Tales of the 'ANGRY GINGER'

2011 Wrap up

2011-12-23T11:36:00.002+11:00

2011 was a massive year on the bike. I raced the tour in Alice Springs, Mongolia Bike Challenge, Tour de Timor and finally the Cape to Cape in Margret River. I'm not going to say that I'm the worlds best but I sure gave every event my all and had some completive results.

In the one day type of events I raced the Vets National champs, Oceania champs, Otway Odyssey, Granite Grind, James Williamson Enduro, Dirtworks Classic 100km Woodend and You Yangs Yowie along with many more State and club level events. All up in terms of race days this year I did more than 80 days. No wonder I got tired!

I had many podiums, many wins and one of those was the Win at the You Yangs Yowie.

2012 is going to be another big one. In just the first 4 months you will be able to find me at:

Wildside, Otway Odyssey, Granite Grind, James Williamson Enduro and the Dirtworks Classic 100km, again not including other State and club level events.

I look forward to seeing everybody on the bike through soon for more fun times and great life experiences.

Tour de Timor becomes a tactical challenge.

2011-09-20T15:31:00.004+10:00

Not much more than 4 weeks form the Monglia bike Challenge I was lining up amongst some of Australia’s best riders at the Tour de Timor. This now my second year in a row at the Timor stage race I had some high hopes with the biggest question mark being just how recovered was my body after Mongolia. Its hard to work out if I was effected or if I was just not fast enough but having finished in a respectable 7^th place overall I will say that I am happy.

The event this year was 6 days of racing and the days were harder, rougher and longer than the previous year, that said when compared to Mongolia they were not daunting in the least. Many times during the week the all the Mongolia crew had a bit of a joke with others about hard bits in that days race and how that compared. Or lets just say how it didn’t.

So 7^th place after 6 days or racing amongst a top field is hardly disappointing but somehow I end up with a question of is that as good as my potential? The thing is my first day was just shocking. I was feeling good, climbing well and hydrating well as the kms ticked by. A break was up the road and a group of about 10 of us had been rolling turns to keep the break in check with a massive 30km climb to come. As we hit a 5km smallish percentage climb Ben Mather got on the front and put on the pressure. I was 2^nd wheel and at first was quite comfortable. It wasn’t that he lifted the pace but as the kms clicked by it started to hurt. My heart rate was up, I was feeling the heat and holding the wheel was becoming a problem. By the time I decided to go to the back of the bunch that had gone from 40 riders to 15 in the last 3kms I couldn’t even get on the back. I just shot straight off it and watched them ride away. We still had the big climb to go and my body was not happy. It wasn’t a great day. I ended in 14^th but lost 24mins over Adrian Jackson who won the stage and had myself now well out of the hunt after just one day.

Day 2 and Ben gets on the start through the 10kms of mostly climbing undulations and blows the bunch to pieces. The lead gets whittled down to 6 riders and I am not one of them. Instead I am maxed out and in the chase group of 5 or so. Once my heart rate settled I came good and rode away from those riders but catching the bunch ahead was not going to happen. Adrian flatted during the first 25kms and then Ben his team mate flatted not long after leaving Paul Van derPlouge and Luke Fetch with Tinker Warez smashing turns to get as much time over Adrian as they could. I waited for AJ on the flat and worked with him for 70kms at the best I could but time trial is not my strong point. We lost some 9mins to them in the end and AJ had lost the lead. MTBing is a cruel sport. I crossed the line in 4^th and this threw we from 14^th overall to 6^th overall.

Stage 3 was mostly flat for 50kms and then climbed a bit, flat a bit more and then a final climb broken into two to the top at 70kms. Search 2 Retain (Paul, Luke, Scott and Niel) controlled the pace on the front with a small break getting away but with 2 flat tyres amongst them that got closed down. With 15kms to go the pace slowed as we approached the final climbs and I attacked hoping to gain some time. The 8kms of flat in there didn’t help me. I got away but 3kms into a stupidly steep and very loose climb the lead 5 came rocketing past me. I was on the max limit and needed desperately that break between the two climbs to recover. I got it and climbed stronger for the last 5km climb and held my 6^th place in the stage finish.

So in 5^th place ahead of me by some 12mins was Scott Liston in the Search 2 Retain team. I knew I was climbing stronger than him but 12 mins in 3 days was quite the challenge, buy hey why not.

Stage 4 Started with an 8ish km climb that was steep and rough. Ben went on a break right away and I followed soon after but couldn’t bridge. Scott though tried to go with me and blew up and was no longer with the main leaders behind me. At the top we re-grouped and Scott was not in sight so today was a day to get some time back. I spent most the day on the front just keeping the pace high. In the flatter section I got Alex Denham and Adrian to help me out with some turns but they all new what I was doing and it was my battle to win. With just 5kms till the final descent Paul Van (race leader) flatted and Adrian came to the front and put the pressure on. I was again on limit and pretty stuffed from all my work. I went out the ass and had to work pretty much solo to the finish. I got about 4mins on Scott who had ridden a courageous ride on his own the whole way. So now the gap was 9mins and we had 2 days to go.

The problem was those 2 days were all bitumen roads and all much smoother. There was climbing but not much and I wasn’t going to have any support to hold any break over the flats after the climbs. My only chance was that Scott was having to do a lot of work for his team mates Luke and Paul who were leading the tour and I hoped that he may blow up. I can report he didn’t. He got back on after every climb that broke him and rode fantastically.

On the last day we had a few climbs, the first starting 10kms from the start. I hatched a plan to get some team mates up the road so they could get over the climb still in front or even with the bunch and then give me a working party. We tried but the attacked got covered by other riders and it didn’t pay off. The Search 2 Retain team covered every one of my attacks after this so getting 9mins back was not going to happen. Frustratingly we let a few riders get away and one of them a Malaysian ended up winning the stage and finishing some 15mins ahead of our bunch. Little did we know though that he was looming behind me not that far back and this great ride saw him move from 8^th to 6^th and me finish in 7^th. I felt pretty ripped about this. Whilst I sat in a peloton riding pretty slow for 40kms he was stealing my 6^th overall without me knowing….. Well that’s bike racing hey.

So 7^th is great but I really need to look at those first days in the tours. I was bad in Monglia, bad again in Timor and in 4 weeks time I line up for the 4 day race of the Cape to Cape in WA and with the start studded filed there is no room for day one blow ups.

Got a few races between now and then so hopefully the body returns to its best and I can perform in WA.

A few pics and then finally some R and R

Tomorrow we RACE

2011-09-10T14:29:00.002+10:00

Sometimes life isnt half bad. Sitting here at Timor Lodge beside the pool and we are pretty much ready. Tomorrow we start stage 1 of the amazing Tour de Timor race.

There is a good crew of Aussies here so its nice and social but when that gun goes tomorrow I have a feeling that some hurt is going to be on the menu. Im really looking forward to this tour. I think I have recovered from Mongolia but only time will tell me that.

keep track on the Tour de Timor website and rumor has it that highlights are being shown on the SBS news.

The Beijing experience

2011-08-19T00:42:00.000+10:00

Ok so there will be some Mongolia photos soon but I thought Id share a few of the Beijing classics with you first.

So here are some pics.

The basic highlights:

- Arrive at the apartment and manage to buy a SLAB of beer and get pizza delivered to our room. Yep that is quite the exercise when you cant speak mandarin.

- Trip to the great wall. The part we went to said “CLOSED TO PUBLIC” Gee don’t know why. This section of wall we were at had all of 20 others if that and was beautiful, if not a bit dilapidated in parts. Alex and I kept pushing on as we spotted some single track we wanted to see first hand. Took us to quite the run down section of wall.

- Checked out the night market for dinner where Melinda Jackson who is quite the ‘Choiceaterian’ (chooses when to be vegetarian or not) decided SNAKE would be ok. So as Alex was commenting on how it was strange the snake had no bones Mel was really enjoying it and telling us all how yummy it was. Snake all gone. Not more than three stalls later we work out ‘Snake’ is actually Sheeps Snake or otherwise know in English as ‘SHEEP DICK’ Oh yes Mel was not happy about this! We were in hysterics and the jokes just keep on rolling on in.

- We have walked about 50kms in the last week all over this city and also managed to get the hang of both the Bus and Subway system. Love being the biggest and strongest in peak hour getting off the train. It is actually fun.

- Hired bikes and rode around the Houghton (older areas of town) whilst also getting mobed by the Paparazi. They must have heard about my Mongoila Bike Challenge. Too funny. I of course signed autographs and made a few media statements before we got on our way.

So tomorrow we start our journey back. It has been a great trip. I think I have managed to put on the weight I lost during the event and then alot more. Food has been great, the people have been great and the rest has been very much needed. Monday I will get on with the real challenge in life - WORK

{Spam?} My Mongolia Bike Challenge Report

2011-08-15T14:02:00.000+10:00

The Mongolian Bike Challenge in 2011 has been an epic adventure and I am so pleased to have come here and completed it. Of the 9 days in this event I believe that at least 5 of them were harder than any other one day event than I have ever done. This event as a whole was the single most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done and probably at this point would be very happy if it remains as just that. Just the thought of riding in Mongolia has a fair element of extreme to it but I truly could not come close to explaining properly what we have just completed. But don’t for a second think that I did not have the time of my life. Yes I’m saying it was balls out hard but that’s why I came and along the way whilst overcoming the mental and physical challenges that this event through at me I saw a lot of an amazing country, had some sensational experiences both on and off the bike and met a truly amazing bunch of people. Any event like this is going to draw a crowd of people with similar interest’s and outlooks in life and that’s a big part of why together we all helped each other to complete this very amazing event.

Of the 7 Australians there has been some mixed results. The first to mention is Melinda Jackson who came here for an adventure as did we all but has gone away with 9 stage wins to her name. An unbeaten record of stage wins. She didn’t do it easy and I have never seen saddle saws like what Melinda had after just 2 days but she stuck at it and rode amazing each day. Turi Berg found a good crew of riders to ride with each day and then pushed herself on a few getting a 3^rd and a 2^nd. Mark Sandon was the ultimate domisteque working for Mel for 3 days and then helping Ashley and Sam get through a few of their harder days. Alex Denham took a bit to get going but once the smell of top podium in sporty man was on offer he certainly stepped into gear. On day 7 working together with Craig from Canada we moved Alex from 3^rd into 2^nd in the category and he took 3^rd overall in that stage. The next day the leader had a mechanical and Alex had to defend against a very strong Contodor (look alike) to then take 1^st in the category. Unfortunately though on the last day when Alex was securely glued to Contodors wheel where he had been all day he got a flat tire. The curse of the sporty man hit him hard and he ended up getting 3 flats and slipping back to 2^nd. Samual Mcgregor our ‘Top Biker Nominee’ fell sick after day 2 which was most likely caused by consumption of sand in the desert. He was unable to finish day 3 and had to skip a few more stages whilst he waited to get his strength back. He did finish 6 of the 9 stages which is a great effort. Ashley Hayat suffered a very similar fait. On day one he awoke not feeling great, pushed hard through the stage but never recovered for the rest of the event. In the end for Ashley it became about finishing each stage and he did a great job to achieve this. Mongoiia is no easy place to ride your bike, let alone when your body is suffering illness.

