Coffs Reports

Well, what a weekend. Fantastic. I loved it.

The 5am start Sat, the 7 hour drive to Coffs, the hour or so at Mount Coramba Sat arvo (there will be more talk of that elsewhere I'm sure), dinner that eve, and then... race day.

Awake at 5am (again!) for the 7:45 start. Too early, but at least felt rested. Oh dear, and then the stomach decided it didn't want to play nice today. Forced some bread & peanut butter down, banana, apple, muesli bar, 'V' drink. Visited the little room a few times.

Drove to race, feeling decidedly dodgy and grimacing at the other guys trying to get me to smile for pics. Heard a delay, then another. Visited the red & white trailer (loos) a few too many times. Maybe nerves? Not sure that everything is well here, but eventually the feeling subsided and what with the delays and that out of the way the race started quiet nicely.

Loved the ride to the first water station. Was with Shano most of this, just couldn't stop babbling about the track, how nice, what a job the CHCC guys must have planning all this, blah, blah, blah. Got to the first station around 21Ks in 1h40-ish. Call it a 90K race, should be done in 7-8h... all good.

Shano & I ate a drank little, Nigel steamed through on his way to a 4th in the half marathon (nice one!). Evan & Caro showed up and we left together (after about 25 min break). Again Shano and I found ourselves away, but I was getting confused. We'd climbed a lot more than we should have done (going on the 1440m advertised) and kept seeing 50K riders. Where was the turn off? Had we/they missed it?

Eventually we came to the 50/100 split stop around 38Ks. Got off the bike. Felt a little light headed. Oh dear. Had eaten and drunk plenty (no, really, really had - trips into the bushed confirmed this) but history has taught us (me) that it would not be smart to push on with 100Ks not feeling 100% here. Waited for the other guys to show and Caro to head off up the hill, and them to confirm their plans before breaking the news to Evan and Shano that I was feeling iffy and would just finish the 50. Pretty disappointed to be honest, but didn't want to risk anything. Watched them cycle off feeling that I'd done the right thing, no matter how much of a failure it would make me feel/look.

Stood here for quiet some time (around 45mins?) and saw many people come and go. Several came and talked of the 100 before turning right (the 50). One couple showed up and debated the choice before riding off on the longer route after the bloke was persuaded to by his girlie companion. Back they came 5 mins later, the girl quipped, "One look at that hill...". And here was I telling everyone that half the climbing was done (think the GPS said over 700m climbed in the first 38-ish). Sorry folks!

Craig and Tien both came by and as I didn't want a sprint finish (and Craig didn't want to stop anyhow!) let them go. Julian showed up looking pretty beat so rode to the finish with him at a nice slow pace.

Few of the pro guys passed us, couple gave comments like, "Well done guys" and, "Nice one - keep it up", but somehow this came over as sarcasm as they were steaming in on the 100K course. Haven't seen them on the road before and this left a bad image of the elite guys. One elite chick came by, nice and polite asked how far to go, why can't there be more like her?

Julian and I eventually came in to applause from the other guys - not at all deserved in my case and I hung my head and trundled over the line before pottering round to see them. Sat and chatted and watched and waited for the other guys. Nice, as I'm normally near the back and miss all this.

Time was ticking by and the faster mobbers were still missing. Oh dear, what's the go? Then in they came, talking of hideous hills and torture. Eh? As it turns out, the 1440m advertised was more like 2050m, and had a lot of hike-a-bike. When guys like these complain I didn't feel quiet so bad at bailing. Sadly Caro, Bruce Shano and Even all got 'sweeped' (mainly due to the 45 min race delay I should add) so again, this helped me (but certainly not them) feel a bit... well... a bit like if I didn't feel like riding what I thought would be an easy second half it was very lucky I didn't attempt what was an absolute killer of one!

So, bitter/sweet I guess. Profile is here for the 50 I did:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3186606

Dinner that evening was fun, stories in the cabin later better. All in all a top trip, loved it!

Hey Rob, you still recovering? I never got swept although I wish I had been

All in all the hardest day on the bike ever, the guys up in coffs have built some of the sweetest trail I have seen. I think if I take on this challenge again there will be some serious training going on first.

Congratulations to all that took part, we all pushed ourselves to new limits on this one.

Thanks for the great weekend.

PS just checked the times 6hrs42min geez it felt longer!

