BNA Mont 24 team

[leximack]

Only comparison I have is in 2012 it was 15.7 km. 275m climbing. A good time then was under an hr. My best time was 1.01 hrs.

This time is close to 2 km longer. with just a little more climbing. I should be considerably faster than in 2012.But my technical skills are not as good as then so my guess for me it will be somewhere around 1:10h flat to 1:15h and about 5 min longer for night laps.
but we will see.
The real guns will perhaps do it under 60 min

last Mont i did was in 2011 and back then it was a 16km lap with 240m climbing. My best lap was 55min but most were aroud the 1h mark. So im hoping i can do 55-60min lap flat out and 60-65min laps as an average. Depends on traffic though and diffuculty of the track. Looking forward to it now, no long to go

[AUbicycles]

Distance is 19.1km

Come on brakes - where are you?

[m@]

You might find you'll go faster without brakes, Christopher - as the old roadies' proverb says: "per ciclo veloce, è necessario ciclo lentamente."

[AUbicycles]

Got everything - getting a few last minute supplies and with the slightly altered time-frame we are heading down tio arrive late afternoon.

A plug for Cadel Evans Winners Bars who is looking after the "Cycling is in my BNA" team racing nutrition and energy needs.

I will be wearing my BNA cycling cap, or a baseball cap with ZIPP, so do say goodday if you spot me. Of course it is team kit for me (and Matt) on the race course.

[StanlyTheManly]

Solid performnce. M@ should be known as Mr Consitancy. A crash or 2 but no broken bones. Essentially no Mechanicals apart frome 1 caused by a crash. I don't think any of us had flats either. My legs faded towards the end. Can't say I enjoyed lap 6. Loved the first 3 or 4 laps. It is an awesome track.
atmosphere at the mont is perhaps 2nd to none. Friendly & familie orientated. Right now I'm never doing one again.....but I'm sure this will change once the endorphins hit.

My best time was a 0:57:03

best time according to strava is somewhere around the 46 min mark. Results are not out yet.

[zero]

Solid performnce. M@ should be known as Mr Consitancy. A crash or 2 but no broken bones. Essentially no Mechanicals apart frome 1 caused by a crash. I don't think any of us had flats either. My legs faded towards the end. Can't say I enjoyed lap 6. Loved the first 3 or 4 laps. It is an awesome track.
atmosphere at the mont is perhaps 2nd to none. Friendly & familie orientated. Right now I'm never doing one again.....but I'm sure this will change once the endorphins hit.

My best time was a 0:57:03

best time according to strava is somewhere around the 46 min mark. Results are not out yet.

I'm glad I put the extra light on my helmet, since that did enable me to see the trees from the "flying over the bars" vantage point

Thanks for filling the vacant spot and errr, let nobody ever allow Stanly the opportunity to self-grade into any competition, as his idea of "slow old man slowing the team down", was of course to be the fastest rider on the team

[StanlyTheManly]

hey overall a fantastic effort.

everyone was in the same boat. rowing the same direction.
no one pulled out because the just CBF any more. Evereyone should be proud of thioer own individual performance. There will always be a fasted rider. there will always be a consistant rider. There will always be a slowers rider. I think every one of us can hold thier head up high.
Trasitions went like clock work.
every one got on well.
I feel everyone gave it thier best shot & still managed to have a lot of fun. You can't ask for more than that.



Great event. Although until the endorphins hit later today or tomorrow. I'm never doing another one again.

[m@]

Thanks guys - great to meet you all and a solid effort by everybody. I felt like we struck just the right balance between pushing ourselves while still having a fun weekend

We did well to draft in a semi-professional - we missed Stefan watching the start... turns out it was because he was up front drafting the motorbikes and on the way to the team's fastest lap by several minutes!

I pulled up fairly well aside from my arms and wrists being quite sore - probably a sign that I didn't really push myself quite hard enough; my first lap was my fastest, despite being held up in traffic the most. I think the only one I didn't really enjoy was my second, starting on dusk, where my helmet light failed after five minutes Fortunately I left the charger for that light in the charging tent - so I will just have to buy another to replace it (and have a spare battery)

The course was much rougher than I was expecting (and I've spent a lot of time at Kowen). I think the combination of the dry conditions, recent tree thinning in the forest and track choice meant it was a lot rougher than the average out there. Beer Garden was almost unrecognisable, especially toward the end when some of the corners were more pothole than berm, and the rest was just dust!

