Rocky Trail MTB GP – Round #1 Awaba

bottleneck on the single track soon eased

The Rocky Trail’s first round suffered a few weather inflicted set backs earlier in the year and eventually took place on Easter Monday at our local club track Awaba. Despite it being Easter weekend, the event near sold out and the trailhead was a hive of activity when we arrived and registered.

Soon enough we were racing and off into the single track which I know so well, having raced at Awaba countless times before. I had the usual competition of Su Pretto and Catherine Wood, although all being in different age categories we a well aware of each other out on track. I knew the girls were behind me in lap one and I settled into my enduro pace and started ticking off laps.

the weather held out for a perfect day

Somewhere around half way through the race I started to noticed what felt like my rear gears slipping on the climbs, and this became rapidly worse until I suddenly realised it wasn’t the gears at all but the rear hub was skipping engagement. I made a note to swap rear wheels the next time through transition but I wasn’t to even get that chance, the rear hub totally shat itself and suddenly my pedals were spinning without engaging the hub.

I stopped and took stock; I was at the point in the track furthest from transition and had no ability to pedal. I decided to free wheel/ run the track back to transition and continued to my way. Not long into this, after a decent fast down hill on firetrail I looked down and saw my rear through axel merrily spinning away… the hub was so locked up that freewheeling was actually unscrewing the through axel and I was riding without my rear wheel properly attached. Hmmmm take two – I walked my bike back to transition the fast route possible… all the time thinking that the girls would be passing me any minute and I’d have to ride hard to pull them back again.

Back at transition I was thankful I’d brought my stock wheels along as spares and was soon back on the trails with a different rear wheel in. Surprisingly the girls hadn’t passed me at all, I’d been about to lap them when the mechanical happened so I was still leading the female solo field.

The rest of the race continued pretty much without incident, Su and Catharine both called it a day at 5 hours and so I just settled into a good pace and kept lapping enjoying the random company and chat from other riders out on track.

While the win was expected, I was honoured to receive the Tracy Robinson trophy for fastest female lap on course for the day. Tracy was an avid rider and supporter of Rocky Trail events who sadly lost her fight with cancer way too young. That certainly put the mechanical in perspective – regardless of broken hubs, lost time and having to run my bike back to transition – I was out racing doing what I love, which is something Tracy would have loved to do.