Bike Buller

Stage 1

 

Push from the start and hit the first hill climb hard. Last year back in the pack everyone walked down the Abom traverse.  Made it and am able to ride down. It is fairly chopped this year.  I don't have the room to get through the corner, so I unclip. The bike is stopped by the rocks on the exit and puts me over the bars. Standard procedure is required. Drop the shoulder and roll. I land on my back a few meters from the track. No drama as the bike follows me keeping the track clear.  Another rider does something similar in the next corner but he tumbles down the hill looking like he is competing in a cheese rolling festival.

 

Riding back up and out and I have a cartoon fall. The front of the bike stops dead, the rear wheel lifts. My brain didn't process this information and I continue spinning, faster and faster. Physics can be a bitch. I found the equilibrium point and my chest found the stem and the ground. Sucking for air now. There is nothing in the vicinity to suggest why I went over.

 

Lungs are now working and I am feeling good. Time for the rough descent. Come up to a caution sign and I am so on the wrong side of the waterbar.  The farside of it is deeply rutted out. I have too much weight over the front of the bike to tackle it, so I throw the bike to the left and into the scrub.

 

Back on track and allow the bike to run.  What? 5.4km. No chance, I must have stopped the Garmin with my chest. No idea on exact distance but I have a fair idea how much to go. Into Silk Lane and time to climb.

 

Today I am comfortable on the bike. Switchbacks however are not my friend today, which isn't good considering I am in the section of them called Medusa. I am getting them so, so wrong and I keep losing the bike time after time.  Finally tackle them with my weight over the front of the bike and hey presto, I am facing the correct way.

 

All the little tips that I have been given or collected over the last six months are paying off. From storing gels, to having a plastic cup in my jersey holding bite size pieces of energy bars.

 

Now it is time to descent and I am wearing the wrong lenses for the conditions.  In and out of shadows and my eyes are slow to pick up entries, but once I have worked out the line the track offers so much grip. Having a fun day and got to remember it is still a race. Back onto Cornhill and surprised how well the track has recovered from The Nationals. Awesome job to the Mount Buller Management Team.

 

Getting some nice rhythm and speed but the single track is over before I know it. One last nasty rocky climb back into the finish line. Brilliant, 1 hour 46 minutes. I just cut out 30 miuntes from last year and I feel good.

Race Data - incomplete

 

Stage 2

 

The idea now is to do as many laps as possible in 3hours 15minutes before descending 900 vetical meters down to along the Delatite river. Starts begin in groups of six at 30 second intervals.

The more I ride Gang Gangs the more I realise how how grip there is and confidence you can have in the bike. Even the wait for the chair lift isn't that big a deal. It allows for easy hydration and feeding. There are no egos in the queue and people are friendly. The wait also allows some riders to do running repairs without losing time. People are helping each other where they can.

Coming up the chair lift the rollers on Abom don't look that big.  At ground level they are another matter. Serious damage can be had had if you get them wrong.  As the day progresses I am getting quicker and quicker through the single track when space allows it.

Lap three and over the rollers one more time. What is that noise?  Ouch. My large chain ring has taken a whack and is bent. It reassemblies a LP record left in the sun. Still works. The chain stays on under protest. Get to bottom and someone offers to beat it straight with a rock. I decline.

Time for one last lap and to descend down to Mirimbah, otherwise, the ticket box at the entry to Mount Buller. The single track is empty and I go through parts of Gang Gangs 8km/h faster than I had all day. I believe today is a perfect. A short climb required and then onto a rough as guts trail that is Box Car Loop. Pretty steep and the brakes get a workout to a point where they start to smell.  Too fast and too tight a corner to get round. Go with the safe option of unloading the bike and come to a near stop.  No numbness in the hands but the shoulders are getting a tad sore.

Now it is time to turn onto the Delatite track and enjoy the ride down on the smoother descent. There are a couple of corners that need some attention before I can ping it down the hill at over 40km/h. The bike is dialled in and it is such a rush. Now for the first river crossing and instead of wet feet I get to enjoy a brand new one metre wide bridge covered  in fresh earth with optional loose rocks. The trail is cut up now and a couple of bridges are a little hairier. Over the first pinch climb with ease and get reminded on the second one that the bike isn't 100%. I lose the chain and all momentum when I try and gear down. As I get lower and the trail flattens out are is an abundance of standing mud and water. So much for the promise of dry feet.  One last bridge and I am done.

