JetBlack 12 Hour 2015 Race Wrap Up

I’ll cut straight to the chase.  This year’s JetBlack 12 Hour race was a DNF.

I could list a heap of excuses as to why I didn’t finish but I’ll use just two:
1) In the 4 weeks leading up to the race I had ridden a total of 56km
2) In the 4 weeks leading up to the race I had a bout of bronchitis, laryngitis, mystery deathbed illness and had formed a habit of urinating blood quite often.

So anyway, I travelled six and a half hours through rain and hail to arrive at the beautiful James Estate Winery in Baerami NSW.  After a quick setup of my camping spot I settled in for a cold night and a hot meal with the Spin Cycle Clothing MTB Team and the Pedal 4 Pierce crew.

The rain cleared and we were in for a warm and sunny start for the race.  I donned the Soldier On Cycling kit for the final time in a race and made sure my bike was ready to roll.

After some deliberation over starting the race in a long sleeve or a short sleeve jersey I started the race with the guns on display. I headed off onto the grinding fire-road before entering the pristine James Estate singletrack.  The field spread itself out with the whippets at the front and the slow grinders at the back.  I found myself somewhere in the upper middle of the pack and set an easy pace for myself.

My easy pace idea was flawed from the start as I found my heart-rate sitting between 170-180bpm for my first two laps.  I pitted for a few minutes to have a quick feed and swap out my bidon before heading out again.  I was already feeling fatigued and I had been riding for a little over one hour.  My plan of taking it easy with plenty of stops, looked like it would need a few extended stops thrown in for good measure.  I headed out again a nice easy pace once again and watched as my heart-rate edged ever closer to my 185bpm maximum.

On my third lap leg cramps started to creep up on me.  It was very obvious that my lack of training and conditioning was going to rear its ugly head sooner rather than later.

I was about three-quarters into my third lap when I came off my bike immediately after a fairly innocuous drop off thanks to my front wheel going one way and the rest of my bike wanting to have a nap on the dirt.  Despite what I thought after brushing myself off, my fall didn’t help my ongoing cramping issues.

I pitted after my forth lap and headed out for a cramp/pain filled fifth lap.  Every little pinch climb and every time I stood out of the saddle caused my quads to seize up.  Getting to the end of this lap was difficult so I decided I would definitely have an extended rest/most likely retire from the race just shy of 4 hours on the bike.

After hanging up my helmet, having a feed and getting changed; I spent the remainder of the 12 hour race taking photos of the event and helping Mrs Rocket Rolls pit crew for Rocket Rolls.

While my race didn’t go well it was great to see some great results from my friends in the Spin Cycle Clothing MTB Team and the Pedal 4 Pierce Crew!