Time has flown by quite fast since the previous race, I am now a Bondi resident and teaching a few classes at week in the eastern suburbs plus the training sessions for a research study for NSWIS.
In the week leading up to the race I really yearned to get out racing, so without a bike I made a call to Jon Odams at bike culture to see if he had a demo bike.
Friday rolls around its 8am and I have already done two spin classes but by lunchtime I had spent 1.5hrs in a Hypo2 hyperbaric chamber, surely that was to balance things out and all afternoon I had felt so refreshed, I zip into the city as CBD cycles had the demo bike we get it all setup, their customer service was awesome. A WHYTE 29er 2nd time ever rolling the big wheels.
Forever grateful for this rig to hit the trails with.
On race day, I catch the train to Campbell town and pedal the 6kms to the start, warm up check, pump some tyres up as I have tubes I may have gone a bit hard on the psi.
After a bit of a chat with crafty on the mic I'm allowed to push in on the start line and off we go flying into the single track about 15th, completely sight unseen, but I have ridden here before, then my back wheel goes a drift as its caught in a muddy rut front wheel is now sliding, I tried to correct only to drop the front wheel and slam into the ground hard... Worse possible time to crash... Super fast section and with seconds a thousand people go past u, ok maybe 30-50..
So it's now quite hard to have confidence in the bike, but you know it's a mountain bike race, get on with it.
Smooth is the key at mt Annan, but to go quick u must attack all the pinch climbs, but this comes damaging for ur back among other muscles.. I don't know I just felt slow, my heart rate would pump anywhere near the red, no power... Very frustrating.
To be honest, I could whinge all day about this race. I did have TORQ. Nutrition. CELL bikes have it fairly cheap at the moment,
I grabbed a time check coming through timing 1hr to go.. That made me happy, as the last 3hrs I have nothing to report on. I had rode around with songs on loop in my head as the next I had a very important 2hr spin class to teach.
I ramped it up quite a bit in the last two laps, when I stopped my mate Joel was there, I couldn't even talk and my quads were close to cramping, I'm keen to see that lap time, as it's how I should have been racing, but just couldn't.
I finished 9th on a day others had a blinder, and will have to really bring my A game in the last round at Stromlo to get a good result in the series.
Which bike will I be on then, who knows.
JUSTCHOPS :)
If anyone needs me, I'll be at the drawing board re-evaluating.
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