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It was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that I jumped into the car early Saturday morning for the drive down to Woodend for the BMC Classic. Excitement because this was my first interstate race, and trepidation because I was really underdone fitness wise and didn’t know how I was going to go. But headed south I did. With the iPod loaded to the gills with music I pointed the car southward for the 10.5 hour drive. The drive itself was uneventful and in between texting my wife and letting her know I was OK and hadn’t driven off into so some ditch, and talking to myself things were normal.
I arrived at Cammeray Watters at around 5.00pm, just as I had planned. I wanted to get there with enough light to pitch my tent. As soon as I found a suitable spot I erected the tent and set myself up before heading down to the rego tent for my number and the usual bag of goodies that they normally hand out. Once collected I surveyed the scene, checked out a few of the manufacturer tents before heading back to camp. I got myself organised for the morning as the cloud cover grew and grey skies threatened to put a dampener on an otherwise beautiful day. After sorting my stuff for the race and prepping the bike I made myself some dinner on the little stove I bought along. By this stage a biting wind had whipped up making things a little chilly so I rugged up then after dinner I headed back to the event centre to see if there was anything exciting happening. Nothing much going on really so it was back to camp. I decided to sit down and go through the goodie bag I was given. I read through the paraphernalia before deciding to retire early – at the time of 8.45pm. Wow! Am I getting old? Perhaps but I wanted a good nights sleep based on what I thought I was going to endure tomorrow.
Throughout the night I could hear the sound of wind lashing the tent with a light drizzle and I remember dreaming something along the lines of ‘great, just what we need’.
The following morning the alarm went off at 5.30am and I crawled out of bed to a light drizzle. Gee, dreams do come true, or maybe I wasn’t really dreaming? Who knows but I thought I should get myself organised... I did just that, downing some cereal and an Up n’ Go before going to do the standard waiting in line for the toilet thing. Luckily there were heaps, so I wasn’t waiting as long as I thought. About 6.30am I kitted up thinking it should be fine but the wind was still biting and I was wondering what the hell was about to put myself through. I struck up a conversation with the guy camping next to me when over the loudspeaker I heard that the start was being delayed by 30 minutes... great I thought. To keep warm I decided to ride around for a while and gazed at the bling being paraded around by the other riders... I hit the start line and found a friend I had ridden with a couple of times in Sydney, Gary. We chatted about all sorts of things passing time waiting for the gun to go off.
Finally it was our turn and with my left foot set at 6pm as I went over the mat to set the timing off, we were off. The first kilometre or so was pretty sedate as we rolled out of Cammeray Waters and back down Taylors Rd. It wasn’t long before we hit the single track and we all came to a complete halt as 1000 riders filed single file into the start of the single track. The first section of single track was a stop start affair as we rode wheel to wheel. As soon as we hit the first of the fire roads though, it wasn’t long before we all started to disperse as the faster guys jockeyed for position and the slower guys, including me, took their time. Wombat State Forest could best be described, from my personal experience, as a mixture of Canberra trails and Lidsdale at Lithgow, if you’ve ever been there. The course was bumpy for this old guy on a rigid 29er and I started thinking what the hell had I got myself into? I’d been riding for what seemed like an eternity when we finally reached the 10km sign. Ten kilometres? What the? It should be longer I thought. And it was at this point that I had already psyched myself out. I thought, hell, if I have to endure another 90km of this, god, I just won’t make it! Anyway, I carried on and as the wind felt colder, we ducked in and out of the single track broken up with some fire road climbs and descents. This really spread the field out, or maybe I was just drifting to the rear end of the field. Things were slow going but I noticed a lot of people on the side of the trail, fixing flats, broken derailleurs, and themselves. On 2 occasions I came across people wrapped in space blankets. That’s never a good sign. One rider I overheard he overcooked a corner and hit a tree. Not good. Anyway, I continued on, mostly without a granny ring as the mud and muck had decided to play havoc with my front derailleur. I decided to just do without and keep going in the middle ring. I hit a couple of hills and found there were riders walking faster than me pedalling in 32-34. Crap! Was it better to walk? Not for me psychologically so I kept going.
I reached the first feed station after what seemed like forever. I scoffed as much watermelon and banana pieces and energy drink as I could, refilled my Camelbak and willed myself onward. I took my arm warmers off thinking that it may be fine and won’t be as cold. That may have been the fatal mistake as right after the feed station was a long fast descent which chilled me to the core. Now I really wasn’t enjoying myself but tried to keep going, thinking when I should bail.
