RR: Mont 24hour

"Gags" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually
closer
to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather) and
the event was run really well.

Onya Gags.. I was reading the Cycling News article on it at work today..
http://tinyurl.com/ampkh sounds like bloody tough stuff!

cheers,
GPL

"GPLama" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually
closer
to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather)

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the event was run really well.

Onya Gags.. I was reading the Cycling News article on it at work today..
http://tinyurl.com/ampkh sounds like bloody tough stuff!

cheers,
GPL

Just had a look at the results......we came 18th from a field of 82 teams in
the Male Team of Six category(and 102nd overall from a field of 554) ....not
too bad considering that after my first night lap we were in 13th place but
we lost a stack of places when one of our guys had a flat and took 1h40min
for a lap and then the next guy took 1h39min!!!

For me, one of the highlights of the event organisation was the timing
software that had been developed by Russ Baker (ADF member and official
timekeeper of the Mont 24hr). The times were entered in at the transition
tent and then there were about 6 or so Apple computers set up in the
registration tent so that competitors could have a look at where they were
sitting. Basically, you just clicked on your category (ie. Male team of 6)
and you got a list of the current placings. Click on your team name, and
you get a summary of each of the lap times for each team member (by name).
If you clicked on your own name, you could see all of your lap times and
there was even a function where you could compare your lap time to the
overall distribution of lap times (seperate graphs for day laps and night
laps). You could also look at fastest day or night laps for male and female
to get an idea of how you compared to everyone else. It was really easy to
use and was very reliable.......well done Russ!!!

Ride On,

Gags

"Gags" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually closer
to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather) and
the event was run really well.

Nice one Gags. Don't think I saw you but I did catch up a few times with Andrew Cassie from the Defence team who was also doing the
solo singlespeed thing.

My race was going well up until lap 5 which was around 9:30pm when my bike developed a big wobble. After stopping several times to
check my wheel, hub, fork, headset, stem and bars I figured out it was actually me, I struggled the last 5km back to transition to
be greeted by "you look like [censored], go and eat" from a friend. I found some food and went to bed with the intention of getting up at
3am and heading back out, which never happened. I eventually got up around 5:30 & went up to the switch backs to cheer and take
photos before having breakfast and heading back out around 8am to do 2 more laps.

Some photos of the switch backs and mud here
http://singlespeed.smugmug.com/gallery/871986

While out on the course I got an amazing amount of support & encouragement from riders of all levels.

Parbs

"Parbs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually

closer

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather)

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the event was run really well.

Nice one Gags. Don't think I saw you but I did catch up a few times with

Andrew Cassie from the Defence team who was also doing the

Quoted message said:

solo singlespeed thing.

My race was going well up until lap 5 which was around 9:30pm when my bike

developed a big wobble. After stopping several times to

Quoted message said:

check my wheel, hub, fork, headset, stem and bars I figured out it was

actually me, I struggled the last 5km back to transition to

Quoted message said:

be greeted by "you look like [censored], go and eat" from a friend. I found

some food and went to bed with the intention of getting up at

Quoted message said:

3am and heading back out, which never happened. I eventually got up

around 5:30 & went up to the switch backs to cheer and take

Quoted message said:

photos before having breakfast and heading back out around 8am to do 2

more laps.

Quoted message said:

Some photos of the switch backs and mud here
http://singlespeed.smugmug.com/gallery/871986

While out on the course I got an amazing amount of support & encouragement

from riders of all levels.

Quoted message said:

Parbs

Nice photos.....I went past those guys on the couch at about 0530h and they
were cheering everyone who went past. I went back at about 1130h to take
some video footage of our last rider and they were still there and going
strong!!!!!

I take it you were riding solo?? Andrew is a nice guy although his pre-race
plan went up the creek when he set his alarm wrong and slept until 0800h
instead of 0600h....hehehe.

I was making a special effort to have a bit of a chat to all of the solo
riders that I overtook (you could tell by the rear number plate that they
had to have on their bikes) as I figured that it didn't cost me anything and
it might help them to take their minds off the pain for a while. I had a
bit of a laugh at one stage when a young whipper snapper sped up a short bit
of fire trail and overtook one of the solo riders about 2 metres prior to
the turn off onto single track. The said whipper snapper then proceeded to
get along pretty slowly and the solo guy informed him that although it was
OK to overtake solo competitors, it was considered poor form to do it just
prior to a section of singletrack!!

