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Australian National Champs 2017

info@jaynerutter.com — 2017-06-02T15:33:26+10:00

Australian National Champs 2017

I haven't posted a write up on the National Champs. It was way back in March and only 1 week after the Toowoomba Nationals/Oceana round. The year is just flying by.

Well, it was a different race. A different style of track to ‘normal races’ and I only managed one practise reccy lap on the morning of the race, in the wet, sloppy conditions.

The track was pretty much straight up for 15 mins of climbing, with some places about 20%. With wet tracks it was almost impossible to ride up some of them (I would probably struggle in the dry). So there were two sections where it was more like a cyclocross race; everyone was off the bike running or pushing.

After the climb it went straight back down through some awesome off camber sections and steep rocky chutes.

As you can see from the top photo, I ended up coming home with the win. There were some good battles, and I really had to push hard to keep the pedals turning over towards the top of the climb. There are some super fast climbers out there!

Photo credit: Russ Baker

I feel a bit funny about posting the National Champion jersey and flashing my medal. Mostly because it’s not an ‘Elite’ category medal, I feel a bit like a fraud.... Although I keep telling myself that I did actually win in my age category. It’s not pretend! So I have this debate in my head that tells me that I’m not really the national champion as there are plenty of other ladies out there faster than me (in older and younger categories!) .

But then again, I was there on the day, I raced people my age (who also happened to have kids), and I did win. So I’m going to leave it at that and enjoy my glory and wear my national jersey with pride (well, maybe not.. do people wear national jerseys around the place???)

Some photos:

Photo: Steep, rocky section

Photo: Beer recovery/celebrations after the race

Photo: 3/3 kiddos asleep. Awesome.

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Australian Nationals Round and Oceania Championships - XCO Toowoomba

info@jaynerutter.com — 2017-03-14T13:40:36+10:00

Australian Nationals Round and Oceania Championships - XCO Toowoomba 12 March 2017

Last weekend the final round of the Aussie Nationals mountain bike series was held at Toowoomba. Training for the event snuck up on me yet again, but I managed to make it out on the day and put in a solid race. My first win at a national level, in Masters.

The race itself was fairly uneventful, so instead of sharing the details of the race, I thought I would share my rather comical life with 3 kids in the lead up to a National mountain bike race. Sometimes I feel like I am in an alternate universe.

Everyone has their own obstacles when training (or racing), whether it’s injury, sickness, work, family or travel which sometimes unfortunately takes precedence over training. This year I really planned to get out on the bike more. I am lucky that I get to commute to work, so I make sure I push hard and work for it during the 20 km stretch of mostly flat road. I love commuter racing, and I race any person on a bike that happens to be in the vicinity. Mountain bike rides are saved for the weekend, where I usually get out once.

Every time I head out for a ride, my two-year old clings and cries (this also happens every time I have a shower; ‘hower too mumma?Hower too!!”.) When I get back from a ride, there is a chorus of ‘mumma, mummy, mumma!!’ Where everyone explodes with information they are busting to tell me over the past 1.5 hours. No time to stretch or eat, it’s straight into getting everyone else drinks, wiping bums, or cleaning up something.

Two weeks before the race, our two-year old was eating his regular 3 bowls of porridge for breakfast (yep, seriously!). I’m making school lunch, preparing daycare bags, and getting my own stuff together for work. I hear him say ‘oh no, oh dear’. I look over and there is porridge everywhere. All over him and the floor. I figured that he had spilled it, and thought about scraping it back into the bowl for him (of his shirt, not the floor). But decided to just clean him up and get him out of the high chair and off to daycare so I could get to work. I cleaned up the mess and finally I was off to work. Half way there I smelled something awful and realised that it was vomit. Then the penny dropped. The porridge that was all over him and the floor was actually vomit. Which looked exactly the same as the porridge in the bowl--honest mistake right...

The vomit sessions continued on for another 4 days, when finally I caved and took him to the Doctor. In the waiting room he managed to spew everywhere, and I had to sheepishly go to the reception to ask for help to clean it up. “These pills will stop him vomiting, just give him 1/3 of the tablet on his tongue’. Thanks Doc. Struggling to figure out how to cut a tiny tablet into a third, I managed to get some into the toddler. Where he continued to vomit; tiny third of a pill and all. After another day and night of this, with hardly any sleep and so much washing (toddlers don’t know they are going to spew until it explodes out everywhere), we decided to take him to hospital. Diagnosed with a super bad case of gastro and dehydration they preped him for a drip, but then he had a reaction to the numbing cream they put on before the drip goes in. So, he didn’t have to have a drip. Luckily we didn’t have to stay overnight, and they let us go after making sure he was taking fluids. Only to vomit again when we got home, and in the middle of the night (right into my face might I add.. .. ewww).

I figured I still had a week to get gastro and get better again, so my Nationals race wasn’t over yet.

In the mean time, six-year old and two-year old collide on the lounge and two-year old gets a black eye.

Fast forward a few more days, and I have clingy toddler again who wont let me put him down. So I spend the day carrying around a 13kg lump of toddler. My neck and back aches. The issue of the clingyness is solved when, yet again vomit explodes out of his mouth all over the place. Another few days off work to look after a sick baby means I am not getting any riding in. I’m spending the nights cleaning up vomit and not sleeping. There is even vomit down the side of the bed between the wall and the bed. I can’t move the bed away from the wall so the stench of vomit stays there all night, while the spew is soaking slowly into the carpet.

We seem to be getting onto of the vomit clean up, only to realise we have tiny bugs/mites in the beds. The chooks have them, and now they’ve found our way into the house!! argh. More sheets to wash, and beds to be vacumed and sprayed with bug killer...

With my lack of riding the last few weeks I focussed a little on getting my bike into order. Getting some new tyres (I’m running a Maxxis Ikon on the rear and Maxxis Ardent Race on the front). I got my forks serviced by the lovely crew at www.cyclinic.com.au and they were running sweet!

I also thought I’d stock up on race gels, I never seem to get to a real bike shop, so it’s nice to be able to buy them online. I find the Endura ones are good, but the Gu and Cliff shot ones are way too thick and hard to swallow. From this website you can also get trial packs of different flavours.

Managed to get out to the track to practise a few days before, with fellow mountain biker shredder AB and Jo R. My lovely mum looked after the black-eyed-vomit toddler and four-year old. My eldest was at school, so I managed to drop the kids off, and then make the long drive to Toowoomba with AB. I had to work in the car on the way there, so I was being very unsociable on the laptop while AB drove. Rushing back to the burbs after track practise, I was worried we would get hauled in the principals office for being late to pick up the kids. But thankfully we were only 10 mins late, so weren’t categorised as Bad Mums yet.

Race day arrived and I hadn’t got sick and no one vomited during the night. Winning! It’s a 1hr 40 min drive to the race track, so we were up early. We packed the car the night before and the kids lunch boxes. They get so excited about what might be inside their lunch boxes, they had eaten half of it before we had even got to the neighbouring suburb.

The track was steep in sections, with lots of uphill technical climbing, with some super steep pinches. Downhill sections were so much fun, rocky and steep in sections with surprise pockets of sand just to keep you on your toes. My hardtail went well and I was smiling on every decent (while trying to suck in some oxygen ready for the next climb). No photos of the singletrack as my cheer sqaud was safer in the main village area.

Photo: race start, pushing hard up the road to get into the singlet track.

Stoked with my race, stoked I didn’t crash and happy no one vomited.

Photo: My support team and cheer squad ‘Mumma, mummy, mumaaaa!”

The next day I was loading the kids into the car before work/school/kindy/daycare. They are all strapped in ready to go. I leave the car doors open and I run back inside to change out of my ‘breakfast clothes” (the ones that get weetbix on them) and into my work clothes. I only take about 40 seconds, and love every minute of the peace and quiet that welcomes me inside. While half dressed I hear behind me:

“Mumma, quick it’s an emergency!” Says my four-year old as she runs in from the car.

“Whats up?” I say half concerned but half groaning... I’m sure that someone has either vomited, fallen on their head or slammed their finger in the car door.

“Its a chicken emergency!!”, she exclaims. I’m wondering if the chicken has vomited, fallen on its head or got slammed in the car. I run outside to investigate.

One of our 7 chickens has decided to jump into the car, eat up crumbs off the floor in the back. She obviously found something delicious under the passenger seat as she was well and truly stuck under the seat. Welcome to a new week of craziness!

The next race is the National Championships in Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland next weekend.

Photo: Chicken. Yep that’s permanent text on the four-year olds leg

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Why pre-wash lycra with salt?

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-10-16T13:31:39+10:00

Why pre-wash lycra with salt?

Congratulations, you’ve bought a brand new riding kit. You pull it out the packaging and cut off the tags.

You think for a second, debating whether or not to wash it before you wear it. Then you notice something strange written on the tag:

“Pre-wash with a tablespoon of salt before wear.”

“Hand wash in cold water.”

“Do not tumble dry, line dry in shade.”

What?!

Why does something that is designed to be hard wearing and tough need to be and pampered during wash time?

Pre-washing with salt

Have you ever wondered why cycling gear needs to be washed with salt before use?

Apparently, by washing separately in cold water with salt it prolongs the colour intensity, so it doesn’t fade overtime. It makes the material colourfast and prevents staining (where colour bleeds onto other parts of the item or stains other clothes it comes into contact with).

I have done this before, and didn’t experience any fading or staining. But there have been plenty of times that I haven’t used salt during a pre-wash and I didn’t experience any problems then either…

If you are worried about the colour fading or staining, grab the salt shaker from the pantry and sprinkle it in water to pre-wash your kit before wear.

Hand washing bike clothes

The tags say that it should be hand washed separately in cold water. I confess, this is one thing that I never do.

You get home from a ride; the bike gear gets chucked into the wash pile covered in sweat and mud. The last thing you want to do is fill up a bucket with water and carefully hand-wash your clothes.

Sometimes the tag states it can be cold machine washed in a delicate items bag or on the delicate setting.

To be safe and not destroy your expensive new kit, it’s a good idea to machine-wash it on the delicate setting.

Drying bike clothes

The one rule that I do follow is “Do not tumble dry”. The dryer and I do not have a good relationship. I would never put expensive lycra or jerseys in the dryer, except if you want to shrink it for your kids to wear.

Hang it to dry on the clothesline in the shade. The elastic on lycra or the bottom of jerseys can become brittle if left in direct sunlight for too long.

How many tag instructions do you follow?

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Unlucky 13. Why people wear race plates upside down

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-09-09T12:32:03+10:00

Photo credit: mountainbike-trails.com.au

I’ve been racing a long time, but have never been handed the famous number 13 race plate.

As I got to the registration desk for the Chicks in Sticks 3 hour race, there it was, number 13.

I had often seen people racing with their race plate #13 on upside down. I guessed they were a bit superstitious, and by turning it upside down it would ward off evil sprits or something. There is even a special word for people with a phobia of the number 13; Triskaidekaphobia (the term was coined in 1911).

This image is of a racer at another race wearing the number plate upside down.

Source: http://www.mountainflyermagazine.com/view.php/eagle-outside-festival.html

Back at the registration desk, I stood there looking at the race plate. I’m not really superstitious, but have had some weird coincidences happen in life. Should I put it on upside down? If I put it on the right way would I be worried about some phantom accident that might happen the whole race?

Apparently ‘unlucky 13’ is a big thing in the motor car racing world. They don’t even have a pit number 13 and opt for a 12a instead. (source: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/motorsports/10-superstitions-from-the-world-of-motor-racing6.htm)

In the rules of riding from this site; http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/comment-page-212/ , it clearly states that “If you draw the unlucky 13, turn it upside down to counter act its negative energy.”.

Source: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/comment-page-212/

I thought about it, and decided to treat poor #13 with respect and run it up the right way. I was confident with my ability and preparation going into the race.

Photo credit: mountainbike-trails.com.au

I have since learnt that #13 is also considered good luck, especially in Italy (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number))

The number 13 also represents femininity, because it corresponded to the number of lunar (menstrual) cycles in a year (13 x 28 = 364 days). Which is kind of fitting for a female only mountain bike race.

Embracing the number 13, I rode well and pushed hard. Had some great battles with other competitors and finished in 3rd place. It was about 51 km and 3 hrs 30 mins. The family all came out to cheer me on, which was lovely.

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What happens at a professional bike fit?

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-05-05T10:45:07+10:00

If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend ages choosing the perfect bike.

The colour, the wheels and the running gear all have to be perfect! You finally choose it, and get it from the shop. Then you put the seat to the ‘right’ height, make sure you can reach your brake levers and off you go!

I will admit it. I have never done a ‘technical’ set up for my bikes.

I make sure I buy the right frame size for my height, and then put the seat roughly to the right spot (based on putting my heal on the pedal, and straighten my leg, then set the seat height based on that). Then I might tweak it up or down depending on how it feels.

I never could justify getting a professional bike fit. I am far from a ‘professional’!.

So what exactly is a bike fit?

Put simply, a specialised bike fitter will measure you up and fit you to your bike.

A proper bike fit will reduce pain you might have in your back, feet, arms, neck while on and off the bike.

A bike fit also aims to get your technique right so you can get the most power out of your legs while riding.

Although I am far from being a ‘professional’ bike rider, I am keen to get the most out of my bike and my body. Perhaps my back problems are part baby-related and part bike-related? Maybe I can increase my power output and improve my race starts?

Fix a sore back

I do get a sore back. But they are not related to my bike…

It’s the kids!

People told me that having a baby ruins your back. But it's not the pregnancy that wreaks it. It's the slumping while breastfeeding. It's the rocking the baby to sleep and awkwardly and carefully placing them into bed. It's the leaning over the cot or through the cot rails patting or rubbing baby’s back at all hours of the night. It's the laying down sideways breastfeeding and trying to catch some zzzzzz. With a crook in your neck. Because you can’t move. Because then you’ll wake up the baby.

Anyway, I digress.

If you are sitting on your bike wrong and your pelvis/knees/ankles/feet are not working right, then you will do more damage to your body. You will get sore and probably won’t want to ride your bike as much. A bike fit can fix these problems.

Get more power

A bike fit can ensure your body is aligned and you are getting optimum power from each pedal stroke.

If you are set up properly you can be sure you are using those big muscles in your glutes.

Professional bike fitting

A friend I used to race with recommended I visit Gary Land from PRO Bike Fit. http://www.probikefit.com.au

He is located in Brisbane’s leafy suburb of The Gap, which is not far from me, so it seemed like a perfect idea to catch up and see what he does.

I met with Gary to discuss his professional bike fitting service, PRO Bike Fit. He is a Master certified Retul bicycle fitter who has been in the bike industry for 14 years.

His workshop has a lovely view of the rolling hills and is surrounded by bushland. Over a coffee we talk about the types of problems people have and how Gary fixes them. He legitimately wants to help people solve bike fit problems.

I know nothing about muscles

While listening to Gary explaining how the human body works, I realised I know nothing about muscles. He used all the technical terms for muscles which I can’t even attempt to spell, so I have no chance Googling them.

