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| Bikes - prepped and ready |
The big day dawned, dry, dusty and windy. There was no more time for training, it was go time! Our bikes were ready, our campsite set. The weather dictated that our tent be secured to a nearby tree and most of my fear was actually about the tent flying down the hill, not me!
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| Team Educated Guesswork (c/o Carl Purczel) |
The team gathered for pre-race photos and a rough plan. Our managerial staff, Rob and Jill, were on hand to provide support, motivation, timing estimates and if all else failed comedic relief for our frayed nerves.
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| Ready to go! |
Anthony was to be the first cab off the rank, given his previous racing experience we figured he could deal with the hectic nature of a start better than the rest of us. The crowd gathered at for the pre-race briefing and the starting riders lined up at least somewhere near the start line. Anthony was in amongst it, far enough back not to get caught up in a fight for first position, but far enough forward that he hopefully wouldn't be held up too much.
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| Awesome Fashionista! |
Anthony blasted through his first lap in under 50 minutes and then I was on. I went out way too fast, the excitement and nerves getting to me with my heart rate struggling to get under 170. My switchbacks were messy but I rode the first part of the outcrops which I had previously struggled with. About halfway through I felt completely done, and wondered how on earth I was going to do another lap, let alone the 5 or 6 I expected to do! But after about an hour everything settled down and I felt good about continuing. I came in at about 1 hour and 15 minutes, which is pretty much what I expected.
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| Mr Speedy! |
Carl was out next and blasted out our fastest lap for the entire event, at 48 minutes flat. Unfortunately while he was out I started to get a splitting headache, which would persist the entire evening. Pizza and panadol did nothing to help, though the pizza was delicious. Once Carl came in, Meg went out, lights blazing!
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| Lights (and Grin) Blazing! |
In between laps there was time for snacks, chats and weather watching. It was a generally jovial affair, with many friends racing or just coming up to say hi! But the weather watching had us all on edge as the temperature started to drop and the clouds gathered on the horizon. The question on everybody's lips was, how long before the rain and how bad would it be?
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| What would those clouds do? |
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| Waiting . . . |
Anthony turned in another lap after Meg finished, and then it was my turn to head out once again. This would actually be my first official night time mountain bike ride. The previous weekend when we had intended to practice this, my lights decided they didn't want to participate (apparently user error we later discovered), so there was some amount of trepidation as I rolled out onto the track.
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| . . . cause I had a flat :( |
My nervousness was totally unnecessary, as night riding was so much fun! I began to feel like I was settling into this mountain biking thing, feeling the flow as it were. Well, right up until I suddenly felt the air go out from under me. Spot on half way I suddenly felt myself riding along on my rim. Wanting to complete my lap, I pushed my bike up to a nearby fire track and proceeded to try and fix the situation.
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| Jo rocking the rocks! |
I had a certain amount of good luck, as the spot I had chosen to effect my repairs was right in front of the Coomealla Club's campsite. After watching me ineffectively attempt to pump up my tyre, a kind gentleman came down and assisted me. His attempts at pumping up the tyre were as effective as mine, so between us we worked out I had totalled the tube.
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| Solo 24 hours - tough lady! |
Thankfully I came fully prepared and had a spare, even better another gentleman joined us and between the two of them they changed my tube in record time. For the record, I can and have changed tubes, but it is neither fast or efficient and usually involves some of the more eloquent phrases in my vocabulary. So I was very grateful to the two gentlemen, who it turned out were renegades from Broken Hill, rather than Mildura where the Coomealla Club is located.
With a suitable amount of pressure, I was underway once more. But the pressure was mounting, would I beat the rain?
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| Rain on the way |
As it turns out, the answer was no. But it wasn't as bad as I thought, and gentle rain drifted through the trees, creating a pleasant atmosphere as I rode through the dark. Only on the last couple of kilometers did it get a bit slippery and I almost came to grief on a switchback. But after a slightly longer lap than I intended I rolled in and Mr Carl rolled out.
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| Managment! |
It was about this time our managerial staff went home, although they kindly stayed long enough to see me safely in. I was somewhat jealous of them heading home to a warm dry bed, especially as the wind was picking up and the rain coming down in more regular intervals. Not to mention my head was pounding. But this was my bright idea, so I had to toughen up.
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| Bravely taking on for the team . . |
As it turns out, I wasn't the only one having second thoughts. Both Meg and Anthony were keen to get some sleep, particularly if the weather got worse. Meg was planning to head out after Mr Carl got back and then hit the hay, and Anthony was keen for one more lap then sleep as well. When Mr Carl returned, we informed him of the plan and he valiantly volunteered to do one more lap after Anthony. I must admit I was a little concerned at this, as the weather was meant to get noticeably worse, but I figured he's a big boy and can make his own bad decisions!
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| . . . which resulted in this! |
As it turned out, Mr Carl did brave another lap, heading out at about 11:30pm, while I was tucked up in my sleeping bag. Shortly after he went out the worst of the thunderstorm hit and as I lay in the tent I worried that this would prove too much for him. But I must have dozed off as I have no memory of him coming in, drenched and caked in mud from what he described as a "hellish" lap.