I'll hopefully get some time to muse on the event at length soon, but I thought it was a great way to spend a weekend - the atmosphere, organisation and weather were all second-to-none. Great manners on display out on the course; I had no real issues passing or being passed, and there was quite a bit of friendly banter.

I might have to get you to put me in contact with your endorphin dealer Stefan...


Sunday morning, lifted from my Instagram feed... the story of a long night, told in tyre tracks.

[AUbicycles]

We had pretty good conditions at the Mont24, a great crowd of supporters and competitors and a good vibe.

While we were not competitive, we all rode with dedication and for the 19.km course totalled 420km with an average lap time of 1 hour 6 minutes. As a team we clocked in at 119 from 501 team overall and in our category of Mens 4-some (open) were 22 from 121 teams.

StanlyTheManly and M@ had the best times cracking the 1 hour. They also both did 6 laps. I missed out but will blame my equipment which was the oldest MTB at the Mont24 this year. I actually got a few comments and perhaps a few smirks.

JB and myself made sure we left our mark, both with a few tumbles. My stupid tumble was in lap one shortly after the start to put the water bottle in the cage while navigating a berm, it did not turn out awesome and I switched to the camelback.

Regarding the course, it was easy to follow and while it was not too technical with regard to climbing or navigating obstacle, most of the course had pine roots and raggerd rocks throughout meaning you had to be constantly aware to pick your lines and navigate. It was relatively dusty which affected steering grip, a lot of corners quickly getting dusty and eaten out.

The friendliness and courtesy of riders was brilliant on the course with 99% vocal and making it easy. I am thinking of next time and how nice a 6er team would be.

[AUbicycles]

Here are some photos:


Friday evenint at Mont24 2014 with the fantatic sunset.


m@ in team gear -


Me, in between laps on saturday afternoon.

[Mapomatic]

Congratulations guys, looks like a lot of fun was had!

[m@]

Yeah, I reckon the 29er Anthem is just about the perfect bike for Canberra's pine forest trails - I definitely had an easier time over the rough and off-camber corners than those on 26" wheels and hardtails. A little less nimble through the tighter sections mind you...

I also had a minor off, just after passing someone on my second-last lap when I took a dodgy line into an off-camber section, and ended up sliding into a rocky gutter and losing the front end. No real damage done, though both the bike and myself required some minor attention with the toolkit back at camp.

Great photos Christopher; a classic Canberran sunset on Friday... almost makes me miss the place I was chillin' like a villain waiting for one of the team domestiques to refill my bidon... I am still waiting

Congratulations guys, looks like a lot of fun was had!

Thanks, sorry you missed out this year... I reckon there might be at least two BNA teams next year though - perhaps one six-pack and one foursome... outside chance of a singlespeed four

[StanlyTheManly]

Yes Canberra was showing its best side for sure.
What about that thunderstorm on Sat afternoon. Temp dropped by about 10 deg. And it just came & went.
Got rid of a lot of dust too.

[leximack]

what a weekend, will write up something when i have some more time but just quickly

12th in category (121 teams, open 4's)
23 laps, 440km
1 x flat
0 x mechanicals
$400 ebay Giant 26" Anthem Dually ran faultlessly
1 x Fight with a tree, tree won - Me sore shoulder but otherwise fine
Fastest lap for me of 55min 39sec
3 out of our 4 man team went under 1hr a few times
Double night lap was a killer
Great atmosphere on and around the track
Awesome fun with mates

Don

[StanlyTheManly]

Awesome effort Don.

[AUbicycles]

leximack, did you spot any of us?

[Chuck]

Awesome effort Don.

+1

[leximack]

leximack, did you spot any of us?

i didnt notice any BNA kits when i was riding around, i would of said hello if i spotted anyone.

[StanlyTheManly]

I guess that's me chasing the Motorbike on BNA's behalf