Paddle on the Yarra

So the time had come where we had enough rain to warrant dusting off the boat kicking out the spiders and having a paddle.

Rob and Jas who was taking his maiden voyage down the rapids in his boat and I were going to the end of Homestead road for the 45 min loop around to reserve road. A call on Monday from Rob who was sick with the flu after his recent trip to America and Mexico (no surprisingly he does not have swine flu) left it just the two off us until Gav, who is mates with Cam from up the road got the call and joined us.


This stretch of river highlights the beauty of the Yarra, you just have to know the right spots. Gav and Jas are checking out a random picnic table in the middle of nowhere.

As this was an after work paddle we were cutting it fine with the light, and we ended up taking the last couple of rapids in the dark, which made it interesting. There were a few curses as the boat would crash into an unseen rock, just hidden under the water.


Jas half boating Gav (he just cannot help himself), and with a look of concentration saying I'm going straight.

So we chose to paddle on Monday night and the river was at 51cms, if we had paddled Tuesday night it would have been 62cms. Oh well in my mind any paddle is a good paddle, especially when you do it on such a good bit of river a 15 minute drive from home.

BMC Dirtworks Double Centurion Catergory

I am sitting in 9th position in the Double Centurion catergory. Hoping with a good ride on Sunday I can crack the top 5.

Monday's Philosphies

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.




Franklin D. Roosevelt

BMC 100 Race Report Part 2

Ready to race in the early morning fog and rain.



So as I hooked into the tight lefthander at speed the tyres held and I rode out the other side, however something had happened to my rear brakes which now seemed to be 'on'. I pulled the lever on thinking they might reset then dialled them out as far as they would go but they were still on. I had to pull over and see what the issue was.

On inspection I could not find any reason the calipers seemed tight and straight, so I rode on. The brakes being "on" lasted about 3 or 4 kms, after that they were just rubbing. Fortunately a good portion of this 4 kms was downhill so it was not like riding uphill with the brakes on.

So seemingly having this problem fix itself I plodded on and on, there was plenty of climbing in the final 25kms or it seemed that there was, perhaps it was my fatigued state. However what I did notice was that on a fast descent where I had to use the brakes they would lock "on" again for a period of time. Rather than this being a huge physical road block it was making the last part of the race harder mentally. As it was becoming really frustrating.

It was at the 70km sign that the lack of fluid I had taken in, in the first part of the race would come backto bite me, and I would pay for it big time. There were riders constantly going past me that I could not hold there wheel or even get on the wheel as they went past, as each rider went past the race became more of a test of survival than a race. I would say that about 30 or 40 riders would have gone past me in this time.

I basically suffered along like this for the last 30kms, still enjoying the single track, which was mainly downhill and pushing as hard as I could on the fire road climbs.

There was one rider who I was leapfrogging from the 80km mark, so I made it a goal to try and stay with him, he would open a gap and then it would close down again and then I would open up a gap, I guess it was about who was feeling good at the time. With about 2 or 3 kms to go he opened up a gap on a climb which had a switchback in it, as I got to the bottom of the climb he was already 50mts ahead, but as I changed gear he was past the switchback, as he heard me change gear he looked over his shoulder to see who it was and how far back I was.

In my spent state and with not having been able to race hard for the last 25kms or so I knew that I would catch that rider, its always a tell tale sign that you have nothing left when you start looking back. So I dug as deep as I could on that climb, and made some ground and then there was a small single track descent before we headed out onto the fire road which took us around the lake to the finish, as we hit the road at the front of Cammery Waters I just rode as hard as I could, went past the rider and then just gave it everything for the last km. As I crossed the line he was nowhere to be seen so he would have been at least 200mts back.

So after a disappointing last 30kms I managed a small win at the end.

So overall I finished in 92nd place which was about 60 places worse than last year, but a much hotter field attended in 2009. My observation on the race was that the tracks out at Woodend are 1st class, I would just like to see a bit of the fire road climbing substituted with some single track climbs. Having said that the course was well signed and the event well run.

So my focus now turns to the Dirtworks 100 on the 3rd May. I have entered the Double Centurion category, which combines both times for each race and has an overall winner, and was hoping to find out where I sit in this field but it looks like it will remain a secret, until the completion of the Dirtworks

