Meeting a new audax community
The course notes lied about this only being 3000m/400km!
Pretty happy with the pace considering level of fitness, up to the first 200km I was sitting on the front giving people a bit of a relax most of the time. But by about the 180km mark, faded a bit. 250? My life was dominated by holding onto a back wheel.
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A whole new community |
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Kym |
I had a bizarre moment at the control where one rural QLDer was speaking to another, who was elderly. They believed koalas had gone extinct and were expressing their shock and dismay. It must have been a twisted misinterpretation of a news item, or otherwise the rumors were true: QLD really is Australia's Texas.
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I felt pretty good |
Kym was focused on a steady, reasonable pace; something I felt very comfortable with; we didn't push too hard, and after a while, caught Steve. We set up a bit of a paceline, but Kym opted to drop back.
I didn't realise it, but I'd seen Steve before on the PAP. As Ben & I rolled into a night control, he decided to keep riding another 100km. He had a magnificent bike and the fitness to match, a single chainring and up to a 40t on the back.
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Magnificent road cutting, featuring Steve |
We varied a little at times, my gearing allowing me to spin up hills and take it easy, while he was able to hop out of the saddle and push out some decent watts.
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Darling Downs has some really scenic areas |
We chewed through the kilometers and stuck together, managing to find Scott just leaving a control - he'd had a flat, which was the only way we caught sight of him.
Dusk was setting in when we reached what the ride organiser had called a little bit of gravel that I haven't ridden but looks okay from google maps.
I actually found it fun, treating it more like I was on my CX - but corrugations struck back and 25m from the end, Steve caught a puncture. Tara rolled past at that point, and as soon as we were rolling again, we went into pursuit mode to catch her.
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Just a little bit of Gravel |
Just as I caught her back wheel... Steve flew past! No rest at all for me. So I quickly wound up again and grabbed his back wheel; but the damage was done.
Not longer after on the slow climb in the dark to Toowoomba, Tara caught us then outclimbed the both of us. I faded, and decided it was time to go solo, only running into Steve again when he got a second flat!
I don't remember much else of the night riding, we stuck together for some time and got split on a descent (disc brakes are 100% on my shopping list, I kept stopping to let my caliper brakes cool) - I chased and chased, just managing to catch him at a McDonalds in Gatton; after 20km on the flat at pace.
The bits I remember:
Not longer after on the slow climb in the dark to Toowoomba, Tara caught us then outclimbed the both of us. I faded, and decided it was time to go solo, only running into Steve again when he got a second flat!
I don't remember much else of the night riding, we stuck together for some time and got split on a descent (disc brakes are 100% on my shopping list, I kept stopping to let my caliper brakes cool) - I chased and chased, just managing to catch him at a McDonalds in Gatton; after 20km on the flat at pace.
The bits I remember:
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The terror of an unknown 4km 16% descent in the dark with overheating caliper brakes and carbon wheels. |
About 50km from the end, Steve pushed on; and I was hungry/fatigued. 10km from the end, the course was swamped with kangaroos.
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Kangaroo city at 2am. Yes, he's going down the road next to me. |
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