Race Report Team Midnight Sun - Facing Adversity.

Original Report at http://www.teammidnightsun.com/geoquest-2011-facing-adversity

Our Geoquest story begins with XPD. We had the team organised and Geoquest was to be a bit of a trial run.

Rachelle decided to put the first spanner in the works by trying to see if her mountain bike frame was stronger than a wall in the Capital Punishment 100k. It wasn’t and the side effect was a broken scapula and related damage. So Rachelle was out. No matter Ben came on board. Ben is a great team mate to race with so all good. Rachelle was going to support too – bonus.

Then Anna decided to have her turn. She managed to fracture her wrist. No problems it was going to be healed in time for Geoquest. However, slipping over in the wet and avoiding hurting her wrist further meant landing hard on her backside and injuring her back. Anna was out and only weeks to go. So we put the word out to get another team member and Anna was a second support person.

Mean time I decided to pull a calf muscle. No worries, 4 weeks and it should be healed. After two weeks not looking good, so back off any running or walking get some physio and massage, and fingers crossed. Maybe this is an excuse to avoid running during the event.

Justin was found as our fourth so things were coming together again. Then the Monday before the race starts I get a phone call from David: ‘Hi, just ringing to give you the heads up …’ Oh oh. And not good news. Anna and David had a funeral to attend on the Friday Geoquest compentency checks were supposed to happen. Bugger, I thought that was it and Ben, Justin and I would be starting unranked. But no, David was going to drive up with gear and fly back on Thursday, attend the funeral and fly back on Friday afternoon. Email to Craig to get the OK and awesome – we are back on track to start.

Friday morning and I pick up Ben early to drive up. Both of us sniffling away – two colds. Unbelievable. We just figured when the race started our bodies would not have time to feel off and the colds would go. We’ve run out of fingers to cross but here’s hoping.

Then, Friday afternoon Ben decides his brakes need bleeding. After some mucking around there is this fluid stuff coming out around the brake levers. Mmm. Luckily I had put a spare bike in so some quick canibilisation and the rear brake from spare bike moved onto Bens bike. Whew, what is next.

David and Anna arrived and we completed the kayak compentency and swim in the dark and we were ready to go. Dinner at the club and contact and organise maps and we are all good to go. Epic and we have not even started the race.

Race starts. Justin has only been kayaking a couple of times so this ocean thing is new. So to top things off a nice set came in just as we launched off the beach. Justin and David got toppled by a wave – not a good start. After getting some help moving to the side of the break they eventualy got back in and emptied. Oh, I forgot to mention that David’s pump battery died on the Friday as well so they had to pump out with the manual pump. Oh well. A slow start but we all got organised and off we went.

Turns out while the swell was not that big there was a bit of a messy sea (chop) around. Justin was feeling a little tippy in this unfamiliar environment but was getting the hang of this ocean thing. About half way up the kayak leg David and Justin fell out again, so we moved the battery from my kayak to theirs so they could use the electic pump, got organised and then Ben noticed a paddle in the air a few hundred metres off. Man – were we ever going to get anywhere?

So over to the paddle in the air to find two guys beside their swamped kayak – the rear hatch cover was off and one of them was already cold. Turned out they had been there almost 30 minutes, and no sign of their team mates. Phone call to Craig to get rescue boat on its way. Put the cold guy into one of our boats then mucked around trying to get a double mirage full of water empty. Not easy with the rear compartment flooded. Rescue boat arrived and we handed over. We will always remember the shivering guy saying ‘I hate the f..ing ocean. I’m from the country’. However, it was a reminder that things can easily get serious in these races.

Time to make some progress. With all the mucking around we lost track of where we were and ended up heading way further out than we needed, but spotted the surf club and headed back in. One leg over, 9 to go.

Off on the mountain bike leg right at the back of the field. We can only improve from here. But then 100 metres off the bitumen a stick went through my deraillure. Carbon fibre cage stood no chance. I have no idea where the second jockey wheel ended up. Fifteen odd years of mountain biking and adventure racing this has never happened to me or anyone on my team. Why now?

So 30 minutes of bending and chain breaking and I have a single speed. Good, lets go get the second check point. Not quite so good. I could not push up the hills and the chain jumped under any decent load. We had decided to do a four way split at CP2. Justin the pack horse was going stright through to blow up the rafts and lilos, carrying the big pumps and two split paddles was well. I like this guy – I’ll race with him any time. Ben, David and I were going different ways to collect the check points. Seeing as my chain was playing up we changed a bit so I got the shortest route and off we went. As it turned out I had to stop and tinker with the single speed a couple of times but arrived just in time to avoid blowing up any lilos or rafts. And the guys had worked out a good system. Maybe things are looking up.

The rafting, next kayak leg and next trek leg went pretty smoothly. Got to hear the story about David following Ben across a river only to find out after he stepped in that Ben had actually swum across and was not walking on the bottom. David should have taken that as a hint because on the trek leg David decided to follow Ben’s lead to dive onto bushes only to completely disappear. We could hear his voice buy could not see him. Eventually this hand appeared up from the bushes for us to drag David out. Very entertaining for a Saturday evening.

Our support crew had also gone back to get my spare bike and found a bike mechanic to swap the derailleur and chain from the spare bike over so my bike was good to go. Can’t say I was going to miss the jumping single speed and walking up mild gradients.

The next legs were pretty straight forward and our confidence was coming back. We started moving up the field too. Duncan managed to put is front wheel in a hole, went over the bars, and the front tyre was pushed off the rim. Thankfully Ben had a CO2 cylinder and after cleaning a few leaves out of the rim, a quick squirt from the cylinder and we were off. Saved mucking around with putting a tube in and maybe luck was turning a little. Put in a unnecessary small dog leg on the trek leg up to transition at CP 13 just to make ourselves realise we should not get too cocky.

From CP 13 it was the car move due to the risk of flooding in the Bellinger river. About halfway down the car move Ben started making noises about his race bib. After some scratching around there was no sign of it. Bugger, back to the transition to find it. Also turns out that our support crew had left a bike wheel at another transtion. There goes 2 hours. We had been getting closer to the lead male team – oh well.

All that sorted and off we went from CP 18. Another straight forward leg if we ignore the little bit where Duncan put the map 90 degress out from the compass. Focus boys, still a way to go and we could catch that lead male team yet.

The next trek leg and we were getting back to racing. No more mechanical or logistical issues out here. We messed around a little at two places on this leg but kept things moving. We came out near CP 26, the last CP on this leg, to find an official yelling across the river – the course was closed due to the weather. WTF? Craig closing the course because of a little rain? That did not make sense. Anyway we reluctantly gave up on CP 26 and headed over to the official who then explained the vehicles getting bogged and rising river levels. Oh – that made sense, but still a little disappointing to have to end the race.

So lots of good stories for us. Great racing with Ben, David and Justin. Huge thanks to Anna, Emily, and Rachelle.

Next time, no mistakes. We will nail it.

TriAdventure Apprentices

Race Team

Justin
Audrey
Paddy
Howie

Support Team

Ronnie (support)
Linda (support supporter)
Tracey (the support supporters support!)

After what seemed like months of training runs up Timbeerwah, rides around Wooroi & the odd raft paddle in the river, GeoQuest 2011 was finally here.. off to Nambucca Heads

Our crack team consisted of 4 newbies to 24hour Adventure Racing but with a range of experiences from other events & disciplines, we thought we’d give it a go. Of course Jan and Kim’s inspiration was always present and it’s amazing what a smiling Jan can convince you of.!!

Our support crew was a little un-orthodox as well, Paddy had roped in his Brother Ronnie (without many details) and we had Tracey & Linda who would do as much as the 3 ankle biters would allow.

Friday – Faff day

A beautiful sunny day greeted us to the GeoQuest event and HQ. The sleepy river front was alive with bikes, boats & and as Audrey said.. “highly fit & competent looking people” quite exciting. The day turned into one big Faff attack, not my favorite activity, with briefings, kayak inflating, kit packing, kit unpacking, kayak deflating, kit packing, swimming, kit unpacking...... We always had one eye on the watch, waiting for 3pm when the Course Maps would be handed out and the RACE really got underway.

Paddy & I whisked the maps back to team HQ and quickly totted up the overview of the race... “this is a gonna be a piece of piss” ... “home for brekkie”.... “12hours tops” well, yes our egos were writing cheques our bodies couldn’t cash, but it did give us a wave of confidence that it was all manageable. Of course, we’d massively underestimated the sheer sneakiness of the Course planner and how awful the tracks were, but hey at the time we’d already won the race.

After briefing the support team, having dinner, talking it all through with Howie & Audrey and finalizing our race kit.. it was off to bed by about 10pm... Now, would the kids be crying all night and spoil the beauty sleep.

Race Team

Support Team

Justin Audrey Paddy Howie

Saturday: RACE DAY:

Brekkie at 6am, leave at 6.45 in the cars to start the race 20km or so further North. All feeling the excited nerves now, have we forgotten anything? Check the tires, load the cars, off we go... fantastic

Fortunately, the organsiers had put the pack rafting into the first leg so we only had to carry the 2x rubber rafts, pfds, oars & double lilo for an hour or so... It was good to check out the competition and see what solutions they had at the start line.

8:00: MTB Rogaine with Pack Rafting to finish

“Don’t rush... don’t rush” Paddy shouted as we blasted up the first hill. It was a bit of a mad dash to the first CP and the first 2 CP’s showed us how we’d underestimated the course nav. Extra tracks not marked on the map and a waist deep walk through a wet culvert saw us waste 10mins in the first 45mins. Not a good start, but it’s a long race..

After completing the MTB rogaine separately, we met up as a team on the river bank to start the pack raft.. bugger, there’re 3 teams ahead of us inflating their boats. Oh well. Pump away, no faff, on the river in 3rd place. Very happy with our set up, 2 boats & 1 lilo for the bikes, some teams were practically swimming and it’s a long 2km...We overtake 1 team (Rule 5) in the water and get to the TA in 2nd place.

It was great to see the support team who had our kayaks inflated and ready to go. My son Finn, couldn’t understand why he couldn’t jump in the kayak too so we paddled off hearing him cry out... next time maybe

10:39: Kayak

2 Min ahead of team Rule5

With one team in front we put our heads down and got into a nice routine.. well Audrey & I did. Paddy & Howie hadn’t done much paddling and they adopted the blind snake strategy, weaving their way down the river. 10minutes later they had it sorted, we’d had our laughs and now we were overtaking the male team in front.
The river separated half way down, we chose the Southern route, the male team went North. The next 40mins or so were very relaxed. No-one in sight, a beautiful river full of kingfishers and herons.

Just before the TA the river rejoined and we could see that the male team had 5minutes advantage on us... AND they’d portaged... at a point where the river looped back on itself they’d jumped out and portaged across saving them about 2km... Just then the safety boat zoomed over to us and asked if we’d seen them do an illegal portage.. “sure did” so had they. Anyway we’ll worry about that later, into the TA in 2nd place

12:22: Lilo swim & beach run

8 Min ahead of team Rule5
14 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

It’s always the things that you don’t give a second thought to, that catch you out.!! Now in my defense, growing up in the UK doesn’t lend itself to summers on lilos or surfboards, but bloody hell, could I stay on the damn lilo and paddle it.. NO..

I was in the river more than on the lilo, we had to keep within 10m of each other, which was tricky when Howie looked like a swan & I was a drowning cat. Still, Paddy came to the rescue and pulled me across. Bugger, we still had another river to cross. With a few rolled eyes & tips from Howie, I got the hang of it and next minute we’re on the beach surrounded by other teams.

