From the top of ’15 Beers And A Witches Hat’ back to Wolca Reserve must be about 3km of the best downhill singletrack that exists. It’s the reason why every person who rides the Mount Perry event wants to come back again the next year.

This wooden bridge is about halfway down the downhill section, and you are in the flow so much that you don’t hear the spectators or notice the photographers. This pic certainly helps to cement that memory for me.

But I also have about 40 minutes of audio, a total aural record of my fifth lap of the day. I put the iPhone earphones in, and recorded from the little built-in mic. The results will be usable for Sunday Spin, when I have edited it down. But for me, listening to the whole lap  (which I did in the car, the next day driving to Rockhampton) is like being there again. It’s great.

If you didn’t see on Twitter (or if you didn’t get a text from me), then yep I had a great day at Mount Perry. Exceeded my own deliberately conservative target , and coughed up 7 laps in just under 6 hours. Each lap is 10km, and has roughly the same climbing as a Mt Coot-tha.

Early on I wasn’t sure it was going to be a good day. The first lap felt really hard, and the second lap harder still …  I had to walk a little bit of the steep section. But after a hamstring stretch for five minutes or so which took most of the pain from my lower back, the third, fourth and fifth laps were really good fun … being careful with my output up the hill, and really enjoying the flow and speed of the downhills. (I have such a great bike for these events! Really. I felt like ringing up JP & Emma & shouting down the line THANK YOU AGAIN! this machine ROCKS! But they know it already.)

The last couple of laps were an act of will. I think that would be the same for everyone on the course. But it is such a rewarding place to ride … the climbing sections are so well designed, there’s such great value for the effort you put in. I only wish Mount Perry was closer and races were on there more often. Mike Zande, Mick Cooke, & your crew, I salute you.

And check out the video highlights. Gives quite a good overview of what Mt Perry is like to ride. Not much of me in this … about five seconds from 8 mins 20 onwards.