You Yangs Yowie 3rd oct. 4 weeks away

[thematrix]

Ok folks, it is only four weeks till the you yang's yowie marathon race.
Each lap is 33km and you have a choice of 33km, 66km (two laps) or the 99km (3 laps )of the you yang's.
Have heard that GMBC will have online instant timing so you can ride with your iphone and not only check out face book and farkin but see who is in front of you.
We rode the yowie loop last week with a rider from interstate who was blown away by how great the you yang's were. He thought the diversity of tracks and terrain were fantastic as the Yowie loop takes in all of the best You Yang's has to offer, including Farm Yard, Lactic, Rockwell, Link, Boulder, Cressy, Junction, Kurrajong, the dirt jumps etc.
If you haven't entered may be time to sign up as it looks like there are going to be quite a few interstate riders coming down to enjoy the spring weather and the great track.

The winner also ends up being the Vic marathon champ and taking away some cash.

Here is the link it think http://www.gmbc.com.au/yowie/yowie.html

 

[Oldas]

We rode the yowie loop last week with a rider from interstate who was blown away by how great the you yang's were.

Hi mate

Any chance of geting a map of the lap?

Cheers

 

[Lanky Love]

Any detils about the amount of climbing? and start times. Im looking forward to this, looks like a fun track.

 

[Smiker]

Looks like a good event. If I can get the logistics organised, I may get down there!!

 

[thematrix]

map

Hi mate

Any chance of geting a map of the lap?

Cheers

i will see what i can do.

re start times . I think the GMBC crew are working them out at the moment and i will post them when i find out. the 100km started at 8.30 last year but the 33 and 66 may be staggered this year. more info to follow.
\

 

[ScooterXC]

Can't wait to see how it turns out!!
BTW hows preperation goin Matrix??
see you all in a month!!

 

[Benduro]

As I personally found the bush fire 6 hour enduro @ the Youies a lot more difficult than the Otway Odyssey (100km) I am questioning whether or not I would be able to complete the Yowie 99km
I do have an improved hydration plan now as the the thing that got me at the 6 hour was CRAMP and it was everywhere, couldn't even stand comfortably for the presentations and raffle draws!
Will enter, just have to decide which distance, 66km or 99km?
They are offering a free T with a 99km entry

 

[edo1]

Any more details on the course?

 

[thematrix]

hope this helps for now.

Hi there folks.
Thanks for all the questions re the yowie.
I am working all weekend and have Tuesday off so will try and ride the track again or will try and get some sort of map available ,but cos work is super busy won't get on to it till next week..
Pls note I am not the race director or major organizer but one of a number of the GMBC race crew that helps out so here is the Yowie Loop. It is the 33km loop to the best of my ability at present. It may change slightly/ or a bit , so just use this as a guide only.
but here goes.

Start at the You Yangs main entrance.
Ride anti clock wise up great circle drive
right into cressy gully road.
right onto farm yard track and circle around farm yard anti clock wise to drysdale road.
Ride past drysdale car park and ascend Vomit Hill.
Right onto Boulder track and descend. (such a great track)
Right off end of Boulder and circle back right and head up towards Rockwell
Ascend Rockwell till the link track
Left onto the link track
Right onto Lactic
Ascend to the top of stockyard and past the Down hill start platform
Left onto Travs.
Descend Travs to cressy gully road
Ascend Cressy climb.
Left off top of cressy climb to stockyards carpark then right onto the start of the Junction track
Descend the Junction track all the way to great circle drive cross it keep descending through the forest area of the junction track ,cross great circle drive again and ride past or over the raised north shore.
Right onto the dirt jumps and keep descending through the dirt jumps and berms through the kurrajongs area.
Basically then stay on the outside loop west side of the kurrajongs area with a small detour and ride through to the Kurrajong car park stay on the west loop track and ride to sandy creek road
At sandy creek road ride along the fence line (this may change a bit) till you get back to the entrance of the you Yang's national park.