On my first lap, I was behind a guy on some singletrack and we went past a
female competitor who had stopped at the side of the track and was bent
forward over her handlebars, adjusting her front brake or something. I
waited until we were about 5m or so past her and then I said to the guy
"funny spot for a bike rack.....". He [censored] himself laughing and went
slightly off the track and so I passed him (also laughing) and went as quick
as I could so that the chick couldn't catch up to me and clip me around the
ears!!!

Ride On,

Gags

There was one solo guy who had instructed his support team to "say or do
whatever you have to so that I stay out riding" (or words to that effect).
He ended up delirious at one stage during the night and I they made him stop
for a while (not sure if he resumed riding or not??).

Gags said:

At the end of the race, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to do more so I might have to enter a 12hr race or something in a pair to get a
bit more of a ride. At some stage I want to do at least a 6 hour by myself
but I will see how I go.

Would you like to do the FGP Kona 24 Hour in a team of four, gags? Team REC might be looking for another rider - we came 12th out of 69 teams in the threesomes catagory of the FGP Melb 12 Hour to give you an idea.

Throw me an email if your interested: someguy at irdweb dot net.

"Gags" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Nice photos.....I went past those guys on the couch at about 0530h and they
were cheering everyone who went past. I went back at about 1130h to take
some video footage of our last rider and they were still there and going
strong!!!!!

In that case you just missed having your photo taken, as I was up there shortly after that. They offered me a beer but I declined
saying I'll get one on my way through when I went out for a lap, but thet weren't there ([censored] ;-) ).

Quoted message said:

I take it you were riding solo??

Yes, not sure if I'll try it again (maybe more than one gear next time)

Quoted message said:

Andrew is a nice guy although his pre-race
plan went up the creek when he set his alarm wrong and slept until 0800h
instead of 0600h....hehehe.

I was making a special effort to have a bit of a chat to all of the solo
riders that I overtook (you could tell by the rear number plate that they
had to have on their bikes) as I figured that it didn't cost me anything and
it might help them to take their minds off the pain for a while.

Yeah, it was nice to have a bit of chat.

Quoted message said:

I had a
bit of a laugh at one stage when a young whipper snapper sped up a short bit
of fire trail and overtook one of the solo riders about 2 metres prior to
the turn off onto single track. The said whipper snapper then proceeded to
get along pretty slowly and the solo guy informed him that although it was
OK to overtake solo competitors, it was considered poor form to do it just
prior to a section of singletrack!!

I was generally happy to let quick riders in, just befer the ST, it would give me something to chase and not have to think so hard
where the track went.

Parbs

Gags said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually closer
to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather) and
the event was run really well.

At the end of the race, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to do
more so I might have to enter a 12hr race or something in a pair to get a
bit more of a ride. At some stage I want to do at least a 6 hour by myself
but I will see how I go.

Ride On,

Gags

I think it's one of those events Gags, that just grabs ya and that's it - you're an mtb enduro junkie. I did it last year as a member of a 6 person team and came away thinking exactly the same as you - disappointed I didn't get to do more. So I promised myself a crack at solo, meant to happen this year, but a thing called "track" got in the way.

So it's on my list of things to do before I am 50 😄

Mont is pretty special. The course is varied and fun, the vibe is awesome. Coming away wanting more says heaps about the event.

warrwych said:

I think it's one of those events Gags, that just grabs ya and that's it - you're an mtb enduro junkie. I did it last year as a member of a 6 person team and came away thinking exactly the same as you - disappointed I didn't get to do more. So I promised myself a crack at solo, meant to happen this year, but a thing called "track" got in the way.

So it's on my list of things to do before I am 50 😄

Mont is pretty special. The course is varied and fun, the vibe is awesome. Coming away wanting more says heaps about the event.

MTB Enduros, the cocaine of the cycling world.

hippy

Well done Gags. There was a guy from work here who went. There most of the
night but had to return home because his 3 month old baby was having a bad
night. He found out afterwards that his name had been drawn out of the hat
for an expensive bike they raffled off, but because he wasn't there he
didn't get it! Spewin'!

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Just got back today from the Mont 24hr mtb race in Canberra (actually

closer

Quoted message said:

to Queanbeyan). I had a great weekend (apart from the crappy weather) and
the event was run really well.

I was in an all-male team of six and I think we ended up about 17th or so

in

Quoted message said:

the category (I left before the final results were announced). I was the
team's second rider and I was hoping to do 4 laps but due to them being a
bit longer than we thought, I only managed to get in 3 (team completed 19
laps). My first lap was during the day (1h02m), my second at night

(1h10m),

Quoted message said:

and my third started in the dark but finished in daylight (1h13m).

