THE ‘A’ LINE WANTS YOU: JUBBALAND ROCKS!!!!

THE ‘A’ LINE WANTS YOU: JUBBALAND ROCKS!!!!

It was that time of the year, the last weekend of August. That means only one thing. JUBBALAND 6 HOUR ENDURO was here. I freakin’ love this race, it reminds me of when I first got into MTBing and it means I get to home for a weekend of fun riding and catching up with mates! We rolled in on Saturday and I was keen to take Al on the sweet single track that goes from my folks house right to Jubbaland, do a practice lap, then ride home. Should only take an 1 ½ hours or so. My navigation skills are extremely ordinary and even though I had ridden the track 2 weeks earlier and was feeling confident it took a bit 5 minutes and I was lost.

Finally made it out to Jubbaland for a practice lap and I remembered my love hate relationship with the track. The hate stems from some of the technical, switchback rocky climbs and descents, getting frustrated when I stuff it up and going back to try it over and over. Then feeling the love when I finally nail that A line. The first A line on the track, took me almost a year of riding to it then chickening out before I finally went over it. Looking back over my training diary I have written NAILED THE A LINE AT JUBBALAND WAHOOO thats how special that day was for me, and the feeling of satisfaction I got from finally going down it. However that A line is scary that I think I simply felt relief that I had made it down alive. There was no sense of wow that was nowhere near as scary as I thought it would be, I can do that no worried now. It was all HOLY S#*& how did I not just kill myself. So I decided I wouldn’t be attempting it in the race, and when I went through on my second lap of the race and it had been taped off, I seriously wondered if perhaps someone had died on it the lap before. So our Saturday ride turned into a 3hr stint, not ideal and it would seem my race would follow the ‘not ideal’ routine as I did things that you know you shouldn’t do.

1.      Long ride with not much food and drink the day before instead of resting

2.      Using nutrition on race day you’ve never used before

3.      Not taking weather into consideration and having not enough bottles out

4.      Following other people’s advice on how much to drink, knowing I drink a lot more

5.      Changing bike setup dramatically 2 days before a 6hr race.
(Also not ideal was the Le Mans running start when I was under strict instructions from the surgeon not to run, but as Jake told me I could cheat I made a ew shortcuts to get to my bike)

The first 2 hours were painful, it was hot and I was using Hammer Perpeteum which is a high carb drink that one drink bottle would last me 2 hours for. However, due to the sun being out and me knowing I drink loads of water I was cursing this decision. I was feeling dehydrated and wonky in the head, I needed more fluid. Third lap I decided to grab a Nuun, take my time and get myself feeling good again. Just wanting to get through the race, I settled into a rhythm and decided to ride my own race, not chasing down the solo rider in front of me.

The Thursday before the race I changed my flat narrow bars to riser bars, flipped my stem, changed my saddle and chose a comfier higher position on my bike to try to negate the wrist pain from the weekend before. After Saturday’s ride I woke up with sore hamstrings and lower bike. Not ideal. Once again I set out with ‘this is just a training ride, I’m not here to race, my goal is to finish upright.’ And once again as soon as the gun went off, those thoughts went out the window.

The track is like 1 massive 10km rock garden. It’s tough to eat and drink as its 97% singletrack and the fire roads are loose and uphill. It’s a challenging course and any errors can result in significant damage. I saw loads of people with busted sidewalls, flats, busted derailleur’s, busted chains and even a busted bike or two. It seemed you needed to carry a spare bike with you just to get through the race!! Knowing the course and the conditions was a massive advantage and running my bike suited to the conditions results in no mechanicals or stacks for the day. The track took plenty of casualty’s as some were impatient in waiting to pass as well as fatigue hitting towards the end which resulted in silly mistakes being made. I decided with 1 ½ hours to go I would see what the legs had in them and up the anti a bit. On my second last lap I managed to get myself into what I thought was 3^rd position and decided to go hard until the hard.  (Pic: Marty nailing the A line with perfection as usual)

