Nope, not the Force and no Darth Vader is not my father. It's a review about riding the Giant TCR Advanced 0 road bike. I was fortunate enough to be handed a big cardboard box with the shiny new bike in it a little over a month ago. I was excited to be able to finally be on a Giant road bike and even more so one with the new Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset. Setting up the bike was a snap. I watched a youtube video, read through the brief instructions and had the whole thing up and going in about 40 minutes. The automatic indexing of the Di2 made the job so simple even I could do it.
Anyway, I get the thing out on the road and take it for a spin. The first thing I noticed was how well it shifts under load. My chosen loop for the day was Winn Road and it has a couple of pinchy little climbs after long descents. You hit the paddle and it just does what it's supposed to. You can be cranking it up a hill and need to drop a gear or two and away you go. Punch it, bang, there's the gear. Very snappy.
Any comment I make about geometry probably won't mean that much. I am not an experienced road racer and really only a masher at best. The bike feels very comfortable on the 70km rides I have done so far and I really like the way it climbs. The acceleration when you stomp the pedals seems good with the power core bottom bracket nice and stiff and the massive down tube allowing you to grab the bars hard and give them a good wrench for leverage.
In an interesting move Giant is using an in house wheel system and tyres. Again any comment I could make on this is probably not really all that informed except that the wheels feel stiff and responsive and the tyres roll quite nicely. My only negative comment in fact is levelled at the tyres. We have had a lot of rain here lately and they are quite slippery with moisture on the road. The wheels are branded all over with Giant but the literature that is cable tied to the the skewers is DT Swiss. Read into that what you like.
All in all the bike is a really tidy looking unit with the internal cable routing and the reduced amount of control cables from the cockpit. The battery for the Di2 sits under the non drive side chainstay and there is even the neat "Ride Sense" unit built into the chainstay too. Ride Sense is an ANT+ sensor unit that talks to any device that is enable with the technology. In my case it is my Garmin 705 and it sends cadence and speed data to the GPS unit. Very neat.
I have to give a big shout out to Matt and Brent from Giant for hooking me up with the Advanced 0. I'm a very lucky chap. I can't say my foray into the darkside is complete because I still love my mountain bike. Riding around on the TCR Advanced 0 has certainly made the choice of what bike I will ride as a matter of choice much more difficult now though.
This is a blog on my adventures. Pretty simple really!
The whole point of the exercise
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Insert cricket noises here.....
Yep, it's been pretty quiet around the old bloggosphere. It might lead you to think I haven't had much going on but the truth is the exact opposite.
January is a month of birthdays for our family. My son Jack turned 9 and received his first full sized 26 inch mountain bike. I think I was more excited than he was. It took nearly a fortnight for him to want to get out and ride the bike though. Finally we took off for a run along the rail trail near home. There is a walkway we normally use to get back to the bike path for the trip home but some construction work had it closed. It made this part of the journey pretty hazardous as it took us onto a busy road and Jack was less than keen. I offered the option of a bit of single track instead to get there. While Jack was a bit sceptical about the single track he was really not keen on the road. We did it. Before I knew it he was flying along down the trail and climbing like a champ! I reckon he needs a little more practice with the shifters and he will have it nailed.
For the last couple of years January has also been crazy busy with work. We delivered a news set for a local TV bulletin in the last week of the month. It looked pretty cool and all went really smoothly. I know it isn't about bikes or family but it did keep me away from both. The video is a time lapse of the removal of the old set and install of the new one.
January is a month of birthdays for our family. My son Jack turned 9 and received his first full sized 26 inch mountain bike. I think I was more excited than he was. It took nearly a fortnight for him to want to get out and ride the bike though. Finally we took off for a run along the rail trail near home. There is a walkway we normally use to get back to the bike path for the trip home but some construction work had it closed. It made this part of the journey pretty hazardous as it took us onto a busy road and Jack was less than keen. I offered the option of a bit of single track instead to get there. While Jack was a bit sceptical about the single track he was really not keen on the road. We did it. Before I knew it he was flying along down the trail and climbing like a champ! I reckon he needs a little more practice with the shifters and he will have it nailed.
 |
| A couple of red frogs later, away we went. |
I got an early birthday present too. Matt and Brent from Giant handed me a spanking new TCR Advanced 0 road bike. Yep, a road bike. There will be a detailed review soon but suffice to say it is great to ride. It has the new Shimano Di2 electronic groupset and boy does it make changing gears easy. The weather here has been pretty wet and so I haven't put any really serious miles in on it yet but it's great to have a bike that fits with nice kit hanging from it. I look totally pro in the new Ronde kit too. Here's the goods....
