#CycleEpic update. 2014 CycleEpic is all over for another year. For those who aren’t familiar with the Epic it’s a weekend family MTB event held from Spicers Retreat at Old Hidden Vale. The weekend culminates in a 50km or 87km cross country ride/race. It attracts about 2,000 riders of all ages. For those who couldn’t make it or wonder what its all about here’s my recount from the day. It was tough. Really tough. Not as hot as last year, but still hot/warm most of the time. Luka (13 years old) and I (45) signed up to ride as a team this year. We shaved about 6mins off last year’s time by finishing in 6hours 4 minutes. Because we knew the course we had hoped that we might do it in 5 hours this year, but our lack of training and some of the conditions on the day prevented that. We were however, still very happy to finish and it didnt take too long for the happy juices to start pumping to get that post ride euphoria. We drove down in the morning leaving about 5:00am and arrived about 7:30am. We then registered and picked up our kit and pretty much headed straight to the start line. We headed off just after 8:00am. The first 5km was treacherously slippery (and sticky) mud which stuck to everything and added about 2kgs to our bikes. We had a reasonably good start in the middle of the pack but as soon as the first hill hit I knew it was going to be a long day. In the past 2 months the only rides that Luka and I had done were the last two Sunshine Series races, so our general ride fitness was really low....and we felt it. Having said that, Luka was amazing. I am so proud of him. He found the climbs (walks) really tough, as did I, but for a young person such challenges have a different dimension. Whilst the weather conditions on the day were ideal, the course had received about 6mm of rainfall the night before which made about 80% of trail incredibly sticky. I have never experienced this type of stickyness before. It was like glue that sucked your tyres down onto the ground. The sound of your tyres rolling over it was like the sound of hundreds of little suction caps sucking little bits of energy out of your legs. It is a sound that will haunt me for some time. Unless we were going downhill (or on bitumen) our bikes just didnt roll. I think it’s a result of the rich black volcanic soils that make agriculture so good in that area. We generally rode (and walked) at our own pace, Luka was still a demon on any downhill sections which was frightening to watch when I knew how tired he was. The sticky trails sucked a lot of our energy out before we reached the 20km checkpoint. We waited there for quite a while to refuel and refocus. 90% of the riders were ahead of us so we didnt feel any pressure to try to keep up with anyone. The climb up (and over) the mountain was long and tough. I was however, pleasantly surprised with how much level riding there was across the top. My mind had somehow blocked that out from last year. There are still some sharp steep pinch climbs and descents as you cross the peak and head across to the razor back single track. The (only) good thing about the sticky trail was that there was little to no dust for the first 40km. Once we emerged from the single track we knew we had conquered the worst of it. At this point we were joined by some of the 87km riders so it was good to have other people around us at this time to help motivate us. This section (38-45km) is mostly single track between trees and around rocks etc. Other than the paddock crossing the last 10km is quite technical...and rocky. There are definitely no Pete Wilson trails on the Epic course!! I kept Luka eating and drinking along the whole course and thankfully he had a welcomed burst of energy at about the 40km mark; I was seriously struggling to keep up with him. The words of encouragement were reversed for those next few kms. The final stage of the course includes a trek across a wide treeless frying pan of a paddock. From the paddock you can see and hear the finishing line perched on top of the hill. It’s a cruel mind twist as the trail heads across the paddock and seemingly away from the finish line. The final kilometre is rocky technical climb before you emerge to final grassy straight towards the finish. We crossed the finished line together (as a team) just after 2:00pm and received some really nice applause and cheers from the crowd as we did. Amazingly, we had no mechanicals and no falls over the whole 50km. So in a nutshell, yes I loved the challenge of the course. It has a bit of every type of terrain. I loved the feeling of completing it; although I wished I had prepared better, and I regret that both Luka and I hadnt as I am sure this would help us to enjoy the ride more. But most of all I enjoyed being out there with my son. Its not a ride that I would casually recommend for young riders. There were times that I felt guilty and selfish for encouraging him to do it. (Mind you Luka doesnt really need any encouragement to go riding…anywhere….anytime…any distance) But I did wonder at times what affect the whole experience might have on him. After all, we were nearly the last to finish and that alone can be a difficult thing for a young person to accept. I was constantly worried about him falling and injuring himself or collapsing from exhaustion. But he didnt. It was an intense physical and emotional challenge and I am sure it is experiences like these that he will remember for the rest of his life. I do pity his own children though. Congratulations to everyone who participated and especially to all you Trailblazers. I saw Kerry, Dave M, Jay and Ethan amongst the other riders so well done to you all. mVP (GoPro footage to follow sometime soon).
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 01:49:16 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015