Shit, shit, shit, we’ve lost heaps of time, we’ve been caught by everyone, run...run.... “Calm down boys, these are the leading Full course teams coming through, let’s stick to plan” were the wise words from Audrey.. pheww

A quick trot up the beach and the first bit of rain saw us getting ready for the MTB rogaine. Running along going into a TA we always grouped up and discussed the TA process and what we needed to wear etc. very very useful

13:34: MTB Rogaine

6 Min ahead of team Rule5
17 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

It felt great to get back onto the bikes and the first hour or so was easy nav and terrain to get into a good rhythm. Paddy tried out the tow line on the long climbs to keep Audrey fresh and it worked a treat.

CP-U saw us needing to get off the bikes and go bush on a bearing until we found a creek, easy enough... Do’h. We ended up following Team Blackhearts (the eventual winners of the full course) footprints down into the gully and turned right. Missing the creek junction on the left we carried on up the creek as it got steadily steeper and more covered in lantana. After 15mins or so, loosing confidence, Paddy bashed his way over to the creek gully saying “This looks okkkkkkkkkkkk”he was there one minute, gone the next.. as the dust settled I could see him 5metres down in the gully shaking his head. Time to turn back. Found the right creek and then the CP. Back to the bikes.

A puncture put a halt on our get away, and we had time to count up the teams around us.. I could see a couple of Full teams and also our competitors Rule5 & Pacific Survey.

Dark fell, lights on, rain stopped, getting cold. Push on, keep the other teams lights in sight. Check our route, yep, all heading to the next CP. Audrey reciting some poetry to keep spirits up... I forget the poem.. but “into the night, into the night.. fight with rage...”stayed in my mind as we pushed on not stopping for food or warm clothes

All the CP’s done, it’s a fast roll down bitumen into the TA at Bellingen. We’d scheduled some hot food here and a longer stop to change into warm clothes for the night stage. Ronnie & Linda had the TA sorted with hot baked beans, a shelter to huddle under and lot of encouragement. As we left our estimate for the next TA for them was 12pm – 4am.. we couldn’t be more accurate than that!

18:21: Night Trek (run in our case)

1 Min behind team Rule5
3 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

Leaving in 2nd place I’d assumed, and told Audrey, that we’d walk this leg. I forgot to mention this to Paddy.! Quite rightly, he got us running and pushing on into the bush. We had 2 options of attacking the first bush CP, we went East along a good jeep track. Over 2 bridges and on to the third. Bugger, the bridge’s gone.. the creek was small, but a long way down. It all turned a bit Bear Grylls as we clambered down and then up the steep sided rock. Carry on, turn into bush track, climb & climb & climb onto the ridge, getting cold & wet but feeling strong. CP at the top then down the other side. Team coming up the other way, can’t see who but they are all wearing waterproof pants, envious!

Paddy pulls out a wonderful bit of Nav to find the spur track down off the ridge. Hit the bottom and now we’re all mixed in with team Rule5. Arrive at the strike point for CP14 at the same time and roughly enter the bush together. The terrain is very steep and slippery but free of lantana. The other team pull behind us and head off to our left. We head straight down the contours in to the gully. Now this is a b##tard of a gully. Rock sided, fallen trees everywhere, wait-a-while vines to complete the horror and NOT THE RIGHT GULLY.. bugger, a few bearings tell us we’ve veered too far North and landed in the wrong gully. Up and over to the right spot and find the CP.. wasted 20mins or so

Next CP, similar nightmare but this time the map is just plain wrong.. team Rule5 seen in the distance leaving the area, Audrey says “lets look over there, where they are” we ignored her (Do’h) and searched in vain along with team Pacific Survey for 20minustes or so... damn this is frustrating, there it is .>!!!

Just a quick / walk run out of the bush to the TA now... Pacific Survey just 20metres behind.. following a track on a SE bearing.... I check the compass, North, I check my other compass North, “Howie what bearing do you have”..”North”. Paddy we’re heading North.. bugger. Stop, check map. Other team do the same behind. It’s ok, the track bends to the N at the end.. cool.. keep going, other team turn around and head back down.. oh well... that ends up costing them an hour!!

Walking into the TA we see Rule5 heading out in the bikes so we guess they’ve got 25mins on us now. No support crew just a gear drop. Into the bike gear, runners into backpack. Cup of tea from the angel. Mark up maps for the next leg and swap lights onto helmet... lets go... 20minutes in the TA

23:58: MTB

35 Min behind team Rule5
1hr 14Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

This was a straight forward MTB leg with just 1 CP. Easy nav and I’d kept us on the main fire trails. Force ourselves to eat and drink. All feeling good. Bikes going well, we may even catch Rule5

Last turn into the TA to pick up the kayaks. “Shit.. Audrey, my freehubs gone, come here...” I grab hold of her backpack and she pulls me over the final pinch so I can coast into the TA.. Wow, that was timing, without a Freehub, I can’t pedal, period. Buts that Ok we’re onto the kayaks now.... “Kayaks... shit, support’s not here!!!!!!”

OK, now what...?! “can we use a stewards phone to call our support?” OK, anybody remember a mobile number for Linda or Ronnie? No, shit.. ok I know Traceys number, no answer, I know my number, no answer... Paddy shouts..”I’ll call my Mum in Melbourne”

P: “Hi Mum, no I’m fine.. can you call Ronnie and tell him we’re waiting at the Transition... he’ll know where... sorry for waking you up... love you”

20 minutes later, Ronnie screams into transition having gone through Nambucca at 85kmh, sorry everyone...

Ok, so we can’t catch Rule5 now, let’s not loose 2
and still motivated and pleased to be onto the kayaks. Ronnie is mortified, and swearing like a fishermen’s wife. Turns out He & Linda had been following us on the live tracking website which confused the crap out of things.. oh’well

2:02: KAYAK

25 Min behind team Rule5
1hour 44 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

Tricky paddle, just because it was misty and raining hard. No lights on the banks and leaving our Ay- ups on our heads, meant we couldn’t see a thing. We later realized that no lights would have been the go..

We had an hour or so in the kayaks and we all started reacting a little differently knowing we were nearly home... I was cocky and too relaxed “Oh, it’s bound to be down here...”.. Audrey was like a nervous Nelly “wait, wait, there’s something floating ahead, don’t hit it” .... And Paddy & Howie, were sticking to a bearing of N.E even though Audrey could clearly see the bridge in the other direction... I think we had the ‘almost home wobbles’

Still, made it t o the TA and it was cold, very cold, with a southerly blowing on the beach we decided to leave our PFD’s on for the run.. through onto the beach, just an easy 6km run to the finish.

.. Considering, what just happened, we’re happy

3:48: RUN

56 Min behind team Rule5
1hour 3 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

15minues into the run.. taking it easy, chatting with Howie. I turn around to check on Paddy & Audrey.. “Shit, lights on the beach guys.. 10minutes behind... bugger”

Howie: “The lights have gone out.. they’re in stealth mode!!”

We practically sprinted the last 3 km into Nambucca thinking that Pacific Survey was right on our tails. Up over the hidden track onto the boardwalk and the finish line in sight.. “I’m not loosing 2 ... I’m not loosing 2nd” was my mantra as we all pushed on counting down the final 1000metres.

The Finish line.... Re-group... grab Ronnie... all 5 over the line together.. huge hugs.. no-one else in sight.. not even the Phantom Team.!!!

4:38: FINISH

46 Min behind team Rule5
1hour 22 Min ahead of team PACIFIC SURVEY

Phew... we did it.. awesome... cold, wet, and elated we headed back to the unit to shower and smile.

20hours 38minutes... 2nd place
Pretty pleased with that.. would I do it again? NO...
I want to do the Full Course.!!
Justin Wyatt

Race Report Team Five Ten - Epic, Brutal, Mesmerisingly Intense.

Original Report at http://teamfiveten.blogspot.com/

The start was clearly an omen of what was to come. As the clock ticked to 8 am Saturday - the Premier Mixed teams lined up with their boats ready to start the 2011 GeoQuest - a 48 hr Adventure Race second to none! It was the tenth anniversary edition - little did we know that we would get a birthday present that none of us would forget and a race that will be talked about for a long time to come. 

With Col and I skippering and new comers to ocean paddling Carey and Ed in the bow, we paddled strongly from the start to avoid breaking waves and rock bars. Within 50 m of the beach a rogue wave loomed - it was large enough to create an "oh s--t" moment - throwing the rudder down and sweeping hard we managed to crest the wave just as it went vertical - the slap coming off the top was loud. Paddling crazily we avoided two more large waves. The boats behind us were decimated. Six boats swamped and the fleet in disarray. But we were now clear of immediate danger. 

12 kilometres of downwind paddling in rising seas provided some of the most intense paddling Col and I had done.

We fought for almost two hours to keep our boats upright. Crews all around us were upside down - some separated from their boat - it was getting dangerous and several times we and other teams went to the assistance of distressed paddlers. Carey was on edge with a measure of trepidation - Ed was laughing like a lunatic in the bow - we were in for a wild ride. Most teams capsized on the beach landing. We side surfed a dumper in and nailed it. Ed and Colin were less fortunate.

Leg two started as a Bike Rogaine and was to finish with a two km pack raft of our bikes down the Kalang River to a transition. Our race derailed here and never recovered. It started with a loose bike rack, sucking mud, leeches and a swim in a drain and quickly progressed to more serious stuff - a navigation error and a lost 90 minutes followed by half of our floating devices disappearing somewhere in the state forest. 

The end result - the most horrific and miserable 2 kms of "river paddling" in my life, 4 bikes, 4 people, 4 packs and 4 floating devices made for an epic of suffering. The tide was against us - so two people on a lilo, lying sideways and towing a small raft with bikes and packs lashed on the top meant we had to hand paddle our guts out to move two metres forward before needing a rest - unfortunately we would then float backwards one and a half metres. You can fit a lot of two metre paddling stints into two kms! On dark and becoming hypothermic we struggled into the checkpoint - four hours behind our projected time!

Moral: don't make mistakes!

Leg three was a kayak paddle down the Kalang River to Urunga - the tide had now turned and we had it in our favour - small mercies from the Gods of AR. Twelve kilometres disappeared in just over an hour - a beautiful paddle in the drizzle, calm water and dark night; we finally started to warm up! 

Leg four required us to cross two very fast flowing outgoing 300m wide tidal channels in the PITCH black. You could hear the thundering of breaking waves on the sand bar just a little way downstream. No more immersion in cold water - we would sit in the rafts and use our split paddles to get us across.

Ferrying a plastic donut is an interesting exercise - it tends to go in circles. So we went in circles - downstream! My anxiety levels went higher and higher as the sound of the waves approached. It is disconcerting to be in the middle of what you know to be a fast flowing river but can't see either bank, your only point of reference a 4m circle of light around your raft. Making the far side was a relief!

A mangrove wade, some mud and oysters, a few sand dunes and we were on the beach. A little three kilometer traipse up the coastline in the windy drizzle and we arrived at our scheduled dinner stop - 9.30 pm. Our support team had built a wonderful shelter and we needed it - torrential rain had now arrived!

Leg five was a MTB ride with 4 check points that required navigation and bush bashing; each checkpoint was strategically placed at a creek junction, a euphemism for lantana, mud, groveling and lots of swamp work. We predicted 7 hrs, which meant this would take us through to dawn. We rigged for a wet and cold night. With hot food in our stomachs and layers of clothes and rain jackets on we headed out into the storm. It was 11pm.

