St Albans 100km

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Luckily western Sydney and the greater north west didn't get the rain Saturday night that the coastal regions did. Therefore the track was the usual mostly dry condition it is always in. For those that haven't done an annual St Albans MTB Festival, the 100km course links what is mostly fire trail between sections of bitumen and dirt roads. The first 70 odd kilometers loops 8kms short of St Albans then you hang a left for the remaining 30kms which takes you to the other side of the river and back to the top of the ridgeline. This returns you 5kms past St Albans for dirt road sprint to the finish. The track is a mixture of rock and sand fire trail with limited pure dirt and single track. Some sections hold water year round, like before the 50km mark and the downhill to the 70km mark is always cool and damp.
Like I mentioned previously the weather held off and the morning was cool and foggy. Once we were out of the valley and onto the ridgeline, above the fog, it was nice to find a sunny day without a hint of a cloud. It remained this way all day, a slight breeze kept temperatures around the early 20s.
Having some suspension issues post Australian 24 Solo. I managed to bring the Canaan back on line with a modified front end. On the front I fitted my Float 140s. This brought with it some climbing problems on the steepest sections but made up for it with downhill prowess. I managed the rear end through the pro-pedal lever, stiffest for all climbing and flat sections and then fully open for the descents. I fitted some small block 8s and pumped them up real tight to keep them ultra fast rolling.
More at mcrummy.blogspot.com
See you all this weekend for the enduro!

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Got time to read it? ;D

St Albans was blanketed in fog early Sunday morning. The usually quiet hamlet was already abuzz with mountain bikes, gliding in and out of view through the mist. It was that time of year when the township plays host to "The Classic", choose your option of either 50km or the 100km.

Participants were all busy getting themselves ready. I caught up with big Troy Glennan and little Gordo of Rockstar Racing before they began their warm-up. They were quietly confident about breaking the 4hr mark for themselves this year in the 100km. The whole Team had turned up for the event and included Mr Elliot and recent addition Mr Lewis. Last years winner of the 100km Mr English had entered the event and sources revealed he pulled out from the race the day before. This left the door open for last years runner up Mr Flemming to possibly take the title.

In the elite woman Katrin Van der Spiegel was back again to show her dominance at endurance events. Joining Katrin were numerous top riders including Zoe King and Kath Bicknell.

The track was in good condition, light rain recently had dampened any dust and had left a tacky layer over many sections of the course. Graders had been through parts of the trail including the first main climb at 10km. The climb continued to be achievable for some riders and was slightly damp with loose sections over the compact base, with many of the shady sections of the track continued the slightly damp theme. Back on top and in the direct sun the track dried out quickly and most of the downhill parts of the course remained loose and occasionally rocky.

The big news was Pete Hatton continued his dominance over Gordo to take the title with Mr Flemming rounding up the podium 3:57:46, 3:57:47, 4:00:30 respectively. Zoe King comfortably took the female title while down the road a bit Kath Bicknell played a roll in helping an injured rider.

Away from the pointy end of the field riders were making their own personal achievements. Mick Smith, long time volunteer, first time 100ker, went on in a competitive field to hammer out a 5:40. His next challenge is the Rockytrail/WSMTB 12hr. The 200km mark is in his sights.

I got the pleasure of riding with the final 50km entrant to finish, Anthony Collins. When we came across Tony he was more than 15km from the end and when asked how he was doing, the comment was short and expletive. We again caught up with Anthony just kilometers from the finish, 100km riders whizzed past us and we walked up one of the final hills. He explained this wasn’t his first attempt at the 50km, he tried last year and only made it half way up the first major hill at 10km before deciding that it was all to much and turning back the way he had come. The driving force at this point was that beer that he was going to be handed, just minutes down the road. At the top of the rise he straddled his sturdy steed and peddled the remaining couple of k. Anthony went on to finish his first 50km in 5:09.

See all the pictures here, mcrummy.blogspot.com