RIP Jet9, 24hr next year

[Tenpoints]

No, it's not a brand new bike that's the offspring of a RIP9 and a JET9. That would be kinda cool.

This is the opposite of cool.

Practice laps for the 24hr, as you do. A windy tuesday afternoon, took it easy given the race is only three days away and I'm racing solo.

But 'taking it easy' didn't stop a DIRTY GREAT CRACK forming across the top tube, severing it completely.

What's also all but severed is my chances of racing this weekend. A massive blow given the months I've spent training for it. I was planning to do the full 24hrs pro-style, and then maybe next time think about actually going for the win.

But shit happens. Just gotta sit out the weeks it'll take to get a replacement from America.

Before and after shots attached.

[SteppenW]

Not as bling as your old warhorse, but you can borrow my Trance1 frame if you're still keen on putting in an effort. Size M. You'll have to supply wheels, forks, seat and seatpost (all the things you didn't break).

[LTR]

Definitely borrow a bike off a mate, or as a demo bike from a bikeshop! I know if someone was in the same predicament as you in Melbourne I'd lend them my demo Yeti ASR, Yeti 575, Cannondale Moto or Felt Virtue!

[DaGonz]

Not as bling as your old warhorse, but you can borrow my Trance1 frame if you're still keen on putting in an effort. Size M. You'll have to supply wheels, forks, seat and seatpost (all the things you didn't break).

I think the problem for Ed will be his excessive dimensions...

BigDog might still have his old KHS dually frame kicking around though

Cheers
Gonz

[Tenpoints]

Yeah thats the issue, I'm 6ft8 and the smallest frame I can comfortably ride is a 21inch ST with a 630mm TT. There aren't many people in my area of dimensions unfortunately, so I may be out of luck this time :-(.

[jmcavoy]

I feel for you Ed, bigtime, that's every solo riders worst nightmare, months of training for nothing. Well there has to be a solution to this, a loaner from somewhere...

Have you asked the Bike Shed (is that where you shop)? I'm heading out to Onya Belco this arvo and will mention your plight. I have a brand new Anthem X1 I was picking up for myself, it's a large though, prolly not big enough for ya?

Where is your old Scott? Did you sell it, can you get it back?

We have to fix this situation, nothing can stop the Muesli Bar Kid! :)

[JD26]

How the hell did you do that Ed? You weigh about 50kgs with gear on.

A crack perpendicular to the direction of the tube is not good - especially where that occurred.

I have a medium Titus Racer X (TT 23.4inch) available - but I would worry that the leg extension would be underdone.

Did Trev have any bikes lying around?

[Tenpoints]

Yeah, it's a tough decision to make. Craig sourced me a Tucson frame for around $400 that theoretically could fit me (just), but I'm not sure if I want to fork out any more money on this, especially seeing as I'll probably never use the frame again. The thing is I'm not entirely convince I'll be able to ride the full 24hrs anyway, with my current level of endurance. On a hardtail I have serious doubts.

I initially discounted the MC as a viable option, remembering my horror experiences at previous XC races. Today however, I've changed a few things as a last resort. I've maxed out the seatpost so it's about 15mm short of the Jet9, I've shunted the seat as far forward as the rails will go and I've flipped the stem. All that has put my weight in a more XC position, perhaps too much so. While it still feels like I'm riding a BMX, I may actually have some front wheel traction. I've maxed out the travel at 130mm which counters some of that, and I can reduce it on the fly if the effect is too small.

So I'll test it out at Stromlo this arvo and see what the results are.
If I can ride it at a cruisy pace without feeling like it's going to flip or flip me, then I'm in.
If I smash myself against a rock after losing traction and break some bones, well, then I'm out.

And that is that.

[Tenpoints]

JD, correction: roughly 80kg :-P.

Well I haven't asked him but I'll drop in today and see. Highly unlikely though, he couldn't get any bikes that could fit me from his entire list of dealers.

And I wouldn't want to wreck one of his bikes for a 24hr race. I'll try the MC and see what it does for me/to me and then think about where to try next.

[Tenpoints]

Niner is getting me a new mainframe pronto. Well it won't be two days pronto, but I'm guessing within two weeks I'll be back on the trails with the green machine :).

[JD26]

Ed, you are a twig. How can you be 80kgs? Are you including your bike in that weight?

I hope you get a bike together for the weekend though. Good luck!