Our night slowly disappeared into a collection of memories - all associated with mist, drizzle, wind, rain, steam, mud, leeches, swamps, riding and walking. With good navigation and excellent teamwork we nailed all checkpoints. Some were exceedingly tricky and it was a triumph for all of us to "click" our control bands!

The two hours before dawn is the dreaded "dead time"; micro sleeps while riding our bikes caused us to pull up and munch on a handful of coffee beans. With a new found zing and the psychological hit that comes with daylight we "lifted" and the last two checkpoints came easily. At 8 am we rode into a very welcome site - our fabulously hardworking support crew had built another waterproof shelter. Soaking wet and after nine hrs on the bike we loaded up on hot coffee and soup.

Deciding to stay in our wet clothes, a change of socks was all that was required. Once bare skin was revealed, the extent of the swamp marches became apparent - massive leech attacks.Carey had six fat ones on each ankle! 

Leg six, a 15 km trek began with a 4 km walk through the beautiful Gleniffer valley and the Promised Land to the base of the Dorrigo escarpment. Here our world went vertical and stayed that way for two relentless hrs - describing the trail as steep climbing doesn't do it justice! Called the Syndicate Track - it is famous amongst walkers and for good reason! After 800m of muddy ascent we crested the spur. Largely manageable and at times enjoyable the previous 28 hrs had varied in "wetness".

Now it became truly ugly. The heavens opened and it deluged - wind and water came out of the sky in biblical quantities. We trudged on. The tracks became streams and the streams became rivers. Being the last team on the mountain and at over 1000m in altitude, we took the brunt of the storm. We started to become seriously cold, hypothermia was looming. For the first time in my life I considered a DNF - personal and team safety was now becoming more important than finishing a race. I remembered that DNF can also stand for Do Nothing Fatal. As a team, we walked on and debated what to do next; deciding to reevaluate our position once we had made the Transition.

A staunch support crew welcomed us in - a sodden Leg six was over. The checkpoint official informed us that the race had been abandoned due to dangerous weather, floods and increasing rainfall! All teams were to be taken out of the field. 

At 2.30 pm on Sunday - 30 hrs and 30 mins into the GeoQuest - our race was over. We were disappointed and relieved - it was hard to tell which emotion held sway! We are grateful to our legendary support crew - they went through a tough night and never let us down. No request was too much. A race like this is an equal partnership - without them we couldn't perform. Thank you Philip, Josh and Sharon!

A big thanks to our sponsors: Five Ten, Petzl, Aide, Silkbody, Platypus and SealLine. The right gear for trying places!

And Geocentric Events - Craig and Louise - well done on a terrific 10th Anniversary race!

Over the Sunday and Monday 300mm of rain fell on the race ground. It was a tough outing. Bring on GeoQuest 2012!

Not a Bad Team Name

GeoQuest 2011 Race Report.

Hanging off the side of our double sea kayak after being unceremoniously dumped into the Pacific Ocean for about the fifth time, my team mate Jason looks over at me and says “I don’t know if we’re going to make it”. “Don’t worry,” I replied. “The swell is pushing us to towards the transition area, and we have 48 hours to get there.” And so began our attempt at GeoQuest, 2011. Celebrating its tenth birthday, this year’s race represented the fourth year in a row our team were racing the full course. Every year we’ve collected a new team member, and every year we’ve had a different team name. This year it was Alan’s turn to pick the name, and after some truly dreadful suggestions “Not A Bad Team Name” came out on top as the least offensive.

Race director Craig Bycroft was promoting a few surprises for this year’s GeoQuest in the lead up. The mystery discipline of pack rafting, both with and without bikes, resulted in some last minute emails and trial strategy sessions to try and work out the best system. The provision of pre-marked maps, cut down to A3 size and sectioned off into separate legs was a brilliant addition to the race, cutting out much of the pre-race stress in marking up the course, and also making organisation of the logistics with the support crew much easier. Finally, every team member this year would be required to wear a wrist tag and individually punch in at the check points, meaning teams could not cheat by spreading out and sending just their strongest athlete to the CP. I felt this was a great addition to the race, and could only be improved by having the CP number written on the tags (which would also help with collating the results after the race).

The course was revealed on Friday after competencies and gear checks, and initial impressions seemed to favour strong biking teams this year, with a total of 3 kayak legs (46km), 3 trek legs (39km) and 4 bike legs (132km). The course was to also contain a time out section on one of the bike legs for safety reasons. This was later altered to a car shuttle due to the significant rain predicted for the area, which would make one or more of the river crossings on that section too dangerous (a sign of things to come). It was with relief that we also found out that both the bike pack-rafting and the trek pack-rafting sections would also be completed in daylight on the first day.

The opening leg of the race involved a 15km downwind paddle from around the corner of HQ at Shelly Beach up to Hungry Head. Mixed teams started first and had a pretty clean run out. Being an all male team, we started about 5 min later, and got hit with a big set of waves. A total of 6 boats lost it in the breakers, unfortunately one of those being Alan and Glenn in the other boat. Jason and I had to wait for about 10min behind the break zone while they got themselves sorted out so as not to breach the 100m rule. Once moving, the guys still had a bit of trouble and capsized a couple of more times when bigger sets came through. Unfortunately, the longer we were out there, the bigger the swell picked up until the point where Jason and I tipped the boat. With no chance to get the skirts back on the boat, and balance compromised by the excess water in the kayak, we capsized a number of times after this point. Eventually, our bilge pump battery died and we couldn’t empty the boat at all. At this point we had to raft up the two boats so that we could both stay upright and get in. I was grateful that helmets were a compulsory item after wearing the front of the other boat in the back of my head at one point. With only about 1km to get into the TA, we decided to paddle the boats in rafted up, and split apart for the surf entry. The trailing swell was doing most of the work for us anyway, and if

anything our technique was at least providing amusement for the search and rescue personnel tracking our progress on a nearby jet ski. We eventually made it into shore about 150m south of the transition area after one more final wipe out each in the break zone. I know Jason at least was certainly glad to make it back onto dry land. This had been his first proper ocean paddle and I would suggest possibly his last for a while. I wouldn’t mind having a crack at it again, but next time on my surf ski where the consequences of bailing out aren’t as significant. At this point we had taken 2:40 to do a paddle that had taken the leading team only 1:05 and we were all but last in the race. This was a significant drop from last year where we were the first men’s team back on the beach and had caught all but five of the mixed teams. In addition, we were all pretty cold and fatigued from the effort of climbing back into the boats and bailing out.

Despite the disappointing start, I was happy that the team kept a positive attitude and had a super fast transition. We had a quick discussion up the beach to the effect that it was a long race, and dropping an hour didn’t really matter as there was plenty of time to make that up. We’ve certainly made longer mistakes than that in the past and these races tend to be about attrition anyway.

The next leg was another novelty for a GeoQuest with the potential for teams to split up as individuals to collect a total of 10 CPs on bike before meeting back at the start of the pack rafting section. With three reasonable navigators on the team (and one person who still gets lost on the way to the bathroom), we split up three ways. Alan and I took a route along the north picking up 5 or 6 CPs while Glenn and Jason followed a southern route, diverging to pick up a couple of CPs each. Al and I made great time on this leg, nailing all the CPs and coming in to the start of the pack raft about 20min ahead of the others. This gave us time to get setup for the rafting section while waiting. The bike pack rafting had been a source of much debate prior to the race. The two main options came down to either going light and wet (an airbed with the bikes on the end which were moved by kicking with flippers) or stable and dry (a proper blow up boat moved by paddling). Glenn also put up a third ingenious option which was to build giant dry bags for our bikes and kick those along. He even built a prototype which handled well, but it was decided that the risk for spectacular failure was too high. In the end, armed with the knowledge that the leg was to only be 1.2km long, we went with the minimalistic air bed option. These had the advantage in that they were light to carry (only 1kg each and no pump required) and quick to inflate (only 3 min by mouth). We felt any time lost on the water would be easily made up in transitioning into the raft section quicker.

Ultimately, I’m not sure our strategy paid off. With two people arriving at the start of the leg so early, there was excess time to prepare the “boats”. Furthermore, the raft section ended up being closer to 2.2km than 1.2km. We managed to keep pace with a lot of teams paddling their bikes on boats (although we were overtaken by one team with a particularly good setup), but it was a lot of extra work kicking with flippers over the additional distance. Never the less, to our surprise we found out that we had crawled back from 35th place into 20th on this leg, which put an extra spring back into the team. Again, we transitioned quickly and over took a number of more teams in the TA area and on the next 11km paddle, making good time against the tide via the southern route option, which proved to be a clean run.

The fourth leg of the race was a short run with a raft swim across the Kalang and then the Bellinger Rivers. Our option of a smaller rafts here was definitely beneficial. A quick trek up the beach and we were transitioning back onto the bikes just as it was getting dark. We took the time to change into dry clothes for the first and only time of the race here. Again, we passed a lot of teams in the TA, mostly in part due to the awesome efforts of our experienced support crew Rachelle and Jeremy. They had a tough weekend, not returning once to HQ the whole race, and spending countless hours waiting for us in the rain at the end of each leg with no way to follow our progress given that our GPS tracker was not working.

I think it must have started raining properly at some point on this ride, although I don’t remember when. I don’t normally mind racing in the rain (it disguises how much I’m actually sweating) and I much prefer cold races over hot, so I was happy. After some great roads initially, we crossed the highway into the surrounding forestry. Here we had to pick up 4 out of 6 CPs, each requiring a significant trek in bike shoes into some pretty overgrown creek lines. On the way to the first of these (CP U) we were hearing reports of teams giving up on this CP. When we entered via the track/creek junction, we were surrounded by a number of other teams following the elephant trail in. It was eventually apparent we must have missed the CP, so we turned back and trekked out again. After investing so much time on trying to find the CP, we thought we would give it another crack and head back in for a more thorough search. Again, we couldn’t find the flag and so we gave up and headed back towards the bikes. On the walk back to the bikes, we got turned around a little and next thing we were on top of the flag. I’ll be the first to admit that we were very lucky to get this CP – if I had to find it again, I think I would still have the same trouble.

We were able to locate the remaining trekking CPs on this bike leg without any issues, although there was a lot of hilly riding and hike-a-bikes in the slippery conditions. I thought we had blown our time out with the trouble on CP U (the entire leg took us over 7 hours), but arriving into the TA we found that we had climbed to 14th place overall and 1st in the mens. Word from the TA was that a lot of teams were struggling with this leg and starting to drop out. We even caught out our support crew sleeping in the car.

By now it was after midnight and we had a trek up the Syndicate Track onto the Dorrigo Plateau. This track rises up 800m vertically over some steep and slippery terrain. We knocked off the ascent without too many issues (aside from a slight detour on an unmarked lookout trail that added an extra 100m to the ascent), counting off the 24 spokes on the bull wheel that marked the only CP on this trek. At the top, however, things started to take a turn for the worse for one of our team mates who was having difficulties with exhaustion and nausea. Things went downhill for him pretty quickly with vomiting, fatigue and cold sensitivity. Between the rest of us, we managed to carry his gear and support him into the next transition area. Fortunately, we were met by our support crew here for a one hour car shuttle to by-pass the swollen waters of the Bellinger River. We took an extra 40 minutes on top of our allotted hour to give our team mate the chance to eat, drink and recover enough to continue, all with the promise that the next leg was just a “short 10km ride” and the sun should be out any time soon.