I finish the stage with the 6th fastest descent in class and 40th outright. Today is the strongest I have ever been on a bike. Bring on tomorrow and Stage 3.

Race Data

Stage 3

The day starts with a bike between my legs and two pairs of vice grips. I take out as much of the warp as I can from the chain ring.

Plan for the day is to smash it at the start to avoid the bottle neck into the single track climb. Job done, and I am moving freely. The bike, not so much. My repairs didn't stand up and I lose the chain in a switchback and 20 riders go past me before there is a gap big enough for me to slot into.

One last time down Gang Gangs and I see the Co2 canister I lost the day before. Still loving the trail and head onto Cornhill Road. It is a rough and more riders are claimed with punctures. Onto Stonefly and the first climb to the top of Mount Stirling. My switchback yips have returned . There is a bit of a train and cannot get the power to the ground that is needed. Time to focus on being steady, hydrate and keep food going in. Shoulders are now sore. Over the water fall which is the half way point of the climb. There are a couple of flowy descents on the climb. They allow for some fun but it is elevation that needs to be regained. The first time I climbed Stonefly I made it a point not to get out of the middle chain ring. Today granny gear is my friend and gets me to the top. 

Now I turn onto some double track, which allows lots of speed. Getting more comfortable with my and the bikes capabilities. Look for the brown to get maximum speed.

What? Tan bark? As I get lower the trail is covered in a couple of hundred meters of the stuff. Guess it is there to absorb moisture. It also absorbs speed.

A little further and I am into the drinks station. Top up the pack, grab some snakes and head out onto a steep road section before hitting double trail or is that double trouble? I have nothing in my legs. The way up doesn't look that bad I can't get the legs to spin and for the next 3km I average less the 6km/h up the 31% gradient. There goes all the good work from Saturday. Now it is about hanging on. Ride, walk, drink, stretch and eat.  The terrain becomes familiar and I know I am getting near the top.

Back onto Stonefly for the descent. I unclip for the tricky little rock entry and then get going. It has got to be one of the best bits of single track around.  There corners flow on to each other and allow speed to be carried from one to the next. There is a drop down to the right switchback that I haven't worked out so I unclip again and walk down. Guess I made the right call cause someone broke their nose in the exact spot a few minutes earlier. Tired and sore but I am smiling. I recognise Glen Jacobs, designer and builder of the trail, taking photos. I tell him he has done a fantastic job. I have no idea what his response is. I am already too far down the course.

...and it is over. Stonefly has come at the right time to lift my spirits. Kilometers are now knocked over quickly down a gravel road section.

Focus has been regained and needs too. There are plenty of obstacles in the way of fallen branches lining the trail.  Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. A deep mud filled washout with a steep exit is in the way. Hold my breath and hope the front end gets up and over. It does so without any grace, the rear reacts by pitching sideways. Sigh. All wheels still point down.

More mud and this time it stinks. One last climb back up to the road and one last sting in the tail in the form of a pinch. Onto the tarmac and my legs have recovered enough that I am not hating the climb. Thats it. The turn off to the chairlift. No waiting today. Off the chairlift and I easy over the rollers. 500m and I am done with a time of 4 hours and 12 minutes.

Race Data

Finished 10th in class and 48th overall. Prior to the start I wanted a top 50 finish but after Stage 1 and 2 I felt that I let a good result get away.

 

 

Otway Odyssey

So, my goal for today at my first attempt is 8 hours. I have been anxious leading up to the race due to its reputation and now that I am on the start line I am pumped. The weather is mild which after the night before has come as somewhat of a bit of a surprise. Over night 26mm fell over The Otways.  Everyone is wondering how the course will be affected. No need to worry.  We will all find out soon enough.

 

Off we go and I have positioned myself without too many hassles. The pace is comfortable with the occasional banzai warrior racing past.  Onto Wild Dog Ride. Happy with climbing and passing people up the hill.  Heart rate is fine and I look down at my Garmin and notice the gradient is at 11%. Why did I add that data field and how steep is that anyway?  Get to the hairpin and look down to see a line of riders snaking back down the hill.