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/tcr.advanced/9671/50835/
And right now. Well I made a promise to myself that every day this month I would ride. So far so good. I also have stopped drinking alcohol completely for an extended period. Feels pretty darn good so far. I am really looking forward to the end of the month to plug all the numbers in to the Garmin Connect and see how my totals come up. I know it won't be huge but after the amount of time I have spent doing everything but ride it should still bring a smile.
Anyway, stay tuned for the review on the roadie and as the race season heats up for more of my ramblings about riding bikes. I reckon this year will have a bunch more stories about riding with the kids given the look on Jacks face after the his first ride on the big bike.
And right now. Well I made a promise to myself that every day this month I would ride. So far so good. I also have stopped drinking alcohol completely for an extended period. Feels pretty darn good so far. I am really looking forward to the end of the month to plug all the numbers in to the Garmin Connect and see how my totals come up. I know it won't be huge but after the amount of time I have spent doing everything but ride it should still bring a smile.
Anyway, stay tuned for the review on the roadie and as the race season heats up for more of my ramblings about riding bikes. I reckon this year will have a bunch more stories about riding with the kids given the look on Jacks face after the his first ride on the big bike.
Monday, January 2, 2012
There are probably a lot of words I could say to sum up 2011. In the end if you watch the images, you'll get the point. We made it, we survived and hopefully in 2012 we will thrive.
Enjoy.
2011 is gone..... from Graham Menzies on Vimeo.
2011 is gone..... from Graham Menzies on Vimeo.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Updates on the new bike.
I've now got a couple of races and some reasonably long rides in on the XTC 29er 0. Overall it is a solid and well behaved platform that can really haul arse. The feeling of sitting "in" the bike rather than "on" the bike adds a level of stability when descending fast fire roads and comfort during long, sustained climbing. Both of these traits are valuable in quite a lot of the riding I enjoy. The frame is stiff and responsive so there is no perceptible loss of power when you stand up and put the power down. The front tracks true with the Overdrive 2 head tube junction and the Fox forks teaming up to keep you pointed where you aim. I am a big fan of the Fox forks and after messing around with pressures a bit I have it right where I want it. I use the lockout a bit but generally I don't feel the need. I love riding this bike.
It's not all roses though. I am really not a big fan of the Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres. I know a lot of riders love them, I'm not one of them. They are OK but I think the side walls are too soft and that means I feel I need to run more pressure to compensate for the squirmy feel. Once that happens you lose some of the bump absorption and traction in loose surfaces. A tubeless kit may fix it but as yet I haven't put one in. Not a big fix but worth mentioning. The Avid brakes. Man those things squeal. The performance is fine, the set up is fine and I quite like the lever reach adjustment but the noise is just hard to ignore. There is also a 205mm rotor specced on the bike for this year and for me it is too much brake. I can see that for a bigger human there would be value in it as the increased stopping power would come into it's own. For my 70kg frame I really don't need it though. When I grab a handful of lever I often need to check that my fillings have stayed put after I have nose wheelied down the trail. I'm picky. Too much brake, sheesh.
The highlight for me is still the Shimano XT drive train. This stuff works. I love that even after 4 hours of slop and crap it keeps shifting with confidence. I am not known for my light shifting technique (read masher) and sometimes when I get tired (read after lap one usually) my gear choices are made rather late forcing a big jump in ratios and that disturbing crunching sound to emanate from the drive train. Even with that obvious disadvantage the XT doesn't complain and hits the gear allowing me to look like I might actually know how to ride a mountain bike. Love it.
