working week 8hr series round 1!

[fatkat]

Hey all, just back from the 8hour... twas just a bit soggy to say the least!

course was awesome, then it just pelted down with rain and they cancelled it... braindead hill killed me, as i was crazy and rode a 2005 AC with 2.3 wire bead kendas...
Who else went?

[Cúl-Báire]

Damn man that sucks- I am kind of glad I didn't make it though if it got cancled. 1000 or so KM of travel is a long way for half a race :p

Still good to hear the course was great, and you had fun... :)

[fatkat]

yep it was fun! dave was putting down mid 30's, which was good.
I wanted to go out in the pouring rain, but then thought to myself that i would probably get either sick or badly injured ha!
See you at the 24 :)

[sammydog]

I was 2km into the course when the weather went real bad. Didn't mind the rain at all, the lightening had me a little paraniod.

I was all set to go onto another fun mud lap when they waved me off the track. That was a bit of a bummer.

Not sure if you rode the course on saturday, but it is amazing how much the track changed its mood.

The only bad point for me was some of the jumps on the track didn't seem like they were finished off real well.

Awesome race though although it didn't seem as tough as last year,

[McBain]

It wasn't half a race - more like three quarters :) But the deal with the 8hr series is more about having a bucket of fun with a few hundred other nutters, rather than the actual racing. Actually, it was pretty huge, with something like 360 people turning up!

The track changed heaps from the start of the day. Started out sketchy and sloppy, but firmed up after a couple of hours, with a bunch of corners berming up really nicely. Start of the day you had to tiptoe around them - but by the time the rain arrived, you could hit them hard and rail around (and then hit the next climb to have your legs ripped off by Rowney as he passes).

Only downside is that we have to wait until May for round #2. Ah well, plenty of other events in the meantime ...

[Philo]

Had a great day even with all the rain, track did bed in nicely after a couple of laps. I agree, I don't think ac's were designed for this although my Minnion's stuck well in the soft going.

Grats again to Flynny (the cat) and the boy's for another great day.

Philo...

[AJ]

Great track, jumps were a bit soft, not really a AC kinda track.

It was a mates first race so we made him start, he had a couple of falls on the first lap, but it was good when it dried out.

Can't believe how good the track was after all the rain the night before

AJ

[thecat]

Damn man that sucks- I am kind of glad I didn't make it though if it got cancled. 1000 or so KM of travel is a long way for half a race :p

Still good to hear the course was great, and you had fun... :)

We got 6 and a bit hours of racing completed. But with a warning of big arse hail and severe lightning coming we had to make a call and an end to racing was the wisest.

I got the job of riding sweep after the track closed and was damn scared by the lightning. A torrent of water cascading down certain parts of the track and nearly losing my whole bike in one of the gully crossing convinced me it was the right decision.

l

[thecat]

Great track, jumps were a bit soft, not really a AC kinda track.

It was a mates first race so we made him start, he had a couple of falls on the first lap, but it was good when it dried out.

Can't believe how good the track was after all the rain the night before

AJ

The lander on the Jump of doom squished out a bit but the kicks was concreted so held up well. AI hit every jump all day, even in my closing sweep and never had a drama.

I have to admit a proper XC bike made it a little more enjoyable than the old AC but I still use to have fun regardless

[sammydog]

The jump I think was the problem was the first small gap through Flynies Frequent Fliers.

I just about lost my front wheel in the soft up ramp on the saturday. It was actually quiet nice on the sunday (with the overnight rain) until the skies opened up.

Overall though I think this course will be a hard on to beat in the 8hr series, although I would hate to see the work that needs to be done there now.

The change to the start of the track from last year was awsome.

[McBain]

Overall though I think this course will be a hard on to beat in the 8hr seriesAssuming all the clubs use basically the same tracks as last year, it'll be close. The 8hr series has a great set of tracks basically.

Penrose is fun, but quite as flowing as Lidsdale yesterday. A bit flatter overall though. The course has bedded in since last year, particularly the last section they added just before the race.

Killingworth just rocks - it is great. It'd be at least on par with Lidsdale, some sections even better. The 8hr I did there last year was the best race I've ever done.

Yarramundi has its moments - some bits are great, some are a bit ordinary though.

