Vic Enduro Series Round 2 – Mt. Beauty

It’s three weeks ago (busy !), but thought I’d write up a race report from the 2nd round of the Victorian Enduro Series.

I’d competed in round #1 at the You Yangs – only 90mins from home – but this time, I had to travel to Mt.Beauty – only 30km from Falls Creek – 4.5 hours drive !

I loaded up the new car (!) complete with the bike-on-roof-racks, and tent, camp bed, sleeping bag, esky, food and all the bike race bits & pieces, and drive off about 5pm Friday – quick petrol + McDonalds stop in Wangaratta – and then arrived in Mt.Beauty about 10pm.

Was nice to have a GOOD car for a long trip – I’ve recently updated to a 2009 model Ford Focus – it has cruise control !  

And, I can now drive at 110km/h on the Hume without rattling the back teeth.

My buddy Kelvin had already arrived earlier (~5pm) and so he helped me set up the tent – by the light of the car headlights – and then it was off to bed – getting COLD ! 

When I woke up Saturday morning, I excitedly scrambled out of the tent, wondering was views might greet me.  I’d seen some silhouettes of mountain ranges by moonlight, as I drove along the Tawonga Rd – and I could hear the river flowing, not far away.

I can see why they call this place Mount “Beauty” !    Amazing scenery.

 

I had a quick shower to try and warm up – was only 4 degrees – and then a brisk walk to the shop for some milk for breakfast – and then it was time to think/prep for the race – starting at 10am.

Kelvin & I had a bunch of stuff in our cars – so we drove over to the “Big Hill Mountain Bike Park” to setup.  

I remember saying OMFG when I saw the mountain looming over the town – I’d heard it was going to be some hills to ride – yerp…!

We setup the marquee & unloaded tables and such – and then left Kelvin’s car there – he & his wife Charlotte jumped into my car – and we went to grab coffee.   

We drove back to the caravan park – and was time to get ready – bike clothes & gear, bike checks, and rode back to the race venue.    (Fiddly logistics – but it all worked out OK).

————–

I set up my table with food/drinks – and decided to NOT ride with the camelbak as I normally do – and just use drink bottles – felt like something was missing – but great to not have it on my back.  

Another change was to wear a sweat headband – and avoid the stinging sweat in the eyes – a very VERY good choice for the day.

The race briefing was MC’ed by Paul Van Der Ploeg – and it turns out that these bike trails are his local club – and where he trains.   I think that made me excited AND nervous…!    

Then it was nearly time to start – lots of riders keen to get started – expecting some big hills – all assembled about 500m along a forest road for a mass start at 10am.

After he called out “GO !”, there was a slow procession / traffic jam for the first few km’s – everyone spreading out, and working out the trails.   I’d attached my GoPro helmet cam for the first lap – and video’ed a few segments. 

It was true what they said about the hills/climbing – lots of up, Up, UP – and then some great flowing downhill sections.

Have a look here for the clips on YouTube (EIGHT in total). 

This is my fave one – nice flowing downhill trail.

Towards the end of the lap, there was a ‘chute’ down that I had a wild ride ( too fast !), and nearly ended up into a tree !    I remember looking away – don’t look at the tree !    Phew – that woulda ended my day real quick.

I dropped off the GoPro at the end of the first lap – and was berated by another buddy Steve “Why are you stopping !?!   C’mon get out there !   Only 40 mins in !”   (LOL !)  

All in good fun – he’s a serious competitior – and ended up coming 2nd in his event – 3 hr race from 1pm-4pm.

I headed back out for my 2nd lap – grateful for some clearer trails and able to work out the tougher pinchy sections – and a faster flow-down when headed back down the hill.    It was an awesome day – cold/crisp had turned into amazing blue skies – I had no trouble keeping warm !

I saw another buddy Anthony, who was down from Albury/Wodonga – as a track official – and pulled over to say hello.    And – saw a few ppl from my local Lysterfield club too – Ian, and his son Liam.

End of the 2nd lap – had a quick food grab – and swapped my water bottle – and off again – trying to minimise my pitstop times.    It was more of the same for the next few laps.

3rd & 4th laps were great – into a nice rhythm, slog up the hills, and then nice to stand up and roll down the sweeping hills – this is great !

After my 4th lap – it was about 1/2 time in the event – 1pm – the 3 hour guys had just left, and I was getting back to the tent.   I figured I’d have a ‘half-time-break’ – and stopped for about 10mins.

I’d been doing 40-50min laps until now – and it was getting tougher – so I had a sandwich, orange, V-drink – and message’d to my wife a quick progress update.

Thanks a lot to Charlotte (Kelvin’s wife) – she was assisting in the team tent with food/bottles – and encouragement too (also from Corey’s wife too – MTB WAG’s ?)

I’d planned for 6 laps of the tough circuit – and done 4 already – in 1/2 the time – and no mechanical troubles or any issues thus far.

OK – time to head out again, for my 5th lap – and got about 1-2km, and got a bad leg cramp – nnooo !!   Should I have NOT stopped ??

I stretched it out, and scolded my leg – don’t you cramp up, goddammit…

Thankfully, it eased after about 60 seconds, and I rode on – and was alright for a while.   The hills were getting tougher (steeper ?) – and I found myself taking a break at the top of the hills, before rolling back downhill again.

But – it got a little worse as I got into my 6th lap – had to stop a few times to stretch it out – and take a breather on the uphill.

I was being passed by a few people – no biggie – and had a LOL with a few people of the same ability.   “It’s getting tough now, eh ??   How much did we pay for this hurt ?” 

I finished up my 6th lap, feeling every muscle, and particularly a sore lower back – but still about 1hour to go in the event.   After a quick panadol, and a some more food (mini mars bars !) – I said “well, I’m going for a 7th lap – I’ll regret it if I don’t, but might regret it if it do – ha ha !”.

This lap was a sufferfest, with lots of stopping, cramping, and “just keep pedalling” in my head.   It was a bit of a blur actually – just bit-by-bit – even the downhill was hurting now, some rough sections that I was simply hanging-on / rag-doll’ing…!

But – made it back to the finish line – just after the 6 hour mark – DONE !

Wow – I jumped off the bike, and sat down to stretch, and relish the achievement – I was knackered…

We all sat around dazed, and recovered a bit, and chatted about what the day had been – some of my buddies did 10 laps – well done Corey !

We watched the presentations – congrats again to Steve F on 2nd place – awesome !

After that, it was a pack-up of everything into Kelvin’s jeep – and then we had to ride the bikes back to the caravan park – THAT hurt…!     (LOL !)  

******

When we got back to the caravan park, it was time for a shower to clean up – was a dry & dusty ride – check out those happy feet !

Then, I had to pack up the car for the trip home (the morning after) – and then hunt for some food – I had a hankering for a chicken parma – soooo hungry !

There was a little pub next door to the caravan park – so I scoffed a few bits of garlic bread – and a chicken parma – and a few beers – and was yawning & fading fast.  

A quick time check – only 6.45 pm !    (LOL !)

Kelvin & Charlotte headed off for an evening stroll – and I aimed myself back to the tent – and crashed out into bed – at 7.30pm – on a Saturday night !

******

I awoke early again on Sunday morning – and had to pack up the tent quickly – and take off home – a 4.5 hour drive – and needed to get home for a family lunch at 1pm (my birthday).   I left at around 7am – more amazing views :

I just made it home with time for a shower + then out for lunch – and back home again for a few hours – and out to see a concert – TOOL.

My weekend consisted of 800km of driving my new car, two nights of camping, 6 hours of MTB’ing, some amazing fresh air & scenery, lunch with my family – and – a heavy metal concert.   

What an amazing weekend !

When I finally managed to check my ride details via Strava – it showed that I’d ridden almost 60km (only) – but that it was 1656m of climbing – yikes – and the ‘suffer score’ was a massive 444…!

Check out the hills !

