So the last race for the year was set to be
a more casual affair, rather than a serious results-driven race. The JetBlack
Sydney 24 and Mercedes Benz Vans Huntingwood 6+6 are run at the Mt Annan
botanical gardens track by Rocky Trail Entertainment as their last event of the
year.
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| Skippy clocked the fastest Strava run for this segment! Photo: B. Watson |
After a full year of racing culminating in
the Highland Fling, I opted for the
6+6 option in a team of 3 for a fun and relaxed race. We headed down as part of
a large group of Newy Cogheads, a group of like-minded mountain bikers from the
Newcastle area. More recently a lot of the female partners of the Coghead
riders have started racing as the Newy Cogettes Team Talk Torque Talk … so
these girls in pink were my teammates for the event, but we were only one of
four Cogette female teams and there were another three Coghead male teams
racing. So a big social camp was planned.
The lead up to the race was overshadowed by
weather forecasts of a heatwave approaching. The Sydney Morning Herald claimed
“Dangerous heatwave heading to
NSW”
and advised everyone to stay indoors our of the sun, avoid exercise and
alcohol. With temperatures forecast to be in the high 30s, and Campbelltown not known for it's cooling breezes, Mt Annan was set to
bake for the Saturday of the race. Lucky for us,
Coghead camp was equipped with a shower and two inflatable kiddies pools –
never thought I’d rank those as secret weapons in the racing arsenal, but at
this race they conveyed a definite advantage.
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| The Coglings enjoying our secret weapons and objects of envy! |
After some humid conditions and rain
overnight on the Friday, Saturday dawned overcast and relatively cool.
Unfortunately those conditions did not last and by the 12-midday race start,
the temperature was already over 30 degrees. I was third rider in our team and
so headed out early afternoon for my first lap; I opted for the white lycra sun
arms the whitest jersey I own and wet my kit down with a water sprayer before
heading out.
Into the first bit of single track and two
guys pulled over to let me pass, not quite warmed up or in the zone yet I
promptly hit a rut, bounced off-line, pulled my shoe out of my pedal and
bounced my arse off my seat and ended up on the otherside of the track in a
rather gumby-like save… the two blokes passed me again probably wondering why
they’d pulled off in the first place!
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| Some welcome shade on track in the heat of Saturday |
Onwards round the 8.5km lap and things went
a lot better than that first bit of track, it was uncomfortable warm especially
on the exposed climbs towards the end of the lap and a lot of people were
resting on the shady spots. I decided not to push it in the heat and rode at a
comfortable pace, although the heat pushed my HR up to normal racing levels
despite the fact I was breathing easy and legs were fine.
Mt Annan is a man made track which is
mainly hard pack surface and several constructed rocky sections otherwise known
as “roadie-traps”. With no huge climbs or descents, the course rewards riders
who can maintain a good pace through dusty, twisty and off-camber corners but also
rewards everyone with some sweet berms and flowy sections.
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| The roadie traps don't deter unicyclists! (Photo Brian Watson) |
After a stop to help out the youngest team Coghead racer (at 12 years of age) with a flat I
cruised back into transition with about 35 minutes gone, then it was straight
into the kiddie pool in complete kit to cool down.
The temperature continued to climb and by
my next lap our thermometer was reading 39 in the shade! Christine came into
transition looking awful and said she couldn’t go out again, and all along the
track I was passing people who were badly heat affected. I went out sopping wet
from the pool and not half way round my kit felt dry, the hot wind was drying
out my mouth and eyes and making things fairly unpleasant.
I stopped for one rider and checked with
several more along the trail, many of them waiting for marshals to rescue them
and first aid attention. By the final climbs of the lap, which snake up through
open grassland in full sun, I was feeling sick and unable to drink. Only just
over half an hour out there and I was suffering, I have no idea how the solos
were doing it and I completely understood why my teammate couldn’t go out
again.
Michelle set out bravely after I came in
and I told her I’d be back in transition if I recovered enough to cover Christine’s
next lap. It was basically a matter of lying in the inflatable paddling pool
again in full kit and trying to rehydrate as much as possible. Back up in
transition I tagged a heat-weary Michelle and set out again, the clouds had
come over a bit and temperature had dropped off noticeable to the mid-to-low
30s. The difference was amazing and I felt good all lap, so much so that when I
got back with 20 minutes left until our 6pm cutoff that I opted for a second
lap. Not before quick dunk in the pool again complete with helmet though, even
low 30s is still hot riding weather!
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| On track for a sub 30minute lap (Photo: Brian Watson) |
Used to racing the full 24 hours, the
novelty of a 6+6 was exciting. With 12 hours off to eat, rest and sleep the
race becomes a lot more social and enjoyable. It was a hot and sticky night
though, I think the coolest it got was mid-20s during the early hours of the
morning and so sleeping was sweaty and fitful to say the least. The Austrian
wake-up music started at 5:30am and Christine was back on deck for the first
lap of the morning.
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| First place in our category! |
Luckily the weather was kind and Sunday’s
temperatures never got above the mid-20s making the riding so much more
enjoyable. With the cooler temperatures I decided to have a crack at getting
fastest female lap of the race, I had no idea what time I was chasing but I
knew that there were a couple of girls riding at a similar speed to me the
previous day (low 30s in terms of lap times). So my second lap of the morning I
set out at race pace, my heart rate wasn’t much higher than it had been in the
heat but my lungs and legs told me I was definitely working harder and going
faster.
Sprinting back across the line into
transition I clocked 28:43, a quick check with timing assured me that not only
was that the fastest female lap but that I was the only female under 30 minutes
so far. One more lap to go and it turned out that I was racing against the
clock again, this time to make transition before the 12-midday deadline so
Michelle could get one more lap. Race pace again, but a few missed lines cost
me some time and the clock stopped at 29:19 – good enough for another lap for
the team but a touch off my earlier pace.
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| The Team: Christine, Sarah and Michelle |
And then that was it, race over. The
sweepers went out on track and the pack up of camp began, always the worst bit
of any race and somehow the car has always shrunk and nothing seems to fit back
in the way it did before. Just as we finished packing, the presentations got
underway – I have no idea how the solo riders did it and rode through that heat
but they did an amazing job! Our girls’ team won our category and the other
Coghead/Cogette teams had a lot of podiums as well. But even more importantly
it was a great weekend despite the heat, with wonderful organisation by Martin
and Juliane from Rocky Trail Entertainment and support from all the sponsors of
the event like JetBlack and Mercedes Vans Huntingwood. But the big shoutout of
the event goes to the first aiders who were kept busy treating a multitudes of
patients suffering in the heat as well as the usual scrapes and bumps of
mountain biking.
