Wiggle Hunter Valley Classic

I don’t normally enter road events, being more of mountain biker, but the inaugural Wiggle Hunter Valley Classic was close to home and also an ideal challenge coming back from a serious car-inflicted injury in July. We signed up for Epic distance, 175.5km of rolling Hunter Valley scenery and crossed our fingers for good weather.

Marshals getting ready at sunrise

Unfortunately NSW is experiencing a hot and dry spring, after a warm and dry winter and the day was forecast to be mid 30s with strong and blustery north westerly winds meaning that fire danger was extreme. No need for arm warmers then! Instead we donned the sun sleeves as the sun rose bright and orange over Cessnock and the warm wind picked up.

After an easy registration process we rolled out under the start banner as the 3^rd group on the road, and fell into peloton formation until the first left turn a few kms down the road where the marshal wasn’t on the ball and the sign was obscured, which almost caused a disaster as people hit the brakes, overshot the corner and attempted to correct. After this the group dissolved a little and a few rolling hills soon meant that we were pretty much riding just the two of us.

After the first hiccup, the signage and marshalling improved and we were soon in the backstreets of Maitland and crossing the Hunter River for the first time of the day. From here the wind picked up and sudden gusts of cross wind made bike handling tricky. It also tried to turn direction signs around and prompted a stop to inspect a temporary arrow sign that had folded itself in half, that turned out to be a real estate sign but continued to be nervous about missing or wind affected directions.

Rolling into the first feed station we refuelled with some of the HighFive energy food as well as lamingtons and cake. The bottle were refilled but unfortunately there were no toilets available so that necessitated another stop just a few hundred metre up the road behind some bushes.

Just after the feed station the standard length route turned left as we continued straight ahead for Epic. The sign indicating this wasn’t in the best position and we met several weary riders later on who had inadvertently taken a much longer route than they’d signed up for. 

From the first feed station through the Seaham the wind was partly behind us but once we turned towards Clarence Town it was more of a cross-head wind which made the going tough. A section of Paris-Roubaix style potholes signals the entrance to Clarence Town and then the rolling hills continue towards Dungog, the gusty wind making this part of the ride rather unpleasant.

Well before Dungog we turned left towards Wallarobba which was still a cross head-wind but at least from the other side for a while. About this time we started catching riders from earlier wave starts who were obviously struggling with the tough condition (perhaps deep dish carbon rims weren’t the right choice for the day!). Finally we turned left again at Wallarobba and the wind because cross-tail, before long we rolled into feed station 2 which was just before Wallarobba Hill – the biggest climb of the day.

Having done about 82km, less than half the distance, things were starting to look a little grim. The wind was taking its toll and the day was warming up. Quite a few riders were hanging about the feedstation and didn’t look to be in a big hurry to leave. Once again there were no toilets but a good supply of gels, bars and cake as well as water and energy drink. Unfortunately I was starting to crave salt, with it being over 30 degrees and less than 10% humidity, but there was nothing salty to be had.

Lemonade Icey-Pole at Paterson

Straight out of the feed station there was the climb up Wallarobba, I’d rather do that climb many times than ride into the head wind we had for the day. Coming down the other side was a bit hairy as the wind gusts suddenly appeared as a cross wind half way down – not fun at 60km/hr!

Cross wind gusts continued and we turned left again to head into Paterson, then we had a blissful couple of kilometres with the wind behind us meaning that 38km/hr was an easy spin on the flat. We stopped in the little town of Paterson for an icecream at the local store. We generated a fair bit of interest amongst the tourists passing through who were amazed at the distance we were attempting.

Tim keen to keep going

Tim was keen to keep moving so as soon as the icecream was down it was back on the road. We were hoping to keep the tail wind for another little while but leaving Paterson we turned just enough for it to become a gusty cross wind. Losing concentration for just a split second I found myself blown off the road and into the gravel on the verge… this was going to be long day!

