Lots of stories (not just mine) out of this year’s Cycle Epic.

Update: The results are included now at the end. And a new pic from the official photogapher.

The bike:

I showed up for the Donuts bunch ride on the Tuesday before the Epic. Steve Webster, Graceville Bike Hub sales guru, is there riding a swish new carbon Ridley, a demo bike from the distributor. In a jokey kind of way, I said: “I’m riding the Epic on Sunday, what have you got for me to ride?” And to my astonishment, Steve offers me a carbon Orbea hardtail.

So then I had to decide whether I’m going to jump off my lovely Haro dual-susser, which would give me an armchair ride all day, or go with the hard-core lightweight machine which will no doubt be much faster on the hills, but also beat me up a lot more on the rough stuff.

So I decide on the go-fast Orbea, and spending the next couple of days second-guessing my decision.

The ‘team’:

For the last three years riding the Epic has been a goal for my friend and mtb training partner Emma. The first year she missed it because of a clash of dates with an important family commitment. Last year, she was sidelined with a busted knee. This year, back to full fitness, Emma and I have competed together at the Noosa and Coffs Harbour 100km enduro events. At Noosa, a course which is brutally hilly, Emma rode away from me to finish 15 minutes up. At Coffs, a course that had soooo much flowing singletrack that you were almost sick of it, Emma had to pull out at the end of lap 3 (of 4), and I made it to the finish on my own.

Now don’t get the wrong idea. We’re not racing against each other. In fact, we ride together because we’re pretty well matched for speed. But the agreement is, neither of us has to wait for the other. Go at your own pace, especially in the second half of an event.

About three weeks out from the Epic, another starter comes out of the woodwork. My road racing friend Dean says “The Epic would be good training for Grafton-Inverell. I’m in.”

And with Bruce on board as support crew, we have a fearsome foursome. One with a substantial capacity for the consumption of food & drink, if nothing else.

So, a pleasant drive to Toowoomba on Saturday afternoon, dinner at a cheerful Italian restaurant, and an evening spent with the three blokes playing dominos while Emma tried in vain to get her new bike computer and heart-rate monitor to function properly.

The race:

Yes, it was a hot day.

Saw quite a few friends, both mountain bikers and roadies at the start. Emma’s dad and sister showed up to cheer at the start.

We set off, all 500 or so for the full 100km event in a mass start. So there was plenty of congestion for the first 10km or so. Dean disappeared over a hill and far away, so Emma and I set a steady pace, passing lots of people on the uphills.

Still plenty of traffic when we got to the famous Ma Ma Creek singletrack. It’s rocky on the creek crossings, and occasionally a bit technical, but quite flowing and fast, and it goes forever, or maybe about 10ks. Anyway, big smiles on the faces by the time we reached checkpoint 1.

Bruce gives us the news that Dean only left C1 about five minutes before we got there. He had already had one flat (running a crazy superlight tyre/tube combo).

After checkpoint 1 is the first big climb, called the Razorback. It’s hard and long, but we climb steadily. On the carbon speed machine I got away from Emma a bit on the climb, but she caught me again towards the top. Then its a smashing downhill run to Checkpoint 2, including a descent called the Devil’s Tail.

Bruce told us that Dean was only a couple of minutes ahead of us, but had now had two flats.

It was getting hot, and we had been pushing pretty hard. I was slightly concerned that I was running out of gas, so I said to Em that I would take it easy for a while after the break. So straight out from the checkpoint Emma disappears away from me, looking very strong.

The next five or so km are very hilly, and I was hot and bothered, and making the decision to ride conservatively for a while. Eventually I got through the hard bit, and down onto the valley road that leads to Laidley Gap.

While finding a steady tempo I caught up with Tony, a physio who volunteers for BQ on our 9-day ride. We rode along having a chat, which certainly helped my state of mind. As the road started to climb closer to Laidley Gap, I realised that I had accidentally caught Emma again. From our conversation later on, I think this was where Emma was beginning to have trouble with a ‘hotspot’ on her foot.

The last pinch on the climb up to Ladley Gap is too steep to ride, so we got off the bikes and slogged our way up the hill. There’s always someone around you at this point of the event who says: “I can’t believe I am paying money to do this to myself.”

Over the Gap and onto the descent (yahoo!) and then down into the valley which leads to Mulgowie and checkpoint 3. Both of us were starting to feel the effort, with occasional twinges of cramp. Often you can get a small bunch organised on this section to share the load. Mountain bikers aren’t that good at bunch riding, but I had a group of five of us doing decent turns by the time we got to Mulgowie.