Majura is simply a classic. I didn't make it to the 8hr there last year, so don't know which bits they used, but riding through the gullies and the dam run and other stuff can be pure MTB nirvarna. Then again, maybe CORC will go somewhere else this year, like Sparrow Hill. It's a newer area, but has some fantastic bits of singletrack (and the see-saw that used to live in Greenhills has found a new home!).

[Bodin]

Howdy Y'all,

Nice to read the positive reviews of the race, despite the unexpected early finish. As is becoming traditional, below is my overly long and self indulgent race report. It's written mainly for the benefit of those of my friends and family who are still struggling to work out why I'd want to do anything like this, but I'm more than happy to hear from anyone else who bothers to read it (please keep your criticism at a "constructive" level...).

Cheers,

Bodin

Working Week Series 2005 - Race 1, Lithgow
The increasing popularity of the Enduro MTB scene is reflected by NSW’s Working Week – a series of five eight-hour Enduro MTB races over the course of the year. Riders participate as soloists or teams and can enter any or all of the five races in the series. I set myself to continue my obsession with the solo craft and I was one of the 350 riders that descended on Lithgow for the first race of the series.

After setting off from work on the Friday evening before the event, I had an uneventful 816km drive in the Ute to the race location, which was a pine forest just outside Lithgow in the Central Tablelands of NSW. I was the first competitor to arrive and after a brief chat with one of the race officials, I set up my tent in prime position – just after the start/finish line. After a couple of practice laps (and plenty of snoozing in the tent to recover from the drive), I drove in to town to stock up on water, as it was pretty hot and humid. As it turns out, the heat and humidity was actually a sign of the impending thunderstorms that hit later that night. I was very glad to have a storm-rated tent, as anything less probably would have been blown away. With the long drive in mind and the torrential rain, lightning and thunder, the sense of adventure was high and I had my fingers crossed that the race would proceed as planned.

At 7am, I woke up to an overcast morning, but the pit area was a-buzz with masses of riders waiting in line to register and it was clear that the race was ready to go. At 8:45am, the starter yelled “Go!” and the fifty soloists and fifty-odd lead-off riders from the teams ran 400 metres down a wet concrete road (in extremely slippery cycling shoes) to grab their bikes and start the first lap. I think I’m going to have to start running faster at the start of these mass races, as being at the back of the pack on the first lap entails a lot of waiting until the faster riders get away and the crowd starts to thin out.

Added to my frustration with the crowds, my bike’s gears were virtually useless by the end of the lap. The muddy conditions had de-lubed my chain to the extent where it kept getting stuck on the cogs and jamming up in to my frame (“chain suck”) and I could only find one of my 27 gears where it wouldn’t do this. To try and look on the bright side of things, I reminded myself that there were riders out there on single-geared bikes, but it didn’t take me long to figure out that those guys are a lot tougher than I am. Despite the fact that it was a relatively flat track with no severe climbs, the neck problems that I’d suffered since my last race had meant that I hadn’t done a scrap of training for three weeks and I really needed my easier gears.

Over the next three laps, the dreaded chain suck settled to a more manageable level and I was able to find a decent (albeit slow) rhythm and get around each lap with little drama. Making me feel even slower, riders like Saul Britton and Paul Rowney were leaving me in their dust (errm… mud?), but it was great to see the cream of the crop out there in the flesh. Even though I only saw them for a fleeting moment as they flew by, I felt like a gained a little experience each time they lapped me (so you could say I gained this experience regularly…).

By the start of the fifth lap, I’d completed 36km and was starting to feel the fatigue set in. My target, based on a track distance of 9km and previous race experiences, had been to complete ten laps in the eight hours. With my lack of training and preparation made clear by the agony inflicting my lower back, I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to complete another six laps of the track, but I love riding my bike, so I didn’t really see any reason to stop trying.

After another two laps, I was pleased to discover that I was almost an entire lap ahead of the schedule I’d set myself. I’d been able to absorb the party atmosphere that had developed in the car park and was enjoying the race again. However, I was weakening drastically and my chain was squeaking like a tortured mouse, so I took a few moments to eat and lubricate my chain. Chain dramas seem to be common to me, but I was happy that my chain hadn’t completely snapped this time.