At the 110km mark we were just on the northern outskirts of Maitland again and the route turned right, this meant turning directly into the wind. We stopped in the shade and discussed the merit of continuing or whether I should simply cut the ride short and head home or back to the car. Another rider pulled up and joined in the discussion; he’d missed the route-split 70km earlier and had already ridden further than planned and started cramping. Looking at our route map he pulled the pin and turned towards Maitland. Another rider pulled up and sat down in the shade, he looked broken.

 

Broken!

Deciding to continue we started into the wind, this section of road was open and rolling and the gusty wind was relentless. It’s somewhat demoralising pedalling down hill only to achieve a speed of 20km/hr and we seemed to be averaging about 15km/hr overall. About half an hour into this section I pulled off for a break, there was no shade and no shelter from the wind and I was also running low on water.

No where to shelter but need a break!

Continuing on we came across water deposited by the ride organisers who had obviously realised this section was tough, hot and was taking everyone a long longer than anticipated. We stopped to refill and a race support van pulled up with some tired riders in the back. I asked whether they had room for one more and soon made the decision to jump in the van for the next 12km to feed-station 3 as it was all into the strong headwind.

 

The photo doesn't show the headwind!

Tim continued riding and I told him I’m meet again at the rest station, the air-conditioned van was a welcome rest! We passed so many tired looking bodies and then on one hill we stopped and squeezed another female rider who had been walking her bike, “I simply don’t have another 2kms in me” she said.

 

Horizontal grasses

Pulling up at feed-station 3 was like entering a field hospital triage area. Broken looking riders were lying in whatever shade they could find and organisers were simply shuttling in more in each sag-wagon every 10 minutes or so.

I pulled out my phone to check the weather and the route. It was 32 degrees with humidity at less than 10%, the wind was at around 45km/hr with gusts of 70km/hr and we were riding straight into it. However we only had another 5km into the headwind before the route would turn again and it was likely to be a cross-tail wind for the final 40-odd km to the finish.

I looked up to see a man in full white roadie kit, complete with carbon shoes, slowly walking his bike down the road towards the feed station. Even 20m from his goal he had to stop and lean on his bike, obviously cramping, before limping the final few metres into the shade. I have never seen so many people looking so broken!

Seeking shade at feed station 3

Done and waiting for rescue!

I would have loved something salty at this stage, my black kit had collections of white salt crystals around it, but I had to make do with lollies and luke-warm water as I waited for Tim.

Once he pulled up I told him that it was only another 5km into headwind before it should be a whole lot easier, a few other riders heard this and decided to continue as well, but most just stayed in their shady spots waiting to find out how the organisers would get them back to their cars.

We headed back out and into the wind but I felt a lot better after my break off the bike. Soon enough we made the left hand bend out of the headwind and crossed the Hunter River again for the second time.

Happy to finally have the wind behind us, the climb out of the river valley didn’t seem too bad, and the road continue to have rolling hills all the way to the point where we crossed the main highway at Greta.

Then we doglegged along the roads between vineyards until we finally saw welcome signs proclaiming only 10km to go. Tim was starting to get a few cramps by this stage and we passed several people trying to stretch out cramps on the side of the road. The roadside dams were looking so inviting, I could really have done with a swim at this point as the temperature was now around 34 degrees.

The Hunter Valley is a lot less green than normal this year!

With around 8km to go a marshal car pulled up to ensure we had enough water and food, which we did – we just wanted those last 8km to end.

After what felt like an eternity we starting coming into the outskirts of Cessnock and then finally we were riding back up the road to the start/finish. Rolling under the finish banner was a feeling of utmost relief, and I promptly collapsed in the shade with some vaguely cool water.

It took a while before I had enough energy to do anything, and I just lay there watching people roll across the line looking exhausted. It was definitely one of the hardest days I’ve ever done on the bike, and I was pretty glad it was over … just over eight hours after it started! Had the weather been different I’m sure it would have been a different story, but as it stood it was an epic test. The organisers did a fantastic job of ferrying people around, ensuring everyone had enough water and food, but in the end the conditions were just too tough for most people.