The motor cortex

Back racing

soloxxiv — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:58:48 +0000

Wednesday night brought the first sessions of the Newcastle Velodrome Club Championships. I entered, knowing full well that I haven’t done any track racing this season, but then again I guess it’s never too late to start. I was to race two events over a mighty distance of 1.2km total. First up was the flying 200m, then a break while the other events were run, then the 1km time trial.

The flying 200m is pretty straightforward – full gas for 200m. The best in the world do it in less than 10 seconds. The best at our meet are in the 11-second category, which is not bad for a bumpy outdoor track. My time is a bit off that, coming in at a tardy 13.2 seconds, but enough for second place in B grade. In hindsight I came off the banking too early, and wasn’t able to use the full slingshot effect.

My flying 200m effort from the Mini DV on the top tube. I adjusted the angle a bit and the track looks a bit better

This is how it’s done. The A Grade boys giving it full gas. Shot from the infield with my iPhone.

Next week brings the Scratch Race and the Individual Pursuit. I’m not sure how I’ll fare in either of those events but it’ll be good fun to give it a go. I’ve got some nice TT bars on the way from the USA and I’m hoping they get here and I get a chance to try them before I need to use them in anger. Come on USPS Express!

Speaking of trying things in anger, I’ve decided to make the most out of the $300-odd it costs for a licence these days and I’ll race at every opportunity. Today’s racing was out on the Kooragang circuit, with the Hunter Valley Veterans Club holding their monthly invitational event. I stayed up late the night before fiddling around getting the Zipps installed and managed to do so with a minimum of fuss. The downside was the fact I had to drive out as I don’t yet have a reliable spare tubular, nor a can of sealant. Judging by the fact I saw one rider puncture on the way out there, one rider mid-race, and three riders on the way home (one with a double blowout) I think I made the right call. Plus, 50km at redline turned out to be more than enough.

It was a fast paced B grade bunch made up of about 30 riders. There was a moderate southerly which made things interesting, and some intermittent drizzle kept most people on their toes (and brakes). I kept myself at the front, but was poorly positioned coming into the last corner and was 3rd wheel as the sprint wound up. I placed 4th in the sprint but 5th overall. There was some monster off the front who had solo’d away for victory by about 15 seconds who had gotten away with a lap to go and held off a rather disorganised chase. I’ll be keeping an eye out for him next time.

It really all comes down to tactics when you’re reasonably evenly matched physiologically, and I learned a few lessons about not wasting energy doing big turns, closing gaps, and being at the front in a head-wind. At least there’s always next time.

As for the wheels themselves – amazing. Who knows how much is psychological when you put on your race wheels, but these things made me feel like I was flying. Believe the hype people. There was almost no interference in the crosswind, and the acceleration and speed out of corners and out of the saddle is something to behold. I was constantly looking down to see what gear I was in! The tubulars held fast, and the braking with the Zipp Tangente pads was solid and predictable, something I was surprised about after reading negative reviews about cork pads in general. Plus they make the bike look bad ass too, I’m sorry to take them off and replace with the humble Mavics for commuting.

Strava tells me I’m just about to click over 1000km for the year, which is not a bad start. I’ve also shed 6kg of my Tamworth lard and on my way back to a decent racing weight. I’ve also joined a local 24-hour gym to get in a bit of strength training when time allows. Here’s hoping I can maintain this momentum. See you out there.

Not-so-candid camera

soloxxiv — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 06:14:20 +0000

The BB and the camera arrived this week on the slow boat (plane?) from Hong Kong. The boom is really on with these cheap websites, and it shows just how hard it is for the local bike shops to keep up. I mean a ceramic CNC’d bottom bracket for $50? It’s just not going to happen. However, where bike shops will stay afloat is in expertise. There are parts to building and maintaining a bike that I cannot do myself, and I am more than happy to pay for the experience of the local mechanics (e.g. the incredible job done by the boys at Gateshead cycles getting my 29er ready for the 24h last year).

That aside I was keen to get the bits unboxed and check them out. The Unknown Rider has already had some experience with his Mini DV, but I was keen to try it on a smoother surface (albeit not that much smoother). I ended up going for the top tube, and the results are below.

The bottom bracket came nicely packaged in an original box. No way to prove the bearings are indeed ceramic (apart from the tick on the box and the printing on the cartridge), but it spins as smooth as butter. Installed as simply as you’d expect, and came with a few spacers to get the Q-factor right.

