There are only 4 weeks to go before the race and preparation is going well. I am trying to ride about 100k/week minimum to prepare my legs for 50km of Canberra MTB bliss. Accommodation is booked, what a way to spend my birthday 😃

I am going to organize another day to attempt to foil the weather gods and ride the full track at Mt. Annan. At this stage let’s make it the weekend of either Saturday 12 or Sunday 13th November, 9am start. I thought we can bring the families along and make a day of it, use the BBQ’s to have some lunch between laps.

I must be a glutton for punishment. I have signed up for the 24 hour MTB marathon to be held December 3-4 at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens. The good news is I am not attempting this as a solo rider, instead have enlisted a few mates and formed a team. Our team name is “Giddy Up & Ride”. So, keep an eye here for training progress & updates..    

It is now too late for any more training as the event we have been preparing for the last three months is as good as here – only 3 sleeps to go. Rach & I did a 17k walk last Friday but then were kept indoors by rain for remainder of the weekend. Last thing we need is a cold before event kicks off.
We lost another team member last week when Julio had to yield to his ankle injury, but the rest of us are hesitantly confident of success ( =finishing).
A big thank you to everyone that has sponsored us so far, the Wilderness Society do some great work to preserve our natural history and any help we can provide is definitely appreciated. To anyone who has been thinking about making a donation but still hasn’t gotten around to it, it is not too late and anything over $2 is tax deductible. Pleas visit our website to help out
www.Events.wildendurance.org.au/ChrisHansen

Well, there is only one week left until the event and there are no more preparations that can be done except to max-out on sleep. Unfortunately, Julio had had to concede to his ankle injury and has been limited to support crew.
We now just need to get a few small items to give us some confidence, then get the fresh food on Thursday night. After that it will all be ip to Mother Nature

Well, it was good to finally meet all of our team members today, even if Julio still cannot walk on his sprained ankle….

The rest of us went for a walk in Katoomba, which turned out to be the final 6k’s of leg 1 for event. Although we did it in reverse, walking from Scenic World down Furber steps then followed the Federal Pass all the way around the base of escarpment climbing through the landslip before we climbed up the Golden Stairs and returned to Scenic World via the road.

It turns out that this is actually the final 5-6k’s of leg 1 except in reverse. During the event we will go down the Golden stairs and walk around to Scenic World…

A quick strategy meeting ensued after to finalize our meal plan for event and all went away happy & excited that we only have 20 sleeps to go…. So, if you have been meaning to sponsor us but keep forgetting, time is running out. The link is http://events.wildendurance.org.au/ChrisHansen

 

My curent (read only) bike is a 2008 Giant Alias in Black. the only modifications I have made are the addition of Shimano clip in pedals & riser bars. The clip-in pedals make such a huge difference to the way you pedal, anybody who is not sure to go to clip ins, just do it. I hesitated for a long time before changing & now will never look back. The only time they are difficult is if you are riding in technical sections & need to put a foot down for stability – unless set right it can be difficult to get your foot unclipped in a hurry.  The bike has also received new tyres since i got it, the current Maxxis Ignitors are fantastic through the dirt, they actually give the feeling they are pulling you through….

with my new found passion for Mountain Bike riding & all the associated ways i have of recording my trips, i have decided to try setting up this blog for friends, family and other interested riders to provide information on where to ride, what I use and whatever other stuff I think to add