The course was a pretty good mix of singletrack and fire trails and was
about 19km long. The first half of the course seemed to have more

climbing

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in it than the second half but I am not sure if that was just me or not??
The course wasn't really technical although it got a bit tricky in places
due to the amount of mud. One particular spot ("the switchbacks"😉 had

wire

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mesh layed down on the mud to hold it together and it was very slippery

when

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it got wet. I saw one guy lock his backwheel in the middle of one of

these

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corners and the ended up facing back the way he came from!! All the hills
and time trials that we do on the BR rides must have helped because I was
overtaking heaps of people every time there was a bit of firetrail or a
climb.

I think that the best daytime lap was around the 49min mark or something
(results will be on the CORC site soon) so I was a fair way off the elite
level pace but I was pretty happy that my best lap time was about 10

seconds

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quicker than the quickest female lap time.......giving credence to the old
saying "girls are weak, chuck em' in the creek; boys are strong, like king
kong" 😉

I camped out on the Friday night and we had a stack of rain so the course
was pretty chopped up throughout the race. There was a freezing wind
blowing for most of the weekend and on my second lap that started at about
8:30pm it actually snowed for a couple of minutes!!!

Got to see heaps of nice bike pron (including a few Rohloff equipped rigs)
and I was spewing that the Cannondale tent that were lending out about

five

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of the 2006 Rush for "trial laps" didn't have one in XL......f%$kn
Cannondale!!

At the end of the race, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get to do
more so I might have to enter a 12hr race or something in a pair to get a
bit more of a ride. At some stage I want to do at least a 6 hour by

myself

Quoted message said:

but I will see how I go.

Ride On,

Gags

Parbs said:

Some photos of the switch backs and mud here
http://singlespeed.smugmug.com/gallery/871986

While out on the course I got an amazing amount of support & encouragement from riders of all levels.

Parbs

Great photos parbs. I especially love the one of Princess Bike Fairy. My nickname in my previous job (last year) was Bike Fairy, so I had a bit of chuckle over that pic.

Cyclingnews describes Mont as the Woodstock of mtb enduro.

"warrwych" wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Great photos parbs. I especially love the one of Princess Bike Fairy.
My nickname in my previous job (last year) was Bike Fairy, so I had a
bit of chuckle over that pic.

Thanks!

Quoted message said:

Cyclingnews describes Mont as the Woodstock of mtb enduro.

Mud, bearded hippies on the mike., naked bodies... Sounds about right

Parbs

"Bean Long" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Well done Gags. There was a guy from work here who went. There most of the
night but had to return home because his 3 month old baby was having a bad
night. He found out afterwards that his name had been drawn out of the hat
for an expensive bike they raffled off, but because he wasn't there he
didn't get it! Spewin'!

A Yeti 575. Piece of rubbish - it would make a terrible single speed.

Parbs - at least that's what I'm telling myself

"Parbs" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Bean Long" wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Well done Gags. There was a guy from work here who went.
There most of the night but had to return home because his
3 month old baby was having a bad night. He found out
afterwards that his name had been drawn out of the hat
for an expensive bike they raffled off, but because he
wasn't there he didn't get it! Spewin'!

A Yeti 575. Piece of rubbish - it would make a terrible
single speed.

Parbs - at least that's what I'm telling myself

But $5,500 buys a lot of single speed action.

Cheers

BrettM

Pictures from pixelpics are up

www.pixelpics.com.au

Parbs

Quoted message said:

I was making a special effort to have a bit of a chat to all of the solo
riders that I overtook (you could tell by the rear number plate that they
had to have on their bikes) as I figured that it didn't cost me anything

and

Quoted message said:

it might help them to take their minds off the pain for a while. I had a
bit of a laugh at one stage when a young whipper snapper sped up a short

bit

Quoted message said:

of fire trail and overtook one of the solo riders about 2 metres prior to
the turn off onto single track. The said whipper snapper then proceeded

to

Quoted message said:

get along pretty slowly and the solo guy informed him that although it was
OK to overtake solo competitors, it was considered poor form to do it just
prior to a section of singletrack!!

Hey! That might have been me. (The solo that is). I seem to recall an
incident like that in my delirium.

I also got jammed behind someone who was cycling strongly, but with no skill
or speed on a piece of single-track. I hate to see wasted energy, so I gave
him some gratuitious advice on braking before the corner, outer pedal down
when cornering, get out of the seat to lower your centre of gravity etc etc
etc. He was a quick learner.

