KONA Dirt Crits - Lysterfield - Wednesday 3rd March

I got an e-mail last week about Dirt Crits starting up at Lysterfield. I thought this would be a good chance to get some extra training in at a fast race pace. The day started out normal, rode to work and back (70km), then rolled down to Trailmix only 12 km from home to register. I had to ride to the start of the race which was at the other end of the park. The A grade rides headed out first at 6.45pm.

The race started off casually with Snozza’s, ‘OK fellas away you go’. It was a fast start on fire roads with James Kennedy (Merida), Scott Chancellor and myself up front. I was first into the single track and led though the first lap with a small gap back to James. On the second lap Scott came up to my wheel and that was where he stayed until the last lap. Going out for the last lap I put in an effort on a small rise and managed to gap Scott by 20 metres. I continued to work hard for the rest of the lap and came away with the win.

The guys from Trailmix did a great job, it has been a while since I have raced any Dirt Crits and I look forward to doing it again soon.

Gravity 12 Hour

I'm back!

I have had 4 months off racing as Kim has gone back to work full time and I have not had a break from racing for a long time. I needed to reenergize myself. With KONA being a major sponsor of the Gravity 12 Hour I thought this would be a good opportunity to get back into the swimg of things. I have raced Solo for the last 2 year but decided it was time to give pairs racing a go. I teamed up with Phillip Bellingham, we had a ripper start with Phillip leading the run before getting on the bikes. We came 3rd in the pairs. It was hard work but alot of fun riding. I pulled up alright and look forward to racing with some of the young guys from the KONA team at the KONA 24 HOUR in a couple of weeks time.

Chase the Sun Round 1 - 8 hours

Last Sunday was the first round of the Chase the Sun series. There was not much sun to be seen. With forecasts of heavy rain and strong winds it was just a matter of time before the race turned bad. We were lucky to get out 5 hours before the race was stopped. I finished up 2nd. Kim took Alec home early and I managed to get a lift home with Tim from Kona - Thanks Tim.

Alec's face says it all, this is what the liitle fella looked like before the race even started.

Thanks Tony (Luke Fetch's Dad for the photo)

BMC 100km Woodend

We spent the weekend at Kim's cousins place in Woodend which made the early start on Sunday not so bad. The race was delayed half an hour. We headed of at 7.30am. The mountain bike tracks were alot of fun. I wasn't exactly fired up for a fast race so was happy to come away with a top 15 place.

MONT 24hr Canberra (The Bird)

The MONT 24 hour was the first time I have raced in a team. It was a great experience and a lot of fun. The KONA cross country team was all ready to race until 2 weeks out Simon Flower broke his collarbone then 1 week out Geoff Schilg came off his bike ending up in hospital luck to have not done too much damage. So.. we were 2 riders down. Geoff's younger David filled in and Brian.
Our 6 man team consisted of 3 old blokes (Andrew Bell, Brian Johns and myself) and 3 young blokes (Campbell Townsend, Phillip Bellingham and David Schilg). Not that we are that old but the young guys are only 18-21.
We got off to a good start but when the first results were posted we were 20 minutes down. By 1am we were only 2 minutes away from 1st place. This was when I went to bed. I was able to get 5 hours of sleep. Through the night the boys were very consistent and we tustled for the lead until morning. When I woke up it was very close. We decided I would do an extra lap as a couple of crashes and doing the laps in the wee small hours had taken it's toll on the young guys. We ended up coming away with the win 8 minutes up.

6 Hour Enduro at Mount Beauty

Spent the weekend at Mt Beauty for the 6 hour Enduro. Rode a couple of laps on Saturday with my cousin Ian Franzke.
The race started with dark clouds, rain and thunder. The word was that it would all pass fairly quickly. The rain helped settle some dust and cleared shortly after the start. Adam Gibson did a hot lap right from the start and was close behind me after that for the rest of the race. I came away with the win which was a first in the KONA colours and got to defend my title from last year.

Labour Day Long Weekend in Albury Wodonga

Spent the weekend up in Albury Wodonga for a round of the State Series and the Multisport Spectacluar Weekend. I was part of an Allstars team for the Multisport race (swim, mtn bike, rollerblade, paddle then run) It was a bit of fun. I only had to ride 8km. Our team came away with the win.