[RichJS]

Niner is getting me a new mainframe pronto. Well it won't be two days pronto, but I'm guessing within two weeks I'll be back on the trails with the green machine :).

That's great of them.

I don't spose you've looked into urgent frame repair for the green machine? Grip Sport is a little far away in Melbourne, but I've heard there's 1-2 people in Canberra who can do a good job. Ask at Mal's or I can find you a name..

[ETSX]

Ed that sucks the big one's, I wanted to be able to beat you fair and square ;). No seriously I would not wish it upon anyone I know you have trained real hard and in real good form that will blow me away and almost everyone else.
Don't let it get to you if worst comes to worst you can give Jase a hard time at Easter.
But hopefully you'll have it for the fling.

[Lanky Love]

That's great of them.

I don't spose you've looked into urgent frame repair for the green machine? Grip Sport is a little far away in Melbourne, but I've heard there's 1-2 people in Canberra who can do a good job. Ask at Mal's or I can find you a name..

This guys right, i cant belive i didnt think of this before! My brother got a crack in his 10 year old specialized rockhoper(?) and got it welded together. But that crack that you have is a proper break not just a small fracture. But since its being replaced its worth ago just so you can do this race, which you have put alot of effort into by the sounds of things.

[Tenpoints]

Alas, the MC is no good, unfortunately the frame is just too small for me anymore, and even with the seat maxed out it's still too low, and thus is causing me chronic knee pain on the hills and shit all power.

But yes, I will look into urgent frame repair first thing tomorrow, anyone know who I can contact to do the job? If not, I'll ask at Mal's.

And my very last option is to ask Pivot Cycles if they can bring in an XL 29er demo bike (which would definitely fit me) for me to demo for well, the whole race. But if I was a bike manufactuer faced with that request I don't think I'd do it, so It'll be a tall ask.

[Mal01]

But yes, I will look into urgent frame repair first thing tomorrow, anyone know who I can contact to do the job? If not, I'll ask at Mal's.



Good to see you got the frame repaired in time. Who did the work on that? Good to know for future reference.

[Tenpoints]

It was Brian Dunbar from Neal Bates Motorsports in Hume. He only works at night, so if you have the same terrible luck as I did then call him after 8pm and explain your situation and he'll probably be happy to fix your baby.

Took him about an hour to repair the damage and while I won't quote the exact cost, it was MUCH cheaper than the alternative of getting a spare frame. Just not very pretty :p.

I'm so happy that he did it for me, even if I didn't do as well as I hoped in the actual race. It's comforting to know that if I ever break a frame in the leadup to a crucial event, there's someone there who's happy to save my bacon.

[JD26]

I have had Brian reweld a chainstay swingarm on my old Intense M1 about 7 years ago. Superb job, better than the original, and he made it look "factory prototype".

Ed you did a great job on the weekend. Solo is no joke. I would never do one and only have the utmost respect for anyone attempting one.

Good stuff, you will get there eventually. Seek out advice from the right people. Listen to everything and take the 5% that works for your application, do your research, map out the process (ie have a plan).

[Mal01]

It was Brian Dunbar from Neal Bates Motorsports in Hume.

Of course, I should have thought to mention him last week. Brian does fantastic work - he's saved my bacon on my motorbike too. One top bloke. :)

[ETSX]

Nice work Ed, it was great to see you out there, it must have been hard to do after the, can I get it fixed, can't I. It is a mental battle out there solo, and that in the lead up doe's not help.
Good work and very quick laps.

[DaGonz]

I'm so happy that he did it for me, even if I didn't do as well as I hoped in the actual race.

So what went down? as ETSX pointed out your leadup probably wasn't stellar and I would be half surprised if you'd mentally spent yourself before you were even on the line. Lap times looked fairly consistent though possibly a little quick early... have you looked at your polar graphs or anything yet?

6hr sleep in the middle is the killer ;)

Cheers
Gonz

[Tenpoints]

In my opinion in order to do the whole solo you either need to have extremely strong willpower in order not to give in to the pain (which is coming at you from every side) or go in feeling like you can win it, and keep at it.

In retrospect I really think I could have done the full thing, but It's so tough to motivate yourself through the race. What happened was on my 12th lap (red lap) my HR dropped significantly from a max of 150 to a max of 135. And I suddenly felt a lot colder because of it. This was enough to make the call to take a break, because I felt that with a sudden drop in speed I would lose a bunch of places and perhaps DNF involuntarily in some way.
In reality though, I was just as slow the next morning as I was the previous night, albeit less tired. Had I downed some caffeine instead of sleeping, I would've gone the extra six hours and probably ended up with 24-25 laps.

