Castlemaine 6hr Enduro 2012

21/8/12

I’m not sure if it was his new, super-light carbon 29er, or the fact that I may have mentioned once or twice about the growing size of his beer belly, but I had finally convinced Ed to stick on a race number and team up with me for the Castlemaine 6hr.  It has been a full 3 months since my last race and a full 3 years since Ed’s so we were kind of excited to get amongst it once again!

I think that it’s important to go through a period of no racing and give yourself a mental break more than anything.  At the end of a long season of racing many athletes find themselves just going through the motions and don’t so much look forward to the competition of each race.  To me, it is very important to have that real desire to compete and be excited by it.  I generally find, with a good 8-12 weeks of no racing that the desire is rekindled and I then know it is time to get back into the racing once again.

Castlemaine is one of my favorite places to ride and race so what better way to start the Season off.  The club always put on a fantastic event and the rocky, technical single track puts a smile on my face. This year’s 6hr was to be held in a slightly different location on the other side of town.  So I was extra keen to attend and try out the new network of trails…I wasn’t to be disappointed!

It’s an unwritten rule that the male within each mixed pair’s team has to ride the first lap (this is what I told Ed anyway!)  It was a just a little concerning to see Ed sprint off with the first 10 or so riders once the start gun fired.  I’m not sure that he’d listened to my pre-race briefing outlining the benefits of pacing over the 6hrs.  My main concern was the possibility of him smashing out a couple of laps only to fall in a heap and make me finish off the last 4hrs.  As the race went on though, he certainly proved me wrong and continued to alternate laps with me with great consistency. Actually, my main concern switched to whether I would last the distance.  I was also a little worried about the post-race analysis of lap times and whether I would be shown up by a weekend warrior (i.e. Ed).  I guess you could say ours was a race within a race.

– Team car

– Race start line up

I’d definitely give the new network of trails in Castlemaine the thumbs up.  I certainly had a grin on my face descending some of the twisty, smooth stuff and got some good air off a few of the jumps.  There was one uphill rocky section however, that continued to frustrate the hell out of me as I stuffed it up on every single lap.  I shall have to get some more sneaky practice in before returning I reckon.

It’s always great to do these enduro races in the pair’s category as it gives you a good chance to catch up and have a chat with everyone in b/w putting a hard lap in. This course was a longer 12km of single track so took a good 40min to get around and therefore also gave a good 40min break to eat, drink and catch up on all the latest Goss.  Having been away from the race scene for some time there was certainly a lot of Goss to catch up on!

– Race Village looking very organised!

– Jo Wall and Tom MacMunn were 2nd in mixed pairs. Nice smile Jo!

* These photos courtesy of Russ Baker

So at the end of the 6hrs Ed and I had managed 11laps and took out the mixed pair’s category quite convincingly.  It was great to take the win alongside Ed, however more than anything it was just awesome to be smashing out some laps amongst the mtb crew once more.  I’m already planning and very much looking forward to the next enduro out at Bendigo in a few weeks’ time.