TRIBUTE

To follow on from the Highs & Lows of my previous post, the one other major reason i started this blog was to be able to thank & pay Tribute to those who so generously support me in my racing endeavors.
I think it more than fitting to start with the man behind KaosCustomBikes, "Andy", A man who prides himself on building a quality bike to suite, you the customer with all your personal needs & If you don't know exactly what you want he certainly has some great ideas to get you on the perfect ride.
On a personal note, meticulously builds & maintains all my race & training bikes to keep then performing & looking their best, You're a champ, Thanks heaps mate!

It was Andy who recommended & Introduced me to the great guys at Dirtworks, who are the distributors of BMC & a swag of other great products, Consequently have proved to be a really great bunch & a very generous sponsor indeed, It's been a big year of racing & look forward to another cracker, you guys rock!

Not only do they Sponsor a bunch of riders on a range of products, these guys are so into the whole culture that is bikes! that they put on & Sponsor a bunch of Mtb events also.

Such as the BMC 100, DIRTWORKS 1oo and now the Inaugural BMC MTB (Mountains to Beach) a 7 day stage race from Thredbo to the Beach, March 1 - 7, sure to be an absolute Beaut!


Through a Dirtworks association Lazer helmets & BBB Sports glasses have also come on board, check their sites out for a great range of helmets & BBB have a whole lot more than just glasses,

Which by the way are nothing short of fantastic glasses, with their super tech transitional lenses making them perfect for riding at night & just as good riding on the sunniest of days, not sure how this is possible, however I can say they work! Another feature is they are very light, yet very robust at the same time,
Last but not least so comfortable & easy to look through in any light condition, you have to keep checking they're still on your head, with the rubber nose piece, that's pretty much guaranteed.

The Lazer helmet has proved to be very comfortable & If they're good enough for Geoff Kabush!
Then nothing more needs to be said, so check em out!




Following the generous support Night Lightning provided for the Worlds,
I very pleased to announce that Night Lightning will continue their support for this coming season of racing.

They are without a dought one of the Brightest, lightest & most reliable lights available on the market today, I can certainly recommend with complete confidence,
As I ran the New Digital I Blast on my helmet only, in some of the wettest & muddiest conditions I have ever encounted, Running just the head light created plenty of light & allowed me to swap bikes each lap without having any lighting concerns & were completely reliable all night long.

Click on the logo above to check them out.




SCHWALBE have a great range of tires, I run the Racing Ralphs, Tubeless construction in all dry condition racing & riding, basically the Ralphs have everything you want from a cross country tire, fast rolling, heaps of grip, light weight & tough as nails,
When the mud gets too deep for Ralph, I switch to the Nobby Nics & the track might as well be dry & If that does happen, the Nobby Nic is surprisingly still a very fast rolling tire.

For the road you just can't go past the Ultremo, fast, smooth & did 8000km on a back tire in the depths of winter without a flat, some would say I got lucky, this could be true, I tend to think it just might have something to do with the great construction of this tire.




OZRIDERS grips & Chain Stay protectors,
Let me start with the grips! there are two main advantages Ozriders have over their competitors, Comfort & durability, they are definitely as comfy as anything I have I found in the past & I just can not wear them out! Unlike it's rubber based competitors that I used to wear through on a far to regular occurrence, The foam base Ozriders just keep on keeping on.

As far as the chain stay protectors go, any proud OZI just has to have one!




SPORTRECOVERY, The name pretty much says it all, apart from the benefits of these great Nutritional product on offer for all you ON as well as OFF the bike needs, check out this site for some great advice & products alike.



Whilst all the above mentioned people/companies have great products which play an important part in doing what I do.


However the next two i will pay tribute to, play an integral roll of keeping my body going through all the stresses, strains & injuries I encounter, plain & simple I couldn't do what I do without them.
FIRST PLACE OSTEOPATHY

PULSE for health & rehabilitation


For a coach who can really get the best out of every Individual & can really get you to your peak performance for any chosen event, look no further than David McKenzie at ECHELON 1,
He doesn't know much about Mtb, but he'll sure get your engine running!