This gives you an idea of size. This has a few mounting options, but for the moment it’s on the track bike head tube. I might play with another mount for the roadie as well as a helmet mount for off-road shenanigans.

The camera mount on the head tube. Also note the race wheels, I’m sick of these gathering dust in the shed, so tonight they’re coming out to play.

So that’s it for now. More video tweaks to come; I’m keen to try to overlay the Garmin data which I’ve seen on other sites. I’m also playing with the video angle to try to catch more of the track (rather than just random sky and the riders arse in front of me). I’ll post up more as they’re edited. If the links are broken, then it’s probably just the music heavies coming down on me for reposting copyrighted songs, but it sounds alot better than the raw audio of me literally red-lining and dying.

Post exam wheel-building

soloxxiv — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 06:24:05 +0000

It’s been a quiet few weeks with my attention diverted to some last minute study for my Pharmacology and Statistics exam. Man, talk about dry. Hence why the study was put off, and put off, resulting in a few weeks of intense cramming. There were facts zooming around in my head for those precious three hours that are now long gone. Now, the waiting game begins to see whether I score an invite to Melbourne for the Viva component. The good: this exam costs the same as a new Ti frame (plus a few carbon bits), so if I make it then there well be a just reward. Just in time for Dirtworks too…

With the exam pain fading I ventured out into the back yard to put together the components that have been slowly accumulating in the shed and waiting for the day when they would come together. In classic Rob (and Rossco) style, they didn’t come together without a hitch, which I’ll explain below. Thanks to Google for the solution. Apologies to my neighbours for anything that may have been said in the heat of the moment.

Rim Strips

I went with the Stan’s tape and Olympic valves. After having good success with the ol’ rubber rim strip and tape on the original wheelset, I thought I’d go with the recommended yellow tape. Easy to install and the tyres went up without a hitch (using the compressor). I stuck with the Ralphs as they already have a nice coat of sealant over the porous bits, and also the price was right.

Single Speed Conversion

After not wanting to use a generic spacer kit, I found a company in the States called Q2 doing a carbon one for the same price. Absolutely no performance enhancement, but it looks nice and the variety of spacer combos means that a straight chainline was easy to achieve.

The Centrelock Rotors

After talking to The Unknown Rider/Trail Master/Event Promotor I was swayed against the 6-bolt conversion, and opted for a set of new XTR Centrelock rotors. Installation is simple as, no hassling with a torque wrench and alternating Torx screws. Just thread up and your’re done! Or, so I thought. See the Centrelock Rotor sits on a large 5-arm mount, which makes the rotor true and strong, but it also means that they are not compatible with Avid calipers as the disc tabs project into the path of the spinning arms. So, wheels installed, mounted, tightened, and… nothing. After a few slow deep breaths I Googled my frustration and the answer came to me – angle grinder. Just grind the tabs away, too easy. After digging my grinder out of the shed and plugging it in, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and removed the tabs from the bike rather than attempting to grind in situ. 30 seconds of angle grinding loving and I was rolling. Oh, and the Avid turkey warble is gone, these things are completely silent.

Note the clearance. Millimeters. Seems to be ok on the test ride.

The DT Swiss RWS System

I’ve read mixed reviews on these, and seeing as DT Swiss has already released an upgraded version of the skewers I’d say that some of the early complaints may be founded in reality. What I like so far is that they were free with the wheelset, they’re super chunky, solid yet light, and provided that you’re not too ham-fisted, then you shouldn’t have any issues with the ratchet system failing. However, saying that, why they’d choose to make a component that you’re going to be twisting with reasonable force and that is prone to impact out of plastic escapes me. So I expect these to last until at least my first crash, which is usually on my first ride back from a prolonged MTB absence. Damn, I’d better start saving for the upgraded ones now.

As a plus they did bolt straight into the frame, and with the handy little drive side screw on the GT’s rear dropout I’m hoping wheel slippage won’t be an issue. In fact, at a peak power of about 250W I’m betting it won’t be! The other bonus is doing away with the rear bolts, and no longer needing to carry a 15mm ring spanner duct-taped to my frame.

The rest

The last time this bike was actually ridden was the Coghead Sawmill ride, which saw the bike (and rider) in practical full-immersion. A lesson learnt thereafter was that single speed bikes are low maintenance, not no maintenance. The second hand XT bottom bracket has called it a day, and there is a replacement on way from Hong Kong. There is a company called GUB that are hawking ceramic BB’s for $50. They seem to get decent reviews, so how could I say no? Once it’s here and installed (and ridden) I’ll post a review.

