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.

 

Alpine Assault 2010 - 67km or was it?

Up at Windy Corner on Falls Creek. Waiting for the start, it is supposed to be cold up here. Today it isn’t.

Looking forward to this.

The idea is to start at Falls Creek and finish down below at Mount Beauty 67km later.

…and we are away, behind the support vehicle down the hill and into the village.  The official pulls aside as the field gets to an access trail.  Good start, sitting just behind the leading group spinning along within myself. “What the hell was that?  Dear God that tastes like shit.” That bug was so big it felt like it was carrying luggage. Whatever it was I force myself to throw it back up. Tasted no better on the return journey. Back into it. The trail drops close to the dam wall and onto a road. Push while I can. The first drinks station comes up quickly and no need to stop. 

Time for the first climb of the day.  Not steep, not overly technical, just a little loose surface in places, but it was 3km long.

Follow the trail to the right and final get to build up speed on a surface that isn’t bitumen. Still need to tweak the new front end setup.  The World Cup Sid a little too sharp in the rebound department.  Sitting in the right hand rut and it has flowing water in it. Strange, the left is bone dry. At the speed I am going there is no way I can get out and over the crown, so a wet bum it is.

Creek! Started to look for the easiest line to get across ‘til I noticed the red X. Off to the right then. I am having fun. Back on a short road section to the drinks station. This time I stop. Top up the bladder, have a gel and a couple of Gu Chews as the next drinks stop is over 40km away.  Back onto the climb and this time I carry on to the left. The second part of the climb is slightly steeper and by the time I get to the top it is nearly 6kms of climbing. It is also the highest I have ever been on a bike.  1847m above sea level. There are no trees, just short grass, bleached rocks and baking sun.

Slight descent down Big River Fire Track and it is rough as guts. Pedalling in the big ring so I can stay on top of the rocks.  Both ends of the bike are working overtime and rocks are pinging off in all directions. Distance is getting ticked off quickly. Loving it. Hands are taking a pounding, pinky and ring fingers start to tingle.

The scenery changes and get into the tree line. I take the opportunity to drink and soften the rear suspension.  Now get ready for why I am here I entered the race. Kilometre after kilometre of going downhill.

I start on the outside and become very wary of the drop. Damn that is a long way down.  Plan B, move to the inside. Turns out that wasn’t such a good idea. Loose fallen rock and jutting out tree branches. At the speeds that I am doing there is no way to pull up in time or avoid the obstacles.  Back to the outside and concentrate on keeping me eyes on the middle of the track.

My mantra - Remember, momentum is your friend.

Hands are numb, I have lost all strength in my left hand so I can’t rest my fingers over the brake level. One benefit of this is I go faster. Awesome, the trail is just whizzing by.

“FUCK!” a washout. Can’t stop, my heart explodes. “Fuck, fuck, fuck” too fast and I can’t avoid it. Shift my weight behind the seat and lift the front end up. Manage to skip over the top of it.  Some goodly person packed it out with a monster of a rock. Concentration levels are now on high alert.

Discovery there can be too much of a good thing. I need to stop a couple of times to allow my hands to recover. I am not the only one. Someone remarks that wasn’t fun. I can’t agree with him. My hands would disagree but I had a ball.

At the end of the first 8km descent is Big River. Don’t even try to keep the feet dry. The water comes as such a relief. The lower I get the hotter the day gets. Back to climbing now and towards the top I get a twinge of cramp. Time for fluids, a gel and a Enervit. Cool, I catch it early enough.

Downhill again, except the trail now has tighter bends and is a lot rougher. My guess is earth moving equipment has been used to clear the track of fallen trees and other debris. Some hairy moments with loose rock on the way day. A couple of creek crossing later and I have finished the majority of the descending. The terrain levels out, my hands are numb and shoulders are sore. Yep, I have neglected doing sit ups and push ups over the Christmas break.  Lesson learnt.

Bit of a climb, and turn onto the Bogong High Plans Road. Flying now and using most of the road.  Starting to worry.  Have I missed the turn off?  It seems like a long road section. My body is recovering slightly.  Turn ahead sign. Cool, I haven’t made a mistake. Cross the road and onto flowing single track dropping down into Mount Beauty.

Into the last drinks station and take on some fluids before the last 7km loop. This turns out to be a 4.5km climb. That is plan nasty. My shoulders hate me at the moment and 600m out from the drinks station I get cramp. Mentally I am lying in my bed. I know I should stay on the bike, but I use the cramp as an excuse to get off and relieve the pressure on my shoulders as well. Fianlly I snap back into action, very loose term. Back on the bike and the legs are rolling over very slowly in granny gear. No more up. The trail marker points at single track back towards the finish. There should be 3km to go. Down, down I go. Come up to a pinch climb.  I can’t do it. No drive left, unclip and push. I like the single track around Mount Beauty. Don’t know if I would sit in a car for 4.5 hours but happy to ride it if I was in the area. The finish should be only 600m away. No chance. Still too high and far away. Last bit of single track. My body digs for one last effort and over the line.

Turns out I finished 20th out of 46 people, so goal achieved. At this point as long as I am in the top 50% of the field I will be happy.  Total distance 71.67km (supposed to be 67km) 4h 39m 40s. Total calories burnt 2603.

 Race Data

I came out without a scratch, surprising considering the number of trees and bushes I brushed through. I also found a new way to get sore on a bike. All the rough descending left the balls of my feet sore where I was clipped into the pedals.
I am not quite there yet, but I am learning to better my fuel and liquid intake. Bring on 2011. Even though I was ruined for the shorter distance I am already contemplating stepping up to the 100km.