That time came at Checkpoint 9 where I decided to call it quits and cut my losses and head home. I was feeling very dejected that I was about to DNF, especially after driving all that way. I was upset at myself, but couldn’t wait to get back to Cammeray Waters to clean up, warm up, pack up and go home. After the marshal Anthony from Checkpoint 9 gave me a map to get out I pedalled slowly back to Cammeray Waters. I got back to my car a broken rider, the first time I had felt this way in a long time. I dejectedly got changed into some warm gear before heading down to the finish to hand in my timing chip. Ironically I saw Anthony there and handed him my chip, before heading back to camp, packing up and heading on my way.
I learned some lessons this Sunday. Number one is that you MUST train properly for a 100km endurance event. No half arsed training, just riding your bike to work every now and then, which is what I had been doing recently. Secondly, a rigid bike will just not cut it in endurance racing. A full suspension is really the ticket to save your backside and make things a little more comfortable. These are lessons that I will certainly take on board for the next endurance race I do, but I’m thinking maybe it might be better to do a 50km instead of a full 100km and have some fun. After all isn’t it what it’s all about? I definitely psyched myself out on Sunday and that’s something else I need to work on.
Overall, I thought the running of the event was good, the course was good, it’s just a shame that the weather couldn’t have been a touch better (read: warmer) but that’s Victoria for you. I would’ve also enjoyed it more if I was fitter, but that’s my fault, not anyone else’s. Would I do race the BMC Classic again? Maybe. With the knowledge I now have I would certainly be better prepared next time around. I think I would have to do it again, just to say I’ve completed it, just as I completed the Dirtworks 100 at St Albans last year. I know I certainly won’t be giving up on endurance racing all together.
So after packing up I pointed the faithful Hyundai Accent north and headed home. I made it as far as Wangaratta before deciding to bed down for the night and boy did I sleep. Like a rock, or a baby, or a baby rock... In the next few days I’ll reassess and decide my next move. It was an experience, that’s for sure!
Who Would Think 'D' Grade Would Be So Much Fun?
It was all innocent enough. I decided that for the first club race of the year I would downgrade myself from ‘C’ to ‘D’ grade. Now it’s not like I’m being a shark or anything. In C grade, I languish at the back of the pack for three laps and rarely see anyone during the race, except for the lead A, and sometimes B, grade riders yelling ‘rider!’ as they sweep past at breakneck speed, leaving me to eat their dust.
Anyway, there were a couple of reasons for my decision. Firstly, time was a factor. I had a prior engagement in the afternoon and needed to be home in time to clean up and go so wanted to be home by midday. D grade’s two laps allowed me to race for around an hour I thought and be home in time. Secondly, I didn’t think my form was up to the three laps of C grade this time around. Maybe next round I would move back up, but honestly, I never trouble the leaders, never have, so I’d go out and race against myself like I normally do and everything would be cool.
Well, yesterday’s race re-instilled in me how much fun XC racing can be. Yeah, fun! I had such a blast racing D grade yesterday that I’ll definitely be back for more at the next round. I spent the entire two laps dicing with another couple of guys. One I managed to drop. Another managed to drop me, but in the end I was only a few seconds behind Ryan. It was great fun, passing each other. I was stronger technically and would catch up with him on the downhill and technical sections, but being younger and lighter, he would have my measure on the uphills. So we sliced and diced that way the whole race until the final uphill section where he got enough of a gap on me to see it through to the finish. That wasn’t it for me though as there was a guy coming up fast behind me but I managed to hold him off at the finish.
What this has done though is reignited my excitement for XC racing, even if it’s not for very long. It’s still fun. The extra lap is definitely a slog and I’m shattered after three laps, but I have enough in the tank to still be coherent instead of being a sloth for the rest of the day as my body struggles to recover…
What’s interesting though is that apparently I will have to go back up to C grade after the next round or my points will be lost. Mmmm…. I think I will move back up to C grade when I win a round in D grade. Not impossible. I mean, I came 7th yesterday out of 24 riders and was less than a minute-and-a-half behind the winner. I think I know where I can make that up, and I know which areas of my riding I need to work on to get there, but for now I’m going to bask in the afterglow of rediscovering my love of racing again…
Anyway, there were a couple of reasons for my decision. Firstly, time was a factor. I had a prior engagement in the afternoon and needed to be home in time to clean up and go so wanted to be home by midday. D grade’s two laps allowed me to race for around an hour I thought and be home in time. Secondly, I didn’t think my form was up to the three laps of C grade this time around. Maybe next round I would move back up, but honestly, I never trouble the leaders, never have, so I’d go out and race against myself like I normally do and everything would be cool.