Overall

I’m very happy with the way these came together. Through good luck and online shopping I’ve come away with a decent wheelset for under a grand. It brings the bike to 11.2kg and I now also realise that the only original thing left on the bike is the frame itself! Of course the proof will be when I actually get to ride these things in anger, and I’m hoping to have a weekend free and a racing licence soon. See you out there.

So far, so good

soloxxiv — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:31:27 +0000

Ah, it’s good to be back. Here we are just over 3 weeks into the new year. My friends at Strava tell me I’ve logged 528km for the month. It’s been a good start, and I’ve really enjoyed being back on the bike. Long days and warm weather must have something to do with it, as well as being able to come home to my own place every night. I’ve been doing the commute to and from work, and it works out at a measly 5km each way, with only the little stint up Bridges Rd to get the hr going. I think the best thing to do will be to add in a quick loop though town of an afternoon to make up some distance. The Newy Cogheads have some early starts twice a week, but the intensity looks like it might leave me nothing to run on for the rest of the day at work, so I’ll pass on those at the moment.

Being back in the whole social networking thing has been good. As well as a monumental time-waster, it has allowed me to keep in touch with the local cycling and I’ve been out on a few of the Coghead rides. The most recent for me being the Sawmill track in the Watagans. It started off pretty hard, with a slow slog up Deadmans Gap, but from there turned into a great series of single-trails and some techy fire-road. I’d definitely go back there again. Unfortunately, after a busy week I was not keen to get up at 0500 on Saturday for the McLovin’ 1000, and by all accounts I missed a great ride. Instead, I went on two road rides over the weekend – one routine, and one epic.

Saturday was just a routine lap around town, and this 40km has quickly established itself as my favourite way to knock out a quick training ride. 40km and 400m of climbing and you’re back within 1:30 and the day’s not written off. So given my newfound mojo, I set about planning an early morning Sunday ride. I wanted about 3 hours, and about 1000m of climbing. What I ended up with was 120km, 1500m of climbing and a lesson in biting off more than you can chew.

Sugarloaf and Deadmans. Ouch.

I set off at 0800 knowing that it was going to be a warm day. I packed two bidons and some cash for a resupply. The plan was to tackle Sugarloaf and Deadmans, and then head home. On paper it looked like two climbs followed by some flat cruising. Unfortunately, it was a bit further than I suspected and the false flats around Freeman’s Waterhole took their toll, as did the rising head wind and increasing temperatures. The two service station stops saved the day, and I came home a little sunburned and with a better understanding about my disparity between my expectations and my ability. Of both the climbs, I found Sugarloaf to be significantly harder, especially the middle section that reduced me to 6km/h. Given that, and the fact that it’s closer to me than Deadmans, I think it’s going to be my go-to hill for suffering for the time being.

I haven’t made any progress on the bike front. My new wheels are sitting in the study, in need of rim tape, valves, tyres, and rotors. They did come with some super chunky DTSwiss RWS skewers, and I’m looking forward to seeing how these go in the singlespeed frame. Reports on the internet are mixed, with people snapping levers like twigs, but time will tell.

In random news, I did pass The Unknown Doppelgänger on the Fernleigh the other day. I say this because I passed a guy hammering away on a rigid steel 29er with an Alfine rear hub. If it were the Unknown Rider, I doubt I would have caught him.

Tomorrow presents itself as a glorious public holiday, and I intend to celebrate my Australian-ness by heading out around the lake. Hope you’re planning something similar.

The end of my country sojourn

soloxxiv — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 07:33:10 +0000

It’s my last night in town and I’ve finished the days operating and I am patiently awaiting the first of what I will imagine to be many casualties of the Country Music Festival. Moreso, I’m keen to get back to Newcastle and regain my life both at home, at work, and on the bike. It’s all coming up Millhouse at the moment with long days, plenty of riding opportunites, ProTour racing on TV and the steady trickle of components arriving into the household.

I’ve managed to clock up a few hundred k’s so far this year, but once again that all grinds to a halt when I have to pack up my life and drive back this way. Riding this week gave way to a myriad of social outings and farewells culminating in a big night out last night and not enough sleep to be of much use today.