 

Holy cow, what a cross wind. Put the head down and use the other riders as shelter.

 

First bit of descending and I am passing people around me. I think I have finally getting the bike dialled in. The XTR brakes are awesome. Well, not quite, my bum is getting sore.  I swapped the bars out for carbon earlier in the week and they must be different enough to change my riding position. Nothing for it now. Will attend to it at the top of the climb. 

What's that beeping?

 

Quick stop, saddle adjusted, gel downed and back into it. Another tarmac road section and I am feeling good.

 

Still more beeping, phone or car key?  At this point I don't care. I feel strong and moving forward.

 

Time to get off the road and onto Old Coach Road into what I can only describe as wet concrete render.  Riders are shooting off into all directions to avoid the slop.

 

There is water everywhere and some people are hitting it head on. Their bikes are going up to the hubs. Hope they are carrying lube.

 

The trail "drys" out for a while and still making good time and descending comfortably. Yep, spoke too soon. The trail is getting cut up and the bike is getting sucked along in the ruts and washouts. Slipping, sliding with wheels locked out.  The back wheel overtakes me and I land on my bum in 200mm deep water. Ha.

 

The trail turns diabolical. Totally unridable for the next 6km. It is the most soul  destroying, sticky clay that I have ever seen. In some places it is so pure that it can be used to throw pots. After 50m of pushing, you stop retrieve a stick and then proceed to remove as much mud as possible from the bike, tyres, derailleur and shoes. Push and then repeat.

 

The weather is getting cooler and spots of rain are coming down. Still beeping. Now I am too tired to care.

 

You have got to be kidding. My bike stops rolling downhill. More filth removed just to get the wheels to turn.  Today is the worst conditions I have ever ridden in.

 

At each of the three creek crossings people are trying to find water deep enough to wash their bikes. I only care about my shoes. Struggling with the mud and the drinks station comes at the perfect time. No more clay.

 

Clean the glasses and point the bike down the hill. Super fast and clean descent. Having some fun and a regain a bit of focus. Glasses are fogged up and get stowed as I hit Red Carpet for the timed 8km descent. Back into some sort of rhythm. Head isn't quite there, still with the beeping, but I manage to catch people. My time for the descent is 17.37. Ok with that considering I was held up for a while in a train of six.

 

Eyes are stinging and do so for days to come from all the crap that has picked up by my tyres. One of the benefits of seeing I suppose.

 

More single track and now I am making lots of small mistakes. Incorrect entries and existing to corners to my position on the bike to tackle any technical terrain and still with the bleeping beeping.

 

Heart rate spikes as my front wheel on side of a longitudinal tree root and the back wheel on the other. Wheel plus wheel equals  high side bike exit into a tree fern.  Another soft landing.  Come to a sign "Corporate Ladder" That can only mean up.

 

Another mistake and another fall into a deep bowl of a hole. I am stuck on my back with the bike on top of me. I feel like a turtle and feel like I tore my calf in the deal.  Days later I work out it was just a corky. Relief. After what feels like an eternity I manage to roll over and drag myself out of the hole.

 

 

I can no longer cope. I am cold, wet and in pain. The mud has broken me. Mentally I am spent.  Beeping, will you stop with the beeping? The rest of the ride into transition is a blur. Arrive at the football ground in 4h 43m and I bump into Ben who has already finished the full distance and me tries to convince me to keep going.

 

I am ahead of the time I had set for myself but I am too fragile to tackle the last 37km. After all the small mistakes to date I don't want to turn them into a big one.

 

So angry and down on the myself since for not getting through the race.  Need to remember how that feels and use it for motivation next year.

 

What did I take away from The Otway Odyssey?  The new carbon bars were easier on the hands and shoulders, not as much numbness and shoulder pain.  Awesome.

I am still struggling to get enough solid food down.

If there is a bucket load of rain overnight run narrow tyres to allow greater clearance, not that it would have made that much difference in the clay and pack a spatula.

 

 racedata

 

...and the beeping a 10 minute reminder in my calender for The Otway Odyssey.