mud sweat n' gears

So it's been a while... what happened in 2010?

2011-03-17T12:11:00.003+11:00

It’s been an interesting 3 years for me. A transition from being a “person in the bike industry”, to rediscovering what it meant to be a “bike rider” again. (something I lost along the way).

The first step was to commit myself to some silly damn event and sigh up for it. Check - 2008 Simpson Desert Bike Challenge.

Then train... hmmm, less so... more kinda... “when I can fit it in”. Repeat again in 2009. (with more key event knowedge, better preperation, but less actual training)

Which brings us to 2010. In February I hired a personal trainer. Then in June, the game really ranmped up. What can only be described as 12 weeks of pure dedication. Strict diet. Up to 10 spin classes a week. Swimming at least 6 times a week. And that was in addition to the time spent with the personal trainer. (3-4 sessions a week)

Did it bring “results”? Well... yes. This years event was moved. The SImpson desert was closed due to flooding. (I know... a desert - flooding) So we instead found ourselves lining up at the start of the Anne Beadell Highway near Coober Pedy. heading due west out towards Marilinga and the old town of Emu. (where the British set of atomic bombs in the 50’s). And then back again.

590klm of the roughest corrugated roads in Australia. Intermixed with deep bulldust, pea gravel and sand. The Perfect place to test out the Pugsley and my own newfound fittness.

So what did I learn?
1) Fatbikes rule this terrain. I was (at times) passing people that I had no right to be passing. (based on real world fittness etc)
2) Suspension seatposts rule on full rigid bikes on corrugations.
3) I now know what it’s like to ride 130klm off-road in a day. And then back up and do it again the next day... and the next...
4) two pairs of bib knicks worn over each other can help.. a little... as can a very liberal dose of chamois cream.
5) be extra nice to your support crew. (in my case, my wonderful wife)
6) I didn’t believe it was possible. But I was actually “too tired to eat” at the end of many stages. My wife had to force me to eat. Scary.
7) If the sight in one eye goes all “foggy”, it’s a sign of extreme dehydration. STOP and drink lots to recover. (I was ordered off the bike by the medical team at the 60klm waterstop on day 4)
8) you can surprise yourself and astonish others when you push yourself to your own absolute physical and mental limits.
9) I know it’s strange to say this, but I want to feel that way again.
10) I should have listened to Pat 3 years ago and trained properly.
11) I should have listened to Richard 3 years ago and ridden a Pugsley the very first year.

Will I head back to the desert?

Yes. I have unfinished business in the Simpson.

Getting a completion rate of 77% on the Anne Beadell is nice. But I want the Simpson.

I’m going back.

2010-09-06T11:33:00.002+10:00

Well... in exactly three weeks time, I'll (hopefully) be camped at Purnie Bore on the Western edge of the Simpson Desert. Acclimatising and getting ready for episode three (of my attempts) of the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge.

I'm the lightest I've been in 10 years. And without a doubt the fittest I've been in something like 20 years. I'd like to be both lighter... and fitter.

I've dropped 20kgs in the last 10 weeks and over 16cm off my waist, I only wish I'd started this push 6 months ago... instead of 10 weeks...

But I've got two and a half weeks before we leave for the 3 day drive out there and I'll just do what I can in that time.

2010-08-03T11:54:00.002+10:00

well... I've been doing plenty of training. Dropped about 9kgs in weight, and around 6cm off the waist.

Learning to run again too.

But not a hell of a lot of riding this year. I wonder... in the end... if that will matter much?

2010-07-08T15:13:00.001+10:00

intervals...

ouch.

and there is more to come.

2010-07-04T08:38:00.002+10:00

ok... it has been kinda a while.

But the last 11 day have seen a new level of motivation overtake me.

Daily training of one sort or another. Controlled diet.

8.5kgs lost over the last 10 days.

2010-02-25T16:21:00.001+11:00

well... two sessions with the trainer and I have a totally new appreciation of pain... and a new concept of "tired".

Still, I'm more motivated than ever. And that's a good thing.

no news for a long time.

2010-02-15T12:03:00.001+11:00

time to get serious earlier this year.

Just hired a personal trainer.

I can feel the burn already...

45klm Pug ride... on the road.

2009-12-07T14:25:00.003+11:00

rode (a large chunk of the way) to work on the Pug this morning...

Dropped the Landcruiser at the mechanics for a service and rode the remaining 45klm to work.

On the pug'.

With 3.7" tyres.

On the road.

Not as horrific as I expected it to be. Yes it did take a noticably more effort to get it rolling and up to speed. But once at speed... it stayed there without too much "extra" effort.