The event for me was a bit of a roller coaster of both emotion and of results. I wasn’t well leading up to day one with a head cold, cold sores and mouth ulcers which was all probably my body reacting to massive change in environments and the sleep deprivation that travel presents. Still I was here to ride bikes and looking forward to it. Day one demanded everything I had and more. We rode 70kms of the 75km stage into a massive head wind over sandy corrugated roads. It was hot, sandy and relentless. I suffered sever cramping towards the end and had to stop and walk for a bit. That for me was a first and even with a perfect hydration plan my body just couldn’t take the effort that was needed to ride into that headwind on dead road and in that heat.

The 2^nd stage brought a more interesting track for the first 80kms. The bunch got split up after the 1^st feed zone when a few riders attacked as we stopped (what a dickhead move). Ash, Alex and I worked together for about 50kms which was great. After the 2^nd feed station we had been told the track got rougher. As we hit a section where the ruts were stupidly deep and any track outside the ruts was soft sand I joked to Ash “Settle in for 46kms of this” Gee I wish I was wrong...... That 46kms shook every joint in my body and finishing in 6^th I was happy with my ride but completely destroyed.

That night we slept in a Gur camp which was lucky as the winds got up and were blowing sand over everything. In the morning it was still blowing a gale and we were getting sand blasted as we set off for another big day in the desert, 132kms to be exact. Luckily the track changed direction after 5kms making the head wind a tail wind which had us doing up to 45kms and hour. The front bunch whittled down to about 8 riders all happy to swap turns. During this stage the terrain was changing a bit with rutted sandy tracks becoming a bit smoother through some mud flats and then we hit a beautiful gorge that we rode for several kms through a mountain range. As the ‘King Of Mountain’ (KOM) approached the pace lifted and bunch splintered. Down the other side was a reminder of why I ride mountain bikes, because I love it. We ripped down the hill we had climbed back into the gorge hitting every corner at full tilt in hot pursuit of the lead three. The two Italian riders got spat as their mtb skills were, hmmm SHIT HOUSE. Sven, a German and I got working but as it turns out the three leaders and ourselves took a wrong turn as we excited the gorge. A car chased Sven and I down and pointed out the direction we had to go. We turned off the road and went across the desert for a km till we hit the course again. The three leaders were about 2mins ahead of us but with the tail wind and slightly down hill it took quite some time for the event vehicles to catch them. I could see them getting further off course off to my left. This made Sven and I the leaders with 15kms of rutted but fast road to ride. Sven was too strong in the open and I settled in for a 10kms solo time trial to the finish with the Italians and Ash in pursuit. It was another tough day but that gorge section had made it all the more fun and getting on the podium was a hoot, even if it was due to a bit of luck.

Day 4 and my body was getting into tour mode, Another 105kms of rutted sandy desert ahead but hey, that’s what you do in the Mongolian bike challenge. A sizeable lead group formed early and settled into a good pace. All was good until 45kms in when my bottom bracket started to make some unsavoury noises. As a few kms past I could start to feel a bit of resistance as I knew all too well one of my bearings was shitting itself..... Jokingly I yelled at the bunch (who could all hear the bearing squeaking and grinding away) “ANYONE GOT A SPARE BOTTOM BRACKET WITH THEM” It was less than a minute later and it completely ceased up. It wouldn’t pedal at all. I just had to pull out of the bunch and come to a stop. At that point I thought my Mongolia Bike Challenge was over. I was pretty emotional. Yep even a tear. Id trained hard for this event and come along way and having this happen with 50kms to go on only day 4 was shattering. Not helping was the several media cars around me capturing the disappointment unfold. Eventually (10mins later) I got up and just started walking. What else was I to do. I was in the desert and it was bloody hot. Another media car filmed we walking for a bit and then moved on. Still shattered and angry as all hell I gave the pedal a descent kick as I walked. This moved the cranks over half a turn. Still ceased, I kicked it again a few more times. It eventually started to turn again. I jumped on and started riding. It wasn’t great. The bearing was blown and the cranks were all over the place causing all sorts of issues with my front gears. But I was moving. I was in no hurry, I knew that I was probably damaging the whole bottom bracket assembly but I had to get to the finish if I wanted to still be in the race. The race mechanic caught up to me at the last feed zone with 30kms to ride. By then the cranks were sloppy like a mop in a bucket. He said he had nothing to fix this on course (like I thought he would) he did though have Sam’s bike on the roof as Sam was too sick to ride that day. But if I took that they said I may get disqualified so again out of the race.... So I rode on. I got to the finish and had lost over an hour on the leaders. Not what you would call my best day. I was lucky that Mark had spare BB30 bearings so that arvo the mechanic and I set about a complete rebuild. It all worked out, which meant day 5 I would start again.

Day 5 was my day. We were headed for the hills. Alot less sand on the cards and more climbing to be had. The next day was a big hill day so most riders were all looking for a bit of a rest. This to me seemed to be a good day to try and make something happen. I tested the waters about 20kms in and nobody came with me or bothered to cover my move either. Still I wasn’t going to ride 95kms alone so I sat up. I rolled turns in the bunch waiting to get a good opportunity and eventually it came. The 2 riders in front of me were Italian and I knew they were strong. Sven who was behind me wanted an easy day so Ii told him I was about to attack and asked that he not cover us. I then rode up beside the Italian riders and tapped them on the back as I went past saying come on, we are going. At first they both said NO. So I convinced them we wouldn’t have to ride too hard as the bunch was taking an easy day. Then I lifted the pace and they came with me sitting on for 5kms as I built us a gap. At this point Craig one of the Canadian riders bridged over. Craig was 3^rd overall in the race so I was unhappy to have him there as I thought the bunch may want to catch him. He agreed if the bunch responded he would go back to them and let us stay away. The bunch never responded! A few other riders tried to get over to us but didn’t make it as we got a good system going and the gap got bigger and bigger. One Italian crashed in a sandy creek bed so he was out and the other was getting weaker. With 20kms to go and the majority of climbing ahead it was just Craig and I. We were both still riding strong and we knew we would not be caught now. So it was time to negotiate. Craig had a stage win and he knew I had made this happen so he said it was mine. I was happy with this, I cant sprint very well and the thought of spending 5kms attacking each other on the climbs after working so hard together was not high on my list of things i wanted to do. That last 20kms to the line was a great feeling. I was so happy that it had worked and knowing that I was not far of taking a stage win had a smile from ear to ear. We were getting some good local support and i was waving and enjoying it all. I crossed the line a stupidly happy man. Having nearly been out of the race the day before and now to have taken a stage win was great. I would have loved to smash a few beers but the next day presented 132kms and 2620 high meters so rest and recovery was needed. But hey Bellie, when I look back at my cycling career in many years from now I am sure that this stage Win will be one I list as one of my greatest achievements.

So Stage 6 was the last day before the rest day and one of the hardest for the event. The bunch wasn’t in too much of a hurry in the first relatively easy 50kms. Marzio (2^nd position at this stage overall and winner last year) was covering all the attacks and wanted to keep it all together. As we approached the first major climb the pace lifted and the bunch got splinted. The grade of the climb was getting steeper and steeper and we were down to 6 of us which included Alex who was having a good day. Marzio lifted the pace again and only Cory from Canada was able to go with him. I settled into climbing mode as we hit some grades of up to 30% (damn steep) I was pretty happy that I had the triple chain ring option as i was giving the granny ring a work out. Over the top I was with Craig who I worked with yesterday. Alex was a min or more behind with Sven. The positions stayed like this all day. Craig was having a tough day and I couldn’t see any reason to leave him. I just sat on the front most the day and pushed up the hills and into the head winds. At one stage he got a blood nose which made one hell of a mess of him. He had blood all over his top tube and face. The final climb was a killer. We had ridden up a soft, muddy grassy covered road into a head wind for 5kms before hitting another 30% and loose rocky section of climbing. It seemed like a good time for a walk. It wasn’t a big walk but it was necessary. Over the top and we hammered down the road to the finish with a 50m waist deep creek crossing to greet us just before the line. I took 3^rd in another good day on the bike for me.

Finally we had made the rest day. It was so nice not having to get up at 5:15am. I even enjoyed a beer that night with dinner. Yeah 1 beer, really letting my hair down. It was also nice on our stomachs to not be forcing a heap of gels and sports drinks down for a change. A few of us had a bit of a ride but mostly we just fixed our bikes and had some great little naps.

On the morning of the 7^th stage we awoke to a frost. It was about 1 deg and packing up camp was no easy task. Ahead of us 125kms with 2 bigger climbs but nothing major. On paper this was going to be an easy day on the bike............ Oh how wrong. Of the gun Marzio went hard and only Cory could go with him. The next bunch had myself, Alex, Craig and Tom (3^rd Canadian who was finally getting his strength back after being sick all week). Alex this day wanted to get into 2^nd in sport men so had the pace on. Myself and the Canadians were chewing the bars just to hold Alex’s wheel for the first 20kms. We joked about him being shot out of a cannon. As the climb got steeper though Alex slowed and on the back side we formed a good working crew. This stage threw us a massive curve ball. Whilst the rest of the gradients weren’t hard the terrain was brutal. The roads were full of tennis ball size loose rocks and we crossed river after river after river. To be exact Im told one Italian counted them all and there were 59 in that stage. Allot were rideable but several of them were crutch deep and quite cold, a bit refreshing on the plums as we went through. Even the rideable ones though had all loose rocks so were quite hard to get through. The endless rocky roads made it physically very hard all over. My forearms were killing me and it was hard to hold the bars. I kept smashing my pedals on rocks nearly bucking me off my bike. It was relentless. With about 5kms to go it did get smoother and we powered for the line. In the end we had got a massive gap on Contodor putting Alex into 2^nd in Sporty Man and I had moved into 6^th overall with now just over 1 min off getting into the top 5.

The campsite that night was beside a river with trees all around us. This was a novelty. We had only just seen trees for the first time on that stage and to be camping under them was a massive bonus. Its hard to explain what its like not seeing any trees for 8 days. You are always in the elements, no wind break, no shade. Just wide openness. The river also made it easy to do some more washing of clothes. You would think great for a swim but it was FREEZING.