The next ride may have only been 10km, but there was nothing short about it. We hit the first turnoff onto the tracks without any problem, following a trail of bashed lantana from the lead full course and half course teams. Arriving at the junction where we expected to find CP19, no marker was to be seen. I was pretty confident we were in the right area, so we started to spread out to search the surrounding bushes. My bike odometer only read 440m, and I was expecting the “Obvious Track Junction” to be 550m in, so I continued to travel up the trail to no avail. Fortunately, Glenn and Jason exhibited a bit more stubbornness, and travelled the extra 3 steps that we needed to take before spotting the flag up ahead. All told, we lost about 20 min here, but from other reports many teams lost a lot of time on this CP, a number of them giving up completely. After the tough hike-a-bike out from CP19, the rest of the ride involved some great ridgeline riding, picking up one CP on our way into the transition area in Bellingen.

The final and longest trek leg of the race was also one of my favourites. With a sick team mate, we were moving slowly, but it gave me the chance to enjoy the trekking and the occasional views glimpsed when the clouds would lift momentarily. We nailed every CP on this trek, including one up a beautiful, rocky creek line. The trek into this CP up the creek was so long that it had my team mates doubting we were in the correct creek, which nearly led to a mutiny within the ranks. Towards the end of the trek, spirits were high and the team had its second wind knowing that we only had a relatively straight forward ride and paddle to the finish line, and that we should make it home in time for a good sleep. This was not to be the case however, with the news that the race had been stopped due to flood warnings and the potential dangers associated with the inability for safety vehicles to access the area.

In the end, we had managed to claw our way back up into 9th position overall (and first mens team) at the point the race was called off, despite all the setbacks encountered. While disappointing to not get the chance to finish the full course, the decision to cancel the race proved to be the right one, with the NSW north coast smashed with rain and flooding over the following days (the accompanying picture is of TA21 in Belingen a day after we had been through). As a sit here and write this report, the only remaining effects from the race are a pile of muddy gear and a dozen itchy leech bites on both ankles. Congratulations to all who took on the race – I’m already looking forward to next year!

Liam St Pierre (Not A Bad Team Name).

The Cowgirls Ride to the Fireside.

The mighty Cowgirls have finished 4 Geoquest events…. In 2005 we won the Half outright….first time for an all girl team to do that – ever – in an Adventure Race! In 2006 we finished the full course in 53hours….the horror race (until this one) with the hike-a-bike from hell up the steep side of Mt Yarrahpinni…. In 2007 we did the full course and won all-female division…. In 2008 we finished the full course in 42hours and came 2nd to Girls on Top….. In 2009 we raced for 40 hours before having pull-out with a team member in trouble with hypothermia…. In 2010 we went to race in Vanuatu instead…..so 2011 was very interesting, as you will read….. Now all vintage – we had a completely different attitude to the whole thing…. 

Everything was going really well for us Cowgirls – we stayed as a herd as Cowgirls don’t like to split, you know – up till we decided to copy Guy & the CBD team with their pack-raft idea and carry 4 bikes on one raft and 4 Cowgirls on another…..it was a recipe for disaster from the start…… Our little rafts were way too small to fit all 4 Cowgirls inside (we found out Vintage Cowgirls don’t fold up easily….) and one Cowgirl was out the back kicking and trying to keep her torso out of the water…..that worked really well when the river got shallow…..she just walked along pushing the rest of us…..and our bikes overtook us a few times….luckily that load was tied around Aunty Jan’s waist! Just over half way (when nearly every team had passed us..) we decided to stop and rearrange ourselves….the unfolded parts were stiff and numb with cold…..and there was no way we could all get back in again…..so we pushed and waded and then our bikes tipped over (lucky we had the forethought to secure a bungy around them otherwise they would have sunk to the bottom at that point…) when we finally made it to the TA we were cold & shaky – but fired up again because that was the worst part over…..and we were right!....as we didn’t really get to the worst part of the race – unless you call fighting for space beside a warm fire with an arrogant cat a problem…. 

Onto the paddle….. We handled this really well….and probably made up a bit of time once Jules & Lee got the hang of paddling the Sevylors….We took the south fork of the river and glided into the TA to the delight of our crew who had thoughtfully brought us 4 hot Cowgirl coffees!!! Our trusty pack-rafts had to make one more trip before we could stick a knife in them…..so with hysterical laughter we took off again….at least we didn’t have to take the bikes this time. One of the funniest memories of the race for me is my vision of us bashing through the scrub on the way out to the beach…..following a line of pack-rafts….. We were carrying them on our heads at this point and they looked like a worm making it’s way over the small hills…but occasionally one would collapse into the scrub…then we would all collapse with laughter behind it…. Out on the beach we decided not to deflate our boats so we ran most of the way (still in our paddle shoes) carrying them under our arms…..It was late in the day and about to get dark. Making our way into the TA (the locals must have been most amused…) we were greeting by our wonderful crew who had got us some hot chips (Mmmmm, yum….) and some coke. This was perfect and we tucked into it as we changed into dry clothes for the bike leg that followed…..even though it had just started raining…..the beginning of the end probably….. Riding off with lights blazing we were amongst a lot of other teams at heading to CP 9….and it was a great light show….. The other Cowgirls struggled a bit on the sandy track – that’s why we do sand riding at home – but we got through finally and were on a solid road before long. We were happy to be around Hayley’s team here and there – and we ran into them again after CP9 when yours truly stopped to change a flat in the front tyre…..having tubeless tyres, this involved a simple task of taking out the tubeless valve in the rim and then putting a tube in and pumping it up….easy-peasy….we were riding again in no time…..on the way to CP 10 (where we would spend quite a lot of time if you were watching us on the live tracking…) My back tyre had a hole in it too….. I had noticed it on the start line (goo bubbling out….) but gave it a bit of a spin to hopefully seal the hole….it made it through the first bike leg – and I got the crew to pump it up again before we started the 2nd….. I didn’t think to ask them to change it completely and put a tube in…..they had other jobs to do like getting us hot chips…. Anyway, at CP10 we noticed it had gone down again quite considerably…..so I thought we might as well stop and change it properly – as the front one was all good now….. When my vintage fingers would not budge the ring to release the valve I engaged the help of the boys on Hayley’s team who tried everything to get it off…..to no avail….in fact every team that came along had a go at it….even a bike mechanic with pliers in his pack could not budge it…. We tried to bash it out from the top….no go….we tried holding the top and using pliers on the bottom…..we tried every known way to get that thing off besides a hack-saw or a welding machine…..it was just not going to move….. We weighed up our options…. It was about 20km’s to the next TA at Bellingen if we pushed the bikes and didn’t go through the OOB area….it was dark and raining.. What could we do????? We walked our bikes out to the highway….we were still in the race when we crossed over the wire fence….and like true Cowgirls we jumped at the change to go for a little ride while on the way over …Yee-ha….we cracked up as we tried to get Di over the fence and all collapsed in hysterical laughter when 4 Cowgirls and 4 bikes were finally on the other side…..

At the highway we made the decision to ring our support crew…. We couldn’t get into the tamper-proof bag that the phone was in….When we finally got the bag open we found we didn’t have their number! I rang Louise Foulkes as she was in my phone…. She notified our crew and they would be about ½ hour or so. I ran into a guy who knew me waiting at the highway – told you, it happens everywhere! We have fun while waiting to pull out of the race….well, we just kept having fun as we got to Bellingen (Gary our crew lives there….) and we spent the night in his lounge-room drinking wine and sleeping beside the fire….it was still a happy race….even though we weren’t in it any more. We watched the tracking into the night….and in the morning saw that our Apprentices had finished in 2nd…..Yay for them…..we were overjoyed. We spot MD’s on the trek heading for Brierfield Hall – so we jump in the car and drive up there. First team to come along were Australia’s Next Top Models….they are shattered…..we give them encouragement, food, hugs and I play them a song on the old piano before they continue on….they tell me later they were going to pull out but didn’t have the heart when we were so encouraging….. A+ Cowgirls! Team Blackheart come and go, then the 2nd team… then our friends CBD Cycles….we faun around Andrew as he was our support crew at M2M….Jules even puts his socks on for him. They head off and we await the arrival of MD’s….. I look at the tracker and see MD’s are heading north….I wonder why….then all of a sudden they are in Bellingen…..oh dear….something’s wrong. My phone rings and it’s Kim saying they have pulled out cos Pikey’s sick and had to be taken to hospital…. I drive down to Bellingen and find Kim and Gary sitting beside a fire….Gary was cooking cheese and vegemite sandwiches on a stick….funny! Kim looks terrible, so I bundle her into the car and take her back to Nambucca Heads…..The race is called off at midday Sunday…this has never happened before in a Geoquest…..the weather is unbelievable…

You know the rest of the story…..it rains and rains and rains….our tent floods….we evacuate to Gary & Kylie’s unit where we all sit around the bed and drink wine….Happy, happy times….even though our races were not that successful! It was great to go to the presentations and see our Apprentices so chuffed and happy – they toughed it out and deserve the accolades….!!!!

Next day we pack up the tent in the pouring rain and drive to the Gold Coast – only just making it through before they closed the highway… What an amazing adventure……that’s all I have to say! Thanks to the other Cowgirls who were so good when we had to pull the pin on the race…..I’d love to race with you all again at some point….Yee-ha

An account of our Adventure - in places you would rather be!

Team Mountain Designs
An account of our Adventure - in places you would rather be!

Friday – Registration/Competency Checks/Briefing

The new look team MD’s were all fired up and rearing to go! Our two “newbies” Pikey and Paul arrive at the campsite......we practice inflating and deflating the blow up raft, and I have a go of the retractable dog leash style towing system that Pikey has mounted to his bike....and it’s all looking good! Pikey wanders around modelling the new superlight weight Gore-Tex Mountain Designs Jacket (there are only a few in the country and Team MD’s have a chance to test the gear at Geo).....and he looks the part! We have our team photo taken with our new merino wool electric blue thermals on .....a great base layer to keep you warm in the coldest places! Pikey and Paul get their first paddle of the “Double Fenn” and they have their first practice at a capsize and re entry......if only they knew what was to come! Ki Kim and Gary look very comfortable on the Fenn........

Now..... following the competencies most teams spent the final minutes before briefing packing gear and equipment and getting food organised for the race.......well that’s’ what the Tri Adventure Vintage Cowgirls Team was doing......but not Gary......our Team MD’s captain was helping his daughter Sarah through the Geoquest Kids race......

We all attend race briefing with our support crew Kylie (Gary’s wife) and Rob Pommie
( Kylie’s best friend) and listen intently whilst munching on some hot chips......it was cool and breezy and we needed to keep warm and concentrate....as there was a lot to take in! Soon after Gary and Kim spend hours preparing maps and route choices and calculating distances etc as Pikey and Paul look on, eager to pick up as much about the course as they can! Pommie and Gary’s daughters (Emily,

Charlotte and Sarah) contact our maps as Kylie prepares an amazing feast for the masses.....and before we can let our heads rest on our pillows ....we must prepare our gear (food/clothes/equipment) for Leg 1 & 2 of the race.....and somehow have everything organised for our support crew to take to the transitions!

Saturday – Race Start Shelly Beach

We had been warned that there was a big southerly swell on its way and part of the course had been changed to a car move due to threats of torrential rain later in the day......but the Paddle would still go ahead as planned.....but we were to be a bit careful when coming in at Hungry Head....

8am we get the signal to commence Leg 1 ....and we are off.....Gary and I paddle, paddle, paddle out through the breakers and take an early lead......but there is carnage behind us as the boys struggle to get out.....it takes us a long time to find them as the whole entire field passes us by and we see Pikey and Paul clinging to the ski trying so desperately to get back on!

