"The Angry Dr will rip your legs off"

That was the one line from the rider briefing that kept going over and over and over in my head the whole way round... and it was true.

Registration
Was spun out and amazed I was allocated the same race number as my only other 100 (Dirtworks). I thought this was a good sign of things to come.

0-50km
I put myself in at the back of group 3 and was happy with that decision, I didn't have too many riders holding me up or vice versa. I had 2 ltrs of water with me and raring to go. The dust was insane, with visibility down to as little as 10 meters or so there were crazy moments where I was heading down fast fire road and couldn't see a thing except a wall of dust in front of me. With water bars looming every 20 meters or so I jumped blindly into no mans land and prayed for a good landing zone. Somehow I managed to resist the urge to stop and put a dust mask on, I wasn't sure which was the lesser of two evils, losing time or coming down with 'the black lung'.

The first 50 was all good fun and was able to keep good pace. I decided to walk a few of the hills to save the legs. I made my stop at the first water station as brief as possible 2 mins? I would've been happy to stop at 50 and joked with the riders around me. I arrived into the half way mark at around 3hrs. My chain was drier than 'Ghandi's flip flops' and in desperate need of lube. A quick refill of the water bladder, half a can of red bull, half a sandwich and a goo I set off onto the second loop.

50-100km
The second 50 was lot more entertaining, the track had thinned out and there were many kilometers that I was on my own riding with my own thoughts: "The Angry Dr will rip your legs off" and "wow this is like Ourimbah but BIGGER!" Then came the first of three awesome downhill sections. I had the biggest grin from ear to ear as I blasted through the downhill singletrack. The Yeti was set up perfectly and my confidence grew with every berm. Looking forward to seeing the photo from the final section, i was almost horizontal flying through the berm. Why is there no sniggle like this here in Sydney?

I got my first sign of cramping at the 65km mark nothing too bad and was able to ride through it ok, a couple of twinges behind the knees and one point where every muscle in both legs were screaming out in pain simultaneously, yet somehow I stayed upright and rode through it. My cramps weren't as bad as they were in Dirtworks. I was only too aware how bad they could be so really held back on the last hills and chose to walk them, which was just as quick as my granny gear anyway.

I flew into the last water stop not seeing it until right at the last minute and managed to pull a stylish skid to a halt. 2 mins later, a water top up, Gu and my first and only pee stop of the whole race I was back out on track and rode the final 20km with another Pom from North England also living on the Northern Beaches and also called Phil - what are the odds? Crazy!

I came over the finish line with 06.36 on the clock but still need to add stoppage time onto that - so probably came in around 07.15ish I think.

Final thoughts
The Dr was by far the most difficult race I had ever entered and harder than the Dirtworks 100. I salute all those who's first 100 this was, and to finish in those hot, dusty and windy conditions. By early afternoon it was 31.5 in Batemans Bay.

The smooth waters of Broullee beach were everso inviting and I went in still wearing my ride gear. An icy dip later and hard earned cold beer I sat on the beach watching the sun set and the bush fire. A fitting end to a hard day at the office.

Bring on The Fling!