BMC 100 Race Report

So race day finally came around and after a great night’s sleep I was ready to go. The organisers had to delay the start twice as cars were queued up on the road which was to be the start of the 100km course.
So at 7.30 we were underway and I was holding about 40th place in the 1st wave of riders that went off after the elite. I was riding along quite comfortably and felt my pace was good. About 10km in I had a slight mechanical and stopped to check the rear wheel, all seemed ok but it was making some noises. So the 5 or 6 people I had just ridden past all went by and I had to catch them all again, so after doing that and passing them all again, I made a wrong turn, and dragged Jeff Williams along with me. We did about an extra 2 minutes in a circle and connected back to the trail, and went down the correct track second time around.
So now I had go past all the people that had gone past when I wrong turned. As we rolled along on fire climbs mixed in with some pine forest single track I slowly began to go past people, with the odd person going past me. At the 35 km mark I was really looking forward to getting into the Wombat trails and riding some fast single track and off the fire road climbs. I would get one but not the other.
After filling up my water bottle at the 32 km mark I missed the water spot at the 40km mark. This would prove to be a very bad mistake as I was now going to have to ride for 60 kms with a total of only 2 bottles of drink. I had decided to ride without a bladder, and just fill up ay the drink stations
Once into the Wombat trails the riding was awesome so many great tracks and fast riding. I was riding along in a bunch of 3 or 4 guys and I was on the front. I must have ridden for about 4 or 5 kms at a good pace and then I heard a gap open up and we came to a fast downhill section so I let the Virtue do its thing and gapped the bunch I was with. Within a couple of minutes I had ridden up to another bunch and sat on for a few kms until we popped out onto a fire road, which was the road we started on in 08 race. I knew this climb was a long and steady one, so I left the bunch and chased down a few riders I could see ahead. Approaching the 50km mark I was feeling great had eaten a recovery bar, had had a gel and was ok with fluid, at this stage. I still had 10km to the next drink station and was almost out of drink.
In spite of this I thought I would be ok kept pushing hard. I would have been in about 70th place overall including elite at the 50km mark. My best riding for the race happened between the 50 and 70 km mark where I was constantly overtaking people, ride with a small bunch for a few kms, then ride away from them catch the next bunch. This section of riding also included some great single track. It was at the 60km mark that I made another small yet costly mistake, as I got to the drink station I was riding with Nathan, who I know from Adventure Racing and wanted to try and hold his wheel. I stopped in to fill up and in my rush to get out, did just that filled up and left. What I should have done was gulp down half a bottle and then refill, as I had not drunk for about 6 or 7 kms.
So after the 60km drink station it is back into more single track and some of the technical obstacles. There were a variety of bridges to ride over some quite narrow and very high at least 2 or 3 meters. There were also a couple of log rollovers that had very steep ramps on the exit side. Again this section was great riding single track and a few really fast fire road descents. It was coming along a section of single track at about the 68 km mark that I was approaching a fast left hander, with a slight berm that I hit the corner hard and.......................................................................................









More to come later

BMC 100 On Sunday

Sunday is the day of the BMC 100. I have spent this week resting, eating and drinking. Its now time to see how much improvement all my training will bring. The course is essentially the same as last year and I managed to do it in 5hrs 31mins.

All that is left to do is get 2 good nights sleep and I am ready to go, and am looking forward to a good race.

Mondays Philosophies

It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours. ~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990



"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent.

Calvin Coolidge

Easter Saturday in the Nongs

Jas and I headed out early on Sat into the Dandenongs. Whilst it was foggy it was warm no need for arm warmers at 6am.

So after climbing up Mt Dandenong Road from Montrose we headed through Olinda and down the Elbow to Ferntree Gully and then up and down to the base of the Wall.


This section is the downhill which takes you to the base of the Wall.


I thought I was enjoying the ride but after looking at this photo, I kind of look a bit stuffed, lucky this was my last training ride before the BMC. I just have a few short sessions to tick off before I roll to the start line


This picnic ground is on the sting trail and is on the road heading to the base of the Wall.

So after 3 hours on the bike I staggered up the drive and feel quite relieved with the fact that the bulk of the work is done for my next race. Its now all about preparing for the actual race day.

Exploring in the East

So after finding some new trails at Smiths Gully last weekend, I thought I would do some more exploring, and see what else I could find. One thing I really enjoy is just getting out and exploring an area and searching for new trail. No firm plans just ride. My "grand plan" is to link track from my place in North Ringwood to the Smiths Gully loop and then eventually through to Kinglake. Stage 1 was a reconnaissance mission from Kangaroo ground to Smiths Gully. Stage 2 will be Warrandyte to Kangaroo Ground and stage 3 will be to ride the whole loop.


So with a bit of knowledge from some road side tracks I had seen on a road ride I had done out this way I headed off and found this place which has a small network of tracks, which got me a bit closer to the Smiths Gully trails.



This creek was completely dry but obviously flows hard when it rains as it has moved a few cars along its bed. I rode next to this creek bed for a couple of kilometers without seeing any water. It was at the base of a steep hill so I would assume in a heavy rain it would fill up quickly.


After a cool foggy start it was great to see the sun rising. This section is part of some new trail at Smiths Gully and it was good track, I rode it in reverse as I climbed up all the way, and it would have been great going the other way. Next time.

At one stage I came upon a area that I not ridden but it looked familar. As I headed down the track towards the Eltham Yarra Glen road I realized that I used to run on this trail and the surrounding area when I lived in Yarra Glen.


This photo is not that clear but this was the biggest bull ant I had seen. When I got close he reared up at the camera

This was my "art" shot, whilst it had not rained the fog had caused a dew on the wire fence.

So after about 3 hours I had found enough new trail to satisfy myself and now have connected Kangaroo Ground to the Smiths Gully loop. So Stage 2 is next

Smiths Gully

So after a big week on the bike with plenty of kms covered on both the road and mountain bike I had an early morning ride at Smiths Gully with Geoff Tait, no relation (that we know of). Geoff was out on his new Epic S Works which handled the trail all day without missing a beat.

My bike on the other hand had a few issues, that will require some repairs/replacements this week.



There was a quick dump of rain on Friday night which made the tracks tacky and perfect, and it was great to ride with no dust. This was my front yard as we were leaving.


This is the the top of the climb out the back of smiths gully, there is some great new trail out in this section which was great and thanks to those that are putting in the time to build these trails as they are first class. The loop we did took about 1 hour 45 mins and we could have added another 30 mins of riding so this loop is getting longer and longer as we find new sections to add in.


Geoff was enjoying the steep final section of this climb.


Maybe one day we will ride from Warrandyte to Kinglake on the Mountain bikes. Might have to start doing some work into connecting all the trails.

So the trails at smiths gully were in top condition and not having ridden out there for a while it was great to get out there again. This area is getting more popular as I saw about 9 or 10 other mountain bikers out when last year you could ride on a sat morning and not see anyone.