Riding with Jeff's son Flynn.Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Nationals (part3)
After getting out of first aid i headed to the showers to clean up. Most people enjoy a shower but this was a painful and difficult experience. After my shower i collapsed in the pit tent on a bed that had been made up for me. I got up for a pee and felt really dizzy so i got Jeff to take me back to first aid - i knew something was wrong. It was clear i wouldn't make presentations so Jeff did the honours for me - making it look easy to get up on the podium after a 24 hour.
An ambulance was called and i was taken to hospital to be repaired. My wife who is 32 weeks pregnant had been up all night supporting me and was still at my side looking after me. I couldn't do what i do without her, what we do is such a team effort.
Diagnosis:
*Severe dehydration, replace fluid with 6 bags overnight.
*Xrays all clear no broken bones.
*CK level 5500 (100 is normal) this is muscle stress
*Tribonin (not sure if this is the correct spelling) levels in the blood. Not good as this could be heart tissue.
*ECG freaked them a little my heart is not normal - i have what they call an athlete's heart.
*No skin on bottom. Even made the nurse turn away.
The ECG and the blood levels were enough for the doctors to insist on an overnight stay in hospital. After re-checking my bloods the next morning they were satisfied i was well on the mend and i was able to make my flight home.
Congratulations to Jason English on his National title and all other competitors who pushed us to our limits. I gave it everything on the day and am wrapped with my result.
A huge thank you needs to go to my supprt crew:
*My Dad George and Marlene for driving the equipment and packing everything up.
*Kate's parents Jenny and Laurie for looking after Mitchell
*Jeff Williams who fed me and worked on my bikes during the race and stood in at presentations
*My wife Kate who is tireless in her support of my activities
My sponsors:
GIANT: my 2 Anthem Advances performed perfectly throughout the race
NIGHTLIGHTING: my Enduro blasts gave me the brightest lights on course. ( Fastest night lap)
GKA sports: For tyres (Baro races), pump and gas bombs, Tuff gloves.
SKINS: For compression clothing for the race and recovery after.
DIY MTB: For Superior ceramic bearings and fork seals.
An ambulance was called and i was taken to hospital to be repaired. My wife who is 32 weeks pregnant had been up all night supporting me and was still at my side looking after me. I couldn't do what i do without her, what we do is such a team effort.
Diagnosis:
*Severe dehydration, replace fluid with 6 bags overnight.
*Xrays all clear no broken bones.
*CK level 5500 (100 is normal) this is muscle stress
*Tribonin (not sure if this is the correct spelling) levels in the blood. Not good as this could be heart tissue.
*ECG freaked them a little my heart is not normal - i have what they call an athlete's heart.
*No skin on bottom. Even made the nurse turn away.
The ECG and the blood levels were enough for the doctors to insist on an overnight stay in hospital. After re-checking my bloods the next morning they were satisfied i was well on the mend and i was able to make my flight home.
Congratulations to Jason English on his National title and all other competitors who pushed us to our limits. I gave it everything on the day and am wrapped with my result.
A huge thank you needs to go to my supprt crew:
*My Dad George and Marlene for driving the equipment and packing everything up.
*Kate's parents Jenny and Laurie for looking after Mitchell
*Jeff Williams who fed me and worked on my bikes during the race and stood in at presentations
*My wife Kate who is tireless in her support of my activities
My sponsors:
GIANT: my 2 Anthem Advances performed perfectly throughout the race
NIGHTLIGHTING: my Enduro blasts gave me the brightest lights on course. ( Fastest night lap)
GKA sports: For tyres (Baro races), pump and gas bombs, Tuff gloves.
SKINS: For compression clothing for the race and recovery after.
DIY MTB: For Superior ceramic bearings and fork seals.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Nationals part 2
We flew up to Canberra on Thursday so we could all have plenty of rest and time to set up pits for the big event. My Dad and Marlene drew the short straw and drove up all of the gear in one of our utes.
After a bit of a restless night due to Mitchell missing his day time nap we headed out to the course to establish camp. I also had a chance to check out the course. The day before a big race i like to do an easy lap to get a feel for the course and then i like to do one at race pace to show the body what it is in for.
We were all up about 7am race day after a good nights sleep and headed out to the course about 9am for final preparations. I kitted up about 11am in my new Giant gear and a new set of Skins. I had a feeling this course was going to be a bumpy one so my Skins would be vital in preventing upper body fatigue and soreness.
No warm up for me just a roll to the start line why waste the energy.