I finished 10th in the event – the next placed rider was a few laps ahead – I don’t know how they did 10-12 laps !

I would have finished 26th in the open men category – out of 43 riders – the top finished did 14 laps – DOUBLE what I’d completed…

It was a ‘bonus points’ round – every placing getting 1.5x the normal score.

So – my standings in the 2013 Vic Enduro Series (40+) has jumped up from 30th to equal 12th – nice !

NB.  I haven’t had a chance to ride my MTB since the weekend away – too busy with work & family – the next event is in late June (Albury) – better start preparing. 

See you there…!

Crazy 6 at You Yangs

Last weekend was the first round of the 2013 Vic Enduro Series – a bunch of 6 hour MTB races around Victoria through the year.

The first event was at the You Yangs – less than 90 mins from my house – so I entered within the “40+ solo male” event.

I’ve done a few events now – a pairs 12-hour recently (Gravity) – but this would be the longest race that I had done as a “solo” entry.

And – this would be the first race on my ‘new bike’ !   

Yes – I need to write up a bit about my new bike – has been crazy busy in our household – and I’m preparing for a work-related conference.  It’s on the to-do list.

For now – I’ll mention that the new bike is a Specialized Epic 29er – and it rocks !!    (more later)

My previous bike was a 26’er – and so I was interested to see how the new 29er would go for a race event – I’d ridden it 4-5 times – including a 50km ‘warm-up’ stretch on the previous weekend.

Friday night

The night before the race, I did as all MTB and cycling ppl know that you should NOT do – and I fiddled with the bike.   Admittedly, I was simply planning to re-adjust the brake handle – and set it a few degrees different – nothing too drastic.

SNAP – oh shit – the bolt head just broke off on my allen key – fvck !!

I frantically rang my local bike shop (LBS) in a panic – they were still open – but it was just after 6pm – and they closed at 7.30.

I quickly loaded the bike into the car, and raced off to the shop – please help !!

They couldn’t get the bolt out, and so it was basically “stuck” – and needing a solution – as I had no gears or brakes !

The mechanic scratched his head, and looked around the shop – and eventually decided on TWO components to solve the problem :

• Brake lever + brake line + caliper from one bike – meaning that the brakes would NOT need to be ‘bled’
• Changer from another bike – brand new bike – I was instructed to take care of it – don’t smash the changer…(!)

He said it would take a while – about an hour – and said to come back about 8pm – staying open later than the 7.30 closing time.    I raced home, scoffed dinner, grabbed a 6-pack of Heineken outta the garage fridge – and drove back to the shop.

Suffice to say – he saved my butt – it was all working, and ready to ride !    The rear brake was a little sticky – but working OK – as was the changer.  

I was sooo appreciative – and handed over some beers as a thank-you (and paid for some shop time – with the later “put it all back” to be managed next week…)

*phew*

I tucked my stressed out stomach and heart back into my rib cage, and drove home – and packed the car ready for an early start – and race day.

Saturday morning

Up at 6am – and some toast+jam – and about 1hr10min drive over to Lara, and the You Yangs National Park – where the event was happening.    I arrived just after 8am – and grabbed my race number – and setup my table.

A few buddies arrived shortly after – Steve + Kelvin – and so I had some companions for the day – and I was able to share a marquee with them.

Lots of pre-race checks and food preparation – and chit-chat – and then it was time for a race meeting.

The Geelong Mountain Bike Club (GMBC) were on the ball – very well setup – the race director just described some basic safety info, and transition area tips & safety.  

He made one great comment about ‘fast riders wanting to pass’ – that we’re not playing for sheep stations, be courteous and polite.   “If people are rude, and another rider gets your number, we’ll have words about it.   If it happens again, you’ll be disqualified.  We’re here to have fun, and that shit won’t be tolerated.”   Nice, eh ?

Ready to race

All riders were taken about a kilometre or so up the road, with a long forest road to ‘self-seed’ before entering singletrack.  

We started off at 10am – with 6 hours of riding – until 4 pm !

First two laps

It was pretty chaotic and crowded for the first few km’s of the start – lots of traffic jams with other riders, and gradually spread out.   The trails were very sandy & a little slippery in corners (nearly had a few front wheel wash-outs) – no major climbs, just a few steady gradual uphill sections – I settled in to learn the trails – and enjoy the riding.

The circuit was about 5-6 sections of singletrack, joined together with some fireroad trails, nothing too technical – other than some 4x (BMX) style jump sections that had to be treated with caution – otherwise, just some nice flowing singletrack – about 12km per lap.

I finished up ONE lap – and kept going through transition without a stop – about 34 mins for the lap.  

Mother nature made me stop – with all the pre-race hydration, I was busting for a wee !    I changed gear as I stopped, and heard a loud metal clanging – uh-oh !!    Only 15km done – noooo….!    It turned out to be simply that the chain had jumped too far, and over the cassette, and caught on the spokes.   Easily fixed – and I rode on…

I was cruising along nicely nearing the end of lap-two, when I felt the back of the bike getting a bit soft/squidgy – dammit – puncture !!

Changing tubes

I pulled over, and grabbed the wheel off the bike – and began ripping the tyre off, and getting the old tube out.   (The back wheel HAD been tubeless – but had gone down a few weeks earlier – and I’d put a new tube in).

Being a tubeless tyre, the bead/rim was very stiff – and hard to get back onto the wheel – I managed to get a new tube in – just gotta pump it up.

Working on the bike by the side of the trail, I had a dozen or more people ask “are you OK ?” – or “need a hand ?” – or “got what you need ?”.  

It was amazing that nearly EVERYONE passing was asking if I needed assistance – MTB folk are awesome like that.

I tried pumping up the tyre with my travel pump, but it wasn’t really working – and so I hot-footed it about 1km to the transition area – and my buddy Steve was able to give me a hand – and I could use a proper track pump.

The tyre wouldn’t inflate – the valve head/stem was broken – perhaps when I was trying to pump it up earlier – dammit.

I grabbed another tube – and had to get the stubborn tyre back ON the wheel – very stiff and unforgiving tyre – but managed it eventually.

Then – again – it went down immediately.   After grabbing out the tube (2nd replacement), I saw a tell-tale pinch flat puncture – crud !

So – third time lucky – and my last tube – and again had to battle with the tough tyre rim – but managed to get it on this time.

Steve pumped up the tyre, while I had some food and drink – and I was ready to GO !

In all, I think I lost about 30-40 mins with the tube/tyre stuffing about – and YES – I need to convert it over to be a tubeless setup – soon !

Two hours down, and I’d only done two laps !!

Lap 3 + 4

I was a little annoyed at my time loss, but I guess I had a chance for a ‘rest’ as such – so I was keen to charge on more – and wanted to get back into a rhythm.

I blasted around my 3rd lap – and didn’t stop in transition – and then did a 4th lap on the go.   This was actually my fastest lap of the day…

I stopped into the pits again at the end of the 4th lap – and had something more to eat (gel+banana) – and swapped over drink bottles.

I’d done just under 50km by this stage – not too bad – over half-way on the clock too.

The 3 hour riders had just started (1pm) – and so it would mean more faster riders and lots more passing and ‘traffic’…

Lap 5 + 6

I made a goal to do laps in pairs – with a water bottle change after each pair – the laps were about 12km – and I was doing just under 40mins for each lap.

My back was starting to get a little sore – I had a few disprin at the next stop – and some orange’s quarters – just like I used to love in junior soccer at half time (when I was 8 !)

Lap 7

Life was getting tough in the saddle about this stage – about 80km done – and my back was VERY sore – having to stretch it out a bit – and some twinges in my legs.

I made sure to stop & stretch – and had a can of “V” drink to boost some energy.

My mind started working out how much more I could do – with thoughts of “pain doesn’t last, but results do…”   

I could surely fit an 8th, and possibly 9th lap – based on the maths of time remaining – and my speed / average times.