Phew! hope that is a bit clearer.

But as you can see there is some great riding through the best parts of the you yang's.
The decent from the top of stockyards down the junction track over the dirt jumps and then through the kurrajong area was loved by our interstate rider last week. He couldn't believe how long it went for and also the really great variety in the decent.
Also there are some good technical parts to the yowie, as well as the beautiful flowing single track of the kurrajongs area, and a bit of great circle drive to get some food and recovery.

Really hope this helps a few of you until we can get a map up.

Also a really big heads up the the national parks guys at the you yangs. They are just awesome guys and have been again and again super super helpful. if you bump into the national parks guys say hello to them.

Thanks again.
Hope many of the riders on this forum can come and enjoy a great race and have heaps of fun.

 

[edo1]

Thanks mate...I think Ive got it.

I'll be out there on Sunday trying to decide what distance I can manage!

 

[Timmy!!!]

Yowie Training Ride

This just in (from the GMBC Website)...

The GMBC Race Crew is taking guided a tour for all of the Yowie Hunters in preparation for the State Marathon Championships to be held on the 3rd of October 2009. There is only four weeks until the Yowie, which will be held at the You Yangs Regional Park. There will be BBQ and snacks sold afterwards from the club tent. Support your club and join the Race Crew who always provides great atmosphere and good times on a mountain bike.

Be on the lookout for Captain Black De Monde and of course, the Yowie. The Forrest Fairy will be there too.

If you are interested in participating in this fun event contact info@gmbc.com.au .

Start time will be 10:30 am Saturday 5 September. Pass this onto your friends and see you there.

Starting location will be at the front of the You Yangs main entrance. Parking in Sandy Creek Road.

 

[thematrix]

directions more details

here are some maps and also have added the track numbers so people can follow the directions better.
hope this helps.


Start at the You Yangs main entrance.
Ride anti clock wise up great circle drive
right into Cressy gully road.
right onto farm yard track 5 and circle around (farm yard slang name) really called quarry pit anti clock wise to drysdale road.
Ride past drysdale car park and ascend Vomit Hill. Track 1
Right onto Boulder track 9 and descend. (such a great track)
Right off the end of Boulder and circle back right and head up track 2 towards Rockwell
Ascend Rockwell track 4 till the link track
Left onto the link track 11
Right onto Lactic track 6
Ascend to the top of stockyard and past the Down hill start platform on track 1
Left onto Travs. Track 7
Descend Travs track 7 and stay on it and climb through the sister berms. (not on map) Stay on travs and climb through the churn section of travs track, then back onto to the bottom to cressy gully road. (The churn section of travs track is not on the map yet but runs next to track 2.)
Turn right onto cressy climb and Ascend Cressy climb. track 13
Left off the top of cressy climb track 13 to stockyards carpark track 1 then right onto the start of the Junction track 14
Descend the Junction track 14 all the way to great circle drive cross it keep descending through the forest area of the junction track ,cross great circle drive again and ride past or over the raised north shore.
Right onto the dirt jumps track 15 chainsaw track and keep descending through the dirt jumps and berms through the kurrajongs area.

At the junction of track 15 and 16 plantation track instead of turning right onto plantation track detour straight up the avenue of grey gums and then at the dry creek loop back around to the right and join the plantation track and back to the junction of 15 and 16 now turn left onto the plantation track
Basically then stay on the outside loop of track 16 plantation track west side of the kurrajongs area and ride through to the Kurrajong car park stay on the west loop track 17 lumberjack track and ride to sandy creek road
At sandy creek road ride along the fence line (this may change a bit) till you get back to the entrance of the you Yang's national park.

 

[Timmy!!!]

Familiarisation Ride

Today's familiarisation ride was a blast. It really is a great track that takes in almost everything the Youies has to offer. We had a round dozen riders, with Steve Clausen leading and coaching. Titanium Dave organised the barbie for us afterward, and he and Tania did the cooking. Top do!

