pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Those new wheels really worked!
Port to Port 2018.... and a great ride was had by all!
- Thread starter Minlak
- Start date
Oddjob
Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
What were the bb and cranks you chewed out? You didn't use a 30mm spindle in a press fit frame did you?
Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
flamin'trek
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I was keen to do the 4 days this year, and let the convict 100 slide because of it. Life got in the way, but I’ve managed to get to day 4 this year. Hoping for the works next year.
flamin'trek
Likes Bikes and Dirt
My question becomes: Do you (with lack of match fitness):
1. Leave my car at the finish the day before and ride the flatish 16km to the start at sparrow fart? Quick and easy home.
2. Leave car half way somewhere along the Fernleigh and ride to start, then suffer Scenic Dr + Fernleigh climbs on the way back with toasted legs?
3. Leave car at start, ride 15km home on toasted legs and get the car on Monday (RDO)? There is a decent hill or two on route.
1. Leave my car at the finish the day before and ride the flatish 16km to the start at sparrow fart? Quick and easy home.
2. Leave car half way somewhere along the Fernleigh and ride to start, then suffer Scenic Dr + Fernleigh climbs on the way back with toasted legs?
3. Leave car at start, ride 15km home on toasted legs and get the car on Monday (RDO)? There is a decent hill or two on route.
Ultra Lord
Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Leave car at start. Cab home after. Win-win
Minlak
custom titis
There is a shuttle on the morning of the 4th stage that takes you from the finish to the start.
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Get dropped off. Meet driver post race at Nag's Head (downhill) or Surfhouse (mostly down hill) for postgraduate refreshments. Have them drive you home while you're in a state of "recovery".
And if you aren't completely cooked, Meet for a post ride protein overdose.
I would need one the other way around.
flamin'trek
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Sold out. That's what you get for a late entry.
Inner tight-arse says no. Cab with bike could be an issue too.
Most likely try to arrange a lift to the start and leave my car nearby the end the night before.
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Good luck! And welcome to the most populated ghost town in Australia. Where are you staying?
Minlak
custom titis
We are staying in Mayfield but don’t forget the AVO says you need to stay two suburbs away
flamin'trek
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Good luck. If you make it to Sunday I might see you there!
Poodles or yours?We are staying in Mayfield but don’t forget the AVO says you need to stay two suburbs away
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
He is surprisingly close...but I don't head over that way too often, the locals look at my bike with too much lust.We are staying in Mayfield but don’t forget the AVO says you need to stay two suburbs away
Minlak still alive?
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
I didn't see him at the last leg, but I arrived on site around the closing time. The Parks team did a controlled burn in a small area adjoining part of the race location a few days before the race. It was still smouldering on the weekend. I wondered why they didn't wait until this week.
Minlak
custom titis
It's Aliiiivvvveeeee!!! .......
Stage 1:
This was a lot of public road dirt up a mountain down the mountain up the mountain.I was very happy / surprised with my effort I rode the climbs and passed some people I never expected to then the "Single Trail" hit. It was around 5 kms of enduro motorbike trail that was churned up and shit before I got there let alone after 500 bikes had passed over it (they had actually held an enduro motorbike race on them at Easter). For me it was unridable and it cut along, down and around the side of the mountain so we dropped elevation that had to be taken back before we got home. At the 28km mark my knee started to hurt but I finished the stage. One rider was choppered out (we haven't heard how she is and was in a very bad way when I went past) after a very fast crash on a dirt road descent.
Pros:
Amazing views
Undulating hillsides
Cons:
"Single Trail" universally bagged by everyone
Stage 2:
Swollen Knee could barely walk and after advice from yesterdays sweep it was going to be much more technical with pinch climbs so I just spectated.
Stage 3:
Decided the knee was just pain and we can all push past it so rode as we had come so far anyway. This stage utilised some of the Awaba trail network that was amazing. We did about 12kms of single trail then came onto the road and climbed a friggin mountain literally. Could ride at 4km/hr or walk at about 4.5km/hr so did a mixture of both. I rode at the back with a group of 6 that all bailed on day 4. We didn't even come last and they all said they were out. Saw a few retired from this stage with broken bikes in the single track.
