

The finish is closing in and with my stuff up, my next lap will be my last. Yup we could of got 24laps in.

Never checking the lights I borrowed for the final lap was a rookie mistake so I let peter Selkrig pass me so I can use his lights as mine were pointed to close to the ground, I hung on for quite a while as we had a good chat but once he dropped me on a climb I was left in the dark so I stopped to fix the situation.

Once going again I just followed the light and kept my lines smooth and safe, Benji caught me once out of the singletrack and we had a good chat, it was so nice to finally have some company in the race, wine hill approached and I rudely just smashed it to the top and finished my lap, tagging but following paris out of the event centre, looking back I wish I did go out and roll around that last lap with him, but crash tackling him over the finish line under the echos of RACE WINNERS will be equally memorable.

23laps completed in 12hrs 5mins 1lap clear of anyone else in the field. What an amazing 12hr race we had.

 

Clearly bloody happy with our win.

The battle was over TEAM MAGELLAN victorious in a race that will never be forgotten. To make it even sweeter was Phil with the power of the cookies I brought with us won 12hr solo master Wendy won the elite women's solo and Linda & Briony won the women's pairs as I'm now a coach to these riders it was a great weekend. A huge thanks to all the riders saying Go CHOPS as I passed you on course, apologies for just zipping by. I usually recognize who you are once I pass because I'm just that focus on going as fast as I can. So thanks for taking a breath to cheer me on.

In the east the glow of a new day begins, in the west the moon says goodbye with the ground covered in frost along with our tents, we pack up the little village we built to say goodbye to our home away from home, and head back to sydney but not before we experience a taste of Italy in the town of Denman that had a Canadian feel to it. 

Solar powered cafe and a street that looks like Banff.

Thanks to MAGELLAN for the continuing support and Revant optics for supplying me with lenses for my Oakleys.

Ready to hunt down the next podium! 

JUSTCHOPS :))