Well done to everyone (except ausrandoman - unbelievable!) – I managed the full 250 in 11:38 which I was very happy with.
Yep, headwinds, bogans and road kill will be lasting memories but it was a brilliant day in saddle.
For the 250, it was real “Hare vs Tortoise†stuff all day. I was very surprised by the pace at the start with what felt like the entire field of 250 riders sailing past from SFP all the way to Tharwa. I didn’t particularly want to latch on as I was saving my matches for the climbs. (My only rule was that if you have a beard and mudguards, I am going back past you!)
After Tharwa and heading to Fitz’s I was absolutely on my own with nothing as far as the eye could see ahead or behind. Approaching Fitz’s I reeled a few back in and went past about 8 or so while going up. From there on for the next 4 hours it appeared that everyone had got rid of their excitement and were at a more conservative pace which meant lots of company heading out to Orroral and then up Honeysuckle and then back to the base of Corin.
It was good with all of these out-and-back legs in the 250 as you got a good gauge on your progress against others who had raced off into the distance and were heading back the other way. As the day went on the gaps were closing and I snuck back past plenty but to be fair, they were lingering at the fruit cake and lollies where I was “fill bottles, hand in card, get going†– I even gave lunch in Tharwa a miss.
The Corin leg was lonely but still enjoyable – rolled down to the dam checkpoint to find another half dozen “hares†lingering under trees eating cake. Again I just filled bottles, took a happy snap with the bike propped against dam and powered back up to the rec area for the best part of the day – the descent down Corin!
After Corin and despite the headwind, the realisation that I was mostly there was wonderful. The billiard table smooth hotmix out to the Deep Space Centre was some nice respite for the butt. From there all the way back I decided to burn all my remaining matches. I powered up and over the three sisters, reeling in another 10 or so before getting rained on with about 2k’s to go.
I took my wife’s phone camera with me so thought I would share a few shots:
A stunning morning at SFP:
Before the start:
Another bunch sails past on the way to Tharwa:
Bottom of Fitz’s – time to light a match:
Powering up Fitz’s:
The grind up Orroral – the road ahead in the distance is a grade of 16%!
The friendly vollies at Orroral:
The grind back up to Fitz’s (obviously this bit of 15% didn’t agree with some people!)
The climb up Apollo Road – targets locked on ahead:
Some good old fashioned suffering up Apollo Rd:
Hungry riders at Honeysuckle:
Another target locked on up Corin:
A Hare lingers at the fruit cake at Corin Dam:
1958 bicycle leans against 1968 dam! :
Deep space dishes:
I wonder what I look like from a Magpie’s perspective..? (yes, your mind does funny things after 230km!):
Time to light my last matches – start of the climb from Uriarra crossing:
Will I beat the rain.?
The finish – I was expecting marching bands and dancing girls but nonetheless, a wonderful sight: