Week 24 & 25 CAPE TO CAPE

Cape to Cape MTB 2014 - Day 1 - Leeuwin Lighthouse to Hamelin Bay from Cape to Cape MTB on Vimeo.

At the Start

Finish line first stage

With NCTC tumbleweed riders on the 2nd day

Like all great plans , this was hatched early in the year with the intention of a more diverse training plan and a bit of a mini training camp similar to the few days I spent at Margaret River last year riding .It was fun .

This year I thought the Cape to Cape MTB , a 4 day event would be good preparation. I managed to convince Tim to tag along and be driver , bike mechanic and support crew. I did forget that it was a MTB race and my one ride on single track probably was not enough preparation. It was not technically challenging accept that there were lots of scary bits , lots of steep climbs (which weren't climbs because everyone I was riding with got off their bikes and walked up the hills) , and I fell a lot.

Overall it was a great experience, another subset of the endurance fraternity and some definite lunatics.

The Cape to Cape started of on 23 October 2014 at the lighthouse at Augusta. By the Thursday morning , I had already done one wind trainer session of 40km , a run on Monday of 9km .On Wednesday I did not manage any training leaving work and heading straight down to Margaret River .On Thursday it was a late start so I got in a 7km run on the beautiful trails around the town, then drove with Tim down to Augusta .Great day with a short 42km stage .Was told it was the toughest section. I started out at the back and my aim was to finish. I had a great bike , a Giant XTC hardtail MTB which I picked up second hand .A great light bike , the rider was quite a different story.

The race started close to 1pm and it was an immediate 4km ride on bitumen up hill and then down through a steep sandy trail . It was constant undulation with a number of climbs through the bush being so steep I saw everyone dismount and walk up . I came off the bike more times then I care to remember and had my heart in my mouth on a number of the downhill sections as I was just so worried about coming off .

The beach scene was spectacular but again walking over a km was tiring (see 1.14 on the vimeo footage )

In the end I was covered in dust but made it through the first day without any injuries.Just pretty tired after 3hrs 40min . I did a short run after the ride and the legs were feeling it.

 Day 2 , A new experience backing up the first day on the Mountain Bike with another MTB ride. Today was a 57 km ride less taxing than day one and lots more trails and single track in the Boyanup Forrest .It was a great day of riding and there was some limestone tracks and lots of sand as well but I got through it feeling a lot more comfortable. Every time we hit a road or fire trail I got better and more confident then the true mountain bikers . I enjoyed the day a lot more and we finished at Xanadu Winery . I finished in 3.25 and rode back to Margaret River another 6.5km ride.In the morning of Day 3 Tim and I rode to Xanadu for the start. We had a mass ride through the town and then a start from just outside the town. This was the more technical of the rides with more single track. It turned out to be great but I came off at the start on gravel and took a fair bit of skin off.After the technical sections and with just 2-3 km left to the end I came down hard on a sandy downhill track hitting my neck and right shoulder and again more cuts on the right side. I finished really slow and hurt . It was a hard night as I could not turn or move my sore and stiff shoulder. Finished in 3.40 hr at the Colonial Brewery just outside Margaret River.Day 3 Garmin Link

Day 4 was one of just trying to stay upright .  I managed that for the 65km but was really slow. It was a great ride but for the sore muscles and painful neck and shoulder. I enjoyed the more open trails and some of the single track with great names like middle earth . I had 2 punctures the last just a few kms from the finish line at Dunsborough Country Club.Lost a fair bit of time changing the flat. The volunteers on the course suggested I use a tubeless tire next year. In the end I was glad I survived , had a ball with Tim and the great people we met along the way.Saw my old Boss Pino who was spectating on the course.We had some great dinners at Xanadu and Colonial Brewery.Day 4 garmin link

It was a great week of training and but for the falls and lack of MTB skills,  turned out to be good week of biking. I had nearly 15 hours of riding and a bit of running at the beginning of the week and on Thursday .

Unfortunately the next week was spend recovering from the cuts and gravel rash and sore neck and shoulder.I had a Doctors visit , antibiotics , pain killers and anti inflammatories. So week 25 was a forced rest week with no training .

Redbull downhill on Friday Night

Day 3 Morning Coffee before the ride

Tim

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