Long time between updates, but we've been pretty hectic. Nic somehow manages to juggle seemingly endless work days with swim/bike/run/paddle sessions. I meanwhile have had head down bum up and managed to piece together the most complete 7-8 weeks training in a LONG time. Injury free even!

It can be pretty draining with the end goals such big ones, but with our respective international trips just a week away (me - XTERRA Worlds, and Nic - Cape2Cape + Anaconda Adventure Race) things are tracking along ok.

Last big hit out was last weeks Motu Challenge. We raced as a mixed team, but there was no competitive strategy behind our day. I simply wanted the long MTB +Run hitout under my belt, and that left the final legs (Road Cycle and Paddle/Bike/Run) for Nic. Which wouldn't have been so bad, except for the fact that some epic weather hit and Nic was left with by far the most brutal stages (and consequently 3/5 of the race time wise). While it wasn't that plesant for my legs, by the time we sent Nic away it was torrential rain and massive gusting winds that had people getting off their bikes in places and holding them down. Some even walking descents.

Pretty gnarly day, but Nic coped pretty bloody well, and bought us home 7th overall after I put together a bike/run combo that left me pretty positive ahead of Maui. Big congrats to the bushman Sam Clark on a rather memorable breakthrough win in the individual. Well deserved that man. He teams up with me tommorrow as we split the MAgellan Whaka 100 MTB as a team in my last hitout before I fly to Maui. Should be good.

Early on in the MTB was a relatively relaxed affair. Guys on CX bikes smashing it off the front, whilst I sat in the comfort of the bunch and watched the "Jones watching Jones" show, and waited to follow their inevitable attacks

Insert appropriate Mark Watson comment about "going to a dark place..." 1400m+ climbing will do that to you.

Finishing off a run I was pretty happy with. Flying first 12km, struggled with the last 5. Not so bad as XTERRA is only 10. The end of the run highlighted how bad thewind had got as I narrowly avoided running straight into the side of the bridge behind me, such was the force of the gusts.

Feeling a bit guilty as we send Nic off into the unknown! Well, not totally unknown. We knew there was torential rain, a rapidly rising river, gale force headwinds, and 27km to paddle... hence the guilt.

And the unknown was somewhat as expected... brutal. Wave trains heading back up river, demonstrated here as Nic tests the submarine properties of her sprinter.

Today we lost a legend. You were, and will always remain, an inspiration to so many us. A constant reminder to make the most of lifes opportunities. The living definition of "Braaap". Ride on brother.

RIP James Dodds

September already?

Man, where does time go? September already. The positive about that (aside from the warmer weather) is that it brings us inside the magic "8-weeks-till-D-day" that I seem to require to train effectively and with suitable motivation.

For me, XTERRA Worlds on OCt 28th looms large. And for Nic, the Cape to Cape MTB + Anaconda Adventure race finale double in Western Australia. August... I was struggling. Self inflicted ijuries (crashes) + sickness, work, and winter weather meant motivation was low. XTERRA seemed a long long way away and enthusiasm waned. But we've hit the 8 week window which brings a sense of urgency and realism about the whole deal, and mentally it is almost as if I am able to flip a switch. So it's on. Plenty of quality sessions to come.

Whats been happening since the last update?

We lined up for the final race of the RATS off-road winter duathlon series. A great hit out, and when your club boasts the Single Speed MTB World Champ, age-group triathlon medalists (at worlds), and national elite MTB reps you can always be assured a solid hit out. Here Garth pushes the pace on the first run whilst Oli Shaw has already put 30sec into us. Ended up having a great tussle with Oli before he slipped away in the last 500m to win by 3 sec. Nic crushed the womens race and beat most of the men aswell.

One week later and it was the final of the N-Duro winter series. Both Nic and I led our respective series. Nic the feature 45km length. Me in the 30km. However my bluff was called with my new shadow Oli Shaw lining up with me in the 30km. Wasn't going to be easy, so I called in Lee for a startline lead out... Nice kit Lee!

Nic meanwhile was hammering off the front of the 45km. Enjoying one of her better rides in a while, putting a dominant 10min into 2nd place. The 30km starting 30min later and sharing chunks of the course I was amused at the scene when we passed Nic. Long gradual uphill slog into the wind. Group of 5 guys sitting on drafting the strongest at the front which when we got there... was Nic. All seemed happy for her to do the work. Not much chivalry in MTB racing it would seem?! :)

Oli meanwhile stuck to me like glue. We both rode harder than we can remember in a while on the long climbs. I had him on the ropes a few times but his determination bought him back. Ended up in a sprint which I wasn't going to give up after last weeks run battle! Got it by a metre. We then called a truce and headed off for a very hilly 11km trail run to add to the suffering... um, I mean XTERRA training.

Nic and I cemented our respective King and Queen of the series titles. As did Janine Kavanagh in the 30km who enjoyed the added advantage of Avanti speed from race one (having used my 29er). Carl Jones (on the right of Pic) wrapped up the 45km and fulfilled evil course designer role to perfection.

It is a Rotorua based series afterall, so check out these mean series prizes. Hoodies all the way. Huge thanks and congrats to Ra Bana on his first series as N-Duro's new owner. Spectacular success, and plenty of great touches to keep the participants happy. They'll all be back I am sure. Thanks also to the guys at Magellan for hooking us up with some fanastic GPS training watches (the switch-up). Check the link at right of blog.

Will provides hours of fascination and fun. Mum didn't call me "the Count" as a child for nothing!

And a final note. Rotorua Hospital just dropped me off a CD of my X-Rays from last November's mishap. The hardware in there is fascinating to me. Plenty of Ti in there to satisfy the most discerning bike bling fans.

