the birm*

DUST would be the one word summary for the biggest 24hr endurance race in the world: the 2006 Scott 24hr MTB championships.

As for last year, I was part of a team of 4 including Damian (my 8hr race partner for this year), his brother Tony and an old mountaineering club friend Claire (replacing Sarah from last year).

This year the course was a bit longer (20kms) and much, much dryer. As the hours passed and the 3000 riders rode the track the DUST got thicker, the ruts and bumps bigger and the dirt more powdery (it had a weird texture, kinda like white flower).

As always at 12pm on Saturday, the start was CHAOS, as over 500 riders run 800m to their bikes to start the race. Being at the front is a real advantage, as you don’t get held up by the masses in the sharp and fast single track. I didn’t manage to get in a great position this year but still came in to get my bike in about 30^th place (with 500 or so riders behind me…). My lungs have never burnt like that before. The run/stampede kicked up so much DUST (and I was towards the front, I can’t imagine what the back of the pack was breathing!) it was hard to see or breathe. Getting on the bike was tough and even tougher still was trying to go hard for the next hour. At times, due to the DUST, I couldn’t see the track and just had to follow the rider in front round the turns, hoping for no ruts, roots or rocks… I passed the baton on in just under the hour in about 50^th position (which we were very pleased at, since there were hundreds of riders still spread out on the course). Damian was next, followed by Tony then Claire. Our times stayed pretty consistent for the whole 24hrs, which was great and helped to transition smoothly (if you know your team mate is coming in 1:10, then you’ll go and wait at transition for a few minutes before hand, ready to go as soon as s/he gets there).

Riding in a fairly competitive team of 4 meant that each rider had a 3 hour break between laps to eat, drink and rest. When night came, we followed the same pattern as last year (thanks Damian!). Rather than ride in the same order as in the daytime (1,2,3,4), we did a 1,2,1,2 then 3,4,3,4 sequence. This allowed the riders not riding to get a bit of a well-earned sleep, before getting out of the warm sleeping bag and jumping on a hard seat to ride for an hour or so.

The 20km course was a very well designed with (what seemed like) minimal climbs and maximum flowing and winding single track. It was amazing, they managed to cut out the big fire road climbs of last year and incorporate some single track climbing (much more enjoyable). It also seemed like most of the climbs were in the first half of the course, making the last 8-10kms very fast flowing and comparatively flat. One of the scenic highlights was the view from the top of the ridge, on a cleared plateau, exposing the neighbouring Canberra hills. It even made you momentarily forget the pain and DUST for a minute and just got prettier as the sun went down…

A lot of bike manufacturers and stores were represented and offered gear to test (bikes, lights. Lubes, tyres…). I was able to take a Haro Mary 29inch hardtail (a rigid frame bike, as opposed to having rear suspension like my NRS and most endurance focused mountain bikes these days) out for a lap (for those who don’t ride, mountain bikes have 26inch wheels, while road bikes have 700mm wheels (or 29inches). Manufacturers have started making mountain bikes with 29 inch wheels with endurance riding in mind. A bigger wheel means that the riding is smoother (over bumps and holes) and that it will roll longer). It was fantastic!! So fast, smooth and comfortable. It put the fun back into riding a hardtail on a bumpy track! I hope 29’s become readily available and not just an expensive boutique bike like they have been…

Night riding was, as always, unreal. Going out from the noisy and well-lit race centre, where DVDs were playing on big screen, giant flood lights were lighting up the place like daylight, where stores were selling food, bikes and gear and where hundreds of people were camped, into the dark and dusty forest is amazing. Had I not been part of a constant stream of white HID, yellow halogen and red flashing LED riders, I would have been a bit spooked (going out on a 20km forest track in the dark). Due to the DUST again, I found that, contrary to usual night riding, the light on the bars worked better than the light on my helmet (it lit up the track and cast shadows rather than light up the airborne and stagnant DUST). With about 8kms to go the track came out onto an open fire road overlooking the forest (the same part where that became amazing at sunset). The full moon was spectacular and allowed lightless riding (for a short time). It was breathtaking (and not just cause it was at the top of a short climb!). Because of our rider sequence and having done the first lap, I only did 2 night laps: one at 9:15pm an one at 11:30. I then went to get my eyes washed out with saline, had a hot shower (which was an UN-BELIEVABLE feeling!!!!), put some clean (and DUST-free) clothes on (which only remained DUST free until I stepped out of the shower van), woke Tony up (who would ride when Claire came in) and tried to get some shut eye.

The morning laps are always great (especially the sunrise lap, which Tony did), as the end is in sight and because, as a 4 person team, you only have one or 2 more laps to do. At 7am I went to pick up a Specialized stump jumper (I think) test bike, complete with FOX forks and the famous “brain” rear suspension regulator (which only cuts in when you hit bigger bumps) worth $3500. It was a very enjoyable lap due to the comfortable ride and the knowledge that I only had one more lap to do after that one. We swapped the order around a bit, allowing everyone to do 5 laps and me a 6^th lap (thanks guys!) before the cut off time of 12pm Sunday. What a great feeling it was to finish! For the last lap, being just that, I gave it all and came in at a competitive 1h03, which I was very satisfied with. I think we came 5^th or 4^th (depending on how well the other teams performed in their final lap) in our category, which was very rewarding and much better than last year.