KONA Clock2clock Challenge, Sunday March 4th 2012, Woodend
- Thread starter GuidePaul
- Start date
Ok just back in from the track. Other than puddles the track is dry. The puddles are pretty much all drained and even if we get rain tomorrow you should be riding a reasonably dry track. The forecast for the local area is bellow and race day should be good. We will continue to keep drain puddles but there wasnt much left to drain and the chute is still clear and fast.
SATURDAY 3/3/12: Cloudy with fresh northeast or north winds, areas of low cloud and hill mist mainly morning, occasional showers/drizzle and a risk of thunder, a few showers may become heavy in places. MIN TEMPS 11 to 13°C MAX TEMPS 19 to 22°C.
SUNDAY 4/3/12: Areas of low cloud and drizzle mainly early then partly cloudy with occasional showers, winds shifting northwest or southwest in the early hours, a few brief sunny intervals in the afternoon. A cooler south/or southwest change through the day, chilly overnight into Monday with patchy drizzle.MIN TEMPS 11 to 12°C MAX TEMPS 19 to 22°C
SATURDAY 3/3/12: Cloudy with fresh northeast or north winds, areas of low cloud and hill mist mainly morning, occasional showers/drizzle and a risk of thunder, a few showers may become heavy in places. MIN TEMPS 11 to 13°C MAX TEMPS 19 to 22°C.
SUNDAY 4/3/12: Areas of low cloud and drizzle mainly early then partly cloudy with occasional showers, winds shifting northwest or southwest in the early hours, a few brief sunny intervals in the afternoon. A cooler south/or southwest change through the day, chilly overnight into Monday with patchy drizzle.MIN TEMPS 11 to 12°C MAX TEMPS 19 to 22°C
quiggs
Likes Dirt
Could be a lot more expensive if you were to race. brake pads, chain, gear cables + outers. Plus the slipperiness that the chute will deliver after the local lads have spent many hours cleansing and raking, bit of a pity for mother nature to unload a few buckets of water across it (the whole country for that matter)
Hey guys,
RACE IS ON!
Just spoke with Darren who advised rain stopped in Woodend a couple of hours ago and save for a few puddles, he and the local boys have drained anything that may have been a concern as well as shoveling bits clear and re-routing one or two small bits.
I rode the course this morning with Darren and Philby just to check out how it was going with the rain and it was pretty good, a few puddles and some wet track but nothing lower pressures and stomping on your outside pedal couldn't fix.
The forecast doesn't show rain tomorrow which is good so the glasses won't fog as they did in today's rain out there.
Sadly I probably won't be racing due to an innocuous slip whilst ironically not on the bike, that has strained my hand and now stopping me grabbing the bars with any conviction, oh well, shit happens. Hoping the anti inflammatory do their job.
Have fun.
RACE IS ON!
Just spoke with Darren who advised rain stopped in Woodend a couple of hours ago and save for a few puddles, he and the local boys have drained anything that may have been a concern as well as shoveling bits clear and re-routing one or two small bits.
I rode the course this morning with Darren and Philby just to check out how it was going with the rain and it was pretty good, a few puddles and some wet track but nothing lower pressures and stomping on your outside pedal couldn't fix.
The forecast doesn't show rain tomorrow which is good so the glasses won't fog as they did in today's rain out there.
Sadly I probably won't be racing due to an innocuous slip whilst ironically not on the bike, that has strained my hand and now stopping me grabbing the bars with any conviction, oh well, shit happens. Hoping the anti inflammatory do their job.
Have fun.
I was in Gisborne all day today, Mt Macedon was in a cloud all day. The drizzle didnt stop all day, im guessing it rained 15 to 20mm...ontop of about 100mm or more in the last week.
as you all know,its going to be pretty wet and muddy in there for you racers tomorrow, the chute is going to be slick and nasty.
Good luck to all competing tomorrow, I was too soft and didnt bother entering...my first ....maybe my last race, I might go and watch.
as you all know,its going to be pretty wet and muddy in there for you racers tomorrow, the chute is going to be slick and nasty.
