quick catch up.

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post, not really much of an excuse, just a bit slack. Since my last post i have completed two races. The first one was the Avanti Plus Six Hour out at Cunungra and two weeks ago the Merida 24hr Solo which was held out at Hidden Vale.





The Avanti Plus Six Hour started off well. I'd had heaps of rest up until race day. I felt good, the bike was all sorted, and as for the weather, well we couldn't have asked for any better. The gun went off at 9am and the first five laps were awesome. I was having a ball. I was top five and feeling good. Then, just as i was climbing up the second hill in lap six, i snapped my chain.





I ran back into transition and swapped bikes but it had cost me a fair bit of time so i put the hammer down and tried to get back to my top five position asap, [BIG MISTAKE]....and i might just add that the one lap i had to do on my old Cannondale was hell. I was trying to shoot through all the same lines that i was hitting on my Tomac Carbide and my body was not appreciating it.





Anyway my super slick crew that was headed up by Grant from Action Cycles and John from Australian Aerospace had my Carbide up and running by the start of lap seven and my butt was grateful for the rear suspension.





So not really thinking about what i was doing i spent the next couple of laps smashing round the track in gears that i shouldn't have been in and pushing way to hard. Let me just say that i made up positions really fast but in doing so, i started to throw up all i had eaten so far and anything i tried to eat for the rest of the race. I had sent my stomach into turmoil. I couldn't even hold my gel in. I had 1.5 hours to go and i was feeling like hammered shit to say the least.





By some miracle I managed to hold onto fourth place for the race but i know that if i had of just kept my cool when i snapped my chain, i would have done much better. Lesson learnt; but i'm pretty sure i will be in that position again some day.





Merida 24 solo worlds qualifier.





One of my goals i set myself when Rodney and Bec from Supersports/ Tomac Australia hooked me up with my Tomac Carbide Sl was that i wanted to complete and place well in a 24 solo.





I chose the Merida 24 hr at Hidden Vale to be my first solo 24. The event was a qualifier for the world 24 hour so we could expect alot of serious riders out there. Was i freakin' out?.... umm yep.





Natalie, Jaryn and myself rocked out to the race by about 10 o'clock and met up with the usual crew, Bozz and the guys had the kick ass looking Tomac tent set up; the pit lane looked amazing. The gang from Tailwind had outdone themselves with the set up.





I spent the last hour before the race just going over my lights and food and stuff trying to keep the nerves at bay, and before we knew it we were on the start line and the countdown had begun, the gun went off and the butterflies i had been carrying around in my stomach all morning vanished.......


...and so did the fast guys! It was hard to just let people ride away from me but i had to keep telling myself to just chill out and pace it. It is going to be a long race and i didn't know what to expect.





The first six hours seemed to disappear, before i knew it it was dark and i was feeling really strong. I could see that other riders i knew were slowing down. I was easily passing soloists that had passed me earlier, but it just made me feel a bit uneasy. I still felt great and it left me thinking should i slow down; Do they know something i don't?! Probably, but i just kept my rhythm and the hours just dissolved. My crew was keeping my stomach happy with a smorgasbord of nice things to munch on and the friendly banter on track was really helping the time fly. I couldn't believe it when Al told me that it was 2.30 in the morning.





I had absolutely no idea what position i was in. I think the lap timetables were a little bit confusing. But i didn't care either - I was just riding my own race, and having a good time.





At about 3.30 am my stomach started to give me a bit of trouble, but it didn't last for long. Just before sun up i hit a bit of a wall so i started to smash into some more food and a couple of pieces of pizza and a tuna sandwich, thrown down with a squeeze of goo, and a half dozen snake lollies and i was charging. The rest of the race went well i didn't have any of the dark times that people talk about, sure the last few laps were hard but that's to be expected after smashing out over three hundred kms before breakfast. My crew managed to stay happy all night and that kept me in a good mood too. Its nice to see so many smiling faces and have so much support from close friends and family. I don't know if i could do it without them there.





I was pumped when i found out with a couple of hours to go that i had managed to get into 4th place for my category and had a pretty solid lead on 5th. All i had to do was maintain,which i managed to do.


I would have been happy with a top ten finish but 4th place blew me away. It has left me with a massive confidence boost, and now i can't wait to get out there at the next 24 solo and have another go.



I would like to thank my crew Natalie, Jaryn, Al, Kel, Pearso and Kiri for keeping both Sean and myself fed and moving forward. Big thanks for all the support that you guys give us at all the races. We couldn't ask for a better crew.



Thank you to Rodney and Bec from Supersports- you guys help us out so much. My bike eats up anything i throw at it and i have you guys to thank for that.



Also thanks to Ay Up for the kick ass lights; super efficient, totally reliable. What more can i say, i just love my lights!!!