Held at Yarramundie the track was a combination of tried and regular, then there was the new bits. These new bits included loose rocky gardens and some technical pinch climbs. The way I gauge climbs is by the gear it takes to ride. I had to drop back to granny gear as the sections were at the extreme end of my middle ring ability. This put the sections on the hard side for a eight hour course. The thing that highlighted these sections and abilities was when Mr English showed me how to tackle it. It was made to look smooth and almost effortless. It had to be the toughest version of Yarramundie I have ridden.
The competition was hot with many of NSW and ACT's best enduro riders turning up. These are just some of the blokes, Mr English direct from his MTNs to beach holiday in southern NSW and young Mark Tupalski from the ACT. Saul Britton, who I have not raced against recently or at this level turned up, as did local Shane Taylor who placed top three last round.
Fifty two solo males, seven solo females and heaps of teams turned up to he start. In the crowd was Diane Perry with the Fenz's power hub. Duncan Miller and the DIYMTB team were there as well as the Rockstar team featuring the late arrival of Gordo. Tony and the FRS team were on a high after their 2nd place at the wet Jetblack 24hs Sydney.
With such a big field of riders and so many "competitive" racers the starts are probably my down fall. Getting caught in the conga line for the first lap can put you back a solid five minutes off the front runners. But I did get to ride with Duncan and Diane. The first surprise was the log jump I had to do at the bottom of the section after transition. Thankfully it was after a corner and had reasonable speed, I noted to myself "ride around next time". Once the track had cleared up a bit my lap times were much faster and consistent. The vibe on the tack was really good and there where plenty of passing opportunities. Gordo was on my tail heading out for my third lap, I went around the log jump and he over it, elbows out I held him to the fire trail.
Things didn't go well for everyone, Mr Dreggs who I was happily trailing around the three to four hour mark pulled up short with a back or neck pain. Shane Taylor, who I had tipped to make another big impression on the top of the field, failed to make the eight hours due to gastritis complications. I trialed a new carb gel, which didn't seem to hit the spot. There just didn't seem to be any energy lift after consuming the gel. Check my reviews for more information.
I hit a snag around the halfway mark with my right cleat finding it's self loose. Being unable to dab with the right foot in a couple of situations and being virtually locked to the bike wasn't a good feeling. I managed to make the first loop back to transition section and took an allan key to my shoes. It was my slowest lap with the time off the track, a couple of falls as I couldn't unclip and some breathing time after the falls to gather myself.
Around the six hour mark I was making my way through the burmed moto track section when I came across a young rider beside the track. She was in a state of distress when I asked her if she was alright. I didn't have any spares for what looked like her problem, a flat tyre, but I couldn't just ride on. Luckily there is always plenty of help at hand on the track and a guy slung me his hydration pack which contained a spare tube and pump. I believe his number was 169, thanks champ! I replaced the tube in the juniors tyre and pumped it up to a reasonable level in a couple of minutes. Both the juniors team and the tube donors team placed fourth in their respective categories.
The racing was starting to get to me, a couple of falls, a loose cleat and gels that didn't seem to be working. I was tiring and my laps were blowing out by five minutes. The front runners were lapping me, Mr English was on his third go, normally it is only twice.
I soldered on and pushed out the final laps, my final lap, lap twelve had a time similar to my fifth lap. I feel this was the best performance I could do after a week of flu symptoms. The training I may be lacking is time on two wheels. I have been spending two to three days doing gym based and Fenz inspired (power based) workouts.
The results are as follows, Crummy 8th, Duncan 12th one lap down from me , Shane Taylor and Mr Dreggs 33rd and 34th respectively after four hours of riding. Not last or least Diane did four laps in 3:26. It was a tough eight hour course, when is SCUM hosting a round? It will be log-rollovers instead of rocks, bring it on!
