it’s been a while since i have last tried my hand (foot, back, head, pretty much a full body experience) at racing. probably because i’m not very good at it for starters, and also because i’m getting older and even less fit.
that been said i still enroled to the nowra 8 hours pony express together with a similarly mad mate who also did not know what he was getting himself into. which is good otherwise i might have had to do it alll by myself.
natalie helped me get the bike through scrutineering.
so … pony express. one guy does one lap, then hands over (the transponder) to the other and so forth. for 8 hours. 4 hours riding should be ok, right?
the team (matt & me) still smiling before the race. all suited up and with about 20 kg of protective equipment.
well, not right. the course turned out to be 27 gruelling kilometers through the bush, around trees, up and down gullies and over more rocks than i’ve ever seen before – and without any part to take a little break. i had a camelback with me but there was no time for a sip.
there was a ‘sighting lap’ around the moto x track. not so much to sight the track (most of the track went through the bush and was secret) but to make sure the bikes are firing on all cylinders.
turns out the moto x track was the easy part, once we ducked into the bush it was hard work all the way, but the middle part through the rain forest was pure torture.
first handover. matt gets the transponder and is on his way.
not so fresh any more after lap one. and there were more to come. unfortunately not as many as i hoped. on his third lap matt’s chain broke. he had no chance of fixing it in the bush and had to wait for the sweeps to bail him out. so i did not get to ride my fourth lap (which would undoubtedly have been my fastest) and matt spent a cosy 2 hours in the bush on the bottom of a hill. the sweeps eventually got him going agai but we were out of the race.
the girls had a good time too. they went to nowra zoo and petted just about all the animals there, including the croc, the koala and the monkey.
trackside natalie spent the time with a puppy. generally pets are not allowed around the track, but this one was a ‘working dog’ – she was training to become a guide dog and this was part of her becoming accustomed to noise. and natalie.
i think the ktm cheer squad was the best!
shame we did not finish. maybe next year.