SCUM's Coolendel Weekend

Held along the Shoalhaven river on the property of the eco cabin and camping resort. Coolendel now boasts seven kilometers of MTB track, good camping facilities and plenty of brushes with nature. This is the third year Coolendel and SCUM have combined to produce this simple, fun for the whole family, three race weekend.
Race 1, the one hour sprint. This year there was a beginners race without "the new bit" first. A couple of experience young riders led the racers, keeping the front runners on course. Parents rode with their cycling siblings, some of littlest kids were on bmx style bikes, running up the climbs. Other more experienced riders rode as sweepers, keeping an eye on the back end of the race.
After the beginners race the course was lengthened to include "the new bit" for the more adventurous and second one hour sprint on the medium length version of the track. With some of the FTP crew here to race for the weekend the front end of the pack was going to be fast. My race was good, I didn't get a great start but gave 100% for the hour. Tricky parts of the course included a couple of pinch climbs that tested you every lap. "The new bit" was a sweet and fresh with tight climbs and technical twists. It also included a technical ride down a gully which had small rock gardens.
Race 2, the two hour night ride. To sum it all up, it was held on the short course. Cold, windy and a bit of dust in sections, dew build up in others. My legs weren't fresh after the one hour sprint, this one was night training for other upcoming rides. Testing the lights, ensuring the bike is comfortable for on and off racing.
Race 3, the 4 hour Enduro. Sunday dawned, sunny and windy! After a cold night the morning wasn't much better. To warm up in the bunkhouse the fire was reignited early. The race started at ten. There was a another great turn out of eager racers of all ages, who had survived the cool and windy night in their various types of accommodation and were determined to ride the extra long version of the track. The wind was howling through the trees, which meant the briefing was a bit hard to hear. Then, the race began. I got a great start, putting myself up the front with the more "elite" riders. I had set my drink bottles up, with some snakes for energy the final twenty minute sugar rush, at a convenient locale, just behind the bunk house, and I was able to grab them as needed. My loyal and hardworking support crew, was spending her time encouraging me and taking photos from various places on the track, which was always a surprise. Somewhere around the three hour mark, I had lost a bottle and used up the last of my full water bottles, and, seeing as though my support crew was having a well earned break, I was able to borrow a bottle from Canberra's Mark Tepalski. That kept me going until my support crew realised my predicament and refilled all of my bottles for me, enabling me to continue strongly until the end. The strong wind threw up a number of challenges throughout the race. Branches were coming down on the track everywhere, and it was lucky that nobody was seriously injured by a tree or branch hitting them. The sandy parts of the track becoming more heavily rutted as each rider passed over them every lap, and the wind was chaffing. I was only just out on a lap when the 4 hour marked ticked over, and I was just required to finish the lap I was on. The first hour of this race was my best, and I rode well for that time. The next three hours required me to just ride, and to keep the pace going. I was challenged by one of the ftp crew on the last lap and had to make up over thirty seconds half way through the lap. Flying off the top of the hill and riding smart through "the new bit" I was able to gain ground. Coming out of "the new bit" I had his wheel, the pace was fast and he was putting the pressure on, trying to get a gap on me for the final section. Managing to hold the wheel to the final pinch climb, I set myself up for a sprint to the finish. I spotted my lycra clad ftp friend had dropped to the granny for the climb, it was all over there as I held the middle ring to smash the pinch to the finish line. My aim was to have fun and finish the race. A lot of other riders were pulling out of and giving up on the race. I succeeded, and the fresh made food and hot shower were both a fantastic reward.