September 29th saw Round three of Chocolate Foot’s SRAM Singletrack Mind series roll around. I hadn’t intended on racing this series at all this year, but I did round two at Coondoo as a pair with Steve Kick (under the moniker Velofix) and this whetted my appetite somewhat. So when round three rolled around, I signed up – this time for a seven hour solo.
Since getting back onto the bike in 2012, I’ve raced mainly 100km and four hour races, with a couple of shorter smashfests, so seven hours is a bit of a step up in endurance terms. Still, Awaba is probably the trail where I’ve got most track time.
Heading up at 5am, I was feeling a bit tense and ill-prepared, and I hadn’t slept well, but once sign-on was completed and I finished my pre-race prep, I settled a bit and pedalled out for a warmup lap. The track was very dry and dusty, and was basically the same Red Loop as the Shimano MTB GP earlier in the year, but with an alternative line shortly after the top of camelback, taking in some loose, dusty, off-camber descending switchbacks – which didn’t exactly instill a lot of confidence.
So, as it turned out, I almost missed the race briefing with my warmup lap going nearly ten minutes slower than I’d hoped for. Hmmm. Also different to the MTB GP, we started back down near Mount Falk Road, on the firetrail near Siberia rather than at the foot of the downhill. This did not alleviate the conga line at the singletrack entry, of course. I wonder if the electronic timing at Chocolate Foot’s races could enable phased starts at these events, so that the bottlenecks can be smoothed out? Sure, it might make the live timing a bit more tricky, but releasing riders in smaller groups over, say, 20 minutes might be safer and more fun. However, I digress…
Lap one, as expected, was slow. But since this was my first seven hour, I had no stated intention of hammering the early laps, and was content to just keep pace rather than hammer, but Awaba does offer a few overtaking opportunities with bits of firetrail and a few A/B lines – more than I remembered there being, actually – and pretty soon I was getting around a few riders and settling into the trail a bit more. Dusty trails have never really been my favourite menu item. Being a transplanted Brit, I’m more at ease with sticky, damp ground or even outright mud fests, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been working on my bad habits and deliberately minimising my use of the front brake definitely helped.
By the end of lap three, I was comfortable. Feeding every lap – two gels – was good, though the day was definitely heating up and I possibly wasn’t taking on enough fluid. Lap four felt a bit ugly and saw the appearance of some drivetrain issues, and on lap five I noticed I was getting ever more sloppy in the corners. Recognising that this was heat and dehydration at work, I tried to get as much fluid on board as I could, but rehydrating is a slightly slow process. In the back half of the lap, inevitably, I came a cropper. I came into a quick corner slightly offline, clipped a small tree and hit the dirt. It was reminiscent of my crash at the Convict 100, though less severe by a fair lick. I was up and back on pretty quickly, taking it slowly while I checked everything was intact and functional, and at the end of the lap, I stopped at my refill station and had a sit down and rethink. I think it’s fair to say I looked a mess.
Another rider spotted how messy I was and quickly came over to help out. I think I had a touch of shock from the crash, and I was a bit shaky and ’emotionally unstable’, and seriously considering jacking it in. It’s testament to the great group of people in the NSW MTB scene that someone would react so quickly to another rider looking distressed and quickly help out like that, and I’d like to thank that rider (from the Soggy Bottom Boys racing team) for helping out. A bit more fluid, some food and a little thinking time done, and the idea of quitting was cast aside. Back on the bike and back out on track I went for the second half.
Well, I’m glad I did. The next couple of laps felt much better. They weren’t a lot quicker, but with the riders more spread out, I could really concentrate on technique and try to nail the corners properly, and when I did catch up to someone, I could sit on and hold pace nicely until the best opportunity to go round. So laps six and seven turned out to be quite a lot of fun. By the start of lap eight, though, I was feeling the fatigue. Looking at the Garmin, it seemed like I’d really have to smash to get back over the line for a tenth lap at the end.
Coming down the Rocky Descent segment and my shoulders and triceps were screaming out for respite. My legs were still pretty good, so I could come out of the compression and blast the short climb after to get back into the singletrack. The camelback switchback climb was done in the granny gear in the latter half of the race, to save my legs. I’d cramped here severely in the MTB GP Round, but this time there were no problems – I credit this to a better feed and drink strategy, though the slower pace probably helped. After camelback, my technique was sloppy again and by the time I got over the line, I had about 37 minutes to complete lap 9 in order to have any chance of one last loop. Base don my pace over the ealier laps, it looked like this wasn’t going to happen and nine laps it would be. Still, I gave it everything I could in the first half of the lap, but by the big climb, it became abundantly clear that I wouldn’t have the legs. I crawled up to the top, rode out over the ridge and into the dusty off-camber descending for the last time. My Garmin’s clock ticked down inexorably and I ended up slogging over the timing mat at 7:08:50, nine laps done and feeling completely smashed. Still rolling, I shed my helmet and gloves and went to check out the timing screen. 12th in category from 28 solo 7hr riders. One rider in Open Solo Male had managed twelve laps in the time with an average lap of 35:04. My neighbours in the transfer zone (Matthew Brown and World 24hr aspirant Phil Welch) rolled in shortly afterwards with big smiles. Given that this was my first solo 7hr, in my first full season of racing, I was not displeased. I was exhausted, but I was definitely not displeased.
Unfortunately, the next round clashes with the 2013 Kanangra Classic – which I’m racing for the second time – and the last round of the series is way off at Orange in NSW. This means I might not be doing the rest of the series this year, but next year, I’m definitely keen. I might even (gasp) enter for a 12hr or 24hr solo, which are still daunting but now seem far less unattainable.
Next race: Kanangra. Target: ambitious. A category podium and/or a time that sheds at least 15 minutes off last year’s, with a stretch goal of a category win (which will be tough) and a half hour time saving. The re-profiling of the lap makes a direct comparison between laps somewhat moot – it should be quicker anyway, but the distance is roughly equivalent. I am not riding the Elite category this year, so I don’t have a cash incentive, but next year, who knows…
I’m also riding the Great Cycle Challenge through October, in aid of kids’ cancer charities. My goal is 1500km, which is a bit over my normal training volume, and I’m racing right in the middle of it, but I’d like to get it done before my birthday on the 24th (that way I’ll be able to celebrate without pressure). If you have a few bucks spare, consider sponsoring me on my rider page. And wish me luck.