If you have any Building or Renovation need, Large or small, drop me a line at stonningtonren@optusnet.com.au



Last & so very far from least,

My pit crew of Simon & Jac, who gave up their valuable time in their busy lives to support me in Canada, with Jac taking care of all my food & Nutritional needs & Simon taking care of the bikes & progress race results, quite simply couldn't have done it without you guys, with a special thanks also to Joel's Mechanic mate, Shane for keeping both the bikes running for the full 24hrs.

Not forgetting Martin from the Kaos crew, was my chief pit B....ch for the first few enduros last season & the rest of the Kaos crew for your support through Kona 24 last year & all your well wishes throughout the year.


Thanks again to all concerned
& Mum & Dad of course.

Be sure to remember,

Live to Ride, Ride to Live,

Troy

PS. Thanks to Dom at First place Osteopathy I am back in alignment & my rump is healing well,
So I'm looking forward to heading to Canberra for next weekends Scott 24hr.

HIGHS & LOWS

Right from my very first post back in May, announcing my Intention to take on the World at the World Solo 24hrs Championships in Canada,
Within that post i promised to share the highs & lows of my training & racing.

HIGHS
As most of you would be well aware, I became a world champ a couple of months ago, Doesn't get much Higher!

LOWS
Coming down from such an achievement, with such a massive focus & build up!
With hope of using the form gained to do well at home turf Enduros, only to return with a cracked scaphoide in my left wrist...Boo!!! #1
With it on the mend after 5 weeks, crashing in my first race back, re-injuring it...Boo!!! #2

So forced off the Mtb for another 4 weeks, a low in it self, maintaining my fitness on the road was the call,
Following clearance from my Doc. I headed out on the Mtb last Sunday to test the wrist, getting through a solid 3hr ride without a drama... Yippie!!!!

As a result the decision was made to enter the Scott 24hr in Canberra, with fellow BMC 24hr Champ, Joel Donney as a pair, which is less than 2 weeks away,

For those of you not in the know the Scott is the biggest 24hr race in the world, Participant wise, with some 4000 entrants this year, the Woodstock of Cycling.

Only to head out on a training ride last night, to get my front wheel chopped at 40-45km/hr causing me to hit the Tar mack fair on my bum!....Boo #3, Resulting with rotating ice packs to my rump for the rest of the night and today.

As the first 24hrs are critical with injuries of this sort, ice and rest are in order to get the swelling down so I can see my Awesome Osteo at First place Osteopathy tomorrow to check my alignment.

Will keep you posted!

Live to Ride, Ride to Live,

Troy

SURFCOAST 6hr Mtb FESTIVAL

This years Surfcoast 6hr Mtb Festival has all the ingredients
of fun times on & off the bike,
with no dought of it being bigger & better than last years great event,

Following a sneak peak of the course with event organizer Mick last weekend,
I can honestly say you are in for a treat, with some fast flowing sections to get the adrenaline pumping

& some nice tight & twisty single track, with the addition of a whole new section & bit of reverse direction to last years race, will be sure to keep it interesting for the full six hours, all set in the beautiful Aussie bushland as seen in these pics.

Just to top it of, parts of the course have views of this picturesque coastline second to none!

lets not forget it all finishes off with a great band in true festival style, with a great camp area & cabins available too.

Sure there are plenty of Mtb races on the calendar these days, however put this one in as a weekend away with a great race thrown in for good measure, not to mention the swag of product for prizes & giveaways that will be up for grabs.

So grab your bike, board & beer,
& head for the Surfcoast come 25th of October & be sure to get your entry in sooner rather than later, as it will be sure to sell out.

See you all there,

Troy

Worlds cont.

As mentioned on Friday, drop on over to Epix for all the relevant links to check out the action at the World cup event in Canberra.

With the weather not being as bad as expected here in Melbs, not much time spent in front of the Computer.

Just a couple of small outings on the road bike, bit of time spent with friends & a bit of thought into what's install for the coming 12months, with this in mind worlds recap & Tribute, to the just deserved still to come.

