What. A. Day.
Last Sunday’s Range8 at Toowoomba has to be one of my all-time favourite days on a bike. Ever. There was plenty of climbing, the descents were long and FUN and I simply loved every minute of it!
Well, OK, maybe I didn’t love the early morning setting up beforehand. I hadn’t slept well, it was dark and cold with a “feels like” temp of -2’C and I faffed about – getting nowhere fast. At the last minute, I realised my HR monitor had detached from its strap and rushed back to grab it, missing a crucial part of the riders’ briefing. (Don’t do that.) Flustered, I remembered to breathe, reminded myself that I am still returning to “race fitness” after injury and that this was a “training ride in a race environment.” For fun. And then we were off!
Lap 1 was crowded and a sea of iRide jerseys (plus one Yeti skinsuit) quickly disappeared into the orange sunrise. I settled into a mid-pack position and chatted with Annika – if I could still talk, I knew I was riding in my desired endurance HR zones. I was happy with our pace and grateful for the company. I was also grateful I’d double-gloved – my fingers were cold, but at least I could still feel them! Returning to pit lane, however, I lost LOTS of time having an early wee stop after running out of time before the start. Suffice to say, multiple layers, double-gloves & cycling bibs did not make for a quick pit stop!
On lap 2, I settled in on the climbs and played a little more on the descents. The sun was up and the day felt slightly warmer, but my arm warmers, leg warmers and my neck buff all stayed on! I realised I hadn’t drunk enough in the cold and paused in pit lane to scoff a banana with half a bottle of salted caramel flavoured Infinit. Yum: possibly my new favourite flavour combo!!
Lap 3 was all about having FUN! The fast riders were well and truly lapping me by now – I literally lost count of how many times Jared Graves passed me, and I enjoyed being treated to a masterclass in endurance racing by riders such as Joris Van Der Tang, Clinton Haywood, Darren Rolfe & Jason Sprang. I felt like I was travelling ok – then felt like I was standing still each time they passed me!
On Lap 4 I got to ride with Andrew Bonney and Paul De Nooyer as they checked out a section of the course on ebikes, but ultimately, I had to wave them through. Much as enjoyed their company, and much as they slowed down to ride behind me, I knew I couldn’t hold their pace up the climbs and keep on climbing! I sped up on the descent however, when a couple of non-racers accidentally ended up on the track and I got to chase after them. Not bad, I decided, for an old lady on a 100mm travel XC bike.
On lap 5 I realised that I was wasn’t going to make 6 laps before the (I thought) 3pm time cut-off. I was disappointed, as I always like to race with a distance goal and 6 laps had been my goal for the day, but I quickly accepted it and settled into enjoying a fun lap, thanking each of the course marshals as I passed them on my “last” lap. Coming through the pit lane I pulled over and told Vicki and Andrew in the timing tent that I couldn’t make another lap before the cut off and was finished
Vicki & Andrew weren’t letting me off that easily, however. They were confident I could make another lap before the 3.15 (!) cut off and urged me out again. (That bit of the rider briefing I missed, it turns out it was important…) Less confident but keen to try, I quickly grabbed another bottle of Infinit and set off again.
I was racing the clock now, and boy, I pushed hard! I RACED the downs – my RideTechnics sessions keeping me safe through the rock gardens – and I RACED up the hills. My legs were on fire and, for the first time all day, I thought about taking off my leg warmers. No time to stop, though! The remaining course marshals looked surprised to see me back – “just one more!” I puffed on the way past. As I started the final Defibrillator climb, I still wasn’t sure I’d make it back by 3.15pm – but it felt so good to try!
And try, I did!! Oh boy. My fitness isn’t back yet, but my determination sure was. Collapsing off the bike at the finish line, I realised I’d made the cut off with just 5 minutes to spare. I was elated. A huuuuuge thank you to Vicki and Andrew for believing I could do it, and to Jon Willis and Naomi Willis for saving my Strava file as proof of how hard I pushed to make it in time! (Those double gloves meant I pushed the wrong button and froze the whole thing.) Once I’d gotten my breath back, however, I couldn’t stop smiling – that final lap absolutely made my day.
The atmosphere throughout was wonderful and the support from race volunteers, pit crews and other racers was greatly appreciated. Thank you, Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club, and On The Edge Events for a brilliant day out on my bike. Congratulations to everyone who raced – it was definitely a challenging course – but special mention to James Nicholson, Ronel Cook, Annika Graves and Allegra McGrory who were also racing solo, and to Emma Haywood and Emily & Welma Joubert who were racing in teams. (Emily left me her dust on that 1st descent, which was so awesome to witness!) Now to just get fitter before the 2025 event!!