Lap 8

I was heading out for lap 8, partly thinking that it was my last, and partly hoping that I’d be able to do another afterwards.    My leg twinges turned into cramps that I had to pull over and stretch out – it was getting hard now !   

The timeclock showed about 5hrs 10mins – and I was sure I’d be back to transition by about 5hrs 40-45mins – and “could” do another lap – but do I want to ??

More cramps, and empty water bottle – sore legs & back – and I rolled into transition at 5hrs 48mins – with 12 mins to spare.

The guy at the desk said “you still got time for another” – but I said “nope, I’m done”…

When I rolled to our table/pit area – I stopped my Garmin – and I was DONE !

8 laps – 96km – 5hrs 48mins.

Results

With my time loss of 30-40 mins, I could possibly have done another lap – maybe ?

As it was, I finished in 30th place – out of 39 riders in my event.    Only 15 seconds ahead of 31st place – it turns out…!

As you can see, the winners and top place riders did 12 laps or more – wow…!

My times look consistent (39min or 40mins) – with two fast laps – lap #1 and #4 were 34 mins – and you can see the time lost, with lap #2 and #3.    (times in red numbers)

The aftermath

There was a presentation to riders for all the different categories (1st, 2nd, 3rd) – but I packed up pretty quickly (after a recovery sit+stretch – and scoffed a BBQ burger !)

There were some big names – Paul van Der Ploeg had raced the 3hr elite event – he’s done World Cup races – fairly big names in the scene.  

But for me – I felt a bit flat / deflated (no tyre pun intended) – I’d thought I would have gone better than I’d done – and had a disappointing drive home, feeling a bit down on myself.

The stress & chaos of the Friday night to get the bike ready – and then the tyre & tube dramas – I guess it was an anti-climax in the end – or something like that.    Dunno.

Oh well – it’s all fun & games – in reality, I did amazingly well in my first 6 hour race – and on my new bike – won’t be the last…!   

And – the furthest I’ve ridden on my new bike.

I’m still yet to crack over 100km – that was another goal that was “sooo close”.

Here’s the map+info via Strava – 833m of climbing :

There were some cool photos – check out these :

   

And YES – I supported the local photographers – and bought one of the pics :

And – of course – there has to be a photo of the “Happy Feet” – LOL !!

What’s next ??

The next event in the VES calendar is in Mt.Beauty – which is past Bright – so I might skip that one.

Round #3 is not until JUNE – and it’s being held in Albury.   I have a bunch of friends there (Scott, Matt, Jen, Tim, Matt, Ant) – so I think I’ll make the trek up for that race.

Until then – gotta get the gear handle fixed – and tubeless tyres !  

(and some other work related stuff to sort out – and some road riding perhaps)

Thanks GMBC for the awesome event at You Yangs – cheers !

SoundWave 2013

Last Friday, it was Melbourne’s turn to (again) host the annual SoundWave festival – this is by far my favourite day-out-with-metalheads – and I’d been researching bands via Spotify for weeks – and planning my “day” of rock.    \m/

I picked up my buddy Andy about 9.45am – and we headed into town – excitedly chatting about bands and the recent Kyuss/OrangeGoblin/RedFang show that he had graciously given up his free ticket to see.

We arrived at the Flemington Racecourse (NOT Showgrounds – boo !) about 10.30 – and was a queue into the carpark – then a queue to the gate – then a queue to get into the venue.   (yep – LOTS of people – it’s become a BIG festival).

1. Red Fang

First band of the day was at 11.30 – I was very keen to see these guys after having seen only the last 1.5 songs on the Tuesday night (Kyuss show).   A decent crowd had gathered – and Andy & I met up with Ben – and Brad – and proceeded to devour some metal tunes – before lunch !

Great band – with some early-Baroness style tunes – sludgey/stoner – the evolution of what Kyuss began – a GREAT start to the day.

2. Anthrax

I split from my other buddies – and Ben and I headed over to the “D” for the first big band of the day – massive stage, and big backdrop/banner.

Have seen these guys a few times – they’re one of the “big four” – albeit the last entry – and a little stuck in the 80’s.   The rousing “Caught In A Mosh” started off proceedings – with Joey Belladonna sprinting and running about on stage.

Caught In A Mosh – Talking To You, Is Like Clapping With One Hand !!   (LOL !)

Scott Ian is an awesome man-of-metal – he’d done some spoken word shows during the SoundWave tour – woulda been great to hear his tales.

Wasn’t hugely taken by them – a good nostalgia band – but a little disappointing somehow.

3. Lucero

I’d made it to tent #4 for PERIPHERY – but saw the last few songs of Lucero – who seem to be a rock-a-billy + country/western + punk band – very wierd mix !   But some cool tunes, and the crowd knew most of their songs.   Always good to see some different bands at festivals – not my thing, but they were great to see.

3. Periphery

My work-buddy Mark and Andy both rave about this band – they were on at the same time as Orange Goblin – so I figured I’d catch a few songs, and then over to OG.

Wow – what a BIG sound – with three guitarists and bass – and a singer with a massive voice.   All the band members look ‘little’ – but they rocked hard.

I didn’t really dig his voice after a few songs – but great riffs – and some melodic / proggy metal riffs.   They’re really good at what they do – but I don’t really go for “what they do”.

4. Stone Sour

It turned out that Orange Goblin weren’t playing – but Sylosis instead – swapped out with Orange Goblin for some reason – so we headed over to see some of Stone Sour.   Big video screens, so that you can see the band even if you’re miles away – and can always hear the band. 

The singer (Corey) is a great front man – he’s with SlipKnot too – and some really good metal riffs.   He’s got an amazing voice too – I’d been hoping to get to see some of them on the day – very VERY good band.

5. The Vandals

Had a few minutes spare before Orange Goblin, so we went to check out some old-school punk – these guys were rocking & riffing in the 80’s – old grey hair – and still having a blast.  Old punks never die – they still rock out.

6. Orange Goblin

I’d been hoping/planning to see these guys – and had seen them as support for Kyuss – they’re brilliant.   Heavy Sabbath’y stoner riffs – and faster than Kyuss – almost punk/stoner/metal – and it works really well.

The lead singer (Ben Ward) has a great gravelly voice – and he prances around the stage with fists in the air – and a huge smile – he must be 6ft 6in tall – monster of a bloke !    Very friendly – and just loves to perform.  

He commented that this is one of the most fun tours that they’ve ever done – and that “your Cherry Bar fvcked us up last night” – LOL !

Awesome FUN rock-n-roll – left with a smile on my dial after seeing them.

The Fog – had this song stuck in my head for DAYS !

Red Tide Rising – final song

7. Kyuss

I’d seen these guys during the week – amazing show !    I half-watched-and-listened-as-we-walked through the crowd – and over to….

8. Slayer

We made our way to the D area of stage 1 to see another favourite of mine – SLAAAAYYYEEERRR !!     It’s a pity the main stages were so far apart, as you couldn’t watch/listen to the other band – very muffled, and wind-swept sound from about 200m away…

Slayer had some controversy in the weeks prior – essentially ditching their drummer for his questioning of financial affairs in the band – or so it would seem.

And so – there’s only 2 original members – with a fill-in guitarist too (Jeff Hanneman had a rare skin-deformity, supposely from a spider bite – necrosisi or something !).

The drummer had done a double-bill – he’d also played with Anthrax !   John Deet – didn’t miss a beat, and had learnt all the songs.

Slayer did a massive setlist of hits – I knew every single song.   The crowd was loving it too – and the sound was beafy & rough/raw.  

** I even saw a woman in mid-40’s up on someone’s back – nude from her waist up – boobs bouncing around in the breeze.   80’s metal – FTW !!

My buddy Ben commented that it was one of the most brutal and relentless bands he’d ever seen – yep, that’s Slayer !