My legs were feeling surprisingly good up the climbs, but I was erring the side of caution on the technical descents to avoid stacks. I found myself struggling to get up the technical climbs which I had gotten up no dramas earlier on, I didn’t have the concentration or fitness to get up them in the latter parts of the race. I was taking comfort in seeing many other riders feeling the same way!! I was saying to myself ‘don’t hit that log’ and 3 seconds later would hit the log, or ‘don’t go off the track’ and no doubt I would go off the track. It was on the tight switchback rocky climb I knew I needed to get up to try to maintain my position, and that’s where I stuffed it up. A chick overtook me here, looking strong, and I thought she’s looking too strong to be a solo rider, she must be in a team. I convinced myself I didn’t need to bother chasing her, and I would keep my tempo and roll into 3^rd all going well. What I didn’t realise was I was actually in 2^nd, and that strong fresh looking chick was in solo, and she had just overtaken me in the last 15mins of the race. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and I have been kicking myself that I didn’t go harder and chase her down however I’m pretty sure I was going as hard as I could, and she was definitely looking much stronger than what I was feeling!! Turns out the solo chick was local rider, Kim, and she got back just before the clock struck 4pm and smashed out another lap, whilst I got back 1min after. Which I was massively relieved at the time as I really don’t know if I could have done another lap even if I had of known where I was at.  Pretty stoked with 3rd though.

Jubbaland is a rippin course, its brutal on the body and kudos to the SS RIGID rider who broke his downtube. I was smashed on a dually 4 inch travel bike. Some people say it’s a XC course or for team races only, however it is a race that challenges solo riders, you’ve gotta be fit and you’ve gotta have good technical skills. And best of all, it doesn’t suit roadies and puts guys who rock up with all the gear no idea back in their box. There are lots of enduro’s out there that all you need is fitness to go well, here you need to be fit and be able to handle a mtb. There was a greater sense of accomplishment as I got home feeling absolutely smashed from head to toe.

The atmosphere at the event, on Saturday night and Sunday is stella. Camping, a bon fire, kids races and 16” races its a weekend the whole family can enjoy. A big thanks to Jake, Rocky Riders and the Jubba family for organising such a rad event. Thanks also to Giant, Ay-Up Lights and Nuun Hydration for our support and counting down to next year’s race already!!!

sweet as handcrafted trophies

WET AND WHINGING IN WINGELLO

So when the surgeon told me I could start mountain biking on August 21^st I was stoked that the SRAM Singlemind 7hr Enduro at Wingello was on that very same day. Ripper I could enter that, but not before heading out on a sneaky 5hr mtb the weekend before from Castlemaine to Daylesford to get the feel of my bike back and some endurance in the legs. (hadn’t been ridden since March) About 1hr in we hit a kangaroo, us 1, roo 0. Then it was a quick stop in the bike shop in Canberra as we live in hillbilly central nowhere near a bike shop we got some supplies. After leaving Marlo we arrived in Wingello State Forest some 8hrs later to rain and mud whilst Marlo was having its first sunny day in about a month. We set up the tent and headed out on a practice lap. My knee, hip and throat were feeling sore and I was started to get bad vibes about being at the race. No showers out in the bush so we cooked up a quick pasta then jumped into our tiny tent all muddy and tried to get some sleep through the downpour.

I was started to have massive doubts about racing, with 1 very slow 5hr mtb all the training I had had, and some short road rides I was massively underdone and concerned if I fell on my hip that I would break my femur. I convinced myself that I would take it very easily, stop when I wanted to stop and be careful. It seems the closer you stay to race HQ, the later you are to the event. 30mins before the race I asked Al to put some more ait in my rear tyre, my tubeless valve decided to bog itself and we decided to put in a tube. Madly trying to organise food and drinks for the race, we just made it to the start line in time and consequently started way back in the field. All I had to do was not fall off I kept saying to myself. According to my polar clock on my bars, this plan lasted all of 4min 32seconds. Heading round the first bend it was quite sandy and the competitor next to me slid out and lock straight into my bars and 5 of us hit the dirt. Quick examination of the hip and I was good to go, fuelled with adrenaline and angry at what had happened, I hammered out a 38min lap and came through in 1^st place solo female, not realising it at the time.

