Race 1 – 2.5 Laps of Turner Hill

The rain at the beginning of the week promised to keep the dust settled, something that is very important for someone who rides close to the back of the pack. However, a few days of nice sunshine put pave to that idea, and I was quickly enveloped with a thin veneer of mud at the start of the race (a combination of sunscreen, sweat and dust). Fortunately, the riders in front of me quickly disappeared out of sight in their quest to get to the finish line before me, leaving me to quietly contemplate this AMAZING track all by myself.

The only straight parts of this ~12km loop are a couple of short firetrail sections – the rest is just a whooping good time. I rode over more logs and rocks that I could count, and even managed to ride a few of the more technical trail features, like a couple of gap jumps and a great burnt out half-log.

I came across a young guy who had had a pretty bad fall (looked like he failed to negotiate the landing of a particularly fast gap-jump) and stopped to render assistance. His main concern was his flat front tyre, but my main concern was the obvious bump on his head and the trickle of blood oozing from it. He assured me he was OK, so I lent him my pump and a spare tube, and was on my way.

I was very surprised at the number of pinch-flats people were getting out on the track. I still run ‘tubed’ tyres (as opposed to tubeless tyres), but I still had no problems with flatting. I generally run about 40psi in the front and about 30psi in the front, which I find gives me a great balance between grip, bounce and puncture-resistance.

My heart rate monitor said that I averaged 90%HRM, but I distinctly remember looking down and seeing 102% at one stage. Needless to say, I was absolutely rooted at the end, and I don’t think I could have turned another crank if you’d have paid me.

While I was having a shower I noticed a beautiful chain-ring love-bite on my right calf, something that I had not even noticed during the race. Obviously caused by the small off I had, caused by some drop-kick who had stopped ON TOP of an obstacle, which meant that when I tried to cross it, I was pushed off, and managed to do a complete roll, with bike.

I don’t want to check my placing, because I know it will be close to last – on the positive side, it’s people like me that make the fast riders look even better.