Racing in a heatwave .... why not?

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.

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.

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! 

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.

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!

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.

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. 

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. 

(thanks to Brian Watson for allowing the use of his photos https://www.facebook.com/BrianWatsonPhotographer)