Brilliant metal riffs and thrash – they finished with a awesome barrage – Dead Skin Mask, Angel Of Death, Sound Of Heaven and then Raining Blood – perfection !

One of the highlights for the day – I’d been keen to see them – very happy !

Disciple – opening song – fantastic !

Angel Of Death – Monarch To The Kingdom Of The Dead !!   (absolute classic…)

9. Of Mice And Men

10. O’Brother

With the need for a rest + hungry, we grabbed a chicken burger, and headed to sit down in the shade of one of the stages/tents.   We caught the last song of “Of Mice And Men” – the place was packed out !!    I’ve never heard of these guys – might have to go have a listen.

O’Brother then came on, as the crowd dispersed – from close to 1000 ppl, down to about 50.   It was kinda sad to see !   They played some decent but a little generic alternative/rock – not bad at all.

Ben and I then split to go see some different bands.

11. Duff McKagan’s Loaded

Having been a big Guns N Roses fan, I knew of Duff McKagan – and his work with Velvet Revolver – but I didn’t know much about “Loaded”.

I’d recently finished reading Duff’s auto-biography – wow, what a great read THAT is.   From his history with GNR, and lots (LOTS) of drugs, mainly cocaine – and then a burst pancreas that nearly killed him.   His rehab was via martial arts & mountain biking – getting healthy – and then finished a few university degree’s, and has a successful finanical investment business.    It’s like he’s lead TWO lives – and still likes to play rock-n-roll.

I didn’t know any songs by Loaded, but wanted to see Duff in–the-flesh – they’re a great rock-n-roll band – nothing super-special – they wouldn’t have much success if not for the ‘name’ (Duff) – but great to see him perform – good luck to him !

12. Bullet For My Valentine

Again, not on my list, but it WAS the choice for many MANY people – it was packed out.   I caught the last few songs – again, nothing that grabs me – alternative stuff emo-metal – I only know one song from the Guitar Hero game – LOL !

13. Cypress Hill

I’ve always been interested in these guys – the place lit up with all the dope-smoking as they started – probably one of the most pro-drugs bands you could name !

I only saw a few songs – When The Shit Goes Down, You Better Be Ready – great tunes and hip-hop – but it’s really just two guys rapping, with a guy on keyboards/mixing.   

I used to like them – but that was another lifetime ago.   And – I can tick them off the list – nothing good nor bad.

14. Cancer Bats

I’d heard people talk about these guys – but I was initially rather put off – simply by the name “cancer” – having lots a number of family members to the evil C disease (my Auntie in Denmark passed away just before Christmas – still a little ‘raw’).

Anyway – I had a listen (thx Spotify !), and they had some great tracks – and I found myself getting more and more into the songs.   So – they were on my “must see” list.

The lead singer is an absolute madman – throwing himself around, like a pint-sized Phil Anselmo (Pantera).   The crowd knew almost every song too – I knew about half of them – and there was a big cheer as they played SABOTAGE (Beastie Boys !)

Lots of raucous punk/metal – very VERY good show.

15. Metallica (!)

A quick stop to re-fill water bottles, and then a mad dash + squeeze into the “D” for the final band of the day.   Ben & I managed to meet up with another buddy Shyam – and also Andy – so it was good to end the day with a few friends.

I’ve seen Metallica EIGHT times already – so this would be show #9.

• 1 + 2 : Black tour – 1993 – twice (with Kyuss support)
• 3 + 4 : Load tour – 1996 (?) – had a back stage pass thanks to the MetClub membership – and got to meet James & Jason – w00t !
• 5 + 6 : St. Anger tour – 2003 – Big Day Out + sideshow at Myer music bowl
• 7 + 8 : Death Magnetic tour – 2010 – on the floor + front row upper

The show by Metallica was – in a word – phenomenal.

An enormous stage – about FOUR storey’s high – with a video screen playing the band – and the most incredible SOUND I’ve ever heard at an outdoor venue.

Possibly the best sound EVER – better than any I can recall at Rod Laver anyway.   Crisp & loud, bass thump and well mixed – could hear every instrument.

The band was in fine form, and having some fun too – a great list of old+ new songs – only one from Death Magnetic – and nothing from Load, Re-Load or St.Anger.

It was a veritable ‘history-hits’ set – the songs from Justice For All were brilliant – they played BLACKENED !!

And – my favourite FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS.    And the final encore included CREEPING DEATH – and DAMAGE INC – wow…!

Some surprises too – MY FRIEND OF MISERY – and LEPER MESSIAH.   All in all – an incredible show to end the day – a full length concert.

The BEST I’ve ever seen Metallica – since the very first time I saw them (Black tour).

(thanks setlist.fm !)

Harvester Of Sorrow + Intro By James (bass was just TOO loud for my camera !)

Blackened – now with added flames !

It’s all over (for another year) !

After the almighty Metallica had finished up, we battled the crowds of people to get out of the D – and then out of the venue – and then to the carpark.

I’d left my buddy Andy to sit & wait – he’d been on crutches the whole day – kudos !

Even when I got in the car, it was a 40 min wait to get OUT of the carpark, and then drive home – very sore & tired bodies.

Metallica finished up at 10pm – and I got home about 1.30am – yikes !

Final thoughts

The day seemed to disappear in a heart-beat – I saw 15 bands !   

Some bands I only saw a few songs – but a few full set bands – SLAYER, ORANGE GOBLIN, CANCER BATS and METALLICA were the highlights.

I didn’t even get a chance to stop off for a beer – not ONE !     

I’ve had MORE beer writing this blog-post – TWO !

The venue was different this year – bigger, wider, more open – and more people. 

Soooo many people – lots of queueing to get into – and out of places – and it was hot & dusty – I’m thankful for suncream – and my Heisenberg hat…     (LOL !)

As always, the food & drinks are overpriced – $5 for a 600ml Sprite – and a chicken burger was $7.50, bucket of chips $5.  

Even with those gripes – I had a blast !!

I truly love SoundWave – the METAL version of the Big Day Out festival – it’s my favourite for the year.   I didn’t buy a t-shirt, but got a stubby holder instead – my standard collectible these days.

Same time next year !!??

** What could possibly top the line-up for 2013 !???

Cameron is now Mr.8 !

Last week, our awesome lad Cameron turned 8 !   We celebrated his birthday on the day (Valentine’s Day !) – and then he had a Mario Disco party (Friday night) with ~14 of his buddies from school.   This was then followed with a family party (Saturday arvo) – so it’s been a busy week !

Every birthday, I like to write up a blog post to celebrate the birthday of our lads – you can see Cameron’s previous blog posts : 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, and 3rd birthdays (none for 1st or 2nd – doh !).

Cameron is now in Grade 2 at Knox Gardens – and has a great bunch of friends.   He’s doing amazing with his Maths & Reading – and loves doing “LOTE” – and often sings Happy Birthday in Chinese.

He’s an action packed kid, and loves the trampoline, biking, running, dancing and climbing trees – a typical young boy then !

AusKick

Last year, he was loving to play AFL, with his AusKick class on Saturday mornings – even during winter.   He’s re-considering playing this year – I hope he does, as he was getting right into it.

Ready to play – always good fun playing kick-to-kick

 

With his good friend Emma, when she won the Golden Boot

Ready for the team meeting – great bunch of people

Grandparents Day – with GrandDad, Nanna & Grandpa

 

Bike Riding

Cameron graduated to a full size BMX, and we’ve been going for longer bike rides – over to Knox & back was the most recent outing.  

Afterwards, Cameron said that “my legs are a bit sore, but it feels good at the same time”.    (NICE !)

He loves to zoom around the driveway too – on his scooter – or his big BMX.

Cameron’s old bike – has been passed on to Liam

New BMX – thanks KMart !    *some assembly required

First outing on the new BMX – slightly too big, but he’s growing quickly

Out for a ride with his brothers – great to see them biking !