Pumped the tyres up to a "rock hard" 20psi too...

Elvis.

1st ride!

2009-12-05T19:15:00.004+11:00

well... I'm back from my first ever ride on the Pug'.

FUN FUN FUN!!!

2009-11-29T08:26:00.006+11:00

(finally) Started the bike build...
I know... I know... it's a "work in progress".
Waiting on the wheels to be built.

Currently the build is:
Pug' frame and fork. (18")
Syncros FL headset
Ritchey SC stem (tempory until our shipment of Salsa ProMoto Ti stems arrive)
Salsa ProMoto bar 11 degree
Salsa bar ends (last of my stash) I LOVE the bend of these. I've had various pairs of them on my touring bike(s) since the early 90's.
Sram X0 twisters and rear deraileur
SLX front deraileur
Fifteen G cranks
Crank Brothers Mallet pedals
Hayes Stroker Trail brakes
Ergon grips on the bars, Oury grips on the bar ends. (lame looking I know but nice in the desert)
not yet fitted...
SDG Grand Prix saddle
Cane Creek Thudbuster seatpost (a loaner... if I like it... I'll get one for myself)

Wheels...
Large Marge rims
DT Swiss Competition spokes
ProLock nipples
Endomorph tyres
Stan's filled Surly tubes (not actually "filled"... but you get the idea) Tubeless would be nice... but info on sucessfull conversions seems to be scarce...
Chub 135mm SS disc hub on the front
Dice HooDoo 135mm 9spd hub on the back (temporary until the Chub geared hubs are available)

Hopefully finished the build (as is) next week. (all depends on Wheelcraft... they're hammered with wheel builds at the moment)

Elvis.

2009-11-20T14:19:00.002+11:00

wow... easily one of the most stressfull two weeks I've gone through. 100 pages of DW 2010 catalogue in 12 days.

result... no riding at all.

Time to make it up.

2009-11-07T21:33:00.002+11:00

well... my (ex) Mojo is in its new owners arms tonight.

And I'm up to my eyeballs in 2010 catalogue deadline. *sigh* It's amazing how much writing about bikes can make you want to ride one more than anything in the entire world...

But... not a lot of riding going to happen for the next week and a half.

Oh well. I'll get the new Pugsley built next week and go from there.

2009-10-26T09:26:00.004+11:00

I believe that "committed" is the word we're looking for here readers...

I sold the Mojo SL last night. I love(d) that bike. It rode like a dream. I'll be very sad to see it go.

But selling it allows me to build the Pugsley. And the Pug' is the ultimate desert bike. (I think... I hope... )

2009-10-19T17:11:00.001+11:00

the decision has been made.

My Ibis Mojo is now up for sale.

Time to build a Surly Pugsley.

I'm not dead.

2009-10-08T11:16:00.003+11:00

WOW... the 2009 installment of the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge is over...

What a year. Temperatures were noticably down on 2008. (where we hit a max' of 52 degrees celcius, and an average of 39) THIS year, 2009, was considerably more comfortable for human beings. We hit the max' of 42 twice I think. Both in the mid afternoon. Otherwise it hung around the 30 degree mark for most of the riding time.

But the difference this year was the sand. OH MY GOD... the sand!!!

The recent dust storms have really "fluffed" the sand and dust up and made the riding far worse than last year. I really found myself struggling to ride sections that I know I cleaned last year.

This years goal was simple. To make sure that when I was swept... that I was thoughourly STUFFED atr the time. In 2008 I always felt fine when I was swept. I was just slow.

My plan this time was to push myself much harder. So much so that i was royally stuffed everytime the evil Sweep got me.

I succeeded. My legs were in pain and my body hurts a hell of a lot.

More text and images to follow.

Closing comment... will I go back?

Answer... hell yes. Once more I've learned a lot. So has my wonderfull wife (my exceptional support crew). Is 2010 the year of the Surly Pugsley?

maybe... maybe...

11 days to go

2009-09-13T12:51:00.002+10:00

11 days until we leave. hard to believe that it's really been a year.

I've well accepted that a lack of training will be an issue. On the other hand... I ridden more in the last month, than for the same time last year...

I know that I'm way more prepared mentally this time.

On a positive note. I've dropped 12.4kg in the last month.

That makes me officially the lightest that I've been since I've been married. 6 years.

2009-09-01T07:29:00.003+10:00

well... it's been a long time since my last post. and while there has been some effort done in "training"... probably not enough.

