Fun in the mud and rain

The principles behind the Cyclic Navigator are very simple. You jump on your bike with a map and compass and have five hours to pick up as many of the marked controls as possible. Sound simple?

I had a great time and only make two mistakes all day. The first was turning right when I should have turned left. Suddenly I found myself on a long, fast, downhill run which ended at a dam which was in exactly the opposite direction to where I wanted to be. My second mistake was not doubling back to where I went wrong and sticking to my plan. In my cleverness I tried to make up a new plan on the spot and that's where is all turned to custard. It seems it's hard to make good decisions when your wet and cold and tired. Who knew?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I had the benefit of hindsight's full measure as I sat in the bath with the map and a beer last night, trying to soak off the mud. Of the piddling 170 points I managed to score - 150 of them were in the first three hours and only 20 after that. Obviously I need some more practice at mountain bike orienteering. (I see there's a MTB-O event down in Tassie not long after I get there.) And well done to Andy, Glo and Ken, who put in a stunning effort with 380 points. Steve was a bit sad he couldn't ride yesterday. He was a lot less sad when I told him how much fun he would have had if he'd ridden with me!

On the bright side, the new bike is a joy to ride. There was mud - lots of mud - rain, dirt roads and singletrack and the bike was fantastic all day. Even the saddle was comfortable. Despite not going all that well, I really had a great time. Honest. Less fun is cleaning all the mud off everything.

The photo at the top left is me competing in the 2DayFM triathlon about 22 years ago. I still ride the same bike, although it's red these days. I've been going through some old photos and found a few old cycling shots.

2,793km so far this year.

Sydney does have some attractions

I'm up in Sydney for work for a few days. Rather than fly I decided to drive so I could take my mountain bike. My mate Danny and I hit Katoomba yesterday to ride Narrowneck, which is rated one of the best mountain bike rides in the Blue Mountains.

I've done the 20-odd kilometre trip may times on foot over the years, usually with a pack on my back and I've never enjoyed it. It's a long road bash with some good views but not much else to redeem itself.

But on a bike? Wow and wow! Covering the ground more quickly means it's a fun ride and the highlights are much closer together. Around every corner is another stunning view. This ride's popularity is reputation is well deserved. A most excellent day out.

Dusted off the old MTB for a night ride on the singletrack circuit around the forests near Redesdale in central Victoria last week. The course is used for one of the 24 hour races in December. My trusty old 24-speed Trek is hardtail from the pre-suspension era when dinosaurs roamed a cooling earth, kindly referred to as a 'boneshaker' by one of my fellow riders. But it does the odd MTB orienteering event just fine, and with a 'she'll be right' we set off into the sunset. Hey, I am the bloke who came a gritty last in the 1986 Australian national mountain bike championships. How hard can it be?

Well, didn't I learn a lesson? They invented suspension and disk brakes for a very good reason. As my riding companions disappeared into the darkness, I damn near shook the fillings out of my teeth and the plates and pins from the Bad Arm. I probably would have been ok in the day, and while shoulder-charging trees in the dark is lots of fun, the pain is cumulative. I set out with high hopes of completing two 15km laps, but slunk back to the car with my tail between my legs after 7km. Hey, but it was a hard 7km. My computer must have broken or something, because it recorded my average speed as 11km/h. It took a six pack to recover from the hurt and shame.

A flash new mountain bike has been added to the bottom of my very long wishlist.

2483km so far this year.