2015 Albury 6hr Evocities

My decision to race at Albury was only cemented when my wife decided to do a first aid course in Newcastle on the same weekend. This meant I could look after kids on the sat while she was at the course before jumping on a train for 3hrs, flying to Albury finding accommodation and dong the plane / train / drive combo on the way home.

Photo cred: Mark Geary

I had been wanting to do this race for quite a few years. It had in the past clashed with closer and easier races to get to however, now also being part of the Evocities MTB Series I had a pretty good incentive to attend. I had only heard good things about the tracks including how rocky and technical parts of the course were however, my hardtail was my only bike available.

The race started with a massive (relatively) climb for the first lap and I felt comfortable at the pace being set even though my thought were on trying to get an action camera working at the same time. Almost at the top I could tell I had dropped my high intensity training as my legs were burning event though they felt strong. Just a lack of lactic acid tolerance. I went out thinking it is only a 6 hour race and that I normally have heaps left after this time but with the sustained high intensity on the first few climbs and a lack of easy pedalling my legs started to pay for it mid race.

The track was great fun, on a dual suspension bike I would have felt far more comfortable letting the brakes go and just letting it work through the rocky descents. At times I felt I was being cruel to my hardtail as I tried to ride a good pace. After a few laps, I started to learn where I could carry some serious speed. On the hardtail I had to really think about picking smooth lines. I kept looking enviously at others on duallies. I'm not sure if I am just getting old or if I want to enjoy my racing more as I think I will be taking the dually out next time I have a race over 4 hours and especially at Albury!

Photo cred: Mark Geary

The way home was a little longer than I had anticipated. The trip started with a 6.30pm flight that arrived into Sydney around 8pm. The next train to Newcastle left at 8.45pm and arrived in Newcastle just before 1am which meant my head hit the pillow just after then. The trip was finished off with a drive just under 3 hours straight to work Monday morning!

A big thanks to Dan for organising my lifts around Albury.
Jamie for the company on the way home and organising accommodation.
Pure Edge for their assistance through the Evocities Series.
G8 for supporting both me and the Evocities Series