WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE YEAH!

This morning I woke up a different person for two reasons. Firstly, I woke up a professional cyclist for the first time in my life, after having signed for the remainder of 2013 and 2014 with the professional outfit Wiggle Honda. Seconly, I woke up feeling a little seedy from a good night of celebrations, not the best start to my new career...

My phone hasn’t stopped all morning and my twitter followers have skyrocketed! I believe there to be a true correlation between fame and the number of followers you have on twitter, so this is very good news. For my MTB fans, fear not that I will give away my love for the dirt, I will be aiming for Commonwealth Games selection and staying true to my knobby tyres!

 

Press Release: Wiggle Honda

DWELLINGUP 100

There are east coasters, and then there are west coasters. In the world of MTB’ing the two seem worlds apart, so when I was invited to race the DwellingUp100 I was curious to find out what I was missing out on. I went in blind. I had no idea what the terrain was like, the recent weather and even the competition. It was my first time in Western Australia on knobby tyres and as excited as I was to not only race there, but be back racing, I had one question that weighed heavy on my mind…Would my back hold up for 100kms?

I managed to muster up a casual 'two rides a week' with minimal pain, and a few solid days in the final lead up. These hard days, combined with six straight 9-hr days at work saw my back start to weaken again. The pain was stronger and lasted longer, and the flight to Perth only made me more skeptical about my condition. I met up with Target Trek team-mate Brendan Johnston (Trekky) at the airport, and picked up our AUDI A4 (nice choice Tony) – and drove the 1.5hr journey to Dwellingup. This tiny town, with a goggled population of 400, houses a pub, café, corner store, petrol station and holiday park, which not surprisingly is where we stayed. Although people and activities may not be in abundance, passion and character certainly are. The place is just mystical, like a fairytale come to life with 1000+ MTB’ers and supporters.

Trekky and I shouldered by the local Wembley cycles boys on the start line

 

The terrain is unique, with pea gravel, tight single-track, limited climbing and ‘Hell’s Gate’ the highlight acts. I was grateful to have Reece take us on a tour of the track pre-race day, which gave me a chance to suss out my main competitor in Jo Bennett (Giant). Although I had never raced Jo on a MTB, she had been an idol of mine as a triathlete and the word going around was that she was on some good form! When race day arrived it didn't take me long to find out why. As is the norm, I never warm up for XCM so was grateful that the first 15min was raced on road and fire trail at a leisurely speed. When we hit the single-track I put the pressure on, and when Jo passed me at the 15km mark my heart sank a little. Then to make matters worse, as we twisted through the tight tracks my back pain started to kick in..I was in for a long day.

In some pain as I come through the 40km transition area

 

I focused on being smooth as the accelerations were sparking the pain, but struggled to keep pace with Jo. As the roads opened up toward the treacherous descent of Hells Gate people began to scurry to the front so I sprinted to the top and nailed the run down it. Yes! I climbed hard out of the gulley to chase two men for a sit on the fire-trail. I’m not sure if I gapped Jo up the hill or down Hell’s, but I remember turning around to see that she was 50m off the back and I saw my opportunity as the single-track loomed. The next 15kms were torturous as I yo-yoed on and off the wheel of these two men. All the time my back was in excruciating pain. I tried to stretch it but the twisting track was never-ending and I had to compromise pedaling for stretching. The pace was hot and didn't ease until we approached the 40km mark in town with a small margin of 80 seconds on Jo. I forced myself to ease off the pedals and focus on stretching, hydration and riding smooth through the next 30km of trails I was yet to see.
 