Good luck to all competing tomorrow, I was too soft and didnt bother entering...my first ....maybe my last race, I might go and watch.
Agree. Would love to ride but a $400 tune up prior to OO and $220 after has me keeping the bike in the shed away from the grit. Good luck to everyone tomorrow.
Ok back inside now. The biggest problem we have had is the 17 trees that fell down on the track this afternoon. We have had just under 10mm of rain in woodend today but it was more drizzle and we didn't need rain coats etc to stay dry and we were out for 8 hours. As long as we don't get more than another 10mm tonight the riding surface will be ok. There is very little mud on the track and the chute will not be as hard as people have been saying. I would also point out that 80mm of that hundred we have had this week was prior to Wednesday and on Wednesday the track was completely dry. So its only been the 10mm and a bit yesterday arvo that needs to run off. Yes there will be a few puddles but there is nothing that cannot be ridden around.
Its very disappointing to hear people saying that because is was crap in Gisbourne its going to be a crap race. There is no way that you would trash your bike even if you went for a lap now.
Finally this is not the wombat track (that is very muddy) its track that are on the side of a hill that we can drain and that water can run off.
Its very disappointing to hear people saying that because is was crap in Gisbourne its going to be a crap race. There is no way that you would trash your bike even if you went for a lap now.
Finally this is not the wombat track (that is very muddy) its track that are on the side of a hill that we can drain and that water can run off.
Pastavore
Eats Squid
Rain gauge reading in Macedon this morning (6 am) 0.2 mm, and as of 5 minutes ago, 5.6 mm. Pretty much all soaked in except for in low lying areas that accumulate run-off. Any rain we got today was just at nuisance intensity, and didn't make any extra erosion or muddiness that we hadn't already worked on/fixed midweek. 10 more hours of drying will also help a lot. OK, you won't finish the lap(s) with an immaculate bike, but it won't be the mudfest some might be imagining.
Thought I'd get in first to say how wrong I turned out to be...didn't factor in the additional 5 mm that fell overnight, nor the extra drizzle that Woodend and the mountain got, almost right up to race start time. It was indeed a bit of a greasy slimy mudfest. Damn these La Nina weather events.
GuidePaul should be hired by drought-stricken farmers to organise MTB races nearby, based on the rains that have occurred around the running of both Clock2clocks and last year's Mountain Enduro Series.
Kudos to the organisers, big thanks to the race sponsors (mmm, bakery food, and tasty muesli bars) corner marshals and feed station volunteers.
jathanas
Likes Bikes and Dirt
My apologies to Darren for not fronting up, as i'd said i would. I woke up at 6:30 checked the weather and saw that it kept raining overnight. I got a taste of this course last year and i wasn't up to doing it in the wet. See you next year. I hope the bloody rain stays away.
Pastavore
Eats Squid
So this was my first MTB enduro. And my first time riding on a wet track of any kind. Bloody hell! Slippery, slimy, sucky slog. The chute was my worst nightmare become real. Walked a LOT more than I was expecting. Had problems the whole way with jammed pedals. Couldn't clip in when I wanted to. Then couldn't unclip when I needed to. Learnt what chainsuck is. 20km from home lost a bolt from a cleat ( too much stomping to clear mud I expect), so riding became even more challenging. I THINK I enjoyed myself, but I'm not sure. 70km shouldn't take that long.
Thanks to the organisers, marshals, and the super enthusiastic lady at the winery.
Thanks to the organisers, marshals, and the super enthusiastic lady at the winery.
Clock to Clock
I took a few photos at the bottom of the chute, pm me with your email and race number and will send you what I have.
Maybe with your bike, forks and what colours your kit is as I can not read all the race plates.
http://vimeo.com/37889767
I took a few photos at the bottom of the chute, pm me with your email and race number and will send you what I have.
Maybe with your bike, forks and what colours your kit is as I can not read all the race plates.
http://vimeo.com/37889767
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