Thanks to Steve for converting my Anthem to single speed after a stick ate my rear derailleur. What do I think of SS XC after 20 km of it? It sucks!!!!!!!!! You SS guys are completely mental!

 

[thematrix]

yowie track ride on again.

Yowie Hunters
Sun, Sep 6 2009 12:51
Due to the raging success of the Yowie Training Ride, there will be another chance to get a glimpse of the mystical creature before he comes out to play in October. Meet at the Park Entrance and the Duck Pond School at 1030 on Saturday 19 September .We will be heading out the sighting lap for those who might be interested in a ride including a few laughs and sprints through the trees. Don’t forget the rocks... There will be a free BBQ at the end, at the school.

E-mail the club via the contact page and let them know you are interested. Vacancies will soon disappear.

Look forward to seeing you there!

http://www.gmbc.com.au/

 

[ScooterXC]

Sounds like it was a susccesful day!
Kee up the brilliant work guys!

 

[Benizmo]

Is the course confirmed? I did most of the track yesterday and was pretty happy with most of it, obviously wasn't able to attempt riding up cressy with traffic still coming down, that will be an experience on the day! But I have never ridden track 7 and was suprised when I did! The park listing has t as easy and after riding I would say it is far more difficult than Cressy or boulder. There are no b lines on most obstacles and quite a few sections that would be very dodgy on anything less than a 5" travel bike particularly the long rock garden, I actually saw a couple dh riders come to greif here on full travel dh bikes. I am very suprised with the inclusion of this track and for the enduro guys on hard tails going for 99 they might find it tough on their second and third laps! Looking forward to the day

 

[thematrix]

travs track

Is the course confirmed? I did most of the track yesterday and was pretty happy with most of it, obviously wasn't able to attempt riding up cressy with traffic still coming down, that will be an experience on the day! But I have never ridden track 7 and was suprised when I did! The park listing has t as easy and after riding I would say it is far more difficult than Cressy or boulder. There are no b lines on most obstacles and quite a few sections that would be very dodgy on anything less than a 5" travel bike particularly the long rock garden, I actually saw a couple dh riders come to greif here on full travel dh bikes. I am very suprised with the inclusion of this track and for the enduro guys on hard tails going for 99 they might find it tough on their second and third laps! Looking forward to the day

Glad you rode the track and enjoyed it.

The thinking of the coarse designer of the yowie was to reward different types of riders so every type a rider has a chance to be rewarded and make up some time..
If you are a roadie type then you can make up some time on the great circle drive.
If your a super light climbing whippet then there is cressy climb and vomit hill to ride up.
If you are a smooth good xc riders who can cruz through beautiful flowing single track then the kurrajongs and farm yard is the area to make up time
If you're a good descender then trav track is your cup of tea to makeup time.
Hopefully the track design means all different types of riders can do equally as well.


Gmbc has run about 18 races around the you yang's this year many were club races and winter series races with A B and C grade so we understand what you are up against.
The most important thing is to stay safe so if a section is a bit of a challenge then jump off your bike and walk it. You will drop about 10 seconds but may make it up in other areas.
The timber berms on travs have an inside line which can be ridden or walked .
Re the section I think you call the rack garden, this is the > archaeological gardens section of travs track and a section we call the churn. Trav built this like as a puzzle and it can be ridden and it rewards technical riders. You will only loose a few seconds it you decide to walk it.
It may get a bit more earth on the day to make it slightly smoother.

If you come to the GMBC track intro day then I am sure some of the better riders will be more than happy to help you out with a few of the tricks to the tricky section of travs.

Further last year about 40% of riders were on hard tails.
During our club races about 30% of riders are on hard tails.
The whole track can be ridden with either, ride what suits you



Thanks again

 

[thematrix]

yowie track final directions confirmed by race dir.