Cameron was zooming down a hill, and his leg slipped off the pedal, and he bashed the rear axle with his ankle – screamed out in pain !    (ouch !)

He made me an awesome card when I finished the “Around The Bay” – thanks Cam !

Karate

Cameron has also joined up the local Karate school – initially to do the same class as a buddy of his – but he’s now doing it, and his buddy quit – LOL !

I’m amazed at the discipline & concentration he has – and he had a recent grading, and scored a new belt.    He was ecstatic with his effort – very proud moment.

After the grading, now a purple belt

Tennis

Cameron’s Grandpa is a tennis coach, so he’s started teaching the GrandKids to play tennis – Sunday morning lessons.    Cameron is taking to it well – it will be great to see how he progresses.

Videogames

Cameron’s favourite thing is to play games on the Wii / XBox – he’d play all day on the weekend if let him…!

He’s amazing at NEW SUPER MARIO BROS – it was great to see him beat the final boss level – after a lot of failures – and some tantrums and “aaarrrggghhh – I hate this game !!”

After completing the game, he/they now re-play levels over again – and they’re soooo good !    Cameron even had a Mario Brothers themed birthday + cake.

He’s just been getting into Skylanders – and has a bunch of the figurines – and has been playing the new game – it’s the new fave.

First game he ever completed – very VERY proud of him for that !

Playing MARIO KART with his brothers & Dad

Hooked up the ye olde PlayStation – great fun with old OLD games

Completed another game – SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2

Concentrating on playing Wii – love the facial expressions

Hardcore gaming dudes !

Family

Being the eldest boy in the family – he’s a great source of entertainment to his brothers – and the ‘lynchpin’ in our family.  

He also loves to spend time with his cousins – especially Millie – we’ve had her over for a sleep-over – they’re like brother & sister.

In the pool – Millie, Dad, Cameron & Charlie

First day back at school – Cameron in Grade 2, Liam in Prep

Goofy fun with the brothers

Mothers Day run – great photo of Donna & her lads

Mothers Day with Nanna

Out for Yum Cha – a family favourite !

Fun Activities with Cameron

We’ve had some great fun over the last 12 months – we went away camping – and Cameron had a try at fishing.   Didn’t catch anything – but fun to try.

Fishing for the first time

Some great Lego creations – Cameron will disappear & fiddle for hours

Snow day at Lake Mountain

Climbing a tree in the back yard

Watching Star Wars – 2nd time for Cameron – he’s seen IV, V, VI – and I.

Mobile zoo at a friend’s party – very cool !

Day out at the Werribee Open Range Zoo

Chalk drawing at Grandma’s

Goofy Faces

I really love Cameron’s sense of humour – and the stuff that he finds funny.   With modern phones, we can take a quick snap, and have a look – and he usually laughs his head off.

Here’s a few classic shots – destined to make it to the 21st wall too !

Bottom tooth loose – looking like a country yokel – LOL !

Doing the rock hands – heavy metal !

Hair spiked up for the school disco

Crazy wig + classes from Auntie Kath – love it !

Face painted as Harry Potter…

Crazy morning hair

Rocking out with a metal spoon (?)

Just after his tooth dropped out

Growing up

Cameron is growing so fast – he grew 6.5 cm in the last year – that’s 1/2cm a month !

He’s got a great attitude & understanding about people and their feelings – compassion & empathy – and an amazing laugh.

And – some very fantastic blue eyes – and freckles !

Happy Birthday !

Dear Cameron – hope you had a great 8th birthday, it’s amazing to see the way you approach life – with great energy & enthusiasm – and a barrel of laughs.   But – also, always a nice thought about other people’s feelings – especially your brothers.

We love you so very much – thanks for being such an awesome little guy !

Love from Mum & Dad.     

Gravity 12 Hour (Male Pairs)

Well, it’s nearly two weeks since I was packing up & driving off to Bright (Northern Vic) to compete in the annual Gravity 12 Hour Mountain Bike race.   

The idea of the race is to start riding at 8am – and ride until 8pm – sounds like a great day out, eh !?    

The trail is a 16km loop with a bunch of awesome sounding singletrack – I’d been checking the Strava details from my buddies the previous year.

The event is run out of the caravan park in town, with competitors able to camp for free – and so I loaded up the Festiva, and headed off for the 4 hour drive – on the Friday night before the race.   

When I arrived, I met up with some of my Twitter buddies who had driven down from Albury (less than 1.5 hours for them !) – and I set up camp next to them.   I registered at the event centre, and got my bike number – and then hit the hay.

When I woke up, it was DAMN cold – especially camping in a tent !    It seems to be colder than everywhere else in Bright – even in early February.   But – the reason it was so cold was a total cloudless sky – blue skies for the day ahead.

6.30am wake-up and the butterflies & excitement were building.   Some quick chatter over brekky with a few people (muesli + peanut butter sandwich) – and setup my bike – with my bike number, and msg’ed with my other riding buddies who were arriving from Albury (had driven down in the morning).

I actually knew quite a few people – friends via Twitter that I meet up a few times through the year.   Scott & Matt were riding solo – and so was Jarrod – and Jen & Brendan were doing a pairs event.  

Other friends were in teams as well (Matt & Tim) – and I saw Steve running pit-crew for another team.

The MTB guys & girls are always friendly – was a great vibe at the start of the day.

My riding buddy for the day was Jason, also down from Albury – I hadn’t actually MET him as yet – LOL !   

Based on recommendations from some other mutual friends, we organised to enter a team-pair – with the team name of “KESSEL RUNNERS”.    We’d be riding for 12 parsecs, or so it seemed – there’s a Star Wars joke in there for those that ‘get it’.

Our ‘pit’ for the day was at the very end of the start straight section – just before entering for the next lap.   The plan was to just ride a lap – and then tag – and the other rider would head out for a lap.  

I met up with Jason, and everyone was madly setting up gear, and unloading cars – some people rushing to get ready, after an early (EARLY) start and drive to Bright.

We drew straws to see who would ride the first lap – in other words, Jason said “I nominate YOU” – and so that was it.    (LOL !)

The Starting Line

For some crazy reason, the event organisers decided to have the riders do a ‘Le Mans’ style start – so everyone had to find a willing friend or stranger to hold their bike, and then en masse, we gathered at the top of the hill – probably 500m or so from the start line.   There were about 300 riders (at a guess) – so it was a mad dash when the “GO” signal was sounded.  

If you can imagine a stock-taking sale rush, except people grabbing for a mountain bike, instead of discount shoes – that was about the gist of it.   

It was kinda fun – lots of LOL’s – a silly but fun way to start the day.

As I began my first lap, it was apparent WHY they had done the start like that – as it was a peak-hour crawl for the first few KM’s – stop-start, and lots of passing people – and being passed by others.   The ‘self-seeding’ was beginning.

The First Lap (~8am-9am)

Knowing that it was a long day ahead, I “took in” the trails, working out the flow, and discovering some of the hill climb sections.    There were some great trail names – Wombat’s Lair, RollerCoaster, and Gorilla Warfare.

The trail headed out of town, to the nearby hills, and wound around, before heading back – and over some bridges across the river – and then into the caravan park.

Various terrain, including open rocky areas, and narrow pine tree singletrack, and a bunch of forest roads to join sections together.  

A great trail – and I was getting to ride it ALL DAY !

After about an hour, I was back at the caravan park, and tagged to Jason – who headed off for his lap.

Rest Up & Eat

While I had been out on my lap, the marquee had been set up, and tables & chairs too – thanks Gaye – great work !   

So, I was able to rest, cool-off, and had a drink & something to eat.  My food for the day was some banana’s, oranges, some chicken sandwiches, and a few energy drinks – and water with hydration powder.

My lap was 8am till about 9am – so I guess Jason would be back ~10am.   It was really nice to just sit & chill out, and ‘wait to ride’.   I spoke to a few other riders, and watched the procession of other competitors heading out for their lap/s.