Day 8, only 2 days on the bike to go but this was the big one. 144kms, 2100 high meters with the profile looking like a saw tooth. We knew by now though that its not the distance that gets you in Mongolia, its the road surface and the winds. Luckily though this day would bring favorible winds for the most of it and some of the best roads yet. In fact one of the climbs was actually up through a forest. We were all pretty excited about that as we rode through it. Again the two leaders broke away on the first climb and it was Alex the two Canadians and myself in the chase group. Today Alex needed to ensure he was in front or with Contodor and I needed to get just over a minute on the Italian rider we had called ‘The Bull’. He got this name as he rode like a bull, super strong. All was good for us working away but the group from behind caught us 50kms in and it had both Contodor and the bull in it. The rest of the stage was interesting from a tractics point of view. Alex was not feeling fresh after our hard day yesterday but Contodor was climbing really well and getting stronger. I needed to break ‘The Bull’ as climbing was his weakness but I also needed to ensure we didn’t drop Alex as this would mean him possibly slipping back in the Sporty Man category. Also the leader of the Sport Man Category, Sven had a mechanical and had been seen by Contodor pulling off the track and stopping. So both Contodor and Alex had the chance to move up in 1^st and 2^nd. So over each climb I put the pressure on the bunch and each time it was really only Contodor that could come with me. So over the top I had to take it easy and not work with Contodor until Alex had got back on. Luckily Contodor wasn’t great on the descent and Alex was that really only meant rolling down the descents. As we got to 30kms to go we got head winds and open gradual climbing. We were down to a bunch of 4 with Criag, Contodor, Alex and myself. Behind there were a few riders chasing and I suspected it was ‘The Bull’. Craig and Alex were both not seeming too fresh, in fact Alex asked me that if he got dropped can I not help Contodor. So it was Contodor and myself doing the work on the front. Finally we topped the last climb, Alex digging deep to keep with us and Contodor showing amazing strength. Today there would be no organised finish order, it was going to be a sprint. Not my ideal situation. I wanted that 3^rd place and having done alot of the work would have been deserving of it. But anyone that has sprinted against me knows its not my strength. I found myself on the front with 1km to go and thats not ideal either. I kicked with 200 left with everything. Then 50m till the line there was one last creek crossing. Alex, Criag and myself went full tilt right into the creek which almost stopped us dead. Coming out the other side and to the line I was not successful but hey, good day. I had got into 4^th overall now as Sven lost alot of time with his front deralier coming off. I had got 2mins on ‘The Bull’ as well to get over him. Alex was now in 1^st in Sporty Man and only one day to go.

Again we were camping in the middle of nowhere. It was the equivalent to a cow paddock really. Not a tree in site. This day was my birthday, 33 years old. At dinner I was presented with a massive chocolate sponge cake and bottle of wine and sung happy birthday by the whole camp and staff. Really quite an amazing birthday. I kind of forgot to drink my optimizer that day and night and instead got a bit drunk on wine. Not the biggest help for the last day as it turns out.

So the final day had arrived. 100kms and 1300 high meters lay between us and finishing this massive event. For me this day was as hard as the first day of the event. My legs were not feeling great which was too be expected as I had done alot of work on the last 2 days and also not had a great recovery plan. The first two hills were steep and I went over the first one in 2^nd place taking a small time bonus but on the 2^nd climb just 5kms later I couldn’t hold the bunch and got dropped. Luckily the other side was a long fast descent so I just tucked right up and got back on after a few very fast kms. For the middle part of the stage the bunch just rolled turns pretty easy but with 50kms to go the pace got lifted by a few riders and I started to struggle. For one 10kms section Marzio got on the front and bought back a rider who had attacked quite some time earlier. The pace was fast and relentless and the road had some pinches in it and some rough sections. I was chewing the bars, head cocked, mouth open just tyring to hang on. Alex unfotunatly flatted and Contodor was in our group. To keep his lead in Sporty Man he needed to loose not more than 9min. Contodor knew this so had the pace on. To his credit he was riding really well. I was not. I was Yo Yoing off the back and just hanging in there, but with 10kms to go up a short pinch I was DONE. Boom Boom Boom. I rolled for a kms to recover and eventually got back into a rhythm. 10km time trial to the finish and one annoying climb in there also.

We were finishing in the small city of Karakurum right beside the first buddest centre of Mongolia that had 108 magnificent Stupa. There was a great crowd on the finish line and a heap of media. I was so happy to have finished. The event had pushed me to my limits and even that last day breaking me was some how part of what the event was about. After crossing the line for some 20mins all the locals wanted photos with us. It was pretty funny kids, parents, grandparents etc hugging us whilst their photo got taken. What a way to make you feel like you had just achieved something great.

So some of you may wonder would I do the event again. The answer is I’m not sure. For now I see this as a once in a life time experience. It was always going to be a massive challenge and I was so happy to have achieved it. But its a long way to go, a lot of time and a very hard even to train for and i don’t see that on my horizon for next year. Now that said if you were to ask me if I would recommend somebody else do this event my answer would be HELL YES.

Yes I recommend any mountain biker take on the Mongolia bike Challenge as a once in a your lifetime experience. You need to do the training for it and you need to be ready to get pushed to your absolute limits but that’s what life is about some times. Get outside your comfort zone, go beyond what you thought you were capable of and then sit on the other side with a massive sense of achievement.

The event was sensationally run and the organising staff were fantastic and really great people to get to know. They work hard to look after the rider. They are running the event as they have a dream of showing riders this amazing country and creating an amazing experience and they achieve it. Get your mates on board and book your spot for 2012.

The course is rumoured to be changing a bit which could mean anything. I believe it does mean less desert so that should be good. Out of 7 of us here now 5 days later 4 of them are talking about going back next year. Good on em.

For me, Im thinking about another country and another experience. Just what that will be i cannot say yet but either way I am again going to have a fantastic time.

How to follow the Aussies in the race

2011-07-31T20:08:00.001+10:00

http://www.mongoliabikechallenge.com/

We will have no internet across the Gobi desert, who would have thought hey. Race results will be posted daily on the event site so keep an eye on us from there.

Some iages and very little text

2011-07-31T19:51:00.005+10:00

The bikes are being loaded onto the vehicles for their trip across the desert. We take a plane ride tomorrow

Opening ceremony

This is my endura stocks for the race. Ok so I think I have enough but is it way too much? find out in 10 days I suppose

The Race stuff.
Helmet, T Shirt, Saddle bag and Race No.

My Bike got loaded onto the vehicle, turns out its the Sag Wagon. Hmm Hope this is not a sign!

The Aussie team from with the city behind.

Left to Right.
Ashly Hyatt, Me, Sam Mc Greggor (for top biker), Mark Sanderson, Melinda Jackson, Alex Denham and the captian Turi Burg

A view from a higher point. I think this is where you dry your washing.

Travelling with bikes PART II

2011-07-31T00:59:00.000+10:00

Got to love the un expected.... So after 30 hrs on the train, which I might add was a pretty great experience we arrived in Ulaanbaator. First thing to do was alley our fears that our bikes were not on the train as we had not seen any luggage cart during our jeourney. Yes they were there and being unloaded. So we headed over to the baggage area where they would be brought for us.

Now unfolds the mystery of Mongolia and its customs department. Could we take our bikes. NO. Why, cos first we had to register them in the country, pay money to every man and his dog and basically bend over and take it, if you get my drift. It took us 1.5 days of paperwork and running between different people in the train station to get our bikes released. WOW. One of the fees was explained to us as “This is for that lady’s salary” Oh well we were still laughing, maybe some more than others but hey we had our bikes. It turns out they went through this last year a the airport so had organised with customs for it to be easier but customs at the airport and customs at the railway station are two different things. And so comes our next chapter, customs at DHL is another thing again.

So Endura had been very supportive and shipped over our Endura goods for us via DHL. It was some $500 postage to get it here. Thanks guys at Endura, massive weight off our shoulders! However getting the package would of course require some Mongolian currency........ The first price I was given over the phone was $170. Yep a crap load. We rode out to the airport to sort this one out man to man. I sat down with the manager of DHL there and had it all expliained. Import tax plus processing fee = 15.5% But this was not of just the price of the goods, which they had the full recipet for, it was also for the price of the postage included. Yes they wanted us to pay them 15.5% of the cost of postage..... Yeah this made a certain ginger not very happy.

I ended up getting the guy manger at DHL onside which was good. The fee got greatly reduced to $80 and we also had to do a pretty dodgy move in the customs clearnece office to get the box cleared. It seems that some importers use protein powders to hide drugs, so this would cause us a problem. So it went down like this. We waited unitl the manger left the building, he then called over his friend in that department, she opened the box, asked a few quick questions and then advised us to close the box ASAP before her manager got back. We did some very quick taping and then got the hell out of there box in hand. I think they were registered as “bike parts”

Felt pretty good to get a small win and get all our stuff.

So with all that behind us we set about exploring the city of Ulaanbaator. Its a pretty good place. Write ups have it listed as a drab and boring city that has an average temperature of 2 degrees. Well we have had 25 degs every day and the place has quite the heart beat. Nearly every 2^nd place is a bar of some sort, the cafes are not to bad and there has been plenty of great Vegetarian food for us as well. We have checking out all the shops, getting used the crazy roads (manic drivers) and basically starting to relax and enjoy the place.

Tomorrow will be the opening ceremony which has us riding under police escort. I would say that will be fun but in the briefing they suggested people who’s bikes have not arrived could walk with us as we will be only going slow. DOH I was hoping on Alice springs style police escort.

Traveling with bikes...

2011-07-26T01:06:00.000+10:00

Yep, travelling with a bike is never short of an adventure when it comes to logistics and last night and today in Beijing has supplied an endless amount of challenges.

Example No 1. Arrive at 1am to the taxi rank after 2 long flights with 6 of you and six bikes plus bags. Taxi que is 40+ deep in front of you. You get offered that for 600 Yuan (small fortune over here) they can take you and all your luggage in one vehicle. Up rolls a standard van.... Yeah no way is that fitting all of us and bikes and vans. In fact it was a pretty tight squeeze to fit all the bikes. So for just another 400 Yuan you get another vehicle for 4 of us with the bags that don’t fit... Going price we later find out for taxi from airport is 100 Yuan. Let me also mention the driver of that 2^nd car couldn’t find the hotel for over an hour... Yep arrive something like 3am – 5am melb time. Just a tad bit tired.

So today we thought we just had to pick up our train tickets. Turned out after walking about 4kms to get there that we had to take our bikes to a luggage office today. So walk 4kms back and try to get vehicles to get now 7 of us there...... Nope no luck. We walk the 2+kms with bikes along the roads to try and find this office. The address we had given to us written in Chinese though lead us down some back street behind the station but we found nothing there. So that’s another 1.54kms of walking with bike boxes. Damn glad I had those wheels.

Eventually we found it some 4hrs later. Yep 4 hrs.

We still had to find a camping store to buy camping matts for a few and then a bike store to try and get Air canisters for a few. So another 5kms+ of walking. Lets just say we all enjoyed a few beers with our dumpling dinner.

But hey, it was an adventure and through all that you enjoy the challenge. At least we did.

