Don’t try this at home.

I had been sick in bed for over a week with cold/flu and only marginally started to feel better, so I thought I would try and tough out 45km at Stage 4 of the Port to Port MTB. I had a back up plan, Roger was going to meet me halfway so I could drop out if I felt like death. I’d already missed out on riding the 3 previous stages of the Port to Port MTB and I also missed out on running the UTA22 last weekend, so I was going a bit crazy.

In hindsight I probably should not have ridden because I feel a little worse again today, but I was feeling really grateful for the friends and family who had donated over $2,000 to the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse who looked after my beautiful young cousin who passed away from cancer earlier this year.

So there I was at the start line with Roger and a friend Roccet who I knew from Runlab in Newcastle, he was going to ride with me and he had also ridden at this event before. I warned him of my slowness and told him not to wait for me if he managed to get ahead, I promised myself I would take it super easy and just enjoy the ride as much as possible. There were self-seeded start waves and I was going to be in the last group, so we sat back and waited for the other riders to start and took in the sunshine, good weather and great atmosphere.

It was soon our turn to start the race and we rolled out through the big blow-up arch and onto a small road section. After this we motored through the beautiful Belmont Golf Course and onto some flat fire trail past the wetlands. The first 10km was very flat and we managed to get a bit of speed up and overtake a few riders. We wanted to be at the back, but not last!

We eventually hit Redhead single trails  and I lost Roccet who was riding much stronger than I was. I hoped he wouldn’t wait around for me too long as I don’t like holding people up and it’s hard to talk when riding on MTB trails anyway. This section was lots of fun and I played leap frog with a few riders while we twisted and turned through the trails. I could feel my lungs burning and I was coughing quite regularly, but I didn’t feel as bad as I had anticipated. I was surprised to see so many burnt out and rolled cars on the trails. Some of them were in quite obscure places so it was really strange, and they seemed to be everywhere.

I crossed Oakdale Road and into some more single track, you could see riders to the left and right on a few sections as we switched back and forth through the greenery. A rider came off ahead of me at one point and as she fell she twisted her ankle. I stopped to help her up and she tried to walk but sadly she was in too much pain even to stand. Eventually I rode ahead and got the medics sent back down the trail to her location, there wasn’t much else I could do to help so I carried on my way towards the half way point. I knew there was a beach section coming up too, and it was just before I would see Roger (my back up plan and exit strategy).

The trails were a hell of a lot smoother than Stromlo (thankfully) but still some technical and climby bits to get the legs and lungs pumping. I started to question whether I had the energy to keep going as my legs were feeling a bit jelly and my coughing was quite constant. I just told myself to keep moving.

Eventually I hit the sand section and the first part was quite rideable if you went down near the waves, but that didn’t last long. The sand got deep and boggy so we were all off our bikes and walking them, no pushing them through what felt like quicksand. I tried to keep my walking pace up to save time and because I was looking forward to seeing Roger, and I managed too pass about 8-10 riders.

I should mention that I had 98% decided that I was going to pull out here at Dudley Beach and get Roger to drive me to the finish line. That sand was super nasty and it left me feeling completely drained. So naturally when I saw Roger on the beach and told him how I felt, he replied with “Nah, you can do this and besides you don’t have far to go”. He checked with the course volunteers and there was only 16km to go from this point. I had made it way further than halfway and so with that I scoffed down some more Tailwind, got my bike cleaned to remove the sand from my brakes, and told Roger I’d see him at the finish.

As I was riding away there was a lovely course marshall with a big smile and a joke who sent me off with a better attitude than when I had come into the beach. Thank you whoever you were, it really helped!

This next section started with some fire trails and had some beautiful views of the ocean and the beach we had just ridden across, I mean walked across. I caught up to an older man and we chatted for a small section before I took off ahead of him to make up some time. The trail got technical again which always slows me down a bit, however I had gained a bit more confidence by now and was feeling more comfortable on the bike, so I sped up a little on sections I probably would have gone slower on in the past.

Then we hit a steep, steep climb that had loose gravel and leaves and I ended up off my bike pushing it up this climb as there’s no way I could have ridden. I caught up to a guy pushing his bike up the hill and we laughed about how the elite would have sprinted up here riding. I got to the top and a group of riders were stopped catching their breath and getting some food in, all I could manage to say in-between my panting and coughing was “Fuck that” (sorry Mum), which got high fives and a lot of laughs from the other riders.  This was Glenrock Mountain Bike Park and it really was lots of fun.

This section went very quickly and soon enough I had hit Scenic Road which was the big downhill to the finish at Dixon Park. I motored along and checked for cars behind me, then gunned it down that hill as fast as I could. Strava says my top speed was almost 50km down that hill, I don’t think I’ve ever ridden that fast before.

The final ride along the road beside the beach was great, lots of people out and about and cheering us through and finally I was riding under the big inflatable arch to get my finishers medal. I had made it, wow.

I looked around to find Roger and couldn’t see him anywhere so I grabbed my phone and gave him a call. He had gone to the spectator point that was a few kms back because he thought I would be going slower, and he said he was holding a Ginger Beer to give me to cheer me up for the final section to the finish. He was bummed that he had missed my finish but impressed that I had done the last section so quickly. He arrived shortly after to help me celebrate the finish and I scoffed down the Ginger Beer, always my favourite drink at the end of a hard ride or run, it’s the best!!

This one was for you Dylan #restinparadise

Bike: Focus, Spine
Nutrition: Tailwind
Donations: https://give.everydayhero.com/au/hailey-rides-point-to-point-mtb