I do fast laps, but perhaps a little too hard. I try to stay in Z2 (Endurance) and dip into low Z3 on the hills, staying well away from LT.
I was hoping to stay in Z2 for the entire race, but after a while the riding was mostly Z1 (Recovery).
From that I deduce that I don't currently have a good level of endurance. I actually did better in terms of hours on the bike at Easter, and definitely would've done the full 24hrs if I got the nutrition right.

[RichJS]

I do fast laps


You sure do. I looked - your early lap times are faster than all but the fastest few soloists. Perhaps take it even easier early on? (What the hell was the 35.02 lap #4/red lap from that Zdenek Kriz about? Timing error or crazy and amazing!)

All I can say is - you're young, and apparently endurance comes with age..

Also, I said Hi at the finish line when I saw your bike. I didn't really introduce myself, tho - sorry!

I did solo 24 once. Late at night, suddenly my bike was lying on the ground, 90 degrees to the track. I was sitting on the bike, arse on the middle of the main triangle, me facing along the track - totally unhurt but not exactly sure what just happened. Decided it that was my last lap until I'd had a few hours sleep! Maybe one day I'll give it another go..

[SteppenW]

I have a theory. Yes, you need to be fit. Yes, you need the right equipment. But it is the mental aspect that is most often ignored when going solo. It's difficult to stay motivated at 3 in the morning when you're running fifth and it's cold and you're hurting from every joint and muscle. There's always that annoying devil on your shoulder whispering "you can stop now - you've done enough". Ignore him. Your competitors are probably feeling the same way. The real race only starts at 6AM on Sunday. Check out the splits - that last 6 hours see a lot of place changes happening. My strategy? I don't care who's in front or behind. I ride my pace. My solo races are personal challenges. Later in the morning I might ask "how am I doing?" If you have a good support crew, they'll lie to you and tell you that the leader is a minute in front, but he looks like he's hurting. If you're miles in front, they should tell you that you're only 8 minutes up (long enough to fix a flat if you don't slack off). Don't discount luck either - it works both ways. You have a flat? No worries. Chances are that your competitors will too.

[ETSX]

Ed,
I am far from an expert but I have done 6 now, I have had heaps of issues as you may know, and I have not had a clean run at one yet. I got in 12th a couple of laps ahead of you. Yep I need your speed, and you need my insanity to stay out there :p. I had a real bad run, Jase or email me for a run down.
But I have to say it because I know you can do it and do it well. But I noticed it here in this thread where you said something like, I was not sure if I could last through the night anyway. You can't go in thinking like that, you have to be strong minded. It would have been hard coming back after the problems. But no matter what happens unless for safety reasons next time stay out there get your mind on the 24 hours.
I can't race anyone for 24 hours and I really don't think 98% of riders can, the best you can do is your own race to the best you can and see where you end up. It is hard work, hard training, you need to do it for yourself not just to beat the person in front. Gonz at Easter (correct me if I am wrong) was there to race he raced bloody well but not quite there, forced past his limit. You need to know your limits and listen to your body and everything has to be right. English I know loves riding these events and our wife's (Jason I hope your married or was it your partner?) had a conversation about it. You have to really love it to complete it well.
I guess all I am trying to say is that maybe you have to back it off a bit to make sure you can make it through and give it everything you got left in the morning and come from behind if you can. But be there mentally and really know you can do it in your head.

[Tenpoints]

Mmm yeah the mental thing is what most people forget about.

I'm gonna address that for next time, do some yoga or something to strengthen my willpower if I can.
It's easy to think before and after "all I have to do is keep riding regardless of what I'm feeling".
But you forget about it, or you convince yourself that you were silly to make such a decision and change your mind on the job. That's the decision you need to enforce. I'll need some incentive to keep going. The easiest incentive for me is a podium position.

I intend to keep the laptimes the same yet sort my endurance out, and hopefully get faster at the same time. I have a coach who's trained me up and I'm faster than ever before, but there's something missing from the equation.

I also need to be more disciplined with the other stuff like gym work, recovery meals, decent sleep hours and training hard.