7 happy aussies will board the Trans Mongolian Railway tomorrow for the next part of our adventure.

How Precious is life?

2011-07-24T18:48:00.000+10:00

On Saturday evening about 6pm I got a call from a friend giving me the bad news that my flatmate John Cornish who has been living with me for no more than 3 weeks died on Friday after being hit by a car on beach road.
I was and still am a bit in shock. John had a real passion for life and passion for his cycling. He had been in a rut and was just starting to feel better about himself and his riding. On Thursday night as we watched the tour and chatted he was talking about how he felt he had made some good decisions in the last week and that he knew things were turning around. He just needed a bit of better luck. He didn’t get it.

I enjoyed getting to know John over the three weeks we lived together. He was super interested in everything cycling, everything about travel and offered no end of support to me in both business discussions and cycling knowledge. I know he will be missed by many.

It makes me more aware than ever about how precious our lives are. I hope to never take it for granted and always continue to enjoy every moment. As it turns out, you never really do know when your last one may be.

As I sit on this flight heading off to Mongolia I really look forward the challenges ahead on this journey. I am in short ‘living life’

I hope your all doing the same.

I offer my sincerest apologies to all of Johns friends and family for their loss. He will be missed by many.

Custom bike box - Oh yeah done this before

2011-07-22T16:11:00.002+10:00

Well bike is packed and its nearly time to go. so for bike box I have made some modifications to the S-Works box. Oh yeah, added Wheels. Also reinforced the handles. No carring an awkward bike box for me, just wheel it through the airport!

Thanks everybody for the good luck wishes. Im pretty excited and really looking forward to the experience

Check out the saddle they sent us. Cool huh.

Anyone hear the Ginger on SEN Radio this morning?

2011-07-20T07:25:00.001+10:00

So its been a pretty early start this morning and it hasn't involved any riding at all. I was actually on SEN radio on the ‘All night appetite’ program hosted Tim and part of the Higher Faster Stronger segment with Brian and Tim Hazel. IT WAS 4:30 AM TO 5:00 AM. What I can’t believe you didn't hear it? Anyway the chat was about the Mongolia Bike Challenge.

We are just getting the recording of the chat now and bits of it will be posted here http://www.facebook.com/pages/SportRecovery/182831058413235 and http://twitter.com/#!/SportRecovery

Now I would have gone back to bed by unfortunately Tim from my office who organised the whole thing didn't want to go home after it some came to work. So here I am working away being good!

Bet my clients are thinking I’m working hard though. Some will have got emails from me at 11pm last night and then at 6am this morning. Yes I am that dedicated.

Bringing home the BACON!

2011-07-17T19:32:00.001+10:00

Today was the 2^nd round of the Interwinter XC series which was held at a course just out past the meat factory in Castlemaine. The event was called the “Casing the Bacon, XC Race” and for a pretty amusing twist they had a guy in a pig costume that got a head start on us all so we were actually chasing the bacon. It was for a good cause as the guy was raising money for a charity.

So in short I took the win to make it 2 from 2 for the Interwinter. My prize along with a great bottle of Vaughan Springs Vineyard Shirtaz was literally 2 packs of Bacon. Yep see this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/benbailey/5945184707/in/photostream Josephine has pointed out to me that today I quite literally “brought home the bacon” Too funny. So for those that done know the irony in all of this, I am Vegetarian. Again way too funny.

So how did the race unfold. Well having put in a massive week of training I was interested to see what my legs would do. On my practice laps (yes 2 of them) with Ryan Hawson I felt pretty good so decided and announce to Ryan that I would pretty much smack it form the start. LEGS DECIDED OTHERWISE. I went for it but pretty soon realised that at full effort I just didn't have the strength today. Right better come up with a new plan. Hmmm do I have the distance. So I basically just rode at tempo swapping off the lead with Brendan Adair for the first 3 laps until eventually with a bit over 2 laps to go I decided it was time to test the legs again. What do you know, they responded.

It was a great race track and a really well run event so well done to the Rocky Riders. Thanks to all the riders for their support out there. Totally enjoyed my day.

So here are some before and after shots of the bike. Needless to say

And the S-Works is ready!

2011-07-16T16:34:00.001+10:00

Just picked up my S-Works from SRAM after having the 3x10 X0 Front mech and cranks fitted. In total it weighs in at 10.60kgs which with pedals and the mid range weight tyres is pretty damn good I reckon.

The reason for changing to 3x10 rather than the XX 2x10 I had on is with 2x10 if I run compact I will have the climbing gears but will not have enough low gears for fast flat bunch work or descents. If I got the 42 front ring I wont have the climbing gears. Without knowing the course its just too big a risk for 9 days with over 12,000 meters of climbing. So 3X10 X0 is the way.

Hardly added a GRAM.

I’ve chosen the Schwalbe Racing Ralph Double Defence tyres for the event. They have the side wall protection which makes them a bit heavier but id rather have an extra few hundred grams then slash open my tyre.

Right got to fly, off to stay with the Hawsons in Riddles creek and then race the Interwinter Round 2 tomorrow morning in Castlemaine. I’m calling it BIKE TESTING.

Thanks Melbourne for that barmy 3deg temperature for the last long ride

2011-07-15T10:34:00.001+10:00

Yeah so when I met Bellie and Scott Needam this morning it was a toasty warm 1.8 degrees. An hour later as we climbed up the tourist road that 1 degree’s warmer actually felt great. A breath of sunshine as we came of the hills another hour later and I was hopefully I may be warm by the time I got to the office. But NO. Fogged in for the last 20kms and I doubt it is above 5 degrees now. Still cant feel my toes and avoiding showering for now cos its going to hurt way to much. Hope they staff don't mind the stink too much!

New stuff just arrive. Squirt has just sent me a batch of their chain lubricant which Ill be using to get me through the long days of riding in the desert. I’ve used this lube a few times and found it to be the longest lasting available and it also doesn't seem to attract a heap of crap on the chain and washes off pretty easy. I suggest you all give this stuff a go at some stage. You will be happy with the change.

Oh Melbourne how you continue to provide less than optimum training conditions!

2011-07-13T21:08:00.000+10:00

So checking out the Mongolia Bike Challenge website today I nearly had a conniption. 15 Days to go it says. Crap that's close. Luckily that is just 15 days till the festivities start. Riding doesn't start until the 3^rd of August. Phew, I can go back to freezing my ass off riding in the mud for a bit more.

Watched this video the other day about 2 canadians taking out an Italian in some single track as a training ride for the Mongilia Bike Challenge. I love it where the Italian afterwards is saying how he doesn't ride much single track but he thinks in Mongolia its not like that. SPOT ON CHIEF. Its going to be pretty open from what I can tell. http://vimeo.com/26146127

So I’m going to make an effort to keep this blog a bit better updated so that friends can follow the trip. Lets not forget that 2.5 weeks after I get back from Mongolia Ill be off to Timor again to take on the crew there. This year though Ill be ready! Or then again maybe ill be burnt out, just have to wait and see.

Riding through the bad weather

2011-07-06T21:27:00.000+10:00

4:30pm today I get a txt from Scott saying its looking crap out there Im out. Looking out the window I have to agree, its been raining all week so the trails will be pretty wet and its looking like raining for a fair bit of the night. Then I get a text from Bellie who had other commitments anyway. it says "for once im glad im not going riding" Geez it must be bad out there. So I ring the only other guy who would normally be there, Steve Cusworth. His kitting up and convinces me that we should do an urban adventure of the Monash freeway bike path then through Jells parks and onto East Link and back again. Damn what a work out. I had no idea where I was the whole way out. 72km's over 2hrs 50 running Schwalbe Nobby Nick and Rocket Ron.
I am pretty damn happy he dragged me out.
Add this to the fact that after Monday night my roof nearly blew off and it was also looking shit, Bellie and I rode 114km's King lake and back.

The hard thing about training in Melbourne for over seas adventures is keeping up the km's through our shitful winter. With 2.5 weeks till departure for the Mongolian bike challenge its basically my last chance to get in kms.

Check out the map of the ride.

Untitled by rohinrides at Garmin Connect - Details

Alice Springs update after the 4th stage.

2011-05-18T15:27:00.001+10:00

Well it continues to be official that I suck at rocks and sand. I now have to consider myself a slow learner as after 4 stages I am not getting any better. Still I continue to be consistent in not only my poor form in the rocks and sand but also finishing position with more 7^th places than anything else. Although today I may have been further back by a few but will see later.

Yesterday’s morning stage was a bit shorter and the pace was on. I tried to attack from the start but that only resulted in me blowing up on the first climbs. Opps. Got to try though. I bounced around on the rocks and again got caught by riders towards the end and finished in 7^th.

The hill climb was, well spew worthy. Its like burgundy in length and you just go hell for leather bottom to top. I did 51 seconds. Best was a junior at 44, then another guy at 46 and then Aiden at 48 then us. I think anyway just guessing.

So today was the 77km. The leaders got away then we came back together, then they got away again and we caught them on the 17km bike path section. Then the race became interesting. Steve Cusworth went off the front as soon as we caught them, then Nick Booth went off the front. Nobody chassed as neither are a threat on the overall. But the 3 leaders were not only not attacking they were sitting up and taking our speed from 35ish down to 20ish. 4 of us did turns but any time either Jason, Blair or Lefman got on the front the pace was back to 20. They were happy for Billy Soul to get away but every time myself or another rider tried to go up the road Jason brought us back. After several failed attempts at this I got a bit angry and gave them a server of the Angry Ginger. It was a full server. Then I attacked again but I was blown now and got caught not long after at which point my words were “Great now I’m Blown, you can all go and get F****ed, see you at the finish” Too funny.

They didn't drop me but not long after I crashed on a straight section of road that was very rocky. Some yelling at myself came directly after this. I caught back up and managed to stay with the 4 faster guys as the bunch splintered. Then we hit a very rocky escarpment climb and I was out the hoop and riding like a Nancy. More words had to myself. Got caught by some more guys. Got to the flat bottom bit, dropped my bidden with 5kms to go. Went back for it, more angry words said. Finally I got back. Hmm got some pressure on myself…….

Well time to relax. Tomorrow brings the 25km time trial in the morning and 25km night stage that evening. I’m going to go into those two relaxed. Time for the Angry Ginger to be put away.

I will say one thing, amongst all the yelling and hitting rocks the scenery is sensational. It's a pretty amazing place to be riding bikes. Worth seeing at some stage in any mtbers life.

Day 1 Alice Springs Stage race

2011-05-16T14:01:00.000+10:00

Oh that's right, I suck at riding in the SAND and on really ROCKY courses……. Still that's why I came here, what better place to learn to ride in sand than Alice Springs.

