Race Reports
SCOTT 24 HOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE NATIONALS October 2007
Fear and loathing on a dusty mountain by Brett Murphy
....... the ambitious feeling of a great weekend was soon replaced by that familiar loathing that you feel when the weather reports turn ferocious the closer that you get to the destination ........
I hadn't ridden a mountain bike much in recent years. Road racing had taken precedence and the old faithful MTB had been mostly used to ride home from the pub after a couple of ales. It was an invitation a few months out from the event from Summit Gear adventure racing guru Steve Timbrell to be the fourth wheel piqued my interest in getting back into the bush.
Training in the Blue Mountains in winter swings between miserable hours in rain that soaks you to the bone, and gorgeous winter mornings - cold, ice on the road, clouds in the valley and that perfect blue sky stretching into the hills. Spring comes, the magpies start dive bombing and sprint training generally begins. This year however was to be different - no intensity work getting ready for a summer of criteriums. What I was chasing was saddle time - hours on the bike getting the endurance in the legs and finding that old all day riding strength. The MTB proved the perfect companion, and riding in the bush kept me away from my old foe - the dive bombing urban magpie.
With training in full swing the decision was made that a new bike was in order, and maybe I should replace my Shimano mountain bike shoes circa 1992 also?!?! The new kit arrived just in time. New Sidi MTB shoes arrived at 4pm on Thursday. Tristan from Bike Minded in Wentworth Falls had my new Specialized Epic dually perfectly dialled and fitted by 7.30pm Thursday (with me doing test laps of the car park in icy rain!). Friday afternoon, after all the usual stuffing around, the big red fun bus was loaded and I was on the way to Canberra.
Arriving just on dark, I was greeted with monster winds, plummeting temperatures, horizontal sleet and no teammates in sight. Huddling in the back of the van until Steve arrived, we quickly decided that the best course of action was dinner in the city, flirting with the waitress and an early night.
Waking early the next morning, we found that Ryan and Matt had arrived late, managed to find us and weren't moving from the warmth of their sleeping bags. It was time to set up the Summit Gear compound. The arrival of our physio, massuese, camp chefs Lis and Sophie completed the team. The compund was erected, the massage table set up, and Ryan prepared himself for the start, whilst I received a pre-race massage.
Ryan got off to a great first lap whilst I managed the familiar nerves I have before a race. Doubts began creeping in. I'd never raced a 24 hour race before. I'd barely trained on singletrack, and I was going to do it on a bike that I'd never ridden, with shoes that I'd never worn. I didn't even have a chance to preride the course, and the top of the mountain looked a long, long, long way up. Two alternate laps - imaginatively titled the red and the blue laps - would provide varied riding and reduce congestion on the course.
I was due to ride the second lap, tagging Ryan in a crazy transition area full of clean bikes, eager riders and their over enthusiastic supporters. A clean transition near the head of the field had me racing up the first hill with all the vigour of a pubescent junior in his first race. I settled into a solid rhythm, reminded myself that I'll still be riding at the same time tomorrow, and headed out into the hills.
The first lap of a race is always an adventure, and this was no exception. The adventure on the blue lap was cornering, cornering and more cornering on an undulating course with no significant climbs. Getting the body weight correct was the key to smooth cornering and fast lap time. I couldn't acheive either. I arrived at the transition despondent, only made worse when Steve returned from the following lap waxing lyrical about the alternate Red lap to the top of the mountain that he had ridden. I wouldn't have a chance to ride the Red lap until well into the night.
The afternoon wore on. The sun beat down and the bare Mt Stromlo earth reflected its heat. I headed out on my second lap on the blue course knowing what lay ahead. Quicker, more confident, and more comfortable on my rig, I had a great second lap. I stayed with the rider in front through the technical singletrack (my weakness) and dropped them any time the road opened up or went uphill.
Our pit crew were doing a great job keeping us fed and hydrated, fresh bottles on the bike, and ensuring that we got to the transition in time. I felt like a pro - all I had to do was ride and they took care of everything. You cannot underestimate how important the support crew is in an endurance event. And they were real cute too!!
The night is where your team make up significant time or crumble completely. We all felt great, and the weather was holding - cold but still. I headed out on my first night lap and I noticed the change in pedalling style of most riders - no longer smooth 'circles', but creeping up the hill, pedalling 'squares'. Anyone who has pushed too hard, too early on their bike knows the feeling. We had the unique opportunity to race with the new PrincetonTec Switchbak 2 and 3 bike lights, giving us incredible illumination, resulting in extra speed on the descents!
I weigh about 90 kg's, and don't consider myself a handy climber against 60 kg whippets. However, the track builders had done a great job in minimising the gradient of the climbs, allowing me to power up them. The view from the top of the Red track, near the Stromlo observatory was fantastic and the downhills a blast. My perfect moment occurred at 2am. Riding down the main downhill, after dropping everyone on the climb, I had clean trail. I rode through the enclosed bridge / tunnel, out the other side - the lights of Canberra twinkling just perfect and still way below. Time stood still for a moment as a drank in the view, then I lunged headlong into the steepest part of the downhill, all berms, jumps and drops, feeling at one with my machine and blasting the line.
We were running in the late teens at dusk and had moved up to the early teens by dawn. Now we had to make our bid for a high finish. We were still psyched, although signs of fatigue were beginning to kick in. Our strategy of double laps during the night had given us all a chance of sleep. My early morning raid on the red lap with its long climb and descent gave me a totally different perspective to riding it in the dark, and I was beginning to love the Stromlo course.
I was due for one final lap of the undulating, technical blue course at 10am, and I resolved to leave it all out there on the trail. I had kept my powder dry all race and I wanted to leave Canberra totally spent. I hit it hard and I was on a flyer. I hadn't had a rider overtake me since the previous day and they weren't going to catch me this lap.
It happened way out the back of the track. My right handlebar caught a small tree, flicking me over the bike and landing heavily on my hip - no bounce, no skid, suddenly feeling thirty years old and no longer elastic. I tried to stand but couldn't. The next rider helped me up and got my bike off the track. I stood there for a moment my whole hip in agony, unable to stand on my leg. There was no way that we were going to drop out of the race now. Excrutiatingly I got back on the bike, clipped in and pedalled with my right leg, getting back to transition to send Steve out for his last lap, followed reluctantly by Ryan to bring the team home.
We finished the race in 11 th position in the four man teams, and we are all keen to get some serious training in before next years race and make a huge bid for top of the leaderboard.
Post Script - A week after the race a CT scan showed a small fracture in my pelvis. Crutches, physio and sympathy followed. Now healed I'm back on the bike and looking forward to five weeks of MTB heaven in New Zealand come March!
Special thanks must go to our support crew - Lis and Sophie - we'd be lost without them. Tristan at Bike Minded, Dave and Andy at Panther Cycles and Damien at City Bike Depot for their respective help with equipment. Thanks to PrincetonTec lights for the killer bike lights that gave us super night lap times. Oliver Weber at Wentworth Falls Physiotherapy for my speedy rehabilitation. To my team mates - Steve, Matt, and Ryan for a great riding experience.