What happens at a bike fit?

Gary’s previous clients included high level road cyclists and World Champions. But surprisingly I didn’t feel ‘un-worthy’ being there. Gary also fits clients who are just getting into the sport.

PRO Bike Fit uses a Retul 3D motion capture system. The Retul motion capture bike fit assessment is about 90 minutes long. You get hooked up to a set of LED lights (on all your ankle, knee, hip, elbow, wrists etc), which is tracked by the motion capture system when you pedal your bike on a stationary trainer. I felt a bit like a super hero.

Photo: Part of the Retul system

The objective is to analyse your movement on the bike. Are you moving in the most efficient way possible? Are you flexing or rotating too far in one direction in your ankles, knees or hips?

The bike fit also includes bike measurement set up report of bicycle after setup, so you can use the measurements to replicate the bike fit on your other bikes (yes, I know you have more than one).

Making contact with the bike

It may sound obvious but there are three points of contact with the bike:

* Feet.
* Bum.
* Hands.

So, each of these needs to be assessed to see where problems may lie.

Feet

The PRO Bike Fit service will include an assessment of your bike shoes and cleat position in relation to your feet and toes.

I have always set my cleats up with the premise that they should be placed on the ball of my foot. I thought I had that part of my set up right…. But I guess I never really knew where the ball of my foot was!

Bum

Although I’ve been riding bikes for 15 years, I have never really thought too much about the type of saddle I’ve used. I just buy one that looks good and is light. I was never too fussed on the style of seat. I figured the women’s specific saddles were a marketing gimmick.

The PRO Bike Fit using the fancy Retul 3D system will determine if my saddle is right for me.

Hands

The sensors on my wrists will detect if I move my hands around while riding on the stationary trainer and it will also show the angle of my wrists on my bars.

Measurements and analysis

Once I was hooked up to the LED lights, all I had to do was pedal on the stationary trainer while the Retul motion capture system did it’s thing.

Photo: The bike fit process

Key findings from the bike fit

The analysis provided really detailed numbers for the various movements that your body makes when cycling. It showed where my right or left side were unevenly moving. It also showed that my pedalling technique needed work.

Bike set up

With the results showing where I had uneven movements, or where my body was moving in an inefficient way, the PRO Bike Fit assessment recommended changes to my bike set up and to my technique.

The big thing that I took away from the results was that apparently my trusty saddle was not the right size for me. It is too narrow for my sit bones. I needed a slightly wider seat because my sit bones were sliding off the saddle with each pedal stroke.

It occurred to me that I have no idea if I sit on a seat correctly. And what the ramifications are of it. Thankfully Gary lent me a women’s specific saddle to test out (that reminds me, I must give that back…).

Gary explained that some of the simplest bike set up errors can result in a lack of power. Your body may be using different muscles, and not using the strong glute muscles (in your bum).

When I got home, I found myself Googling sit bones and pelvic bones on saddles. I might follow up on a future blog about saddles when I’ve done my research.

Photo: The bike fit process

Results

I was quite excited to test out my bike with the new PRO Bike Fit!

I did my normal loop in on my mountain bike. The cleats felt a bit weird, but I soon got used to them in the new position.

The women’s specific saddle felt really good. I could actually notice that I wasn’t sliding sideways with each pedal stroke.

It’s strange that I never thought I had an issue prior to the bike fit. But with the changes in place I could notice the difference.

I ended up getting a few Personal Best records during climbs on my mountain bike ride! Amazing!

I am totally sold that the bike fit will result in more efficient pedalling and more power for me. I’m not sure if it will fix my back pain as I am sure that is related to carrying my kids in awkward positions. But being more stable on my bike will probably help reduce potential future pain.

If you are interested in getting a bike fit, check out the PRO Bike Fit website (http://www.probikefit.com.au) and contact Gary for more information.

Merida Hidden Vale 24 Hour race

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-04-11T12:33:29+10:00

We geared up for a weekend of riding at the 24 hour race at Hidden Vale. We have been the past few years, and it’s a great way to get some quality riding in, and spend time camping with the kids.

As always there was a big bouncy castle for the kids to play on, plus an easter egg hunt for them on the Sunday morning. Our two older kids (5 and 3) also raced in the kids bike race. This year they got to ride some new single track, which was a lot of fun.

We entered the 24 hour race in a mixed duo. So we tag-teamed racing and child wrangling.

Hidden Vale has a stack of new trails, so each lap was mostly single track and it took about 1 hour to get around it.

Our youngest Master Z is almost 18 months old, so he is still quite little. Being out in the hot sun and also fuelled by chocolate meant that our kids were slightly feral by the days end.

On my dusk lap (about 6pm) I was chatting to a guy as we rode around. He asked how many laps I was doing, and I said I was heading back to camp after this one. He kind of called me ‘soft’ and suggested that I should do more laps.

I didn’t go into the details with him, but the tasks at hand back at camp were far from soft!

We needed two parents on hand to get everyone fed and into bed. We had to make sure all the soft animals were lined up perfectly, teeth were brushed and a few Peppa pig books were read. A fresh nappy for baby, and after a long time for them to wind down, Tony could go back on the track.

This was great. Kids were asleep and Tony was out racing. The only problem was I was covered in dirt. But the showers were a long way from our camp. I couldn’t leave the camp as the kids were asleep!! I couldn’t go to the toilet or shower. Argh..

I managed a wipe down with a cloth, but I really wanted a hot shower.

We raced well and came 4th place.

The new tracks were a lot of fun. We had a ball.

All the details of the race are here http://hiddenvale24hr.com.au

Kids love dirt

Mr F (5) raced in under 7s in the kids race and came 3rd. He was so happy. And he got chocolate. Chocolate makes them go crazy.

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Toowoomba Nationals 2016

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-03-06T20:39:20+10:00

After this weeks debacle of events, it was touch and go whether we would make it to the race. Thankfully the Gastro bugs stayed away.

We did everything we could to make it happen. We managed to borrow my Mums car (thanks Mum!) and somehow squeezed my bike into the back. The forks hung over one child’s head, and the handlebars over another.

Baby Z woke at 1am for a breastfeed and again at 4am ready to start the day.

Today will be sleep deprived racing at its greatest.

I tried and tried to get him back to sleep but it was futile.

In my pre kids life at a Nationals race, my bike and gear would be super organised and I would be in the right mind set to race. But this time around I was just hoping to pack matching gloves and water.

The morning was spent packing three lunch boxes full of tasty goods to make sure the kids were happy on the almost 2 hour drive to the race.

Photo: Lunchboxes all sorted.Yes, I know who likes the triangles and who doesn’t

As for my own nutrition, I made sure I had a banana for before the race and some protein for after the race, and my water.

While getting everything ready to pack into the car, Baby Z managed to fall out of the car onto his head and he got a big lump. Ice packs needed, and one cranky baby loaded into the car. After numerous discussions between Master F and Miss T about who brought which toy, we were finally off.

Photo: Bumped head

Photo: Finally on route to the race

We made it to the track and I really wanted to ride half of the course. I seem to do much better in races when I have warmed up on the track. But unfortunately I couldn’t get onto the race track because there was a race on. Luckily I had ridden it the day before!

My mind was distracted over the multiple cries of ‘Mummy!’ ‘Mummy!’. It is hard to focus. I made sure I drank some water and nibbled some food.

Although I was racing Cross Country, the butterflies from my prior downhill racing days were back. I think it was because I could see the downhillers doing runs, and I knew how they were feeling.

After giving the kids more food, and drinks, I was off to do a short 10 minute warm up before the race start. I kept bumping into some of my old downhill racing buddies. So my warm up was not too good and soon it was time for the race start.

Lining up with top names like Rebecca Henderson, Imogen Smith, Anna Beck, Jodie Willet is pretty cool. Even though I was racing in Veterans (which I found out is now called Masters!! ), it was nice to be amongst the Elite.

The gun went off and we were off up a fire road then onto single track. I pushed hard to try get a good position into the single track. The passing opportunities were limited on the track, so it was best to get a good position early.

Photo: The race start. I am in there at the back.

The Toowoomba track is fun!! I enjoy technical uphill. I am much better at it than long grinds. The downhills were super fun, and left me smiling. I loved going past the kids each lap and hearing them call out ‘Go MUMMY!’.

I managed to overtake a few people as I went around. Which is always a good confident boost.

I knew there was a girl in my class in front of me and one right behind me. I pedalled hard to try catch the leader on the climbs and stayed off the brakes on the downhills. I could see her, but just couldn’t quite catch her.

I came through in 2nd place, 11 seconds behind the winner. Stoked with my race as I kept positive and had my angry face on.

After the race Master F asked me innocently ‘Why didn’t you go faster so you could get the gold medal Mummy?’

I tried baby, I tried!

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Hoping gastro has a 3 day incubation period…. Aussie Nationals T-Bar!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-03-04T14:17:28+10:00

Here’s hoping that gastro has a 3 day incubation period, not 2. …. Aussie Nationals T-Bar!

The next round of the Australian National Mountain Bike Series is on this weekend at Toowoomba (or T-bar).

I’ve entered in the Cross Country race, which is on Saturday. I’ve never ridden the XC tracks there before, so am excited to have a crack.

Gastro Baby

But, on Wednesday night, baby Z started vomiting at 1am. After a change of sheets and clothes, he went back to sleep. Only to do it again at 4am, then again at 6am.. You get the gist.

By Friday he was fine. So, if gastro has a 3 day incubation period, then I should get it on Saturday night. Which is great as it means I can still race on Saturday!. But if it hits me on Friday night, then it will be all over.

Today I had the chance to pre-ride the track. Thanks to my mum for looking after Baby Z and Miss T!!

I organised the three kids to get the eldest to school and the other two to my mums. I could smell poo…. I figured it was baby Z needing a nappy change. Yep he sure did. But it had actually exploded out his nappy and onto my top and onto my pants. Awesome. Then it went all over the floor… So I had to clean all that up before I even got out the house for the 2 hour ride to the track. Exhausting…

The track is awesome. Some tricky uphill sections, with fast fun downhills.

Car Troubles

Along with the gastro baby, we also have problems with our cars. Yes that’s right, both of our cars.!

Our 4WD has a broken accelerator. Apparently something has snapped and it means you can’t push the pedal properly as it just hits the floor. So it means a slow and sluggish drive. It will cost $600 to fix it and they have to send it away somewhere. ARGH. So todays 2 hour drive was painful and my leg is sore from pushing so hard on the accelerator.

The other car also has problems. But I can’t fit my bike in there easily anyway. Plus the back seat smells like spew and it looks like this:
No cover on the car seat. Means no baby can sit in it until the cover is clean and dry.

So, stay tuned to see how I fair tonight and tomorrow for the race!

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Bike riding with kids

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-10-20T12:46:01+10:00

The weather is getting warming and we all want to ride our bikes.

I love to ride and race, but I am also a mum to three kids.

As a bike-loving Mummy, I am very excited that the time has come where we can all ride our bikes together! The organisation and effort required to get three kids and their bikes, helmets, shoes, food and water out of the house can be quite an exhausting process. With planning and organisation it is achievable.

When can you all ride together?

Once your kids are about one year old, you can start to go on family rides, with the baby in a bike seat or a trailer.

Once they are about two years old, they can ride by themselves, or sit in the bike trailer.

I was lucky enough to experience our first family ride as a family of five on the weekend.

Our youngest baby is 11 months old and can hold his own head up long enough to sit in the baby seat.

We have a Mini Yepp, which mounts on the front of the bike. You can buy them from 99 Bikes (click here) and Pushys (click here).

We also have a trailer, but found that when our other kids sat in it and were too young, they would flop sideways or pull off their helmets. So you’d always be looking behind you to check on them while riding. The Mini Yepp solves that problem. If you are keen on a trailer though, both 99 bikes (click) and Pushys (click) sell them.

Master F is five, and he has a 18 inch BYK bike, Miss T is three and she rides a First Bike balance bike (and a hand me down pedal bike, but the balance bike is much easier on family rides). We managed a flat ride of about 5 km and it took about 1 hour.

The rides aren’t fast and there are often crashes, tears and a lot of band-aids.

Organising all our bike stuff

Prior to having kids our garage provided a home to 15 bikes. Each of them lovingly cleaned, maintained and stored.

Since having kids, our riding time has diminished, and so has the number of our bikes. But instead of creating more room in the garage, we actually have more stuff. Each of the kids have bikes of their own and helmets, gloves, camelbaks etc.

Photo: Our storage solution and helmets on the garage wall.

Photo: Our riding camelbaks hanging on the wall.

To make it easier to find everyones bike gear, I mounted the helmets on the wall with containers underneath for gloves, spare tubes, tyre levers etc.

Bike shoes are stored on the shelf. I put hooks up for our camelbaks and the kids safety vests. The bikes are stored on the wall and on bike stands. All the gear needed to ride is easy to see and find. Finding the kids is a little more difficult…

This post contains affiliate links.

Adare Wild West Series - XC Race

info@jaynerutter.com — 2016-01-10T20:39:34+10:00

My race morning started at 2 am, with Baby Z waking up and needing to be fed, rocked and patted back to sleep. Catching another few hours sleep between 3am and 5am gave me just enough energy to grab my racing gear and a coffee and get on my way out to the Adare XC track.

I didn’t get a chance to ride the whole track before the race, so I was chatting to someone about the track layout. I remembered that I had actually raced at Adare before. And it was in 2008; 8 years ago!! I mentioned that I raced here 8 years ago, and I could sense that they were thinking ‘oh gee this chick is older than what I thought…’.

The conditions were dry, dusty and humid. It was only 7:30am, so we would be in for a hot race.

I was under the false impression that todays race was more of a short course format. But it was the full XCO style race (Olympic style cross country racing). That means it’s about 1.5 hours of racing for A grade women.

Considering my rides lately have not been much over 1 hour, I was feeling a bit nervous about my stamina to finish the race.

There were 5 ladies in A grade and it was all smiles at the start line. Off went the gun and we took off in the dust behind the A grade men. Let’s just say my race starts need a bit of work, and coupled with my lack of sleep and doubting my ability to race the longer format, I was behind the others within the first 100 metres. I decided not to chase them down and risk blowing up and not finishing the race. I had no idea what the track was like and wanted to make sure I could climb the climbs and make it down the technical stuff in one piece.

It may not be the best race strategy, but hey, it’s been a while since I raced A grade in the XCO format. The reality was that I was in for a longer race than I expected, I didn’t know the course and I was tired. So tired. So I decided to focus on keeping my rhythm, aiming for some consistency in my lap times and finishing the long distance. I was enjoying being on the bike and getting some time to myself.

The track had some fun rocky sections and not many climbs. There was a whole section which seemed to go forever with flat turn after flat turn after flat turn. I was started to get a bit nauseous from the constant turning.

Negative thoughts about my racing started to creep in midway through the race. Sometimes it’s hard to ‘fire up’ and get racing when you can’t see your competitors and are way behind. I find it much easier to race when I have competitors close by (in front or behind). I hate getting negative during a race. I soon snapped out of it and battled out some sections with the B grade men who were coming through behind me.