I felt very relaxed at the start and when the gun went off and i smashed it up the road getting a good gap on the rest of the field. From here i just settled into that hard fast rhythm and hoped i had the legs to maintain it. For the first 6 hours until night we were feeding faster than XC races, this was also getting dangerous as others were stopping in the feed zone. I also had my first crash for the race trying to leave the feed station.
At 6pm I fired up the Nightlightning Enduro Blasts - one on my bike and one on my helmet so i could maintain fast lap times over night.
By about 9pm i was in trouble not from fatigue but a far greater enemy. I had stripped the skin from my backside and was struggling to block out the pain every time i sat on my seat. At this stage Jason and i had lapped the field so i was in the running for the win which i desperately needed to be able to go to the Worlds in July. So through the night as the pain got worse Jason would put time into me before i would suck up the pain and ride him down again. This would continue until sunrise. Also during the night i had my second crash leaving the feed zone when a lady walked in front of me. The feed zone was the most dangerous place on the whole track. I have the utmost respect for what my pit crew were dealing with and don't know how they did their job flawlessly.
The sun came up and i was still in with a good shot at the win but couldn't break Jason - he slipped away again . I had a bike swap and on it was written 6 minutes in three laps. Little things like this from your support crew do wonders. I lifted again and rode him down again. With 3 hours to go their was 15 seconds between us. This is where Jason finally started to put good time into me. I was flat out down one of the descents trying to catch him and my bike disappeared from under me, sitting me on my arse at 50km/h and bending my bars. Gathering myself and straighting things out on my bike i never really got back up to speed. The pain took over and it really was just a matter of survival.
Coming up to finish my 46th lap i had 10mins to spare so it was decision time - do i head out on one more lap or wait it out. I did the full body Scan and knew i was done. The little voice said 2nd is all you had today - don't hurt yourself permanently just to do another lap. I waited for the time to tick over and then finished the hardest race i have ever completed. After finishing we were ushered into first aid for a check up.
After a bit of a restless night due to Mitchell missing his day time nap we headed out to the course to establish camp. I also had a chance to check out the course. The day before a big race i like to do an easy lap to get a feel for the course and then i like to do one at race pace to show the body what it is in for.
We were all up about 7am race day after a good nights sleep and headed out to the course about 9am for final preparations. I kitted up about 11am in my new Giant gear and a new set of Skins. I had a feeling this course was going to be a bumpy one so my Skins would be vital in preventing upper body fatigue and soreness.
No warm up for me just a roll to the start line why waste the energy.
I felt very relaxed at the start and when the gun went off and i smashed it up the road getting a good gap on the rest of the field. From here i just settled into that hard fast rhythm and hoped i had the legs to maintain it. For the first 6 hours until night we were feeding faster than XC races, this was also getting dangerous as others were stopping in the feed zone. I also had my first crash for the race trying to leave the feed station.
At 6pm I fired up the Nightlightning Enduro Blasts - one on my bike and one on my helmet so i could maintain fast lap times over night.
By about 9pm i was in trouble not from fatigue but a far greater enemy. I had stripped the skin from my backside and was struggling to block out the pain every time i sat on my seat. At this stage Jason and i had lapped the field so i was in the running for the win which i desperately needed to be able to go to the Worlds in July. So through the night as the pain got worse Jason would put time into me before i would suck up the pain and ride him down again. This would continue until sunrise. Also during the night i had my second crash leaving the feed zone when a lady walked in front of me. The feed zone was the most dangerous place on the whole track. I have the utmost respect for what my pit crew were dealing with and don't know how they did their job flawlessly.
The sun came up and i was still in with a good shot at the win but couldn't break Jason - he slipped away again . I had a bike swap and on it was written 6 minutes in three laps. Little things like this from your support crew do wonders. I lifted again and rode him down again. With 3 hours to go their was 15 seconds between us. This is where Jason finally started to put good time into me. I was flat out down one of the descents trying to catch him and my bike disappeared from under me, sitting me on my arse at 50km/h and bending my bars. Gathering myself and straighting things out on my bike i never really got back up to speed. The pain took over and it really was just a matter of survival.
Coming up to finish my 46th lap i had 10mins to spare so it was decision time - do i head out on one more lap or wait it out. I did the full body Scan and knew i was done. The little voice said 2nd is all you had today - don't hurt yourself permanently just to do another lap. I waited for the time to tick over and then finished the hardest race i have ever completed. After finishing we were ushered into first aid for a check up.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Australian 24 Hour Solo National Championships (Part 1)
All i can say is what a race. I have finished runner up again, this time the honors went to Jason English. I rode 420km a new PB and for that I have spent the night in hospital with dehydration, muscle meltdown, no skin left on my bum and verious other minor injuries. All is well though and i am on the mend.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me over the weekend. I will have a more detailed report to follow.
