Podium to emergency, Back to podium: 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.