Golden Triangle Half Epic

I'm heading towards Bendigo for a race I wasn't expecting to be at, but things feel into place during the week, which meant I wasn't needed down at Lorne and I am driving through fog. Not complaining, I will be happy if it stays cool for the day. Turns out the mother nature has a devious sense of humour.

So, the race plan today is quite simple. Finish the race with the same amount of skin that I started with.

Relaxing start, by sitting behind the official's quad bike until we were escorted over Sedwick Road. Once the field was back together it was on. I found myself towards the front of the pack pushing hard on tarmac uphill. What was I doing? There was still 58km to go.

The course turned off the bitumen and now moving freely over an access road along side a culvert. Feeling fresh and producing decent speed. I need to position myself closer to the front more often, cause by the time I get to single track, there are no bottle necks. Head down and once I get close to the bottom I discover there is so much water laying around. All I can do is hope I pick the right line. Didn't always get it 100%. The bike pretty much stopped dead on a couple of occasions.

Crunch, first bug in the mouth for today. Believe the final bug count was in the order of a half a dozen.

The terrain changes so quickly, now climbing over loose shale. Loving this, no water. Point it down the other side, the biking clacking over the rocks and absorbing the bumps. My ankle on the other hand reminded me it wasn't fully healed, but come on, this is so much fun.

The song in my head is until the End of the World. Nothing significant, just left over from the U2 concert. Must be relaxed and I am enjoying the race, despite the heat building up.

Oo, double arrows, so what do we have here? What? No dispute, there is the pink tape. The trail is now a creek bed. Eight weeks ago this would have been awesome. Now it is a question of keeping the bike out of the washouts and deep water. Got to the bottom with my race plan still in check.

My drive line is already starting to squeal and it is only 16km into the race.

The ground is super soft, and the next patch of water is clear, so I don't bother lifting the front wheel. Mistake! Down it goes up to the hub and I am OTB. Plop. I am now soaking wet, which gives me slight relief from the heat.

The first drinks station came and went. There was no need to stop. My hydration pack still feels relatively heavy. I pause long enough to grab a couple of snakes. I think I have found my new favourite race food. Down a couple of Clif Shot Bloks. Whoa! Each chew is equivalent to an espresso.

Getting hotter as I come to the crest of a hill, which appears to open out on to a car park. The arrow points left, so down the fence line trail I go. Can't see any pink tape. The trail doesn't feel right. Drop down a loose steep hill and still no tape. Time to turn around. Others have done the same by turning let but haven't descended the hill and watch as another rider and myself climb back up. My heart drops when I realise 10-15 people have now passed me without the effort. Someone had turned the arrow around and that act of bastardery cost me 1.5km and around 5 minutes. Can't change it now. Let out something audible that is frowned upon in polite company.

My drive line is making a racket. 33km into the race and I have no lube left on the chain. I am starting to hold and ease the shift level to change gears.

Can't get enough food down. I hate that I accept that avoiding diarrhea is a daily event. Starting to struggle. The more fatigued I get the less I want to eat. Compensating by increasing my fluids.

Got over steer on a switchback climb. Put too much power down and watched as my back wheel gently overtook the rest of the bike putting me on my bum, laughing. It was the most graceful fall I have ever done. Race plan still achievable.

Descending now on a relatively clean single track. Nice flow and just the right amount of rocks to keep it entertaining. Still having fun.

Awesome, back onto the culvert, which gives me a lift. No mud and can increase my speed. Starting to get it back together and feel good. The road section also helps. Driving the legs now.

Everything was going well until I got near the final drink station.  The mud and water had become mentally draining. One of the volunteers must have seen something cause she loaded my jersey with snakes wouldn't let me leave until I ate something. Love their work and support they give.

Tired, hot, the bike and myself covered in filth but I need to keep moving. Everyone around me is struggling at one point or another. Someone will get a spurt and then be in trouble a kilometre later. Plenty of encouragement, patience and courtesy out on the track. People don't need to be asked to move out of the way. Everyone is racing themselves.

There is a familiar feeling in my abdomen and to relieve the pressure I stop and get off the bike. Less than 10km to go and will stop and pause a few more times. One last gel and I hope I will be ok.

Cautious on the descents as I am mentally spent. I don't want to hurt myself by making mistakes. Now aim for clean water, hoping to get some relief whatever splashes up on my legs. Still trying to avoid the mud. Some of it smells like a cow has been rotting in there for months.

The leading female of the full Epic, whom has done an extra 40km but started 2 hours earlier, passes me like she is on a Sunday spin. She said something along the lines "You're doing well, keep it up". She lied, I was so cooked. My legs were still feeling OK though.

Back on single track now and under trees. Another U2 song in my head. This time, Some Days are Better than Others. So true. This was a good one.

The weather is turning and there is a thunder storm coming in. The wind has picked up and the temperature drops.  That and the fact I am now coming across signs 8km, 6km has made me regain focus. Down hill single track with a couple of creek crossings help knock over the kilometres quickly. One more climb, push and the last bit of hard work is done. Now, stay alert for the last 2 km. The finish comes into view and I forget how tired I am. Wait? What? The trail turns away. Ah, the last little tease for the day with a series of switchbacks. The terrain levels out and I am done. More than happy with my race result, 10th in class and 39th outright which was in the top 50% of the field. I am getting better and learning more with each race. Total distance 62.71km, 4h 32m 21s. Only 2745 calories burnt.

Race data

No cramp, a couple of bruises and my race plan intact.

Dirt Works 100

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.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/55904782

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.