![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/thehippy.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/20101014-Ant925043.jpg\" "\\"Anthony")
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ANTHONY Connell is a mountaineer on a push bike. He thrives on the challenges of solo 24-hour mountain bike endurance racing -\u00c2\u00a0the extreme sport of riding a mountain bike for 24-hours non stop around a set course over rocky and hilly terrain.<\/p>\n
He loves bikes and has grown up with them since getting his first bike when he was just a little tacker.<\/p>\n
Today, at 31, after exploring many different types of riding -\u00c2\u00a0BMX, road racing, downhill mountain bike racing -\u00c2\u00a0he’s facing his biggest mental and physical test.<\/p>\n
Solo 24-hour mountain bike enduro racing is the ultimate for off-road cycling enthusiasts.<\/p>\n
It’s a long way from where Anthony started when he got his first, real bike.<\/p>\n
He remembers his father walking across Fifteenth Street from Target wheeling a shiny metallic blue bike with gold brake levers in the early 1980s.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We lived across the road from Target back then and when I looked through the front window and saw dad with the BMX -I knew as a five-year-old I was stepping up to the same bikes as the big boys – it was very exciting,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n
Fast forward 26 years and Anthony has qualified for the 24-hour Solo World championships to be staged at Mt Stromlo, outside Canberra, next month.<\/p>\n
More than 400 mountain bike riders competed, including about 200 from Australia, with the remainder coming from the United States, Great Britain, Europe, Asia and South America.<\/p>\n
To qualify, Anthony raced in his third solo 24-hour enduro in Adelaide in May this year and finished without incident, riding consistently over the 24-hour endurance ride.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, injuries sustained during the 24-hour enduro in Adelaide have put a question mark on his plans to compete in this world class event.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The 24-hour enduro is a time-based race where riders complete as many laps of the set course over the 24-hour period -\u00c2\u00a0most laps wins.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0courses are set in well established mountain biking areas -\u00c2\u00a0in Adelaide it was staged in the Mt Crawford forest in the Adelaide Hills.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was very hilly, but less rocky than the Mt Stromlo trails in Canberra where the world championships will be held.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0Mt Crawford forest course held up really well, which was lucky for me, considering my suspension forks blew a seal and locked up solid in the first lap.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My wrists took a fair pounding for the duration of the race.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If it had happened in the rockier, drier and post-bushfired forest in Canberra, my wrists wouldn’t have lasted the distance.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Riding bikes for me is all about personal inquiry -\u00c2\u00a0it’s not so much the competition, it’s the intense focus and freedom it creates.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As a kid, I had heaps of energy like most kids do -\u00c2\u00a0riding bikes let me blow off a heap of steam and gave me independence to go round to friends’ places or hang out in the bush with mates without having to get a lift from the parents.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bikes have always meant freedom,\u00e2\u20ac\u009dhe said.<\/p>\n
But that freedom comes at a price and almost cost Anthony his life.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My downhill mountain bike riding came to an abrupt end after three years of competing and riding in the Dandenongs and Wodonga while living in those areas.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I lost my focus in a practice run for the National Downhill Mountain Bike Championships, crashed off a seven foot drop, landed on my head and was fully paralysed when I came to.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was winched into a chopper, falling in and out of consciousness on my way to hospital.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I remember one nurse very gravely suggesting I should make what could be my last call.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I walked out of hospital that evening with just one bruise and a massive headache, but it took me a couple of weeks to regain my short-term memory and a couple of months longer to be back to -normal’.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0real end of my downhill racing was when I returned to Mildura to live and work and found it very difficult to find a decent hill,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he joked.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I heard about the Coomealla-Mildura Mountainless Bike Club and joined up to get involved in the mountain biking community.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153For three years I’ve been an active member of the club in both racing and helping organise club events.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A few months before a 24-hour race I do heaps of kilometres on my road bike exploring the area and closer to the event, I’m on the mountain bike doing intense training and sharpening my handling skills.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0Adelaide 24-hour enduro in May took a fair toll on my body, the wrists didn’t recover as well as the rest of my body and while having rehabilitation on them it revealed an underlying neck problem.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’m only just getting on top of it now -\u00c2\u00a0you hurt so much during and after a 24-hour race even when you’re super fit, so it’s really a lot to commit to one knowing your body’s not in peak condition.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Away from the sport he loves, Anthony relaxes by … going for a ride.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’m really keen to get on my new mountain bike and explore further afield -\u00c2\u00a0it’s not all about racing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just love getting out on my bike in the bush getting some exercise and seeing things -\u00c2\u00a0if there’s a sign to read or a view to be had, I’ll stop and take it in,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the bike riding enthusiast said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It was very hilly, but less rocky than the Mt Stromlo trails in Canberra where the world championships will be held.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0Mt Crawford forest course held up really well, which was lucky for me, considering my suspension forks blew a seal and locked up solid in the first lap.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My wrists took a fair pounding for the duration of the race.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If it had happened in the rockier, drier and post-bushfired forest in Canberra, my wrists wouldn’t have lasted the distance.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Riding bikes for me is all about personal inquiry -\u00c2\u00a0it’s not so much the competition, it’s the intense focus and freedom it creates.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153As a kid, I had heaps of energy like most kids do -\u00c2\u00a0riding bikes let me blow off a heap of steam and gave me independence to go round to friends’ places or hang out in the bush with mates without having to get a lift from the parents.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bikes have always meant freedom,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
But that freedom comes at a price and almost cost Anthony his life.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153My downhill mountain bike riding came to an abrupt end after three years of competing and riding in the Dandenongs and Wodonga while living in those areas.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I lost my focus in a practice run for the National Downhill Mountain Bike Championships, crashed off a seven foot drop, landed on my head and was fully paralysed when I came to.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was winched into a chopper, falling in and out of consciousness on my way to hospital.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I remember one nurse very gravely suggesting I should make what could be my last call.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I walked out of hospital that evening with just one bruise and a massive headache, but it took me a couple of weeks to regain my short-term memory and a couple of months longer to be back to -normal’.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0real end of my downhill racing was when I returned to Mildura to live and work and found it very difficult to find a decent hill,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he joked.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I heard about the Coomealla-Mildura Mountainless Bike Club and joined up to get involved in the mountain biking community.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153For three years I’ve been an active member of the club in both racing and helping organise club events.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A few months before a 24-hour race I do heaps of kilometres on my road bike exploring the area and closer to the event, I’m on the mountain bike doing intense training and sharpening my handling skills.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The\u00c2\u00a0Adelaide 24-hour enduro in May took a fair toll on my body, the wrists didn’t recover as well as the rest of my body and while having rehabilitation on them it revealed an underlying neck problem.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’m only just getting on top of it now -\u00c2\u00a0you hurt so much during and after a 24-hour race even when you’re super fit, so it’s really a lot to commit to one knowing your body’s not in peak condition.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Away from the sport he loves, Anthony relaxes by … going for a ride.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I’m really keen to get on my new mountain bike and explore further afield -\u00c2\u00a0it’s not all about racing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just love getting out on my bike in the bush getting some exercise and seeing things -\u00c2\u00a0if there’s a sign to read or a view to be had, I’ll stop and take it in,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the bike riding enthusiast said.<\/p>\n
This story appeared in Saturday’s Sunraysia Daily 18-9-2010.<\/p>\n
www.sunraysiadaily.com.au – The ride of his life<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANTHONY Connell is a mountaineer on a push bike. He thrives on the challenges of solo 24-hour mountain bike endurance racing -\u00c2\u00a0the extreme sport of riding a mountain bike for 24-hours non stop around a set course over rocky and … Continue reading