So our mindset changes
instantly....there will be no
wash riding on the
leaders.....instead we are at
the back of the field assisting
teams who are struggling to
stay in......including our own!
Gary is amazing....he is very
comfortable in these
conditions.....we paddle up
to capsized kayaks to see if
they are ok, gather up lost
paddles and even have to
stop Pikey and Paul’s ski from blowing away as they both were swimming desperately to catch it.....Paul was lucky to get a tow on the back of another kayak to bring him back to the ski that Gary and I were somehow holding onto whilst waiting for the boys! We finally get to Hungry Head however we have given the leaders about 1 hour and 15 minutes head start! It is cool and overcast so we change out of all our wet gear and into warm dry cycle gear for Leg 2.

Leg 2 is a cycle split and pack raft! On the way to the first CP we have to cross under the highway and we get wet up to our waists...... Why in this sort of racing does that always seem to happen just after you spend time getting dry????? We soon to split into two....Gary andPikeyheadofftoget CPD,G&IandPaulandIgoforA,B,C&Eandwemanageto meet up as planned, so Gary shoots off to get H and Pikey, Paul and I get J on the way to the

pack-raft section.

Here we soon find ourselves madly
trying to inflate our rafts..... we are
quick to get onto the water and our
method of two bikes on the back of
the raft and us on the high front with
two plastic paddles works well......
our paddle handles break but still
work.....we pass the “Tri Adventure
Vintage Cowgirls” along the
way.....their set up of four bikes on
one raft being dragged by 4 people in
the other did not look
comfortable.....and in fact they had
the slowest time for the leg......Gary
did offer to help tow them for
bit....but they could see the end in
sight.... so they declined the offer only to soon almost loose their bikes in the Kalang River when the raft tipped...... but lucky rafts and bikes float!

We soon set off on Leg 3, the paddle up the Kalang River. Paul and Pikey are glad this is a flat water paddle this time....they manage to sit on our wash as we navigate our way through the oyster leases and soon we see Diggy (Kylie’s dad one of our support crew) sprinting up the bank of the river showing us where do disembark our craft.......we have a lightning fast transition to Leg 4 which is pack rafting on foot! We are starting to make up some lost time now so we and our support crew very excited! The four of us jump into one raft and paddle outrigger style across the Kalang River to CP 6 then Paddle across the Bellinger River to collect CP 7......the raft is quickly deflated before we cross the mangrove swampy area on our way to the beach......Pikey and Paul are quite glad we are running and not paddling now! We are soon into the TA and our support crew is in action.....a little spot for each of us to sit with all our gear laid out ready......the next leg is a bike/foot leg......and it’s beginning to rain.....we put on our cycle gear and off we go again.....I do remember someone shoving three ginger-nut biscuits into my mouth at this TA.....yummy!

So we set off onto Leg 5 and are instantly challenged by some sandy trails and a creek crossing......we opt to go around and stay dry  It is beginning to get dark and we are just getting to our first on foot CP. As we head up to the creek junction we are informed by another team there is some of that Nasty “stinging tree” ahead.....Gary show’s us what it looks like and we keep our eyes peeled.....as apparently it stings for weeks.....when having a look around for CP U I managed to brush by a baby one and it got my little finger......but I managed to just grit my teeth and ignore it......there is now heaps of wait a while as well and heaps of overgrowth to make this CP a challenge......but after a little scoot up the wrong creek line we are back on track and soon locate the CP. We now have our AY UP lights on and we soon set off on our bikes......we have quick transitions as we decided to ride with our Salomon Trail Shoes and toe clips......we are starting to catch up to other teams now and meet up with Team SCAR coming out of CP X and meet up with them again when we spend too much time wandering around in a wet overgrown creek bed......it was raining heavily and we opted to put on our Mountain Designs Gore-Tex Jackets......my MD’s Flash Jacket was just awesome....... So we collected 4 of the 7 CP’s on offer as required and soon found ourselves at the TA ready for the assault on the infamous Syndicate Track. I changed into dry clothes......and put on all my wet weather gear because when I stopped I was freezing.......BIG mistake.......because we had a 16k Leg and it was ascending 800m...... After a feed at the TA we set off on Leg 6.

This was an amazing hike......we were on flat roads and trails for about 3 k before we hit the Syndicate track.....and it just climbed and climbed and climbed........ Pikey was so strong here – towing Paul up the hill......I did not feel so great as I had cooked myself in my wet weather gear....so had to remove a few layers......we finally made it to a sign.....showing us where “the Bull wheel” was .....we missed one of the tracks so unfortunately we took the long way around.....but finally got the opportunity to count the 24spokes ........this would have been so beautiful in the daytime on a nice sunny day.....but it was wet and cold and now freezing as we had made it to the top of the ridge......we still had about another 5k to the top

where we would see our support crew....as it had flattened out significantly we found ourselves running the last bit to keep warm......we were met at the top by our support crew and were quickly hijacked and thrown in the car was we were informed that our 1hr compulsory car move time did not start till we drove out.....I was so excited to see Tim and Caroline (the Coff’s Connection) and managed to steal a warm hug before I was shoved in the car for our rather scary descent....... Now we were originally meant to ride......but due to the wet weather we had a car move.....so CP’s 15,16,17 were abandoned as our support crew attempted to drive the vehicles down the steep range......I was scared.....Diggy was doing an awesome job driving but we were steaming up the car inside ......so it was very difficult to see......Kylie was feeding us as Pikey and I sat there all under a sleeping bag in the back seat. I scoffed down some of Kylie’s mum very very nice hot pumpkin soup (full of lots and lots of vegies) and think I fell asleep.....waking find that we had got to the bottom and 57 minutes had no passed......we were allowed to set off in 3 minutes! Well we did not get away that quickly! I got out of the car and started shivering uncontrollably......so I had to change into dry clothes as it was going to be a long cold night....... So again stupidly I piled on all the wet weather gear and soon found myself overheating.....I should have just opted for the jacket and not rain pants as well......
Leg 7 started with a compulsory SMS to race HQ to let them know we had made it safely down the hill......the CP was beside a bridge and the phone wrapped up in a dry bag.....all teams did this for safety reasons...... At this stage we were all fired up as we had been informed by our support crew that we were now in 5th place......and there were two teams that were just 20 minutes ahead......so we were devastated when we could not locate CP19......we attacked it from every angle......we found the track junction ......we re read the description (Track Junction – Obvious on Road) and searched and searched and searched! We hiked our bikes up and down hills, across creeks over and over as skipping a CP would mean a 4hr penalty and we had already been searching over and 11⁄2 hours......we meet Team CBD and they too have looked and looked and looked......then one of their team finds the CP 250m up a hill on a track......we are excited to have found it but not happy that it has been incorrectly set......as there was no junction where it was hung.....but as we know that’s a part of adventure racing that you have to deal with......anyway we push our bikes and my hike a bike practice comes in handy as we arrive at the TA in Bellingen ahead of Team CBD and prepare for Leg 8.

Our support crew tells us we have about 2hrs till sun up.....so I assume it is about 4am...... and we have a pretty long trek with no support at the end of it.....this is so our support crew can finally get some sleep.......So we load up with some food for the trip....i don’t eat much as I don’t like to eat much before a run......and we set off through the streets of Bellingen and onto the Kalang Road. Pikey is on fire....setting an awesome pace and we manage to run most of the way clipping CP22 at Reids Road before heading into the bush.....the first track we look for is not there....so we figure that a lot of this trek will be off track...... we cross paths with a few GEO HALF teams and cross a creek at a fallen down Bridge before the big climb up to CP23........something goes wrong here.......Pikey is starting to fade......he looks terrible and Gary put’s him on tow....... Team CBD now have us in their sights as we climb to the top of the knoll.......I find the CP and stand there with the punch and a smile.......clipping everyone’s wrist bands......Andrew Connolly (Team CBD) collapses on the ground and I feel sorry for him as he looked shattered......but then so did Pikey....... We just managed to stay ahead on our way to the next CP but Pikey was fading fast.......we opted to go via the track to the CP rather than down through the bush so at least Pikey could be towed......but everything was soon a struggle and Pikey fell to the ground ......he could not go on.......so we had a choice – Stop and rest for a while or call for support......Pikey said he could not go on...... Gary cracked open the emergency phone and called HQ......Craig Bycroft answered and was upset to hear our news as the GPS spot tracker had us in 2nd position at the time......but we knew we did the right thing for Pikey was blue and could barely move.......something was seriously wrong......

We trekked out about 3k to a road and we met by the “Geocentric Search and Rescue Team” .....they were lucky to even get to us as they had got bogged twice on the way......the roads were boggy and slippery as the rain had been torrential at times throughout the night and had not stopped. We were taken back to Bellingen where we had started the Trek and Pikey was taken to hospital......he was not in a good way! Gary Paul and I stood around the fire at the TA greeting team who were just about to embark on the Trek......they were all somewhat shocked to see us there as we had passed them earlier in the race following our very slow start....but we just smiled and gave them a few tips about the tracks ahead. Gary started toasting his Cheese and Vegemite sandwiches on the fire....and offered them around...... Paul liked the idea and they both tucked in......I noticed at that point I had about 5 big fat leaches on my ankles......so one of the race volunteers proceeded to burn them off with a hot stick from the fire.......yucky! So because we were out we were a bit disappointed but keen to find out the progress of other teams.....the Tri Adventure Vintage Cowgirls did not make it through the night due to bike malfunction...... however I was so excited to hear that the “Tri Adventure Apprentices” were in second when they passed through with just a bike and paddle

nd
to go......and later heard that they had finished 2 . So it was not long before our support

crew collected us from the TA......we had woken them from their anticipated sleep......like us they were a bit
disappointed but in
good spirits......

Jan and her Vintage Cowgirls who had been at been at Brierfield Hall waiting for our arrival

...also came and met
us at Bellingen
........their team forced
to withdraw when her
the tubeless valve in
the tyre rim would not
budge ......despite
help from about 10
different teams all
offering tools, muscle
and expert opinions.
Jan also got the chance to see our Tri Adventure friend Hayley from Team “Heavily Loaded Bags” at this point and informed me that Hayley was so strong and assertive.....basically navigating and making most of the team decisions.......and that she seemed to be having a ball!

Now you would not think that things could not get any worse .......but they did! At about 12pm the Race Organisers had to Stop the entire race......as the weather was torrential, thunderstorms were battering Nambucca Heads and the surrounding areas.....and by the time we got to the campsite our tents were flooded and destroyed........So Mountains Designs Geoquest 2011 10th Anniversary will certainly go down in history as one of the toughest and most memorable.......and Team MD’s will use this experience to further improve our team so we can be at our best for XPD. Finally a special thanks to our support crew....... Pommie Kylie and Diggy.....you all were just amazing!

Post Script:-

The decision to call off the race was certainly a wise and sensible one as the Mid NSW coast was lashed with mini tornados and flooding and Nambucca Heads was flooded, the Pacific Highway cut and many left stranded.......no doubt many of the controls from the race will have been washed away .......and it may take Craig and Louise from Geocentric weeks to clear the course......

Pikey was let out of hospital after a few hours and is recovering well......his test results from the hospital showed a Nasty Gastro bug. Pikey and Paul did get back to Melbourne despite most of the flights from the Gold Coast being grounded......because they were on Virgin who flew under the “Volcanic Ash”........and I ended up with a gastro bug too but am now OK but a few kilo’s lighter......and Gary is back at work doing his irrigation stuff.......as the weather is perfect in Qld.

Team Designs – our next in places rather be!

Mountain Ready for Adventure you would

Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2011 - Race Report Blackheart.