Live to ride, ride to live,

Troy

WORLDS

Worlds recap to come real soon, with some less than desirable weather on the horizon for the weekend, you never know your luck!

In other news there is a World Cup Olympic format Cross Country(XC), Down Hill & Four Cross event on this weekend in Canberra, with a few of my mates (Mark, Rohin & James) gaining wild card entries in the XC, good luck boys,
With the Epix boys being a little more computer savie than I, drop over for all the necessary links to see how it all went down.

To the folks not quite in the know, I hear you ask, why am i not present at such an event? I considered going up to race the Veteran support race, however my little mishap last weekend put an end to that,(healing well though) besides it's about 22hrs to short for my liking.

More to come,

Live to ride, Ride to live,

Troy

Castlemaine Rocky Riders 6hr

To sum the race up for me, "Too much fun for Two laps!"
Unfortunately that was all I got in, as my day was cut short by an off at high speed, resulting in re injuring a healing one.

Up until this point I was having an absolute ball on one of the best XC/Enduro tracks getting around, bar none! This course has it all with a good mix fast flowing single track, some techi descents, the climbs are single track & switch backed, taking the sting out of them & always rewarded with a fun descent.

The two laps I did get where nice & quick sitting with the team riders & playing around with the Felt Epix boys, Ash & Jason(Formally Felt Enduro Race Team) making an exception to their non racing rule, simply because they have such fond memories from past events held there. (I'm sure the boys will get a report up of the fun times had over the weekend)

It was on my third lap that I had my mischief holding down 1st place at the time with eventual solo winner Evan Franskie in hot pursuit seeing it all unfold right before his eyes.(Thanks for stopping mate to check if I was OK & congrates on the win)

I put this into the O well, that's racing basket, this will more than likely put me out for a few weeks!

Therefor my postings of current events is likely to be a little light on,
which in turn may give me an opportunity to get the rest of my Canada trip, 24hr Worlds report & the long overdue Tribute posts done!

So keep an eye out for them as I have some great content to share.

PS. If you didn't manage to make it up today, I strongly advice you put it on the calender for next year, to have a sqiz at results & photo links etc, check here

PPS. I also popped out to see the Kaos gang & (Show my Jersey & Gold medal off) last weekend at another Great event being the Anaconda Enduro Series held out Lysterfield, where the Commonwealth games were held, we are very fortunate to have such a great area to ride/race literally at our fingertips from the melbourne CBD.

It's been really great catching up with everyone at both events over the past two weekends, It just reinforces why I enjoy being involved in this sport, we have such a good little community full of great people.

Live to ride, Ride to live,

Troy

Kicking Horse (Speaks for it's self)

Woke to an early misty morning for my first real ride since the race, what a way to start back into it, climb up kicking horse for first runs before they open the chairs to the Down hillers.

Half way up,

Getting there, consistent 10-12% pitch all the way.

Oh yeh, & what a cracker day at that, even after the trying muddy conditions of the 24hr, my trusty BMC Trail fox climbed like a trooper!

What goes up must go down,

Rewarded with some ripping lines on the descent,



Some cool structures thrown in for good measure, check the spiral, fun, fun.



Bit of a gap at the end of this berm up in the trees,

The Trail fox loved it almost as much as me, perfect for going up & 5 inches just enough to come down on most of the lines, mind you there was plenty of lines to choose from for all levels from green(easy) to double Black diamond(steep & Gnarly)

Even something for the dirt jumpers down towards the bottom,

Kicking Horse! the best way I can discribe it, is a low key Whistler,

Great set up!

Race Report, Supporters Tribute & more Traveling tails still to come!

Live to Ride, Ride to live,

Troy

Kicking it in Whistler

Farewell BMC house & the beautiful 3 sisters mountain rangers

Of Canmore,(Alberta) already miss you.

Jumped on the plane in Calgory,

Arriving in funky town(Vancouver) in time for a beer,

Whats next oh creature of the night????

