When you sign up for the Worlds toughest one day mountain bike race, you dont expect it to be easy, but this was brutal, the stats speak for themselves:
Distance: 132 miles
Climbing: 23 150 ft (!)
Time Limit: 16 hours
I was riding with my usual training partner and former club member Julian P. Both being IT geeks, we had generated lots of data on the race and we were under no illusions that this was on the edge of our abilites. We estimated we would need to put in the effort required for a 10 hour Souths Day Way ride and maintain that effort for 16 hours just to make the cutoff.
We set off at 5am and for the first couple of hours i didnt feel that good, my heart rate was higher than expected and i felt a bit lethargic but luckily the further we got into the race, the better i felt.
We kept up a decent pace until about 7 hours in Julian started to suffer, by now it was very hot. We rode together for about another 45mins before we decided i should cut and run for fear of missing the next cutoff. I pushed on, reaching the halfway cutoff point with only 10 minutes to spare, a bit close for comfort. Julian arrived 7 mins past the cutoff and for him the race was over.
I put in a big effort for the next few miles and at the next time check, i now had a 15min buffer - only 3 climbs to go, but they were all nasty and at 90 miles, the hardest of all. To reach the top of the Salzberg mountain means negiotiating a series of gravel zig-zigs (see pics) with an average gradient of 17%. I rode the first few then walked the rest, overtaking one rider who was riding so i dont think i lost much time, the trail then flattened out again before kicking up to a killer 35.4% as the sign told us. I doubt i could ride this fresh, finally at the top, down a tricky downhill and i reached the penultimate time check with a 18 min buffer.
Now another 2300ft climb and my garmin was reading 33C, this was tough. Finally to the top and another tricky rocky descent, one climb to go. Another steep one, I dug in and reeled in a lot of other riders, about 3/4 of the way up, the sky darkened and i could hear thunder in the distance. The forecast had been hot and dry all day, so like most riders i hadnt taken my jacket.
A lightning storm now hit the mountain which was scary enough, then the first drops of rain, then the heavens opened and the rain came down in biblical proportions. A minute or two later and it turned to hail; at nearly 4000ft up this was no joke. I tried to shelter under some of the trees but being already drenched i decided it was best to keep warm by pushing on. I reached the summit and picked up the long trail downhill, by now this had turned into a river with water gushing down and the rain was so heavy visibility was down to about 20m. By about half way down i was seriously cold and with no one else around, i knew a crash now would be very very serious. I carried on down and finally met up with some other riders but as we approached the final timing station, the trail was now blocked off and riders were being directed into a nearby large barn come shed. I asked what was happening and was told the race had been stopped due to the weather.
Inside there were already quite a few other riders. I was in a bad way, my teeth were chattering and my hands were shaking, someone took pity and gave me a dry t-shirt, others were huddled under blankets in a similar state. It was now a case of waiting for transport to the finish, i had completed around 120 miles and 21000 ft of climbing.
If it wasnt for the storm im sure i would of made the cutoff and got to the finish so i didnt feel too guilty when the next day i was told i could still pick up the much coveted black finishers t-shirt but the images i had in my mind of crossing the finishing the line, hands in the air with the cheering crowds will have to wait, theres always next time......
Im summary - a superb event requiring fitness, determinaton and some technical XC skills, stunning scenery, great organisation - defo one for the bucket list.