You know you’ve had a good day when you climb into bed and all you see when your eyes drift shut is singletrack and firetrails, and your arms and legs twitch in reaction to remembered rocks and corners. After a long hot bath it felt like my dreams were just a natural continuation of yesterdays Tahune race, and I had no complaints about that.
The day had threatened rain from early forecasts, and as Tim, Ben and I forged towards the southern forests, things were not looking hopeful. We started with a light drizzle at Margate and things grew heavier as the clouds darkened towards our destination. Thankfully someone had made the right plans with the right people and by the time we got to Tahune the air was no longer filled with water. The cloud cover stayed and kept the sun off our backs, but the rain held out for the most part, returning only for the occasional refreshing drizzle during the race. Better weather could not have been asked for!
The race got under way and all plans for a “rolling 50” apparently disappeared as Ben and Tim disappeared amidst the dust of 150 competitors and I trundled along at a comfortable pace. It was my first time riding that kind of distance on the mountain bike and I wasn’t sure how well I’d handle it. I took the cautious approach, which was a lot of fun regardless. Blurry vision and a bile-filled throat may appeal to the more hardcore riders, but me, I’m one for enjoyment. That said, most people are a little fitter than me!
The course itself was a brilliant mix of singletrack, 4wd ruts and firetrail. Every laboured ascent was made worth the effort as twisting singletrack opened before you, or the trail dropped steeply and all that was left to do was point your nose down and hold on. I did find myself wondering if it was all worth it once or twice, as the view opened up to the ravages of Tasmania’s forestry industry. Without it, the course would have no doubt been shorter, if there at all. Unfortunately the price is high and the mark that we’ve left on Tasmania’s (once-) pristine wilderness is going to take a long time to disappear. Thankfully the quality of the trails and the company of plenty of other mountain bikers made it easy to put thoughts like that to the back of my mind and just enjoy the ride!
It was also quite impressive to see Sid Taberlay smash past the 50km field of riders, having already ridden a good 75km and still going strong. He was being chased by Ben Mather, and neither of those boys mess about.
When I finally hit the ’10km To Go’ sign (not literally) I could definitely feel the last 40km behind me. The legs were lacking their initial vigour and the small hills were feeling longer. The brilliant winding trails through close scrub took my mind off my lack of energy, and when the forestry road opened up with a long sweeping downhill for 3km, things started looking a little less hazy. The final few km were through the beautifully groomed area around the Tahune visitor centre, and included the cross of two swinging bridges. A few tired riders pushing across the narrow paths suspended above the river soon got them swaying heavily and it was tricky to take in the view. The few brief glances were bloody amazing though!
Finally I rolled down the chute and over the finish line, to be greeted by a few claps and cheers, a bottle of water and a fancy little medallion that’ll let me brag about finishing. Overall it was a bloody brilliant ride. Awesome trails in a beautiful area, everything well organised, friendly volunteers and happy riders all around.
Congrats to BnC MTB fiend Jimmy Kirkham who took out 3rd place in the men’s open category of the 50km leg. I reckon Steve would have been right up there with him if not for a flat tyre delay. Also a massive congrats to Damo who took out 7th place overall in the 100km leg! And that was after a 5km uphill detour caused by some dodgy trail markings. Bloody amazing effort, podium finish next year I say! Mad props also to BnC SS demon Clinton Turner who rocked the 100km on his singlespeed and crossed the finish line grinning like the mad bastard he is. And a big thanks to Duncan Giblin for the mid-ride coaching session and dragging me through 10km at a fair click! And also a shout-out to Dave Killick for regaling us with tales of being overtaken by one-legged riders and fat old guys, ha!
Can’t wait for next year!
Tired but alive! Ben, Tim & Mischa.