At the 70km mark I was starting to hit the wall. A few guys caught me and I feared that soon I would suffer the same fate with Jo closing to less than a minute after I stopped for a bottle re-fill. I was overheating and getting dizzy so I popped my final three gels before the 80km mark in an effort to recover and knowing that I only had Hells Gate, 10km of single track and 5kms of fire-trail to take me home. From Hells gate onward I was back to being hard on the pedals, racing to stay out of sight of Jo, because I knew that if she got a sniff, she would be upon me. I was hard into and out of corners, suspension locked out, sprinting on fire-trail and stretching on the downhill’s to ease the pressure on my back. I was riding desperate, and am lucky to have ridden enough marathons for my body to be comfortable with that feeling. I was so grateful to see the one-kilometer to go sign that I nearly cried.

First-aid only put a Band-Aid on Trekky's elbow...maybe they're on rations?

Tony Tucknott had come back on the lead motorbike to chauffeur me in and I was glad I hadn’t let him down. I finished in 21^st overall after 4h44m of racing, as the lead female, 3:40min ahead of the chasing bulldog Jo Bennett (no resemblance to her lean mean figure). I felt so many emotions afterward. I was ecstatic to win another race (they are all special to me) and I was proud of myself for battling through the pain, but I was shattered physically, and broken to think that this pain might continue. I have to believe that this injury will get better! I couldn't complain to Trekky about it, because he had passed out in the ambulance after a serious crash on the first lap. He broke his shoe and scored himself up pretty bad but somehow managed to get back on and finish. Meanwhile, Reece had won the 40km..again, this kid’s winning ways would bore me if he wasn't our latest recruit for Target Trek MTB Racing.

Reece powers to victory in the 40km as his final race for Wembley Cycles

 

Thanks go to TriEvents for a well-hosted race and to those that jumped on board to support the affiliated Muscular Dystrophy foundation that have nearly tipped $100,000 in fundraising. Thanks to Dave, Pete, Deb, Jimmy and Amanda for volunteering their time over the weekend and most importantly to the man of the moment; Tony Tucknott – thank you! This man and his team (there are just too many to name) have put an immense amount of work into this event; building new tracks, manicuring old ones, two full days of course marking with Dave. I know that this volunteer group exists at most races, but this time it was nice to meet them all and thank them for their time :)

Results: Dwellingup100

BLORES HILL 6HR

Far, far away, in the humble happenings of Gippsland, there is a pleasant escape from the rocky terrain and arduous tracks that can be found in the MTB crazed town of Bendigo. This place is an oasis, where the single-track is magic and the trees and trails speak to one another, and they all combine in sunshine every year to bring us the Blores Hill 6hr. I grew up just 20kms from Heyfield where the fourth round of the Victorian Enduro Series took place, and I feel a little ripped that these tracks existed in my backyard all along and I never had a thought to take-over the dirt. So injuries aside, with my Trek Superfly 100 Pro SL (dually) in tow to relieve any back symptoms, I apprehensively committed to race.

Chris, Ruby (with her V-plates) and I ready to race

I decided that it would be best to team up as a mixed threesome, with Chris Hamilton looking for some fast laps leading into the XC World Championships, and bringing on board Ruby-Marie Greig-Hurtig for her first ever MTB race…woop! We made the epic drive down on Friday for the Saturday feature race, with hospitality compliments of Mum. As per usual the track was in mint condition with the majority consisting of smooth single-track that naturally ebbs and flows as you weave through the trees and sail through the berms. A short bit of fire-trail in the middle leads into the technical ‘Trig’. This part is quite rocky and finishes up a sharp climb before a swish A-line shoots you off down the descent, cascading down the hill with berms and whoops to satisfy the downhiller in all of us!

Nick Morgan and John Groves had a close fought victory in the Men's Pairs

We allowed Chris to start under the condition that if he wasn’t leading, that we weren’t tag-teaming with him. But he didn’t disappoint and I found myself ripping off jackets as he swooped into transition in the lead. I took off cautiously but was still eager to post a good time (you can take away my form but I will forever be competitive). With a clear track I was able to ease back into this MTB ‘thing’ without pressure. Despite my time away, the track was so natural and my bike so effortless that I felt I was just along for the scenery. And with my favourite Rubena Scylla’s carrying me along I felt even more at home.

