Pre-race Update from the Scott 24 Hour

Thanks for checking back, I appreciate it!

Need to keep this brief to conserve battery power…

We arrived late last night to a bitterly cold Mt Stromlo in Canberra, ACT.

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After musing and carefully considering our one-night tent placement (as men on a camping trip are wont to do), I bunkered in for a very, very cold night. Having slept only 4 hours the night before, it was however reasonably fitful.

The camp set up is very, very good – more men’s toilets are needed, but there are showers!

The coffee is acceptable, I’ve had brekky, it’s warming up, and all is well with the world.

This reminds me of days of yore, camped in Torquay on Coombes Rd for the Offshore Music Festival – the merry tinking of tent pegs being put in the ground, the happy and excited banter of people talking about their lives, and the smell of a tent and the inevitable spread of mess in said tent.

Initial impressions and tips for a 24 hour race are:

DO NOT stop at Gundagai and get pizza – your tummy will not be happy: vegetarian Chinese rice a much better option
If feeling unwell before the trip, DO NOT eat salt and vinegar chips, V energy drinks, Kit Kat Chunky (caramel, kingsize) or Twix bars (King Size) on the road – almonds, bananas and water only
Male mountainbikers have very bad diets – bacon and egg rolls, long stints in the bathroom, shocking really
It is perfectly acceptable to translate your road bike wealth into mountainbiking and strap awesome expensive mountain steeds onto the roof of your Audi supervagon
I’m the only one wearing anything polka dot here

Here are some photos. Remember to follow all this on @shredquest on Twitter.
Getting set up.

The Pill Deck. Powders, pills and other sekret ingredienttes from behind ze Iron Curtain! Camera, iPod/phone charger, DSLR, Business Reading

All the kit I will need. You will notice the stylish Nemesis Aggregate Winner’s Jersey from the Northern Combine for 2009. Good on my for winning that in my first season of racing.

The course and Stromlo in the distance.

Stay tuned for more!