Back on the horse - Winter N-Duro #1

High time we got back into some MTB racing, so having the first round of the winter N-Duro series on our doorstep was as good of an excuse as any. We are both pretty early in our attempts to re-build the training bases, having had a good break since 3D. However we have found over the years that races are a great way to give you a kick in the pants and often re-invigorate the motivation.

Feeling my ribs following a moto crash last week, I was a wee bit soft and took the mid course option. Only 30 something km but with over 1000m climbing it wasn't the easiest ride. I took the win (as I probably should have), but importantly it allowed me to just ride a solid tempo on my own and not smash myself too much.

Nic on the other hand "manned up" and raced the long course. Was riding pretty strongly, but unfortunately was hampered a bit by a recurrance of some vision "challenges". Rolled through the 2nd half of the ride for a strong finish while Olympian bound Karen Hanlen dissapeared to threaten the top 10 boys. Great to see a good turnout, and huge congrats to new event owner Ra who put on all sorts of cool touches. Lollies, Cupcakes, and hot soup provided at the finish. Mean Maori Mean. Can't wait for the next one.

On a sidenote I was really disappointed when I heard of enquiries directed towards the winner of one of the event. Long story short, but some felt the winning rider must have cheated, and the allegations were based on complainants having never heard of them (the winner). To me that was really disappointing news. Purely because it showed a real lack of respect, and even a hint of arrogance to follow that line of thinking. What happened to sportsmanship?

As athletes at any level we don’t have to be friends with everyone we line up against. Hell, we don’t even need to like everyone. But our sport (and any sport) is based on a mutual respect and appreciation of others efforts. The success of our sport depends on this. As a sponsor I would demand no less from my athletes. So no matter whom you are – athlete, friend, parent, sponsor, or random sideline supporter.... think long and hard about anything you may say. Trust the efforts you put in yourself, and above all respect those of others.

Change of season

With XTERRA and 3D now successfully completed, its time for a bit of downtime. As much of a mental break as a physical one; which means its playtime. The moto's are back in action and great fun was had yesterday at the Rotorua MX club fun day. Awesome group of current and ex national level MTB'ers pretty much filled up the novice class. Was good times. Nic is getting better and better (which obviously means faster). Nemo (her SX85) is now the "flying fish" as she started jumping one of the bigger tabletops most of the boys are yet to clear. Can't wait to see how that form transfers to the MTB.

The video below from Jeff McDowells point of view shows a wee bit of the race action from Novice (or translated... full of XC mountaibikers....) class. My bike is currently out of action, but big thanks to Paul Bishop for letting me jump on his bike for the last race of the day. I am not a very good spectator. Take note at about 1:20 on the vid (and slow mo's at the end), where I proceed to demonstrate why jumping straight into a race situation on an unfamiliar bike without practice laps and immediately trying to pin it is perhaps not the smartest move. I did save it. Just. Roll on next weekend.

Nic 2nd at Australasian Multisport Champs!

Awesome race over the weekend as Nic pushed the legend that is Elina Ussher to dig incredibly deep to defend her title at the Australasian Multisport Champs (the awesome "Expand-a-sign 3D Rotorua" event). 2nd place for Nic in what was fiercely contested battle.



The mixture of relief/pleasure/exhaustion showing on Nic's face as she crossed the line kind of says it all. She'd taken the race to Elina, dug very deep, and forced her to break her own race record by 8min to secure a narrow win. Nic's race stragety was developed around a solid kayak, smashing the MTB, and trying to hold strong on the run. She executed well, overcoming a 5min deficeit out of the boat to lead onto the run. Her MTB leg wasn't without incident, but she still managed to build a 1min lead onto the run.



The only nagging doubt was how the run endurance would be. Struggling to overcome her torn calf from XTERRA there was only a handful of short easy runs in "training"in the last 6 weeks. Pushing hard, she still held 40sec 1/2 way through what is a brutal trail run. However Elina's class and endurance showed through, sneaking the win with a strong finish. Supurb efforts from both (and Austalalian Deanna Blegg in 3rd) to put on such an exciting race.



I was on the startline too, but my severe lack of paddling experience/skill/strength meant I was never a contender. Huge thanks to Bevan Spratt for the lend of his boat, goiving me confidence I could at least stay upright. Pre-race my goal was at least top 10, and if I had a stellar Bike/Run day top 5. Out of the boat I had given up 13min to the front, but between 10-12 to those that were top 5 contenders. I was having a great MTB leg, but had to back off a touch in the last 20min as I was very close to cracking myself (think the paddling has a much more serious effect on bike/run than swimming does!). Onto the run I was 8th and 7min out of the top 5. I dug deep, and slashed lots of time, but couldn't get there. 4th fastest run, good enough for 8th overall, 2min off the podium. Pretty happy with that.



Huge thanks to everyone supporting us out there on the course and throughout the forest. Great to have our parents there (and my sister) and heaps of local support. Really appreciated so thank you to all. Fun evening afterwards, then yesterday spent at the motorcross track to finish the weekend. Not sure that counts as physical recovery (feeling very 2nd hand today), but certainly great fun!

Black Dirt Racing Kit available

Special offer for all our friends and supporters. When we had our Black Dirt clothing designed, we made sure there was a bit of extra gear ordered and produced so that we could make it available to those that wanted some. Therefore its about time we offered it to everyone?!

All the gear is 2XU custom, and is the "Elite" level stuff. So very high quality and comfort. Limited stock in everything, so if keen flick us an e-mail to check what we have. Both the cycling tops, and bib shorts are in both mens and womens specific fit. The Tri gear is Men's cut, and the Vest's Unisex.

$100 for tri items, vests, or shirts. The Bibs are $170. e-mail cabinracing@gmail.com