The weekend was shaped up to be one of this 'epic' weekends away. The forecast was for sunny conditions and not too cold, and everybody was anticipating riding those spectacular trails that Mogo has to offer.

Everybody loves a roadtrip and the Chocy Foot race gave the SXC Racing boys a great excuse to get away as a team and just ride. For this round we had our Masters team of 3, represented by Dave, Matt and Gary, and Graham and myself doing the 4hr solo.

On the Saturday after checking in at our Broulee Beach House, we headed out to the race track to register and to do a couple of prerace sighting laps. What can I say. The club had groomed the tracks to perfection, the track was basically polished for racing. The course selected basically had it all - plenty of climbing, followed by some amazing descents in AST and the infamous Snake Track. Strava records and new KOM's would be set for sure this weekend. With 285m climbing per lap, the course certainly had a bite, and some strategy would be required especially for the solo riders.

At the completion of 'practice' the SXC boys all had some big smiles on their face, and looking around the parking lot we were not alone. Time to head back to the beach house for a few beers and a hearty pre race feast.

Race Day

The weather gods were certainly kind this time around. A brisk morning followed by sunny temps in the mid teens made for a perfect day of racing.

With some added pressure of riding with the red number plate representing - Masters Solo series leader i lined up close to the front for the starting gun, Graham and Dave close by. The start as always with the team riders was fast - too fast, and after getting a good position into the single track, i settled in for the long first climb - approx 10mins. Graham had shot off ahead, pacing with the faster team riders, whilst i figured with over 2000m climbing ahead for the day, i would focus on a more sustainable pace.

With the extra climbing per lap, the field was well spread out and lapping and overtaking was done with ease and very little drama. After settling in, my strategy was to pace myself with the pairs teams to keep my pace honest, consistency being the call for the day. Another personal goal was to beat our SXC Racing team of three over the 4hr duration. After 3 laps it was looking good, with almost a 1min lead. Graham was racing so well, probably another minute up the track ahead of me.

On lap 5, around the 2.5hr mark it all came together. I had finally caught Graham, and Dave from our SXC Racing team of 3 had caught me, and we finished lap 5 together. A great team effort. Oh well, lets see what Graham and I can do at Awaba.

The SXC racing team was pushing hard - a lap ahead on their nearest competition. With only 2 laps to go, by my calculations i amped up the pace aiming to finish the last couple of laps faster than the proceeding laps. this little surge pushed me up the overall ladder to 2nd, which was an unexpected but great result for the day.

The team overall finished with some great results, mechanical free and injury free.

SXC Racing Masters (Dave, Gary, Matt)
1st in Category

Open Male 4hr Solo - Graham Nesbit
4th Overall
3rd in Category

Master Male 4hr Solo - Wayne Dickinson
2nd Overall
1st in Category

It was a fantastic day out, and another great event by the Chocolate Foot crew. I was great to see all the other friendly faces out there, and some of the more familiar faces from the girls from Cyclery Northside all getting some great results.

Thanks again to our Sponsors and supporters, Specialized, Cyclery Northside, Essential Sports Nutrition, EVOC, TotalAutoFinance - your help makes it just that little bit easier to do what we love to do - JUST RIDE !