At one stage I thought it was raining. But it didn’t eventuate. Then I felt the ‘rain’ again in the same section of track, right where the cicadas were chirping. Next lap I realised it wasn’t a coincidence and that the ‘rain’ must be related to the cicadas. Perhaps it was cicada pee. I’m not sure…

On my fourth and fifth lap I started to remember what was coming up next. So I got a bit more flow on the corners. This didn’t help me much though as Anna Beck was already at the finish line sipping her ice coffee. I came through in 5th place with some consistent lap times.

It was great to mix with the fast ladies and I look forward to the next race.!

Photo: Race results

Photo: No race photos of me from today. Here are my dusty legs though after the race.

Photo: A grade ladies podium. Megan, Anna and Jo. All from Sol-Breads Cyclinic Womens MTB Team. Congrats ladies!

What does it feel like to mountain bike pregnant?

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-12-14T11:25:38+10:00

Usually when people think of a pregnant woman they don’t imagine her riding a bike! Have you ever wondered what it feels like to ride pregnant?

You are probably thinking of the awkward waddle of a pregnant woman and conjure up uncomfortable images of her on a bike.

You imagine the discomfort of her sitting on a seat on her ‘private parts’ where, soon a baby will be delivered. How can that be a good thing? It’s enough to make you cringe.

Then you hear she has also been riding off road on her mountain bike over bumps and rocks! You cringe again…

Let me assure you: She’s not a complete nut job.

She’s probably not in pain and probably not even thinking about the area where a full sized baby will soon be birthed from.

She’s probably smiling, enjoying the fresh air, the outdoors and the exercise. She’s dressed for comfort and feels good.

Her lungs may feel squashed, making it an effort to breathe. But that would happen regularly regardless of if she were on a bike. She may feel tired, but that’s nothing new either. The bumps may make her need to pee and she’ll feel hungrier than ever.

But it is likely that she is enjoying herself, just like everyone else on his or her bikes.

This post contains affiliate links.

Learning to ride a Penny Farthing

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-11-12T15:06:32+10:00

Our five year old has started to show interest in learning to ride the baby Penny Farthing.

He fits it now and started to ride it last week. You can see the footage here: https://youtu.be/XX3muGGmaXI

Then today he wanted to have another turn. This time he balanced really well and was almost cornering without any help.

He understands how to stop the bike using the pedals (remember that Penny Farthings don’t have brakes!).

Next time we might take him out on the open footpath so he has more room to ride. It gets a bit tricky on the small deck.

Here is the footage of him riding by himself.

https://youtu.be/XhZPb6xL2eQ

This post contains affiliate links.

A review of the Yepp Mini baby bike seat

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-11-24T10:39:56+10:00

This is my first online review. So, I did what any good researcher does…. I found the ACCC guidelines for online reviews (https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/online-reviews-a-guide-for-business-review-platforms).

Just to make sure I don’t do something illegal! It all seems pretty straightforward.

I am not getting paid to do this review, but I am using affiliate links to websites which sell the Yepp Mini. If you purchase from these sites using my links, then I receive a small commission from the sale.

The Yepp Mini front baby seat costs $199. But you can usually get it cheaper (approx. $170 with free shipping) from 99 Bikes (click here) or Pushys (click here).

The seat is designed for a child 9 months to 3 years. However this depends on how big your baby is, and how well they can hold their head up and hold on. I think it is probably more suited to a child of a minimum of 1 year old, then they have the required head stability and grasp. I think the top end age would be a 2 year old. There is no way my just turned 3 year old would fit in there. So I think that age range is a bit ambitious.

It is really user friendly. It was easy to install and connect on the bike. We had to buy an adapter to mount it on a mountainbike. The head stem was not long enough to mount it using the adapter that came with it. The Yepp Mini Ahead Adapters are $29.99. You can buy them from 99 Bikes (click here) and Pushys (click here).

A 1-hour ride was no problem for our 1 year old. The straps are nice and wide for his shoulders and he seemed quite comfortable.

We will use the Yepp Mini for bike paths. We don’t intend on using it off road (even though we put it on a cross country mountain bike). Obviously you will have a different experience with the seat depending upon the bike you use it with.

Pros: It’s light but robust. It is easy to install and take off if needed (I could do it with one hand). It comes with keys to lock it to the bike for extra security. The shoulder straps are nice and wide. The baby has his or her own handles to hold onto.

Cons. Steering was an issue as the feet holders hit the side of the frame when at the smallest foot holder setting. This limited the range of steering. There was an extra cost for the Ahead Adapter to fit onto our mountain bike. When mounted, I had very little room for my head on top of baby’s helmet. Taller riders did not have this problem.

In my experience the Yepp Mini is a really cool little seat. It’s durable and funky.

Check out my video review for some footage of the seat in action.

This post contains affiliate links.

The first family ride

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-10-11T10:33:21+10:00

Baby Z is now 11 months old and is big enough to come out with us on bike rides. Nothing too serious, just bike paths.

He sits in the Mini Yepp front baby bike seat (which you can buy from 99 Bikes (click here) or Pushys (click here)) on one of our ‘spare’ bikes. It’s RRP is $199 (AU), but the bike shops usually have good sales and you can get them for about $170 with free shipping from both online stores. Both these links are affiliate links, so if you click on the links and buy from there, then I get a small commission.

I will be doing a review of the Yepp Mini baby bike seat in a future blog.

It was so lovely to go out with the whole family. The bigger kids were excited to see Baby Z in the bike seat smiling away. It was a fair effort to get everyone organised and sorted with helmets, bikes and shoes. But worth it to see their smiling faces.

This post contains affiliate links.

There’s a first time for everything. Go away tonsillitis!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-09-11T14:17:04+10:00

There’s a first time for everything. Go away tonsillitis!

I managed to get really sick this week. Sitting at home with a sore throat and a high fever with 3 kids, is not fun.

The doctor diagnosed tonsillitis and a dose of antibiotics.

I felt much better almost instantly, however it wasn’t enough to ‘fix’ me in time for the Queensland XC State Champs at Samford.

As with any illness or injury, it sucks to be on the sidelines.

Time to recover, and focus on the next event. I haven’t decided what that will be yet… stay tuned!

This post contains affiliate links.

Chicks in the Sticks - womens only MTB enduro

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-08-24T09:24:33+10:00

Chicks in the Sticks - womens only MTB enduro

Yesterday was my first ever “ladies only” mountain bike race. I’ve been racing for 10 years, and most of the time there is only a handful of women at the start line. So it was amazing to see 175 chicks at the Karingal 3 hour race yesterday.

My favourite part was seeing all the Daddys on the sidelines with babies strapped to them! There were lots of Mummies racing, so the Dads had to kid wrangle for 3 hours.

24 hours on the bike (well not quite….)

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-05-18T16:38:29+10:00

24 hours on the bike (well not quite….)

The Kona 24 hour race was held in April at Old Hidden Vale. We did the race last year when I was 14 weeks pregnant (see blog), which was challenging. This year we have 3 kids (including a 6 month old who wakes up every 2 hours) to add to our race planning and execution. I remember being up in the middle of the night (every 2 hours) breastfeeding Baby Z and thinking to myself that at least I wasn’t the only one up. I could hear riders outside. It gave me comfort knowing that there were other sleep deprived racers out there.

3 tips to make you a faster, smoother and more energy efficient mountain biker

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-09-21T11:02:10+10:00

So you’ve got the bike set up right, you are confident and have some fitness. You may even have some new riding socks.

You are all set to ride and you want to be faster, smoother, save energy, go harder and ride for longer.

Riding more often is going to make you fitter and stronger. But ultimately when riding, you want to carry more speed and go fast, while still conserving energy. So you can ride for longer and travel further.

Conserve energy while still going faster? Yes that’s right!

Here are 3 tips to help you reach that goal:

Don’t brake.
Choose good lines.
Pump the track.

Doing these three things means there will be less pedalling (when you don’t need to), more speed, more energy.

Don’t brake

Try to carry speed by not braking as much. If you brake you will only have to put in the extra effort and pedal to get back up to speed. By not braking, you save that pedalling energy for later. Saving 1 pedal per corner on single track means you have the energy to pedal another 30 + pedals on the hilly or flat sections. Don’t brake unless it’s absolutely necessary!

Choose good lines

Line choice is a great skill to have. It is a key skill for downhillers, but it’s often overlooked by the cross country rider. Remember that the most direct route (or the A-line) is not always the fastest. It may not line you up best for the next corner. Some B-lines around drops are actually faster as you can carry speed and you don’t loose momentum on dodgy landings. Learn what works best for you and your bike. Ride smart and choose lines with purpose.

I remember reading an interview with Missy Giove (professional downhill mountain biker who dominated the sport in the 90’s and early 2000’s) which always stuck in my head. She always visualised the track before each race and imagined herself as water or a river, choosing the fastest route to flow down the mountain (Source from Dirtragmag).

Pump the track

Learn how to flow better and pump the trail. Pumping is more useful on the flat or downhill sections. Sometimes the trail is too rocky, rooted or rutted to get pedals in. So by working with the trail you can actually maintain speed and gain speed without pedalling or loosing speed. Small rises and falls in the track are actually like little roller coaster tracks. You flow down one side and ‘G-out’ at the bottom to carry speed up the next side. Push the bike down at the low points, and be light on the bike on the high points. It may not always be obvious where the track rises and falls. Sometimes it’s over rocks and roots and micro hills. You will be amazed at how much speed you can carry while pumping over a trail without even pedalling. If you are unclear of the concept of pumping, try playing the Tiny Wings game on your phone. It’s just like that.

So, by doing these three things, it will mean less pedalling, more speed, more energy!

This post contains affiliate links.

New bike! And it glows in the dark!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-10-01T10:25:32+10:00

New bike! And it glows in the dark!

I’m currently 35 weeks pregnant, and I have a new bike!

Cadel Evans photo bombing me

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-01-25T10:17:35+10:00

Cadel Evans photo bombing me

Cadel Evans and the BMC Team photo bomb me and Mr Z at Henley Beach in Adelaide.

Racing the 3 Plus 3 at Old Hidden Vale

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-07-11T12:12:32+10:00

Racing the 3 Plus 3 at Old Hidden Vale

The annual 3 Plus 3 Event consists of a 3 hour race on the Saturday and a 3 hour race on the Sunday. We did the race last year when I was 6 months pregnant (see blog here), and we were keen to do it again. Our transition was like this “Mr Z needs his nappy changed, Mr F is hungry, Miss T is really tired”. An extra fast commentary of all the kids needs and a quick kiss good luck to the parent who is left behind with all the kids (not to the racer). The racing part was clearly the easier component of the duo.

Mt Crosby Sunshine Series - XC Race

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-05-31T15:33:27+10:00

Mt Crosby Sunshine Series - XC Race

With a 7 month old who wakes up every 2 hours over night, I am exhausted. But because I love riding my bike, I was determined to enter the race at Mt Crosby. Having not seen the track before, I asked fellow MTBer AB what it was like. She said “There’s a few steep climbs, but you’ll be alright”.

Racing at Underwood Park

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-02-15T09:49:10+10:00

Racing at Underwood Park 15 Feb 2015

The short sprint XC series has begun. I am no where near race fit, with only a handful of rides under my belt, with none being longer than 1 hr. Perfect for a 40 min sprint race! I really enjoy racing. I love the adrenaline rush, the white line fever and the feeling of accomplishment after the race.

New year!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2015-01-08T11:28:52+10:00

I can’t believe it’s 2015. Our eldest child will be 5 this year. whoa, where did that go…

Back on the bike ! 5 weeks after baby

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-11-30T21:16:01+10:00

Back on the bike ! 5 weeks after baby

Yay, my first ride back after having my third baby. It feels like forever that I have ridden. Yet it feels so comfortable and natural.

Penny Farthing Criterium - QLD

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-11-22T19:31:04+10:00

Not intentionally racing when 6 months pregnant

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-07-12T19:59:00+10:00

Not intentionally racing when 6 months pregnant

The 3 plus 3 at Old Hidden Vale (QLD) - 12 - 13 July 2014

Last year at xmas time, my husband and I entered into the 3 plus 3 event at Hidden Vale. It’s a 3 hour XC race on the Saturday and 3 hours on the Sunday. Because we have 2 kids, the format suited us. We could ‘tag team’ the racing and parenting. The race was cancelled due to a few days of heavy rainfall and was postponed to ‘Xmas in July’.

Fast forward to July 2014 and I’m 6 months pregnant with our 3rd baby. Not ideal racing conditions, but our entries to the race were carried over from last year. So we figured we would still ‘race’ and camp on the Saturday night with the 2 kids (almost 4 and almost 2 years old).

I tested out whether or not I could still fit in my Sol Breads - Cyclinic race kit. It was a tight squeeze, but achievable.

Riding when 6 months pregnant isn’t all that easy. Yes, I am smiling in the photos, but that’s because I love being out in the fresh air, and rolling over the rocks and dirt on my bike. The un-fun parts involve having a baby’s head pushing on your pelvis, lower back, ribs, lungs and stomach. You also have to make sure you don’t overheat, or push yourself into the red zone where you max out your heart rate. You also have to be careful with your balance and centre of gravity. Every week as the baby grows my balance seems to change. So you need to account for this when on the bike.

It is totally safe to ride when pregnant, but you need to know your limits, and listen to your body. Don’t push it!

I planned only to do 1 lap a day, leaving husband Tony to do the rest.

I set out on my first lap and got a few strange looks (‘is that chick pregnant, or did she eat too much of the wood oven pizza?” ). The Hidden Vale tracks were quite rough, loose and dry. The rocky decants were catching a few people out (4WD ambulances were working hard). So I made sure I was extra alert to read the trails ahead of me.

I spun my way up the climbs in granny gear to keep my heart rate down. There were some steep sections and drops that were a bit tricky due to the baby bump. I usually get quite far back over my seat/wheel (just a habit from downhilling). But with a baby bump in the way, this was hard! Baby would hit the seat, so I couldn’t extend all the way back.

My 4 year old smiled when I came back over the finish line and said “That would have been a bumpy ride for baby! Did it like it?”.

It was great to be out riding and camping. I can’t wait to race again properly; minus the baby bump!

http://www.3plus3.com.au/result/
http://www.timingresults.com.au/2014/giant3plus3saturdayresults.pdf
http://www.timingresults.com.au/2014/giant3plus3sundayresults.pdf

Baby bump + bike

24 Hour Race Report - 2006

info@jaynerutter.com — 2006-05-24T21:00:28+10:00

24 Hour Race Report - 2006

So after much build up it’s time to begin the 24 hour Dirty Weekend MTB journey. Originally there was a cast of thousands who were keen to race, but with most parties piking out at the last minute, there is only one team, The Ferals who make it to the start line.

The merchandise for our fans is ready (albeit after a few mishaps with the iron on transfers), batteries are charged and the sun is shining.

2:00:00 PM – RABBIT – 2 laps.

Pete goes out first and pushes out 2 quick laps to start with. This is Pete’s quickest time of the race at 28 mins 29 secs.