Today we had a 50km stage. The pace was pretty hot right from the front and there was a descent bunch of 20 or so that could handle it. I wasn't very good at holding my position when people pushed up and got found wanting at a knee deep river crossing where from 15^th or so place I could see Andy Blair and Jason English attacking off the front (Aidan Lefmann was already clear) The track then turned to deep sand and with a good 7 riders still in front passing was hard to come by. It took me a good 5 kms to get into 5^th place but I doubt I was going to close any of the already out of sight gap. I rode in around that position all day and finished in 7^th with 5^th and 6^th place (equal time)

So I’m hoping I learnt a lot about sand today and tomorrow will try for a bit better positioning in the early stages, that is if my legs can handle it.

Bellie rode well to finish in 11th, Ken Allan was probably around 9th after a very strong first 20kms. Scott Chancellor was not far off Bellie but still not back to his usual self.

Now back to that cheese platter and then a sleep

The Angry Ginger Update

2011-03-15T20:52:00.000+11:00

I’ve been at allot of racing this summer and haven’t said boo on here. Why? Well cos allot of racing means allot of riding and with that whole silly season thing that also meant allot of drinking. Now when I say allot, I mean ALLOT. That’s the drink I’m talking about. So much so that I took part in FEB FAST just to show myself I could actually go a day without that great taste of beer or wine. Hmm Beer. Damn I want one now.

Ok so what’s happened in the racing. Well in recent news I have a new stead. Its balls out the best bike I have ever owned. Nothing spared on this one. With support from Total Rush and the Specialised team support I got the S-Works Epic frame, SRAM have supported me with an XX groupset and forks and I finished it off with the Roval Control SL carbon wheel set and Schwalbe tyres. Oh Schwalbe also now support me. BRILLIANT. Not weighed it yet but fingers crossed for sub 10kgs which should be 1.5kgs less than the race bike that I will be putting to rest. Damn she served me well.

Ok that wasn’t racing but if you cant tell I’m a bit excited about the new bike. So in racing working backwards. Just came in 7^th at the James Williamson Enduro in the Southern Highlands after a sprint finish with Shaun Lewis. Ok when I say sprint after 75kms of racing it was more like two snails tyring to head but each other but hey we went to it anyway. Shaun won but that’s my first sprint finish with him so its showing good form still.

Wind back 2 weeks and I competed in Veteran Men’s at the National XC champs on a Friday, came 2^nd after having lead for 4 of 5 laps but had no more poo to throw... Damn the winner was fast and so were our lap times when compared to elite. Time to step back up to elite it seems. That night flew back to Melbourne, had 2 hrs sleep and then drove with friends to the Granite :Grind at Marysville. Ok I was pretty tired feeling jittery and should have ridden at least 50kms of single track to get my eye in but that’s all hind site. Instead I started mostly cold, struggled to get going and when we hit the rocky tight single track I went backwards at a rate of nots. Come the end of lap 1 (10kms in) I was over a min down of 1^st and 2^nd. But soon I got going and at the end of lap 2 I had moved into 2^nd and my team mate Sam Chancellor was in my sights but still 40sec up the road. I didn’t get him but to finish just 19seconds off him considering had to say something.

So Otway Odyssey, oh how you keep from me what I really want. Top 10. That’s it, no big ask just a simple little top 10. Year 1 I snapped my chain when in 7^th place with 10kms to go and finished in 14^th. Year 2 Phil Orr caught me in the final 20kms and pushed me from 10^th to 11^th and then last year I didn’t finish due to injury on the day. So was this to be my year. Turns out NO. I crashed about 20kms in at speed, got up got back going. Snapped my chain 25kms in and in a moment of stupidity connected it incorrectly in the bike. Damn you try getting a quick link apart in mud, not easy. Went way back in the field, maybe even to the 50’s. Got back riding and went like a cut cat for the rest of the race and finished in 15^th place just behind team mate Sam Chancellor. Not bad considering but not the top 10 I wanted.

Ok so quick other summary. Mt Buller XC in Elite somewhere near 15 I think. 3hr twilight endure 2^nd to Adrian Jackson and Golden Triangle Epic 2^nd to Ben Mather.

That’s it. Plenty more races coming up but its time to start thinking about training for Mongolia. I have entered the Alice springs race for May in a hope it will teach me how to ride in the sand.

Bring on the Yaks. Does drinking Fat Yak beer count as training for Mongolia??

The NZL MTB trip – Seriously all you MTBers but a trip to NZL on the agenda.

2011-01-09T22:59:00.000+11:00

Ok so I’ve been told plenty of times by plenty of people that the riding in New Zealand is amongst if not the best in the world and now since I have experienced a certain ‘look’ I feel qualified to pass on the message. Get yourself there!

So what is that look I have experienced? Well its a look that as mark explained only Rotoura can put on somebody's face. I not only experienced having that look myself but got to see it over and over again during any conversation with a rider coming out of the forest after their first day of riding the trails. Only Rotoura can give you that look. Rotoura offers something else as well. Many have said that the smell is pretty bad but that smell, well it smells like mountain biking! That just makes it all the more enjoyable. “Smell, what smell? Oh that smell that the best trails in the has. That's just mountain biking!”

So to save writing another bible, Ill just summarize the trip and some of its highlights.

Hmm ok so the plane was delayed and what better way should Mark and Rohin spend 5 hrs at the airport... Get shit faced and continue on the plane. I then got an official warning from customs because whilst I ticked the box that had bike and tent I some how didn’t tell the right person when he asked if I had hiking boots. What a KNOB he was!

12 Days in NZL and 11 of them had brilliant weather. Only bad day was the first where we were driving and sorting out camp site anyway. Brilliant.

Mark had a bunch of his friends from Wellington that were in Rotoura so pretty quickly the trip became very social. The crew were awesome fun and many new friends were made. Some days there were about 10 of us riding in the forest. We all had that look!

We did 4 days of Riding at Rotoura, NYE in the camp ground enjoyed the hot pools, swam in the lake and spent alot of time in the forest. Then it was off to Wellington. Not before a stop off at ‘Creators of the Moon’ in Taupo and another swim.

So after 6 hrs drive what better thing to do than go out and tear up the town. Project ‘Pass out drunk’ CHECK.

We then rode for 4 days at Wellington. Now this is a city built for mountain biking. The general tour went like this. ‘That's mount Vic, trails there. That is Merima, Trails there, That is mount what ever, Trails there and so on and so on. AWESOME. Again we had some big riding crews. Rumors had been spoken spoken all week about a 25 min climb called ‘TIP TRACK’ that is a dog of a climb but happens to have a leader board on a website. So since I was the only one in the crew wearing full lycra all week it seemed only fitting that I should be subjected to this climb. Yep its a dog. 4.6kms up hill at gradients all above 20% and nudging the 30% mark at times. Crap did that hurt. 21.54 and 5^th on the leader board. Some NZL national XC rider had 19:16 up there. I resisted the urge to give it another go!

It wasn’t all riding though. Wellington is a very pretty city and Claudia (one of the Wellington crew) took some time away from her PHD to show me round the sites. Some very cool bars there and I may have just gifted a few of their designs to myself. Shhh they will never know.

On our 2^nd last day we took off at 7am and drove the 6hrs back to Rotoura for won last chance to hit up all our favourite trails. Then we hit the road again and slept beside the road near the Auckland MTB park. Its a pay to enter park and I must say Im not recommending that you part with your $7.50 unless your really into man made structures. The trails were Ok but really nothing special. There was a crap load of big man made stuff though and alot of riders there were into that sort of stuff. Pass!

Back to airport, Hmm 3 hrs to wait. I know end it like it started. Lets get drunk. Yes for both flights we did receive a personal invitation to board the plane. Nice.

So summary. Great times, Great People and Great Trails.

Damn its still a bible. A few pics below.

Whats that smell... hmm its Mountain biking

The crew that rode Mud Track. It was muddy, I went axle deep into one puddle

Hmm I've seen a trail described as hard - But is this really necessary?

Deraulier FAIL!

The Wellington Crew in Rotoura

Zoom into this one, check out the smile. Love it Tryfan

Too Cool for School Mark

Crash No. 3 in 4 Days. Lets just say Mark may have found his limits and then moved right past them!

What you cant have both of these! Thanks Tyre

Visibility 50M at the top of Mirima in Wellington. Great climb. Rumor has it you can see the South Island from up here. I couldn't see the phone tower 100m away!

Aiden looking the goods after taking me on a tour to the top of yet another hill.

Mark found a pillow in Sue. He (Sue) didn't mind at all.

This looked all kinds of WRONG.

Tour de Timor wrapped up with more than expected to the power of 10.

2010-09-20T19:09:00.000+10:00

Firstly what a beautiful country full of very beautiful people. I would have to say that this was about my least planned and considered trip ever and I am putting it out there that it was one of my best traveling experiences ever.
To get to travel to such remote and beautiful places with some great friends, whilst making new friends every day with a little bit of pain on the bike thrown made for one great experience.

Ok so the race. With no expectations from my body I am very very pleased with my 12th place overall and our teams 2nd place in the men’s category. The big envelope of US dollars was pretty sweet also.

The race took us through 5 different districts of Timor and the people were very proud to have the race through. From start to finish of every stage the course had thousands upon thousands of spectators all cheering and screaming as we rode through. Remote climbs on tops of hills were packed with the locals. Schools were out beside the road cheering and screaming. Drums could be heard in some towns as we passed. Some tows would have had up to 5000 people linning the streets as we went through. They all had mini flags being waved at us. They chanted and cheered and I just smiled, clapped and waved all day every day taking in every bit of it I could. Some days after long descents my arms were hurting and waving was dangerous as strength was an issue hanging onto the bars but you just had to keep waving.
They loved it and I loved it, We all loved it. It really is the Tour de France opportunity for any rider of the world. Why wouldn’t you come.

Each night we camped in towns and got to explore the streets around where we were staying. We were in very remote places and walking down small streets of rural markets and shanty style residences amongst the people and seeing a very different way of life. The tows are full of burnt out derelict buildings that remain from the Malaysian occupation. The roads and towns have alot of cemetery that remind you of the amazing history and blood shed that Timor has endured. But they are re-building slowly and you could see how much pride they had in themselves.
But was it dangerous. I wouldn’t say in the slightest did I ever feel in danger. Not even in some of the very back streets of Dili were we were wondering did we ever feel un easy. The people were just lovely and all too happy for us to be there. They were happy to just let us walk by or if you said hi they would respond and chat if they could. Such an amazing place.

We got rained out on 2 nights so camping on the ovals wasn’t possible. So what did 350 people do. Well we just all slept on floors of houses, shops, schools under awnings. Basically anything with shelter that made the experience that much richer.

Below is a bit of a description of the stages of the race and how they unfolded for me.

So Day 1 – 130kms along the coast, mostly flat with a ball tearing small climb in the middle that with no wind and beating down mid day sun was rumoured to register about 40deg on some speedos that guys had. It all ended with a 12km gradual climb at the end up to Balebo (sight where the 5 Aussie reporters were killed in the 90s). This day I confused ambition with ability. Went far to hard, far to early. Was in some break aways but blew up pretty bad and slumped over the line in 29th place.