First and foremost is the arrival of my belated Christmas gift from Ms Motor Cortex. A nice set of Stans Arch 29ers on some DT240s. Complete with an extra set of Aerolite spokes and DT skewers. This of course is just the first slip in what is going to be an avalanche of new components over the coming months as I need to buy a single speed spacer kit, some tuggnuts, rim tape, valves, rotors, adaptors, and most importantly tyres to get these things installed on the 9r. Then of course comes the conundrum as to what to do with the frame? I’m hoping there’s a titanium answer for that, so stay tuned for updates. In unrelated news, I have a kidney for sale. Enquire below.

In the spirit of reciprocity, I bestowed unto Ms Motor Cortex the gift of a Dutch City bike. I am awaiting the ride report from The Unknown Rider with regard to his Alfine hub. This little beauty has a Nexus 3-speed, and by all accounts its a great little hub. It’s got a very wide range, as you’d expect, but for Newcastle’s flat streets and gentle grades (with exception to the Cols and Alpes I log in Strava), the set-up is perfect. A recommended gift for the bike-widow in your life.

So, what more is there to say? Not much really, except I’ve missed my week on the bike (and I note that the Power Granger has pipped me up King Edward), so I’ll be back with a vengeance. Looking forward to riding on and off the road, and generally getting on with life in the big smoke.

See y’all soon pardners!

Getting schooled by the Unknown Rider

soloxxiv — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:03:30 +0000

Five days and 250km into the new year and I’m starting to feel it a bit. My head has rushed headlong into training and capitalising on my newfound mojo, but the legs are not quite catching up. The last two days have seen two morning road rides with Rossco, and both times I’ve been placed in the hurt-box. The old rule of doing 10% more than the week prior falls apart when the week prior was spent on the sofa alternating beer and bacon. More-so when the last six months have followed that pattern.

I’m going to do another flat tempo ride tomorrow, and then Friday will be a day of rest. Saturday is looking good for a Coghead ride that starts with a 10km 1000m climb. Fun times ahead. I’ll also be waiting patiently by the mailbox for my belated Christmas present: a set of Stan’s Arch rims laced to a set of DT 240s. I’m inching towards my dream bike, pics to follow.

A good start

soloxxiv — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:44:43 +0000

Well I have capitalised on my New Year’s Resolution(s) and have made it out every day so far. Nothing to write home about just yet, but nice to be slowly getting back into the groove of things. A southerly change has blown through town and dropped the temperature a few degrees, but also added the element of a head wind, the upside obviously being the tail wind (when you can find it). I rolled around town on Monday and rode over a few small hills to log some Strava times and to get the ball rolling. The rides can be shared via Facebook or Twitter, so I can spare the duplicity of reproducing them here in great detail. I’ve never been a big fan of the ‘book, but it looks like I’ll have to relent as there is just so much cycling related stuff on there with regards to training rides etc, so I might give it a look.

Monday’s Ride

Not a bad 58km, going over King Edward, Scenic and Main Rd in Cardiff. Ran out of food about 10k’s from home, and paid for it.

Today’s Ride

Out to work with Rossco, in a very pleasant tail wind. Unfortunately the head wind back was not so much fun. Had a go at getting up Jesmond Hill, only to find out that I’m still off the pace. Still, all these numbers are fun.

Other stuff

I’m looking around at upgrading the 29er in preparation for DirtWorks. I’ve settled on the Lynskey Ridgeline SL (as a frameset, with the plan to transport all the upgrades from the 9r and restore it to its original spec), and I’m now waiting to scrape together the bananas to pay for such a purchase. I also note that The Unknown Rider’s mini HD camera has arrived, so I’ll be looking forward to seeing how that sub-$20 piece of magic goes and whether it’s worth me getting one too. There’s talk of a decent Watagans ride on Saturday which might be a go-er (once I get the gear lower on the 29er). Other than that, it’s just a few more road rides, then a date with the scales at the end of the week. Hopefully once I’m back from Tamworth I’ll be able to sneak in a race or two.

