She's home!

Just picked my bike up from the Local Bike Shop (LBS) after having to replace the rear derailleur tip.

It looks and feels like a new bike. Creak is gone, floppy left crank is stiff and responsive and th ebrakes feel nice and strong again. I can't wait to take it out and ride. It's exactly what I need to do right now.

Flat....

Since returning from Fiji, I have just felt really flat. For the first week that we were over there I really was firing and spent at least an hour a day on a stationary bike doing interval training. In the second week though I got floored by some nasty gastro bug and even after returing and recovering I have not felt great.

Last weekends debacle at Yellomundee at WSMTB Round 6 of the XC series was a wake up call. Before my derailleur exploded under me, it felt like my heart & lungs were going to do the same. Just as my bike is now in the shop getting a good service, I think its time I did the same for my body & mind. Time to bite the bullet, get off the grog and on my bike.

DNF!..........

Travelled out to Yellomundee on Sunday to race in Round 6 of WSMTB XC series. It was with MUCH trepidation that I registered for D grade again. I have not been on a bike for 5 weeks, since we left to go to Fiji. The first week in Fiji I went to the gym every day and belted out a hard hour on the stationary bike each day keeping miles in my legs and lungs, but a bad belly bug stopped all that and then too many Fiji Bitter undid any good that I had done. Since I have arrived back home I have just felt flat.....

So I enter the race with a sole intention of not coming last. I even had a race strategy this week of grabbing the rear wheel of a fellow D grader and seeing how long I could hold on. The race starts and I start my first lap, and the first time I have ridden the big lap at Yellomundee. I was successful in holding on to the back markers in D grade but as the early technical climbs piled on one after another, I thought I was going to bust a lung.

Sneaking past two D graders on a climb I rolled onto the first bit of flowing singletrack. It's at this point that I realise that I had it in granny ring which would not have helped my burning lungs. Smiling at the fact that I was finally not climbing and had it in a proper gear, I looked forward to getting some recovery happening to push on, but it just wasnt my day. Ripping around a corner on the flowing section of single track I briefly hear a weird dragging noise and then as I push pedals out of the corner, the give I felt and the loud "WOAH!" I hear from the rider behind me didnt sound good. My rear derailleur snapped off at the hanger. Nice day for a walk.

All in all not my day, but what it did do is reignite a flame to get back into training properly and continue this MTB journey. It was also great to meet some guys from www.bikesmoveus.com.au. There is definitely a great fraternity in mountain biking that includes all riders of all abilities. Just wish I discovered this sport when I was younger and fitter.