Original Report at: http://www.teamblackheart.com/2011/06/geoquest-48hr-adventure-race.html

GeoQuest 48 hour Adventure Race has just been held over the Queens Birthday weekend, this year based out of Nambucca Heads. This was the 10th running of the event, which Damon and I have competed in every year. We were joined by Josh and Rob, who have 10 races between them, however were yet to clock up a win. This year was tobe a very competitive race with strong teams competing including CBD, Peak Adventure, Mountain Designs, Off Our Nuts (full of accomplished orienteers), amongst others.

As per our prediction (as it has for 9 out of the 10 years), the race started off with an ocean kayak from Nambucca Heads to Hungry Head, 15 kms north up the coast. We got away to a great start enjoying the wind and swell behind us the whole paddle. This was such a great stage that I was disappointed when it came to an end, it's not often that conditions are this good. We came in third still in sight of the leading team - CBD.

Next up was Craig Bycroft's little 10th birthday special - a 16km MTB mega split with a 2.2km pack raft to top things off. GeoQuests have often included split legs where teams split into two groups of two. This year teams were able to split 4 ways to collect several checkpoints (CPs), meeting again at the start of the rafting leg. We decided to split 3 ways, with Rob and Josh collecting the majority of the CPs whilst Damon and I took a shorter route with the rafting gear with the idea of having them inflated by the time we re-grouped. All went to plan and we re-grouped and went to start the pack rafting leg. We had two rafts with max. capacity of 197kgs each, with the idea of two people and two bikes paddling in each. As we hopped in we discovered a puncture to one of the two main compartments of our rafts..... After a couple of re-shuffles we set off with Damon in the punctured raft with two bikes, with the rest of us in the other linked by a tow rope. A few hundred metres in we decided to re-shuffle again. We now had 4 bikes on the punctured raft and the four of us plus bags in the other = more than 280kgs in the one raft! We got going again until about half way when Rob very calmly stated, "Guys, we've got a bit of a problem...." - our four bikes had come adrift and were bubbling their way below the surface. It would have been funny if it wasn't salt water... Finally we made it to the end of the raft with no doubt what-so-ever that we'd stuck to the 10m rule in this leg!

After a quick transition we were onto a quick 11km kayak. We chose the northern route thinking that the marked oyster leases at low tide could slow things down on the slightly shorter southern route. These weren't a issue so we lost a couple of minutes here, however were still in 3rd place, about 20mins down on Peak Adventure and CBD.

The next leg was a short 5km pack raft / run along the beach after crossing the river twice to gain a couple of CPs. We used our undamaged raft for this section, and as luck would have it we punctured this one remaining raft getting out just after the final time we needed it. (We all apologise to Josh's two kids who were looking forward to having a new toy each upon our return!). We quickly bush-bashed to the beach and had a quick run to the next transition arriving just before 2pm, which is where the rain started (and I believe still hasn't stopped....).

We were now into the more serious part of the race with the next leg being a 32km MTB with CPs requiring a short trek into the bush to obtain. We found ourselves a little lost shortly after beginning this leg. Despite speaking with a local farmer for a good 10-15mins we were still none the wiser. We finally back-tracked and ran into a few other teams who seemed to enjoy seeing us a little confused. We found we'd missed a turn (along with several other teams) and were soon back on our way. We slowly ticked off the CPs with the pace slowing due to the developing wet conditions, and slippery tracks. We found ourselves off and pushing on occasions but also had some nice slippery downhills to make up for it. Towards the end of the ride we ran into Off Our Nuts, where Prong and Ben started bagging us about our big stuff up earlier. Apparently the news we were a little lost had travelled back through the teams behind until it reached them and they were taking great delight in reminding us about it! They were now one team we had to beat, but knowing they were mainly orienteers and therefore couldn’t ride, paddle or run trails, we should be right :-)

The next leg was a 15km trek along the well known historical Syndicate Track which gains 800m vertical ascent. We were still in 3rd place about 30mins behind Peak Adventure. With a Mountain Designs voucher on the line for the fastest team on this leg, plus a 1 hour car move at the end to recover we set about this leg to chase the others down. It started off with about 5kms running along quiet farm roads, and then hit the track proper. We started climbing straight away and were quickly down to a walk. About a third of the way up we came across CBD who'd stopped for a moment. Guy from CBD had had a run in with a tree and had narrowly missed his eye. The gash was impressive none the less. We soon came to a junction but couldn't find the shorter route, thus adding some extra distance to the leg. After gaining the only CP on the leg we were soon running again on the flat / undulating tracks to the transition. At this stage we'd implemented a 'double-tow' so I was being dragged along at quite a good pace, and being launched off the many water bars along the way :-) Not far from the top we saw lights ahead. Assuming it was Peak Adventure, we were shocked to again pass CBD who'd taken the correct route, showing how much further we must have travelled. At the TA we were in 2nd place, 18mins down on Peak Adventure, and 1 min ahead of CBD, having successfully run the quickest time for the leg.

Support Crew Dave met us here for the car move, but more importantly was the only crew up there waiting meaning that we'd leap-frogged our way into the lead by a sterling effort from our crew. The drive down took us 48mins not leaving us long to prepare for the next MTB. Support crew Julia and Rob Snr. were waiting with our bikes and some hot noodles at the TA so the 12mins was just enough to get us on our way again. The hot noodles were extra important for Josh as he'd spent the last few minutes of the car ride projectile vomiting half a can of beans firstly on the back seat of Damon's car, and then out the rear window. The acoustics were something none of us had heard before - enough said! Josh offered the beans to Rob to finish, who took one look at the beans in the can and another at the undigested beans on the floor and window and passed.

Shortly after beginning the next 44km MTB we found ourselves bashing down to a creek then back up the other side. We heard later that Peter (Off our Nuts) had to convince his teammates that Craig would, in fact, send us down this overgrown, lantana covered creek with our bikes, as they were assuming they must be in the wrong place and were suggesting they backtrack. After 10 Geo’s we now what Craig will put us through. We soon found a steep over-grown track which we pushed up for what seemed like at least an hour. Not far from the top we realised we were on the wrong spur, however could easily ride around the top and drop down onto the next CP. We did this but couldn't find the CP. We went in and out a few times, checked other track junctions, rode several kms out to confirm our location with street signs, before finally returning and finding it 200m from where we thought it would be, arguably not at a track junction as described..... The remainder of the ride was fairly uneventful with the tracks getting wetter and slipperier.

We again met our support crew and set out for a 19km trek leg. This transition was located at a picnic shelter at Bellingen - this shelter was completely flooded two days later. We were still in first position with a 50min lead over Off Our Nuts and Peak Adventure. We trotted down the road for a bit before hitting the hills to a series of CPs mainly located in the bush. We kept the navigation safe, fought of the odd bit of weariness until reaching the unassisted transition for the last MTB of the race.

We phaffed a bit at this TA (amazed at our sparkling clean bikes) until finally leaving at 7.20am just as we discovered an electric heater set up by the volunteer staff! This bike was a more straight forward leg being 40km of larger roads with easier navigation. The final few kilometres were quite fast on sealed roads to the TA at the river's edge set for the final 20km kayak to the finish.

Once on the river it took a couple of kilometres to find our paddling arms again, but once we did we enjoyed a very pleasant paddle with a nice tide behind us all the way to the finish. Just as we had the finish in sight the rain doubled in strength and absolutely bucketed down. The race was soon to be cancelled for all but Off Our Nuts and CBD who were both also on the river paddling to the finish. The remainder of teams stopped at the next TA which they arrived at. 

For us though it was a very successful race to cross the line in first place at 12.30pm Sunday, 2hrs 1min ahead of Off Our Nuts which contained friends, including Rob's brother Pete. CBD were 3rd another 43mins back. We certainly didn’t have the perfect race, with quite a few setbacks and mistakes, but we were able to hold it together to hang on for the win. We'd especially like to thank our amazing support crew of Dave, Julia and Rob Snr. In tough conditions they did more than we required, and leap-frogged us into the lead overnight where we stayed. Thanks also to Craig, Louise and the other staff from Geocentric for another great event. It was a tough call to cancel the race when they did, but looking at the flooding still occurring in the area it was clearly the correct decision to make!

Thanks finally to our supporters who continue to help us get to these races:

Blackheart
Salomon
Silva
Shotz Nutrition
Aussie Butt Cream
Trigger Point Therapy
Ay-up Lights

Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2011 - Race Report Team SA Ambulance.

Original Report at:http://teamsaambulance.com.au/?page_id=33

Team SA Ambulance returned from their first big race with mixed emotions last week. In what was logistically a massive exercise for the Team, it was a huge effort if just to only make it to the start line. A 2200km trip up to NSW mid coast near Coffs Harbour carting Paramedic equipment for the SAR team, 6 bikes, (two kids bikes and two scooters), 2 x 7.3m double kayaks, tents and numerous other race items. On top of this under the heavy load the trailer decided it had had enough somewhere between Sydney and Coffs on the Pacific Hwy and broke, releasing two of the hired life jackets into the dark night…. A midnight arrival into the caravan park with two very tired toddlers ensued but at least the equipment and race gear had arrived intact (most of it). The following day involved team member pick ups and racing around getting the trailer fixed to be able to carry the teams bikes and equipment between transitions. Luckily for us the boys at Macksville trailer company looked after us and donated their time and resources to fix the trailer for free. Thanks for that one Macksville Trailers…. And a big thanks to all of our sponsors whom have made this happen with their generous support!!
The excitement around race HQ grew all of Thursday as teams started to roll in and unload millions of dollars of mountain bikes, kayaks and equipment. The sun was shining today and indeed Friday but there was definitely a dark cloud looming with the prospect of rain over the course of the race. Friday was a day of official equipment checks and competency checks for teams, with team number presentations, course maps being handed out and a 10th anniversary birthday cake for the race being eaten by all. With Maps being given out late afternoon, teams withdrew to their own quarters as they intensely studied the maps and started planning their routes. Our very own Team McGyver (Owen’s) gameface came out and diligently started preparing the maps, contacting, marking and planning the route. Whilst this was happening our support crew superhero, Shane’o’ raced around town purchasing race food and last minute items for the team. A relaxing team dinner ensued with a last minute lager/carbo load. (secret formula…) Our second support crew member arrived later that night, Grand-Daddy Coull, and the team was complete for a crack at Australia’s Premier Adventure Race, the Geoquest 48 hour….

RACE DAY.