2:58:62 PM – FOX GIRL - 2 laps.

The track is sweet, nice and flowy, and even a pallet jump which looks like fun. I do it on my first lap and it’s a bit abrupt, so I decide to leave that one in the future. Half way through my first lap I manage to drop my walkie talkie. I stop to pick it up and no real damage is done. Mental note, don’t let that happen again. So on my 2nd lap I drop it again. I stop and walk back up the track to find it, but to no avail. My brand new walkie talkie is gone…..sniffle sniffle.

I do my fasted lap of the event at 32 mins 44 secs. I have to remember to pace myself.

4:05:17 PM – RABBIT – 2 laps.

I take the time while Pete is out to try to find the walkie talkie with Sacha. With only a 1 hr break, we can’t find it. Sacha keeps hunting while I eat and dress my bike up with lights, which is compulsory after 5pm. I check with the timing tent just before heading out and someone had handed in my walkie talkie. Yippie!

5:07:45 PM - FOX GIRL - 2 laps.

I’m back on the track and a message comes over the radio “Yay! we can communicate again!”. These walkie talkies are great. The sunset is fantastic and I am hoping that Pete and Sacha are getting some good photos.

6:18:00 PM - RABBIT – 3 laps.

Even though there is an hour and half break, there is still lots to do. Eat, toilet, refill water and cordial, change batteries, set up helmet light, check bike over, eat….. .. where did all that time go.

I’m ready to go off again and Pete comes into the transition, with one statement, “3 laps hurts”. Thanks for that Pete.

8:06:43 PM - FOX GIRL - 3 laps.

I’m out on my first 3 lap stint. Sacha is leaving at 9.45pm so I won’t have time to see her again tonight. This is my first real night riding experience for the race. Pete didn’t tell me there were monsters in the forest, or a disco. This place is great.

10:07:04 PM - RABBIT – 3 laps.

I try to get some rest this time in my break. But there is really loud music playing. It is freezing. I stand next to the warm fire inside and get ready to go out again. Staring into nothingness I fuel myself with a banana, chocolate rice cream, and a RedBull. Burp.

I stop and have a short chat to Pete at transition time, rather than going straight off. Everything seems to be in order and the bikes are behaving.

12:01:34 AM - FOX GIRL - 3 laps.

It is a great night for a midnight ride! The moon is looking spectacular and it isn’t windy at all. I wish I had a camera and a tripod with me, and the skills to take a moon photo. It's pretty lonely out. Pete is trying to sleep so there is no talking over the walkie talkie.

There are party goers in the forest drinking beer with the shiny disco ball. It’s nice to have people cheering you on, even if they are naked.

On my 2nd lap there are no spectators in the forest. It feels like a long time when you are out on the trail, but time goes so quick when you are back at base camp.

On my 3rd lap, my light batteries die. Luckily some dude from Melbourne is riding behind me. I let him know my predicament, and he nurses me home. It’s hard work trying to ride when all you can see is the shadow of your head and ears.

2:08:37 AM - RABBIT – 4 laps.

I think it takes less than 5 minutes after you stop riding for you to start to freeze. I’m glad neither of us has punctured. Pete is off. The plan is for him to do 3 laps. I try to sleep, but the neighbours chat noisily the whole time. Pete decides to do something a little crazy and punch out 4 laps. At 44 minutes per lap his pace is still quite quick. I’m grateful to get the extra rest time.

Pete comes into the transition with his rabbit ears are looking a little bedraggled. He is buggered and heads off to rest.

5:01:53 AM - FOX GIRL - 3 laps.

It’s just me and the trail now. There are not many riders on the track. My first lap is my slowest of the night 46:55 secs. It’s lonely and cold.

On my second lap I can see the black sky lighting up a little bit and turning a faint light blue. But it is still early and not ready for the sun to rise. As I head towards the other side of the track, I can see the sun really is starting to rise! It’s a bit lighter, but nothing that you would call a sun rise yet. 10 minutes later I head towards the same area where I was before (no I wasn’t going the wrong way, its just the way the track went). WOW I don’t even need lights now! The sun rise is spectacular! I wish I was like Steve Austin with a camera for my eyes. Now my spirits have lifted, this is great; I don’t even need to concentrate any more to ride.

On my 3rd lap, I radio in to Pete, “Cock a doodle dooo”. This riding stuff is fun again. My 3rd lap time is back down to 41 minutes.

7:13:15 AM - RABBIT – 3 laps.

Sacha is back and there are people everywhere. I am hanging out for Tony to get in to cook bacon and eggs for breakfast.

9:05:08 AM - FOX GIRL -2 laps.

Time for the iPod.

10:23:12 AM - RABBIT – 2 laps.

Mmm bacon and eggs.

11:35:49 AM - FOX GIRL - 2 laps.

More music and my last laps for the long day and night. Yay.

12:55:39 PM - RABBIT – 2 laps – finish at 2:12:54 PM

The cheer squad cheers Pete on while he does his last laps. Will he stop after one lap and wait for the time to count down? Or will he keep on going like a Duracell bunny?

He kept on going to make the total laps 38. Pete did 21 and I did 17.

Full results can be found at: http://www.bikesa.asn.au/events/event_forms/24%20duo.pdf

Done.

Dirty Weekend Results 2006_24 hour

10 years since my first DH race!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-05-24T21:37:23+10:00

10 years since my first DH race!

Way back in May 2004 I randomly decided to have a go at Downhill MTB racing. I had done a bit of DH riding, and wanted to meet more girls who rode. I had only ridden with one other female.

So, I packed up my Norco A-line DH bike in the back of my Pulsar hatch back and went out to Bennetts Forest for the Inside Line MTB Club event.

I don’t remember if I had ridden the track before. I remember pushing the bike to the start line thinking that I just wanted to get down the hill in one piece and enjoy the experience. The track was not very steep and a perfect beginners track. It was a pine forest and there was nothing too frightening on the track. I think I came in last place, but it didn’t matter because I was hooked.

I met some great girls who taught me a lot about riding and keeping race nerves under control. We kept racing together/against each other for years.

Photo: 2004. My bike and I when I first got it. I’m in my work clothes and just wanted to pose for a photo.

May 2004. First race!

My second race was at Fox Creek Long Track. I found some photos while reminiscing. This race was a challenge!

I think there were five of us racing in Elite Women. Myself, Sarah Booth, Julie Harris and Gemma Mayfield. Carol may have had more sense and decided not to race (and get the white socks muddy). The conditions were muddy and a bit more muddy…. It has been raining for days. The race still went ahead. I remember the top part of the track wasn’t too bad, but the bottom section was almost unrideable.

These photos showed how bad it was getting through a section. Once you stopped it was impossible to get momentum again to keep rolling. Your wheels got all clagged up and wouldn’t spin.

I found the results too. Boothy had the skills to keep it rolling, but Julie, Gemma and I really struggled. It took Gemma 21 mins to get down the track! I think she actually went off the course and physically couldn’t lift her bike back onto the track.

Photo: I needed to push my bike up over a kicker… it was exhausting…

Kona 24 Hour MTB Race - Hidden Vale

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-04-14T08:22:44+10:00

Kona 24 Hour MTB Race - Hidden Vale

AKA camping with kids and chocolate…and 14 weeks pregnant.

We wanted to race the 4hr event in a duo, however the only option was to race together (keeping within 100 m or so of each other at all times). This format wasn’t going to work for us, because we had the two kids to look after. So we entered into the 24 hour.

We arrived to Hidden Vale on Good Friday and pitched the tent, shelter, set up BBQ, beds etc etc etc… We had intentions of riding the track in the afternoon, but by the time we had set up our campsite, it was getting time to feed the hungry kids and then settle in for the night.

Easter Saturday was race day. The day was full of activities before the main event started. Our kids woke us up at 4:30am and the day had begun.

Hidden Vale is the location of the Spicers Retreat (fancy accommodation and restaurant overlooking lovely rolling hills and countryside). The race HQ was a few kilometres away from the main Spicers area, but we were told we could go to the restaurant for hot coffee. So after having some breakfast we ducked down to get coffee and pretend that we could afford to stay and eat at the restaurant. The staff were lovely and we would love to go back to stay there one day.

Back to the campsite, and I geared up for the kids race. Felix was racing his first event! The course was part of the main race track. There was a huge turn out for the kids, and a big range of abilities and ages. Felix (3.5 years old) was on a balance bike, which had its own class. I rode with him so he would know where to go. The crowd was huge, and cheering all the kids on, it was a great atmosphere. The track was quite tricky for kids. It went down a steep rocky long section where lots of kids crashed. Then it followed some single track up over rocks and through sand, under a bridge and back up onto a fire road. We stopped a few times for a drink, and Felix seemed to be enjoying it. Towards the finish line the commentator cheered on all the kids and Felix and I went through the finish line. He came first in his class, and did the 1.7 km track in about 15 mins. We were so proud of him.

Photo: The kids prizes. Yum!

After the kids presentations, we had to quickly get ourselves ready for the start of the 24 hr. Tony was off first and he took off with the 100’s of other competitors. The 4 hr race started at the same time. It was midday and getting quite warm. Tony went out for 2 laps which took almost 2 hrs. The kids were entertained on the bouncy castle and other fun things.

We transitioned slowly after Tony finished his laps. We were just there to have fun and ride our bikes, and knew that we couldn’t be too competitive (we hadn’t been training for a 24 hour!). I went out for my laps and was enjoying just taking it easy. I had ridden some of the trails before (a long time ago for the Duathlon! See link here 2009) but I couldn’t really remember what was coming up next. The tracks were dry, rocky and loose. HEAPS OF FUN! There was a tricky rock drop section after the skills park where the ambulance people were stationed. I wasn’t keen to blindly ride off it, so I walked it and had a look at the obstacle. The next trails had flow and could easily catch you out if you weren’t paying attention. I loved the ‘Rock Bottom’ track. Lots of little drop offs and fast steep sections through a creek. It took me over an hour to do 1 lap, so I went out for another half lap and then headed back to camp to get dinner and the kids sorted.

I would have loved to have kept riding, but there were mouths to feed. By this stage the kids were feral. Miss 20 months hadn’t had a day sleep and was inconsolable. Felix was hypo and exhausted from riding and playing in the bouncy castle all day. It took 2 hours to wind him down to get him to sleep. By this stage we were exhausted too, and decided not to do any night laps. Slack maybe, but we were enjoying the peace and quiet and chocolate at the campsite.

Morning time and it was Easter Sunday. We had chocolate eggs and the kids were hypo by 7am. Time to do some more riding!

We did a few more laps each and watched the crazy 24 hour racers come in from riding all day and all night. They are machines.

We had fun, came in 3rd place in the mixed team. Took a while to pack up the camp and we have decided that 2 nights camping is not really worth the massive effort it takes to pack up the car, kids, bikes etc. It needs to be longer than 2 nights.

It was great to be out riding.!

New Kit!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-04-08T12:55:35+10:00

New Kit !

Got a new race kit for the Sol-Breads Cyclinic Womens riding team.

It’s an honour to be asked to represent the team and wear the colourful kit. It’t got polka dots and some 80’s style stripes and colours. It will match my new helmet perfectly!

I can’t wait to wear it racing and shredding down the trails.

I won’t squeeze in it much longer as I am 12 weeks pregnant.

Summer Sprints - The same track backwards

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-02-16T09:47:08+10:00

Summer Sprints - The same track backwards

3rd Place (16th February 2014)

I felt a bit more comfortable on the track this time because I had already raced it a few weeks ago. But it was to be raced in the opposite direction. I wasn’t a fan of it being in this direction because there seemed to be less single track downhill sections.

Somewhere along the way I managed to loose the front end and crash with a load of dust everywhere. I didn’t hurt myself and quickly got back on my bike wondering how that had happened! It’s been a long time since I have crashed!

I raced ok and gave it my best. I finished in 3rd place behind Jo Rowell and Jodie Willett.

I have decided I need to climb more hills and get some leg strength!

*Edit: Shortly after posting this blog, I realised I was 5 weeks pregnant with baby number 3!

Summer Sprints - The race to make me hungry

info@jaynerutter.com — 2014-02-02T09:32:32+10:00

Summer Sprints - The race to make me hungry

5th Place (2nd February 2014)

It’s about time I entered another race! The summer sprint series is held at Underwood Park, south of Brisbane. I had heard about these races, but never managed to make it down for one.

I entered into A grade, perhaps a silly idea…. but the format of racing meant that even if I was way behind the pace, no one would be left waiting for me to finish. It was a 50 minute race, and you just finish on whatever lap you are on after the 50 minutes.

While lining up to get my race place I bumped into Jodie Willett, Kylie Maduna and Anna Beck. All top riders, who would be my competition for the day. gulp.

It was hot even though it was early in the morning. The track was nice with a few tricky little sections like this rock garden (photo). It was harder than what it looked because it was fairly flat and you needed quite a run up to keep the momentum over the rocks.

I came in 5th place. Time to step up the training a bit.

Gravity Enduro Round 2 Garapine

info@jaynerutter.com — 2013-04-21T13:54:44+10:00

Gravity Enduro

5th - Gravity Enduro Round 2 Garapine QLD - GE (21st April 2013)

Hardly any sleep the night before. Teisha is still waking once or twice. I hadn’t seen the tracks before. Heading down blind! Tony had to look after both kids by himself for the 4 hours. I was worried about how he would cope. Thankfully Gaz Hopewell was there to help out.

I lined up for the start and had to give Teisha a quick breast feed. Then I got Felix sorted with some snacks. 5 mins to spare before the start. I quickly checked my bike over and tightened up some loose screws.

There were two tracks. A blue and a black one. The blue one had some pedalling and some little doubles/gaps. Without seeing these I decided to go around them. Otherwise I could stack and then I’d loose lots of time. The black one was steep in places with roots. Quite fun, but it was a bit daunting heading down without knowing what was coming up.
We had to do each track 3 times, so I started to learn the tracks by the last few runs.

It was fun, but really hard work with a baby and toddler. Everyone was feral after the race.

Epic MTB Race 20 km

info@jaynerutter.com — 2013-09-19T13:51:09+10:00

Epic MTB Race 20 km

5th Place (14th September 2013)

I decided to enter the 20 km Epic Chaser race on the Saturday of the main event. Tony was racing the 50 km on the Sunday, so we each of us could look after the kids while the other one was racing.

We took the opportunity to camp on the Saturday night at Spicers Hidden Vale, so then we didn’t have such a rush to get to the race on the Sunday morning.

The last (pure) XC race that I did was way back in April 2009!! I did do the XC leg in the Anaconda multisport event, and also a duathlon. But it’s been a while that I have raced XC. As it was only the 20 km race prior to the big event, there wasn’t much pressure to perform. This suited me. The womens field was an open class, so there were lots of people.

I lined up at the front of the pack so I could get a clean start away from punters. Wearing my baggy shorts for the race, I wanted that mental view that I wasn’t racing too seriously. But in that hot sun, I really wished I had worn the lycra. It was hot and dusty.