I slammed down a couple of Nurofen at the last checkpoint (as well as filling up both hydration pack and waterbottle with double-strength Nuun). Our time still looked good for a sub 7 hour finish, so off we went.

The last major climb is Edwards Gap. I managed to ride most of it, and Emma had to get off and walk for a short section. So I came over the top a few minutes ahead, but I thought at the time that she would catch me over the next few km. I rode along with Gav, another mtb mate, along the nicest section of the ride, a beautiful smooth dirt road gradual descent. It felt like flying.

We got to the bitumen section which finally turns north towards Old Hidden Vale. I said to Gav, “I’m just going to cruise along for a while and see if Emma catches up.”

So I dropped back, and rode gently for a km or two, but no sign of that distinctive yellow Santa Cruz behind me. Eventually I said ‘its time to ride’, so I set off, caught back up to Gav and we worked together until the turn into OHV.

The last 10 km of the Epic follows OHV’s single track, which is among the best and most difficult in SEQ. It can be tight and rocky and in places quite challenging. But it does flow as well.

I still had something left in my legs, probably as a result of taking it easy for a few km, and soon I had left Gav behind.

Although I was suffering, suffering, suffering, and although the Orbea, with its hardtail and hard tyres, was giving me a right pounding, I was passing lots and lots of riders (mostly those struggling through the 50km event) all through the single track. Eventually I got the feeling that between here and the finish, I was the fastest thing on the track and I should just give it everything.

To my absolute surprise, I came down into a gully about halfway through the singletrack and passed Dean, who like many others was off his bike walking. I said ‘hey Dean’, he said something about no brakes, and off I went.

Powering up the last singletrack climb to Hidden Vale is a wonderful feeling. I crested the rise and made it to the finish line, around 3.30pm. We started a couple of minutes after 8.30 am, so that would mean a time similar to 2008, of just under 7 hours.

Bruce had organised cold drinks (what a champ!) and a chair. But after a couple of minutes sitting down, I wanted to get back down to the fence near the finish line to see who would come in next. I had no idea at that stage how Emma was travelling, but from what I had seen (briefly) of Dean, it seemed likely to me that Emma might pass him as well.

But after a few more minutes, it was Dean who was next across the line from our crew, and Emma was another 10 minutes and not smiling as she crossed the line.

They both lay down on the OHV grass, enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and every now and then gasping in pain as another cramp hit.

Emma had lost the cleat off her right shoe just after she got into the singletrack section, making it really difficult to ride without being clipped in. And by then she was suffering lots of cramping anyway. The cramps were a new experience for Em, perhaps as a result of the hot weather and the long duration of the event.

Dean, as well as the two flat tyres earlier in the race, had lost all rear brakes by the time he got to the singletrack, which certainly meant he had to go slow. For him, the cramps got worse after he finished.

Eventually after exhausting all our stories and having a burger, and a beer for some and a coffee for me, we all managed to pick ourselves up off the grass and load up for the trip home. As the evening cooled and the pain receded, I was enjoying the company of good friends and the quiet enjoyment of another goal achieved.

A memorable day out, from my point of view.

Thanks to:

• Bruce, who set a new standard for support team. Looking after three people at once and fulfilling their every (reasonable) request, plus taking on board a stray rider and looking after him for half a day, dragging dead roos off the road … all in a day’s work. Magnificent.
• Dave Clarke and Steve Webster of Graceville Bike Hub for organising the Orbea carbon hardtail XC bike for me to ride. Weighing in at 11kg, the bike was a climbing demon. I had the tyres pumped to 45psi, which made for a rough and bouncy ride on singletrack and some of the rougher fireroad descents, but that’s the price you pay for speed elsewhere. Thanks Dave and Stevo!
• People I rode with along the way, notably Gav (Samurai) and Tony the physio.
• My mates Dean and Emma. Dean for setting a cracking pace despite encountering mechanical issues, and Emma for riding with me for most of the first 80km.

Results:

• Andrew: 6 hours 58 minutes, 51 seconds. 34th in Men 40-49 (118 finishers, 142 starters). 121st overall out of 456 starters, 387 finishers.
• Dean: 7 hours 6 minutes 36 seconds. 38th in Men 40-49. 139th overall.
• Emma: 7 hours 13 minutes 45 second. 1st in Women 20-29 (two finishers, Emma won her class by almost 2 hours!) 7th woman, 165th overall.

Update:

Yet another report, this time from a roadie mate Jason.