This was it, this was our first big test. Talk about being thrown in the deep end… My mind was a complete scramble with last minute head checks, have we got all of our mandatory equipment and safety items?, have we got enough food? How is Ally’s first ever race going to unfold? “Ummm, where’s the second tow line for the kayak?’ Owen asks. A frantic search revealed it was indeed missing (actually it was sitting in plain view in the trailer but our race goggles didn’t allow us to focus on the obvious.) Some quick thinking by Macgyver saw him quickly rip off the guide ropes from the tent and string them together to fashion a make shift 15 metre tow line, and that’s why he’s the rock star of the team….
The start line was a hive of nervous and raw energy. The first leg was a sea kayak with a surf entry and exit. Owen is our only experienced kayaker and luckily Ally was paired with him in the boat. As for Scott and I this was our first ever paddle together and was about to get interesting. The horn sounded and the teams were off. The top end teams all have elite paddlers and very fast (but unstable for beginners ) streamlined surfskis. They took off very quickly and were soon literally paddling out of sight. Our first objective was to successfully negotiate the surf without capsizing. Scott and I managed to keep our vessel upright and punched through the waves several times getting the 7 metre boat airborne and crashing down the opposite side of the wave. Owen and Ally showed more finesse and steadily followed closely behind. With Scott in the steering seat we nearly tipped several times as we battled to keep the boat straight, which was easier said than done given the size and direction of the swell and the opposing wind all working against us. Our position, as expected during the paddle was to the rear of the field but changed many times as crews succumbed to the swell. Several teams capsized and some required rescue from the life boats. One competitor withdrew due to sea sickness and extensive nausea and vomiting. With the landing point in sight Scott and I faced a new challenge and dilemma. Our spray skirts weren’t at all water resistant and the boat was fast filling up with water. We also didn’t have electric bilge pumps on board that we had hoped for. Multi directional waves were now providing a challenging obstacle for us and with the extra weight of the water adding to a very unstable boat we were reluctant to stop and risk tipping to bail out the water. The decision was made to punch through. No sooner had we decided to do that when we had three close calls saving a tip over before a fourth tip sent us into the drink. With the boat far too full of water we struggled to re-enter and keep the boat upright. Owen and Ally had to paddle over to us and stabilise the boat whilst we bailed and bilged out enough water to re-enter. This took about 15 to 20 minutes or so to correct. We were then off again and close to our first check point. Owen and Ally had a clear objective of timing their entry through the surf and gave us strict instructions to keep clear of them so we didn’t spear them with our boat in the surf zone. Scott and I had a clear objective also. Get to shore however we can. We gave our team members a good 50 metre gap but very quickly closed that with in seconds due to catching a wave in and hurtling dangerously close to them (and very much out of control) 10 metres form shore we thought we had made a clean entry until the last of the wave we were on decided to quckliy turn us sideways and spit us out. It wasn’t pretty, but we had done it, we were safely ashore….

STAGE 2

Stage 2 saw teams having to carry their own rafts with them on a mountain bike stage, split up to find check points and then meet at the raft entry point. A tricky and well hidden first checkpoint saw a number of teams converge together and a traffic jam occur as teams lined up to carry their bikes above shoulders through a swampy underpass. On successfully negotiating the swamp bike carry section, teams now split to cover the checkpoints. Scott and I drew the short straw and turned left immediately encountering a creek crossing. Neck deep in some God awful stenching stagnant creek, I completely became submerged for about 15 seconds as I treaded water with my bike resting on my head. Finally I hit solid ground and re-emerged from the dark depths of sludge to re-continue the ride. Scott was a bit smarter then me, he was still wearing his PFD and merely floated across as we needed them for our next leg anyway. After successfully navigating our way through 5 checkpoints without our master navigator we arrived shortly after Owen and Ally at the rendezvous point to launch our pack raft. 4 mountain bikes and 4 backpacks were then carefully loaded onto a concoction of various sized old car tyre tubes and childs size blow up paddle boat.. An ill carefully placed sprocket or pedal could have spelled disaster and saw the bikes and equipment sink to the bottom of the river. As was the case with one of the top ranked teams which saw them having to retrieve all of their bikes from the bottom of the river and be rescued by the water crew. Scott and I then crewed a small boat each with a single paddle as Owen and Ally adorned their flippers and kicked from the back of the boats. Remarkably this seemed to work quite well as we made up ground on this leg taking only 45 minutes with the average time being in excess of an hour.

At the end of the stage our support crew were really hitting their straps, loading and unloading bikes and kayaks, preparing food and maps. We couldn’t have asked for a better crew to service our needs. A big thank you goes out to Shane (Ally’s partner) and Dave (my Dad) for donating their time and efforts to come and help us. Really, without the support crew there is no race. It is a massive effort for support crews to pack and unpack gear at transitions and then navigate and find their way to the next transition for up to 48 hours.

STAGE 3

Stage 3 was a leisurely and much less stressful 20 km paddle down the river. After dislodging a log form their rudder, Ally and Owen hit their straps and motored down the river whilst Scott and I worked our guts out to keep up with them. Their is a lot to be said for technique and unison in the paddle…

STAGE 4

Stage 4 for our team started late into the afternoon with dark fast approaching. Head lights were packed and two of our rafts were deployed for a couple more paddles across the river to negotiate the mangroves. Here another two more checkpoints followed by a run down the beach to find the next transition and mountain bike leg. Some more great navigation by Owen and a quick 5k run along the bridge saw the team make up some more ground and positions on the field. In a golden moment of the race we were greeted by our support crew with hot chips and drinks which set us up nicely for the long mountain bike leg.

STAGE 5

Stage 5 saw teams riding through forests to then dump their bikes and navigate deep into thick scrub to find a creek line with a hidden checkpoint. Ally, Scott and myself watched in amazement as Owens navigational skills came to the forefront. Randomly we would stop somewhere in the middle of a track, bash our way through thick scrub for a few hundred metres and magically find the checkpoint we were after. Brilliant!! High fives would entail then we would jump back on the bike and do it all again. By now the promised rain had settled in well and truly and we found ourselves wading through thick mud and carrying our bikes up unrideable terrain with thick, clay like characteristics that immediately clogged up your drive train. One checkpoint saw us wade through thigh high waters and a marsh attracting leeches in the dozens. Speaking of leeches, did you know that if you tickle their bottoms they rear their heads then you can pull them off??? Anyway, a toilet stop for Ally proved ill fated, collecting a leech in the most unwanted of places, yes you heard correctly, the MOST unwanted of places, ala, the movie, Stand by Me style…. Of course being quite vascular in that region, it filled up pretty quickly, dosed off to sleep, had its anus tickled and luckily dropped off quite easily so we are told….
A massive seven hours of this stage saw the team roll down the hill to Dorrigo national park to begin the Trek stage up Mount Dorrigo. A very near miss occurred with Owen falling asleep whilst riding down hill. Luckily he veered into a grass strip which slowed him down and awoke him before crashing into trees or falling off the side of a cliff or something fatal like that. A very wet and frozen team pulled into the transition at 4:30 am and threw down a couple of ham sandwiches, tins of creamed rice and lollies, put on all their remaining soggy, wet cold clothes before heading off on a 5 hour trek.

STAGE 6

The rain was now torrential and relentless, the side of the mountain we travelled up was steep, slippery and literally running with water. The mud made it slow going up the hill and walking sticks were fashioned to help get us up the steep bits. Ally found out just how inappropriate sand shoes are for this type of terrain and luckily the sticks helped her grip enough to make it up the mountain. No sooner had daylight arrived when it suddenly became dark again as even heavier rainclouds rumbled through over head. The team was now desperately cold and wet from the constant barrage of rain and being submerged in water. Our key team member and navigator Owen, was displaying signs of hypothermia, now repeatedly vomiting and heaving until there was nothing left in his stomach. Unfortunately our teams uniforms had arrived only late the day before the race, so were not tried and tested. Not at all waterproof, they left the team exposed to the constant barrage of rain, quickly cooling us down to dangerous core temperatures. Our back up Gore-Tex jackets were deployed to late and the damage had already been done. Arriving into the transition at around 9:30am we made our way by team transport to start the next bike leg.

The Final Call

With the majority of the team looking worse for wear, hypothermic and struggling to warm up we were faced with the decision of wether or not to go on. By now quite a few teams had pulled the pin with one of the top teams members carted off to hospital with hypothermia. The forecast was grim with local flash flooding and teams facing multiple cold and wet river/creek crossings. Bridges and passes were systematically closing throughout the course as they became unpassable due to rapidly rising river levels and flooding. With that in mind and foreseeable abandonment of the race, As team Captain I had to make the tough but right choice to preserve the teams health and safety and call it quits on the race. Around 28 hours into the race, Team SA Ambulance left the course intact but feeling the effects of Hypothermia. Shortly after, the race organisers abandoned the race and pulled all teams off the course. 3 teams managed to complete the course by finishing the last leg which was a 20km easy paddle along the river.

Lessons Learned

On reflection as our first race together as a team we performed remarkably well. Had we continued on we were already sitting in 14th place overall which was above respectable, we may have even gained a few more places along the way. We learned a lot about each other as a team and worked out a few key areas of improvement needed. We learned that Ally is one tough little competitor whom despite crashing numerous times, kept getting back on the bike and never complained despite her anxieties on the fast, steep down hill sections. Scott is the non-assuming gentle giant of the team, always a calm demeanour and happy to go with the flow. Scott was doing a great job as team pack horse, constantly carrying his and Allys bikes up steep unrideable hills and swamp, creek crossings. Owen is the team superstar and true MacGyver of the squad, he is the go to man for fixing anything that needs to be fixed or technical matters. As team Captain, my role is more behind the scenes, providing the glue to bond the team together. Not excelling in any particular discipline, I will never give up and push myself for the sake of the team to the nth degree. Always aiming to provide an effort worthy of a ‘Captains knock’, for me the race is never over till it’s over..

Key areas of improvement needed for the team

1. GORETEX – deploy the goretex jackets early to stave off hypothermia.

2. ASSET PROTECTION – without a fully functional navigator our race is over. Owen needs to protected at all costs to keep his mind sharp and on the job. The extra burden of the mental capacity to successfully navigate means Myself and Scott have to be the pawns of the team and round around looking after general tasks including looking after Ally and providing towing capabilities and carrying extra weight/equipment. As with most teams, the females of the team tend to have slightly less speed but better staying power. Providing Ally with the ability to maintain her maximum output is also crucial to overall team speed. Many teams use towing systems on both the trek and bike. Providing up to 10-15% more efficiency for ally can lead to big gains in covering distance quicker.

3. SMOOTH/SHORTER TRANSITIONS – At night especially, transitions need to be short, sharp and fast. Stalling too long during the night on transition can be fatal for the team as it quickly brings about hypothermia. Teams need to be as quick as possible to keep the blood flow and movement required for warmth. Longer rests and transitions will need to be saved for warmer daylight hours. Having said that, Nutrition and hydration is paramount but this needs to be completed whilst on the move in a grab and go fashion.

CONCLUSION:
Was it worth all the effort and money to race a race that gets abandoned. Yes, it was the race we had to race to find out our limitations, strengths and weaknesses. Leading up to the world championships in November it was the most important trial run / session we could have done. Without it, we could have gone into what could potentially be a very dangerous situation without appropriate training, equipment and preparation. We now have a very clear view of what is needed as a team between now and November’s world champ race. We now understand to merely finish the race in November will be a massive undertaking and goal well worth achieving.

No Roads GeoQuest 2011 Race Report

For ten years the June long weekend has marked the date of when Australia’s premier adventure race takes place. Team No Roads Expeditions from Sydney raced against some of the nation’s best teams in this year’s event held on the Mid North Coast region of Nambucca Heads. The team comprising of Matt Shields, Jeff Price, Mark Howell, Mel Pelly and team manager Garry Sundin all come from around Sydney.

After several months of preparation the team was keen to test themselves against what was called one of the toughest courses on record. Friday morning team registration was completed and we eagerly awaited putting on our new 2XU racing gear. 2XU and No Roads Expeditions have produced a custom spec racing kit for the team who are racing in the Adventure Racing World Championships this November in Tasmania.

8am Saturday morning was the race starting time and the first leg of the race was a 15km ocean kayak north from Nambucca Heads to Hungry head. Final instructions were given to teams on the beach and before we knew it the race was on! Our two surf skis left the beach into the breakers and into the rough ocean swell. Sitting mid pack we increased our pace and started reeling in the leading teams. Before we knew it we had moved up to 3rd place and we just needed a good runner to move into 2nd position. A large wave at our stern steadily formed just at the right time and we jumped on it and into 2nd place. We kept the hammer down and entered the beach at Hungry Head on the heels of 1st Place.