A few chicks took a head start and left with the men. This meant they were already 5 mins or so in front of the rest of us. I try tell myself that it doesn’t really matter, but it was frustrating.

The race went a bit like this…

Took off in 2nd place (try not to blow up in the first 100 m), fire road, fire road (get overtaken by 6 or so girls), bumpy fire road, downhill fire road (pass a few people), flat fire road, cow poo, overtake some people. See the Grinder. See lots of people walking up the Grinder. Climb the grinder. Call out ‘track’ lots of times. Start to murmur ‘track’ in between breaths. The hill was rocky and steep. Saw my heart rate up around 190bpm. Almost got to the top and had to walk a bit. Single track. yippee! . Switch backs. Call track. People don’t move off track. People cut through switch backs, destroying the hill in the process. Stupid people. More fire road. A little bit of single track on the side of the fire track. People don’t follow the signs and take the single track. I loose a few places because I followed the track. Fire road.. fire road.. It’s windy. Head wind. Then a final single track climb up to the finish line. Then we have to do another 4 km of single track to finish up. It was hot. Hardtails hurt.

Come through the finish in 1hr 14mins in 5th place. http://www.strava.com/activities/82545984

I was happy with my race. It felt good to be out on the bike again. And with hardly any ‘training’, I was stoked to actually make it!

It’s made me keen to get out and race some more races! (and get a new bike.)

Gravity Enduro Round 1 Mt Joyce

info@jaynerutter.com — 2013-04-07T12:52:16+10:00

Gravity Enduro

4th - Gravity Enduro Round 1 Mt Joyce QLD - GE (7th April 2013)

Breakfast before the race.

A quick feed for Teisha before the start.

Cuddles after the race.

Reminiscing Australian Nationals 07/08

info@jaynerutter.com — 2013-02-25T08:19:14+10:00

Reminiscing - Australian Nationals 07/08

I have been sorting out photos on my computer and found this one. It is the poster for the Australian Nationals 07/08. The Adelaide MTB Club and Inside Line MTB Club got a massive poster (about 4 m long!) of this and it was put up at the entrance to Eagle MTB park.

I was pretty stoked to get put on the poster as the Downhiller. I miss downhill, but not sure I can get back into it any time soon.

Tony was on the committee and the volunteers worked so hard to pull the event together. It was Adelaide’s first Aussie Nationals Race at Eagle Park.

I raced in Elite Womens XC and DH. I even got the same race place number. I don’t know many people who have had a crack at both the XC and DH at an elite level, but it was pretty tough!

I came 16th in the XC (the highest ranked South Australian) and 5th in the DH. I had a small incident with a rock wall in the DH which I was a bit annoyed about. Because I could have got a better result.

First ride back - 6 weeks after baby

info@jaynerutter.com — 2012-09-15T09:17:02+10:00

First ride back - 6 weeks after baby

I was really looking forward to my first ride back after having baby girl. My bike clothes fit again and I even found some riding tops that I forgot I owned.

The sun was shining and I planned a short ride from Ferny Grove to Albany Creek through Ironbark forest and Bunya. Nothing too strenuous.

It was lovely to feel the wind blowing through my hair and hearing the sound of my tyres rolling over the dirt. Ahhh I have missed riding. It didn’t take long to adjust to my new centre of gravity. Last time I rode I had a big pregnant belly. A few times I ‘forgot’ which way I needed to change my gears… a bit embarrassing, but no one was there to see. I didn’t have to get off the bike on any climbs, so that was a bonus. But my granny gear did get used quite a bit.

Lucky newborns sleep quite a bit, so I wasn’t too worried about leaving her with dad for a few hours while she slept. I just needed to be close for when she woke up hungry.

Can’t wait until my next ride! Bring it on!

MTB Bunya @ 33 weeks

info@jaynerutter.com — 2012-06-17T13:21:51+10:00

MTB Bunya @ 33 weeks

Baby #2 is just growing bigger and bigger. It’s also been pretty wet and cold here. But I managed to get out for a MTB ride at Bunya on the weekend.

Probably be my last MTB ride for a while; until baby #2 is on the outside. It gets pretty uncomfy after 30 mins or so on the bike. Plus I’m exhausted afterwards.

Kandanga DH

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-06-22T14:17:47+10:00

Kandanga DH QLD State Race

Tracey Hannah made an appearance this time. She took the win, with me in 2nd place and Lea in 3rd.

\

Photo above: Elite women podium

QLD DH State Titles 2008 QLD DH State Titles 2008

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-08-10T14:09:29+10:00

QLD DH State Titles 2008

I couldn’t race the final round of the DH (the State Champs), but went along to watch. My wrist was still in a cast.

Found out I won the overall Elite Womens Series for DH. So I was stoked with that.

Lea won the State Champs.

Toowoomba State Round

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-06-01T14:02:29+10:00

TOOWOOMBA DH RACE

Toowoomba is a nice track, tricky and rocky in places, and fast and tight in others. Saturday was dry and the track was sandy in places. I had a few close calls in the sand nearly resulting in the first stack for the Mini dee (my new Commencal Supreme Mini Dh).

Saturday night it rained and rained and rained. We tried to find somewhere to eat and Sizzler (yep they still have them here in QLD!) had a line up outside! Apparently Jimmy Barnes was playing so most accommodation was booked out, so were places to eat. It continued to rain.

Sunday morning, the track was slippery and clayey. It started to tack up a bit when the sun peaked through the clouds. The competition was good in the Elite women's field. Although there were only 3 contenders for the crown, it was anyone's race.

Photo: Me through the rock garden.
There was the local girl, Sam who rides a bit ragged and loose, but that was perfect for the course which was dry and loose and sometimes rocky in the corners. Although only new to the DH scene she had the home track advantage.
Then there is Lea. She is a fast rider, gutsy and smooth. Lea has raced the track before and has been top of QLD DH scene in Elite women for a while. She tried to fix her bike a few nights before the race and lost the rebound in her rear shock. So she was riding an old short travel mongoose (sounds like it’s a disadvantage, but I actually think it was better suited to the track).

Then there was me. I like to think I am smooth and nimble on tighter courses and I tend to ride well in the wet. I have come up on top for the last 2 races against the other two girls. So, if it were horse racing, I'm not sure who the favourite would have been.

Photo: me near the bottom of the track.
In the qualifying run the course was wet but starting to become tacky in places. The local girl Sam, had a spectacular stack on the last corner over a double. Lea had a clean run. I got stuck in some soft dirt on a tricky corner for a bit, then pinned it down a rocky fast section and lost the front wheel somewhere and had Mini dees first crash. I’m not sure what happened but rider and bike where dis-attached from each other.

Race time came around and the heavy rain and then more rain meant the track was very very wet and slippery. The clay had lost any kind of grip that it had earlier. This would be by far the trickiest wet track I have raced on.
We all got stuck off the track on the same tricky corner and Lea had a crash on a steep rock/cement chute. Presentations were put on hold due to the weather so we weren’t really sure who won. Results were posted later in the week, and I found out I had won by 6 seconds, which was surprising for me.

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Photo Above: Lea

UPPER BROOKFIELD DH RACE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-07-01T14:01:46+10:00

UPPER BROOKFIELD DH RACE

Photo thanks to Nicole Photography. It was a very close end to the Queensland DH series with only 13 points separating me and 1st place at the final race. So I had to win the final race to win the series.

With a spectacular crash at the last corner, I thought all hopes were gone. But I must have pinned it up the top of the track and managed to win by 3 secs, which made me the QLD Elite Women DH State Champ.

Tuesday, 1 July 2008

Photo above: Just after the crash. Determined to win!

CANBERRA STATE ROUND RACE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-07-28T14:00:06+10:00

CANBERRA STATE ROUND RACE

Photo above: This is the gap jump that I crashed on and broke my wrist.

So, my big goal for the year was to race the Canberra World Cup round in the DH in August. I wanted to go to Canberra for an ACT state race before the World Cup to get in some practice so I could do my best at the Worlds. I have never really felt good on the Mt Stromlo track, so now was my chance to get some confidence up and learn some good lines. I booked a quick trip down to Canberra, flying down at 6am on the Saturday, then flying out at 6.30pm on the Sunday. I went by myself and hired a car.

The track had changed a bit since last time I raced there at the Australian Nationals. There is a new rock garden at the top and it is about 100m longer. There was also some new drops and jumps thrown in. All was going well on the Sunday morning and I was confidently hitting some of the bigger jumps and A lines. When it was final race time I was a bit worried about the wind on some of the jumps because it tended to blow people off course. While racing I decided that I would have to ‘harden up princess’ and hit the bigger jump in the wind (see main photo top).

I thought it may not have been such a great idea when I got blown over in mid air and landed on my head, knee and wrist. I ended up breaking my left wrist and am most likely not going to be able to race in 4 weeks (hey I am struggling to type….). So I have had a change of focus and now it is on the National Series (starting in November). I will aim to get selected for the World Cup Champs next year.

Monday, 28 July 2008

Photo: Cara

Photo: Claire.

Photo: Me.

Photo left: in the waiting room waiting for an X-ray.

Photo: Broken scaphoid.

CAST NEARLY OFF!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-09-21T13:59:25+10:00

CAST NEARLY OFF!

1 week to go until I hopefully get my cast off…..then its back on the bike!

Sunday, 21 September 2008

DAMN WRISTS

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-10-18T13:58:43+10:00

DAMN WRISTS

So I have managed to get back on the bike, and fall off again... I badly bruised my right wrist (I initially thought it was broken, but it's ok). The Round 1 of the Australian National Series is on this weekend in Adelaide. Keep tuned, and I will fill you in on how I go.

Saturday, 18 October 2008

ADELAIDE NATIONALS

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-11-01T13:57:18+10:00

ADELAIDE NATIONALS

Photo thanks to Angus Meek.

The Adelaide Nationals Round 1 has been raced and the dust has settled. Finally a dry nationals race! Although its a pain, I am thinking that I race better in the rain, so maybe I should pray for rain... This time I decided to not race the XC and focus on the DH. Last year it was easier to do both as I was living in Adelaide, but this year it was just too hard. The aim of the race was to get some confidence back and not break any bones! Last year at the Adelaide round I finished in 5th place in Elite Women. After a very very busy weekend visiting friends, family, practising the track, going to a wedding on Saturday night and then racing, I was exhausted. And that was before the race even began. The track had changed slightly since the year before, making it shorter and faster in sections. A few tricky sections had been removed and a couple of new interesting parts added. The start mound of the track had been made higher meaning you didn't have to pedal as much out of the gate. However after the first berm, there was a jump over 2 large rocks/boulders, into a tight corner. It was quite daunting. If you didn't get enough lift off the lip you would case your wheel into the rocks (hopefully not the front wheel...). I didn't do the jump on the Friday as my confidence was fairly limited. Saturday morning, I rolled into it a few times and finally turned my brain off to hit it. As is always the case with these things, it was easy when I finally did it. There was another new section where the track that cut through a loose rocky section and dropped into the old rock garden. This was hard to do fast, as there were often loose rocks over the track. I had a few moments there in practice, but wasn't too worried about that bit when it came race time. I also did the creek gap (dry water run off area with large rocks about 2m gap), that I hadn't done before so I was stoked. There is a large set of doubles at the bottom of the track that I didn't build up to, which cost me time, but I will hit those next time!

Me hitting (ok casing...) the creek gap.

It was nice to see that even though I have been off the bike for a while that I can still ride. A nice confidence boost. Although it would have been nice to go well in the results (I ended up 9th), I was happy with how I went. Hey, I didn't break any bones or anything on my bike, so that's got to be good! The next race is in 4 weeks at Illinbah in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Its a long track so my arms will struggle with their lack of strength. But hopefully I can work on that rapidly between now and then.

Saturday, 1 November 2008

GOLD COAST NATIONALS

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-11-10T13:56:19+10:00

GOLD COAST NATIONALS

Very wet race. Did the 4X and the DH. I actually did better in the 4X! Ended up 9th place and didn’t qualify for the final. Gold Coast track just isn’t my track. I enjoy it, but just don’t seem to go fast on it!!!

Monday, 10 November 2008

Scary section of the track. Straight after this it went almost vertical.

Elite women washing bikes. While some of the Elite mens fathers did theirs. haha

Canberra World Cup!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-11-30T13:51:02+10:00

Canberra World Cup!

Photo Above: The finish line.

What a fantastic atmosphere at the World Cup! It’s a shame it always has to rain at these events though.

I decided to take my bike down to Canberra despite my wrist still in a cast. I hadn’t been on my DH bike since the crash earlier in the month. I did sneak out for an extended XC loop into work at the start of the week, but that was the extent of my ‘training’ for the World Cup.

Without knowing if I could even ride or hold on, I figured if I didn’t bring my bike I would be spewing. We arrived to Canberra on the Wednesday night and my bike failed to turn up. Apparently it was still in Brisbane. Not a good start to the weekend. It arrived the next morning so that was all ok.

Practise was sketchy and I struggled to hold on with my left hand and also reach the rear brake. I also could not lift the front of the bike too easily. Feeling very unfit and not confident, I decided to rule out hitting any of the big jumps and just roll down the track. By race day I figured I may as well race. I kind of hoped that I didn’t qualify so then I could watch the main race in the afternoon. Not the best attitude I know, but it’s not like I was in top form for the race!

I came in 21st place with only the top 20 qualifying. So I guess I got my wish! It was pouring with rain, and not very inviting to get back out on the bike. So I sat back and watched the pros!

Well done to Tracy Moseley and Greg Minnar for taking the win.

The after party was out of control as per normal. I am feeling very tired now. I can’t wait for the Nationals, hopefully I will be fully recovered and in fine form by November.

Thanks to Tony and Sacha for being my support crew, driver, caddie etc (TEAM RUTTER). Thanks to Annette for lending us her car and to Jimmy from Bikeology (www.bikeology.com) for keeping my bike running nicely over the weekend.

Photo above: My first time on the bike in ages… Wrist in cast. Rolling around the car park at Canberra World cup.

Photo above: The start ramp.

Photo: Looking down the track from the midway point.

Photo above: This bit was tricky with my broken wrist. My hand kept bouncing off the bars.

Photo above: Dust and rocks.

Photo above: The top rock garden.

Photo above:Me and the Aussie Flag

Photo above: the bottom part of the track.

PHoto above: Me and the crowds! I was feeling lame because I didn’t do the big jumps. I felt like yelling out “I have a broken wrist!”

Photos above: Poor Matti Lehikoinen. Broke both his wrists. After 6 hours worth of operations he got a total of 12 screws, 3 metal plates, 3 pins. At least his mates got him a jug of beer with a straw so he could still drink.

Photo above: Sacha and I. After qualifying in the rain.

YOU YANGS NATIONALS DH

info@jaynerutter.com — 2008-12-13T13:49:01+10:00

YOU YANGS NATIONALS DH Nationals
Saturday, 13 December 2008
Again a wet race. Not feeling too confident. Lost my chain in my race run. :( boo.

Photo: It was a big turn out for Elite Women this race. This is most of us.