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| Morning light |
As a team, we had a rough plan that Meg would kick things off for the next day about 5am, so we could maybe get a few laps in before it got hectic with the start of the 6hr race at 8am. But the wind and the rain were unabated, lashing the tent and any riders still crazy enough to be riding.
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| What happens when you play in the mud at 5am |
Shortly after 5 we received a message from Anthony saying he wasn't that keen on heading out in this mess and we thought we ought to tell Meg that she could stay curled up in bed as well. Unfortunately we were too late, as she had headed out to brave all the rainy, muddy mess that was now the track.
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| Serenity (when the wind stopped) |
Carl selflessly volunteered to go and meet her at the finish, so she knew that no one was going to follow her, and I curled up and went back to sleep. The light of day brought a lessening of the rain, but the track was a muddy mess. Knowing my skills are limited at the best of times, I was pretty reluctant to go out in these conditions. Meg had also had her fill of playtime in the mud at 5am and was less than keen to play with other riders as well. So we all eased into the day, snapping shots of a beautiful clear (and cold) morning while sipping hot cups of tea.
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| Those grins, they're up to no good! |
Anthony was the first to get motivated, heading out for a lap at 7:30am, to assess trail conditions. While he was out, the 6 hour and 12 hour races started and restarted respectively. Suddenly the trail was full of people. More the point, it was full of fast people who were actually racing, as opposed to us 24hr peeps, who were happy just to pootle around a bit.
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| Grins to the end! |
Anthony returned and was keen to call it a day. His legs were done and the trail was a bit messy. Give that he'd done the most laps of all of us at this point, we weren't going to argue. Also, the rain had returned and trapped us in the main marquee with hot pizza, so heading out was the last thing on anybodies mind.
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| Speccy Shot! |
Once the rain cleared, it was time for photos! With so many riders on course it was an excellent opportunity to grab some happy snaps and the odd speccy pic. It was also time to return the favour I received the previous night, as a couple of guys punctured near us. While I didn't actually change their tubes for them, I did volunteer the services of Carl and our track pump, which was at least helpful to them!
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| Jo - always grinning! |
Eventually the track started to get drier and we started to feel a bit guilty about not riding. So Mr Carl donned the lycra and went for a spin. I decided that I'd also have one more go, depending on the state of the track. Mr Carl rolled in just before 1pm and gave me the low down on the track. He thought I'd be fine, so with no excuses left I rolled out.
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| Julia - showing me how it's done! |
The legs were a bit weary, but I soon found my rhythm and began to enjoy myself. The general fatigue meant that a lot of the switchbacks were taken with my patented one legged riding method and I walked the outcrops, but I was out there having fun. I heard them call the end of the race with about 1km to go, but that was ok, I knew my lap would still count. I rolled into the timing tent with tired legs, but happy and smiling as I had just had a ball!
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| FAT BIKE!!!!! |
Our team, with 14 laps total, came dead last in our category, but only by three minutes, which is pretty cool in my books. What's better is that we had fun, we worked together as a team and didn't stress out when things didn't go to plan. I wouldn't say I'm an expert mountain biker now, not by a long shot, and if I'm honest, I'd barely call myself competent. But I achieved what I set out to do. I completed the Dirty Weekend, and along the way I learnt how to ride a bike in mountains with a bit less fear and a bit more skill. So now I am officially a Mountain Biker!
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| 24 hours, 1 major fall, 2nd place and still grinning! Top Mountain Bike Chick and Awesome Coach! |
On a separate note, I have to say a huge congratulations to some of the hard core riders that participated in this event. A couple of mates came second and third in the single female 24 hour category and both completed 10 laps. That's about 100km and 3,000m of climbing! The winner of that category completed 16 laps. The winner of the single male 24 hour category completed 29 laps, which is over 300 km and just under 9,000m of climbing. That's about the same elevation as climbing Mt Everest. Truly some amazing hordcore athletes.
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| Skillz!!!! (I may eventually learn) |
I'd just like to finish this post by saying thank you to everyone who has helped me get to the point where I felt like I could participate in this event safely. Cathy and David who came out to watch. Rob Cannon who always kept me motivated, taking interest and offering advice and comic relief, even though he couldn't ride himself. And Jill who always kept Rob and I smiling! Nic Chaffey, who is the best mountain bike teacher I could have found, she is always so upbeat and fully convinced that I could do it, even if I wasn't. My teamies, Anthony and Meg, who put up with a fair bit of disorganisation, and spent a lot of time waiting for me to catch up on group rides.
And finally to Mr Carl, who often sees me at my worst, when the stress from fear causes me to be short tempered, or break down in tears, and is still willing to ride with me. Without all your patience and support, I'm not sure I could have done this, so thank you.
Until my next crazy adventure, "Breathe Deep, Fear Less".
