Training Log Archive: Yak

Travelling back from Alice.

One tends to clock up the kms when living about 8kms out of town..
Rode out the other side to Telegraph Station once again - did foot fieldwork in really hot conditions - then met with rangers re permament course there.

Then decided that I deserved some R & R so I took myself off for a proper bike-ride. Long way to Wrigleys (north) then followed the race route on a 4wd track east for quite a few kms and then onto the great single-track of Warrigal back towards the TS and some other single tracks to get there.
(About 2 hrs in total)

Then rode to Gillen to have a meeting with Doris & Hugh Round and at 6pm had a fast trip back to Arid Research station as darkness was falling.
Fantastic sunset but unfortunately my ph had just run out of battery.

Walking around TS planning permanent and schools O control sites -very hot. Bought 2 drinks at the café afterwards.

Ride back from Larapinta PS to research centre and then a looksee around their grounds.

I was expecting to do O at Larapinta PS tomorrow but Principal called with a late change request. I got there early to look around for control sites and plan courses, as it was newly mapped by Manu at end of last year - so just a little stressful. Fairly even mix of aboriginal and others all of whom were well behaved and caught on quickly. School site was quite extensive for a primary school plus they have direct access to the local sports ground next door, where I set one course.

Sessions went well despite the fact that after recess the first kid to control 1 came back quickly to report that there was a snake coiled up on the control (a plate one). Principal seemingly had the snake catcher on speed-dial and it was dispatched quickly. Luckily no 1 was the closest to my start / map exchange area so we continued just missing that one out for a few minutes.

Took Cathy out to tea at Casa Nostra, as Stu had flown to Armidale for a conference. Cathy had dropped me and the controls at L PS in the morning and picked the controls up in the afternoon - her last day of holidays as private schools go back later than public schools.

Got a thank-you in person from the Principal on the day and over the weekend by email.

Riding to Telegraph station then to town for Educ dept meeting re O Schools Champs; to CDU to do map corrections & look at sites for perm course; to Raby's place; to velodrome at Braitling to hear elite Craig talk.
Then back in dark to squash courts where Cathy picked me up.

Slow walking at Tele Station (2 hrs) and then CDU doing O control site tagging. Saw lots of rock wallabies and kangaroos lying in the shade and they didn't bother to move unless I went too close.

Very tired. Havent been sleeping well.
Rode around doing odd jobs....telegragh station, printer, araleun centre to look at Territorian portraits, several schools...then back to Cathys place 10km out of town.

Got an email from MTBA today saying sorry for not presenting marathon 2nd place medal....bit shitty. In post.

C • Was wondering 1

Extra kms today. 6km ride to Telegraph station start.
Afterwards I rode thru town with Geoff and out to the Desert Park, where I had a quick bite and he went on to visit Simpson Gap. I then went to Flynn's grave and rode most of the short mtbo course I had set there, meeting up with Tash & Ricky who were about to start. Then I checked out the Larapinta middle distance map and found some map corrections.

Did a lap of the crit course at Scout Hall and then visited cultural centre shop (albeit with no money), then back to town to withdraw money, and back to Lassiters.

Day 3 of Easter in the Alice.
Had the rare experience of having doing a long TV interview on the start line. Fun. A nice course was promised and it was delivered. I loved it. Av 14.0kph
6 kms of fireroad out to Stuart Highway & Wrigley's and then some of the nicest flowy single track to be found in Alice. I even put it on the big ring on some of it! Quite a lot of contouring too.

A nuisance factor was the 500+ metres of deep sand, part of which we all had to walk. The other was that I somehow missed a turn and did an extra 1.5km and allowed some to finish ahead of me without passing me, much to their surprise. I felt like a mt bike rider in this event and I was able to ride fast rather than be limited by my risk averse strategy given that there were few big rocks today.
Had a ding dong race to the finish with 2 other guys over the last 6kms, which I won narrowly.

I won W60 over Carolyn today as she had a tyre split and had to return to get another. Geof Luders won M60 and overall; Ricky Thackray won today but was 2nd in GC; Bill V was 3rd in M60.

Day 2 - Techie day. Telegraph station and east to Kurrajong and return.
Never in it from the get go ...Had to hang back because there were techie bits early on and then I got led off course by the guy in front of me, who went 180 degree the wrong way for 150 metres. (I had known where I should have been going but was intent on following his wheel) By then even the tailenders had sneaked ahead of me. Got through a few, including Tash, who was befuddled by the 144 strong field too.

First 10 kms was really nice but then there were large sections of the next 10km that were unrideable for me. Geoff, a fellow South Australian said that it was the hardest course he had ever ridden and if we had put that course on in SA there would have been a mutiny. In some cases they seemed to have just put pink ribbons up amongst boulder fields and there was no visible track! I didn't appreciate this hike a bike.

Riding to and from the Telegraph station start & finish and also showing Geoff some of the sites of Alice Springs afterwards.