Mont 24hr
- Thread starter nzhumpy
- Start date
alchemist
Manly Warringah MTB Club
Yeah that short bit of fire road before Sidewinder got me every time too. I don't think it was as steep as it felt, I'm sure there was some kind of weird extra gravity or magnetic force there.Track was truly wonderful, especially at night.... but racing for the first time on a single speed I was feeling that the section with the switchback climbs and short steep fireroad at around 12km in was there to just personally f@*k me up.
There were 2 in our team! I made sure my Orange one was next to another on the start line. Didn't help me though.
BM Epic
Eats Squid
That was strange wasn't it, in practice you could fly up there, but come 3am it was a bit different, although seing as my team mate Vaneena flew up there in big ring made me feel a little bit hopeless, is this the bit of climbing that was only about 50 metres long after already climbing through some switchbacks?..much harder than it looked at night!Yeah I remember those two. Was quite mellow in that train of riders despite the obvious frustration, but also I guess a certain level of being a little freaked seeing the poor rider on a stretcher. There was some friendly joking about SSers and some chatting. Was really a time for good behaviour... and really everyone was going to come out of it in the same order they went in!! Queue jumpers are never liked.
Track was truly wonderful, especially at night.... but racing for the first time on a single speed I was feeling that the section with the switchback climbs and short steep fireroad at around 12km in was there to just personally f@*k me up.
Loved the track and the event.
Huge thanks to the organisers and volunteers!
Yeah, i got stuck in the broken leg traffic on my first lap... The two clowns that came through screaming "Track" were certainly disliked by everyone I spoke to. Didn't matter for me anyway. I hit the fire road, gained a few places before in the next kilometre or two my seatpost snapped. Half a lap without a saddle was extremely painful.
The seat post is now affectionately known as "Chunks" can even be seen in one of the pics by Paulb threatening to sodomise my backside. Got a lot of laughs from people on and off the track with a busted seat post.
Other than a couple of tools acting like fools I found everyone on and off the track extremely friendly and courteous. Particularly the guys who when I'd ask "Do you want track?" they'd just say "Nah, mate, you're holding a good pace through here. Keep it up!".
Cheers again to everyone that put into the Mont. It was unreal. Will definitely be back.
Huge thanks to the organisers and volunteers!
Yeah, i got stuck in the broken leg traffic on my first lap... The two clowns that came through screaming "Track" were certainly disliked by everyone I spoke to. Didn't matter for me anyway. I hit the fire road, gained a few places before in the next kilometre or two my seatpost snapped. Half a lap without a saddle was extremely painful.
The seat post is now affectionately known as "Chunks" can even be seen in one of the pics by Paulb threatening to sodomise my backside. Got a lot of laughs from people on and off the track with a busted seat post.
Other than a couple of tools acting like fools I found everyone on and off the track extremely friendly and courteous. Particularly the guys who when I'd ask "Do you want track?" they'd just say "Nah, mate, you're holding a good pace through here. Keep it up!".
Cheers again to everyone that put into the Mont. It was unreal. Will definitely be back.
Track was truly wonderful, especially at night.... but racing for the first time on a single speed I was feeling that the section with the switchback climbs and short steep fireroad at around 12km in was there to just personally f@*k me up.
Very nasty, and having ridden Sparrow lots and never having seen a hill that size in Sparrow, totally unexpected.
But wasn't it good riding up it, past full geared walkers
craign
Likes Dirt
About midnight I think there was about 30 minutes between 2nd and 10th (or something like that). But then the attrition of the night started.
Apart from the Gu guys it was a pretty competitive and even field. How do we rig the rules to get them banned?
alchemist
Manly Warringah MTB Club
We don't need to ban them, just use traditional SS rules (beer laps and skuldugery).How do we rig the rules to get them banned?
Knopey
Likes Dirt
Weldtite were doing maintenance stuff and maybe repairs too (not sure), and JetBlack were doing repairs as well. I think both were retailing stuff too.
edit: Just saw that JetBlack and Weldtite are the same... or owned by the same mob... or distributed or something
http://www.mont24.com.au/gear/?IntCatId=25&IntContId=7616
edit: Just saw that JetBlack and Weldtite are the same... or owned by the same mob... or distributed or something
http://www.mont24.com.au/gear/?IntCatId=25&IntContId=7616
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Fat_Ride
Likes Bikes and Dirt
They came 2nd!Apart from the Gu guys it was a pretty competitive and even field. How do we rig the rules to get them banned?
It seems to be a battle between the GU/Yeti guys and the Rockstar guys at all the races.
nice mechanic
one of those bike culture guys was sitting there in the dark at 3am, in the cold wrapped up in a blanket. He didnt mind getting up and fixing my mates bike, all with a big smile on his face,what a legend.
that was my first ever race and everyone was very cool, and thumbs up to the check-point people cheering everyone on at the last lap, i felt like i was in the tour!
one of those bike culture guys was sitting there in the dark at 3am, in the cold wrapped up in a blanket. He didnt mind getting up and fixing my mates bike, all with a big smile on his face,what a legend.
that was my first ever race and everyone was very cool, and thumbs up to the check-point people cheering everyone on at the last lap, i felt like i was in the tour!
craign
Likes Dirt
I was talking about the SS category...
craign
Likes Dirt
I reckon it was the set up for that climb that made it hurt so much on the SS. The switchbacks, particularly the long off camber right hander were a bit of a grind especially in traffic. I was usually pretty dead at the top and messed up my line at the start of sidewinder just about every lap.
Moggio
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Getting behind people spinning up there on geared bikes really made that section hard (though of course thats their right to do that.. no complaining). I put a foot down once halfway up the switchbacks because of a blockage and starting again was just horrible. I was always so wasted by the beginning of Sidewinder I rode it like a drunk for around 200m.
I really enjoyed being jokingly jeared/encouraged by a much much faster geared rider at night on the creek run when he saw me spinning my legs madly to go fast. I asked whether he wanted to pass and he said something like "No, go just for it".
Which leads me to a recurring thought... why the hell single speed? I am loving SS even though it is harder for me than gears, but I just truly really enjoy it... just not exactly sure what it is.
Harder than gears? shhhh... that's what we tell them, but it's not that way in practice.
Seriously though... For the little bit of extra effort to get uphill, which you get used to (and even find easy after plenty of practice), the flats and downhills are pretty cruisy, and not having to think about gear selection all the time lets you enjoy the ride more.
Banned!!!! What
Apart from the Gu guys it was a pretty competitive and even field. How do we rig the rules to get them banned? :p[/QUOTE said:Mate don't try and have us banned!
TJB got me SS'ing 12mths ago and I'm hooked hard.
There's nothing like the silence of a SS ripping silently through the single track in the dark of night. Especially when you are overtaking gearies
No chain slap and no gear crunching, lovin' the smooth quiet ride.
The more people that give SS'ing a go the better I reckon.
Maybe some more SS specific events would start happening.
Awesome weekend! My first time at Sparrow hill and I think as others have suggested the SS just loves that track.
scbullit
Likes Dirt
I had one of the "rockstars" call "race leader coming through" only to then hear him go over the bars right behind me. He passed me a couple of hundred metres later, so he was ok, but I had a little chuckle...
I also had a chat with Paul Cole when he came past camp and he was telling me about those impatient wankers who barged through when the guy broke his leg. Paul was slowing everyone down and warning people of an injured rider, but these clowns kept going through...
Great event, and our team had some Sparrow virgins who were creaming themselves over the flowy single track!
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