Great first Fling!

This was my first Fling. I fell into it by accident during the Sydney to Gong ride, a friend offered me his slot as he was flying out for work and couldn't attend. In the lead up I wasn't sure what to expect. Not sure whether to do the Half or the full, I erred on the side of caution and did the Half. Good choice. What a great day it was.

On the morning I wasn't sure about the race, so I decided to start towards the back. That was not such a good choice as the traffic was bad. The first few kms were crowded on the road and when we reached the grassy paddocks it was like bottle neck after bottle neck. At one of the first really steep climbs, almost everyone was off their bikes and walked (mainly due to the crowding I would say), though I decided to stay on the bike and try to ride it ducking and dodging walkers. I made that hill and the field of riders began to spread out. Throughout the rest of the race the riders got thinner and thinner until I spent a lot of time on my own. I loved the single track through the pine trees, that got me buzzing. The second half saw a few very close calls for me. At one stage there was a nice long down hill section with a sharp right hand corner at the end of it. I underestimated how sharp it was and had it sideways for a short while before getting my foot out of the clip-in and bringing it to a stop, then off again, to get the momentum going. Somewhere around the 40km mark, a rider along side me told me there was 9kms to go. Along with my second GU, it got the second wind happening, though about 5km down the track I saw a 10km sign. My enthusiasm didn't wane though, I kept the legs pumping as best I could. While in the middle of the Sandy Desert, I got a little lethargic and lost it in the sand. I wasn't able to get my feet out of my clip-in and the two riders that had snuck up behind me got some entertainment when I stacked it (I might add that they ensured that I was ok before seeing the funny side of it). With about 4km to go I didn't like the sound of 'Your Call' (these decisions can be difficult when you are tired), I took the 950m climb. With most of the last couple of kms being down hill, I had a nice cruise towards the finish. I put it all in at the end and finished using everything I had left in the tank.

After finishing, I let them remove the transponder (I couldn't reach it at that point due to fatigue), and I rode straight to the beer tent and downed one very well earned beer (probably not the best choice of hydration, but hey, shit happens). Overall, my first Highland Fling was a most enjoyable ride. I will definitely be back for more next year, though I think a little training and the Full Fling are in order.