Convict100

This would not only be my very first cross country race but a full one hundred kilometres of dirt road and trail to boot! And boy, was I excited … and just a tad underprepared! My training buddy was still in Europe fattening up on German breads so I would be riding solo. But, as I soon found out, I would not be riding alone …

600 cyclists rode the Convict50 and 500 took on the Convict100 challenge. The sleepy Hawksbury town of St Albans awoke on the morning of May 2, 2014 to 1100 mountain bike riders itching to hit the convict built Old Great North Road before the promised heavy rains transformed the trails into mud baths. All week the media had promised a very cold and very wet introduction to the Convict100 but it wasn’t to be so. Solid cloud cover and a lightly dampened track made for fast and perfect riding conditions!

Two newbies to the mountain bike racing scene!

To avoid congestion, the start was set in four stages, 5 minutes apart. And, sitting in the third wave, waiting to start, (and this was verified during the race) I couldn’t help but notice I was surrounded by far too much lycra.

About to get under way!

For the good health of my fellow riding friends I always wear my lycra beneath fashionable practical off road shorts (Endura Hummvees actually – I love em!). But I was a rare breed out there that day! I could be forgiven for thinking I was lost amongst a pack of road cyclist as the outer shorts were hard to come by!

Lycra everywhere!

Getting under way – fresh and raring to go!!!

It was bitumen for the first several k’s – a safe way to spread out the field, then onto some quiet dirt back lanes. Suddenly we were going up hill and, as you can see, not too many people rode all the way up this long steep one!

I had to stop to take this picture – otherwise I would have kept riding of course!

I thought I would feel better bout pushing my bike up this hill if I had evidence that nearly everyone else was doing the same whether they had granny gears or not!

Having ridden sections of this track many times before, usually with Paul or on my own, I wondered how the single tracks and narrow dirt tracks would cope with over 500 riders. I also wondered how I would like riding “in a crowd” on this beautifully secluded bushland. Surprisingly, the tracks soaked up the riders, and perhaps even more surprisingly I soaked up the company.

Riding in this event reminded me of the camaraderie of my long gone marathon running days. There was the chatting to other riders as you snuck past each other, the comparing of pain, the praising of the weather, cursing the steep pinches, and the talking bout each others bike, secretly searching for another one that looked half as good as your own!

Perhaps you ride a little harder overall when they are other riders up ahead of you!

Perhaps you ride a little harder overall when there are other riders up ahead of you!

It was so much fun trying to catch other riders on the up hills, then fanging through the tight flowing single track looking for a place to overtake a rider who is going just a tad slower than you’d like, or admiring (cursing?) some young hoon who rips past you over a rough rock garden and then pacing it side by side with a stranger on a fast downhill section.

Convict 100 MTB enduro 2014, 50k, 75k, 100k

I made three new friends during that hundred kilometres:

New Friend No. 1: a rider I caught up to on a climb at about the15 k mark. He snuck past me on a downhill then several k’s later I caught another guy on an up hill – I looked closer and it was he! We quipped about running into each other several times and how much better it would have been if he were a good looking lady rider instead of a homely bloke! Over the course of the rest of the race we passed each other several more times, and rode together over the tough 85-95 k section (well, I overtook him on the uphill, he overtook took me on the downs, if you call that riding together!). At 95k he said to me, “great ride mate” and he was gone.

New Friend No. 2: I chased a guy on a blue Giant Anthem Carbon 29er over some 5-6 k of diverse, tight single track. We had to find a way past one or two slower riders but after that our pace was almost identical. His pace was perfect for me and it was a rush keeping him in my sights, drawing close then having him pull away again. I only saw his face once – at the feed station at Ten Mile Hollow. We grinned and commented on how good a ride that section was.

The feed station at Ten Mile Hollow. I went for the bananas and drink bottle refills

New Friend No. 3: There is a long climb on the dirt road out of Ten Mile Hollow that can be a bit of a drag. I was just starting the climb when a voice behind me asked, “Is that an Ibbis?” I corrected his English accent mispronunciation. “Yes, it’s an Ibis.” “Ah,” he continued, “Don’t you just love the DW Link suspension. I have it on my bike also and it’s great!” Now he had my attention proper like and I wondered what brand bike he was riding. In a few moments he was along side my Ibis Ripley, proudly perched on his Pivot Carbon 429. It was the red and black version, the one I would have bought had I not bought the Ripley!! We chatted about our bikes all the way up that long climb, barely noticing it! (For a while, we were three abreast with another rider who was on a different brand bike that didn’t have DW Link suspension. He made the comment, “Just check this out – three bikes along side each other and not a hint of pedal bob to be seen.” Of course, DW Link suspension is famous for minimising pedal bob making up hill riding more efficient. We three sung the praises of our bikes until my new Pivot buddy and I found we had became two abreast once more as the hill wore on. He turned to me and unashamedly proclaimed, “Did you see how much pedal bob that guy was getting?” It was a great case of DW Link snobbery!

Eyes firmly focused on the bike wheel up ahead I was loving this track!

I met my Pivot buddy again at the 75 k mark when my legs were gone and I was struggling up some sharp inclines. Having done the Convict100 a few times already he was able to assure me the worst was almost over.

Clare’s Bridge, built in the 1830s, can be seen behind this very focused rider

The Ibis Ripley was a shear pleasure to ride – it was awesome. I did feel it was keen to ride up the hills, the gear range of the XX1 was pretty perfect, although if I’d have had a slightly easier gear on the last hill climbs I would have appreciated it. On the rough rock gardens I flicked the Fox Tallis fork to140 mm which smoothed them out a bit, and on steep less rough climbs, specially toward the business end of the ride, I locked out the front fork.

Despite the number of riders, there were times when there was no one else in sight. Who would have thought that on these sections I felt slightly alone and looked forward to catching “the pack” again

At the 68 k mark you have to make a decision – to be a hero or a wuss. Two make shift rather narrow bridges are set up just for this one day of the year, allowing you to ride your bike across the river. Oh, I forgot – or carry your bike across the river.

The infamous kayak bridges

I stood on the bank for several longs seconds on the verge of risking my Ripley ending up in the brink just for the chance to be a hero when a sudden gust of wind helped me decide on the safer option.

A dry wuss

After the Kayak bridge it was tough going. My lead up to the race had not been ideal and I knew my legs hadn’t done enough to feel strong for the full 100 k. And, as expected, the last hill section was a bit of a slog. This part of the track had recently been graded — and it would be the only time I’ve ever been relieved to see good rough natural track desecrated in this way!

Shallow river crossing a few k’s from the finish at St Albans

All up a fantastic days ride. How did I end up?

Well, the small muscles above my knees were a bit sore from being on the bike pretty well non stop for nearly five and half hours, legs a bit fidgety and restless, but I was more than happy to get back on the bike the next day and flush out some lactic acid.