VIC Odyssey - Forrest

M

Mafra

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Pastavore said:
Next event, 75km at Wombat.
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I kinda want to do the 75... but think I should finish a 50 this year first. *sigh*

It was a frustrating day out, but on the upside I was exceeding my expectations until the bike went to shit - there was plenty to be positive about once I calmed down & enjoyed a Forest beer or two.
 
mtb101

mtb101

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great day out, did the 50k, time was 2:46, beautiful course, well organized. had no issues this year (no broken derailleur) - think I drank too much beer. was great to be able to ride pretty hard for 50k compared to 100k where I have to hold back a bit. red carpet is in great nick and tracks 4,5,6 are a blast.

wombat, maybe ... a bit expensive, might do the 25k that's only $40s.
 
RoscoeP

RoscoeP

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Well done to all finishers and I think we were lucky to have the perfect race conditions - I like to be able to wear long sleeves to stave off the slashing foliage.

I rode the 100 km and managed to meet all pre-race goals of 1. Not crashing (at least I mean badly) 2. No mechanicals and 3. Finishing with nothing left.

I was riding with a guy I thought would have been on around 5:30 pace and the legs felt totally crap for the first 38 km, to the point where I was thinking that I might barely make 60 km. But then I gradually started to feel better as the race wore on and realised there were some fast riders around me - either they were all having a bad day or I wasn't travelling so bad after all. Pretty much once I got to the top of Red Carpet I knew I could hold on through the West Forrest trails. But I was shocked when I saw that the time was 4:59 when I crossed the line. It was at that stage when I realised why it had hurt so much.

Overall totally stoked and thanks to the organizers for a great day.

My biggest kudos for the day though goes to the guy I rode with for a while who finished in 5:15 wearing a T-shirt, board shorts a a pair of five tens and flat pedals. Nuts.
 
mtb101

mtb101

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heisenberg said:
Awesome race down there on the weekend. Only my second time but this is one of my favourites and the trails on Saturday were perfect!

Here's my first crack at a post race write up. If you're interested, have a read and see what you think.

http://ben-vaughan-mtb.blogspot.com.au
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good read, looking at your time up sledgehammer you must have got a good line? rideable? also how did you find the change to course in first section, assume you still got the sandy road was it slow? yes agree about moto descent normally they trim it back and when I rode it 2 weeks ago there was a large log across so walk only. on strava looks like you had no stop time, that's the way to save minutes.
 
H

heisenberg

Squid
Thanks guys.

mtb101 said:
good read, looking at your time up sledgehammer you must have got a good line? rideable? also how did you find the change to course in first section, assume you still got the sandy road was it slow? yes agree about moto descent normally they trim it back and when I rode it 2 weeks ago there was a large log across so walk only. on strava looks like you had no stop time, that's the way to save minutes.
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Yeah, I managed to get almost to the top of sledgehammer but just had a wheel slip right at the end, ran with the bike then got back on the pony for the last little bit where the gradient eased off. Also, funny thing about that log across the track. I forgot to write about it, it looked like it had been built up a little bit into a log roll but was still very difficult. I came up on it at maybe 25kmh and had no time to react. Thought I was coming off for sure but I somehow kept it together.

caad9 said:
Very solid time Ben! Well done.
Extra kudos for having a Breaking Bad related username!
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Say. My. Name.
 
G

gpmtb

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Great reading Ben's post (+1 on Breaking Bad there) on the Odyssey. For a perspective from back further in the the field you can check out the following. Great event with the trails simply in A1 condition. Liked the new section before getting to Haydens Tk, kind of reminded me of the ripping descent to Delatite at Buller (not the vertical descent, the one that uses that horse track). Those times of the guys way up the pointy end are crazy - sheez they must absolutely hammer some of those sections.

https://ridethedirttrail.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/54916-thats-how-i-rolled-the-odyssey-2015/
 
caad9

caad9

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gpmtb said:
Great reading Ben's post (+1 on Breaking Bad there) on the Odyssey. For a perspective from back further in the the field you can check out the following. Great event with the trails simply in A1 condition. Liked the new section before getting to Haydens Tk, kind of reminded me of the ripping descent to Delatite at Buller (not the vertical descent, the one that uses that horse track). Those times of the guys way up the pointy end are crazy - sheez they must absolutely hammer some of those sections.

https://ridethedirttrail.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/54916-thats-how-i-rolled-the-odyssey-2015/
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Another good read, I really enjoy reading other peoples versions of the same event.

I'll put one together over the weekend for my 50km race.
 
mtb101

mtb101

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good read on the shorty, was a great course as it catered to climbers early on, then very technical through 4,5,6 and then the big bangers for the final loop.

obviously lost time stopping for downed rider, has to be done of course you probably lost 5 minutes there by the sounds of it. bottom line, its mtb fun at its most grand.

well done.
 
RoscoeP

RoscoeP

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Thanks to everyone for their race write ups - I too love hearing perspectives from people all through the field and being subject to all sorts of fortune and misfortune. You really cannot predict what is going to happen in races like this but reading these stories is a great way to find out.

I can't say I have thrown up on the side of the road yet though. Obviously haven't been pushing hard enough and something to look forward to.

Once thing no one has really mentioned though was the treacherous fast-slow pace of the front group on the tarmac at the start of the 100 km race. It was bad enough having the guy go down in the first 200 m or so of the race, which I narrowly avoided, but the number of times people sent shockwaves back through the bunch by grabbing the anchors as we ran out of Forrest and into Barwon Downs was insane. Jesus... just let the bikes roll! It was really unpleasant, to the point that i just couldn't wait to get onto the dirt when finally things settled down a little more. The last thing you want is to come down before the race has even started...
 
caad9

caad9

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My vomiting friend, Bret, made a point of mentioning how slow the start was in the 100km race.
He said it was rather stressful with everyone being so close together and a lot of MTB riders not being regular 'bunch' riders.

Interesting at the finish, Jongewaard said he was gunning for the record and in the end he was within a minute.
By the sounds of it, a tiny bit more pace for the first 20km's would have had him well under.
 
mtb101

mtb101

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Pastavore said:
Yeah, I met this guy at the race.

Plenty of footage of my ass in the climbing sections, and videographic evidence of my aversion to any kind of log on the trail :)
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which one are you? all black stealthy or yellow, or green guy who doesn't like getting passed.
 
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