Back to Back Yamma again

Had another blast racing around the dry and dusty tracks of Back Yamma Forest this year.

From the start we were off in a cloud of dust, with a bit of jockeying for positions prior to the first bit of single track. I’d been a bit casual about the start, so was in a large bunch and settled down to about 10th place in a train once the single track started. Must have been a few dozen on ahead as well.

One by one we got past the slightly slower rider who had been heading our train, but by then the field ahead was pretty strung out. Soon after, I tried to ride a narrow ridge down through a muddy dip on some double track and lost the back wheel, squirting me out sideways and over a stump and a log before I could get back on the track. Lost a couple of places and got a few shouts of encouragement for my troubles.

There seemed to be a few new sections in the run up to the feed station, so I think I was on a slightly slower pace than last year. Mind you it was hard to read anything on the Garmin without wiping a layer of dust off first. This usually meant then having to scroll back a couple of screens as well, so it didn’t happen too often! The main number I could see was my HR zone showing 5.something for most of the race….

Got onto the back of a few guys on the nice flowy section just after the feed zone and managed to knock a bit of the dust off with a good whipping from the native cypress saplings as we rattled through the single track. Lost them as we started to get into the slightly hillier sections of the back half and couldn’t quite close the gap to the rider in front as I started to fade a bit on the climbs and needed to recover on the little descents. A bit of stomach cramping at this stage didn’t help with motivation (note to self – maybe shouldn’t have tried Expresso Love Gu for the first time right on the start line).

Started to come good again once I knew we were in the final run down along the creek. What a great section of track! Flew through here and picked up a few riders and this year made it through the final creek crossing without incident. It helped that there was no water or mud in it this time….

A couple of minutes slower this year, but same placing in Super Masters and a few places better overall, so I wasn’t unhappy, especially given the interrupted riding / training schedule this year.

Really enjoyed the hot shower put on by Parkes Rotary (even if it was a massive $4 and not the miserly $2 advertised on the event web site). It was great to be able to wash the dust off and put a clean pair of skins on the legs for the drive home.

My apologies to anyone I mislead about the track not being loose – it certainly was much looser than I remembered from last year! However, some of the older bits of track are gradually building up berms as well, so there is fun to be had.

Have to try to organise a few more days for the road trip out there next year to get a bit more value out of the long drive. Maybe a few days in Orange and Mudgee to sample the wines and trails in those areas…….