The break somehow sucked the energy right out of me and, although I now had a silenced chain that shifted properly, the seventh lap turned into a bit of a torture test as I listened to new waves of thunder roll across the skies above and waited for my under trained body to remember how to process food and start feeding my some much-needed energy to my legs. This didn’t happen until the start of the eighth lap, when my mood suddenly started heading towards a state of euphoria. I still had almost three hours to complete the three laps required to achieve my goal and I’d been lapping at about 45mins, so things were looking very bright.

All except the skies, of course. The heavenly grumbling that had begun the previous lap became impending doom and about halfway through the lap, I realised that it was almost too dark to see. A couple of almighty cracks of lightning later, the heavens opened and everything got wet. Everything. This was a torrential downpour and my mood immediately reverted back from euphoria to suffering. I pretty much made an instant decision to quit as soon as I’d completed the lap. It felt gutless at the time, but I was exhausted, the rain was cold and I had to drive back to Melbourne at some point in the next 24 hours, so I really didn’t want to push myself past breaking point.

Imagine my relief, then, when at the completion of the lap I was waved off the track by a race official informing me that the race was finishing early due to the weather. The party atmosphere in the car park had been replaced with a mass of people scurrying around trying to pack up and escape the downpour and I simply crawled into my tent, dried off and climbed in to my sleeping bag to see if the rain cleared. After an hour of waiting, though, the rain hadn’t abated much and even my storm-rated tent was starting to show the strain from the downpour. I made the decision to pack up there and then and it was another long, exhausting hour before I had all my heavy, saturated belongings back in the Ute.

During the drive home, I witnessed some of the wildest weather I’d ever seen behind the wheel of a moving car. I also reflected on the fact that I had no idea what place I’d finished in and just how unimportant it was - I’d jumped in to the Ute on Friday night seeking an adventure and, thanks to the Central Tablelands Mountain Bike Club and Lithgow’s wild weather, that’s exactly what I’d found.

[sammydog]

That summed the day up pretty well for me and I'm guessing most others. For the record, I wasn't solo though.

It was amazing how dark it did get before the rain came down and it was obvious what we were in for when the railway at the bottom of the track dissapeared in the rain.

The cheers from the crowd when riding down the main straight river were pretty cool at the end as well.

I completely agree with you about not knowing or really caring where you finished. I really don't think that is the point of the day. The conversation around the track is always pretty good as well.

The other positive from the day was I didn't notice any stupid overtaking moves that crept into the last two rounds last year.

[Bodin]

The other positive from the day was I didn't notice any stupid overtaking moves that crept into the last two rounds last year.

Being a newbie to the series, I can't speak for anything from last year, but I notice a fair few "creative" lines being made in some areas, where the tape got broken and people saw it as an invitation to straight-line some corners.

Am I complaining? Not really - I just reckon that people rip themselves off if they don't ride the whole course... It's every rider's choice, I guess.

[fatkat]

Whoa that was a fat report there bodin!

hehe... we were fairly pleased with our result... we came 2nd overall in our age group!


no comments about how there was only 2 teams in my catagory and we were beaten by a 9yr old.

[Bodin]

Yeah, I know it's a long read, but I live and dream cycling, so that represents about 0.00000001% of the cycling-related stuff in my head.

Results? Where? I haven't found them yet - point me in the right direction if thery're up, please.

I think the 9yo kid's name is Jordan. The readhead on the Cove Stiffee FR, yeah? I was riding behind his Dad for about half a lap talking about what a star he's going to be. Good on his old man for letting the kid develop a love affair like that. Imagine how good we could have been if we were turning out laps like that when we were 9...

[sammydog]

I've seen that kid at a few races now. Actually at the yarramundie 8hr last year he started talking to me at the start and was really excited about doing the running start because he got trampled in his previous start. He ran straight past me once it started.

The really depresing thing about him on the weekend was that between his laps he still had the energy to tear up and down the concrete area non stop.

Wish I had that kind of energy.

[Bike_freak]

Ye, it was awesome. I was really looking forward to my 3rd lap, and then it just pissed down.

Will definately make it to the yarrmundi round, and will try some others. My parents aren't keen on taking me further then 1hour away after that wheather:)

I found the course rather sketchy on saturday, and then on the first lap on sunday it was just real slow, but real fun.