TRE-X OFFROAD TRIATHLON

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-02-13T15:10:21+10:00

TRE-X OFFROAD TRIATHLON

I did my first off road triathlon this month. It was an interesting experience! The trails were wet and muddy which suited me. I only swam once in a pool in the lead up, so the 350 m swim was interesting...

Lets just say it wasn't pretty! I did ok in the run, and made up time on the MTB. It was very tough though getting out the water and jumping on a bike straight away. I surprised myself and came through in first place. Next time I think I will train for the swim leg, its not a nice feeling wondering if you will make it or not.

Photo thanks to www.photoevents.net.au

Friday, 13 February 2009

Photo above: Im over on the far right standing. Not too keen to jump in that stuff.

Photos above: The best bit. The MTB ride!

Photo: Get out of my way mister.

Photo above: The crowd goes wild.

Photo above: Running to the finish.

Photo above: Yay I made it!

Photo: Tony and I.

PENNY FARTHING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-03-02T15:09:35+10:00

Time for racing a Penny Farthing!

We flew in to Launceston late Thursday night. As usual, our bikes didn’t arrive with us (thanks Qantas..). Lucky we have learnt not to rely on them. Penny Farthing racing started on Sat morning, so we arrived in Evandale (a small town 10 kms from Launceston, TAS) at about 8am. Ian and my Mum had the Penny Farthings ready to race. The day consisted of heaps of different races.

Check out the website for more information. Tony and I had to ‘mix and match’ races as we only had the one bike between us.

SLOW RACE

I raced in the Slow Race. 25 meters as slow as you can go. I won the first heat, but crumbled under the pressure of my semi final. Going slow on a Penny farthing is very hard! Tony then raced in the slalom and then the novice race. He went well in both.

PENNY BIATHLON

Next up was the Penny biathlon – Run 1 lap, ride 2 laps, run 1 lap. I lined up with about 15 Men for the race. I was the only girl… Anyway, I sprinted off as quick as I could (and held first place until part way round the track!) and tried to keep my pace around the first lap. I thought with a bunch of blokes I could maybe crack them with a fast sprint off the line. Ian was my ‘handler’ and held the bike ready for the transition. My legs felt dead as I got on the bike. 2 guys were ahead of me now, and I wasn’t gaining anything on the bike. Then getting off the bike was a challenge. I didn’t want to come in too fast (remember no brakes on the Penny!) or too slow. But I managed a fairly good transition and did a cool pedal dismount. The last lap running, It was so hot, I was struggling to maintain my speed. The crowd was awesome and I had massive cheers as I came through to the finish line. I finished in 3rd place! STOKED.

Photo: Me pretty puffed during the run….

SPRINT RACE

Next up was the sprint a “Straight line dash of 200 meters”. Tony was up next and was up against Ryan Sullivan (who ended up coming 2nd in the National Champs Race). Tony went flat out and came through in 2nd Place!
Photo: Tony riding before the crash…

But the problem was he let his feet come off the pedals after the finish line and couldn’t stop. With the barrier coming up quickly he bailed off the back of the bike and crashed to his knees and onto the bike. Taco-ing the front wheel!!.

Photo: Broken Penny Farthing

THE LADIES NATIONAL PENNY FARTHING CHAMPIONSHIPS RACE

Photo: The start of the Ladies National Penny Farthing Championships Race

So now we had no bike, and the next race was the Ladies National Penny Farthing Championship Race. So I kinda had no bike to ride. Ian offered his bike, however, this one was much larger than the one I had practiced on. I had a quick ride up and down the road and this bike was BIG!! But it was great that Ian was happy for me to ride it. The Ladies race had 8 racers and the reigning National champion present (Bell Chamberlain).

I had a slow start as the bike was heavy and huge. But got going as fast as I could. I was in 3rd place and I pushed as hard as I could on the straights but was a bit tentative on the corners. I could see the 2 girls in front (maybe 20 metres) but couldn’t gain anything on them. Bell was first and Sally in second. I came through in 3rd Place and very happy to get a medal at my first Penny Nationals. Joanna came in first place in the Junior race and Ian in 3rd in the last race of the day. So a nice loot of bling to take home.

Photo: Me and my medal. Whoohoo.

Photo: Joanna lapping up the media attention

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TASSIE NATIONALS DH RACE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-04-05T14:52:52+10:00

TASSIE NATIONALS DH RACE

Back to Tassie. Tony and I spent the week between the Penny Farthing Nationals and the DH Nationals driving around Tasmania. Lots of wineries, great beaches and walks. We met up with Nick and Trish on the Thursday in Hobart at the Whiskey Distillery. Nick had hired a massive van so we could get around with the 4 DH bikes (Mine, Tony, Nick and Joes). Nick found out that massive vans don’t park too well in tight car parks. The van accidentally clipped a parked BMW. Oops. Nick wasnt happy as he didn’t choose the lower excess and therefore it would cost him $3000, so we drank some whiskey. After whiskey we went to the Cascade brewery. Nick got a parking fine. The weekend wasn’t too good for Nick with a taco’ed front wheel in the DH qualifier and then we got evicted from our accommodation (no fault of our own, the park stuffed up).

Anyway, Back to racing! Last time in Tassie I only managed to ride 20 seconds of the track before breaking my wrist. So this time I made sure my bike was built right and took it slow on the first run. The track had changed, but nothing too tricky in there. It took me a while to build up the courage to do the ‘Wrist drop’ (see cover photo). Its not overly big, but has a nasty kick if you get it wrong. Tony found this out when he did it the first time and crash landed (not inspiring me with confidence!). I finally did the drop and it was fine :) yay. I didn’t feel like I had long enough to learn all the good lines on the track. I had only ridden my DH bike once since the last Nationals in Dec - not good preparation! So I wasn’t feeling too confident.

Tony practised but wasn’t too keen to race. Tony calls it CBF’d. In my seeding run, the track was fairly blown out. Some corners were very slippery and dusty. I ended up going over the bars in my seeding. Something I havent done in a while! I managed to get my feet down and run it out, so no injuries. I rode straight into a hole and stopped dead (it wasnt there before I swear!). UCI points were up for grabs on this round, so considering I didn’t race the National Champs, it was a good chance to get some points so I can aim to be eligible to race any World Cup races later in the year. My race run was ok, but fairly tentative. The track is long with lots in it. Its great fun at the top with lots of corners. Its the first time I have had good fun on a DH track in a while. I ended up in 7th Place (Now I have 9 UCI points).

The ‘wrist drop.’ doesn’t look big, but theres a hole in the landing.

Me in the DH

I entered in the 4X for some fun. I raced on my DH bike so it wasnt ideal. My gate starts are getting better, but because I have no ranking I get the worst gate numbers to start in. There were only 5 girls racing, so I had a good chance to get into the finals! Well, I didn’t do too well in my heats, but it was good experience. I ended up on equal points with 2 other girls (so sitting equal 3rd), but because I have no ranking, I got bumped out of the finals! I still don’t really understand the rules, but I was a bit annoyed. Oh well next time. I need to get a 4X bike and some practice if I want to be serious about it. My DH bike is too heavy. I ended up in 5th Place.

Me in the 4X

The National Champs are in SA for the next 3 years. I am glad its not in Canberra any more, as I dont really like that track. However, I dont think Adelaides track is up to Champs standard (the DH that is), as its quite short. Still there is plenty of hill there and more trail can be built. XC is an option, there is time to switch and focus on the XC.

Sunday, 5 April 2009
4X

Leigh in the DH

MT CROSBY - XC RACE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-04-06T14:51:58+10:00

MT CROSBY - XC RACE

Today sucked. I was not enthused to race and had a late night last night. The track was not fun, and I really didn’t want to be there. You may be thinking ‘well then why were you there?’. I guess the answer is, that I wanted to see a new track. There were a few fun bits, but mostly long grass hill climbs.

And then some more long grassy climbs.... I raced ok, but just hurt a lot climbing and had very little motivation. Serves me right for not riding much in the weeks leading up to the race. Mental note, train for XC next time. I came in 5th place. Not too far behind the pace.

Sunday, 26 April 2009

JULY UPDATE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-05T14:50:35+10:00

JULY UPDATE

There has not been much racing happening lately. I have entered in the last 3 State DH races, but they have been cancelled due to rain and floods. So, what has been happening..... My last DH race was back in February in Tasmania. I have not been on the DH bike much, but mainly because of the weather and lack of races. The bike has been recently serviced and my forks have pretty much been replaced.

We head to Canada in a week and a half. So my bike is all ready to go. Today I went out to the jump park to see how the new forks felt and get out on the bike. I felt a bit sketchy - but mainly because I did not want to crash and injure myself so close to going over seas. I have been hitting the weights frequently to build up strength. Even though this restricts time on the bike, its been quite wet and cold so no big deal. I have a unicycle which I am learning to ride. It is great fun and requires patience. I can only ride about 3 m at the moment, but getting there.

Sunday, 5 July 2009

CANADA HERE WE COME

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-11T14:49:13+10:00

CANADA HERE WE COME

So, Canada here we come. On Wednesday we will be flying out of Brisbane to head to LA then Vancouver. My bike is already packed up and ready to go. Weighing in at 25.4 kg I am hoping I can sweet talk Qantas to let it go through without having to pay excess baggage. If its over 23 kg, you have to pay extra, if its over 32 kg, it doesn’t go on the plane.

I need to travel light in my other bags too. Not just for the cost, but for ease of carrying everything. I also have a new bike! Yes its true. A lovely Banshee Rampant.

Welcome Rampant. I still need to build it up, but will wait until after Canada. I can’t wait to hit the jumps on this beast. It is sweet. The paint job is quality, the Candy Red/Raw colour sparkles a little in the sunshine. That’s it for now. Stay tuned for an update of mountain biking in Canada.

Saturday, 11 July 2009

VANCOUVER, CANADA VANCOUVER, CANADA

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-17T14:47:49+10:00

VANCOUVER, CANADA

After 14 hours or so of flying, we finally made it to Vancouver. The plane trip when fairly quickly as we watched movies, and had a few beers. Only about 4 hours into the trip I decided to put on some roll on deodorant.

Unbeknown to me, the roll on ball fell out (due to the pressure difference) and I ended up pouring liquid deodorant all over myself. The smell was fairly overpowering, but at least it wasn’t a bad smell.... After the deodorant incident, everything was fine. Our bikes made it safe to Los Angeles, where we changed planes and went through customs and then through it again. Nick had already told us that his bike did not arrive in Vancouver (he had been in Canada for 4 days without a bike).

Ours made it fine to Canada and in one piece. On our 2nd day in the city we decided to hire bikes and ride around Stanley Park. In Canada they run their brakes backwards (front brake on left, rear on right). Tony decided to undo his front brakes to avoid going over the bars. Stanley Park was a great place to do skids. We also saw a raccoon. This one was in the sea, scavenging around for food (I was surprised to see one in the water, but I dont know anything about raccoons...).

We found a nice brewery/pub on Granville island and also another one in Gastown called Steamworks. The city was full of cruiser bikes. They look cool, but not sure how functional they are... especially going up hills.

Saturday, 18 July 2009

WHISTLER, CANADA WHISTLER, CANADA

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-18T14:46:55+10:00

WHISTLER, CANADA

We caught the bus from Vancouver to Whistler on Friday midday and met Nicko at our hotel. Not wanting to rush things (and end up in hospital) we decided to check out the place and have a few beers before getting on our bikes. We will ride tomorrow. The weather is perfect. Nick wanted to ride this afternoon, so we let him go up the hill (and haven’t seen him since....). The beer is good here, and not too expensive. The coffee is terrible. Our hotel is really close the bottom of the lifts. Looking forward to tomorrow. Time to build up my bike!

Saturday, 18 July 2009

ON THE TRAILS, WHISTLER

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-19T14:45:18+10:00

ON THE TRAILS, WHISTLER

We got out on the tracks today and decided to pay for a guide to show us around. That way we will know the best way to link trails together and get a feel for the terrain.

Riding for a good 6 hrs in the sun and am pretty buggered now. We linked together quite a lot of trails, ranging from green runs, through to double black diamonds. The double black runs wern’t too full on, but the guide said they were the easiest of the double black ones.

Maybe tomorrow and later in the week we can build up to the others. There is a huge range of tracks and the runs seem to go on forever.

Sunday, 19 July 2009

WHISTLER

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-07-29T14:39:59+10:00

WHISTLER

Whistler has plenty of variety to keep us entertained. We only had one day when it rained. There was lightning around, so the lifts got shut down just shortly after we made it to the top.

So we took our time down Crank It Up in the pouring rain. It was fun sliding around in the mud. It has been hot most days and steamy in body armour. But there was no way I was going to go ‘armourless’ because that would just be asking for an injury! I have been loving the Garbonzo runs.

The roots and rocks up in the top section are so much fun. So much variety, tight turns, massive berms and pallet drops... or steep chutes or rock roll downs. My favourites include Original Sin to Freight Train (or No Joke to In Deep), to Duffman and Aline. Or, Angry Pirate to Aline or Ninga Couger to Karate Monkey.

Aline had some sweet tabletops and step downs. There were a few kicky jumps that I didnt want to hit at full speed. Here are some photos of the riding.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Jayne and Tony

Jayne on the roots

Jayne wall riding.

Tony

Tony doing GLC drop

Panorama & Kickinghorse Parks

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-08-02T14:30:22+10:00

Panorama & Kickinghorse Parks

Kickinghorse MTB park was quite blown out and dry. But plenty of trails to keep you entertained. The boys went rafting while I opted to ride the park by myself. So I dont have any photos. The next day we went to Panorama, a smaller MTB park, not far from Invermere.

This place was pretty cool, with active trail fairies looking after the place. Crazy Train was one of my favourites with a nice rock drop and pallet work at the start. The video above shows my first attempt of this section of the track.

Sunday, 2 August 2009

Cedar Ck DH & Brookfield DH

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-08-30T14:24:19+10:00

Cedar Ck DH & Brookfield DH

Cedar Creek DH

Brookfield up the top of the track.

Dust, dust, steep chutes and sharp corners. Not much time to rest on this track. By the time you made it out of the tough stuff you were at the bottom.

Completely different to the recent Canadian tracks I have been riding! Which are all perfectly groomed. Five girls were racing Elite, which is quite rare for the state series. I qualified in 1st and held on to the position for the final. Its nice to be back racing (last race was the Nationals in February!).

Lea - Cedar Creek

I have raced this track once before last year. It hadn’t changed much. A few sharp flat turns with a long fire road in the middle and a steep rock garden up the top. I qualified in 1st (only just!), then couldn’t hold on for the win, with Lea getting me by 5 seconds in the final.

(photos thanks to Chris Dalziel and Graham Reid and bradleyadamphotography)

Sunday, 30 August 2009

Lea

BANSHEE RAMPANT

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-09-18T14:19:01+10:00

BANSHEE RAMPANT

Welcome my latest addition to the bike family. A Banshee Rampant. This lightweight beast is going to be a 4X weapon. I cant wait to get it built up and ride it. Will keep you all posted! I took some photos of the frame outside on the grass. It looks sweet!