With 4 weeks until the event it looks to me like 2010 might be the year that I actually get motivated enough to do some real training for the SDBC. (asuming that my wife will let me go back next year)

At least this year... I know what has to be done. And when. Go out harder, and just try to stay in front of the sweep as long as I can.

This is a mental race. And many people tell me I'm mental...

2009-06-12T12:57:00.002+10:00

Good lordy that was COLD...

Rode in (again) today. The Fargo is a great bike. And I'm (gradually) getting used to the silly backward shifting that Shimano have used for the Alfine internally geared hub...

But the cold... I seriously considered pulling over on the way in and putting an extra sock onto my right foot. I just kept telling myself: "there's a warm shower at work - there's a warm shower at work".

My legs are feeling better though. By "better"... I mean that they don't hurt for the rest of the day if I ride in. Which must be a good thing... right?

Would love to get a decent off-road ride in this weekend. And I'm itching to try the new tyres that are sitting on my desk.

They just might be the best soft sand desert tyres made. (they may not too)

We'll see.

2009-06-07T17:14:00.000+10:00

Pdogg put me onto this...

www.xxcmag.com/Site/XXC.html without a doubt... the BEST READ EVER.

I never thought that I'd find something that was a better read than Singletrack.

I have now.

Download both issues.

Read them.

Ride.

2009-06-04T14:56:00.003+10:00

Well... after waaaaay too much procrastinating... training has (finally) resumed. With just over 15 weeks to go, it might not be to late.

Finally built the new commuting bike so I'm out of excuses now.

Salsa Fargo 29er. set up for the commute with 29" x 2.0" tyres and a Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal gear hub. Except for the backward shifting employed for the hub (thumbshifter to drop into a harder gear - index finger to move into an easier gear...) I'm loving the hub.

Hey... I'm loving the bike.

Hoping for a decent off-road ride this weekend to stretch the legs out and give me a dose of reality.

2009-04-13T09:57:00.003+10:00

ok... a weekend helping out at the Australian Solo 24 hour Championships and I'm motivated again.

Seeing Jason English, and the other riders go around and hammer themselves into the ground... sometimes for nothing more than a personal best, has inspired me to no end.

Thanks guys. It was just what I needed.

2009-04-06T08:10:00.002+10:00

*sigh* not a lot of "training" been happening at this end. So little in fact that the BMC100 is a bust.

Not what I was hoping for. I need to get my shit sorted and get back into the game or September this year will hurt as much as last year.

Feeling very disheartened.

what bike for 2009?

2009-01-12T10:35:00.006+11:00

time to start planning for 2009... don't get me wrong... the Mojo rocked in the 2008 SDBC. (and had the rider had some fitness the result might have been a little better)

But I'm looking at things logically this time. The larger tyre of a 29er gives a larger (longer) contact patch. Combined with say... a 2.4" wide tyre and the end result should be a sand eating machine.

Plus... the SDBC is really a long "fireroad" trail. (with lots of dunes and sand) So "snappy cornering" and the like don't really matter out there.

In fact... I'm thinking that the bigger 29er wheels might be just the thing for the event...

www.salsacycles.com/bigmama08.html

The Salsa Big Mama is up for consideration. 4" (100mm) of travel. Cool colour (though it may just dissapear into the orane/red sands of the desert). Oh and it's made of Scandium.

Still... the Mojo was soooooo nice in 2008...

What to do...??

oops... I've done it again.

2009-01-08T12:46:00.004+11:00

no... I'm not chanelling Britney... this is just my way of announcing that I'm the first person to sign up for the 2009 Simpson Desert Bike Challenge.

I said at the end of last years event that I wanted to head back. And I figured... why not commit early.

This year I have a far better idea of what I'm in for. And I know how much training will be required to improve on last years effort.

To keep me motivated I've signed up to ride the BMC 100k classic in April and the Dirt Works 100k classic in early May. I may also try some solo 8hour events durring the year as well. (we'll see)

2008-10-17T06:47:00.014+11:00

Some more pics.

Myself after riding 40klms in a sandstorm.

The Ibis on a dune (Day 2). At this point I'd like to point out that the bike performed flawlessly. Thanks to the guys at Ibis for designing such a great frame. Everyone else was riding short travel XC style bikes and there I was on the 5.5" travel Mojo.

Going with the large bag 2.5" Syncros tyres was a great decision, I was able to ride sandy sections that the other fitter, stronger (lighter) riders were walking. Technique and bike set-up were very important. (a serious extra dose of fitness might have helped me though). As was the DT Swiss carbon rear shock and the Manitou Minute MRD forks.