Also if anyone is offered a Phillips Plasma TV please return it to my house where it was stolen while we were away.
I would like to thank everyone who supported me over the weekend. I will have a more detailed report to follow.
Also if anyone is offered a Phillips Plasma TV please return it to my house where it was stolen while we were away.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday morning at Lysterfeild
Jason off a very loose sketchy jump that lands in a burm.
Paul and I crossing the dam wall.
Paul gets a different perspective of a Giant Anthem Advance in full flight.Last chance to dial in the skills for the 24 hour Nationals i decided to hit the Lysterfield trails with Jason. I have also been trying to catch up with Paul Cubbin for a MTB ride since the Kona. Since the 12 hour had been cancelled he was keen to come and play.
We meet at 7am and headed out through Churchill which had the lungs pumping furiously. With a quick decent down the Com Games course and into the heart of the Lysterfield trails the adrenalin was pumping and we were all grinning from ear to ear for the entire ride.
It was the perfect ride to set the body up for next weekend.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
2008 Giant Advance MTB
I just received my new bike from Giant. I picked it up on Friday from Pro Motion. Sometimes you get a new toy and it takes a while to adjust and get right but not this time. From the very first ride it was dialed perfect and felt like one i had been riding for years.Out of the box this bike comes specked with full XTR including wheels, Reba World cup forks, raceface stem bars and seat post and weighs under 10.5kg. Changes for this year are the XTR wheels , Reba world cup forks and a smaller rear disc rotor.
I hit the trails at 5:30am Saturday morning for a blast along the Yarra Trails to Westerfolds. So you think it's dark at 5:30am but if you had of come across me you would have thought differently as i had my Endura blast on the handlebars and one on my helmet (that's about 1500 lumen's) practicing for the 24 next weekend. Things were going perfectly, the bike was hooking up unbelievably and i was feeling good again, then on the way back a bee got stuck between my helmet strap and my neck resulting in a verbal cursing session and me been stung on the neck. I had to get a group of walkers to pull the stinger out so i could continue my ride.
It seems i might have a bit of bear in me as one little sting isn't going to stop me from getting the honey.
Tip: Be the Bear
Friday, March 7, 2008
SKINS SPONSORSHIP
I am pleased to annouce my newest sponsor is "Skins". As all of you know i have been wearing skins gear for a number of years - both during races, while training and in recovery. As of today skins have offered me their full support so you will be seeing me using all of their latest products.
In case you did not know Skins is an Australian company that make compression product for athletes. Here is a exert from their website about what their product can do for athletes-
"Ongoing testing of elite athletes have proven that Skins™ BioAcceleration Technology™ creates marked improvements in reducing the build-up of lactic acid immediately after periods of sustained exercise (2hrs and 15 mins up to 37% ), and allows for more rapid return to normal levels (up to 38% at 20 minutes). You experience less fatigue, minimise soreness and recover faster.
Even more exciting is that they are about to release a new cycling specific range, which will be on the market for all in the near future. The range will include compression knicks which i am personally looking forward to trying.
If you are at all interested in any of the Skins products feel free to ask me any questions.
Thanks to Andy from skins for all your support. It is great to have the support of a Australian owned company with such a great product.
In case you did not know Skins is an Australian company that make compression product for athletes. Here is a exert from their website about what their product can do for athletes-
"Ongoing testing of elite athletes have proven that Skins™ BioAcceleration Technology™ creates marked improvements in reducing the build-up of lactic acid immediately after periods of sustained exercise (2hrs and 15 mins up to 37% ), and allows for more rapid return to normal levels (up to 38% at 20 minutes). You experience less fatigue, minimise soreness and recover faster.
Even more exciting is that they are about to release a new cycling specific range, which will be on the market for all in the near future. The range will include compression knicks which i am personally looking forward to trying.
If you are at all interested in any of the Skins products feel free to ask me any questions.
Thanks to Andy from skins for all your support. It is great to have the support of a Australian owned company with such a great product.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
New road bike. Giant TCR Advance Team SE
I picked up my new road bike from Pro Motion about a week ago. Leon spent some time making sure the fit was perfect. On the weekend i finally had time to give it a good test ride. It has a great feel with needle like responsiveness. The over sized bottom bracket transfers the power perfectly. The ride feels a little harder but this is due to the pure racing geometry and stiffness of the compact frame with integrated seat post. The new Dur-ace wheels roll along effortlessly. I am still getting over my little problem of a lack of power in the legs but am confident that this bike can make up for any shortfall in the meantime.
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