My first "real "race.

So,

I got on a bike 4 months ago knowing nothing of the sport or anyone in my group of friends and acquaintances who rides. I basically wanted to drop kegs and get fit and was very quickly surprised how much I thoroughly enjoy getting out for a ride when work and family allowed it.

My inner competitive streak was tweaked when I realised how much racing has a part to play in all this, and so I had been looking for a pathway into racing that wasn't going to flog me, whilst still allowing me an opportunity to get a taste of racing.

I rode the Woodford to Glenbrook Classic after only a week or two on the bike earlier in the year, but saw that more as a "fun ride" than a race, so when I spotted the Wollombi Wild Ride I saw this as an good entry to "real" racing as I was going to find. I kept my goals realistic and aimed for the 30km event.

As has been mentioned in many other posts, it is entirely dirt road and fire trail with a massive hill section so in preparation for this I was riding Terrey Hills, Cascades and some Hunter Valley trails as much as possible.

Over the past few weeks I saw some constant improvement in my times, general fitness and recovery and so coming into the race I thought a middle of the pack finish would be about right. Last years times suggested a mark of an hour and a half would do that and so decided I would be happy with anywhere between that mark and a 1:45, considering it was my first race ever.

A distinct lack of riding due to rain over the last couple of weeks, combined with my missus and two boys coming down with some bug the night before resulting in only about 3 hours sleep, meant my confidence on achieving my time was tempered somewhat, but the surprising lack of rain at Wollombi - despite driving through constant, heavy rain all the way from Sydney - helped me get pumped on arrival.

I moved down to the starting area for the pre-race briefing and stayed towards the back of the group for the start as I didn't really think I would be all that fast. The guns goes, the contenders take off and the rest of us start shuffling over the timing gate.

Pretty quickly after getting up and running, I am passing people rapidly. At first I thought maybe nerves have got the better of me and I was going too hard, but I was feeling very much within myself at the time and so kept at that pace.

I swapped positions with a younger bloke all along the first few kilometers or so, passing people the whole way, when he dropped me on the first little ramp. I had been forced to un-clip here as the combination of all the 60K-ers and the bunch in front had turned this short uphill into a quagmire and my tyres (Geax Sagurros)were not up to the task.

At the top of that ramp, I was shamed by the guys on the tandem passing a few of us to much encouragement.

I kept passing people on the next section along the bottom before hitting the climb. I had asked for some advice from NobMobbers prior to this race - jp wasn't lying when he said it was a monster and most people walked it. My plan before seeing this hill was to try and climb a much as I could and walk the worst bits to save my legs a little for a big effort on the flat run back.

The mass of people in front of me when I got to the foot of the climb meant that I had little choice but to un-clip then and there and start pushing. I quickly caught up with the young bloke I had been swapping with earlier and kept on up the hill, riding it when I could.

By half way up riders were much more strung out and I was able to ride far more, but must admit that a combined lack of fitness and, at times, grip on the very loose or muddy surface meant I still walked a couple more sections.

Once at the top though, I pinned my ears back and kept on passing people from about the 12Km mark all the way back. This started by dropping the last few guys I had been riding with with on the big downhill. Considering my weight, I did have gravity on my side, but I put a gap on about three blokes as quick as blink and never saw them again until after the finish.

At the bottom of that descent, I realised I was on track to make my target time and so, got stuck in on the very picturesque run back to the finish and passed another 5 or 6 people. I must admit, it is a pretty intoxicating feeling seeing a rider ahead and thinking to yourself "I am going to get them" and then successfully chase them down - more please!

One of the most memorable things of the day though was being passed by a few of the the leaders of the 60km race. In particular, I recall the three riders working together that tristania described in his blog (in fact, I think Tristan passed me in his pursuit of that group. Tristan, if it was you, you called "Passing Right" or something similar which I swear I heard as "Stay Right" - so I did - sorry for that!).

The humming, whirring sound of those three guys zipping along a tacky, muddy road as they sped past was awesome. Indeed, it was both humbling and inspirational to see what the really good riders can do.

Anyways, my GPS said I had about 3 kms to go, but my eyes told me that I could see the last bend before the little downhill to the finish. My goal was looking even more achievable, I was feeling good and so I gave it everything over the last section to finish with a time I am really happy with.

At 1 Hr 32 Mins, I was in the top third of the finishers overall and in the top half for my Category (Veterans) which was more than I thought I could achieve. It has just left me hungry for more and I have a couple of things in mind. Not going to be able to do the Kowalski and not sure the Fling is a good "next step".

Thinking the Husky in December has a nice flat introduction to a 50km event - but who knows...