Mudathon

Set off with a couple of mates, looking forward to a day out but knowing it was going to be really wet. With the absolute bog that was this track, I was getting chain suck after 5km and my chain finally got caught up and snapped but a quick powerlink and I was on my way. After 15km I only had the big dog at the front and a few gears at the back, everything else would just skip about but that was enough gears on what is a pretty flat track. At 30km the rear derailleur left my bike and ended up in my spokes - snapped hanger, cage ripped in half, broken spokes and warped wheel. I rigged up a single speed at middle/middle and quickly realised it was horrible on the flats and terrible for anything resembling a climb. Snapped the chain again as it slipped off the front rings and got caught up in the cranks but had a second powerlink so was on my way.

At the 60km stop I spent some time seeing if I could rig up something better. Another guy turned up with a broken real derailleur so I rigged up a single speed for him. We were going to head off but the people manning the stop said that this was the best place to bail as it was a quick ride back to Callala. After a bit of hand ringing, a realisation that any mechanical from here on out would be a long walk and thinking about the "fun" last 30km on my newly converted single speed saw us take the soft option and ride back along the road.

Despite the mud and the bike damage I'm glad they held the race as we were all there ready to go anyway and, after all, it is mountain biking and various conditions are part of the attraction. It should be a great course as it includes some really fun tracks and it's a shame there's been so much rain in the last couple of months. I have an increased appreciation for those that choose to ride with one gear but I also think they are madder than ever.

I agree that the race did seem a little light on officials as they could have done with a few race marshals and there was also a a lack of mechanics at the stops. The ladies and gentleman from the local rotary/lions/etc. were great and I very much appreciate their efforts. Well done to everyone that finished, a great effort - I will definitely come back next as I think it would be a really fun, fast track with a little less moisture.

Silver lining: got back to where we were staying down to road from the RSL Club with my semi-trashed bike covered in my mud and my lovely wife asked me why don't I think about getting a new bike!