now that was nuts..

The weekend started with the usual Friday carbo loading coopers pale ales, checking the bike and loading up the camping stuff.

Jackie and I got to Bundanoon a bit after midday on Sat, got the tent up just before a massive downpour, I was thinking there goes the ride with images of the “not so” Angry doctor flashing through my head.. then I remembered the esky and the mood switched back to the carbo loading procedure, a few beers and a glass of red later and I really didn’t care if it was going to be muddy. Turns out that all that rain had about zero negative impact on the track, the rain had made the track probably about as good as it gets.

Lined up for the start with a buddy, next to the unicycle dude (He’s crazy) and some amazing lady called Jenny Caldwell (more on her later). We were pretty much lined up at the back prepared for a fun casual social 100 or so K’s, had my nutrition and hydration strategy planed, well I thought that I had it all sussed out with hydration; but combined with that heat and the fact that I’m still learning about 100K events special nutritional and hydration requirements... 6 hours later was a different story.. I think I need more research on how much fuel and water it takes to move 90KG human on a bike over 100K's in 30+ deg C temps?

The first stage was pretty fast and flowing with a fair bit of traffic, but nothing that cost us a lot of time, we were watching the 29’er guys having an extraordinary number of flats as it seemed that every rider that was down with a flat was riding a 29er for the first 10K’s or so? Just as we were heading into the first transition we were passed by a bunch of elites on the road section and we managed to stick with them (on the downhill).. suddenly they were hard on the brakes for the left hand turn into transition, it seems that they are elite and can stop with elite skills (we had no chance of matching their braking prowess) and I nearly took all of them out as I slid (with super unko skills) right through the back ½ doz or so who had managed to stop on a dime and make the sharp left..

Arrived at transition, ready to be greeted by Jackie and my nutrition of choice (Perpetuem), mmmm no Jackie, so I stuffed a few bananas down with some electrolytes and we're just about ready to head out when Jackie drives past, chase her down the road for a few hundred meters, grab some powder and we're off again (not so bad only about 5 min wasted and besides it’s a social ride anyhow)

From the first transition we were smashing it into the forest, enjoying the day, when I hear a bang, the guy in front of us had his tyre literally explode off the rim (tubeless gunk everywhere) and I guess his day was done.
From then on it was pretty much just cruising along making goodish time when mechanical number one got me, bent a hanger on the very first single track section, from then on gear selection was “interesting” and the chain would drop behind the cluster and the spokes (a real bugger to get out) when ever I tried to select big on the back, tried to tune it out on the shifter, still feeling fine but getting annoyed with the false shifting. I was just getting back into a rhythm when mechanical two happens; I hit something that ripped off a nob on the rear Nevegal and instant flat! Managed to patch the tyre (with a large tube patch) pop in a tube. It was then that I really felt the heat for the first time, no breeze and trying to repair/pump up the tyre.. bugger it was hot.

Back on the road with the tyre inflated and off we went, going along ok till about 10K’s from the ½ way water stop when my riding buddy started to feel really bad (um err early signs of Heat Stroke perhaps??) he doing it tough and nearly out water and I only had about 1/3 bottle left.. (hate to tell you but its you or me buddy.. ). Then on next few K’s were an effort in nursing my mate along and trying to keep the water I had last.

We made the ½ way point, medico’s take my buddy in, he's not well and done for the day. There's a lot of people here laying on the ground not looking well, Unicycle nutter rides in looking fresh as a daisy.. I grab a couple bananas, pop an endurolyte (or two) say goodbye to my riding buddy and I’m off again with a fresh bladder/bottle loaded with Perpetuem. The last ½ of the second stage was hard going with the heat and long climbs, spent some time spinning up some hill on the wheel of Jenny Caldwell (Wow) until she dropped me (double WOW!), caught her just before the dirt road section as she looked to be out of water (hate to tell you but its you or me.... ), no really she was stopped and getting some water off someone, so I blew past and cruised the road section and was very happy to make the 2nd transition. My riding buddy was there and took my bike off and got the hanger straightened while I fueled up.. I was pretty much spent and nearly ready to call it for the day, but I thought why not give it a go as its only 30K’s or so to the end, then the rain came and dropped the temp by a few degrees (perhaps only momentarily) and with that I was off.

The last section started well, caught Jenny again on the climb out of the first creek crossing, hung on to her wheel again (hey I’m not ashamed to admit that by now) during the climb out to the fire road, had a bit of chat with her about the fling and what to expect for the next hour or so, then I dropped her (calling back that I was sure that she would reel me in soon), got caught by some single speeding girl (she blew right past me on a climb) we played a game of leap frog until the roller coasted when I had to call time (I was pretty much done), sat on the side of the track for a good 5 min or so trying to get my S$*t together and in the process of adding some powder to my camel.. managed to stand on the nozzle of the camel and rip it clean off (without noticing)! are you freaking kidding me!! There goes most of my water!!! Get my S#*t together and hit the hills again, Jenny catches me again (I'm all out of Wow's) and we are off to the last grassy hill (the 10K mark) and I grab her wheel again (now this lady is totally amazing) but then the hill and heat get too much for her and she finally gets off to walk, so do I, so now I’m about 10.5K’s from the finish in the early stages of deliriums from heat stroke, nearly out of water, chasing this super women (she eventually finished first in her category) up a grassy hill in heat that’s probably on the high side of 30’s on foot pushing my bike.. a real “why do we do these things” moment if ever?

Get to the top of the hill and down the last of my water, can’t really remember much of the last 10K’s, apart from some horrible feeling of dark despair that I was about to die at any moment, hit the last few K’s of road section.. now that was a bit of a relief and then its only 500M to go (bugger another grassy uphill.. better select granny gear), turn the corner and there’s the finish!! so very very very happy to cross the line @7:55.

In the mean (While I was out relaxing for the last 8 hours "enjoying my day on the bike") time, my super lovely helpful Jackie had packed up the tent, loaded the car up and was waiting for me with a cold drink and some food.

Back again next year??