Tall tales

Eagle 8HR Enduro Race Apr09
Posted by Badmin (badmin) on May 12 2009
Tall tales >> ENDURO

With the Otway 100km race a few weeks behind me and the Wombat 100km still to come, the Eagle 8hr seemed like too good a training opportunity to pass up. It was also easy logistically as it was laps of a 10km track passing the same point meaning I could dump supplies in one spot and reload as necessary during the event. Point to point races like Otway and Wombat don’t give you this luxury. 

With the legs still reeling from the XC race the week before, I rolled up with a surprisingly large group of punters to do battle over the next 8 hours on what could be described as the weirdest way to do an Eagle loop. The event organiser Tom, had stitched together an unseen before 10-odd km loop in Eagle, riding the majority of tracks the wrong way. It was going to be fun and challenging. More sensible people had opted for duo or trio teams. A rather sizeable group had also signed up for solo, no doubt for the same reason – because we didn’t think anyone else would and a podium would be near guaranteed! WRONG.  

Feeling fairly well prepared* I joined the mass start and off we went, some settling in for the next 8 hours, others blasting off the line to put a few quick laps in before handing over to a teammate. The day was right on temp and the track was looking good. I had two goals for this race. Number-absolute-1 was to not cramp, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do an endurance race without cramping. Number 2 was to crack 100kms in 7 hours and do a little more by 8hrs. In truth, time wasn’t a factor until the end, only laps/distance were. 

With goal Number 1 constantly in my head, I made good use of the granny ring, I spun where I would normally stomp and I tried to keep the heart rate down. I was lucky enough to ‘fall in’ with 2 other solo riders whose pace was smack on. We kept each other entertained and motivated, for a few hours it was just like a weekend ride with the lads, it was good. 4hrs in and things were going well, It was really hard to track my placing so I didn’t try, but I knew I was an the pointy-er end of things, 5^th/6^th maybe? I learnt later I was in 3^rd for some time. 

I was really enjoying the track, kudos to Tom for the vision to loop certain sections together for the first time. The climb up one section, Overlocker, was tough and got tougher each lap, but it was a deserving hill and you fell good about it every time you crested it. 

6hrs in and things were still going well, lap number good, energy good, cramps a no show. To me this was a first, never before had I ridden so long without cramps. The next mini goal was to ride 100kms without cramps and that wasn’t far away…  But of course it was all going too well and whilst climbing a tricky section, I slashed the rear sidewall and popped the tube. With around 2 hours to go though, this was a minor stress. I flicked the bike upside down, chatted casually to riders passing and changed the tube with the spare I was carrying and mended the sidewall with a $10 note, bush mechanic style (praise ye Australian plastic notes). As I flicked the pump onto the valve, I did something stupid…I snapped the valve head off. 

At this point, normally one would reach for their second spare tube and repeat, (except being a little more careful with the pump this time). Alas, for muggsy, I had decided not to carry the second spare but to keep in safe and sound and oh-so handy in my box of stuff down at the start line. What a stupid idea. Now it was time to stress… 

I grabbed the bike and starting running along the trail back to the start line, luckily I wasn’t as far as I could have been, but I wasn’t close either. The time taken to hike back to the start, fix everything up and then ride back to where I punctured severely blew out my lap time. A dent I take full responsibility for, who doesn’t carry at least 2 spare tubes in an Enduro race??! I am a Muppet. Anyway, back on track and in the zone, I set out to push through the 100km/No cramps mark and I did…complete astonishment, this was new territory for me. 

In the wash up, I rode for 7hrs and 35mins and clocked up 107kms…with no cramps, the biggest result I could ask for. I spent days after analysing why. 

I also came 5^th, but this wasn’t as nearly as satisfying as achieving the no cramps result. A great race, great track format and a first for me in regards an Enduro race with no cramps, things were looking up…

Last changed: May 13 2009 at 6:36 PM

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