There's several things the mind is battling against in solo, here's some problems and some solutions:
1. Fatigue - solved by caffiene.
2. Back pain - solved by bike setup and core training.
3. Groin pain - solved by saddle that fits you and anti friction cream
4. Feeling Lack of Endurance - solved by training and/or a strong mind.
5. Cramps - solved by massage? I'm fortunate enough not to have them.
and lastly.
6. Upset stomach - solved by trial and error.
7. The feeling that it's only going to get worse - solved by realising it's not.

When you've got all these things attacking your psyche it's a wonder we don't all throw in the towel in the first four hours.
So the goal is to minimise the impact of those downers through proper bike setup, proper training, working out your food. The rest is the mental challenge.

So I'm told the mind is a hard thing to train, so it's easier to fix the physical things rather than become a Zen master.

[DaGonz]

In my opinion in order to do the whole solo you either need to have extremely strong willpower in order not to give in to the pain (which is coming at you from every side) or go in feeling like you can win it, and keep at it.

I would say pretty much... there is good pain and bad pain. 24hrs hurt no matter what! your butt hurts, your legs will hurt, your shoulders hurt, everything! you lasted to the 9 or 10 hour mark, and at the pace you were going at, I would have expected you to start hurting. sometimes it's not about having the willpower to push through the pain, as just knowing how your body reacts to it, that it's not going to get much worse. Sometimes all it takes is to back off for a while, settle into things again and just plod along.

9-10hour mark is always hard for other reasons, it's been dark for a bit, other people are starting to wind down, it's starting to get cold, you've probably just had your first battery change, you're definately probably pretty sick of whatever food you've been jamming down for the last 10 hours, it sucks big time. It's probably also about when you're body tries to go to sleep... for the first time ;)


In retrospect I really think I could have done the full thing, but It's so tough to motivate yourself through the race.


especially if you're having a bad day to start with

What happened was on my 12th lap (red lap) my HR dropped significantly from a max of 150 to a max of 135. And I suddenly felt a lot colder because of it. This was enough to make the call to take a break, because I felt that with a sudden drop in speed I would lose a bunch of places and perhaps DNF involuntarily in some way.

and nothing to do with the temperature dropping? your 12th lap was faster than your previous two red laps though! and were you there to race or to just finish the 24?


From that I deduce that I don't currently have a good level of endurance. I actually did better in terms of hours on the bike at Easter, and definitely would've done the full 24hrs if I got the nutrition right.

Endurance is not your limiting factor I think. If you don't have the endurance/fitness, you just go slower. Nutrition is a bigger issue, and if you get that right then please do let me know how :)

Gonz at Easter (correct me if I am wrong) was there to race he raced bloody well but not quite there, forced past his limit. You need to know your limits and listen to your body and everything has to be right.

I was going to say not really, but I guess I always do. I also know it's important to race my own race though. There's no point (for me) in trying to chase Jason around (at the moment) but sometimes I feel it's worth playing games with the guys around you, it's also a little fun :). If you're feeling good, push a little and see what the guys do, if you're feeling crap, sit in and just take it easy, but you always need to be concious of what your body is doing. I've had some great races with Dreggsy and others which have just been pure mental games the whole time till one of us has broken either mentally or physically. I swapped wheels with Michael crummy for 5-6hours at the nowra 8hr and had an absolute ball! I finished 11th that race, one of my worst 8hrs results wise for ages but one of the most memorable!

Easter I was just determined to put in a solid race. I was feeling great for ages and kept pushing and gritting my teeth till my body decided at the 22hour mark it didn't want to function properly anymore. *shrug* Like Kevin, I've never managed to put a perfect 24hr together, in fact I struggle to put a perfect 12hour together! but hopefully it's all experience and eventually it'll all be worth it :)


I guess all I am trying to say is that maybe you have to back it off a bit to make sure you can make it through and give it everything you got left in the morning and come from behind if you can. But be there mentally and really know you can do it in your head.

yeah I think so too. I think your prep was always going to suck. Rushing around trying to sort a bike out at the last minute can really do your head in. I also think from other things you might have overtrained a little going in, not backing off and focusing on resting in the weeks before hand. You have to hit these things with plenty of sleep in the bank and a fresh head. Not be 100% on it and it's gonna be a long day in the saddle.

I've raced you, you're plenty fit enough to do one of these things I think, it's just about putting the package together. *shrug*

Cheers
Gonz