new bike and a 24hr solo!!!!!

Well a lot has happened in the last month, where do i start.... came 1st in the local club round which took me to 2nd overall for the yr. After that was the scott 24hr in canberra which i did as a team of 4 mixed with james charli and brodie from wagga, we were riding for radical lights and looked pretty cool with matchin shirts. We went really well taking out 3rd place, even after a few flat batteries n punctures, the pace between us boys was pretty flat out seein as we had 3hrs rest between laps. Cheers to hiran for providing the lights, they r super bright!!
The wkend after the scott was just any easy one not much riding, but the wkend after that i decided to ride my single speed from bulli to ulladulla which is 155km n took me 5hrs 25 min, lots of big hills in this trip i was absolutely buggered by the time i got there, still managed to go out for a beer tho :)

The next wkend me james n simon rode our single speeds to belmont via ourimbah to watch the start of the 6 hr race n back. The look on everyones face when we turned up at the local xc track on roadies was pricless lol, a few even asked if we were racin on them! So i ended up doin about 155km again in 5hrs 45min not a bad effort backin up from the wk b4.
Off to the highland fling this wkend, i knew it would be tough cuz i rode half the track in the 3 ring circus a few months back, lots of climbing and it was lengthened to about 115km. After gettin lost with the lead pack, i had to try make my way thru all the traffic after we got back on track. James somehow managed to get away early so i was on the hunt. I rode for about 3 hrs i reckon, flat out n in the big dog punishing myself trying to catch him, even rode the wall in the middle ring again!! i finaaly caughtcrawford who said james wasnt too far ahead but my legs had totally blow out.
I struggled to ride the last 30 odd km n felt like crap but kept pedallin n managed to come in at 4th place. So good effort considering i went out too hard.

Back on the single spped this wkend and its all the way to newcastle and back. Me n james left early so by the time we got there we had an all day breakfast at monkey monkey monkey. Awesome food and plenty of talent up there. Im sure there will be plenty more trips there for lunch!! We done almost 180km in 6hrs 22min, its a pretty flat ride but still its a long way n we only have one gear lol.

The fat tyre festival 8hr race at ourimbah is our first official team turner race. We finally got our bikes on the thursday b4 and all our jerseys too. Me james brad n brock destroyed the competition by 2 laps and 10 min!!!! The race was called off at 6 hrs cuz it was 45 degrees and gettin too dangerous for the solos, ridin thru the graveyard felt like a sauna, it was rediculous!!! So im pretty sure we done stu proud with our efforts we looked awesome in the team kit too. The bike is sweet, pedals so good but soaks up the bumps great too, pretty stoked, its looks sick with all the carbon bits everwhere!

So this is the big one......Kona 24hr SOLO!!!
Me n james head off in the hire car on thursday morning on the way to forrest in melbourne. We get to his siters after about 9 n a half hours drive n crash there the night. Friday we head to the track n set up camp, just enough time for a practise lap n we find the biggest bermed corners ever!!! So much fun cant wait to ride this all day! Fri nite in the tent was hell. It absolutely pissed down n was really windy so not much sleep for either of us. Sat morning n its preperation time. We visit the Torq tent to load up with bars gels n sports drink. Thanks heaps to Dean n Jen for supply us n keepin us goin the whole time. Normally race food for more than 5-6 hrs makes u feel sick but we ate a bar n a gel and drank a bottle of drink every lap the whole race and had no problems at all!! Awesome stuff!

So we start the race n the first few laps r good, its a bit wet but the track is ok. After a while tho, n some more rain, it turns to an absolute mud fest!!! Trying to ride on ice for 24hrs wasnt much fun but we still managed to keep goin. Me n james rode a few laps together every now n then which was great, its always to have someone to talk to. We didnt really get tired till about 2 in the morning when we had a decent rest of about 15min.
Slogging on thru the night, which was a different lap than the day lap, i got to about 6am when the sun came up n i just hit the wall. I had to stop and just tried to eat what i could. Iwas nodding off on my chair and must have been there for 25 min. I really thought i couldnt do anymore and struggled to get back on the bike. This is when a pit crew would have been handy to get me goin again.
I got my energy back but was still strugglin cuz my knee had started to hurt and the more i stopped the worse it was, so i just kept goin. After a few laps i asked the guys next to us what the time was. 9.30. Damn it said still got 2-3 laps left. A voice from behind me says, come ill lets do a few slow laps together, thinkin it was james i was surprised when i turned around and it was jason english!!! Awesome im gonna keep ridin now! So off we go havin a good old chat which helped me take my mind off the pain. I think my last lap was just a blur, i was in such a world of hurt n couldnt concentrate on anything. My whole body was aching and i just wanted to finish this lap then die. I wasnt givin up tho we had travelled so far spent so much money and been training for months for this. I gritted my teeth and pushed on, every log rollover felt like a 10 foot drop. I came in with half an hour left so i could have done another lap but i was destroyed. I walked to the tent and sat down, trying to hold back the tears, couldnt believe what i had achieved on my first solo with no support crew and pushin thru so much pain and tiredness. Must have been 45min b4 james came in n we were both just speechless. So happy with our efforts, very emotional finish for both of us. After the presentation we went to the computer to check where wed come. James is lookin at the screen then turns around with a smile" dude u came 11th" i couldnt believe it.......... i dint even know if i would be able to ride the whole race but to come 11th was just unbelievable, james came in at 19th which was awesome considering he spent an hour changin brakes over and when i saw him early mornin i thought he would finish up in hospital he looked so bad!!!
Back to james' sisters for a well earned sleep then on monday the 10hr drive home again! We made it alright not gettin to tired, once again cant believe what we both achieved, was way beyond our expectations.
Just recovering this week, been on crutches cuz my knee swelled up so much i couldnt walk. Almost better tho next wk ill get back on the bike. Funnily enough im keen as for another race but for now a few beers will do me..............

Sponsorship!!!!

After being offered a grass roots sponsorship from a bike shop in ulladulla i thought i would mention the offer to my local bike shop up here. They said they could match it and i thought this would be easier being close to home. At the same time my mates girlfriend charli had mentioned this to her boss who is a bike parts whole saler on the central coast. He asked to see some results and said he would c what he could do. Wow from nothing to 3 offers in 1 week! I get a phone call at work and he is very impresed with my results seeing as i have only been riding seriously for less than a year. We talked about the conditions and it all sounded awesome. The big turning point was that he wanted to start a team. So after a long meeting and sorting out all the fine details i signed the contract!!
Im now sponsored by SCV imports in tuggerah who deal with Light & Motion, Turner bikes, FSA, IXS protective gear and marzocchi suspension. Big thanks to Stu and the team for giving me a chance and the opportunity of a lifetime.
If all this wasnt the best news ever the next week i hear news that TORQ nutrition and Continental tyres have jumped in to sponsor the team as well!! Awesome news as TORQ has a testing facility and access to a coach and nutritionalist.
Cant wait to get my new bike with all the best gear on it and start rippin it up and gettin some good results and doin the team and Stu proud. Im all in now, theres no lookin back and the possibilities are endless. National title, Worlds champs, Olympics....... who knows :)