Then, it was time to get ready for Jason to come back into the pits and a hand-slap – it was like that for the rest of the day (lap-on/lap-off at close to the one hour mark).

Lap #2 (~10am-11am)

Jason came back into the pits, and I took off for my 2nd lap.   Knowing the trail the 2nd time out was advantageous, and the crowds had subsided – meaning I was able to ride a little quicker.   

My 2nd lap was actually my fastest for the day – just under an hour (59mins).

My other pit buddies came into the pits – riding solo’s – and I said a hello, and helped them out with some drinks/food – before they took off again.   Riding solo looks tough – I’d like to try it (one day !).

Other Riders

Lots of news about people having troubles – I’d passed one guy who had lost his rear derailleur & chain, and was walking his bike out – poor lad…!

But was worse was for our friend Jen – who’d had a crash in the first lap (only 6km done) – and had a ride in an ambulance.   It turned out she was OK – some deep bruising in her leg – thanks to an argument with a LOG – she’d fallen when negotiating a gully run, with other riders pushing along close behind her.

I’d experienced a bunch of people passing ME – with most guys calling out ‘track’ – or ‘on your right’ – or simply ‘pass when you can’.   I usually felt pressured to move over, but often there was no room – or not safe to do so. 

MOST riders would be OK – and say thanks when passing – but some were rude & pushy – with no words spoken at all.   I yelled at one guy “just call if you want to pass” – he mumbled something as he raced off.   What a tool.

Lap #3 (~12pm-1pm)

After a banana and an energy drink – and a gel – I was well fuelled for more riding. 

3 laps done – that’s 48km so far.  I was updating FaceBook in between laps too – funny to look back and see.  

Thx to Ben for suggesting I “stop twittering and go smash some laps…!”    LOL !

Lunch Break

I made sure to have a decent lunch – with some chicken strips, cheese, lettuce & mayo – nice !   And had an orange – which I slurped down with gusto.

I also snagged a few pieces of fruit cake from Matt – who had unfortunately pulled out of the solo event.  He was pretty sore in the lower back – lots of road riding lately, and he had a brand new MTB ride (Epic) – and hadn’t ridden it much.   He was pretty down on himself – but was happy enough to hang out for the rest of the day.

Scott’s wife & young baby girl had come down from Albury – and his brother Brett & family – great to meet them and chat while waiting for my turn to ride.

Lap #4 (~2pm-3pm)

Was pretty hot & sunny by now – middle of the afternoon – and I was working out the FUN parts of the trail – and the TOUGH parts of the trail.   It was good to keep churning along, with some sections becoming very familiar.

Also, I strapped my helmet cam on for some GoPro footage.  It worked out really well – and you can see the trails that we were riding on (make sure you check out the 1080p version – nice footage !) :

** Rollercoaster

** Gorilla warfare (my favourite section of the trail)

** Coming into the pits – end of the lap

Close to the end of the lap, I rounded a corner, and saw one of my buddies Steve waiting to take photos.  I gave him a goofy grin – and kept riding.   Next corner – there he was again !    And then again !

He had been scrambling through the bush to get photos – for the riders, it seemed like he was teleporting between sections of the trail – LOL !

Thx Steve for the photos :

  

 

4 laps down – about 64km.   More distance than the Chase The Sun race event at Lysterfield – and still plugging along fairly well.  

Lap #5 (~4pm-5pm)

The trails were starting to get fairly hard by now – with some sections that I began to dread.   The downhill parts were starting to hurt more-and-more – even the arms on the rough DH sections – and calf muscles feeling the burn.

My back was the biggest concern – but I keep cruising along.  

5 laps done – that’s 80km…!

I made sure to eat a bit more chicken sandwich – and a can of energy drink – and then it was time to think about my ‘final’ lap.

Lap #6 (~6pm-7pm)

I’d been wondering if I’d manage a 6th lap – but ended up going for it – and it took all-I-had-left to finish it.  

I remember stopping a few times, overcooked, and struggling on some of the uphill sections.  

I dropped a chain too – when changing down gears – and also had to stop to wipe sweat out of my eyes – that stings !

I was starting to count DOWN the final few KM’s – there were signs every 1km – and so it was a good motivator to push myself to the end.

I rolled into our pits area at about 7.15pm – and said “that’s it – I’m done !”

6 laps – 96km – only 4km shy of my furthest MTB ride – and in ~6 hours.

Jason wasn’t keen to head out again – he didn’t have lights, or much night-riding experience, and chose not to do a 6th lap.  

And – so we were DONE !    “Kessel Runners” had finished 11 laps.

The Finish Line

I was feeling pretty good – mind & body – just exhausted.   Thankfully, there was a beer to celebrate the finish line – and some pizza on the way.

After 10mins of sitting & relaxing, I headed off for a clean-up – greatest shower ever !   I was pretty dry & dusty – and sweaty too – nice to have a wash.

When I got back to our tent area, Scott had just arrived after finishing his race – his 12 laps !    He rode DOUBLE what I did – amazing.

His body gave up on him, and he sat down, and was start to shiver & said he felt like he was going to spew.   He was totally spent, and probably dehydrated – and people were helping him get some warm clothes on, and get him back to normality.

His sense-of-humour was just fine though – we were LOL’ing about a story of when he had stopped to “take a leak” – and a female rider had stopped and asked with concern “are you OK ?” – and that she had ”copped an eyeful” – ha ha !

He ended up finishing 10th in the solo male category – brilliant.

Pack-up

The other guys were heading back to Albury, so they loaded up the ute with bikes, esky’s, marquee and gear – and they took off home.   

I was staying overnight, so I loaded my bike into the car, and then crawled into the tent – and was in bed asleep about 9.45pm – on a Saturday night !   

Sunday morning, was rise-and-shine, and take down the tent – and then 4 hour drive home – and headed off to a kid’s 4th birthday party in the arvo – phew !

Results + Data

Jason and I were pretty happy with how our “Kessel Runners” team went – we were essentially doing 1hr laps – or there abouts – the fast elite guys were doing 40min laps – but we were happy with our efforts.

And – we finished 17th in the list – amazing !!

My times were fairly consistent – which I was pretty happy with – about 63mins average – Jason’s times were a little quicker than mine – but only just !    (LOL !)

Wrap-up

It was great to finish my first 12-hour race – good to do in pairs – and not have to ride the entire 12-hours.   I’m sure I’ll work up to that – maybe next year ?

Pretty cool to see the laps on Strava – and a suffer score of 549 !

The Strava recording shows a lesser distance, due to GPS inaccuracies – but the event planners list it as a 16km circuit.

And – I checked a rider who did an exactly 1:00:00 lap – his time was 16.4 km/h – showing that it was a 16.4km lap.

*** Thanks heaps to Jason for being a great team mate – although I think we only spoke for about 1/2 an hour in total – for the entire day !    

And to my good MTB buddies Matt & Scott – you guys rock.   Scoota – you’re an inspiration !

Same time next year ??

Looking back on 2012

Well, it’s New Years Eve, and a fairly quiet night at home – each year seems to get less and less “party” – and more family fun time. 

I like to think back on the year-that-was – and to put a few loose goals in play for the New Year – not a New Years Resolution – but some thoughts/ideas to guide me.

Here’s my ‘year-in-review’ from previous years – 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 & 2006…  And a mid-year review in July 2012.

The weeks & months have flown by – quicker than ever – testament to a busy household – with three amazing young lads growing up fast.

Our family life relies on routine, and ‘action’ – in order to get through the day – school, kinder and such – and then evening times with dinner, baths, stories, bed, and then household chores – phew !

Cameron leapt into Grade One, and made a swag of amazing friends – he’s been invited to countless playdates and birthday parties – and had a great party of his own when he turned 7.  He’s a super energetic little dude – and we have a great friendship.   Next year, he’ll be turning 8 (!) – and into Grade Two – wow.