So if wishes were fishes what would I do? First up Shimano XT Icetech brakes. No question there. Next would be some tyres and that would probably be Maxxis Ikons. I have one to try here right now but as yet it hasn't made it onto a bike. At 2.2 inch it would hopefully give a bit more volume and suppleness to the ride without saggy sidewalls. I have had great success with Maxxis as a brand but again this is a personal thing. After that it's a hard decision. While there is a case for lighter wheels it is a big expense when the stock wheels are solid with hubs that roll well and are easy to service. Get the wheels checked after a few rides and keep the tension right and they aren't too bad. If however Shimano ever gets it together and makes the XT wheelset with a 15mm hub I'll be all over them like white on rice.
As always, these thoughts are based on my personal preference and keeping in mind that I have 2 small children, a wife and a mortgage. I search out performance balanced with value and the XTC delivers both of these in spades.
It's not all roses though. I am really not a big fan of the Schwalbe Racing Ralph tyres. I know a lot of riders love them, I'm not one of them. They are OK but I think the side walls are too soft and that means I feel I need to run more pressure to compensate for the squirmy feel. Once that happens you lose some of the bump absorption and traction in loose surfaces. A tubeless kit may fix it but as yet I haven't put one in. Not a big fix but worth mentioning. The Avid brakes. Man those things squeal. The performance is fine, the set up is fine and I quite like the lever reach adjustment but the noise is just hard to ignore. There is also a 205mm rotor specced on the bike for this year and for me it is too much brake. I can see that for a bigger human there would be value in it as the increased stopping power would come into it's own. For my 70kg frame I really don't need it though. When I grab a handful of lever I often need to check that my fillings have stayed put after I have nose wheelied down the trail. I'm picky. Too much brake, sheesh.
The highlight for me is still the Shimano XT drive train. This stuff works. I love that even after 4 hours of slop and crap it keeps shifting with confidence. I am not known for my light shifting technique (read masher) and sometimes when I get tired (read after lap one usually) my gear choices are made rather late forcing a big jump in ratios and that disturbing crunching sound to emanate from the drive train. Even with that obvious disadvantage the XT doesn't complain and hits the gear allowing me to look like I might actually know how to ride a mountain bike. Love it.
So if wishes were fishes what would I do? First up Shimano XT Icetech brakes. No question there. Next would be some tyres and that would probably be Maxxis Ikons. I have one to try here right now but as yet it hasn't made it onto a bike. At 2.2 inch it would hopefully give a bit more volume and suppleness to the ride without saggy sidewalls. I have had great success with Maxxis as a brand but again this is a personal thing. After that it's a hard decision. While there is a case for lighter wheels it is a big expense when the stock wheels are solid with hubs that roll well and are easy to service. Get the wheels checked after a few rides and keep the tension right and they aren't too bad. If however Shimano ever gets it together and makes the XT wheelset with a 15mm hub I'll be all over them like white on rice.
As always, these thoughts are based on my personal preference and keeping in mind that I have 2 small children, a wife and a mortgage. I search out performance balanced with value and the XTC delivers both of these in spades.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wheels on Woodenbong.
Funny name, great weekend.
So there's this new race called WoW. It's in the tiny township of Woodenbong about 2 hours south of home. As there was camping advertised at the race site and the family were keen for a little adventure we packed up early Saturday morning for the drive down and departed with the hope of a nice place to pitch the tent and some good food at the local pub. Both came true and really set the scene for the weekend.
The camp site was a massive, flat grassed area which backed onto a sandy creek. When we arrived there were barely half a dozen other campers and so we stretched out and made ourselves very comfortable. he boys got straight to exploring the creek with Rohan managing to "fall in" while fully clothed. Alison and I had both joked about how long it was going to take for that to happen. As it turned out we were pretty accurate with our estimates of half an hour. They were having fun though. We were also treated to the lovely surprise of Mark, a regular racer and often lap partner for me, showing up and setting his camp right beside us. We sat and chatted for a bit and once the tent was up my wonderful wife showed just why she is so awesome for the second time in a very short space of time. Alison let me go and do a test lap with Mark of the course to see how it was. More about the lap later, and about my awesome wife.