The Sram XO gripshift worked perfectly for the entire event as did the last minute choice of Crank Brothers Mallet pedals.

My exceptional support crew (my wonderfull wife) and I at the Birdsville pub after the final stage. the first one is straight after finishing the complete final stage.

the second one is a little later after I'd recovered a little.

WE MADE IT!!!

2008-10-17T06:12:00.009+11:00

Well... we're back. I didn't die. And it was the greatest experiance of my life.

We have thousands of pics (really) and will pick some of the best and put them up over the next few weeks. For now... here are the most important ones to me.

Finally finishing a stage and crossing the line at Birdsville. (the final stage)

I never would have made that stage had it not been for 4 other riders. They just refused to leave me behind. A huge thank you to Vance, William, Heinz and most of all to Kane.

the support convoy on the endless dunes... early morning shot...

An arty' pic of the bike on a dune (again) on day 3

Sandstorm... day 4

the final finishers at the Birdsville pub. from left, back row: Roman, Warren, Lynton, William (yellow jersey), Kane, Wayne, Vance. Then Freddy in the green jersey and Swiss Heinz in the red Swiss jersey.

we're off!

2008-09-20T16:39:00.003+10:00

and we're just about to head off into the Desert.

Before though... a haircut.

One that my wife has been looking forward to performing on me for about 8 years.

my bike is back!!

2008-08-29T13:28:00.003+10:00

My new bike, a Ibis Mojo SL, has been "absent" for the last few weeks. Off being reviewed by Mountain Biking Australia magazine for the next issue.

Now that I finally have it back... it's been in the workshop downstairs being prepped for the Simpson Desert trip.

The (heavily) customised build is as follows:
Frame - Ibis Mojo SL (naked carbon)
Rear shock - DT Swiss XR Carbon
Fork - Manitou Minute MRD
Brakes - Hayes Stroker carbon (w/6" rotors)
Stem - Syncros FLS
Bars - Salsa Pro Moto 11degree flat bars (cut down a smidge')
Seatpost - Syncros AM
Saddle - SDG Grand Prix
Wheels: I have two pairs each pair set up for different conditions. Both hand built by Wheelcraft.
Sandy days wheels:. DT Swiss hubs, Stan's Arch rims, Supercomp spokes w/ProLock nipples. and Syncros Point n Chute 2.5" tyres (for sand floatation).
Fireroad days: DT Swiss 240s hubs, DT Swiss 4.2d rims, Aerolite spokes w/ProLock nipples and Ritchey Speedmax Beta 2.2".
Both wheelsets are running Stan's No Tubes sealant.
Pedals - Crank Brothers Acid2
Drivetrain - Sram XO w/twist shifters.

Guess I'd better take it out for a ride this weekend...

Elvis.

Ingar trail training (walking)

2008-08-13T09:12:00.006+10:00

A few weeks ago I did the Ingar firetrail... the wrong way. Living at Woodford meant that I just rode down to Bedford creek and then UP the Ingar trail.

I feel sorry for my riding buddy that day, Pat, as he learned new levels of paitence and finely honed his trackstanding ability as I walked the steeper bits.

Still... having never been on the Ingar trail before, the sections around Bedford creek are amazing.

so there I was wearing my pants on my head...

2008-08-12T13:10:00.003+10:00

last night I got my wife to help me destroy a pair of (very) old cycling knicks (lycra shorts).

With some creative cutting and unstitching one leg was converted into a balaclava/face mask.

Tested it this morning. Worked a treat in the cold.

new commute record!

2008-08-12T12:55:00.002+10:00

well for me at least.

67.32 klms. In 2 hours - 34 mins and 20 seconds. (previous best was 2-34-38... so I beat it by 18 seconds)

Damn cold this morning too. 0 degrees celcius at Woodford when I left home at 4am. Add some serious windchill on the 50-70klm+ decents and we're getting COLD.

The Long Haul Trucker is a beast of a bike for the commute though. Only thing missing (in my opinion) is disc brakes, (you hear me Gnat?)

Track to the Simpson

2008-08-12T12:45:00.008+10:00

This blog has been started to document my attempt to participate in the 2008 Simpson Desert Cycle Classic. http://www.sdcc.org.au/

Why ride across a desert on a mountain bike when there are perfectly good (not to mention air conditioned) 4wds available?

I can't answer that except to say that ever since I heard of it in 1988, it's been in my mind as a constant reminder of "things" left unfinished.

The map below shows you (roughly) where the event takes place.
In February this year... I made the decision to sign up. Pay my entry and get into what I call "relaxed training".