Well, yesterday’s race re-instilled in me how much fun XC racing can be. Yeah, fun! I had such a blast racing D grade yesterday that I’ll definitely be back for more at the next round. I spent the entire two laps dicing with another couple of guys. One I managed to drop. Another managed to drop me, but in the end I was only a few seconds behind Ryan. It was great fun, passing each other. I was stronger technically and would catch up with him on the downhill and technical sections, but being younger and lighter, he would have my measure on the uphills. So we sliced and diced that way the whole race until the final uphill section where he got enough of a gap on me to see it through to the finish. That wasn’t it for me though as there was a guy coming up fast behind me but I managed to hold him off at the finish.
What this has done though is reignited my excitement for XC racing, even if it’s not for very long. It’s still fun. The extra lap is definitely a slog and I’m shattered after three laps, but I have enough in the tank to still be coherent instead of being a sloth for the rest of the day as my body struggles to recover…
What’s interesting though is that apparently I will have to go back up to C grade after the next round or my points will be lost. Mmmm…. I think I will move back up to C grade when I win a round in D grade. Not impossible. I mean, I came 7th yesterday out of 24 riders and was less than a minute-and-a-half behind the winner. I think I know where I can make that up, and I know which areas of my riding I need to work on to get there, but for now I’m going to bask in the afterglow of rediscovering my love of racing again…
Before You Know It, Bushfires and Checklists
On You Before You Know It
It’s only occurred to me that the BMC Classic is less than 8 weeks away. Eek! For awhile it looked as if I’d have to give up my entry as Iogistically it was proving to be more onerous than first thought. But everything seems to be ironing out now and that part is now back on track… so now I need to concentrate on training and getting into some semblance of shape so I don’t suffer like I did at the DW100 last year.
Being a family man though has its own unique set of issues to get around. My beautiful wife attends TAFE as an Interior Design student and she starts early now on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. So that means I drop the kids off at school and child care. Luckily both the school and child care are within a stone’s throw so it makes things a lot easier. However, it means that in order to get to work within a reasonable time I have to drive, so this in effect wipes 2 days of potential training time out. What to do?
Run…
I take my running gear and run for about 40 minutes during lunch instead of riding. Not ideal, but it does allow me to cross train and get some running fitness up as well. I do plan to go in a couple of fun runs throughout the year – the City to Surf being one of them, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do, just so I can say, ‘I’ve done that’ – so it helps in that respect. Not that I’m a fast runner, far from it. Compared to Muz, Davo, Mel and Hugh, I’m a slug. The hills around work provide enough of a workout in 40 minutes to leave me shattered, but in a good way.
So, I really only have 3 weekdays cycle training which is ramping up OK. Getting into a weekly rhythm has been hard but I’m doing it slowly and is working out so we’ll see how things pan out and hopefully be flexible enough to make changes as we need to…
Bushfires
If you’ve been living under a rock then you’ll have seen the news on the Victorian bushfires and the utter devastation that they’ve caused. Luckily it looks as if the Wombat State Forest has been spared most of the carnage, which is great as it means that the BMC Classic is ON!
Checklist
Now that it seems to be all systems go for April 19th, I’m starting to go all logistical and thinking of what I need to take. Lessons learnt from last year’s trip to St Albans for the DW100…
- Take more warm clothes! St Albans was freezing and that was May! I can only imagine what Victoria will be like in April…
- A headlamp is handy… Although I had a lamp, a headlamp would be invaluable, especially when needing 2 hands, like when cooking dinner...
- Make a list and check it twice… ala Santa. At the DW100 I actually forgot my HRM chest strap. I was frantically running around on race morning looking for it and was completely bummed when I realised I hadn’t packed it. Being an information junkie I really wanted the HR information but had to rely on speed, cadence and altitude, not what I really wanted!
- Drugs… No not the illegal or performance enhancing kind, but a small kit containing Nurofen, Voltaren, Sudafed and the like. I felt sick as a dog after the DW100 – tonsillitis notwithstanding – and had nothing on hand. With a potential 12 hour drive home after the BMC, the last thing I want to be doing is driving whilst sick… Yuck…
- Be more organised on race day… For those that know me, this seems just plain outrageous – I’m a very organised person by nature – but for DW100 it didn’t seem that way. I was running around like a headless chook on race morning. Learning for experience I know what I need to do to make sure the morning of the race goes as smoothly as I know it should…
I really need to sit down and start making that list. Perhaps I’ll start tonight after I ride…
Taking Shape
The racing calendar is slowly taking shape for me for 2009. Most of the races listed to the right are marathon races worthy of note as they are one's I have either entered or am keen to enter.