Time for my 50km:

3:16.00 approx

20th out of 48 starters.

Blahh!

Well, I had THE BEST weekend! Such a ball and the ride was fantastic!
Really pretty lot so of nice single track and just excellent – everyone should go next year...I thoroughly enjoyed getting there early and being there when all our hundred riders went out and just loved riding the fifty...I much preferred it to the half a fling...
Sensational weekend thank you – great company in the car, at the house and for dinner on the Saturday night
Thank you everyone – oh! and how good was it to ride in and there were all the NobMobbers waiting by the finishing line – I just grinned! Too happy!
Thank you Stuart for driving and avoiding the accident on the way home with the semi – brilliant defensive driving and thank you for being a great riding partner on the track!

MEEEE

how does the sweeping work? i assume you get to a certain checkpoint and you havent made it there in time you cant go on, how do you get back?, are you directed via a shorter route?
Just curious
Was the cutoff unreasonable, seem to be alot of DNF's

Rob you were correct, the cut off was you had to be at the last checkpoint before 3:30pm.

Sweeping, basically a couple of guys on trail bikes worked there way around the course. When they found you they radioed your position in and you are then picked up and taken back to the finish.

Evan

I know we can't play God and stop the sun from setting and they are only trying to look after peoples safety but man to have been that close on such a difficult track must have been shattering.

I know I certainly would not have come in as positive as Carolin. My hat goes off to you for this alone, not to mention your ability on a bike that never ceases to impress. Maybe next year we all carry our lights just in case. They can't stop people riding trails after dark then can they.

Well done

how could they get the vertical climbing so wrong, atleast if they say upfront its 2000m then there is no surprises and you can attack the course differently.
Sounds like it was a tough course

to check the level of the creek crossing before heading over?

What a fun weekend ,great downhill Saturday would really like more time on that track would be a rush once you know it better.Sunday was hard,the start was very fast more like a short course race ...then the hills came steep & slippery with lush downhill single track between them.Was so glade to get to 70km drink station to be told only 25km to go what a bonus.I need to get fitter for the next one

Profile: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/3194324

Insanity!

Race report:

I had no expectation on what this 50km race would be like, having never ridden in any kind of competition before. Especially the kind that would require hard riding without much of a rest - or time to eat properly. From my vantage point, I found the going at the start of the race quite difficult, as it was harder to get a rhythm going with so many riders around you. I suppose that is not really a physical thing, more mental. Especially with the first 15km being up and downhill and a muddy single track. I think I would have been 10 minutes faster if I could have avoided all of the XC riders struggling through those muddy downhills and bumps and jumps. But them's the breaks. I should have gone harder earlier. It's not all bad. On some of the dirty / muddy downhill bits, you could launch some fast and massive air off the mounds, with some tail flicks and other air action to relieve the boredom of the straight trails. A couple of times I overtook some XC riders on the downhills (you know, that sad Cannondale brigade??!!) who watched the action and called out some whoops and cheers for getting on the attack and giving them a serious go. They overtook me many times on the uphills. Priorities

Once I established for myself a proper pace in the firetrails in the middle of the race, I was quite happy with my pace. I found them great fun to be honest, and no different to an Oaks ride or places at Ourimbah. Not bad at all. Hitting the drinks station at 25 km was a godsend, as so many of us were surely very thirsty at that point - and were sick of drinking water. Alas, what did we get? Some cherry flavoured sports drink (the brand name escapes me, but god! Who could buy it??) that tasted like it was created in a meth lab. Yechh! I suppose it had sodium and electolyte, so maybe it did do some good. I had 4 of them.

I admit that while riding along, mainly by myself at this point, I was looking around at the connecting trails wondering where they all went. There must be a myriad of connections that must make some super downhill trails in there. We must do the main parts of the 50km again over 5 or so hours, to really enjoy the place. It must be awesome.

My favourite part on the firetrails was this straight and open fire trail section, that had a wooden pallet jump off on the right shoulder of the trail, about 2 feet high. The normal fire trail lines continued on the left. As it was downhill, you could get massive speed and you see it approaching from a distance. You see the target, in the gunsights, and think this will add some action to this part of the ride!! Approaching with your eyes wide, you are looking for any last minute show stoppers like wooden planks with nails, hidden rocks, the landing zone, etc. All looks good, and BOMBS AWAY!! Massive air and tail flick. Huge fun, with the XC riders behind calling out a cheer. I turn around and one of them followed me over the jump. Good on him! It is nice sharing that kind of camaraderie on the trails. It is one of the things that stands out in my memory now.

