THE 100ker

The day dawned bright and with an almost cloudless sky. As we were on the coast, for the second running of The Husky Enduro 100ker, the morning air was cool but not cold and riders were streaming into the event hub. Then they streamed out to park on the street outside the event location due to the moisture laden ground.

There was anticipation, hydration packs and a few mudguards. As we milled around the grassy start area, the ground turned to mush, a sign of things to come? We were launched down beside the golf course on a hard packed track in large bunches but there seemed to be quite a few riders short of the 500 odd registered for the 100km.

Sure it did start out well, great trail, it separated riders as we pushed along. But it wasn’t long before we found our first puddle, riders dived to the outskirts for the shallow ground but were you one of the riders who threw caution to the wind? I know I did during that first section, flying down the hill there was no fingers on the brakes, I was hoping for a shallow hole or just a little bit of moving water. No, there was a brief second where the water was some where above my knees as I kept the bike well in front of me, hoping not to bury the front wheel. Then I popped out the other side very wet, I had cold feet and was still very muddy.

Not everyone was lucky, just in this first section I came across a couple of riders who had buried their front wheels while attempting a puddle crossing and were a little sore from the ungraceful dismount. Then even before we crossed Forest Road a guy was asking which way was the fastest way back, he had seen enough and just wanted out. He may have been one of sixty odd riders who started their 100km journey but didn’t make it through the course, defiantly not an isolated case.

Did a lead rider take a wrong turn? Why did 100km riders have 50kers riding head-on to them on the same trail? These are some of the questions I have, does THE 100ker need to be reviewed for continual suitability?

But credit to the riders who were out there for nine plus hours. Credit for the selection of SCUM single-track, we rode some of their best, with highlights from firstly Superbowl, then Butterfly and finally after more fire-trail the classic Coondoo. It wasn’t an easy day and as I passed riders pressure washing their muddy rigs, I pondered the massive rebuild ahead of me.

Yes that is my headset, jockey wheels, main pivot and link bearings. Next is the BB and wheel bearings......, not a quick job.