2010 in review

soloxxiv — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 02:52:13 +0000

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,000 times in 2010. That’s about 7 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 64 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 66 posts. There were 28 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 17mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was May 3rd with 98 views. The most popular post that day was DirtWorks 100km.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were pi11wizard.wordpress.com, rotorburn.com, newcastlecycling.smfnew.com, alphainventions.com, and fixedgearfever.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for the motor cortex, raw track paul craft, dirtworks 100km, dirt works 100 2010, and gefsco bicycles.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

DirtWorks 100km May 2010
2 comments

My Bikes December 2009

About Me December 2009

New fork February 2010
1 comment

Sydney Sprint Series April 2010
3 comments

The hair of the dog (track)

soloxxiv — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:08:56 +0000

Well, true to my word I was up and atom on new years day. The unknown rider had mentioned that there was a group ride on organised by the local MTB mafia, aka the Newy Cogheads. These guys seem to be a great bunch of people and seem to have a mix of riders from your average weekend warrior right up to the gun XC racer. The plan was to meet at 0730 out at Edgeworth McDonalds and head out for a 2+ hour loop known as the ‘dog track’, named after one member’s local training run with his faithful canine. After doing the loop, I can imagine that it must be one fit dog, as I was firmly reminded of what six months of hibernation does to your physiology.

I met up with the unknown rider and the DanBot for the road commute out to Edgeworth and the smooth road lulled me into a false sense of security. The only concerns at this stage were the weather, which was heating up quickly, and my leaking CamelBack that had been unearthed from the unknown rider’s house the night before, and rid of any potential strains of penicillin. However, a quick lesson in physics had the leak sorted, and we were ready to hit the trails.

The dog track is a nice mixture of single and double track that has been well worn in my motorbikes in most places. A few pinchy climbs are rewarded with some lovely flowing singletrack and a tunnel shoot-though that has to be ridden to be believed. The first thing I noticed was that despite the diverse level of fitness amongst the group, they were all technically much better than me, picking the better lines and bombing descents that had me grabbing brake for dear life. After two hours and depleting water supplies, I pulled the pin and headed home whist the core riders went back in for more.

In the end it was 46km, 3 and a half hours, and I was totally spent. I got home, drank about ten thousand litres of water and then had a siesta. My kidneys didn’t spring back to life until sometime in the late afternoon, and only after I kickstarted them with a few beers.

Lessons learnt today included thinking about the ride and perhaps choosing a more appropriate gear if there’s going to be some climbing. By the end of the ride I was getting technically better but need to keep the habit going if I want the skills to stay current. I also learned that it’s foolhardy to try to keep up with the unknown rider on the descents, despite his rigid 29er. Thanks again to the Newy Cogheads for allowing me to tag along. Great to be back out with Rossco and the DanBot.

The day after

This morning I awoke to overcast and humid conditions, but felt refreshed after a good night’s sleep. I was going to go out today, by any means necessary, as DanBot had pointed me to a new website that categorised and ranked your rides, a la the grand tours! All you do is upload your gps data, and presto, you’re in Fred-heaven. So today was a test ride to log some data and give me a (suitably low) baseline from which to work on. The only way from here is up! The weather was not too overbearing and the roads were pretty quiet, so I ended up doing a pretty slow 48km that included a mandatory coffee stop at Estabar.

It took me a long time to find my rhythm this morning, and I really got the feeling of ‘pedalling squares’ until the last 30min. I got home, showered, and signed up to www.strava.com. I had to laugh at my meagre results, but wow, what a motivator to see how you’re fairing against the rest. DanBot, I’m looking in your direction. For someone who’s short-term goal oriented and keen on instant feedback, this is liquid gold. Time to start shedding some kg’s and hitting some cols (well, Newcastle cols).

As Eddy Merckx once said – Don’t buy upgrades; Ride up grades.

Looking back, and looking forward.

soloxxiv — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 06:05:26 +0000

So we’ve reached the end of 2010, and it’s time to note a few things. Firstly, if you’re reading this then it’s more likely that you’ve stumbled across this by pure chance, as I’ve not updated this in many months. Lots has happened in that time, not all of it good. I’ll summarise the goings-on of the last few months, then look at where I’m headed in 2011.

It’s been a quiet few months on the bike front. Tamworth, with all it’s potential, remained an untapped well. I managed to get out on only a handful of occasions. It’s such a shame, as the riding here is excellent, with long quiet backroads, and a concrete 250m velodrome. Instead of riding, I used the colder parts of the year to hit the gym with gusto. Lifting weights became a great way to get the stress out after a hard day’s work, but contributed nothing as far as cardiovascular fitness went. I also changed my diet, upping the protein, and this has meant that I’ve added over 12kg to my frame. The plus side was watching my squat and press strength improve, the downside is the fact that I’m now too heavy to safely ride those lovely 404s. As the weather has warmed and the daylight encroached on the mornings, I made it out a few times with the locals and also ventured down to the track. Alas, any form that I was carrying earlier this year has long deserted me, and I find myself back at square one (albeit a year older and a damn side heavier). So, on with the highlights and the lowlights of 2010.