About the whole course cutting thing, I noticed ALOT of people doing it right at the beggining trying to get 'ahead' while alot of the solo racers didn't seem to fussed and just sat there.

Also, alot of the pros were the ones to cut the course. I saw Jamie willo cut a section, but it did save about 5people pulling to the side for him.

It's not every day that you see a pro(Darren cooper, nice guy) bath in front of your tent in the river that formed in minutes.

[Bodin]

I've seen that kid at a few races now. Actually at the yarramundie 8hr last year he started talking to me at the start and was really excited about doing the running start because he got trampled in his previous start. He ran straight past me once it started.

The really depresing thing about him on the weekend was that between his laps he still had the energy to tear up and down the concrete area non stop.

Wish I had that kind of energy.

You did... when you were 9.

It's not every day that you see a pro(Darren cooper, nice guy) bath in front of your tent in the river that formed in minutes.

Rowney and his team were set up directly opposite me and had a fairly similar trick - I thought he was packing really slowly, but he was just waiting for the rain to wash the mud off him... didn't take long...

[Bodin]

Does anyone have any news on the results? I've only checked the Working Week website, as I don't know where else to look...

[sammydog]

I haven't heard anything about results. I would be keen to know though, from memory last year they started appearing by the wednesday after the race.

Hopefully they get posted that quick this year.

How do you think you went?

I'm hoping we were still in the top 10 in the teams of 3.

[Bodin]

I didn't know anyone at the event, so I haven't been able to ask anyone how many laps the soloists were turning out over the 6 hours. I got through 8, so I'm hoping that's enough to put me in the top half of the 50 soloists.

If I had to guess, I'd say I was 18th - that's relative to my effort at the HDATO here in Melbourne last month and I felt about the same during and after that race, but I think this one was a stronger field, so who knows?

[thecat]

I haven't heard anything about results. I would be keen to know though, from memory last year they started appearing by the wednesday after the race.

Hopefully they get posted that quick this year.
.

From memory last year they got posted the wednesday before the next round...

I was out sweeping the track when the results were called and by the time I got back everything was packed up but I'll post them up on the clubs site as soon as I get them.

[Bodin]

I actually called Stu (the organiser) last night and the poor dude was in the middle of moving house, but he was still good enough to promise that they'd be up by the time the weekend's finished.

[sammydog]

From memory last year they got posted the wednesday before the next round...

I was out sweeping the track when the results were called and by the time I got back everything was packed up but I'll post them up on the clubs site as soon as I get them.

Perhaps my memory isn't as good as I thought.

Thanks for the great day anyway. Weve got our work cut out for us at HMBA now to top it. We started discussing this years course today though.

[thecat]

[QUOTE=sammydog}Weve got our work cut out for us at HMBA now to top it. We started discussing this years course today though.[/QUOTE]

If it's anything like last years course, and I hope it is, you wont have a problem.

Just keep the storms away

[Bodin]

I didn't know anyone at the event, so I haven't been able to ask anyone how many laps the soloists were turning out over the 6 hours. I got through 8, so I'm hoping that's enough to put me in the top half of the 50 soloists.

If I had to guess, I'd say I was 18th - that's relative to my effort at the HDATO here in Melbourne last month and I felt about the same during and after that race, but I think this one was a stronger field, so who knows?

Results are out - I got 17th, so my guesstimate was surprisingly accurate! :)

[sammydog]

Well we ended up 4th in the three person teams catogory. Bit of a surprise actually, but it is funny, now we are going through the race thinking where we could have made up time on third place.

Strangely enough, it all comes back to my laps. Oh Well, bring on penrose.

Actually, it wouldn't be too bad trying to put some faces to the names in penrose.

[thecat]

Full results are up


http://www.workingweekseries.com/scoring.htm

[sammydog]

not sure what has happened there, but weve gone from 4th in the initial email, to 10th in the full results.

[thecat]

not sure what has happened there, but weve gone from 4th in the initial email, to 10th in the full results.


yeah ours was different too.

[sammydog]

I'm not complaining though, still bloody happy with 10th and it still was an awesome day (not the weather although it was great to watch)

.