Friday, 18 September 2009

DUATHLON RACE

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-09-21T14:14:48+10:00

DUATHLON RACE

So I decided to hit a different type of race this time. An off road duathlon, held at Old Hidden Vale. The race was a 30 km MTB ride followed by a 12 km run. I had been running a bit prior to the race, but often only 8 - 10 kms. Fellow races out to have a crack, included: Tony and Bec (team ‘T-Bex’), Gary and Joel (team ‘Gaz and Joel’), and Colin (going solo).

Race start was 9 am, which was probably a little late considering it was going to be 32 degrees.

The Ride

The ride started with all solo acts and teams at the same time. It started at a fairly leisurely pace, which was nice. On the first climb, Tony and Colin passed me. I kept my cool and stayed at my own pace. Tony was doing the event in a team, so he didn’t have to do the run after. Gary was no where to be seen, and I wasn’t sure if he was ahead or behind.

After about 30 mins of passing people and getting into a comfortable rhythm, I saw Tony up ahead. Sweet. He seemed to be struggling already which wasn’t a good sign. I passed him and continued on, hunting down Colin. The trails were great fun! After riding the flowing trail of Yowie, we climbed up Grinder.

The sign said it was 1.3 km - presumably straight up....It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. Then onto the Epic track, which was a nice relaxing track with no great climbs to worry about. Still no Colin in sight. Most of the ride I was by myself.

Sometimes I worried I had taken a wrong turn. When my GPS clocked over 30 km I was eagerly looking for the transition area. It was another 2 kms away.

The Run

A quick gulp of water and change of shoes, and I was off. Bec was waiting for Tony to arrive and gave me the news that Colin was ‘miles ahead’. There was no way I was going to catch him on the run, and I still had to stave off Bec - she was all fresh as she was doing the run part of the race and taking over from Tony.

It was hot, really hot..... The run went up a single track through the gully. There was no breeze and it felt really slow after getting off the bike. There were no other runners to be seen, and it was a bit lonely. I got to the top of the big climb and poured a few cups of water over my head and tried to drink lots of water.

I continued on and at about the 6 km mark Joel (team Gaz and Joel) passed me. I came through the transition again (2 laps of a 6 km course) and threw on my camelbak that Tony had refilled for me. The 2nd lap was the worst. I had been out in the sun for about 2 hrs 40 mins by this stage and struggled to keep hydrated.

I walked up some of the hills and another runner passed me. At the drink station at the top I was glad that there were no more hills. I saw Bec coming up behind me in the corner of my eye, and quickly ran off down the track.

She was catching me! Only 3 kms to go, and I continued on at a steady pace. I overtook another person, who was suffering in the heat, and headed toward the finish. I reached the finish line in a time of about 3 hrs 20 mins. Bec came through just after I did. We got lots of cheers from the crowd (Tony, Colin, Gary, Joel and also the crew from Brisbane Boutique Bikes). Colin smashed the mens field and won convincingly.

Colin running fast

Bec running

Results 1st Solo Women - Jayne Rutter 1st
Solo Men - Colin Fuller 2nd
Mixed Team - Team T-Bex (Tony and Bec) 2nd
Male Team - Team Gaz and Joel (Gary and Joel) 3rd
Women 30 km MTB event - Carol Bowman

Winners are grinners. $100 vouchers each from Groundeffects.

dirtyduoresults2009
Monday, 21 September 2009

New Bike Fever!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-09-27T14:13:11+10:00

New Bike Fever!

So my Banshee Rampant is complete.

I built it up with:
• Rock Shox Pikes
• Hope Pro II hubs laced to DT Swiss 5.2 rims, with black DT
• Chris King headset
• SRAM X0 Derailleur, SRAM Road Cassette, FSA Team Chain
• Avid Juicys My favourite is the X0 derailleur - Redwin Red.

It matches the bike perfectly, and not too over the top. Lets hope I dont smash it on any rocks.

I took it to the 4X track at Underwood today for a bit of a spin. Wow, this thing flies! It naturally wants to take off lips without me even trying to jump it. Nice.

The jumps are quite big at the track, so I didnt have much choice to test it out on, but once I am used to the bike, Im sure I will be hitting all the big jumps in no time! haha.

Sunday, 27 September 2009

4X Race - GOLD COAST

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-10-04T14:09:35+10:00

4X Race - GOLD COAST

The first round of the 4X series in Queensland was held at Illinbah, in the Gold Coast hinterland. I was stoked to be out on the new Banshee. The track was rocky in places and a little bit rough.

So it was cool to test out how the bike felt on the terrain. I can change the settings on the rear shock to make it stiffer or leave it with the full travel. I opted for full travel on this track front and rear. On smoother tracks I’ll lock it out. My gate starts aren’t fantastic and I wobble a bit when waiting for the random start.

Something to improve on this year thats for sure. I had 4 motos and came in 2nd place in each. Then in the final I got a bad start and was sitting in 3rd. Then had a sprint finish for 2nd and 3rd. I managed to take a better line to the last corner and get in front (see photo below) and took 2nd place.

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Photo above. Thats me on the right hand side in second place, trying to get past on the outside.

4X RACE - UNDERWOOD

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-10-18T14:07:25+10:00

4X RACE - UNDERWOOD

Underwood is a BMX track that had been ‘converted’ into a 4X track. Its a fairly pedally track with big berms and BMX style jumps. With only 1 weekend between this race and the last one, I hadn’t had a chance to practice my gate starts. So got straight onto it.

There were 10 girls in Elite Women this time, with a few BMXers and a couple of other DH girls. Its not often there are this many girls at a race, so there was great competition.

The track wasn’t technical, and not many places to overtake. So you really needed to make it to the first corner first. I had 3 motos and came 1st in two and 2nd in the last. This put me in a good position for the semi final.

It was a tough semi and I found myself sitting in 3rd. I sprinted out hard, but couldn’t get past. At the final corner I took the outside line and the girl in 2nd took the inside.

I nearly got her on the line, but came in 3rd position. This bumped me out of the final, and I finished in 6th place.

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Race Jerseys

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-11-27T14:06:37+10:00

Race Jerseys

Got my new race jerseys for Australia Team Banshee. I think they look pretty sick. One is black and white and one is white and black. I headed off to the local jump park to test them out.

I have been a bit preoccupied lately with my cat, husband and mother in law all being sick. So I have spent a bit of time traveling from Brisbane to Adelaide and sitting in vets and hospitals. So not much time on the bikes.

Friday, 27 November 2009

4X Race - Gold Coast

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-12-06T14:04:22+10:00

4X Race Gold Coast

I learnt a lot more this time round. I spent more time planning my race strategy rather than just jumping out the gate without a plan. There was also extra to think about with my race. I was racing at about 80% and really did not want to get taken out by anyone.

The weather was hot and sticky. We had three heats, which I managed to get Gate 1 each time which was the toughest line with a tight corner into sand and a small drop off. I dont mind taking that line, but the sand was really loose and sketchy.

I came 1st in two of my heats and came 2nd in the other. Cherie came 1st in the last heat, which I almost go her on the last pedal to the finish. She was uncommitted in the last rock section and braked hard before hand which meant I carried more speed. But I couldnt pass her in the tight switch backs to the finish. So that meant Cherie had first choice of gate and I had 2nd choice. Julie and Brodie had the remaining gates.

Cherie picked Gate 1, but I knew she wouldnt race that line and was likely to cut in front of me into either line 2 or 3. She is fast out the gate and I knew she would get out first. I stayed back in the gate to make sure we didnt collide. I took the inside line on the 2nd corner and almost had her as she took the outside line.

Then it was up to the 3rd corner, where I chose the inside line again but it was sandier than I expected and slid out and off the bike.

All over for me. I was happy with my race even though I came through in 4th. It was worth a shot! First crash on Rampy.

Sunday, 6 December 2009

Tassie Nationals Round 1

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-12-13T14:00:15+10:00

4X Race Tasmania Aussie Nationals

Poor Tassie was down on numbers for all events (*not based on actual statistics).

The DH was quite expensive ($200 for the weekend I think) and that could have contributed to the lack of people. Or maybe it was because it was held so close to xmas. It was much cooler than QLD which was a nice change. I only raced in the 4X not the DH. The logistics and cost of flying down to Tassie with 2 bikes was just not worth it. Darren and Carol from Brisbane Boutique Bikes and Barspin Imports flew down to support the Banshee team. Thanks guys! and sorry that your tent got blown to pieces....

Ben Power was racing in the DH, Ryan Hunt in the 4X and DH and Alan Hepburn in the dirt jumps. I think the Banshee would be up for the DH though. Just might be a bit rough, but I think it would be ok.

It would make me sad though if I smashed my X0 redwin red on a rock. Racing time came around and I had a clean race coming through with a 2nd place behind Sarsha. My best ever Nationals result so far (and 10 weeks pregnant)!

Ryan Hunt (Team Banshee) came 2nd in the Elite mens event. Ben came 5th in the U19 downhill and Alan came 2nd (I think... in the dirt jumps). Go team!

Sunday, 13 December 2009

Adelaide Xmas

info@jaynerutter.com — 2009-12-05T13:56:28+10:00

Adelaide xmas

So I headed down to Adelaide for xmas to spend some time with family and friends. I was keen to check out the new 4X track at Eagle, but ran out of time.

Some footage of the dirt jumps in the Adelaide CBD. Just the small ones for now, but maybe one day I will hit up the big ones...

Went down to the dirt jumps at West Beach too. Which was fun. Quite windy though. Also got thrashed at table tennis.

Friday, 25 December 2009

Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens

info@jaynerutter.com — 2012-01-15T12:47:21+10:00

Mt Cootha

Not much to report at the moment. I’ve been doing more walking than riding. It’s starting to get hot here in Brisbane. The Botanic Gardens at Mt Cootha are nice because its quite shady and there is a coffee shop at the entrance. Felix and I have been there a bit lately.

Photo Above: Here is the lovely Brisbane City at the lookout in the Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens.

Photos Above: The Mt Cootha Botanic Gardens.

Penny Stack

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-11-26T13:14:10+10:00

Photo Below: Part of the Stack. My mum and Felix on the end. 2nd on in Tony, 5th one in is me, 9th one in is Ian.

Every year, Queensland’s Penny Farthing riders meet at Sandgate to create a ‘Penny Farthing stack’. No, it’s not where you fall off the Penny and ‘stack it’. It’s where you all climb aboard your Penny and line up together, balance and interlink your arms. It’s quite tricky because you have to balance up there on your bike. Hoping that the people next to you don’t wobble and fall off.

The Guiness world record for a Penny farthings Stack was made in 2002 at Evandale, Tasmania with 69 Pennys. In 2003, this record was broken by “The British Ordinary Enthusiasts who created a self-supporting line of 131 penny farthing bicycles in Abbey Park, Leicester, UK.”

Today in QLD we managed 34. Which is not a bad effort considering the World record is 131!

Photo Below: Here you can see how our arms interlock. So you arn’t actually holding your own handlebars.

Photo Below: Tony on the end and me near Santa

Photo Below: The whole stack

This post contains affiliate links.

2010 - Noosa

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-01-01T13:00:57+10:00

2010 - A New Year First ride of the year at Noosa. Tropical rainforest trails, then a beach swim afterwards. Perfect! Here are some photos of the gorgeous XC trails at Tewantin and my lovely Scott Spark 20. 13 weeks pregnant.

Friday, 1 January 2010

No bump to be seen at the moment.

Australian National Champs

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-01-16T12:59:03+10:00

Adelaide put on a good event for the Australian National Champs. The rain came down early, but cleared up for the DH racing in the afternoon.

The elite womens class was taken out by Clare B (photo below), with Leigh D not far behind (photo below).

Third place went to Claire W (below), who took the Australian National Champs jersey as she was the top placed Australian. Claire is racing in a new stylish green kit this year.
Saturday, 16 January 2010

The under 19 womens title went to Em H (photo below).

Brisbane Riding

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-03-07T12:56:34+10:00

So things have been a little quiet on the riding front.
Its been really wet in Brisbane lately so difficult to get out on the bike. Its not cold, so thats not the problem. Its the flooded rivers and waterways you need to worry about. Most of the riding has been ‘exploring’ and searching for new routes to get from one place to another. The closest single tracks are now Ironbark Gully. There isn’t much singletrack there, but enough to get out for a quick squirt on the bike.

There is an old railway route which has been turned into a nice little riding track. Halfway along is the site of Queenslands worst railway disaster where 16 people were killed when a train crashed in 1947. “On Labour Day, 5 May 1947, a picnic train descending the steep grade of the Samford Range left the rails resulting in the death of 16 people including the driver and fireman. The accident was due to excessive speed, apparently because the driver "did not know the road".”
Sunday, 7 March 2010

Australian Nationals Series

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-03-15T12:55:55+10:00

The last round of the Australian National Series was held on the weekend at Stromlo, Canberra. I didn’t get to go to the race, but found out yesterday that I came 3rd overall in the 4X series. Next season I hope to get to a few more races and do one better than that. :) Monday, 15 March 2010

Bushwhacker Fitness

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-03-15T12:55:03+10:00

My friend and DH racing nemesis, Lea has started her own Personal Training business. Bushwhacker fitness aims at training both women and men, with a separate session purely focussed on the ladies. This ladies boot camp is designed to be low impact for those who need it. Lea makes the training fun by using different bushwalking tracks and council parks on Mt Coot-tha and adds in resistance exercises to target the whole body, especially the buttocks, core, and arms. Check out the Bushwhacker Fitness website for more details: http://www.bushwhackerfitness.com.au Contact Lea on her mobile 0421 801 524 or on email: bushwhackerfitness@yahoo.com.au Monday, 15 March 2010

Team Banshee

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-06-10T12:52:33+10:00

I am stoked to announce that I will be part of Team Banshee Australia for the coming 09-10 MTB season. With races lined up locally and nationally I will be kept busy throughout this year and next. My bikes have been stickered up with my personalised “Banshee Jayne Rutter” stickers. SWEET! I am so eager to get out on my Rampant and get training. However I will need to wait until at least September before I can go at it hard again. I am also getting myself a Banshee Viento for XC racing. This one from http://www.bansheebikes.com/viento.html looks sick. But mine may not be as pimped out as this one is to start with! Its not the lightest XC bike on the market, but its renowned for being tough and strong. Hopefully I can build it up to be around the 10.5 kg mark.

Full details of the race calendar are located here <>. The QLD 4X series should kick off in September, followed by the Australian Nationals Series in November. The Australian National Mountainbike Championships will be in February 2011 in Adelaide. Thursday, 10 June 2010

Back on it?

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-08-21T12:50:50+10:00

So its been 5 weeks since having a baby. Starting to feel much better and can walk normally again. Its nice to be able to bend over and put my shoes on again, and also to be able to eat a full steak and chips. I am keen to get back on the bike, but want to wait for the obligatory 6 week check before jumping into things. I don’t want to do any further damage.