Liam has also changed a LOT – and is starting school soon.  Looking back a while ago, I remember thinking that he’s still such a little boy – but about 2-3 months ago, he seemed to suddenly become a ‘big boy’.   And – he turned 5 in October – he’s sooo ready for school.   He is still in his brother’s shadow a bit – which will change soon enough – for now, he’s in MY shadow – following me everywhere.  

Charlie will enter 3-year-old kinder in 2013, although he would say he’s ready for school !    He turned 3 in June – so he’s 3.5 now – and has become a stubborn little monkey – more so than his brothers were – I admire his determination, but damn frustrating sometimes.   Then again, he has the most amazing laugh – infectious – and he’s forever traipsing around with his big brothers.

Donna has been busy – with three kids (see above !) – and a crazy husband (me) – and takes it all in her stride.   I’m forever amazed at how she does it – and she even found time to create a masterpiece wedding cake – and work on the kindergarten committee group.   She’s enjoyed the cake decorating, it’s her main outlet for something of her own – as well as her reading, and TV shows – I’ve found her dozing in bed a number of times – with MERLIN still playing on the bedroom TV.   Thanks to my darling Donna for all that you do !   I love you more than you know.

————————————

2012 marked a big year for Donna and I – we both celebrated our 40th birthday !    We didn’t have a big party – but instead opted for a weekend in the city – without kids…    Nice to have some slow walks, and go see a movie, and late dinner (9pm !).   A few weeks later, we had organised a dinner party with some close long-term friends that kinda “turned into a party” – kids were dancing to LMFAO until 11pm – and “Daddy had a sore head” the next day.

A big highlight for the year (for us) was a fully renovated new kitchen.  This has been a few years in the thinking, and then a few months in the planning.   We had the old kitchen gutted, and ripped up the flooring.   A new kitchen – and then had to move out while the floors were polished.   It was a fairly chaotic 5-6 weeks – but is just part of normal life now.    I’m actually sitting at the new brekky bar right now.  

With the kitchen taking up a lot of ca$h, we couldn’t afford to go for a big family holiday for 2012.  Instead, we had a camping holiday to Lake Eildon.   It was the first family camping trip – and was hard work actually !    We were confined to the tent for one day (rain) – and was very cold overnight – but nice to get away – and have fun with family, and two other families as well – friends from work.

For me personally – work+career followed a path that was good, bad & ugly.   Some great work projects – and some up’s and down’s with my company (OBS).   We won the “Best Place To Work” award – paradoxically, at a time when I was on assignment out in the suburbs – and feeling a looong way from it all.   I guess the winter-time blues didn’t help – I just kept plugging away at work – and had a few “tantrums” to let people know that I was only ‘just’ happy.   On the flip-side, I made some great friends at two client locations – over the course of 5-6 months.   And I had a few run-ins with people via email – over-reacting to something on FaceBook – hurt feelings & ruffled feathers, but I think it’s all done-and-dusted now.

At a time when I was tasked with some tedious technical work, there was an announcement at OBS about a Windows 8 competition.  The first prize was a stack of cash, so I cracked my knuckles, and set about learning how to develop a “Metro” app.   This was via the Windows 8 beta, and Visual Studio 2012 beta – and I relished in the challenges.   I actually had to drag myself to bed at 1.30am – as I just wanted to keep going.   The personal thinking challenges were greatly needed at the time.  

And – I ended up creating TWO app’s for the competition – and scored a 2nd place and 3rd place – and won $4,000 !    After-tax, I had about $2,500 – and it mostly got swallowed up on credit card, and school fees – but I did manage to buy myself a GoPro Hero3 helmet cam for Christmas – will be lots of fun with that.  

My ‘out-of-work’ work was busy too – with a presenting slot at the Australian SharePoint Conference (AUSPC) – with a session that I was fairly proud of – in a room of over 100 people – and some great feedback and comments.

Later in the year, I decided to skip the local “SharePoint Saturday” session, but was a late entry to fill a slot when another presenter was unwell.   I literally compiled a session during the keynote opening, and then spoke for an hour.   Big adrenaline rush – I didn’t have time to get nervous !

Also, managing the Melbourne SharePoint User Group (MSPUG) has been an up-and-down affair – with declining numbers, and feeling like a chore some months – we keep at it – and hope for some bigger & better things in 2013.

Of course, 2012 was a big year for sport for me – mainly cycling.

Back in March, I competed in a triathlon – I’d found the training hard for running & swimming, and was a little thankful for the cancelled swim leg.  I can’t really say “I’ve done a triathalon” – but I can’t see I’ll be back for another go.   (was a few days before AUSPC as well – so Feb. was training + presentation preparing)

I participated in a few cycling events – firstly with the Wombat 100 Mountain Bike event in April – with a lot of training & km’s on the bike.   That was the focus after the triathlon – all through March, and early April.   I actually spent the first Saturday after I turned 40 on a lilo in a hotel room – and got up at 6am to ride 100 km’s.   Yep – crazy !   It was a full 8 hours of riding – and a crash + buckled wheel – such a great feeling of achievement at the finish line.

After the race event, I spent lots more time with family (in May) – and then we had the kitchen renov’s.   So – that took me+us through winter.

The next big event I competed in was the Around The Bay race – I did a LOT of training for this too – with 100, 120, and 160 km day rides in the months leading up.   It was a very tough ride – just a loooong day – but I was so proud of my achievement.   225km !

Not long after, I entered a local Mountain Bike race – the Lysterfield Chase The Sun.  This was a lap-style race at my local trail location – and I did a 5-hour race with 54km completed – and 9 laps of the tough Commonwealth Games circuit (from 2006).   Again, I was stoked with my achievement – a good result for all the hard work.

In 2012, I’ve also managed to do some Mountain Biking at Mt. Buller – and an afternoon with buddies in Albury (Nail Can Hill) – and even Malaysia !  

And – just after Christmas, have ticked off a ride up the Arthur’s Seat hill climb (on my road bike).

For 2012, I’ve clocked over 4,600km (according to Strava) – I’d hoped for 5,000 – but fell a bit short.   Also – my goal of riding to work once a week was a FAIL – with about 43 out of 52 weeks.   Not “too” bad !   

My riding stats show 200 hours of riding for 2012 – over 8 days worth !

Musically speaking, 2012 has taken a back seat – doesn’t seem to have been as many concerts or bands – but there actually WAS quite a few :

• MachineHead – sideshow from SoundWave – with Chimara and (?)
• SoundWave – BIG day of bands
• SoundGarden – great to see them, and had a great vantage point
• Karnivool – drove to Geelong for that show !
• Fear Factory – brilliant concert – really enjoyed this one
• Shihad – another amazing gig from them
• Spotify !!    Awesome music delivery software – streaming audio – no need for MP3’s or CD’s anymore – it’s just fvcken brilliant.

Just for future-proofing, I thought I’d note the TV shows that I’ve been enjoying also – this year has been Breaking Bad, Homeland & Dexter – and just getting into The Walking Dead.   Donna has been watching Merlin, Haven, Grimm and Once Upon A Time.   We don’t have many in common – LOL !

With the chaos & mayhem of our growing family, I’m thankful that my work role does not involve much travel – it would just be too hard on Donna & the kids.   I almost made it through 2012 without a plane flight at all !

However, I pestered management with requests to be considered for a training course to be held in Malaysia.   This was a five-day SharePoint 2013 developer course – only 2 weeks before Christmas.  

Was some great material, and I was re-enthused about SharePoint – at a time which I needed a shot-in-the-arm – and also did some sight-seeing and looking about in Kuala Lumpur.

While I was in Malaysia, I heard sad news from Denmark that my dear Auntie Maureen had passed away.  She was my Mum’s only sister, and had been battling cancer for many years, with some remission & reprieve, only to have it come back even more aggressively.  My Mum had been to see Maureen in August, knowing it was a goodbye mission – sad news, but glad that Maureen is at peace now.