Day 2 – 90kms started downhill then 20kms flat before 28kms of climbing up to the top of a massive mountain pass. Then great descents broken up with very steep short climbs. Kept you working all day. Had a real great day out and ended in 11th. Climbing suited me but descending was even better. I caught a group some 5mins ahead of me within half the descent. Lets just say a few risks taken!

Day 3 – 67kms, flat but very rough road for 40kms before 20kms of gradual climbing. Got stuck in no mans land after lasting 25kms on the main bunch at blistering speeds. Was mentally shot and struggled up the climb. 20th place.

Day 4 – 70kms and again we climbed. 30km first climb followed by 20ish km descent. So much fun. Was feeling very strong and rode really well all day. 11th place. Very amazing finish full of kids. I enjoyed going back after crossing the line to meet some of them and shake their hands.

Day 5 – Stared with climbing and the pace was blistering. The big hitters had to fight to either get the overall win or retain it. I lasted longer than most with the main bunch which set up a good position. Just had to hold it. Worked with a Malaysian rider and Ash Hyatt on the remaining climbs, great very rough dangerous descent that we took no risks on. 20kms flat to the end with one little pinch. We were pushing 40kms an hour and I was chewing the bars hanging on for dear life. Finished in 8th for my best position of the race. The final 8kms of the course was packed the whole way both sides of the road that was nearly 10 deep for the last 2kms. So so loud that your ears were ringing. They only just left enough room for you to ride through and we were getting whipped by flags left right and center and the cheered and waved for us all. Most amazing finish I will ever experience.

So thats it. Did I sleep after that. No of course not. I spent 2 nights drinking and the day in between exploring the city with the boys. Much fun had, more great experiences in the city and met a great crew of Aussies working over in Timor, some of whom had done the race off pretty much no training. Now that’s crazy.

Some images below.

Sorry its side ways, thats us having a beer after day 3

Found some trophies so we awarded them to ourselves. check out our lavish sleeping quarters.
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Our cash winnings.

Ben and I exploring the clothing shops.
This was one of the stage starts.

This was typical of a small town beside the race with a few hundred school kids cheering as we went past.
Stage one finish. Oh was I glad to see that.

This shot is from the fort at Balibo after stage 1.

Sitting in the bunch on stage 2. That hill in the distance may not look like much but it took nearly 2 hours to get to the top from the bottom. some 28kms!

This is me sitting beside the president eating my dinner on his presidentail couch at the day 2 prize giving. he invited, so I attended.

Neil at the start of stage 4 I think. We are all hiding out of the sun as the organizers got ready.

New oldish t-shirt anyone

Ben was rather happy with his pie.

This beach is about 3 kms from Dili,. Just sensational

Underwater Ginger.

How nice is Bellies Tan.

Dinner on the deck
The start of Day 5.
Our team ready to go.

Just read that side sticker. Ben didnt understand.

It was a sport theme. We go these three outfits for $39 the lot!

Loving being in Timor

2010-09-12T21:51:00.000+10:00

I wont write too much but just let the photos and their descriptions tell you what we have been up to.

But in short for anyone that didn’t know I’m in Dili, Timor about to embark on a 5 day mountain bike stage race with 350 others. Its hot here which of course was a shock but I must say the place is really very nice. It reminds me of Inida with the way people live, how the city works but just with a lot less being hassled or for that matter at times even noticed. Today walking down the street we went pretty much un noticed.

Our ride home that started on dusk ended in full night was quite the experience. 4 of us riding along with the crazy traffic, no lights just soaking up this city as it came to life.

Well photos below. 5 days of bike racing to go. No mobile reception, no internet after this. Really looking forward to the remote towns and seeing the way they live their lives. Oh and the bike race should be good also.

These photos are all out of order but Im too tired to fix it. Oh well.

Bakery in the streets of Timor. Not much for lunch but Donuts were great!

Bellie booked us a hotel beside the beach so we could go swimming. LOOK Impressive huh.

Another shot of our beach scene, accross the road from our hotel.

Ben and Simon in the Cab. Not the craziest of taxi rides but there were not many road rules being followed.

You know the area must be good when your transport has this sticker on the side

Hows the cue at the airport in Darwin. 1 hrs sleep in the airport. yeah.
They only got 11 bikes on the flight. Rest to their credit arrived via a special plane just for bikes. 69 of them I heard.
Me ready for travel. Had my plane t-shirt on.

Bellie looking .. Well cheeky

I have no idea what Randal was looking to buy?

Now this is an experience. So we decide to walk down a narrow foot path between some houses in the city to see living in Timor up close. Didnt want to take photos there cos we were quite amongst it. But then it ends in a dead end and we have to walk out to this drain and then 100+ meters along a very narrow wall. Funny times. Did not want to fall in.

Crossing the drain. Careful boys
he was waging his tail and wanted to be patted. Decided better of it.

hows the Fence cladding going?

Ordered Garlic bread. That is exactly what I got. Bread with Garlic spread on it. That should keep the doctor away

Venice – Beautiful place

2010-06-24T23:09:00.000+10:00

If you have been here then you certainly know exactly what I mean when I say its beautiful here.
The age of the buildings, the architectural detail in them, the narrow lanes, the cannels. Its all just one great visual experience. I really wont write much cos who wants to read about me walking around and looking at this church, going in that museum. So lets just leave it to the photos to describe it.

Random Cannel and the Ginger blocking what would have been a great photos.

Brilliant Pizza by the slice. Who said food here was expensive.

Umm Ok so what were their names. Who knows but this pic pretty much describes the night, and a fair bit of the early morning.

That damn Ginger in the way again.

Parked my car in the street and somebody decorated it for me. Thats nice.

Got to love the washing hanging in the street.

I just love the window details here.

This guy got is dick out.

Oh and the art shot!

Italy Oh how I have missed you.

2010-06-23T06:07:00.000+10:00

There is just something about Italy that I enjoy. I don’t know if I can put my finger right on it but more so explain some broader things I enjoy.

I drove from Freiburg Germany via Milan and into a lake side town called Salo which is about 1.5 hours from Venice (tomorrows destination) It was a pretty random choice but one that really couldn’t go too wrong. Pick any town on a lake in Italy and you will have café’s, Bars, Restaurants and a general vibe of relaxation.

Arriving at 3:30 meant I had a chance to get in one last ride and what better place to roll the legs out. I rode for 20kms around the lake and then just for kicks decided to climb up a road into the hills for 5kms to get a bit of a view. I really love the narrow Italian roads with rock walls and detailed barrier walls with Olive groves stepped into the slopes. I kind of wanted to keep climbing and find a town nestled into the hills but I was getting pretty hungry and running out of water so had to turn around.

I’ve just come back from a sensational dinner sitting by the lake in the town. The entre of crispy pumpkin flowers with mushrooms and ricotta reminded me of meals in Lenola some 5 years ago. The Ravioli was al-dente, quick the opposite to a Melbourne ravioli experience.

Im really looking forward to Venice where ill be from early arvo tomorrow till Friday morning.

A few pics below, nothing too special but they do have Italy written all over them.

Salo's Water edge

About 300 meters above the lake.

Another shot of the Waters edge at Salo

How Italy is this. Its the view from my hotel room window. Simple but so Italy.

A race I will never forget.

2010-06-20T23:18:00.000+10:00

Having not had the best time last weekend over 64kms the Black Forest Ultra Bike marathon at 116.5 kms with 3200hm really could have gone either way. But as it turns out, it went so right that I will never forget it. Its been a pretty shit week of weather here and when I arrived yesterday at the race venue the XC race that was on gave me a bit of an indication of what conditions may be like. SHITFUL… The riders were covered in mud from head to tow. So Item one on the agenda after getting my race number was NEW TIRES THAT HAVE GRIP. I got some racing Ralphs for 40 euro each so that was sorted.

Item 2 on the agenda was new break pads as one of my rear pads was nearly through and it had spat half the spring during the week so it was wound out and getting pretty bad. Unfortunately though nobody sold SRAM or Truvative pads so I had to settle with the risk.

It was an early start 5:30 am with racing to start at 7:30 and I had to get down to down from my accommodation and find my way to the start block. I was in the 2^nd start which was good since there were 49 of them. Oh have I mentioned that 4000 people do this race. The car park I was in was about 40 acres. Some people were parked a good 2kms from the race site. WOW.

So the race plan was simple. Have fun and finish! It was go time and the pace wasn’t too bad in my group so I settled quickly into the climb. It was 20kms and 1000hm to the top of the first climb and I found myself feeling pretty strong but held back a bit to stay with the bunch I had settled in.

Decending in bunches is a hoot. Euro riders can climb but a lot of them I find cant really descend that well so guys were all over the place. Ive seen this before so a few German calls and I cut though the traffic and took control. I was having a great time and that was just what I needed. As the KM’s and feed zones went by I was starting to get recognized with my aussie kit on. They had commentators in the towns and at the feed zones and they were onto me so a bit of a wave and yell to the crowd when my name got mentioned and things got loud. LOVE IT.

60kms rolled past pretty quick and I was feeling good. The last few climbs had seen me moving through the field so it was all looking good. The feedzones were what you would expect. BRILLIANT. There were at least 30 kids at each feed zone handing you gels, fruit and sports drink. I didn’t need much but the odd half banana at each one was good to keep the food intake up.

The Kms kept rolling on and the legs still felt great. I knew that the 2^nd biggest climb came from around 80kms to the 100km mark . What I didn’t realize was how it would start. I was decending down a hill and I started to hear a racquet in the distance. There was a pretty serious crowd somewhere near by and I was eager to see what all the cheering was for. Then a sign said “GET READY FOR THE WALL” Oh boy this ought to be good. We had to make an almost 180 degree turn on ourselves and there it was. 200ms of at least 20% gradient with crowds 5 deep both sides and a commentator revving them all up. I was alone at this point so I can be sure that all the cheering was for me and I tell you ‘IT FELT GREAT’

HOP HOP HOP, ROHIN, ROHIN ROHIN. You cant even begin to imagine what this is like unless you experience it. I had the biggest smile on my face that has been seen in a long time and I will admit that a few tears of joy though all the emotion rolled down my face. I was doing something I have loved so much and finally I was feeling good. As I rode off from the wall and set into the climb that smile just couldn’t be wiped off my face. Not by anything. I could have sanpped my bike in half at that point and I would not have cared. To have had that feeling was just awesome.

But things kept on going strong for me and soon enough I was in the final 10km descent to the finish. Why bother braking, probably don’t have a back break anyway. The corners were all sweeping through the forest and I just kept the pace as fast as I could. I don’t think I have ever finished a marathon over 100kms and felt as strong as I did.

