2013 Surfcoast 100

Mick from Southern Exposure invited me to Anglesea, Vic before the Surfcoast race had been advertised earlier this year. Being 2 weeks after the 24hr Solo World Championships I was hoping my legs would be recovered and I looked forward to exploring some new trails.

The cheapest flights from Port Macquarie were scheduled to arrive in Melbourne around 9pm resulting in a 10:30pm bed time after a 1.5hr drive from the airport. With a significant delay at Sydney I got to sleep closer to 1am. Luckily race start was 9.30am which allowed time to build up a bike and for the temperature to hit double figures.

On the start line there were a few gun riders I knew would keep me honest. Murray Spink won the Marathon National Champs a few years ago, Phil Orr wins most endurance based races in Vic and Michael Crosbie placed very well in the Marathon National Champs earlier this year and has been racing world cup rounds and riding for a Belgium road team most of the year.

The Surfcoast 100 was a lap based marathon distance race with four laps of a 25km circuit. After the first lap there was a group of 7 riders still together. At the start of the second lap I increased the pace a little and Murray, Michael and I got a little gap on the rest of the field. At the end of the 3rd lap Phil had caught back up again. At the start of the 4th lap I began to wind the pace up again and Michael and I left the other riders. Even with the gap I was still keep to keep the pace high. This was a great chance to get used to faster racing as I'm keen to do well at the Highland Fling. Eventually Michael decided to drop off leaving me to enjoy the fast and flowy trails. The trails had a lot of variety. There were bermed up downhills requiring no breaking around blind corners. There were rocky sections, sandy areas, logs over parts of the track and lots of cool A or B lines created to allow riders to avoid strategically placed doubles that rewarded the faster riders.

By the fourth lap I was picking better lines and was having a little bit too much fun when a small stump tore the side of my tyre. This is the first flat I have had all year. I quickly put in my spare tube as Michael rolled past. By the time Murray rode past I had used my last CO2 as the core on my spare was dodgy. After waiting several minutes on the side of the track to see if I could borrow a pump I started to run the trail. I found a track pump a few kms later and managed to get air into the tyre. Continuing on the charge my tyre started to go down again due to a loose core. I borrowed a hand pump however the core decided to come out all together leaving me with no air and a dodgy valve. Reinflating the tyre took ages with a hand pump as the core was resisting air intake. I managed to get 10-15psi and rolled across the line in 4th. 

My biggest frustration from the race wasn't getting a flat tyre or dropping out of the lead. It was that I couldn't hammer around the track for the last 20km. I was really starting to have fun as I tested my legs ability to tolerate lactic acid again. I guess I will just have to wait until the Highland Fling.

A big thanks to Mick from Southern Exposure for the invite. I will be back again.

Also to Adam and Kylie for lining up lifts and accommodation. I think I need a thermomix!

Thanks to Rod for the lift to the airport and a place to stay after the race. It was great to see how keen your family is to support your racing.