This time with the experienced off road talents of the N
orthside Wheelers man o style (ye
s he is a man with a love for the dirt/mud ma
squerading as a roadie).
Apparantly, the tra
sh talk started early from the good men from team 10, 9, 8... and we were neck and neck from 9am till 9pm. We trailed them by around 90 seconds for most of the day but towards the end the never say die attitude from our team eventually rolled over the top to claim victory in our own grudge match.
Officially, we smashed our catagory to take victory and finished 4th overall. Job done.
The track is always great here. In all conditions.
The conditions were fast apart from the many worsening mud patches due to springs and creeks arrising from the recent wet.
Somehow my crafty team mates talked me into the run again. Getting onto the bike in the first 15 riders was a bonus and I chased the our nemesis for the day, Brad Davies up and across the paddock from the get go. No warm up, hard start, buried myself, revisited breakfast during the lap and felt quite sick afterwards. Malachi, 'man o style' Moxon was next followed by Tim 'man machine' McGrath. Rotating in that order for 12 hours like the well oiled machine it is, to victory.
I started on the Yeti ASR carbon but decided to try the 'cx wheeled, 26" framed, sushi bared, rigid bastard bike'. Time was ok and I felt less shelled afterwards so I completed 4 of the 6 laps on it to come to the conclusion that gears, suspension and large volume tyres are, in some circumstances, just not nessessary. The 'bastard' climbed like a mountain goat, cut through the mud and hooked the flowing single track flawlessly. Sure descending Gravity drop and post Heartbreak Hill was a little rough and slower but was still enjoyable. I love the directness and feedback during the ride. It's not for everywhere but that's why you have other bikes. For the time being, I love it.
Hopefully, I can try it at the FHDC tonight.
Well done Carson for his 5th in solo. When he came in for a refuel/break, I reckon his bike weighed 20kgs with the caked on mud. After a wee clean, dropping a few kg's he continued tapping it out consistently. Getting caught in a sprint to finish. Enough already.
Neil R and Ryan M riding one gear to an awesome result to finishing second in pairs.
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