I have already entered the BMC Classic down in Victoria. I've heard nothing but good things about the event and as I am not able to enter the DirtWorks 100 at St Albans in early May due to it being on my wedding anniversary - and I'm not going to open THAT can o' worms! - the BMC fitted in nicely with wanting to do a 100K race at that time. The only thing about this race is that it's in Victoria, probably about an 11-12 hour drive. Logistically, this could be interesting but I'm up for it. It just screams "ROAD TRIP!". I know what I need to take - I'm so fussy and anally retentive that I usually take too much! - but the actual getting to and from the event will be the hard part. I have a plan in mind, and although only formative at this stage, I'm sure we can pull off a successful mission down south.
I think at this stage though, I only want to add one, maybe two, more races to the schedule. I'm super keen to do the Angry Doctor down at Mogo on the NSW South Coast as that is another event that I've heard nothing but great things about. That's on September 13th so will sit in nicely with the schedule.
The other is the Vaude Highland Fling down at Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands however, that is only a week before the Triple Tri on November 8th. I don't want to cook myself before the Triple Tri as that is my main focus for the year, and at this point my body needs awhile to recover after riding 100K. So if I pony up for this one, it will more likely be for the 50K version only.
The Capital Punishment 100 is an interesting one. Apparently this takes in all the good mountain bike trails in the ACT, of which there are many(!) and combines them into one 100K race. Now I've ridden all over Canberra having lived there for a short period in the mid-90's and racing and riding it at other times so this one intrigues me. Being the inaugural event and also within a reasonable distance from Sydney (3 hours) this one has popped up on the radar and I think is a goer. Entries open February 15th so I'll be keeping my eye on this one.
Anyway, we'll see how we go. Time to start training...
Welcome!
Greetings and Salutations and welcome to our new blog, Waiting for Steve.
So what is Waiting for Steve?
Waiting for Steve was born when a few mountain biking mates got together for a little race called the Triple Triathlon back in 2001. Originally called Nik, Rik and the Bunny Boys, during one of the legs, Steve (me) made this outrageous claim:
"Coppins Crossing in 30 minutes - no worries!"
Needless to say, I took a lot longer than 30 minutes. My team mates were waiting ...and waiting ...and waiting ...and a new team name was born ...Waiting for Steve.
The name has stuck ever since. Now whenever we get together, whether it's all three of us core members or any combination of us, the 'official' - and I use that term very loosely! - team name is used ...Waiting for Steve.
So, who are the core members of Waiting for Steve?
Well, there's yours truly, Steve (or Stevo), Dave (or Davo/Fuzzy) and Murray (or Muz). There are others who have joined us at points throughout the years including friends, relatives and spouses but the core of the team is us three...
So, the point of this blog? Well, I thought it might be fun to post up some of the teams races and what we (occasionally) get up to in the lead up.
The most important race and the one we do every year is the aforementioned Triple Tri, but we also get together for some of the MTB endurance races going around in NSW like the Working Week Series and the odd point-to-point race like the Woodford to Glenbrook Classic. The latter is not a team event but we get together and race each other which is a lot of fun in itself and ensures bragging rights until next years event!
Anyway, enjoy...
So what is Waiting for Steve?
Waiting for Steve was born when a few mountain biking mates got together for a little race called the Triple Triathlon back in 2001. Originally called Nik, Rik and the Bunny Boys, during one of the legs, Steve (me) made this outrageous claim:
"Coppins Crossing in 30 minutes - no worries!"
Needless to say, I took a lot longer than 30 minutes. My team mates were waiting ...and waiting ...and waiting ...and a new team name was born ...Waiting for Steve.
The name has stuck ever since. Now whenever we get together, whether it's all three of us core members or any combination of us, the 'official' - and I use that term very loosely! - team name is used ...Waiting for Steve.
So, who are the core members of Waiting for Steve?
Well, there's yours truly, Steve (or Stevo), Dave (or Davo/Fuzzy) and Murray (or Muz). There are others who have joined us at points throughout the years including friends, relatives and spouses but the core of the team is us three...
So, the point of this blog? Well, I thought it might be fun to post up some of the teams races and what we (occasionally) get up to in the lead up.
The most important race and the one we do every year is the aforementioned Triple Tri, but we also get together for some of the MTB endurance races going around in NSW like the Working Week Series and the odd point-to-point race like the Woodford to Glenbrook Classic. The latter is not a team event but we get together and race each other which is a lot of fun in itself and ensures bragging rights until next years event!
Anyway, enjoy...
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