We had planned to go to the pub for dinner as often the food in a country pub is quite spectacular. Not in the "Quail toenails with a parsnip and mint jus rested on a stack of blanched bok choy" kind of way but more the head sized rump steak and thick cut chips kind of way. I was disappointed to see the menu was surprisingly short of some of my favourite pub fare. Rohan was keen on a pizza and as Alison thought she could share one with him I opted to get one too. All three of us would get a decent meal that way and seemed like a good idea. Now, the pizzas weren't good, they were frikken fantastic! Great bases, fresh topping and really nicely cooked. I was stoked. Rohan proceeded to destroy his usual half of an adult size pizza and a few of his brothers chips. Not bad for a 6 year old. Alison and I were very satisfied with the meal and the setting out the back in the beer garden just topped it off. Jack had fish and chips.At least he is predictable. After that it was back to camp with left over pizza in a box and into the showers before bed. A small mention must be given at this stage to the adopted family member and bit parter for the weekend, the green frog in the ladies showers. Rohan had gone for a shower with Alison so we could get the boys into bed quicker when he spotted the frog. It was like Christmas. Alison even had to go back the 200 meters to the toilets with the camera and get a photo of the frog to show me and Jack. Frogs are amphibians don't you know.......
Bed, slept like a log. Woke to a foggy (yep foggy in Spring) day with the temperature already going up steadily at 6:30am. It was shaping up to be a hot day. I cooked bacon and pancakes on the tailgate of the ute and watched as the boys engulfed as soon as they were cool enough. Man they can eat when we go camping. I just strolled around from then on eating a bit more, drinking a bit more and getting my shit together to go and do some racing. I had no high hopes for a result because you guessed it, I haven't really trained. I should just not even say it now and it should just be assumed that I don't train hard. I barely train at all. Anyway, enough griping about my lack of commitment to training.
Paul and Leanne were coming down for the race as well. As Mark could do with a hand putting up his gazebo I went over to the transition area and we set up a nice little race base before the crowds arrived. While I was there I reserved a spot next to us for Paul and Leanne and hung around until they rolled up. Another lovely surprise greeted me when Paul number 2 showed up as well. I used to ride quite a bit with Paul but just lost touch with work and life stuff. It was great to see him and he was looking pretty fit. Not as fit as the new and improved Paul B in his Superman cape and tights. I have no idea how much weight Paul B has lost but my, he is looking lean and strong. That fact was only proven to me as he dropped me like I was standing still on the first lap. If the racing had of gone to poo, the social aspect more than made up for it right there.
Race time. Got to the start line and felt okay if not a little hot already. The day was heading towards scorcher rapidly. Mark had said to me earlier in the day I should aim for 10 laps of the 5.3km course and see what happens from there. I have no data for the course as I hate racing with a Garmin or similar. The course was straight forward enough with the first half being a long, steady climb after a short double track section, then 3 heart breaking little boggy areas, another short false flat and then 3 long descents with short flat sections all the way back to transition. 161 meters of vertical according to the race profile.
As I get older it takes me so much longer to get into the swing of things come race time. The first 2 laps were like chewing broken glass. It hurt and to keep going just felt like it would make it worse. My only reason to keep going, and my dark little secret from a month or so ago is my complete failure at the last race I entered. I have never pulled out of a race before until then. Only 3.5 hours into a 6 hour race, pop! Broken Heartlidge and race over. Yeah, I didn't even do a post about it.
I had no idea about the times I was doing, no idea of a placing and less than no concern for either piece of information. On lap 3 though Rohan and Alison had come over to see how I was going from the campsite. Rohan handed me some gels and a new water bottle, told me about the fun he was having and said I looked muddy. I asked him if I looked alright and he stopped, considered his answer and then let me have it. "You look okay, but how's your bike race going Daddy?" Slap. Yeah, how is it going Graham? Well, I'm upright, I'm feeling a little better, there are guys out there suffering way worse than me and bugger it, I'm not trying to solve world hunger or perform life saving surgery. This should be fun. From then on I was good to go. My times didn't drop or anything miraculous like that but they did stay reasonably consistent and most importantly, I was having a good time.