Almost everyone was polite and skillful when passing. There is always the
odd exception though. My pet hates:

The ambush overtake: "On your right!!!" is the first thing you hear as a
bum rushes by your face.

The tail gunner: Number one overtakes in the conventional manner, and number
2 thinks 'Cool. Free pass' and yammers "One more rider!!! One more
rider!!!" at the last moment. This usually sees me doing an impromptu
trackstand.

Never mind. I had fun. 14 laps. Could have been 15, but it wouldn't have
changed my standing in the over 40's bracket. I really wanted to crack
300k, but the conditions weren't favourable.

As they say of the Olympics each time, "This was the the best ever ..."
Outstanding organisation and atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere, I
believe that it was snowing at one stage - between the rain and the howling
gale.

Only a year to go.

"SteppenW" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I was making a special effort to have a bit of a chat to all of the solo
riders that I overtook (you could tell by the rear number plate that they
had to have on their bikes) as I figured that it didn't cost me anything

and

Quoted message said:

it might help them to take their minds off the pain for a while. I had a
bit of a laugh at one stage when a young whipper snapper sped up a short

bit

Quoted message said:

of fire trail and overtook one of the solo riders about 2 metres prior to
the turn off onto single track. The said whipper snapper then proceeded

to

Quoted message said:

get along pretty slowly and the solo guy informed him that although it
was
OK to overtake solo competitors, it was considered poor form to do it
just
prior to a section of singletrack!!

Hey! That might have been me. (The solo that is). I seem to recall an
incident like that in my delirium.

I also got jammed behind someone who was cycling strongly, but with no
skill
or speed on a piece of single-track. I hate to see wasted energy, so I
gave
him some gratuitious advice on braking before the corner, outer pedal down
when cornering, get out of the seat to lower your centre of gravity etc
etc
etc. He was a quick learner.

Almost everyone was polite and skillful when passing. There is always the
odd exception though. My pet hates:

The ambush overtake: "On your right!!!" is the first thing you hear as a
bum rushes by your face.

The tail gunner: Number one overtakes in the conventional manner, and
number
2 thinks 'Cool. Free pass' and yammers "One more rider!!! One more
rider!!!" at the last moment. This usually sees me doing an impromptu
trackstand.

Never mind. I had fun. 14 laps. Could have been 15, but it wouldn't
have
changed my standing in the over 40's bracket. I really wanted to crack
300k, but the conditions weren't favourable.

As they say of the Olympics each time, "This was the the best ever ..."
Outstanding organisation and atmosphere. Speaking of the atmosphere, I
believe that it was snowing at one stage - between the rain and the
howling
gale.

Only a year to go.

Damn it...you people are making me want to acquire a proper MTB and get some
single track action in. I can't afford to buy a bike. It's cruel...CRUEL!

MTB enduros.

Looks like there might be one more out there next time.

[Do not overtake turning vehicle]
😉

"SteppenW" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I was making a special effort to have a bit of a chat to all of the solo
riders that I overtook (you could tell by the rear number plate that

they

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

had to have on their bikes) as I figured that it didn't cost me anything

and

Quoted message said:

it might help them to take their minds off the pain for a while. I had

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bit of a laugh at one stage when a young whipper snapper sped up a short

bit

Quoted message said:

of fire trail and overtook one of the solo riders about 2 metres prior

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the turn off onto single track. The said whipper snapper then proceeded

to

Quoted message said:

get along pretty slowly and the solo guy informed him that although it

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

OK to overtake solo competitors, it was considered poor form to do it

just

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

prior to a section of singletrack!!

Hey! That might have been me. (The solo that is). I seem to recall an
incident like that in my delirium.

From memory, the guy had a bit of a beard and I think he was wearing a
yellow jacket......sound familiar??

Quoted message said:

Only a year to go.

I notice that the CORC sight already has a countdown timer set up for next
year.... 350 days, 12hrs, 10min, 23sec........etc!!!

Ride On,

Gags

"Parbs" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Pictures from pixelpics are up

www.pixelpics.com.au

Parbs

I just found me!!! Of course they didn't get my number but if you use the
number "981" for Wheeler bikes, I come up as the unidentified
one......please note the lairy ADFCC jersey (there were heaps of us guys
wearing these!!). That picture was of my first lap that started at about
1330h on the Saturday.......from memory, that bridge was almost invisible
under all the mud by the Sunday morning!!!

Ride On,

Gags