Duael 6hr MTB Enduro

The Duael 6hr enduro is about pairs racing. Race a lap, rest a lap, one on, one off. This sounded like a good idea for me and my regular pairs partner Gareth, to have a go at. It was to be held on a new course up in the Black Forest between Woodend and Mt Macedon.

The course was shortish at around 7 or 8 ks, with the majority passing through a pine plantation. Now I wasn't that excited about racing through the pines in this area, as I wasn't impressed with the pine section of the BMC100 back in 2009. Memories of eating dirt hard came rushing back. But to my surprise, the track was a belter! There was no significant climbs, just lots of mounds, dips, drops, flowy corners and fun.

With such a short course, the lap times were quick, settling in at around 20-21mins. By the time you had a drink, some food and sat down, you had to put your gear on again to go out again. The rules said no double laps, one on, one off only, so the pace was frenetic.

There was hardly anytime to even check our position in the field during the day, but we were sitting 6th early, and moved up to 4th towards the end of the day. My third lap saw my front wheel become very grippy - too grippy in the corners. The front was deflating. I had to back off the pace into the corners and let some fellow competitors disappear up the trail. I got back OK without too much time lost but didn't have sealant and there was none to buy. The leak seemed slow, so I thought I'd try giving it air and headed out again.  This worked, it was lucky the laps were only 20 mins long, but my tyre felt good for the whole lap, so I just pumped my front at the end of each lap, and ignored that fact I could hear air hissing out the sidewall.

So 4 oclock came around pretty quickly with this format of racing and we decided we would hang around for the prize draw at the end. There was a pair of forks up for grabs! We missed out on those, but were surprised to hear our names called out for 3rd place in our category.

The Duael podium!

Results

Alpine Classic Extreme (ACE250)

The rooftop ride

The accommodation was booked months ago, but I only entered after deciding on the distance a week out. I didn't want to ride Buffalo in the afternoon heat again, but I chose the longer ride! Not sure it was logical, but I did have my second look at the Back of Falls climb during the New Year period and with 45 mostly downhill k's in the legs, I thought it's not too hard!

The ride profile

Anyway, without any 'out and back' epics from home to Donna Buang under the belt before this years ride, I started the Mt Hotham climb like I had climbing legs and was in form. This worked fairly well and as the bunch spread out, a rough group formed with similar speeds and we worked together through the middle third and again in the final pinches to share some of the pacemaking. Just like last years ACE, the views from the top of Hotham were sensational. Mt Buffalo, Mt Feathertop and the Bogong High Plains were all clearly visible under blue skies.

The road down to Dinner Plain and then Omeo is not the quickest descent especially near Dinner Plain. It's heavy and a real slog with lots of pedalling. Rolling out of the Dinner Plain checkpoint I avoided a huge yellow belly black snake which helped get the heart going again. There still were a few quick drops which keep you on your toes as you get into Omeo.

The road along Big River through Anglers Rest was again a pleasure to ride on. Corner after corner of level road, with a big drop off down to the river. It is a great section of road.

The turn onto the Bogong High Plains road comes soon enough (Back of Falls), and with 150 plus k's in the legs, the road just points skywards and there is only one gear to choose. It was time to settle in and grind my way up to some respite. The Marchies do laps of you as you climb, like they are taunting you. There is no shade, just sun beating down relentlessly. Eventually, the road eases and the Raspberry Hill campsite provides some extra water and banana's. It's still 17k from Falls Creek at this point with still some further climbing to go. The climbing speed at this point was quite slow for me now, I was yo-yoing off the back of a couple of guys, eventually getting back on their wheel on the flat around Rocky Valley Lake.

At the Falls Creek checkpoint, I ate a heap of the creamed rice I had been hanging out for.  I got going pretty quick hoping the long descent would give me some extra recovery time. The descent down Falls to Mt Beauty was not overly fast as the body was quite stiff now and I couldn't relax and enjoy it.

The last climb over Tawonga Gap was well known to me, but I knew from the previous 20k or so of climbing behind Falls, this was going to be slow.The climb started nice and cruisy, just trying to maintain a tempo. The body was trying to say no, but I kept pushing it along, counting down the k's to the top. It was great to crest the gap, but the descent had to be navigated with some care. Towards the bottom, a pair of big guys came past and it was perfect timing to score a tow into Bright for the finish.

At the finish, I remember thinking I would not do this again, I was too sore and stiff, the pain was too fresh. Writing this a week later, I am thinking I will do it again! As much as it is a very hard ride to do and I could have trained a lot more for it, the scenery and roads and just plain challenge of the ride is enough for me to want to give it another go.

Hug from the kids after finishing

Taking old man steps into the Ovens for a recovery dip