Half unpacking, half chatting with friends, half thinking it might be time for a bite to eat, the race briefing starts and I hear that all riders should be on the start line. My teammate, Scott Ardron, is still doing Western Sydney presidential duties and I realise I’m about to let us down totally by missing the beginning of the race. I borrow a bottle of energy drink (thanks enormously Aubs), run into a tree stump on my way to the start line reopening yesterday’s scab (different tree stump), attach my number plate as well as anyone can in a rush (with full fingered gloves) and the race begins. Fortunately after this, everything just kept getting better!
Scott was the best teammate anyone could ask for and was ready to ride whenever I crossed the start/finish line and punched out quick consistent laps throughout the race. After four hours and 6 laps each, we learned that we’d won our category by a small four and a half minutes, which was a nice surprise to finish the day with.
A big thanks to the WSMTB club for putting on another great event that attracted around 220 riders, of which 107 were in the solo men’s field! Thanks also to Panther Cycles for supporting round two and for providing generous prizes. This was my first time racing the Merida 96 carbon rig out on the Yellomundee track and it was seriously smooth. The precise steering and finely tuned suspension made the technical climbs a joy and left energy to spare once I’d reached the top of them. If I can match this with organised pre-event preparation, who knows how much of a weapon it will become.
Kath Bicknell 