My weight went straight back to what it was pre-pregnancy but I had some extra skin for a few weeks. But its all good now. Just need to re-gain some muscle as I have limited core strength and my ab muscles are all stretched. I have been to the chiro to make get my back and pelvis are in alignment again. So I have been thinking, how will I make this work?

1 - Will I have enough time to train for races?
2 - Now that I am a ‘responsible’ parent will I be keen on hammering downhills still?
3 - Can I afford to race now I’m not working?
4 - Is it feasible to juggle a baby with race preparation, travel and racing?

Questions questions. Well all of this may be impossible, but I am always an optimist and will look into how I will make this work. I am still learning how to feed, settle and get baby Felix to sleep. Which although sounds simple, is not the easiest task. I did manage to do some stretching and yoga the other day which was fantastic. Progress = tick. I have a home gym set up, so I can do weights when I have the chance. Where did that time go....?

I also have a big block of land, begging for some dirt jumps to be built. Perhaps I need a home 4X gate too? As for my keenness for racing DH now I am a mum, we shall see. I haven’t got back on the bike yet.

The Team Banshee guys are always looking to get good accommodation for races, and save costs for the team. Thats a bonus. I’m ready to take on the challenge of racing with nappies, bikes, breast pumps and tyre pumps!! Saturday, 21 August 2010

First Ride Back (6 weeks post baby)

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-08-30T12:49:48+10:00

So I got out on the XC bike on the weekend.

Yay! Besides a bit of soreness in all kinds of places, it felt fantastic. Its been 6 weeks after the birth, and about 17 weeks since my last ride.

Now thats a long time! I didn’t go too far. Not because I was worried I couldn’t make it home. I was more worried about my two boys (one big one and one little one) I had left at home without any food supply for the little one.

So it was a quick squirt around our local forest for 1 hr, and about 13km. It was so nice to feel the wind in my hair and sunshine in my face. I didnt care that i was maxing out my heart rate at 190 bpm on one of the simplest hills. It just felt fantastic. Fresh air and I was alone on the bike for the first time in almost a year! whoa.

I’m devising a strategy as to how I can get in a few decent rides a week. This is a great start. I’m feeling proud of myself that I felt well enough to go out for a ride, and also that It all came back to me - just like riding a bike really!
Monday, 30 August 2010

Viento

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-09-22T12:48:31+10:00

My Viento frame has arrived! Im excited to build it up and get out on it. Its a candy red and silver - exactly the same as Rampy.

So I will have matching race bikes. :) In my ‘spare time’ I am trying to research and choose parts to build it up. I want it to be under 11kg so will need some light wheels and forks. Wednesday, 22 September 2010

Update

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-09-04T12:45:40+10:00

Got out for an xc ride at bunya. Just another small loop for now of 13 kms. That's about all my body can handle at the moment.

The decents were fun and flowy. I wasn't too slow and could still keep it together. Climbs were tougher. I have lost a fair bit of leg strength, which will probably take a while to regain. Some days I manage to get some stretching in and a few weights. I hope to get into more of a routine soon, but first have to get Baby Felix into a routine of sleeping a bit longer!

Otherwise I end up carrying him all day long and can't do much. The 4x state series has not been announced yet. Not sure if there will be one. The first nationals is in November, so that's a few months away. Saturday, 4 September 2010

2010-09-04_FelixBanshee

Training

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-10-04T12:44:02+10:00

Training has changed completely to what I was doing before. I don’t get to commute to work anymore (40kms a day) and I dont have time to get out on the bike during the week.

So, Ive joined a ‘Baby Boot Camp’ group. There are 20 mums and babies in the group and we meet twice a week with personal trainer. There are no weights involved (except holding your baby!). This gives me the chance to get some running and sprints in. We do pushups, squats, step ups, bench holds etc.

The sessions are held in the parklands at New Farm and Roma St. Its different to any other PT sessions I have done. But at least if Felix is crying I dont feel guilty as other babies cry too. Its good to get out doing aerobic activity again.

Monday, 4 October 2010

Racing!

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-11-01T12:42:25+10:00

My xc race machine is finally coming together. I'm not sure how much it will weigh in the end but im trying to get light parts ( without going nuts). I haven't been out on the bike much as I've been in SA and down on the gold coast.

I have been running though and going to boot camp. I tend to drink too much coffee and eat sweet things now. I think it's because I'm at home more and think I deserve it from all this hard work. I'm still sleep deprived but am getting more used to it now. The first 2 rounds of the 4x nationals are being held in Sydney in mid November.

I've entered and booked my flights. I have not done any gate practice yet! Maybe next week I will try to do some. Gulp.

The races are being held in conjunction with a xsportgames event. I'm aiming to just head out and have some fun. I imagine it will be like a bmx track so not really my style. But it will be good to get out on the bike and also watch the other events.

Monday, 1 November 2010

Race Cancelled !

info@jaynerutter.com — 2010-11-11T12:41:09+10:00

I was all booked and ready to go to the first 2 rounds of the 4x nationals are being held in Sydney. The races were being held in conjunction with a xsportgames event. Unfortunately the entire event was cancelled due to some legal issues. Im pretty bummed about it being cancelled. I’d already started to pack and prepare for the ‘big’ weekend away with bike and baby. Im not sure when the next one will be. They havent released the dates yet. More time to train and get super fit though!
Thursday, 11 November 2010

Round 3 and 4 - 4X Nationals

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-03-30T12:17:39+10:00

Round 3 and 4 - 4X Nationals

The final two rounds of the Nationals 4X were held at Toowoomba showgrounds.

The track was quite fun, and I wish I had more time prior to the event to practise the track. Lately I have been playing it safe at races and dont hit the bigger jumps as I dont want to injure myself for the race! But if I went there prior to the race I could practise things in my own time. Anyway, the weather was great and track very fast and in perfect condition.

Round 3 was held on the Saturday. I came 2nd in one heat and 3rd in the other 2. Finishing the race with a 3rd place in the final.

Round 4 was held the next day and I came 2nd in two heats and 3rd in one, then 3rd place in the final. I finished the season in 3rd overall for Elite Women 4X.

Pretty happy with coming 3rd in Australia with a 8 month old baby. Thanks to Tony, Felix and Team Banshee for their support.

Photo Below: Spraying champagne all over everyone. I like that part.

Photo Below: After the race

How the Viento Rides

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-02-02T12:07:15+10:00

So I have finished building up the XC beast.

Its all pimped out with a silver, red and black colour scheme. I wanted it to be sub 10kg , but it came in at 10.4kg. The running gear is all SRAM X0 with the Avid/SRAM X0 brakes. I’ve got Fox 120mm forks and DT Swiss rims and Hope hubs. I decided against tubeless tyres because I’m unfamiliar with them and it would probably take me too long to get them sorted on the bike. And I want to ride it as soon as I can! I got a super light weight saddle which some of my friends saw and said it will ‘eat me alive’. So now I am apprehensive about how it is going to ride (especially as it’s not long ago I had a baby…).

It has been raining a lot in Brisbane lately. Creeks are flooded and people have even died from trying to cross flooded roads. This means all the MTB trails are flooded and dangerous to ride for a while. The maiden voyage of the Viento was very enjoyable! It was stiff on the rear, so any small lips or jumps it easily launched. Landings were not as rough as I expected (being a hardtail). Cornering it felt like a DH bike. I don’t have wide bars on it, but it just felt great and tracked well on the corners. Could be the length of the bike and the rake of the forks I’m not sure. It climbed surprisingly well. I’m used to riding carbon XC bikes, and I thought this may impact on its climbing ability. But when I cranked the pedals over it immediately responded and took off. Looking forward to bonding with the bike and some longer rides in the future. So far I’m happy with the way it rides.

Photo Below: The madien voyage. 11th Dec 2010

Photo Below: The madien voyage. 1st Dec 2010

Options - Baby on the bike

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-01-09T12:35:20+10:00

Looking for kiddie bike trailers to put little man in. This way I can still get out on the bike during the week and spin the legs over. I wont be able to do anything extreme, but it should be good leg strength training pulling an 11kg trailer and an 8kg baby behind me.

I have a helmet for him already, but its too big. So we need to wait until his head grows before he can go in the trailer.

Photo Below: Bike Trailer

Australian National Champs

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-02-22T12:34:46+10:00

We are all packed and ready to go! Tried to pack as light as I could. Travelling with a baby plus bike makes it hard to keep under the 23kg limit applied by Qantas. I am really hoping my bike bag comes in under the 23kg so then I dont have to pay extra. I just realised that my Silver Frequent Flyer status must have expired meaning I am now back to Bronze. Silver you get 32kg allowance. Bronze only 23kg.

We have a car seat, baby bumbo seat, portacot, massive gear bag with full face, armour, riding kit stuffed in there. Plus nappies, wipes and little bowls with suction bottoms. The cat is about to be taken to the cattery for the week and the Boy is currently sleeping - giving me time to quickly post this update. I am excited to race and my bike is finally race ready.

Had a few hiccups with the brakes not working properly. They were stuck on full time. Then i got them fixed, and then they wouldnt go ‘on’. So a fresh set of pads and another $70 later and it should be perfect to race on Thursday.

I am nervous about racing because its been over a year.... Im hoping it all comes back to me and I can get that competitive edge back. Numbers are down for 4X, so that should mean there is less pressure. But Im hoping it is still fun and there is some good competition and racing heats.

Anaconda Adventure Race

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-08-23T12:21:15+10:00

It’s been a busy last few months, as I have gone back to work 2 days a week. But finally I have another race on the agenda!

The Anaconda Rapid Ascent event is being held on Sept 11th on the Gold Coast.
http://www.rapidascent.com.au/anacondaadventurerace/goldcoast/

Im entered in a team of 4 where each of us will do a leg of the event. The first up is the Swimmer. I havent met him before, but good on him for being able to swim 1.9km in the ocean! whoa.
Next up is the Paddle. Gaz will be doing the 15km ocean and river kayak leg.
Then Colin will do 12.5km run and I will finish up with the 18km MTB leg. Then we all run 2km together to the finish line.

I know Gaz and Colin are super fast and will go hard in their events. I will do my best, but I feel a little underprepared and unfit. But my competitive spirit will kick in when Colin finds me at the transition. Add a bit of adrenaline, and I should be right.

Looking forward to the first race on the Banshee Viento. It’s light and tough so will be perfect for the steep climbs and rainforest conditions I’m expecting out in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Australian National Champs Race

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-03-02T13:41:52+10:00

Australian National Champs Race

We arrived safely in Adelaide with Bike and Baby stuff. No problems with excess baggage so that was good. This was my first race back since having a baby and also since Dec 2009. So its been a long time! Im not feeling too fit, but entered the race with the aim to get back into it, have fun and see friends.

4X is not my preferred discipline. I rather DH or XC, but 4X seemed the easiest of the 3 to race in while looking after a 7 month old. Tony my husband was there to keep the little man looked after while I was racing, but because I am still breastfeeding so I need to be close by.

It was hot and dry up at Eagle Mountainbike Park. I had not ridden the 4x track before and it looked quite tricky in places. As soon as you are out the gate there is a rock drop then a gap jump over nasty looking jagged rocks into a berm. Practice went ok, and I was comfortable with clearing the rock gap jump on the first straight. There were 5 different lines you could choose from, with the Gate 1 line having the largest rocks to jump over, and Gate 4 the smallest. I was comfortable with all the lines except one. I had a decent crash on the one straight out of Gate 2. I think I clipped my front wheel on a slippery rock which sent me over the bars. I got some good bruises and thankfully didnt break anything.

Gate starts are getting better, but sometimes I cant clip my feet into my pedals. Something I need to work on. Race Day: Practise at the track started at 8:30am. Seeding at 4:30pm then racing at 7:30pm. So a very long day out on the hill. Especially for a baby... I seeded in 3rd place which meant I had a choice between 2 gates in the final. This was good because it meant I didnt have to choose Gate 4 which sent you straight into the outside line of a berm. A very slow line. Sarsha seeded in 1st place, so got 1st choice. After a bit of indecision, she chose Gate 2. Indi chose Gate 3. I was happy with this because it means Gate 1 was mine. It had the largest rocks to gap, but was the fastest line. Felix was pretty cranky by the time the finals came around. I could see Tony and him on the sidelines in the heat struggling. So I had extra things to worry about. I was completely over the race by the time finals came around. It had taken too long and my little man needed feeding!

Because the Elite Women had seeding rather than Motos, it meant that I had no practise riding with anyone else in the gate with me! So this was a big downfall I was not confident with storming out the gate and over the rocks with 3 other girls. This showed in the final. I failed to clip one foot in, and was very slow out the gate. Everyone says I gave them all a 20m head start. Whoops. I came out the gate in 4th place, then managed to get into 3rd on the first corner. Then one of the girls nudged me out the way on the 2nd corner. But I got her again on a rock jump, when she went around it. With a sprint to the finish, I nearly got 2nd, but had to settle for 3rd.

I was happy that I raced and competed, but not happy with the ‘way’ I raced. Lack of preparation, practice and sleep! Hard to give 100% on the little sleep and energy that I had. Next Nationals race is at Toowoomba in March. I will aim to be a bit more positive by then!

Here is a link to the highlights footage.:
http://www.eaglechamps.com.au/cms/index.php/content/news/4x_highlights/

Photo Below: Me racing in the 4X Finals.

Photo Below: Pump track racing.

Photo Below: Podium in 3rd Place

Anaconda Adventure Race Results

info@jaynerutter.com — 2011-09-11T19:55:22+10:00

What a great weekend to hang out on the Gold Coast and do an Adventure Race. The weather was warm, but not too hot.

Check out the Anaconda Rapid Ascent website for details of the race:

http://www.rapidascent.com.au/anacondaadventurerace/goldcoast/

Our team assembled in the morning of the race ready to have fun and smash ourselves. We raced in a team of 4 (Team name - A young 'un, 2 old farts and a banshee) and finished up 8th in our category. It was a tough race for each of us. Detailed results can be found here:

http://www.RapidAscent.com.au/anacondaadventurerace/goldcoast/
ResultsInDetail.aspx?e=5&y=2011&bib=89

Chris the Swimmer did well, doing the 1.9km swim in the ocean in about 37 minutes. He had to run for a bit in the sand too, which would have been hard work.

Photo Below: In this photo, Chris hands over the timing band to Gary.

Gary the Paddler. Gaz smashed out the the 15km ocean and river kayak leg in about 1:47 minutes.

Photo Below: Gaz paddling to the transition point

Colin the Runner: Colin did the 12.5km run in 1:16 minutes.

I finished up with the 18 km MTB leg. I did it in 1:18. It was steep and tough. Some of the climbs were completely unrideable. So steep! But I keep on top of it, and tried not to let them beat me. There was a stupid creek crossing near the finish, which was quite deep. I got stuck in it for a good few minutes. Almost completely going under water into the slushy mud and reeds. It was stinky and really gross.

Photo Below: Taking off on the MTB ride

Photo Below: Then we all ran 2km together to the finish line.

Photo Below: The team after the race

Photo Below: Overall results below

Photo: My individual mountain bike leg results.

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