I busted out my 10 laps and got a time check going around the last checkpoint. It was a close thing according to the marshal with only a few minutes left until the 4 hours ticked over. I came around the last corner only to see the clock sitting on 8 minutes to go! With such short laps that put me in for another slog around if I wanted it. I wasn't sure though. My legs had been cramping most of the last 2 laps and I just backed off and kept pedalling to stop the inevitable lock up that comes with effort. It didn't seem right to pull up though as I had managed it for 2 whole laps. 2 whole laps of gingerly pedalling and crawling up the climbs. Paul B saw me in a bit of trouble and immediately offered up some magic electrolyte tablets. I scoffed them down and drank deeply before swapping bottles and heading out again. I was happy to go and make the lap slow but finish it. what happened next was both stupid and surprising.
I had seen a guy lapping around at about the same time as me. I was also pretty sure he was on the same lap as me. While I sat at transition and pieced myself back together on the previous lap I had seen him pass me and go out for a final lap. As I trudged along the grass section just past transition I could see him in the distance approaching the long climb. To my great surprise when I got to the climb he wasn't that far in front of me and to my greater surprise as the climb went on I was actually making ground on him. A spark of competitiveness flickered to life in my pea like brain. My legs were saying "don't you dare!" while my heart was saying "it's the last lap, how bad can it be?" Hmm, a quandary indeed. Hang it, I'm going after him.
I got close before the first short descent into the boggy areas. I watched as he went through the bog and got off to walk up the pinch climb straight after it. Hmm, interesting. I powered through the bog and up the pinch with legs screaming. He was still in front.The second boggy area was much the same and on the other side of this bog I could almost hear him breathing. The third bog I was on his wheel. there weren't any places to pass right there but there was just the last little pinch climb before the long descents started. Hmm, a chance?
I'll tell what happened next as I saw it. There is also a touch of the dramatic to make it more fun to read and should the competitor it is about read this and call it another way, I'm more than happy to set it right later. When we reached the bottom of the climb I was millimetres from his rear wheel. The trail opened up slightly and I called track right, meaning I intended to pass on his right. Only problem was he went right. I could see the tendons in his neck straining, hear his breathing ragged from effort and it "looked" like he tried to block me. I saw his right shoulder drop and just that millisecond before felt he may do this and so was prepared. I ducked left and onto the smoother part of the trail. I had only called right as it was polite to make the pass in the tougher part of the course so as to not disrupt the flow of the other rider. Besides, you don't give up the prime line easily. I was hanging it all out up the pinch. I hit the top a meter in front and immediately slammed it up to the middle ring and stood up. I think you could have heard my legs screaming from Mars. Shut up legs and do as you are told. the final climb was maybe 50 meters long and I crested it with a small gap on him. It was big dog time and for the first time all race I was pedalling down the descent as hard as I could. So was he. A tight right hand corner slowed us both down and again for the first time all race I got it just right and powered out clean. Another meter or so opened up. I could still hear him breathing though. A little false flat was the last pedalling before the final descent down to transition. You had to negotiate a hairpin corner at the bottom and pedal over the line. Through the day I had been using a little short cut on the corner which allowed you to not lose so much speed provided you could make the 2 foot drop on the end of it. I was pinning it and as the corner came up I could hear him grabbing a handful of brake to get around. I shot over the corner and popped it off the drop and stood up on the pedals to sprint to the line. I got him by 1 second. Cool. My legs turned to toast soldiers and before I knew it I had cramps on my cramps. I was still smiling though.
Now I mentioned my wife was awesome. Why is that you ask? Well as I was out pummelling myself on a bike, she was quietly packing up our camp. No small job with 2 kids to watch as well. I got to head over to the camp, throw the stuff in the ute and relax in the creek and at the presentations before Alison drove us home. Awesome. Darling, you are the best pit crew ever.
I got 9th place. Not bad for an old fart racing an all in brawl.
So there's this new race called WoW. It's in the tiny township of Woodenbong about 2 hours south of home. As there was camping advertised at the race site and the family were keen for a little adventure we packed up early Saturday morning for the drive down and departed with the hope of a nice place to pitch the tent and some good food at the local pub. Both came true and really set the scene for the weekend.
