A bit soft (and the track was as well)

Underestimated the number of sandbaggers again and missed the 2nd wave start, but got away OK with the last bunch. A few exciting moments in the "peleton", with ridiers switching lines without so much as a look. The mud stretch for the 200m or so before the first climb was a real mess, but after that the track was just soft and pretty leg sapping (us clydesdales tend to sink in a bit further than the whippets). Usually one or two lines in most sections were well worn, but it was still too damp for it to have hardened up. Walked a few of the hillier bits.

The track (as opposed to me) would have been really fast if it'd had a chance to dry out as it had been seriously graded most of the way. Heard the ominous sound of the chopper fairly early on and passed at least a couple of riders down and one standing getting medic attention. Hope all are OK.

Scooted through the feed station and hit the downhill sooner than anticipated (its been a couple of years since I last did the 50). Hit the bottom of the hill to find a 4WD support vehicle parked across the intersection, but fortunately he moved quickly - it was a bit slushy there and not ideal for an emergency stop. Chopper was in the grass across the road.

Kept a good pace up along the road - was drafted by another super master for a while, but locked out the front forks and stomped up a slight incline and dropped him as he didn't seem inclined o share the work.

Overall pretty happy with 2:49 as the weeks before the race had been spent travelling to Tassie (work) and China (hols) and it had been wet since getting back. I think this was my first off road ride for at least three weeks. Had 1 x Gu and about 2 litres of water during.

Just a pity they can't find a way to make the 50 a wee bit more interesting......