I crossed the line in 5:01 and the un official results have me in 25^th place…… Place was not on the agenda today but shit, 25^th out of 400… Yeah Ill take that. Given that there were nearly 100 license riders in the race as well this will go down as one of my all time greatest moments on the bike.

About time I started to feel like me again.

Id like to say thanks to Matt and Jill for all the time we spent together. Your support was great and you never let me stop and think too much. It was ride now, off to lunch, right into town for crapes, ok lets watch a movie. You guys are great and I cant thank you enough.

Tales of Annecy

2010-06-17T23:51:00.000+10:00

Where just not meant to Ride Semnoz dry…
Its not exactly the greatest European summer weather here in Annecy France. For the last 3 days its been raining pretty consistently and trying to fit in a spin on the bikes has not bee easy. Monday was good in the morning and we took the opportunity to ride the 10kms into town and familiarize ourselves with how its all laid out. Beautiful old city with a few cannels running through it and plenty of nice cafes and shops in old buildings to keep you entertained for a bit. We didn’t spend long there on Monday but have been back since a few times and walked around enjoying the place. We finished off our Monday ride with the rest of the lap of the lake making it a 40ish km ride.
We not far from Alp d’Huez here and Jill had claimed that it was the only climb in Europe she actually wanted to ride (Not that she hasn’t enjoyed the countless other long climbs Matt has dragged her up). So looking at our week ahead it seemed Tuesday would be a good day to drive over to Bourg de O’sians at the base of Alp d’Huez and then climb up it and do a loop that I’ve ridden before. Only problem is the weather just wasn’t on our side. As I was eating breakfast that morning at my B&B, Claude my host shook his head and in a thick French accent said “The weather, it’s a disaster” I explained our plans and he shook his head some more saying “Its going to rain all day and get worse”. Still we had it planned so I headed over to Matt and Jills Apartment and loaded my bike in the car and off we went.
Getting there was pretty easy, or should have been if Matt had of actually listened to the navigator and not just driven right through intersections believing he new best. All done with a bit of a laugh by all of us. So we took some back roads, no big deal. The weather just as Claude had predicted got worse and worse as we drove and by the time we reached the town at the base it was well – pissing down.
We sat for lunch and contemplated our options. I was quick to point out that having ridden up the climb some 5 times in my life I would not be too stressed if we didn’t do it. Matt was on the fence and Jill was considering her options. As things didn’t look like improving and cloud cover immersed all the mountains around a decision to skip it today was made and off we went. We did drive back over the Col de Glandon though to take in some sights. Not that we could see much with low clouds making visibility about 100m.
Jill opted out of wanting to ride on Wed so Matt planned a route up Semnoz, a climb right behind the town we are in that gets to 1770 meters at the top. The weather was a bit patch but we headed off hoping for improvement. As we climbed cloud set in and again our visibility was less than 100m ahead. Still as we were climbing it wasn’t too bad and we were not getting very wet. It was a good 25kms to the top and at a nice 7 to 9% gradient. Quick photo on the top and time to descend. Now that’s when things got a bit cold. The road was pretty wet and the rain got heaver on that side of the mountain. We wernt pedaling as it was hard enough to see with the thick cloud, water spray from the front wheel and rain coming down. After 20kms of this when we hit the bottom not much needed to be said. We were both shivering uncontrollably, could not feel our legs or hands and both had a headache from the cold on our faces. Time trial home was a vague suggestion from Matt and even though I’m not that into them the quicker we get there the better.
On arriving home I got into the shower fully kitted up still. I only just remembered to take the phone and camera out of my pocket before I got in. Luckily they have no water restrictions here so the shower was plenty long enough to warm me up.
The rest of the day was spent shopping in Annecy and I got some cool t-shirts. The one in my photo below is my new favorite. I even got a matching one for Michelle. Seemed a fitting present and I couldn’t come home empty handed.
This morning the weather was great. Bit of clued here and there but mainly sun shine and feeling warm. Matt had a 50km route planned for just the 2 of us up a col on the other side of the lake and then we were to come and get Jill. The Col on the other side of the lake was a bit harder than we thought. 8kms to the top and at a pretty steady 10 to 12% gradient. Yep that hurt. Still great view from the top and then a ripping descent down the other side. Got pretty cold going down but no where near as bad as yesterday. It was spot on 50kms back to get Jill and then we all headed out to again climb Semzon (the one from yesterday) As we headed out though it started to drizzly just lightly. We didn’t know how bad it could get so we headed out anyway. Half way up it was all good and we continued on the other half with Jill sending Matt and I up the road. She was obviously sick of our banter as she huffed and puffed. About 3kms into the 2nd half of the climb though heavy rain set in and at this point I decided I was not going to keep going at the risk of a repeat of yesterday. We rode back down to Jill and she agreed with me. Matt on the other hand was optimistic so as I write this nice and warm in my room his probably shivering his way back down the hill again. Silly Matt.

My New T-shirt. You get the drift

Ok so why do the tomot0 plants need "protection"

My new bike for Hill climbing

Lake Annecy

Here is the visibility riding up Semnoz with matt

me in a tunnel. Ok so i was hoping to actually see the tunnel. No such luck. Now you just get to look at ME.

Matt in the same tunnel

Jill and I in Annecy

Elsabike Trophy

2010-06-14T05:56:00.000+10:00

Not exactly the highlight of my racing career today but it was good to get out there and amongst it. Im not exactly as fit as I have been in previous European races but that doesn’t stop anyone from having fun.

It was a pretty typical European marathon style course, just a bit shorter at only 62kms in length and 1400hm. But don’t let that 1400 fool you, with each climb less than 2mins in length but plenty steep enough the hurt certainly crept in. In fact with all the little climbs followed by short sharp descents the course really didn’t give too many opportunities for groups to work together.

The break down of the course was around 20+kms of bitumen (maybe more) 20kms of gravel roads, 5kms or so of single track in short but fun lengths and then the kicker – 15ish kms of riding on grass. Imagine a race in Australia with 15kms of grassy paddocks. Jeez there would be an uproar.

It seems every hill they could find in the local area they made us ride up it 2 to 4 times from every access road they could. I was getting dizzy at times. But with fun descents and fairly rocky and muddy climbs the skills were certainly tested. It was also pretty rough for most of the gravel, grass and single track sections so the back on the hardtail took a bit of a beating.

So how about my race? Well the old fake license thing didn’t work so I had to start in the main start group which was 1min behind the license riders where Matt started. No big deal, gave me plenty of riders to ride with. There was a 2km control roll out that was really slow but as soon as that was over it was pedal to the metal for 10kms. My heart rate was screaming at me but I worked my way forward and tried to keep things under control, then came the first climb. It was steep and kept us going for long enough that it hurt. The pack broke up a bit and I found myself with a few riders about 20or so back. I rode with these guys for around 40kms and everything was going well. I was a stronger climber but didn’t have the power on the flatter sections so we swapped things around a bit. As 40kms approached the skies started getting pretty dark and thunder could be heard. Rain was on its way.

This didn’t worry me but my head was getting the better of me and pretty soon I had lost the drive to keep pushing hard. I had 25kms to go and just couldn’t really care how hard I went. So I sat up. Riders would catch me, id go with them for a bit and then just sit up again. On the hills I would still be stronger but as for the rest… Just no drive. Lets just say my head was no longer on the bike race. Kind of sucked cos legs felt fine but as any mtber will know its both mental and physical that is needed. And I only brought one to the party.

So 15kms to go and the heavens open. When I say open I mean heavy heavy rain that turned our tracks into rivers. It also turned the single track descents that in this section were very steep into slippery slides and with my Maxxis Monorails I was not much more than a passenger. In one shoot like section my rear wheel got out beside me and then the front went up the slope and I was then sliding backwards. If I had of had enough skill to keep the slide going I could have pulled off a full 360deg turn. I pretty much slid down around 6 descents mostly out of control. I wasn’t the only one in that situation so a few laughs were had all round.

I eventually finished in 2:46. Matt had a better day and came in at 2:40 on the clock.

It was a good course for him. just enough power flat stuff to suit him. will be great to hear how he goes at Albstadt in a month.

Now we have a week at Annecy in France. It’s a pretty nice area with a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains. Ill keep you posted on our adventures.

I think this is why we travel.

2010-06-13T06:35:00.000+10:00

Its for the experience right? Well here I am sitting in Mc Donalds stealing their internet whilst Matt and Jill get to use one of the strangest hotel room bathrooms I have ever seen. A few days ago I booked us a hotel in what I thought was a quite town right near the race start. Hmm Ok so the town is pretty quite but it turns out our hotel is right on the autoroute and when I say right on, I mean RIGHT ON. We are the floors above the shops that sit between the two directions of traffic on this autoway. Its not so bad. All European buildings have good double glazed windows and we cant hear a thing but the kicker to this $185 dollar a night hotel room is the bathroom.
Its right as you come in. Not separated by a corridor like it could be. No its right there part of it. The shower is actually a design feature of the room. You have to check out these photos. Its even got a seat and a very conveniently wall located bottle Shampoo/soap/face wash. What goes on at this place one must ask.
There is also a subliminal message going on with the bed heads. Anyone recognize that shape? Hmm Golden arches, right there above your bed in your hotel above Mc Donaolds. Weird.

Matt showing off with some shower scene action. Check how close that bed is.

How about that bed head??

This is what you could see from outside the shower. time to get the Gingers out

The shower seat. yes of course its got a flexi arm shower head. how else do I tickle my balls!

Can anybody get too much of Europe in their life?

2010-06-10T04:47:00.000+10:00

Ok so from a financial point of view, yes maybe but from an experience angle.. Nope I don’t think so.

Its been a bit of a whirlwind but here I am in Chatel France with Matt and Jill (the doctors and fellow team mates on the Total Rush racing team). We are in a little apartment with once again one of this European shit house views from our window. How on earth can the expect us to get up every morning and look out the window to a beautiful mountain range with trees, snow capping and rock outcrops. Life can be so tough. To add to this we are paying $156 Euro for 4 nights. Now not per night and not each. It’s a steal. We have a kitchen, just enough space and well that shit house view!

Today we did our first ride. Bit of an adventure but what else do you expect. We rode just over 40kms and did some 1500 meters of climbing. The ride included hiking (tried to ride several times) across snow, making a snow man for Jill, steep and long climbs, riveting descents, some fun single track, one climb that made the Avoca course look like a flat bike path (yep hike a bike was the only way). Oh and I also slid down a grassy hill ass forwards. What fun.

Prior to this I spent a great few days in Amsterdam with Simon and Silja. Beautiful place. Shame that 75% of the tourists are too stoned to really take it in. From there I flew to Rome on a pre booked flight I could not change. I hatched a plan whilst on the Plane to head into Rome and spend my night in the city having a drink and making the most of life. Unfortunately for this to work I needed to be able to store by bags and the baggage claim would not be open early enough for me to get them out and get on my 7am flight. So plan B was sleeping in the airport with 200 or so other nomads. Sleeping in an airport is a terrible idea! I think sleep is not the term I would use.