The camp site was a massive, flat grassed area which backed onto a sandy creek. When we arrived there were barely half a dozen other campers and so we stretched out and made ourselves very comfortable. he boys got straight to exploring the creek with Rohan managing to "fall in" while fully clothed. Alison and I had both joked about how long it was going to take for that to happen. As it turned out we were pretty accurate with our estimates of half an hour. They were having fun though. We were also treated to the lovely surprise of Mark, a regular racer and often lap partner for me, showing up and setting his camp right beside us. We sat and chatted for a bit and once the tent was up my wonderful wife showed just why she is so awesome for the second time in a very short space of time. Alison let me go and do a test lap with Mark of the course to see how it was. More about the lap later, and about my awesome wife.
We had planned to go to the pub for dinner as often the food in a country pub is quite spectacular. Not in the "Quail toenails with a parsnip and mint jus rested on a stack of blanched bok choy" kind of way but more the head sized rump steak and thick cut chips kind of way. I was disappointed to see the menu was surprisingly short of some of my favourite pub fare. Rohan was keen on a pizza and as Alison thought she could share one with him I opted to get one too. All three of us would get a decent meal that way and seemed like a good idea. Now, the pizzas weren't good, they were frikken fantastic! Great bases, fresh topping and really nicely cooked. I was stoked. Rohan proceeded to destroy his usual half of an adult size pizza and a few of his brothers chips. Not bad for a 6 year old. Alison and I were very satisfied with the meal and the setting out the back in the beer garden just topped it off. Jack had fish and chips.At least he is predictable. After that it was back to camp with left over pizza in a box and into the showers before bed. A small mention must be given at this stage to the adopted family member and bit parter for the weekend, the green frog in the ladies showers. Rohan had gone for a shower with Alison so we could get the boys into bed quicker when he spotted the frog. It was like Christmas. Alison even had to go back the 200 meters to the toilets with the camera and get a photo of the frog to show me and Jack. Frogs are amphibians don't you know.......
Bed, slept like a log. Woke to a foggy (yep foggy in Spring) day with the temperature already going up steadily at 6:30am. It was shaping up to be a hot day. I cooked bacon and pancakes on the tailgate of the ute and watched as the boys engulfed as soon as they were cool enough. Man they can eat when we go camping. I just strolled around from then on eating a bit more, drinking a bit more and getting my shit together to go and do some racing. I had no high hopes for a result because you guessed it, I haven't really trained. I should just not even say it now and it should just be assumed that I don't train hard. I barely train at all. Anyway, enough griping about my lack of commitment to training.
Paul and Leanne were coming down for the race as well. As Mark could do with a hand putting up his gazebo I went over to the transition area and we set up a nice little race base before the crowds arrived. While I was there I reserved a spot next to us for Paul and Leanne and hung around until they rolled up. Another lovely surprise greeted me when Paul number 2 showed up as well. I used to ride quite a bit with Paul but just lost touch with work and life stuff. It was great to see him and he was looking pretty fit. Not as fit as the new and improved Paul B in his Superman cape and tights. I have no idea how much weight Paul B has lost but my, he is looking lean and strong. That fact was only proven to me as he dropped me like I was standing still on the first lap. If the racing had of gone to poo, the social aspect more than made up for it right there.
Race time. Got to the start line and felt okay if not a little hot already. The day was heading towards scorcher rapidly. Mark had said to me earlier in the day I should aim for 10 laps of the 5.3km course and see what happens from there. I have no data for the course as I hate racing with a Garmin or similar. The course was straight forward enough with the first half being a long, steady climb after a short double track section, then 3 heart breaking little boggy areas, another short false flat and then 3 long descents with short flat sections all the way back to transition. 161 meters of vertical according to the race profile.
As I get older it takes me so much longer to get into the swing of things come race time. The first 2 laps were like chewing broken glass. It hurt and to keep going just felt like it would make it worse. My only reason to keep going, and my dark little secret from a month or so ago is my complete failure at the last race I entered. I have never pulled out of a race before until then. Only 3.5 hours into a 6 hour race, pop! Broken Heartlidge and race over. Yeah, I didn't even do a post about it.
I had no idea about the times I was doing, no idea of a placing and less than no concern for either piece of information. On lap 3 though Rohan and Alison had come over to see how I was going from the campsite. Rohan handed me some gels and a new water bottle, told me about the fun he was having and said I looked muddy. I asked him if I looked alright and he stopped, considered his answer and then let me have it. "You look okay, but how's your bike race going Daddy?" Slap. Yeah, how is it going Graham? Well, I'm upright, I'm feeling a little better, there are guys out there suffering way worse than me and bugger it, I'm not trying to solve world hunger or perform life saving surgery. This should be fun. From then on I was good to go. My times didn't drop or anything miraculous like that but they did stay reasonably consistent and most importantly, I was having a good time.
