Like the swim start of any triathlon I have done, the start of mtb races can be a bit of a bun fight to say the least as people via for the best line or position on the track. The start of Husky 100 held at Callala bay last Sunday, 7 August, was a prime example.
From the gun, the pace was cranked right up and I was almost immediately scrambling to stay in contact with the lead bunch. Puddles, branches, bushes, etc; flew by and it all seemed a blur but what was clear was that I was not going to hold this pace for very long. Surely, soon, they are going to come off the boil a little?
They didn’t and after hammering my arse off for 15km, the lead bunch of 10 or so, slowly pulled away up a steady climb. Not one to give in quietly, I continued on but now I had other issues besides my heart rate maxing out. I had lost my back brakes and on this slippery, clay-muddy course, I found myself in all sorts of trouble down the descents very quickly. Any slight feathering of the front brake almost immediately locked up the front wheel, so I had to back off. This meant riders where soon on my heels and passing me. I took a little comfort noticing them battling the course as well, with some literally ‘disappearing’ in deeper-than-first-looked puddles! However, I soon found myself on my own and being swallowed up myself in the sometimes metres-deep puddles and rivers.
Seriously, I think it would have been drier racing in the rain! I have never ridden in such muddy conditions and, to be honest, I was not about to get used to it and was seriously contemplating pulling the pin on this one. Fortunately, for my race-finishing prospects,  I hadn’t a clue where I was, so only real option was to following the race route round the course.

Seeing Kate, out on the course a couple of times was a huge motivator and gave me the encouragement I needed to keep going, although now, I was no longer racing, but rather facing up to a challenge of attrition. I was going to beat this thing!
The second half of the race was a little drier under-foot (or should that be under-peddle?) and also went over the same course we used in the Awaba 8hr race I did last month, so it helped to keep me focussed and I started to feel a lot stronger as I settled into a solid pace for the final 30km.
I crossed the line in 4hrs56, some 32mins behind the uber-fast Matt Flemming who won by over 3mins from Dylan Cooper. Mmm, maybe they did maintain that opening pace throughout?

 

Full results available here.