Over the last few months I've been experiencing the full range of emotions. Only the day before, I had entered the Mongolia Mountain Bike Stage Race, due to start September 1st, after my trip to Europe where I will race in Poland and the Czech Republic in The Sudety Mountain Bike Challenge. Throw in my much anticipated reunion with my gorgeous wife in Prague (she has been in the UK since the 10th January) and our short trip together to London, and one has gathered all the necessary ingredients for a veritable feast of pleasure. The opportunity of racing in such prestigious events is thrilling, as is the fact I'll be racing alongside Peter Selkrig and quality riders like Cory Wallace, Mike Blewitt, Imogen Smith and Garry James. On the other hand, I've been involved in a messy Grievance Process at school where I have witnessed several counts of gross misconduct from teaching colleagues and serious mis-management, which has been incredibly stressful, not to mention demoralising. Riding has therefore, been my solace and my sanctuary.

The Rocky Trail Series had returned to Organisers Martin and Juliane's home track at Ourimbah. This is a track I've always loved, and was the setting for my first ever mountain bike race in November 2009. Despite my riding partner, Peter Davis, withdrawing the night before (his daughter was taken sick in hospital), I rode the eight and a quarter hour Fat Tyre race solo, in 45 degrees heat. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I placed a peanut butter sandwich on a tree trunk by the side of the track and every couple of laps, I would pull off the course, jump the bunting, run to my car and retrieve water and muesli bars from the boot! When I stopped for my sandwich, ants were swarming all over it and I begrudgingly decided I didn't need any more sweaty nuts! Fortunately, the race was shortened to six hours and I finished 15th overall and somehow squeezed onto the bottom step of the podium. It was here that my passion for racing began. On arriving at the venue, early Saturday morning, my erstwhile partner, Peter Davis was standing at registration with Sean Flannery and Rod Kotkis. I reminded Peter of that day four and a half years ago and thanked him for the part he had played in fueling my racing passion. It was great to see these guys racing again and they were to put in some solid laps during the day.

Knowing how important it was to start fast and avoid the usual bottleneck into the singletrack, I endeavoured to position myself near the front of the race. It quickly dawned on me that it was going to be a long day. I struggled to establish any rhythm or flow and was riding like I had probably done in 2009. The light was playing tricks, shadows were dancing in front of me and, in the heavily wooded areas, wet, slippery tree roots were springing out from the side of the track. The dark lenses of my glasses were making progress difficult, yet the light was blinding when riding in more exposed areas. At one point, I lost traction and careered into the vegetation beside the track. A rider passed, checked I was okay and after remounting the bike I immediately lurched into a tree on the opposite side. Meanwhile, the jukebox in my head was playing ' You had a bad day' by Daniel Powter (I had heard this earlier in the week after Spain had exited the World Cup). I tried to change the channel but the song was on repeat and I couldn't escape its taunting. As I turned into transition, I was passed by a four-hour rider and as I watched him ride into the distance, I rode straight into a large tree root, launching me over the bars. Benji Morris, this year playing a supporting role, was suitably entertained and as I picked myself up he reassuringly told me I was not the first to embarrass myself at that particular part of the track. I switched off Powter's irritating lyric and re-focused on the riding ahead.

During the first few hours, I had been playing tag with David Speering, who was alone in his 'wisdom' to ride a singlespeed on this course for 7 hours. I knew that I could catch him by making time up on the longer climbs. The thought of him valiantly grinding away with one gear kept me pushing hard and so I waited patiently for his blue and white jersey to reappear. As I approached a rock step up just before the jelly legs climb, I witnessed Briony from the Chocolate Foot Development Team fall comically in front of me. I bypassed the stricken bike and rider and knew that only her pride was broken when she pleaded for me not to tell anyone about her embarrassing mishap. Shortly after, I sighted my prey, but was surprised how easily I passed my single-speed rival. He had crashed after missing his bottle in transition, turning around and then riding straight into a tree. His left handed was badly blistered, but to his credit he continued to finish strongly in twelfth overall.

The last three hours were certainly better in terms of picking better lines through the course. As the sun sank lower in the Winter's sky, I removed the sunglasses and I was able to track better through the trees. I finished off the race fourth in Masters, with Darren Dillon leading from the front, Jamie Vogele second and Ian Bridgland third. 

Jason English beat Andrew Lloyd in the elite's, with Peter Selkrig an impressive sixth overall. Kevin Wynne-Smythe was an excellent sixth place in Masters (despite three crashes) and continues to make great progress in the solo discipline. As for Peter Davis, Sean Flannery and Rod Kotkis, they were to complete 11 laps with solid lap times of between 35 to 37 minutes. It was certainly the hardest race in the Rocky Trail Series so far this year but most of the combatants were still smiling long into the cool night.

Stage Racing is a strange beast. One day you feel incredible, the next nothing seems to go right. You never quite know what fate is about to serve up. On even rarer days you get a lethal dose of both the sublime and the ridiculous. Day 4, the final stage, of the Port to Port was definitely one of those bizarre days.

The iconic route was scheduled to start at Cams Warf with a 60 metre climb up a rutted walking track, along Lake Maquarie waterfront, several bike paths, fast fireroad, the mountain bike trails of Glenrock and into the finish at Nobby's Beach Reserve. Just like Port to Port's sister event, the Cape to Cape, in Western Australia, there would be a challenging beach section, which was sure to be where the race for category positions would be won and lost. And so it proved...