So where is everyone else? I think I am close to 30km now and I have not seen, been passed, or overtaken, anyone I know - a bit lonely in fact. But not long later on the fire trail I spot a vaguely familiar figure 300m ahead. It's Caro still cranking away, striving ahead with sore knee and all. She looks quite fatigued in fact, but in true Caro fashion she smiles (I was glad you were happy to see me - you were the first rider I knew who I came across) and we share a quick moment which was at least pleasing to me. I push on as we are climbing a hill, and low and behold we come across Rob, Evan and Shane. The 3 musketeers are also pushing along as best they can. As I push through I get a few cheers and I also recall the warmth for sharing a fleeting moment on the course with our NobMob buddies. I keep grinding away.

Another couple of kays along the firetrails and very fast, hard packed downhill trails, I start getting some leg cramp twinges. Oh sh*t. Not now!! I am probably about 35 km in now, and I back off and continue grinding at a slower pace. The hills, particularly the steep muddy ones, as now to be walked as I sense I do not have all that much available leg strength to waste on riding up a hill, that would not be much faster than walking pace anyway. Turning for home now, with a few kays to go, was a great feeling. Just as I got off the road we were riding beside, and back onto the single trails. You just sense that there is not much more to do.

Finally, a marshall calls out to me 2 km to go. How awesome!! There is a surge of adrenaline as I know the strength within me can surely last another couple of kays. I put in the supreme effort. Much of the return into the finish line is single track, with some really cool technical bits with bumps and launches to get air off. I am pedalling almost full speed now, close to the top of the middle chain ring.

Downhill and jumps coming up... some XC riders in the way, walking their bikes down the hilly bits... some tree roots and drops in there too... spot my landing... set my target of where to launch and land... blast past the XC riders who are left gawking and pulling their steeds out off the track and out of the way. With so much speed, I barrell up the far side of the hill in a high chain ring without slowing down!! Hear the P.A, hear the motorbikes revving their engines in the parking area, can't be long now, see the finish line as I pump up the last hill. Continue pumping hard all the way to the line with my head down.

Finished!!

A very nice feeling, for anyone that rode this track. Only 50km, I know... With the soft soil and the mud holes and puddles, this was an energy sapping course, for sure. Definitely sucks the power out of you. No purchase on the soft ground in the forest sections. I reckon in the summer, that identical 50km trail (assuming you hydrated yourself properly) would be close to 30 minutes faster. But if it is faster, so too is the danger as speed increases.

To all that came along, hung around, cheered, and swapped stories and tales from the trails with me, thank you. I really enjoyed your support, and also providing you support for your own race. It makes the experience much better. I enjoyed the post finish chats, war stories, hearing what you did, etc.

And, I only had one stack!!

This comment has been moved here.

Mmmm, close. More like 18kg. But who's counting?

Or were you both gone by the time I made it back to the finish?

Hiya,

a bit late but if anybody wants to know what it feels like to ride 70km 5min too slow... ,
here you go:

What a great start! Riding along with Shane, Rob and Evan talking about “aahhh, easy, just another Nobmob ride” (If we had known…..!)
Love the track, feel good! (As always the track has turned into a big blur in my memory so don’t mind that)
I don’t remember who left whom, when and caught up again… At some point Shane and Rob are gone and Ev and me tag team for a while. What an amazing forest and ALL single track!!! Wish it had been dry! After loosing control over my back wheel on one of those slippery (invisible) tree roots for the x time, gravity forces me to lie down for a sec. Taking a little while until I get my confidence back, I slow down and Ev goes on chasing the boys.

Regrouping with Rob, Ev and Shane vat the first water stop.
The demoralising begins . After the boys take off again (I decide against chasing them and stick with my own pace) the first 50km riders start overtaking me. (It was so nice to see you Liam but I wish it had been after the race !!) I can not believe that you caught me so early??

Catch up with the boys again at the 50km turn off (about 38km mark)and after having a gel and a couple of minutes of chit chat I decide to ride on thinking they will catch me again in a couple of minutes anyway…
Instead of having long breaks I’m stopping roughly every 7kms for a couple of minutes for a gel or sth.
Stupidly I don’t refill my hydration pack at the 38km mark because I expect the next water stop at about 50km (note to self: next time read course description!!!!!)

