in my sights
Martin & Juliane Wisata, owners of Rocky Trail Entertainment held a round of the Rollercoaster Gravity Enduro at Kempsey the week before & I was able to help out over the weekend for an entry into the Jetblack 12 hr in return.
Sue Wood was travelling down to James Estate Winery and camping over the weekend while her son Brenden competed in the under 23 solo category of the 12 hr & I was able to get a lift with them to the event.
The course had changed this year with some new sections added & because of the rain I was not able to pre ride the track before race start, but given the race was a 12 hr race over a 9.5 km loop I was sure I would have enough time to work out the fastest lines to ride. Each lap took us into the rocky outcropped forest that had just under 200 vm of climbing.
The Day has come
The start was fast & within 4 km or so my thighs felt like they were going to seize because I didn't warm up at all in the 6 deg C starting conditions. I was able to stand on the climbs & roll the downhills to change the muscle groups slightly until my thighs wormed up & settled down back to normal.
First lap went by fast & I was sitting in a great position in the field of solo riders & the tracks new additions were fun & flowy to ride with nothing to technical. The next few laps I had a bit of fun as Kevin Wynne-Smythe decided to play tag with me out on the track as we went passed each other calling your it.
I had the GPS set up so I could see my lap times each time I completed a lap & I kept the pace even to finish the lap at around 30 min. An update on the third lap found me ahead of 2nd place in the masters by over 3 mins & by the 5th lap I was ahead by 15 mins. To my disbeleif on the current information I slowed down only slightly expecting that there may have been a mistake with the timing information I was receiving.
My legs were feeling great & my energy levels were not vanishing at all with the energy bars I had made before the event with 31 grams of carbohydrates per bar & a taste that had me asking for more every lap.
As I went out on lap 14 just before dark I realised that I forgot to fit a light to the bike & looking across at the sun about to set I picked up the pace slightly before I ended up having to finish the lap off in the dark.
At this point I was updated with the results & I found myself a lap up on 2nd place.
I was now really enjoying the race & riding at an easy training pace watching the lightning in the distance & hoping that it was not coming our way. The track had some moisture starting to show under the bike light as the cold night started to set in & the tyres were starting to gain traction again as if someone had rolled the damp sandy soil.
I figured if I just kept lapping at the pace I was riding & not have any mechanical or not take any silly risks I would roll over the finish line still a lap ahead of 2nd & finish half an hour early giving me a warm shower.
I rolled over the finish just after 9:30 pm still a lap up on 2nd & knowing there was no way he could do a lap fast enough to take 1st place from me I was more than happy to go for a shower.
The showers were cold though from the team riders finishing in front of me, dow!!
But still good to get cleaned up and put on some warm, dry, clean clothes before the thunderstorm came across with wild winds, lightning/thunder, hail & rain.
Jason English finished first in the GC followed by Sam Moffitt in 2nd & Simon De Pomeroy in 3rd.
Solo females was 1st Charlie McCabe, 2nd Leah Childs, 3rd Katie Savio-Glasson.
Great and exciting weekend away at James Estate Wines for the JetBlack Products Australia 12hr. Big thanks to all...
Posted by Outer Image Collective on Sunday, 12 July 2015
how good do I feel
Thanks Sue Wood for giving me a lift to & from the event & helping out with nutrition through the feed/tech zone & giving me those all important updates on my position throughout the race.
Thanks once again to my sponsors Seers Cyclery for servicing my rear wheel hub a few days before the race.
A huge thank you to Simon & Julie at Enriched Sports Injury & High Performance for there ongoing help with reformer palates & physio/massage keeping me strong & supple for the long rides & races I do. I am not sure I would be doing so well without it.