Halfway through the next lap I realised my back tyre was going flat, having never gotten a flat on my MTB in training or racing, I was significantly annoyed but set about changing it as quickly as possible. My co2 canister failed miserably, as did the next 2 I tried that some kind folks lent me. A fellow competitor lent my her pump which I had no idea how to use, and then a guy called Dave in a totally rockin CLIF bars ONESY skin suit quite easily pumped it up with his co2. Made it back round to transition and headed out for another lap, keen to catch the solo chick who I’d been chatting with before the flat. Got about 10mins up the road and rear tyre had flatted once again. Ok time for a new tube me thinks. New tube in, c02 on, and kapow co2 explodes without putting any air in, try another one, same result. What’s the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over expecting different results..... That seemed to be what was happening to me right now. So after having 4 c02’s fail, a tubeless vale and 2 tubes fail I had a quick tanty then started walking back to transition and realised my polar computer had broken off my bars. It was at this time I saw Al coming up the climb, so focused on getting up on his SS rig that he didn’t even realise I was there until I yelled at him. Sitting in 3^rd in SS, he was torn between helping me and racing. I was upset and whinging declaring I was going to go back and sit in the car. He tried to tell me to get it fixed and get back out there. Having a small domestic on the top of what we named “Tanty hill” ongoing competitors came up the climb looking a little bewildered and asked if we were ok to Al’s response “It’s ok, she’s my girlfriend” Scooted back to transition where I took my bike to the mechanic to get a new valve and ran into a mate who I hadn’t seen for 8 months so chatted to her for a bit then I got bored and cold so decided to head back out on the track. I also thought to myself HELLOOOO I have been sitting out on the sidelines for 6 months, no amount of flats, exploding co2’s or dodgy tubes could ruin my first race back as it was just RAD to be RIDING!!

The track was surprisingly tacky and not a lot of mud which was great. There was quite a lot of fire road and I was feeling for the SS riders who were busting their guts up the climbs only to be caught again on the flat and downhill sections, legs spinning like crazy. Then again, who’d be silly enough to ride a SS....... The single-track was smooth and flowy and a couple of pinch climbs were really felt towards the end of the race as the legs were burning. I soon learnt that racing unfit requires you to leave your ego at home. I had to keep reminding myself that this race was only for training, that it was simply to get fitter for the Scott 24hour. Easier said than done though, and continual thoughts of how much fitter I used to be, and how my skills used to be heaps better, and how I COULD and SHOULD be in a better position. I kept comparing my race to if I was fit, and you can’t do that when your racing unfit. I guess I can see why some people only race when they’re fit, but racing is what makes you fitter and you need to work with what you’ve got.

I was lucky enough to catch up to Al and ride the last 3 laps with him which was good fun as we don’t usually get to race together. We pulled each other along, both absolutely spent and I was relieved when I crossed the line 2 minutes after the 7hour mark, no chance to go out on another lap!! Thank goodness. Packed up the esky and tent, this was the first enduro we had done where we did our own support and it worked pretty well.

We jumped in the car and headed on the 6 ½ trip home. At about 10pm we hit the windy sections and the logging trucks came whizzing by we knew it was stupid to be driving but needed to get home for an 8am start at work the next day. Then we hit another roo, this one was bigger and this one got wedged underneath the car. Pulling onto the side of the road it took a bit of manoeuvring and Al trying to yank it from out of the grill to be able to continue driving.  Us-1, Roo-1. Needless to say the Nescafe’s were being smashed at work the next day. In regards to the event itself, for the entry fee of $80 it would have been good to get some more goodies in the show bag, and an acknowledgement of the top 3 SS riders at presentation as there was a category in the race. Organisers did a fantastic job handling the weather conditions and provided a well run event. A massive thanks to the 4 people who stopped along the way to help and at the end of the race I had acquired 4 co2’s, a pump and a tyre lever! A big thanks to the volunteers, race organisers, Ay-Up Lights, Giant Bikes and Nuun Hydration, boy it’s GOOD TO BE BACK ON THE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!