It didn’t take long before it turned rough, washed-out and it sorted out the front bunch. I attempted to keep with the small lead group which included Jason English but they were powering up the hills and I was just off the pace. Finding myself between the two distinct groups I noticed a rattle and during one of the early tough climbs isolated it to my bottle cage. Thankfully it was a slow point and I was happy to stop, whip out the multi tool for a quick re-torque of the attachment bolts. It was during these moments the following group caught me, but it was early days yet.
Completing the first loop, it defiantly felt longer than the 27km indicated. The steep fire-trail to water bars were the highlight, the “new” single-track was super fresh and I dug the front end in and found myself off the bike, that and pushing the bike on a steep hill so early were the other sections I care not to remember. At this point I was happy to skip the drink station, with what felt like a fairly heavy bladder still on my back and half a drink bottle of Perpetuem concentrate on the bike.The “Green Zone” on the eastern side of the highway was another push-fest, both the 100km and 50km riders would traverse this section, once in each direction. It was at this stage one of the riders I was keeping up with compared the event to the Husky, it wasn’t favourable comparison as we trudged through the muddy forested area attempting to avoiding knee deep moto trenches. On the bright side once we hit firm ground one of the volunteers commented that we had seen “pretty much the worst of it”. Over the next two loops of the Jolly Nose trails, it was evident that it may have been drier but it was still enough for my counterpart to pull the pin. The course changed only a little bit from the first loop to the second, thankfully with only ninety riders starting the event, it didn’t get much muddier. The biggest change was a huge tree that had fallen across the track, well I don’t remember having to trek around a tree the first time round.
Getting to the final drink station was a relief, my camelbak was now dry and I had rationed a bottle of HEED through the second lap of Jolly Nose loop. The day had heated up to a scorcher and in amongst the trees it was very humid. I refilled my bottle, munched on at least two oranges before adding a little extra water to my bladder “just in case”. Sure it was just 20km to the finish but if I was to go off the last eighty I quickly calculated there was possibly another hour and a half of riding. The volunteers suggested that there had been less than ten 100k’ers through.
The last section was more of the same, fire-road into muddy single-track. There were multiple unachievable sections including a very long and steep moto gouge which I couldn’t ascend without a small breather. From there it went back to fire-trail and eventually opened to just rolling steep hills with little shade. I passed a GSC rider, he seemed to have hit the wall but said he was alright. I rode on alone just hoping at every hilltop to sense that the finish was at the bottom. Thankfully the trail entered a forested area, the shade was a relief, then it swung onto a tar road, was this it?
I reached the top of a rise and spotted the moto-facility. I crossed the line exhausted after 6:45hrs in and out of the saddle. My Yeti ASR-C continues to be a good balance between speed and comfort. The SRAM drive-train shone non-stop and shift smoothly despite the wet and muddy conditions.
It was evident there was a big dropout rate as the carpark was mostly empty of cars. Turns out there was a 30% DNF rate over both the 50 and 100km. At the presentations it was disappointing to see the participants who were successful in their category not get their podium moment. But the iAdventure team should be praised for putting together a well marked course and a smooth event. The choice of location with “real” toilets, hot showers, bike wash, there were free tents to camp in, a BBQ and live music close to the Event Centre.
When Jason English remarked to me, “wasn’t that the hardest 100km you’ve done?”. I have to admit, yes Jas, it was.
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