Mountain biking heaven

The Capital Punishment MTB Enduro 2012 was on this Saturday. Laneo and I took part in what was an awesome day and one I wont be forgetting in a hurry.

We got there at around 6.30am to get warmed up before Laneo's 7.05am start. It was a cold and foggy morning and the start line was packed already with eager MTB enthusiasts. We tried to warm up by riding around but it ended up being warmer to stay still while we waited. Its really amazing to see that many riders in one spot with everyone kitted out in riding gear and perched over their bikes, which must have combined to be hundreds of thousands of dollars worth. With over 2000 riders, some from Canberra and probably more than half coming from inter-state, you start to get an understanding of how popular Mountain Biking has become and what a better place to have my first race than on the wonderful trails of the ACT.

Laneo started in the 3rd group at about 7.05am and with a surge of riders he was off. I had to wait another 30 minutes before my start and it was actually lucky as my body decided that 'number 2's' were immanent and I had to push through the pack to the porta loo's for an 'evacuation'. Once I had taken care of business I eased back into the pack and worked my way forward to find my starting group. Having seen the better more race savvy riders in previous groups dart off the starting line like there was a tidal wave rolling in, it was quite comical to see the different level of urgency in my group and the ones behind. There was a count down to start, I was at the front and looking behind you could have mistaken everyone for being in a cafe chatting and sipping on latte's if not for their bikes. Anyway we were off and racing and pushing forward up some pretty brutal hills towards Mt Majura and the start of some single tracks. My lunges were burning breathing in the cold morning air and it was a real struggle, but I was keeping pace if not edging forward a little.

We got to Majura pines single track network and almost instantly it was gridlock with lines of riders all bunched together trying to find a safe spot to pass. If one person was to stop or have a fall then all the others behind had to wait and sometimes walk. It got pretty frustrating at times as you would start to get in a bit of a flow and then be braking hard as the domino affect of stopping riders rippled down the line. Sometimes riders would fall and knock 2 or 3 others over too as they were all clipped in. I finally broke free a little and found a rider that was of similar riding ability and speed to me and we worked our way out together to another lunge bursting hill (Which was one of the "oh my god I feel like shit" hills) and the start of the untimed transition period through suburbs. I caught my breath pretty quickly as its a fast downhill fire trail run out to the streets. It was nice to finally not be staring at someones back as was the case for most of Majura.

Once we finished about 14 kms of transition and got to Black Mt, the start of the second timed section I had gotten my second wind and found myself passing a lot of other riders through the undulating hills towards Mt Stromlo. It was a lovely ride through there with fast fire trails and time to turn the pedals over, get some fluids in and clear my nose and throat that were constantly leaking from the cold air. Luckily there wasnt anyone behind me at that point! As we made our way closer and closer to Stromlo I could see the observatory in the distance and knew I was almost there, although at this point my legs felt like jelly and I was really pushing hard to keep the pace. But I knew I was in good shape and still had some extra in the tank.

The climb up Stromlo was brutal. Although I have done this exact route many times I was already in pain before the first incline and knew it was going to be a nasty 8 kms or so up. Behind me was a rider that had been on my tail for a while and together we pushed forward, egging each other on up the typically tricky technical sections of Stromlo's single tracks to the top and the realisation that its all downhill from here! And what a downhill it is, cruising along 'Skyline' and picking up some serious speed before hurtling through the bridge and onto the 'Luge'. There was no one around, just me and the awesome run to the finish line. As is often the case with knowing you are closing in on the end of something tough, you tend to relax and lose a bit of focus, this is when you are most likely to have an accident. So I concentrated hard on picking the right line, slowed down a little and tried not to make any mistakes.

Finishing up speeding around a part of the Criterium circuit and over the line to masses of people, tents, bikes, marquees and of course my lovely wife and kids together with the Lanes all smiling and cheering. Laneo finished in a blistering time of (estimated) 2 hours and 45 mins. While I was around 3 hours and 30 mins. We will find out the exact times when they are posted online and also check out some of the thousands of photos taken on the day by an adventure photography company that had cameras everywhere along the 50km stretch.

Just a magic day, the sun was out for the entire race and although trashing my legs I felt pretty good later in the afternoon and woke up the next morning fine. In fact Laneo and I took the bikes out for a little spin around the Mulligans flat reserve the day after and then came home and bathed our babies (the bikes, not our kids) for the rest of the day.

A weekend of mountain biking heaven.

The cold wait before the start

The sweet moment of finishing 

The support crew

Dinosaurs

The lanes were in town for the weekend so we went to see the Dinosaur museum at Goldcreek Village.

Flexible

I wish I was still flexible like a 2 year old.

I turned around the other day to see Lucas with his big toe in his mouth like it was a dummy, he thought it was hilarious.

Strive

The New Zealand Breakers just won the NBL title for the second year in a row. Considering they were 'cellar dwellers' just a few seasons ago its a remarkable achievement to go back to back. With that accomplishment now comes the inevitable fan and organisation expectation of success and the memories of those past seasons of poor form are far forgotten. In sport this seems to happen often and we forget what sacrifices were made on the way to such success.

