DARGLE FARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was first introduced to enduro racing at this place and was over the moon when the sydney 12hr was moved to this venue.
To make it to the track before sunset the car had to be packed on thursday night so we could leave from jemmas work fri arvo, did a pretty good job for feeling very frazzled from all things that keep changing in my life at the moment. I only forgot a few things so luckly matt was around on fri arvo to help cart stuff over with me on the 30min ride to jems work, So now everything was packed into a 3door barina, and off to the farm.
We awoke to a very fresh morning but with aid of a very good bonfire i was toasty in no time.
GAME TIME: The aim was to race david ludenia over the 12hrs winner gets a free entry to the croc trophy.
So with lots of pre race interviews between me and david and 2 other leading riders brett bellchambers and jason english the race got underway.
With out much thought i smacked it hard off the start racing to make the single track i knew you could lose minutes in there if one person put a foot down, once out onto the fireroad to the end of the valley me and mark tupalski laid down some more power it was just to much fun..
So when brett and jason caught up to us on the next lap we had a good laugh about it all and settled into a more managable pace which was still above what i thought i could withstand for 12hrs.. I just tried to stay focused on eating right and getting enough fuel in, but my mind was just on were david was, i knew he could see me, i wear bright green its not hard to miss, but he blended in, so once i began requesting intel from the pits, in which they declined to tell me my ride was becoming very stressful and not alot of fun... with the following lap ending in a spectacular over the bars dismount into my marquee and a loud arguement wit my support crew my day was only getting worse, but then mark caught back up to me and we had a chat and he cheered me up and got me focusing on the big picture and not the game with in the game, so i got back on the job for doing all i could every lap..
Around and around we go...i never hated a lap never hated a section, my fav part of these races is learning new lines on the course and watching the track evolve its what keeps me entertained.
With lots of photographers out on course there was alot of chances to smile to hide the pain, and thinking back now i dont even recal an unhappy rider or one in a great hurry, this event came with such a good vibe, the event centre was a very EPIC centre with red bull and beer being given away my pit crew were having there own party while i was out building a new hurt box.
Another great moment from the race was catching up to a lil train of riders in the forest section which was being led by kath bicky i was happy to just sit on the tail and grab a rest, once out on the fireroad none of the other guys took there turn to pull us along, and i had not once grabbed a lift from another rider on this section either, "give the poor girl a break" and i jumped on the front to the elation of kath, and it really lifted my spirits as well as we chattered for around 2-3km before i said my goodbyes and pedalled on.
The temperature out on course was always changing depending on your location, but i was rugged up from the start(for which i got a good amount of sledging for from the canberra riders thinking they were in a warm enviroment) my 2xu compression longs and an Underarmour longsleeve top which is all very breathable but keeps the wind off you as well, when the sun went away the lights came out to play, and with a light on my helmet and handle bars my lap times never dropped as i could see everything i needed to see. thanks to light and motion for your lumens, just bringing short finger gloves was not the best idea, so when it began to hurt to shift it was time to stop and soak up the bonfire we had to pass on everylap and then ride away from, with always a helpful cheer from jenni english and gav who truly rounded out the cheering from the bridge to the very end of pit lane.
The night had truly set in and with a time gap of around 20mins my mind began to switch to waking up well the next day and being able to handle my week in the spin, lap times started to slip a bit as stops became longer and the climbs were sometimes walked, one more stop to put on a jacket and soak up more bonfire to the amusement of the MC, i had time so i couldnt see why not i had already surpassed all of my expectations and was very impressed on how great i felt considering the amount of riding the friendliness of the track would of helped..i took on some extra torq gels to finish the race off, i was told i only had time for one more lap, i took it at a cruzy pace just incase i could sneak one more in, but i came in at 12hrs 35seconds just as well because my light had there warning flash on for atleast half of my last lap..
Rolling over the line to second place to jason english in a 12hr race and a free entry to the crocodile trophy, i did not sleep at all that night my life was buzzing my head was spinning..
massive thanks to ROCKY TRAIL ENTERTAINMENT for making the best events..
PODIUM CHOPS :)
No comments:
Post a Comment