Like the previous day, Peter Selkrig and I, warmed up by riding to the event start, this time by leaving our cars at Blacksmiths and riding the initial fifteen kilometres of the course in reverse. This meant we knew exactly what terrain we would hit and should allow both of us to make decent starts.

After the initial chaos of the dirt climb, where Mike Blewitt was forced to withdraw with a sliced sidewall, we were forced to jump logs beside a fence, the landowner not being able to locate the key for the gate the night before! I found myself with a group including Imogen Smith and John Elliott. We motored along the bike paths on the waterfront of Lake Maquarie, where locals stood aside in awe although one old guy yelled that this was not a race track at every passing group. Normally, he would be correct, but today there was a war of speed unfolding. At a tricky chicane, John Elliott was able to power away and bridge across to the group in front. Perhaps he thought he could make up the seven minutes he trailed in our category. I decided to bide my time, aware that the true test of the stage was lurking around a few more corners.

Our group swelled as we crossed over the Swansea Channel and flew along the streets of Blacksmiths. I tried, with a couple of others, to break up the group which was now carrying numerous passengers, but to no avail. However, everything was quickly about to change.

Riding the wooden boards onto the beach, we scampered across to the slither of hard sand, riders jumping aboard their machines and initiating the crossing up the beach. At the start line, we were advised to keep our weight back and off the front wheel, and I was fully focused on achieving this goal. The first waves hit us and most riders abandoned their quest to ride and started the long push up the beach. I stoically remained on my steed, each wave slowing my forward momentum, but as the water ebbed away, I was able to regain motion. At times, the sand seemed to solidify, and I made the most of these times by increasing my pedal rate. I was amazed at how much time I was making up as I passed rider after rider, either walking or running but very few, apart from the elites ahead in the distance, still cycling. I passed John Elliott early, his bid to close time on me evaporating. Dave Tattis, Craig Barnes, Alex Kooijman, who was barely a minute ahead of me in overall time and Richard Peil, who had a more comfortable lead and was third in Masters 1 after the first three stages. The water continued to crash against my bike, and I knew that a total bike re-build was a necessity after the race in order to remove the corrosive salt water. I ploughed on in the knowledge that I would surely repair the damage of yesterday's stage and challenge for a more favourable finishing position. 

I left the beach with Chris Southwood (Flow MTB) and Adam Freeman from Drift Bikes. Chris assured me that there would be no more beach crossings (I had been told there would be two) and perhaps I felt a little disappointed. I held their wheel through the fireroad that connected us to Furnleigh Bike Path, and then I jumped on the high intensity power train. As we rolled over to keep up the speed, isolated riders were picked up and our train swelled, then a rider would be dropped. I endeavoured to stay with the group and, as we hit the Glenrock mountain bike trails, I was feeling extremely pleased with my progress. 

In a cruel twist of fate, my elation was to be short lived. Ascending from a creek, both gear levers failed to respond and I was forced to jump off the bike. My gear cable had snapped, undoubtedly a victim of the perishing salt water from earlier. I was jammed in the highest gear so I desperately tried to move the chain to the smaller front chain ring but without success. I remounted, uncertain of what my immediate future now held. The track stayed fairly flat for a few minutes but a large hill was lurking. There was no way I could ride these hills in the highest gear. The lever was still not responding. I hit the hill, braced myself, then suddenly the chain jumped over under stress and I was able to pedal to the top. I was now in a more manageable gear for the remainder of Glenrock.

Brett 'Jeebus' Bellchambers is a legend when it comes to riding singlespeed. He is a powerhouse and simply unbeatable when it comes to this form of riding. I climbed up 'snakes and ladders' and Brett's angel was sitting on my shoulder. 'Use the momentum, Phil' , 'momentum is your friend'. My current despair melted away and I was transformed into the rare breed of singlespeed jedi. My Turner Czar was my Millenium Falcon, and I was piloting my crippled ship through hostile surroundings. As the climbs increased in gradient and I stamped on the pedals, almost always out of the saddle, the chain started to sing aloud under the increased load. I decided a broken chain was not going to be welcomed at this point and so I took to running up the steepest sections. Riders were passing me but I had to forge on. 

Unlike the day before, when I was disappointed the stage had been shortened, I now wanted the quickest route home and would have gratefully accepted a boring short cut that would have eliminated the need to ride the great trails of Glenrock. At last, my prayers were answered, and I emerged from the forests, onto the trails that led to the scenic drive. Ahead, I could see a group of four riders and I managed to close the gap and join their group. The singlespeed was better suited to the level ground.

Not being used to spending so much time out of the saddle, my legs started to cramp. Just another problem I needed to deal with. I took the last sips of fluid and powered on. I was with Emily Parkes and her TORQ teammate, but also Trek Racing's Richard Piel. As we neared the finish, I launched a sprint and managed to beat Richard to the line, taking a rare victory over my Masters rival.

My 5th place (Masters 1) on the day, was enough to catapult me over Alex Kooijman, who was to finish over two minutes behind. My intention was to finish in the Top 5, so 4th place (and 34th overall) was extremely satisfying, particularly considering the calibre of the competition. Stu Adams, Stephen Billington and Richard Peil, made up a quality Masters 1 Podium.