Pros:
Single trail for sure
Amazing views
Cons:
Every marshall telling you its all down from here (it never was)
Now Garmin Elevation has this as more than stage 1 by about 30m Strava says lower.
Stage 4:
This was pretty brutal mentally as I was backing up from stage 3 after a huge stage 1 and I hurt. i dug deep and pushed away the pain and just had to deal with the fatigue. We went through a lot of amazing single trail here but mentally it fucked me as every time you would climb to the top you would loop back to the bottom. Rinse and repeat about 5 times. Amazing network and I am sure would have enjoyed it in any other scenario. Some techy bits I am still not sure how I didn't die on.Almost stacked it 3 times in this section 2 of which were up hill sharp corners where the front wheel unloaded and just skipped out. Fatigue contributed to that. one was just pure and simple I got half way in to the descent and committed with out realising I didn't have the skill to commit. The single trail claimed 2 broken wrists so it wasn't just me finding it tough. After the single trail we hit a bit of suburbia then we hit the beach. Yup the fucking beach!! I can tell you the only people not shitty at the end were the sponsored riders not paying for their own shit 3 brutal days and they run you through 2kms of soft unridable barely walkable sand. Out of the sand and on to some more single trail. this is where I came across 3 guys walking together as one of them had a broken chain. All of them were on older style cheaper bikes ( I say this to paint a picture not be derogatory) I asked do you not have a quicklink? Which of course they didn't and the look of sheer surprise was amazing when I said I did. "Really" they asked and I said "sure I do I am a mountinbiker". They gathered around in awe when I pulled out the multitool to remove the pin on his broken quicklink. I felt like a god then and there. Fixed it up and then on to the finish.
Pros:
Really good single trail
Great views
Cons:
The beach
Cheaters (I will expand on this below)
Overall:
141Kms
3518m elevation
13hrs 24m Saddle time
The event was amazing and they cater more for the accomplished rider. Everyday people were dropping out after not realising what they had signed up for and I ran into heaps of roadies and triathlet's that were riding mountain bikes for the first time or close to the first time. This caused a bit of a mess in the single trail as they had no idea of trail etiquette they were just absorbed with themselves and didn't clear the trail quickly when they couldn't do something. Me being at the back wasn't really effected but the people I went with are more elite and ran into problems. As they were on time constraints if you were at the back they would shuttle you up the hills or divert you to an quicker route to open the roads again which is fair enough. However the trick here is to be slow enough that happens not just quick enough that they just shuttle people past you.
Cheating is a difficult term to use as mostly you cheated yourself. Often the marshalls would re-route you or shuttle you however on stage 4 in particular in the single trail it looped back past itself a lot. There were quite a few people that I had passed on the single trail that beat me substantially to the finish. they had just cut off most of the single trail and jumped across to the out track. There were no marshalls in the single trail to reroute they had just decided to. Stage 4 in particular was bolstered with lots of 1 day riders who I think thought it was a lovely Sunday morning bike ride to do with family and friends they were so wrong.
Final words:- Super proud of what I did but super disappointed I didn't attempt stage 2. I do believe if i had done stage 2 I would have failed stage 4 but will never know for sure now. Do i recommend it? Yup its an experience. Would I do again yes but only after I had ticked other things off my bucket list.
Stage 1:
This was a lot of public road dirt up a mountain down the mountain up the mountain.I was very happy / surprised with my effort I rode the climbs and passed some people I never expected to then the "Single Trail" hit. It was around 5 kms of enduro motorbike trail that was churned up and shit before I got there let alone after 500 bikes had passed over it (they had actually held an enduro motorbike race on them at Easter). For me it was unridable and it cut along, down and around the side of the mountain so we dropped elevation that had to be taken back before we got home. At the 28km mark my knee started to hurt but I finished the stage. One rider was choppered out (we haven't heard how she is and was in a very bad way when I went past) after a very fast crash on a dirt road descent.