An interesting tyre choice by the 'fat-tyre-flyer'!

As I had hoped, I rode through the day-3hrs in fact-completely pain free (lungs and legs aside)! It was a relief; I even thought it a miracle. I was on such a high that after the completion of my first lap I rode with Ruby to talk her through the race. But being the fighter that she is she didn’t need my help, in fact she dropped me lol The race day flew. I cheered for the local fun loving, dirt-hugging guys that I grew up with, the city dwellers along for some fresh air, and of course eventual solo winners and close friends Tory Thomas and Peter Kutschera. I snacked on $2 toasties, broke into the lunch of solo riders Shaun Cattanach and Darren Spiteri, and just enjoyed the MTB atmosphere-thanks to Tim and Ray for the company.

Ray and Tim supporting partners Kath O'Shea (2nd solo female)
and Tory Thomas (1st solo female)

When the 5.5hr marked ticked over and Chris came in for our final change, Ruby and I were relaxing in our chairs, fully clothed as per usual, and after some scrambling we were off again. To our surprise, Chis met us up at ‘The Trig’ and the three of us sailed down the hill in sync, chatting away and enjoying the trails. This moment really set the tone of my relationship with MTB’ing-fun, fitness and friends…until I snapped my chain! Luckily Chris had a link and we allowed Ruby to go ahead to finish the lap.

Myself, Chris and Ruby with our awesome trophies
hand-made from old resurrected bike parts - thanks Glen!

We finished second in the mixed and all came home with super cool trophies, although I did have to give Ruby the one that spun…devoed! Now I’m suffering from ‘post-race social-depression’ as I like to call it. It’s a common disease that affects 78% of MTB’ers and even road riders (yes, you people do have something in common) after an awesome day out such as Blores Hill. If you’ve ever suffered from it, put your hand up…now put it down, you look weird sitting at your computer with your hand up! 

Results: VES Rnd 4 courtesy of Gippsland MTB Club

Garmin: Blores Hill 6hr

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY...

For those of you that weren't aware, on Monday 5th May I was at work. Now usually I wouldn't complain about this because most of you were probably in the same boat, but on this particular day I was in a fair bit of pain. My back was sore for what I believed was the aftermath of a 6hr MTB Race I had completed on the weekend, and I was grateful to finish work that day and go home to rest it. The following morning I found myself resting again, before and after work, and by the end of the week, when I hadn't touched the bike, I realised that this back pain was different. Sometimes it spasmed, other times it was a sharp stab, but most importantly it lingered. Not only for the day, but for a whole week.

With all this spare time I can even fit in some Media!
Thanks to Kath Bicknell from Flow MTB Magazine for a beautiful 4-pg spread

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you will know that I then attended an AIS study camp in Canberra, and then raced at the Tour of Adelaide. I missed many a session throughout the camp and this recovery allowed me to race the Tour of Adelaide pain-free. But upon my return home, or more importantly my return to work, the pain just kept getting worse to the point where 10-days off the bike has become norm.

This was a pretty big feat for me!

This is the first mention I have made of my back, and for good reason. I thought that if I didn't speak of it, then it wouldn't be real. But it is very much real. It's now been eleven weeks since my back first played up, and my god the time has gone slow. I managed three rides last week and plan to race this weekend in a triple team for the Blores Hill 6hr near my home town of Traralgon. I also started back at work this week after a two week break to recover and believe that I am nearing the end of my treatments.

To help my back, Jarrod has built me some stairs lol

Three months may not seem like a big deal, but it meant that my plans to go overseas were put to a halt, and that my early season base for 2014 has all but gone. Most importantly it means that I have put on 8kg that will be mighty hard to lose! In my time away I have had a chance to 'help' - some call it watch - Jarrod make some advancements on our home reno's and also make some big plans for next season and all I can say is world watch out!


Such first world problems...I'll soldier on and update you all again soon :)