Where is my phone? Great, awesome, start to the day. One lost phone. Too late now, get to the start line. Bugger, at the back of the pack. Waiting with a stomach full of breakfast risotto and three things are going through my mind for my first 100km race. Hope someone is kind enough to hand my phone in, will my ankle, which is still swollen, be able to withstand the 100km and will my IBS play nice.
Pace is slow until we get to the road, then I can spin the legs and get a nice rhythm. Enter a pine forest for some single track. This is not good. The Larsens are diabolical in here. They offer nothing over the wet tree roots and ground. Scary, and to prove a point I slipped sideways on an off camber tree root. My face on the ground. The lovely thing about this is that pine needles are quite soft. Hope the day won't be all pine forest or lots of pain will be had. That looks like a bog. Time to unclip and walk around. It won't be the only time today. Well, the drought is over.Back on the loose fire road and I go the fastest I have ever been on a mountain bike, 54km/h.
Overhear one of the marshals that part of the single track has been removed from the course due to being too wet. Should have paid attention to that little tidbit of information cause I didn't eat enough for the first section. The drinks station was supposed to be at 33km, so from the 30km mark I didn't eat cause I had to stop for water and figured to refill and eat at once. 35, 36, 37 where is it? Pedaling efficiency out the window. Turning squares. 38, 39 and 40. Finally. Down a bar and watermelon. Turns out watermelon is not my friend during a race. In fact it is a punch in the guts.
Steep little hill at 48km and bang, cramp. Suck on an Enervit. Whoa, they work a treat and I increase my fluid intake.
More single track, which is awesome, no more pine trees. Under the gums now, and the ground hard pack and dry. On the right tyres now and having fun. The bike is hooked up. Note to self, it is only 15 minutes further than The You Yangs. Get out there more often. There is a lot of water and mud on trails and fire roads that are used by other modes of transport. Getting through the filth was follow the leader and tyre marks approach. Hopefully enough people before you have made the correct decision. Got caught out a couple of times.
Ankle just hurts now and the shoulders are getting sore. Still over 50km to go. Stomach is starting to spin. Second water station came just in time. Need to stretch. Doug finds me and waits a couple of minutes for me to get sorted before heading out. It is good to have moral support and company of a friend. My ankle is giving me grief. There is no strength and I am finding it tough to take any right hand corners with speed.
Cool, we have hit the single track that I rode the day before. I know what is coming. In my head "STAY ON THE BIKE. DO NOT BALE!" Wooho! Wooho for what? A drop down wooden bermed right hander transitioning onto a boardwalk bridge with a 2.5m plus drop off the side. Sorry to you non riders reading that. I'll just say it was a little unnerving.
Crap, cramp again, and I lose Doug. I can't seem to drive up any hills today. Granny gear it is. Catch up to Doug as he is leaving the last drinks station. Strange, I feel fresh as I leave and manage some good speed, for a while anyway, when there weren't any hills to climb.
On some sweet single track now. Point the bike down the hill, hands off the brakes and let it run through the corners. Does not get any better than this. Smiling to myself. I hope? I hope it is to myself or else I look like a bug eyed crazy man.
That's it 93km. Up 'til now, the longest distance I have covered on a mountain bike. Fire road now. The kilometres keep ticking off. Cramp pays me one more visit. Starting to wonder what I need to do, to get my body through more of these things.
Wohoo, 100km. No idea how far away the finish is. More pure single track, still enjoying it even after 102km. Hmmmm, either I am getting spray off my sweat soaked scone or it is starting to rain. Bugger, it is rain. Coming down hard now, with a side order of thunder. I am wondering what I am doing on a bike riding through an empty paddock.
What? Hail? Why not. The hail stones are getting to be the side of marbles. Don't care. They hurt, but there is the lake. The finish is just around the other side. Head down, drive through the finish line and keep going to get under cover. In the nick of time too. Within a minute the hail is the size of golf balls, yikes.
....and the hail? The smaller stuff in the photo is what clocked me for a couple of kilometres. The bigger stuff hit my car, which someone described as looking like a at woman's buttocks. So it should be a write off. Where did I finish? 189th, 45th in category. What I also know is someone did hand in my phone. What a relief. Now for some numbers 109.96km, 8h 39m 22s. My favourite number off the Garmin is 6377 Calories burnt.
If anyone is interested on what 110km looks like.
Just one more thing, other than general soreness and aching knees. NO damage to me. I did have another fall when I dropped into a motorcycle rut, but the tree I smacked into saved me hitting the ground.