Pros:
Amazing views
Undulating hillsides
Cons:
"Single Trail" universally bagged by everyone
Stage 2:
Swollen Knee could barely walk and after advice from yesterdays sweep it was going to be much more technical with pinch climbs so I just spectated.
Stage 3:
Decided the knee was just pain and we can all push past it so rode as we had come so far anyway. This stage utilised some of the Awaba trail network that was amazing. We did about 12kms of single trail then came onto the road and climbed a friggin mountain literally. Could ride at 4km/hr or walk at about 4.5km/hr so did a mixture of both. I rode at the back with a group of 6 that all bailed on day 4. We didn't even come last and they all said they were out. Saw a few retired from this stage with broken bikes in the single track.
Pros:
Single trail for sure
Amazing views
Cons:
Every marshall telling you its all down from here (it never was)
Now Garmin Elevation has this as more than stage 1 by about 30m Strava says lower.
Stage 4:
This was pretty brutal mentally as I was backing up from stage 3 after a huge stage 1 and I hurt. i dug deep and pushed away the pain and just had to deal with the fatigue. We went through a lot of amazing single trail here but mentally it fucked me as every time you would climb to the top you would loop back to the bottom. Rinse and repeat about 5 times. Amazing network and I am sure would have enjoyed it in any other scenario. Some techy bits I am still not sure how I didn't die on.Almost stacked it 3 times in this section 2 of which were up hill sharp corners where the front wheel unloaded and just skipped out. Fatigue contributed to that. one was just pure and simple I got half way in to the descent and committed with out realising I didn't have the skill to commit. The single trail claimed 2 broken wrists so it wasn't just me finding it tough. After the single trail we hit a bit of suburbia then we hit the beach. Yup the fucking beach!! I can tell you the only people not shitty at the end were the sponsored riders not paying for their own shit 3 brutal days and they run you through 2kms of soft unridable barely walkable sand. Out of the sand and on to some more single trail. this is where I came across 3 guys walking together as one of them had a broken chain. All of them were on older style cheaper bikes ( I say this to paint a picture not be derogatory) I asked do you not have a quicklink? Which of course they didn't and the look of sheer surprise was amazing when I said I did. "Really" they asked and I said "sure I do I am a mountinbiker". They gathered around in awe when I pulled out the multitool to remove the pin on his broken quicklink. I felt like a god then and there. Fixed it up and then on to the finish.
Pros:
Really good single trail
Great views
Cons:
The beach
Cheaters (I will expand on this below)
Overall:
141Kms
3518m elevation
13hrs 24m Saddle time
The event was amazing and they cater more for the accomplished rider. Everyday people were dropping out after not realising what they had signed up for and I ran into heaps of roadies and triathlet's that were riding mountain bikes for the first time or close to the first time. This caused a bit of a mess in the single trail as they had no idea of trail etiquette they were just absorbed with themselves and didn't clear the trail quickly when they couldn't do something. Me being at the back wasn't really effected but the people I went with are more elite and ran into problems. As they were on time constraints if you were at the back they would shuttle you up the hills or divert you to an quicker route to open the roads again which is fair enough. However the trick here is to be slow enough that happens not just quick enough that they just shuttle people past you
.Cheating is a difficult term to use as mostly you cheated yourself. Often the marshalls would re-route you or shuttle you however on stage 4 in particular in the single trail it looped back past itself a lot. There were quite a few people that I had passed on the single trail that beat me substantially to the finish. they had just cut off most of the single trail and jumped across to the out track. There were no marshalls in the single trail to reroute they had just decided to. Stage 4 in particular was bolstered with lots of 1 day riders who I think thought it was a lovely Sunday morning bike ride to do with family and friends they were so wrong.
Final words:- Super proud of what I did but super disappointed I didn't attempt stage 2. I do believe if i had done stage 2 I would have failed stage 4 but will never know for sure now. Do i recommend it? Yup its an experience. Would I do again yes but only after I had ticked other things off my bucket list.
Daniel Hale
She fid, he fid, I fidn't
well done, so sounds like the course could have been better?
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Well done. That is a lot of pedalling.