I busted out my 10 laps and got a time check going around the last checkpoint. It was a close thing according to the marshal with only a few minutes left until the 4 hours ticked over. I came around the last corner only to see the clock sitting on 8 minutes to go! With such short laps that put me in for another slog around if I wanted it. I wasn't sure though. My legs had been cramping most of the last 2 laps and I just backed off and kept pedalling to stop the inevitable lock up that comes with effort. It didn't seem right to pull up though as I had managed it for 2 whole laps. 2 whole laps of gingerly pedalling and crawling up the climbs. Paul B saw me in a bit of trouble and immediately offered up some magic electrolyte tablets. I scoffed them down and drank deeply before swapping bottles and heading out again. I was happy to go and make the lap slow but finish it. what happened next was both stupid and surprising.
I had seen a guy lapping around at about the same time as me. I was also pretty sure he was on the same lap as me. While I sat at transition and pieced myself back together on the previous lap I had seen him pass me and go out for a final lap. As I trudged along the grass section just past transition I could see him in the distance approaching the long climb. To my great surprise when I got to the climb he wasn't that far in front of me and to my greater surprise as the climb went on I was actually making ground on him. A spark of competitiveness flickered to life in my pea like brain. My legs were saying "don't you dare!" while my heart was saying "it's the last lap, how bad can it be?" Hmm, a quandary indeed. Hang it, I'm going after him.
I got close before the first short descent into the boggy areas. I watched as he went through the bog and got off to walk up the pinch climb straight after it. Hmm, interesting. I powered through the bog and up the pinch with legs screaming. He was still in front.The second boggy area was much the same and on the other side of this bog I could almost hear him breathing. The third bog I was on his wheel. there weren't any places to pass right there but there was just the last little pinch climb before the long descents started. Hmm, a chance?
I'll tell what happened next as I saw it. There is also a touch of the dramatic to make it more fun to read and should the competitor it is about read this and call it another way, I'm more than happy to set it right later. When we reached the bottom of the climb I was millimetres from his rear wheel. The trail opened up slightly and I called track right, meaning I intended to pass on his right. Only problem was he went right. I could see the tendons in his neck straining, hear his breathing ragged from effort and it "looked" like he tried to block me. I saw his right shoulder drop and just that millisecond before felt he may do this and so was prepared. I ducked left and onto the smoother part of the trail. I had only called right as it was polite to make the pass in the tougher part of the course so as to not disrupt the flow of the other rider. Besides, you don't give up the prime line easily. I was hanging it all out up the pinch. I hit the top a meter in front and immediately slammed it up to the middle ring and stood up. I think you could have heard my legs screaming from Mars. Shut up legs and do as you are told. the final climb was maybe 50 meters long and I crested it with a small gap on him. It was big dog time and for the first time all race I was pedalling down the descent as hard as I could. So was he. A tight right hand corner slowed us both down and again for the first time all race I got it just right and powered out clean. Another meter or so opened up. I could still hear him breathing though. A little false flat was the last pedalling before the final descent down to transition. You had to negotiate a hairpin corner at the bottom and pedal over the line. Through the day I had been using a little short cut on the corner which allowed you to not lose so much speed provided you could make the 2 foot drop on the end of it. I was pinning it and as the corner came up I could hear him grabbing a handful of brake to get around. I shot over the corner and popped it off the drop and stood up on the pedals to sprint to the line. I got him by 1 second. Cool. My legs turned to toast soldiers and before I knew it I had cramps on my cramps. I was still smiling though.
Now I mentioned my wife was awesome. Why is that you ask? Well as I was out pummelling myself on a bike, she was quietly packing up our camp. No small job with 2 kids to watch as well. I got to head over to the camp, throw the stuff in the ute and relax in the creek and at the presentations before Alison drove us home. Awesome. Darling, you are the best pit crew ever.
I got 9th place. Not bad for an old fart racing an all in brawl.
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