From then on I don’t remember much just endless uphill (oh noooooo, not again!!!) and downhill (uaaahhhhh… too slippery!!!!! my breaks are not working!!!)…. you get my experience.
I can NOT believe that there are actually hills THAT steep or that anyone could RIDE up them. Would love to watch the Elite guys riding up there!!! Meet a few other riders and we are having a couple of laughs about us crawling up the hills (nice memory ).

At a road crossing at about 60km (still no water stop???) the friendly marshals tells me that I am ‘almost’ at the check point and the stop will be in about 4km. At that point it is 2.20pm or so and the woman says: ‘no worries, you are almost there, you will make the cut of EASY!!’

Such good news cause I was getting worried, my pace is ridiculously slow! Move on!
(Unfortunately she has no clue what she is talking about!! God bless!)
Another km and another and another….. still in the gullies, still no stop, not much water left…. Soooo p… off about myself !! Crazy!!

Then the stack. The track hits a fire trail and I completely misjudge the situation therefore am going straight OTB!! FAR OUT!!!??? I have absolutely NO time for this, only 30min or so until the cut off and still no check point!!??

Worst moment of the day:
3.20pm. I hear two guys on motor bikes coming up behind me. The sweepers!!
Telling me I would probably not make it. %&$§?/§…!!!
Am trying not to waste my energy on being upset. It is not 3.30 yet!

3.35pm. arrive at the 70km mark at the top of another hill.
Am I too late???????
Yes.
Can you make an exception please!!
No, we are sorry. You wouldn’t make it in time.

Aaaaarggg!!!???
Impossible!!!!
This must be a bad dream!?

Other riders arrive and laughing and chatting about it makes things a bit better. Especially hearing kiwiboys wife rave about the Rush

Very odd moment to arrive at the finish in a van, slightly embarrassed but very glad to see all of you guys!

What a day!

Absolulety no need to have had any feelings of embarressment.

I never cease to be amazed / inspired by your level of fitness / ability / confidence everytime I ride have had the pleasure of riding with you. Probably not much coming from someone of my skill/fitness level but seriously girl, embarrassed shouldn't have been one of the emotions you were feeling. To have got so far on a course that many a seasoned rider has claimed to be the hardest they have ridden is one thing, to have done it in a time that missed the cut by only 5 mins when the start was delayed 45mins is a fact you should be proud of. You should only be more proud of the way you carried yourself when you were brought back to the finish. I know for a fact if that was me I would have been absolutely ropable, would have been letting everyone within ear shot know and would not have had the dignity which you displayed, hell you were even smiling. Maybe this says more about my character than yours but I think you should be walking around with your head held high and I'm sure I'm not the only to feel that way. Why do you think we are all "scared" of what will happen when you get a lite xc dually?

Well done

And don't forget the coarse designer didn't finish either. That's gotta tell you something!

You should be nothing other than proud of yourself for a monster effort on totally brutal coarse.

To be totally honest I thought about pulling out several times, the last half was pure pain, the only thing that got me home was the thought of the mob at the finish line.

This accurately sums up the state of mind of us riders at these races. When you are totally spent, and are at your physical and emotional limits. You tend to get these kinds of reactions. Quite interesting, in that we are all generally the same, I think.

Nice post Caro. Glad to have read it.

What can I say that Carolin has not said already!

Mixed feelings of course you expect to finish. But you never know how hard its going to be!
Having been told that the profile was double ...didn't really matter on the day...I was loving every minute on the singletrack. Being a local lad...it was more disappointing for my folks whom turned up at the finish line.
The pre-ride on Saturday and the follow up on Friday...made up for those "short klms"
figure I was cheated out of the last downhill run..
Big ups to Evan..who solidered on when I went out into the frontline and got killed in the hills. It was good to have a buddy out there in the same zone!
Thanks to Rob who was more mindful of his health and gave up some pills and powder.
Carolin your the Champion...on a hardtail with iffy brakes..smiling all the while..
Remember its not all about finishing...but how you ride and enjoying yourself ...why else would we do it!
I know I wouldn't have made it past the checkpoint..simple as that.
That is good to know when I sign up for the next hundred, train longer and harder.
Will looking forward to the Pine Creek 2 ride..sometime soon!
Thanks to everyone who was hanging out at the finish line...man it was good to see your faces.
shane