Grab a pick up & head for Whistler!

So that's just what we did, check out my new truck(I wish)

Some more terrible scenery on the way!


The sign says it all,


No need for Endura here it's all about down hilling & free ride.

How's the view from the bar?

With a bit of dutch courage & my bikes boxed up & safely locked away at Vancouver airport,

It was time to grab loaner! a little more suited the terrain of just going down! Beefed up with some bigger brakes, tires & most importantly more travel in the suspension.

Feast your eyes upon some of the lines on offer,

bridges & tech descents a plenty!

I did mention the bridges, check this one, It just keeps going..................

& going..........................

& going...........................

& going..............................


As mentioned, views very hard to take,

Much more to come.

Live to ride, Ride to Live,

Troy

Arrived Home

A full race & Canada/riding report will be coming your way as soon as I get all the pics downloaded & edited.
For your viewing pleasure. Arrived home at lunch time on Fri. Was welcomed home with Blue skies & the temp a little crisp out of the sun, however couldn't resist a spin in the Sun down the beach in my new World Champs jersey.

Today however was a shock to the system not getting above 10 degrees & snowing in the Dandies Brrr, leaving 29 degrees in Whistler just 2 days ago.

Is it any wonder why you can fly here for half the price it cost to fly there at present.

Dropped in to see Andy at Kaos head quarters, it would seem our arrival was slightly over shadowed by these brand new BMC beauties turning up about an hour before us.

The new BMC TT01, 2009 Time Trial frame is without a dought the fastest looking non motorized machine I have ever seen,
Check out the bottom bracket/rear triangle arrangement, It screams.......Grunt.
If you have a spare 15k(frame only) you could own one of these bad boys.

Coming back to earth a little, BMC have a new model in their road bikes, the SLX has just arrived, I had the pleasure of seeing it come out of the box, It's predominately a carbon frame with only the bottom tube on the main triangle remaining alloy.

It's price point sits it right in between the Road Racer (My Current Bike) & the Team Machine & looks almost as tricky as the Pro Machine (Full Carbon missile) top of the line road machine, by all reports it's not just a looker either.

Might have to put my name on one of these beauties, drop by KaosCustomBikes to check them out before they run out the door.

Be sure to drop back soon to check out how the race went down & see what Canada has to offer!!

Live to ride, Ride to live.

Troy

BMC Press Release

BMC - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: BMC

Ausies Clean up

Well folks,
I'm elated to Announce that I am officially World Solo 24hr age group Champion!


Team BMC cleans up, Jason 2nd Elite, Mwa 1st & Joel 2nd U25.

The Ausies really stepped it up in the super tough conditions with James Williamson taking out the Elite mens, Jason 2nd, Mark Fenner 3rd, Jeff Toohey 4th, Katrin Van der Spegal 2nd Elite Women, Andy Fellows taking out 25-30 age group, Craig Peacock took out his age group for the 3rd year in a row, along with a number of other category placings.

A huge congratulations to all the competitors who made it through the night of some of the most treacherous conditions imaginable,
a full report to follow once I've recovered a bit.

An even bigger than huge thanks goes out to my Pit crew, Jac, Simon & Shane(Team Mechanic) for all your tireless efforts, you guys were amazing, quite simply couldn't have achieved this without you.

Last but far from least a huge thanks go out to all my Supporters/Sponsors listed to the right, with special thanks to Night Lightning, OZ Riders, Erin & Ash for holding the fort, without your generous support, it would not have been possible for me to get to the start line, let alone win the World Championship, this was a massive team effort, so thanks again to you all.

Time for a bit of R&R

Live to ride, Ride to live,

Troy :)

READY TO ROCK

With a little over 3hrs to the start of the World Solo 24hrs of Adrenaline


We are ready to rock, for Live updates of the race check this LINK, be sure to keep a close eye on Jason English Team BMC (Elite Catagory), Joel Donney Team BMC (U25 age group) & Mwa of course Troy Bailey Team BMC (35-40 age group).

See you on the other side,

Live to ride, Ride to live,

Troy