The 2009 Australian Solo 24hr Championships

All I can say is wheeeeee.
What fun was had,

I started this race with the plan of go out fast for 6 hours, relax during the night time then once dawn broke, go out and put the hammer down again.
I had all my food from Hammer Nutrition HEED and Hammer Gels.
These combined with a Honey Banana sandwich would give me the right amount of carbs and calories per hour I was after


I ended up getting the lucky number 20, which also meant I got the "call up" to the race start
I decided to take it a little easier to start with and this worked out good for me for a while as I had a bit of a crash the month before.
I managed to hold a steady pace, but was disappointed the amount of people who would passed me.
The track was in the best form I had seen it in, it was also run backwards compared to the last 2 years and was also 1.5 km longer at 9.5km, I gave myself approx 35mins to get around each lap at a pleasant pace to last the day.

5:30pm came around and it was time to put on lights, I got to camp where my crew asked how I was going and I told them I felt a great but sluggish, we then discovered that my rear brake had closed up a little and was creating some very serious brake drag, to the extent you could only really get one rotation spinning the wheel by hand.
So off to the free bike shop mechanic who fixed my brake and also put on a new rear deurailleur for me as the old one was toast.

I also had some new bulbs to test from AY-UP which are super bright.
These are still in testing mode so I cant tell you about them.....yet

With myself all sorted for the night time, fresh jersey, Ipod in one ear, fresh painkillers, I hit the track with a renewed energy,.
Wow this is fun I was thinking to myself, I kept catching people left, right and centre, I eventually caught up with a few mates and rode a couple of social laps with them. Come 2 hours later it was time for a battery change and maybe some arm warmers.
It does make such a difference to actually stop for 5 minutes before getting back out on track, it somehow makes you feel refreshed.
I headed out again to hear the MC tell everybody there was big front coming in which was carrying a-lot of rain.
3 laps later the rain started coming down, I pulled in to grab my "waterproof" nylon jersey which mainly keeps you warm rather than dry.

The rain then really started to come down hard, I don't think I could have timed my transition any better. Out again I was feeling good in the legs and most importantly in the head, It was now 10pm the track was wet and slippery , mud was everywhere, I was having the time of my life. This was fun VERY fun.

Come 1:30am, having been on the bike for close to 13hours with as short as breaks as possible my back started playing up, I had had the recommended amount of painkillers for a 24hr period in 12hrs. This is where i decided to stop and sit down, enjoy a cold beer and have a nap/ rest until dawn.

zzzzzzzzzzzzz.


Dawn. The alarm goes off nearly scaring me awake where i turn over and switch it off only to wake up an hour later.
Dry clothes go on, I lube my chain then I hop on a dry but caked in dry mud bike.
wheee with the rain gone and a few hundred laps done on the trail, the course was in a perfect condition for bike riding. I kept catching mates until the 2nd last lap where I put the hammer down to get back to transition where i grabbed my single speed and waited for the boys to come in for the last lap of fun.
Here we rode together encouraging the other riders who were going for the money prize.

We crossed the line in unison to the cheers of the crowd.

All of us are waiting for next years event.