stuck in the mud

My second 100 k'er and I was hoping to post a sub 6 hour time.

My overall race plan was to grab someones wheel at the start and make some good time for the early firetrail sections. This worked very nicely for a very short time. Then we hit this trail that should have been easy but ended up picking lines around ruts and puddles and my average speed just plummeted.

The race never set into a rhythm. Its funny how instead of being a release from the daily stress it put me totally in the wrong headspace with every negative thought playing on the mind. Every rotation of the wheel you heard this sucking noise as the wheel pulled itself out of the mud, and ploughing through the ruts was a total killer. I started considering pulling out at 40 km and as I pulled into the 56 km mark it was passing noon, I really wasnt going to finish this race for the sake of finishing.

There were some moments where it all felt good, and there were sections where I was making ground on other riders. No more 100 km for now - lets set some ok times at 50 km events, and I will be changing my fling entry some time soon.

Thanks to the volunteers, you have all done your bit to your respective organisations and I hope they have been rewarded accordingly. Also thanks to the nice old man of mediterranean decent in Callala beach who insisted on hosing my bike before I put it on the car.