Start at the You Yangs main entrance at the School on the Gravel road. Pass the Ranger depot and the stand pipe. Veer right onto Great Circle Drive.
Ride anti clock wise up great circle drive. Climbing, climbing, climbing
right into Cressy gully road.
Left onto farm yard track 5 and cross Cressy Gully Rd to circle around (farm yard slang name) really called quarry pit anti clock wise to drysdale road.
Ride past drysdale car park and ascend Vomit Hill. Track 1
Right onto Boulder track 9 include the clam shell and descend exclude the boulder. (such a great track)
Right off the end of Boulder before the boardwalk and turn back right and head up track 2 towards Rockwell
Ascend Rockwell track 4 till the link track
Left onto the link track 11
Right onto Lactic track 6
Ascend to the top of Stockyards and past the Down hill start platform on track 1
Left onto Travs. Track 7
Descend Travs track 7 and stay on it and climb through the sister berms. (not on map) Stay on travs and climb through the archaeological gardens section of travs track riding through the Churn, then back onto to the bottom of the fire road that takes you to cressy gully road. (This section “the churn” of travs track is not on the map yet but runs next to track 2.)
Turn right onto cressy climb and Ascend Cressy climb. track 13
Left off the top of cressy climb track 13 to stockyards carpark track 1 then right onto the start of the Junction track 14
Descend the Junction track 14 all the way to great circle drive cross it at the blind corner, keep descending through the forest area of the junction track ,cross great circle drive again and ride past or over the raised north shore.
Right stay slight left of the dirt jumps track 15 chainsaw track and keep descending through the dirt jumps and berms through the kurrajongs area.

At the junction of track 15 and 16 plantation track instead of turning right onto plantation track detour straight up the avenue of pain and then at the dry creek loop back around to the right and join the plantation track and back to the junction of 15 and 16 now turn left onto the plantation track
Basically then stay on the outside loop of track 16 plantation track west (Geelong) side of the kurrajongs area and ride through to the Kurrajong car park stay on the west loop track 17 lumberjack track and ride to sandy creek road
At sandy creek road ride uphill through single track toward the school, turn left at the stand pipe and see the road. accross 3m of bitumen and finish at the school.


ps just a note of thanks for the parks guys again for being super helpful with
everything.

 

[gadget1]

66km or 99km

just wondering if i should do the 66 or 99? what would be the average time for each lap?

also i run crossmarks would these be the best tyre for the race?
thanks

 

[trav]

Glad you rode the track and enjoyed it.

The thinking of the coarse designer of the yowie was to reward different types of riders so every type a rider has a chance to be rewarded and make up some time..
If you are a roadie type then you can make up some time on the great circle drive.
If your a super light climbing whippet then there is cressy climb and vomit hill to ride up.
If you are a smooth good xc riders who can cruz through beautiful flowing single track then the kurrajongs and farm yard is the area to make up time
If you're a good descender then trav track is your cup of tea to makeup time.
Hopefully the track design means all different types of riders can do equally as well.


Gmbc has run about 18 races around the you yang's this year many were club races and winter series races with A B and C grade so we understand what you are up against.
The most important thing is to stay safe so if a section is a bit of a challenge then jump off your bike and walk it. You will drop about 10 seconds but may make it up in other areas.
The timber berms on travs have an inside line which can be ridden or walked .
Re the section I think you call the rack garden, this is the > archaeological gardens section of travs track and a section we call the churn. Trav built this like as a puzzle and it can be ridden and it rewards technical riders. You will only loose a few seconds it you decide to walk it.
It may get a bit more earth on the day to make it slightly smoother.

If you come to the GMBC track intro day then I am sure some of the better riders will be more than happy to help you out with a few of the tricks to the tricky section of travs.

Further last year about 40% of riders were on hard tails.
During our club races about 30% of riders are on hard tails.
The whole track can be ridden with either, ride what suits you



Thanks again

Just so no one gets the wrong impression that any parts of the course will be altered for this event.

I'll confirm that no sections of the course will have any earth over them to make them smooth,regardless of what you may hear from the event organizers.

As thematrix says it will reward the better riders, if it's to hard walk it.