CTS photos

Big Mak ripping into the last uphill switch back before the descent to the finish

Me riding tempo being chased by my team mates cheering me on.... thanx for the photo Gav, you caught my best side!

Tim Ferris who some might know from his solo efforts on the local and world stage ripping it up on the trainer impersonating a garden gnome!

Marty giving it some on the 29er on his first lap!

The start chute on the first lap

CTS 3

Raced the CTS in a team of three yesterday. I was a bit tired as I had watched the last night of mountain fun live from the Tour on SBS the night before. So after a few brews in the morning I was pumped for a decent hit out as I had a very quiet week on the exercise front.

Gav and I made the early trek out to pick up Marty's gear and get a park in the car park. The day was a sunny, cold wind with a nice dry track and would prove to be a great day for riding. The plan of the day was simple ride as fast as you could. I was not that excited about trying to nail it up the comm games course hill as I have a bit of a mental problem with it, but I was up for the challenge.

Marty was the first out of the blocks for us and had us in a great position after the first lap, but suffered with some mechanical issues that required a bike change (luckily he lives 5 mins from the park). Gav had a solid hit out and was posting nice times on his single speed 29er. Me, I had a great first 5 mins of my lap until I suffered a minor mechanical which I sorted and still did a decent time. My 2nd lap was better and smashed it just missing out on a sub 40 min lap..... bloody hills and flat fire road! not a good combo for me. My final lap was a smash session and riding tempo in the middle of the course I over cooked myself and struggled up the final climb. I had Gav and Marty chasing me on the course for moral support which was fun ( always nice having someone cheering you on) but I was only slightly slower than my 2nd lap.

We wrapped up the race in 6th position after 9 laps which we were happy with. It was a nice day.

My two complaints from this event is the conditions of the trails and some of the new trail is less than impressive and needs some sorting out big time! The berms section still needs a lot of work, not to mention the fast sections of the comms games course is full of brake rut's and needs to be fixed. I am unsure why there was a berm on a uphill S given the majority of riders only ride the course in 1 direction. The crew maintaining the trails are a welcome addition only if they build trail that is ridable (red gums is a example of shit trail maintenance) and enjoyable to ride.

The second complaint is the lack of atmosphere as most people were dotted along the first section of trail and did their rotations from their setup areas. The notable lack of support from anything other than SRAM and Trailmix was noted by most. Not long ago there were less competitors and more support from the Melburn cycling outfitters. I do realise that Trailmix is now the main sponsor but there is always room for more support from the wider community. I would mention the MC if he was worth mentioning..... enough said.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on some Schwable Racing Ralphs and cannot recommend them enough. Those bad boys were fast and hooked up when I needed them too. Thanks to my brother from another mother for hooking me up with them. Rich can be found at BSC in the city and is a great easy bloke to deal with.... go check him out for anything you desire!

I walked away with a smile yesterday after I found that I could push myself that little more than I had before and found that I could climb in tempo at a 85 plus % HR and still have more to horsepower to offer. It has shown me that I am on the road to better performance since undertaking some cross train over the last 6 weeks, the running seems to have helped.

This week sees me head back to the north east for a crack at the Hotham to Dinner Plain race which will be fun and a good test. I will also be scoping out part of the Hoppet marathon course as well to build on my confidence for the race at the end of August.

Happy trails!

ps.... some photo's and footage will be posted soon!

funny shit

At work we get the occasional large patient, in fact large is a understatement. The biggest I have had recently is 225 kg, and I tell you that is a big piece of human when you have to do everything for them.

All the equipment is built/ or made for them, so the chairs and beds are massive as well the clothing. Somebody asked me to look at a new gown for them. As you can see me and another bloke could get into it and walk together around in it!Those who know me realise I ain't a small so you can picture how big the gown is.

Got plenty of laughs and had to capture the moment.

sundaze fun

Hooked up with Gav, Marty and Dave for a pedal around the trails at Lysterfeild yesterday. Always fun and even better when you are doing it with some friends. A nice 2 hour ride with two loops and a bit of a chit chat. Good to get the legs rolling over, I was pedaling squares and was in a little bit of struggle town after a long week. Marty was out on a test Gary Fisher 29er and ripping it up and enjoying it. We finished up with a brew at Marty's place which was sweet! (his wife makes a mean cake!). This weekend sees us team up in a team of 3 for some fun out there in the next Chase the Sun which well, might be predictable but always a easy way to fill in a day.

After a quick dash home and shower I headed out to work and received a ideal invite to finish the day. Jase invited me around to have a few beers and watch the Tour on the big screen (nothing like a projector, comfy chairs and a open fire) at his place with some of the crew. A fun night, with it ending predictably with Astana smashing all those who tried on the last climb of the day. A late night as I only got a few hours shut eye before heading back to work in the wee hours of the morning.

It had been a great week for training with a solid couple of sessions on the roller ski's, a few rides and a smash session of running. Got some plans for the coming week and hopefully I wont be defeated with the weather.

Happy trails!

if only.....

ah the life of a pro skier.... if only I got weather like this all the time!

Australian Ski Chase results

After 2 rounds of the Victorian season I have managed to get my self in 14th position. The publication of the results was a bit of a shock seeming that I have performed consistently bad!.... well, bad in comparison to others! I have only completed 2 races so far and have a few more lined up in the next coming weeks. So I just have to keep on chipping away with the training.

MALE RESULTS RACE 1 & 3

PLACE	NAME	YOB	STATE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	TOTAL
1	Gerry van der Ploeg	1946	VIC	87		85	30															202
1	Bob Cranage	1941	VIC	90		82	30															202
3	Stephen McDowell	1956	VIC	72		76	30															178
4	Adrian Blake	1954	NSW		89			88														177
5	Paul Murray	1977	VIC	72		72	30															174
6	Kevin Tory	1969	VIC	70		70	30															170
7	Ben Derrick	1973	VIC	69		71	30															170
8	John Hunt	1943	VIC	84		77																161
9	Nick Grimmer	1983	VIC	62		63	30															155
10	Mark van der Ploeg	1985	VIC	62		63	30															155
11	Phillip Bellingham	1991	VIC	52		52	30															134
12	Ewan Watson	1987	NSW	59				59														118
13	Callum Watson	1989	NSW	59		58																117
14	Cam McIntyre	1975	VIC	54		46																100
15	Dave Hunt	1973	VIC			67	30															97
16	Mark Raymond	1979	VIC			66	30															96
17	Ian Franzkie		VIC	31		32	30															93
18	Paul Kovacs	1990	VIC	47		43																90
19	Blair Hume	1971	VIC			59	30															89
20	Alasdiar Tutt	1993	VIC	33		26	30															89
21	Neil van der Ploeg	1987	VIC	57			30															87

I have only included the first page of results, there is 106 racers in the Australian Ski Chase series, which makes my 14th look even better!

I have had a good solid 3 days training with a epic 20km on the roller ski's yesterday, a smashathon run the day before and a nice chilly ride today taking in the sites of Kanagroo Ground.

Sunday sees the members of team Rocky J's Mutton Chop Review get together for a pedal before the next CTS. Looking forward to a pedal with some company as most of my time recently has been done solo. Nothing like having a chat and shooting the shit to make time fly, something you want some times.

Not alot of other news to share at the moment, 2 weeks until I have a break from work, which is badly needed!

Happy trails!