We come across many things in life that seem to 'throw and spanner in the works' or push us up against a 'brick wall' that tests our resolve. Most people would have that feeling a few times a year and its how we deal with it and strive to move forward that is important. Trying to remember the ways in which you got through those tough times is so important for future. Its easy in the good times to forget and think everything will always be ok.

Sports are a classic example, speaking from my basketball experience, there are many high's and low's in any season. During the low's its a struggle to remember how to win, you feel like you and the team are in a huge hole with just a tea spoon to dig your way out. During the high's you dont even think about the negatives and all is good, the pressures are off, you relax and everyone plays with confidence. Ultimately you want a culture within a team that play together, enjoy each other,  learns from losses, not rues them, builds on success and strives to play at a consistent level. Something that the Breakers have right now and its a beautiful thing in professional sport.

When life gets on top of you its sometimes really hard to feel happy about things. We must work on the things that make us happy rather than avoiding the things that bring us down.

Feeding the ducks

These school holidays have certainly tested my patience at times, trying to fill in the days with the 4 at home everyday of the week. It continues to be a real struggle finding activities that cater for all 4 ages. It hasnt helped that William has a fracture in his arm that he needs to rest and for the past few days we have all had gastro at one point or another. Anyways its only a few more days till they go back to school and me and the little ones get back to normal routine. They sure do test you now and again but they are definately magical times while they are young, I wouldnt change it for the world, my beautiful boys.

Today we went down to Lake Ginninderra with a bag full of bread and found lots of birds to feed. They definately made little birdy pigs of themselves and the boys made sure every bird was fed. Then we went leaf throwing as all the leaves are starting to fall in Canberra. Some beautiful contrasting colours around at the moment.

Hogs Breath again

We took the boys out for dinner at Hogs Breath last night. Its really nice taking them all out as they really enjoy it and are generally great.

Bath silence

Sam likes to float his body in the bath and put his ears under the water so he cant hear anything. The sound of silence is something of a rarity in our house!

Sick

Well it has been an interesting few days at the Rice household. Lucas was the first to get sick having the 'runs' and then vomiting all over the place without any warning. Then seeming to be suddenly better as only a 2 year old can.

The next evening Jacob was vomiting (thankfully into a bucket) whilst Sam was squirting from the other end all over the toilet and floor! Delightful. Then Sam started to vomit. What followed was a night of little sleep, changing sheets and cleaning vomit off things as Jacob and Sams food was now exiting at a rapid rate.

Thankfully Jem, Will and I didnt vomit but we all certainly felt horrible and the next day was looong as we didnt eat much and all felt like flopping and sleeping. Apart from Lucas who was ready for action! I dont think he could understand why everyone was being so boring. Thats the thing with having 6 people in one house, if one person is sick then generally we all get to share it!

We all seem better today thankfully. Seemingly the only good thing that comes out of feeling like hell, is that moment you wake up the following day when the bug has run its course. You get up feeling like a new person, ready for life again. I like that feeling.

Nice

Another ride, another photo of my stunning bike as the sun rises up over Mulligans Flat reserve. Nice.

Pilko's Thoughts - part 5

Karl Pilkington rarely smiles, let alone has a laugh. So its classic to see him cracking up over his useless attemp at 'Land Diving' in an Idiot Abroad 2. Ricky on the phone really giving it to him makes it even better!

If I could pick anyone famous in the world to come by for dinner, Karl would probably be top of the list! Him along with Ricky Gervais to banter with, they are like an anti-depressant.

Easy company

I have little patience for people who are difficult, even if they arent meaning to be. People that arent considerate and cant adapt to others, when it is their way or no way. People that have no idea about personal space and repeatedly invade yours, drives me wild! People that dont pick up on others body language when they are making them uncomfortable (gets me annoyed writing that down). People that dont like kids, that arent able to include and be respectful to them. People that dont respect their own kids. People with horrendous body odour. People that are really opinionated and cant see anyone elses views as possible. Difficult.

Its like there are 2 different societies at times, the ones that are able to conform to 'the norm' and the ones that seem to live in their own little bickering, annoyed and hostile worlds. These types of people dont work for me and unfortunately I seem to meet more people like that rather than the ones that I find easy to be around, its a shame.

Sure we dont all think the same, we are all brought up differently in different environments and cultures. But why cant people just be easy and adapt and conform to others around.

Easy company, seems to be hard to find.

Sweet

Seeing our boys thinking of one another and helping each other out is such a lovely thing, especially when it hasnt been asked of them. Makes us so very proud.

Sam quite happily volunteered to help Lucas put his shoe on this morning. The great thing about it was that he had just dressed himself from jocks all the way to his shoes and then went and helped his little bro without being asked.

Sweet.

Remember that song - part 14

The first CD I ever owned back in the early 90's was Metallica's Black album. My favourite track on that album was 'Nothing else matters' and still today its one of my favourite all time songs.

I'm a big Sungha Jung fan, he is a You Tube guitar sensation. His arrangement of Nothing else Matters is just incredible.

Enjoy!

Aussie Hoops camp

Jacob is taking part in the Aussie Hoops school holiday's basketball camp at the moment. He is having a great time, but unfortunately because William has got a green stick fracture in his wrist, he is unable to join his brother this time. Me, Will and the 2 little ones have been hanging out in the mornings which has also been nice.

Snow suits

Bring on the snow, we are kitted out this year!