I then flew to Milan got my hire car and prceeded to fit in with the rest of the Italian drivers on the motor way. I’ve driven in Italy to know the basic rules. If in the left lane its pedal to the metal, otherwise stay right. Fark that… I was more than happy to do my fare share of tailgating at 150+ kms and hour. I had one goal and that was get to my friends in Grineweld Switzerland as soon as I could. Mission accomplished. The few mountain passes didn’t really slow me down either. Got to love it.

Grindeweld is at the base of the Jungfraue about 20km up the hill from Interlarken. Matt, Jill, Joel and Sarah had been there a few nights and my arrival meant party time. The place was very beautiful and had again one of those annoying views from our window. Nothing short of perfection. I introduced the crew to the 3 to 4 Euro red wine rule forgetting one very important rule. Only buy ones with a medal on them from some random wine completion. Opps. The red was nothing short of rocket fuel but as you can imagine I gave it a far crack. It was great to catch up with them all. The next day just for something to do Jill, Joel and myself decided to run off a mountain at some 2200 meters above sea level strapped to a dude who had a glider attached to him. It was a great way to see the area and enjoy something different in life. The almost free fall at the end was pretty cool. Matt and Sarah being not that into heights got some great pics and met us at the bottom.

That brings me to here. Chatel. Got 3 more nights here before we go to a 63km mtb race near Basel in Switzerland.

Here is a random selection of photos

Do I love the bike enough?

2009-04-28T17:10:00.000+10:00

I'm sitting here in my office (tin sheds arnt that warm) wondering if I have enough interest in this dizzily 8 degree weather to put on my lycra, lights etc and go and race Bruces Flat Hill Dirt crit??
I just dont know if I love the bike enough.......

Uncle Again

2009-04-12T20:44:00.000+10:00

After over 11 hours in labor yesterday Turiya (big sis) gave birth to her second child a beautiful girl Evelyn Freda Orme. We got the call at about 8 last night and by 8:30 Mum, Dad, Michelle and I were at the hospital holding the tiny little blue baby. Sooo Cute looking around and taking in everything. Don’t stress Michelle and I aren’t about to start having babies but Evelyn was very cute.
Today Ben Randal led us once again around the secret trails out behind Melton. It’s a great loop and a the New Specialized epic took too it in style. Shame the rider on it couldn’t have had a bit more skill. I think I hit nearly every rock out there. The group was Ben, Alex, Ivan, Bellie and myself but Bellie had to turn back just 6km’s in having some trouble with breathing. Hope everything is ok. Probably ate too many easter eggs with the kids bellie!
Here are a few pics.

Top of the Hill with Ivan (the Mule) coming up

Alex taking a well deserved break at the top of the final climb. This one once made Jack Lamshed cry.

Little Evelyn.

My 2008 S-Works Epic is for sale

2009-04-10T17:39:00.001+10:00

2008 Specialized Epic S-Works – Medium frame

FRAME FACT M10 carbon front triangle, Az1 construction, M5 aluminum rear triangle
REAR SHOCK Specialized AFR Shock (Just serviced)
FORK Rock Shox Reba Race with remote lockout (just serviced)
STEM Specialized alloy (brand new)

SEAT POST Thompson Elite

SEAT Specialized allis 130
HANDLEBAR Specialzed low rise XC 2014 Alloy (brand New)
BRAKES Avid Juicy Ultimate
FRONT SRAM X9
REAR DERAILLEUR SRAM X0
SHIFT LEVERS SRAM X0 grip shift (optional X0 trigger if watned)

CASSETTE Shimano XT (brand new)
CRANKSET Truvative Noir Carbon (Brand new big and middle rings)
RIMS DT Swiss 4.2 (Brand new)

Tyres Specialized Fast Track LK (Brand new)

Most the parts on this bike are brand new or have just been serviced. It Weighs only 11kg and is a sensational ride. The frame has some small scratches from general use. Still very Red and very Shiny though.

Price $3800 ONO

Something to write about hey Jason??

2009-03-25T22:10:00.000+11:00

Thanks Jason, just when I was saying that I didnt feel I had anything to put on my blog at the moment you went and rode off the yarra trails and ended up with your bike in the river. Cheers!

Jason trying to no watch as the guys try to fish his bike out of the yarra before it sinks. Thanks to flashing light on the back we could easily locate it. Fishing it out took about 4 guys linked up though.

Watching on as the bike is retrieved. It had a good few liters of water in it. About time we slowed him down a bit.

Some pics of a road ride I stupidly organised on Sat to ride some hills. I am suitably on the back here but unlike most of the ride in these pictures I can acutally see them. That didnt last long

What do you do when you want to ride with your friends but they make up 2 thrids of the cream of Victoiras elite MTB field?? Hmm suffer. Poor Big Eddie Wilson and myself found out the hard way that after time off the bike comebacks hurt quite alot! But without pain there can be no gain and right now there is alot of gaining to be done.

Right bed time. This old Ginger needs his sleep to cope with his long days in the office. Poor me!

2009-01-24T15:06:00.000+11:00

Some Sun set on some sensational beach.

Heading to one of the very remote hippy beaches in Gokarna

The Art shot

Michelle drawing a crowd. Come on she loves it.

My beach buddy. He wanted to share my towel.

Well after 3 flights we are now waiting to board our last flight taking us from KL to melbourne and finally home. It has certainly been a great trip and we have seen some amazing things whilst also being reminded about just how good our life is in Australia.
Just to cap off the Indian experience we got the royal treatment at the Chennai airport.
Arriving on our flight from Goa to Chennai some 5.5 hours before our 2.25am departure for KL we got our bags and made our way to the international airport hoping to find a few seats to wait till our check in opened. But NO. In india you cant enter the airport until check in is open for your flight so the security guard supporting a machine gun quite strongly informed us that we would have to just wait outside (in the car park) until boarding opened.
right so there was a 2nd floor restaurant we could go to.
Sitting there eating and drinking (Michelle getting drunk whilst I sipped lemon soda still being cautious about my stomach situation of the last few day) and playing cards. All seemed good and 1.5 hours passes pretty quickly. but then a staff member and then the manager rudely informed us that we were not to play cards in the restaurant and we must end our game immediately. Why he would not say just that it was a no!
So we just sat there and ordered no more food or drinks being quite annoyed at the situation and way it was all handled.
We eventually left, no tip to the staff but a good 100rp to the guy who was watching our bags and 50rp to the guy operating the lift. Michelle felt somewhat better about that.

Its been a tough trip... Ok so the last 2 weeks has pretty much been spent laying on a beach. so not really tough but India certainly keeps you on your toes at times. Still well worth the trip and a great experience for Michelle and I to share together.

We both are looking forward to our bed! Narda oh and the conversation of somebody other than ourselves!

The Lunch Menu

2009-01-14T17:23:00.000+11:00

Now why wouldn’t you want for lunch 2 curry dishes, 1 serving of plain rice, 1 japati and 5 Garlic naarns. Yep 5 Garlic narns. As we ordered our lunch I said to Michelle Im not that confident that he understood the rice and Naan order. Sure enough he had mixed up plain rice with 5 Naan. It was one of the best meals we have had yet and the standard is pretty high but 5 garlic Naan breads is beyond even Michelle and I. Needless to say we didn’t eat dinner last night. Instead we had 5 pints of beer each and snacked on the free bar nuts. Yum.

We ended up staying in Varkala for 3 nights basically because we couldn’t be bothered packing our bags again and since we were paying about $13 Aus a night for our room there was just no point in leaving. It was a great place perched at the top of a cliff with a beautiful beach below. Plenty of restaurants to sit at drinking special tea (beer in a tea pot and tea mugs as the restaurants don’t have licenses to sell it) and enjoying the view.

From Varkala we took a short train ride to Kollam where we boarded a ferry headed in the direction of Allappuhuza over a 7.5 hr ride through the back water lakes district lined with fishing nets, fishing boats, rice paddies and small water side villages. This turned out to be the quietest mode of transport in india with no boats having horns or there be no reason to use them.

Half way along this trip was a stop for the Amritha Ashram home to the nick named hugging mother. Amma over the last 30 years has hugged more than 30 million people in her Darshan sessions but there is more to this “living saint than this”. Over the years her generosity to the poor of india and donations to help in disaster situations are some of the largest in the world aside from government contributions. She has built universities all over india for students that cant afford education and built thousands of houses for those who don’t have any along with many more fantastic things. Anyway we spent 3 nights at the Ashram as it just so happened there was a 2 day meditation course starting just after our arrival. The timing was good and with an open mind it was quite the experience.
The Ashram was quite a strange place with accommodation for up to 10,000 people. There was a western café or included in your accommodation cost you could eat the Indian meals provided. It was a very mush self sustained community all doing 2 hours of work each day to keep the place running. We spent 2 hours chopping vegetables to do our part.

So back on the boat to continue the enjoyable journey into Allappuhuza the apparent Venice of Inida with water cannels all around the main town. Whilst the cannels may be similar to Venice im pretty sure the endless amounts of litter and general filth was not. But you come to expect this of Indian towns.

The town wasn’t that great so the next morning we boarded a train and made our way to Fort Cochin. The tuk tuk driver helped us find a good priced home stay here so we stayed a few nights. The first day we spent doing a tour and seeing what was around the place. A very quite part of india with not the traffic that we have become used to. There were a surprising number of churches in the Fort Cochin area due to the Portuguese and English influence. Some great architecture to be seen also. We made the trip out to Cherri Beach on Vipain island to enjoy a bit of beach time for a day and that evening took in some culture attending a Kerelan dance show. The show of 2 hours in length also had a 1 hour session to start with where you watch the dancers apply their very detailed make up. It was a great experience with the dancing style based more on eye and facial expressions high lighted by the way the make up is done.

An early start saw us off to the airport where we took a flight to mangalore thus skipping a descent 8 hr train ride which neither of us wanted. We had planned on only 1 night in Mangalore but when we discovered for the first time some normal shops selling actual brand clothes and a cinema we decided to stay. It also helped that our $30 a night hotel had a massive swimming pool (ok 25 meters but that’s not common). We didn’t end up seeing any films but did enjoy a pizza hut meal on one night and a Baskin and robbins ice cream. Was nice to have a fairly conservative meal.

So its under 2 weeks to go now and our basic plan is to keep traveling up the coast. We are heading for a town called Gokarma which I was recommended by another traveler but don’t know how long it will take us to get there. We could do it in one trip but if we find some good places between Mangalore and there we may just stop off. We will fly from Goa back to Chennai for our flight home. We have decided to skip the Malaysia 3 night stop off taking the extra time here in India.

The traditional Kerelan house boat. We decided it wasnt worth the slow haul through the waters and an expensive nights accom as we spent 8hrs on the waters as it was.One of the many fishing boats pictured below.