KONA Clock2clock Challenge, Sunday March 4th 2012, Woodend

S

sidetrack

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Weather forecast that will probably change.

SUNDAY 4/3/12.
Cloudy with showers, patchy hill mist mainly in the morning, a few sunny breaks in the afternoon, southwest or southeast winds, rather humid. MIN TEMPS 10 to 12°C MAX TEMPS 18 to 20°C
 
G

GuidePaul

Squid
The single track entrance to the winery is now cleared and raked.

There is more single track in the loop this year but the distance is a bit shorter. About 33km which is a nice number, maybe for 2013 the Clock2clock might be 1, 2 or 3 laps. That would make it a full marathon. Who is up for the challenge?

There is a few more updates to the race website like google link to the race centre and feed station info.

http://www.link2trail.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34:clock-2012-intro
 
jathanas

jathanas

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I'll be waiting for the locals to give us updates on the trail condition after our recent downpour. I hope it stays dry over the next few days and recovers well by Sunday.
 
M

MJG

Likes Dirt
jathanas said:
I'll be waiting for the locals to give us updates on the trail condition after our recent downpour. I hope it stays dry over the next few days and recovers well by Sunday.
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I emptied 83 mm out of the rain gauge this morning, after 8 mm yesterday morning (in Macedon, the mount would have got a little bit more than this), and it was still drizzling slightly. It's all soaked in, the surface just needs to dry out - the rest of the week is looking drier. We'll do a few inspections to see if anything needs draining, but I'm pretty sure there won't be any huge puddles. The jeep tracks below Bawden Rd (after Mt Macedon Winery) can get a bit 'adhesive' when wet but they're not frame-cloggingly so.

Stay tuned for more...
 
jathanas

jathanas

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MJG said:
I emptied 83 mm out of the rain gauge this morning, after 8 mm yesterday morning (in Macedon, the mount would have got a little bit more than this), and it was still drizzling slightly. It's all soaked in, the surface just needs to dry out - the rest of the week is looking drier. We'll do a few inspections to see if anything needs draining, but I'm pretty sure there won't be any huge puddles. The jeep tracks below Bawden Rd (after Mt Macedon Winery) can get a bit 'adhesive' when wet but they're not frame-cloggingly so.

Stay tuned for more...
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Thanks M! The magic will be in how it looks on Sunday morning I guess but 90+ mm of rain is a bit to absorb.

I'll be bringing the Rocket Rons out I think, and that's if you guys assure me that we wont be damaging the trail.

Cheers mate! J

EDIT: Looks like some more rain coming on Thursday...
 
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G

GuidePaul

Squid
Just a reminder online entries for the KONA Clock2clock Challenge at entryzone are closing Wednesday 29th at 9pm. Late fee will kick in after that. There is now a King of the Mountain prize awarded to the first rider across the top of the first climb 7km in to the race.
 
S

sidetrack

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Just a quick note about the track after the rain. This area is not to be confused with the Wombat track. This area dries very quickly after rain because its on the side of a hill. We have a temps in the mid 20's forecast for Thur, Friday and Saturday so it will dry out. Actually most of it will be dry by Wednesday afternoon.
 
jathanas

jathanas

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sidetrack said:
Just a quick note about the track after the rain. This area is not to be confused with the Wombat track. This area dries very quickly after rain because its on the side of a hill. We have a temps in the mid 20's forecast for Thur, Friday and Saturday so it will dry out. Actually most of it will be dry by Wednesday afternoon.
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Thanks D! That's great to hear.

Cheers, Jim
 
M

MJG

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Only 2 mm in the rain gauge this morning. With the current dry conditions the tracks will be very good on the weekend.
 
Pastavore

Pastavore

Eats Squid
jathanas said:
Y'know the 2.1 Ralph has surprised me with how well it climbs in the wet.
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Really??

I'm very new to this dirt riding business, having a blast and improving my skills pretty quickly, but I'm a little reluctant to take off the NN's as they are supposedly pretty grippy, and I'm not sure I would cope with any less grip.

Haven't ridden in muddy/wet conditions yet. May as well make 70km on tracks I've never ridden in a race situation the first time hey?
 
jathanas

jathanas

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Pastavore said:
Really??

I'm very new to this dirt riding business, having a blast and improving my skills pretty quickly, but I'm a little reluctant to take off the NN's as they are supposedly pretty grippy, and I'm not sure I would cope with any less grip.

Haven't ridden in muddy/wet conditions yet. May as well make 70km on tracks I've never ridden in a race situation the first time hey?
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The climb up Mt Macedon can get slippery, same with the descent that follows. A Nic will have you feeling more confident so its a good choice. :)
 
C

cfd01

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I havent ridden out there since the infamous hail storm at the wombat 100 2 years ago.

Is it in a similair area? - Whats the mix of fire road\4wd track\single track. Is it one for the dually or HT?

Any advice would be much appreciated!
 
M

MJG

Likes Dirt
cfd01 said:
I havent ridden out there since the infamous hail storm at the wombat 100 2 years ago.

Is it in a similair area? - Whats the mix of fire road\4wd track\single track. Is it one for the dually or HT?

Any advice would be much appreciated!
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It's in a rather different area, this one starts in the town centre of Woodend and goes up towards the mountain, heading east, whereas the Wombat Track start is roughly 10+ km SW of Woodend. There's no overlap of these courses whatsoever.

Of the say 33 km loop, approx. 5 km are sealed road (unavoidable if you want to enjoy the comforts of the town centre), somewhere near 10 km are flowing singletrack through pine forest, and the rest is fire/4WD tracks of varying surface, almost all is firm, well-bedded clay or gravel. You also get to ride through a sandstone culvert under the railway that dates from the 1860s.

HT/ST choice is up to you. There's a fair amount of climbing (say 700 m vertical total) per lap, but of course that means 700 m of descent too.
 
jathanas

jathanas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
MJG said:
It's in a rather different area, this one starts in the town centre of Woodend and goes up towards the mountain, heading east, whereas the Wombat Track start is roughly 10+ km SW of Woodend. There's no overlap of these courses whatsoever.

Of the say 33 km loop, approx. 5 km are sealed road (unavoidable if you want to enjoy the comforts of the town centre), somewhere near 10 km are flowing singletrack through pine forest, and the rest is fire/4WD tracks of varying surface, almost all is firm, well-bedded clay or gravel. You also get to ride through a sandstone culvert under the railway that dates from the 1860s.

HT/ST choice is up to you. There's a fair amount of climbing (say 700 m vertical total) per lap, but of course that means 700 m of descent too.
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The trail sections are more fun on a dually. I did it with a HT last year and found riding over the roots and bumps to be a little bit hard on Mr Bottom.
 
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