Closer to home, there was a lot of joy in 2012, with many babies being born to friends via work (new babies to Matt T, Janelle & Bing), and from Mountain Biking friends (new baby to Scott, and also to Anthony) – and news of pregnancies all around – there really *IS* something in the water !

Donna and I went to awesome wedding too – my close friend Chris H, who was my best man at our wedding – long overdue for a happy couple.   The event was a ‘cocktail wedding’ – we had some great food, lots of beers (for me) – and some dancing & great fun.

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So – that just about does it for 2012 – and yes, it’s now 2013 !    Happy New Year !

As far as some plans for the year ahead – well, off the top of my head :

• Continue being “the best dad in the whole entire world” – so say my kids
• Spend some quality time with Donna – more ‘date nights’ – not just every 5-6 months (!)
• 40×40 blog – I started this when I turned 40 – and would like to continue with it
• Devote more time & attention to our darling dog Chloe – she’s 10 now
• Work-related (1); spruik the new bits about SharePoint 2013 – internal training to other OBS’ers – and AUSPC, and NZSPC (?)
• Work-related (2); HTFU…  need to build on self-composure a little – nuff said.
• More bike events – book for Gravity 12 hour – and maybe re-do Wombat 100
• Book for the “Great Victorian Bike Ride” – in October
• Blog more – for SharePointRoot – and GrumpyWookie

And – that about wraps it up…

Hope you & your family have a wonderful 2013 – hopefully *I* am part of it in some way – via work, friends, cycling – or whichever way the universe provides.

Mountain Biking in Kuala Lumpur – Bukit Kiara

Recently, I had a work-related trip to Kuala Lumpur, and arranged for a day of sight-seeing – and emailed to a bunch of websites & forums asking about Mountain Biking while I was there.

I simply Google’d for “Mountain Biking” and “Kuala Lumpur” – and found a few blogs/sites (eg. MTBR) – and emailed to the folk at KLMBH and then Melody at the KL MTB Carnival – who put me in touch with Stanley Ng.  

He suggested his favourite spot called Bukit Kiara – or to Putrajaya Challenge Park.

After a bunch of emails back and forth, It eventuated that there were no real “bike hire” places – or trailheads – but that Stan was able to borrow a bike for me – just bring shoes+pedals – he even borrowed a helmet for me – nice !   

And – he’d pick me up at the hotel and take me out to Bukit Kiara – awesome.

MTB’ing in a foreign country, with a total stranger !?   I guess it’s true that “a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met”.

About 4pm was the agreed time, I was waiting the lobby, and saw a car with a MTB on the back, and figured it was Stan – so we said hello and I jumped in.   The weather was pretty muggy & hot – and had been raining for close to two hours – very humid !

I’m glad I wasn’t driving in KL – the traffic was chaos – peak-hour out of town – and it was SUNDAY – not even a week day – LOL !

We parked the car, and setup the bikes – attached my pedals – and prepared to set off.   I quickly discovered that the brakes were the opposite to what I was used to – this could be interesting !    And slightly different feel to my own bike – took about 10 mins to get acquainted.

Scott Spark for the ride

Stan getting his bike ready to ride

As we started out, the rain began as a drizzle – actually a little relief from the heat – it was nice & cool.    We rode up some tricky singletrack, through the rainforest, along the ridge of an embankment.  

Getting used to the bike, and wet trails, and tight sections was a bit of a challenge at first – I bashed my shoulder into a tree, and had a few rear-wheel spin-outs – and a bit of stop-start.

Stan explained that the trails are reducing in area, mainly due to some over-development of the area – we rode past some big (BIG) fencing – they reminded me of the fences in Jurassic Park – to keep out a T-Rex.  

The local mountain bike crew met with council & the construction company, and the fencing stopped – but, they simply left the materials along the forest roads – a bit of a mess.

In the wet, I was expecting the trails to be slippery & muddy – but it was more clay/clag – had more “grip” than I expected, but still unfamiliar to me – and so it was slow going.

The Singletrack was looped around and crossed a few forest roads, and we rode up a bitumen road for one section – originating at the Equestrian Centre.  

Some great trail names, including Wasteland, and Snakes & Ladders.

Just after crossing a forest road (wide open trail in THIS part)

Singletrack smilin’

It was great to have some local knowledge – of the trails, and the area – and Stan pointed out some of the rubber trees – with bags collecting the latex.   “Don’t touch ‘em – if you break the bag, and get it on you – it stinks !”

We kept riding – some tricky up-hill sections, and hike-a-bike parts – very tropical foliage – and was still raining – we were getting soaked – they don’t call it a “rainforest” for nothing…

I joked to Stan that the trails remind me of some scenes from the Colombian jungles in scenes from “Romancing The Stone” – that scene when we first meet Jack Colton (the Michael Douglas character) – LOL !

Getting hard to see

With the constant rain, my glasses were soaking wet – I needed wiper blades – and it was dark in among the trees – with an overcast (clouded) sky.  

We stopped a few times – but I was soooo soaked, I couldn’t dry off my glasses.   I only took a few photos – as I wasn’t sure how my rain the iPhone could handle before it conked out.

We rode from the upper-right (picture below), and across this bridge

Heading back up the trail, after the bridge

Action shot, along the river trail

The climbs were getting harder & harder with the mud, and a had a few slips & falls, and had to hike-a-bike up some sections that were just too steep.  

We saw a few wild monkeys (!) – they were rummaging through the bins – one had a baby monkey on it’s back – amazing to see them in the wild – I think they were fairly used to see people.

We did one awesome section of trail with a flowing downhill segment, and then a shortish climb back up to the 4-way road crossing – we ended up doing the same loop again – and then headed up to ‘twin peaks’.   

There was a bit of a view out over the valley – but it was raining, and cloudy – it would have been a great view over Kuala Lumpur, on a nice clear day.

By now, the trails had rivers of water running down, and we were entirely soaking wet – so we started to head back down to the car.  

Also, it was nearly 7pm – and starting to get dark, so it was getting even more difficult to see the trails – last bit of Singletrack called TNT + Dirty Deeds.   We came out onto the bitumen road for the last section, rode and down through the Equestrian Centre.

Here’s the map of the trails we covered – thanks Stan for being an awesome tour guide !

Post ride dinner + beers

After we got back to the car, we decided to ride on the suburban streets – to a local outdoor eatery – where I had to rely on Stan to help with ordering (local language).  

I asked for a Thai Green Curry – but the chef told me (via translation) that it was fairly spicy (!) – so I opted for a Pad Thai noodle dish – and we ordered some beers too.

We had the courtyard to ourselves – it was raining still – but we were totally soaking wet – so didn’t bother us.   Stan said that they often head to the same place after rides – and so he knew the local staff.

Over noodles & some Tiger beers, we chatted about Australia & Malaysia, and the various cultural, religious, social & economical differences – and personal family situations with up-coming Christmas & Chinese New Year.  

It turns out Stan went to university in Melbourne, and lived there for five years – so we knew some similar areas & suburbs.

He & his wife are hoping to come to Melbourne again – hopefully for a work placement (residency visa) – and so I’ll have to take him out to Lysterfield for some trails.

After we’d finished a few beers – the rain had stopped (doh !) – and we rode slowly back to the car – and loaded up the bikes.    I had to sit on some newspaper as I was still sopping wet – and didn’t want to get mud on the leather seats (nice car, Stan !)

It was a fairly easy drive back to the hotel – and I said goodbye to my new biking buddy about 9.30.   

Wow – what a great afternoon + evening – some great trails, and a unique wilderness – and good local knowledge.   And, lots of chatting over noodles & beer.

Thanks Stan – hope to see you in Melbourne sometime !

The last time I had an overseas trip, I went MTB’ing in the SNOW (Seattle) – so I can now add “Malaysian rainforest” – awesome !