Highlights

It’s been a great read going back over the earlier blog posts and seeing what I was able to achieve. In the end, I made it close to my 2010 goals.

1. The Solo Nationals. They seem like forever ago, and they were, but getting to the end of that ride in one piece and (just) making the cut for the worlds was awesome. The suffering has long since faded and I’m left with the memories of the sunrise, the last 500m, and the post-race beers and pizza.

2. Local racing. Going from the backs of D grade to being a B grade contender on the road, track and dirt. Watching my fitness improve and learning a bit of race craft.

3. The Dirtworks 100km. My best result at a longer race. Still need to get the foot and hand issues perfected, but now I have a benchmark to be beaten in 2011.

4. Getting the Physiology Exam. In the end I wimped out and have sat the Primary Exam in two parts. Got the first bit ticked off this year, and now I’m on the run into the Pharmacology part.

5. Buying a house. This means that I have a bit of dirt and wood to call my own. Located near the Unknown Rider and closer to all the good riding spots in town. One less excuse now.

Casa de Cortex Motore

Lowlights

1. Stopping riding. The excuses flowed all-too-readily. Cold. Dark. On-call overnight, no sleep. Raining (did it ever!). Might be busy today, so no ride this morning (yep, it got that sad). What did I learn? Once you stop it’s easy to fall into a rut. Day to day I let it slip little by little, and then all that hard work is for nought. For all the hassle of getting up early, once you’re on the bike it all disappears and you feel fine. The secret is to get into the habit of exercising so that it becomes second nature.

2. Diet. Being away from Mrs Motor Cortex and our kitchen full of wholesome foods has not gone well. Weekends back home were spent cafe-hopping and drinking nice wine. That would have been fine had I been actually exercising during the week. A high protein diet is all well and fine when you’re lifting six days a week (as I was), but all those calories have to go somewhere. Dammit why does bacon have to taste so good?

I suppose the biggest letdown was missing the Solo 24 Worlds. I had paid for my spot and had the event all mapped out, but it fell too close to the exams, so that will have to wait for another day. It was great to read The Unknown Rider’s blog and follow him lap by lap as he did so well.

So this brings us up to 2011. And it’s time to lay down the goals.

1. Training. More of it, more often. Fewer excuses and a newfound respect for getting into a routine. Again, I’ll use the blog to lay out the weeks events, discuss what went right and wrong, and perhaps throw in an entertaining tale or two. The plan will be to ride to work more often, now that I am a more respectable distance away and no longer working any on-call. I have spent money this year on cold and wet weather gear meaning that I no longer have cold and wet weather excuses. The aim will be to knock over 200km a week with time spent working on weak areas such as climbing. At least one mtb ride a week and one race a fortnight.

2. Racing. The goal will be a humble one, and that’s to get back to where I was in May 2010. I managed to win a B-grade MTB race, and place on the road, so there’s no reason why I can’t do this again. I’ve entered the DirtWorks 100km in May, and the goal will be to beat last year’s time, and move up the placings a bit.

3. Diet. Well I have to shed this winter coat and get back to my fighting weight, which is just under 80kg. The trade-off is that I want to keep the strength I’ve gained as a result of lifting weights over the last 6 months. I’ll be adding in gym sessions to the training, but not the same volume as now. Perhaps 2-3 times a week.

4. Skills. I still have alot to learn about riding over all disciplines, and the plan this year is to be a smoother rider both on and off the road. Last year I made big gains when racing by taking better lines, etc so more of that is in order. That also translates to smarter riding on the road.

5. Equipment. Not much to say here. I need to get some decent MTB shoes sorted and I’ll wait for the right pair to come along at the right price. I’m keen to get the 29er up to race spec and return the Peace 9r to it’s original config to pass on. Again, this means I’m waiting for the right pair of wheels and the right frame. I have a few things in mind, stay posted.

6. Work. I have to take care of this second exam, and the sooner the better. That means evenings in front of the books rather than the playstation. I’d rather not have it hanging over my head for the next 6 months, plus the exam costs as much as a Ti 29er frame and a set of wheels, so what other motivation do I need?

Right. There’s not much else to say. I’m back, I have a plan, and I’ve rediscovered my love of riding. No time like the present.