Next leg was a MTB leg with multiple checkpoints (CPs) to find. Team members could separate to find these CPs, our team stuck with a safer but slower option of doing this in pairs. We reached the next leg which included the mystery discipline of transporting your team and bikes down a 2km stretch of the river. Our good choice of raft, an inflatable air bed, was evident as we caught many teams along the way. From here we got back in the kayaks for an 11km paddle to Uranga where we dodged submerged oyster leases along the winding banks of the river. From here we had a pack raft crossing of the Bellinger River and a 5km run up the beach to the town of Mylestom.

The team was doing well and we jumped back on the bikes for a ride towards the foot hills of the Dorrigo escarpment. Weather conditions had started to change and the southerly front was about to hit teams and make racing a whole lot harder. The next leg was an epic trekking stage that took us from 50mtrs elevation up the Syndicate Track to the Dorrigo plateau which sits at over 900mtrs. For nearly 4 hours we pushed onwards and upwards through the wind and rain towards the summit. Little did we know one of the worst storms the north coast has seen in recent history was about to hit the region and would affect the race. We arrived at the Transition Area (TA) wet and frozen but happy to see our support crew. Our support crew had been pushed to the limit as well over coming horrid driving conditions and a bogged vehicle. We now had a car move to the next leg and enjoyed the shelter and warmth of the vehicle.

The next leg was a testing MTB ride with more pushing the bike than riding back to the Kalang River. We arrived at the end of this epic biking leg which had seen us using our bikes as chainsaws to cut through mountains of lantana and push through thick scrub. The sun was now rising behind the storm clouds and welcomed us to our second day on the course.

We loaded our packs with supplies for the Mega Trek leg and headed for the hills. The navigation choices were plentiful and careful route choice was important not to lose time to other teams.

Conditions were not improving and torrential rain was now causing creeks to flood and slowing progress on difficult terrain. Approaching the end of this leg we caught a couple more teams as we found our legs and talked off the final hours ahead of us as we approached the end of the race and crossing the finish line at Nambucca Heads. With worsening weather forecasts predicted and reports of emergency services vehicles getting bogged on course things weren’t looking good. As our team approached the final ride leg we were told by officials that the race would finish early and positions would be recorded as we checked in. When we reached the TA our team handed in its control cards and tracking device ending our race.

The team was happy with our performance and would like to thank our support crew and sponsors for their support and assistance during the race. We now look forward to the XPD later this year and the lead up events we will be competing in.

Video by James Pitman

Radio interview with Debbie Chambers

Video highlights by team Midnight Sun

Video highlights by team PC Dictation

Video highlights by team Mexicans

Video highlights by team Adventure Angels

Video highlightsby team Running Scared

Video highlights by team Echo

Look at the Line up 2009 - Contenders and Pretenders.

Mountain Designs GeoQuest is THE adventure race each year that brings together the very best teams from across the country. Hopes are high but in such a competitive field, few champions are crowned and the hopes of many more are drowned. To sate your hunger, like Pringles and Coke at 2am, here is a preview of the contenders and pretenders for 2009. The authors take full responsibility for inaccurate information and warn you now there is likely more fiction than fact. It has been written over a glass or two of red wine and proofing has been omitted. Enjoy the preview!

Contenders – Looking for a win

APEX (Christie Sym, Hugh Stodart, Simon Manson, Guy Andrews) (NSW)
These are the current super stars of GeoQuest. With the shortest odds of all teams you can expect to see these guys laying down the gauntlet to the others. Christie and the boys came second in 07 then left the field eating dust to win in 08. Down a 4th team member, Guy has been promoted from their high speed support crew driver to their fully fledged number 4. Apex are good at everything, always looking composed, and they like to control and dictate the race from the front. Catch em if you can! 

Mountain Designs (Gary Sutherland, Brett Stevens, Brit Caling, Craig Stevens) (QLD)
Winners of the GeoQuest a couple of years ago, this team has been threatening to retire ever since then. Each year though their wives and families nag them to enter so they can go somewhere for a holiday (join them for a glass of wine near the HQ tent!). Team Mountain Designs are strong in everything, experienced and always pushing to the limit (as proof they have finished on the podium 4 out of their last 6 GeoQuests). They will be hoping for Rubic cubes during the race and sausages at the end to spur them to victory.

Blackheart (Damon Georke…) (VIC)
While Damon is always holding an Ace up his sleeve, unfortunately he often ends up with a team of jokers (so he tells us). Back in the early days members of this team won the GeoQuest and these horses are looking to bring back those glory days. As the current undisputed expedition AR champs of Australia, the punters are starting to again throw some money their way. Great strategy and tactics, top navigation and all round fitness are this teams strengths – but it always comes down too… is the race long enough?? Possibly as a tactic, Damon is keeping his team a secret right to the last. Watch them, they are the Wiley Coyotes of the race. 

orienteering.asn.au/Blackheart (Rob Preston…) (VIC)
While Rob is keeping his team line up a secret as well, authors guess that he has big plans for this race. One of our countries recent jet setting adventure racers Rob has been appearing as a ring in for many international teams recently. He may even bring back some high profile international racers for a crack at first place, who knows… With his orienteering background this team is unlikely to get lost out there. Solid in the other disciplines but with an unknown line up punters are sitting on the fence. Hi Kerry, yes Rob is ok.

Pretenders – Possible podium

Nga Rakau (Tim Cochrane…) (NZ)
A gun team from New Zealand out to show the Aussies how to race. This team won an entry to Geo through placing second in the very competitive ARC 24hr in NZ. Concentration is their weakness as the have a tendency to get distracted while racing (e.g. convincing innocent old ladies to cook for them in the middle of the night). Their strengths are in longer distances (4th XPD 08) so 48hrs may not be enough time to wind them up. 

TBA (Mounty) (Sam Maffet, Richard Mountstephens, Kris Plain, Katrin Van der Spiegel) (VIC)
OK – these guys are here to make an impact. Sam was in the winning team in 07 and Richard has flirted with the podium. Kris and Katrin round out the team giving a depth of individual multisport and mountain bike talent. Don’t let your guard down around this team.

Keen Torqers (Stewart Cowey, Del Lloyd, Grant Suckling, Luke) (VIC)
This energetic group scared a few teams at the XPD Whitsundays race by spending some time at the front of the pack. Eventually they placed 5th but being penalized into 8th place for some dodgy shenanigans on course. Some good placings at other races give them a mention in this category but being their first GeoQuest together this horse will draw long odds.

SCAR (Robbie Andrews, Danielle Gage, Rob Gowland, Mark Cumming) (QLD)
This team from the sunshine coast is yet to hit the big time at GeoQuest. Being beaten by an all girls team last year has the author wondering why they have even made it to this list? Well, based their form winning Hells Bells 24hr race the last two years running, there is an outside chance we will see these spritely competitors on the podium. Good across all disciplines they are worth keeping an eye on. Watch out GOT, the word nemesis has been mentioned once, or twice, or thrice…

Mentionables

The following teams amongst many other, should endeavour to keep the field honest and make it almost impossible for a male team to crack the top 10 finishers. Look out for the following dark horse teams – Tasman(ACT), Phoenix Adventure (QLD), Fugawhe (ACT), Austrelaps (ACT).

The Girls 

Cowgirls Tri Adventure (Jan Leverton, Kim Beckinsale, Narelle Ash, Wendy Read) (QLD)
This is the strongest edition of the Cowgirls that Geo has ever seen which indicates that the gauntlet is down. The all male teams can’t get near them and the mixed category better watch out as well. There is one small problem… their nemesis from across the Tasman is back! A close race in 07 saw the Cowgirls and Girls On Top racing each other all the way to the finish. The cowgirls lost that bout and with no re-match possible the following year, in 2009 they want revenge!

Girls on Top (Debbie Chambers, Anne Lowerson, Britney Ellesmere, Erin Roberts) (NZ)
Despite the humour in their bios, these girls are deadly serious competitors and will trample any team in their way and laugh while they are doing it. The depth of experience from Debbie and Annie form the rock of this team. These girls kicked many egos last year by crossing the line in 8th and beating all the Male teams to the finish line. 

The Boys

Team Red (QLD), More Training Required (NSW) and Echo (QLD) stand out as the All Male teams to watch. A number of first time teams are also entered in the male category that could cause an upset. However it is hard to go past teams with previous Geo race experience – it really does count for a lot.

Final Thoughts

2009 has the biggest field to date with 70 teams starting across both the full and half courses. It is impossible to mention all teams and in fact the wine ran out long before we could tackle the 27 odd teams in the Geo-Half. I guess we will all have to eagerly await the results, either at Forster or from the comfort of our keyboards following the live coverage. We all look forward to an amazing race, be it for the podium, or just for the finish line, see you soon!

Geoquest 2009 By Glenn George – team “Coffs Tri”

Well after the months of preparation including a multitude of Saturday mornings sipping flat whites and lattes at the Coffs Harbour yacht club (with the occasional paddle thrown in) the weekend of Geoquest 2009 had arrived. This year it was based in Forster which was a big change from the other two Geoquests we had done based from Sawtell and Emerald Beach, where some local knowledge certainly was useful. After two reasonable years, lots of previous learning and four fit 40-somethings, we reckoned this year was our’s and we were going to give the all-men’s category and 40 hours a good shake. 

The team from last year was largely intact, except for the loss of Mick Dougherty who suffered enormously through last year’s event with the flu and decided to hang up his paddle for this year. His replacement was an ex-local and mate of mine from a Police tactical response unit, Wade (the stunt man). Wade is a big, strong, fit unit but has a couple of serious vices which include alcohol and cigarettes, but neither seem to slow him down at all. The remainder of the team is now well versed in Adventure racing, and included Craig (gadget man) Bulloch, Neil (energiser bunny) Charles and Glenn (guys I think we’re lost again) George. 

For those unfamiliar with the event, it broadly consists of kayaking, mountain biking and trekking, with a whole lot of navigating and rogaining (orienteering) thrown in for good measure. The event really can come down to a hare and tortoise type affair, with the navigating component being a critical part of the whole race. The race course itself is not issued until 3pm on the Friday before the event starts, so much of Friday night is spent plotting and mapping out where you are going to go for the next two days. The information handed out includes a course description, up to about a dozen topographic maps and check point coordinates. From there you are basically on your own to plot the points (hopefully correctly) and hit the course. 

This year the full course broadly consisted of the following legs:
30km bike
6km trek
35km bike
3hr car transport/break
21km kayak
50km bike
19km trek
5.5km raft (build your own with tubes, rope and timber on-course)
22km kayak
19km trek
12km kayak

And of course you could not complete one of these events without a support crew. The core of our support crew is now well versed in what it takes to look after us, and as always they did an amazing job and once again we were the envy of many teams. They consisted of Tim (falling apart) Cotsell, his partner Caroline (the human blanket), Will (Mr fixit), Michael (the tactician) and Irvo (Wade’s mate and another crazy tact-team man). Tim was always on our case in transitions (as he should be) and they are definitely something we will be working on – an average of 20-30 minutes is possibly a bit long but sometimes it’s nice to get warm!! 

From the outset we knew this event was going to be a lot different from past geoquests which usually start with an ocean paddle. The start this year was at the very peak of the Barrington Tops at 1300 metres and 2 degrees celcius for a day of cycling and trekking that was going to see us drop around 1000 metres in elevation. Unfortunately within those big drops also came some VERY big climbs and the ride was much tougher than it sounds. The organisers of these events are most definitely sadists, and they tend to look for the biggest, meanest hills they can find and then send you up some even bigger ones!

Things started well as we arrived at the end of the first bike leg relatively intact and close to the leaders. Unfortunately it quickly went a bit pear-shaped from there as our trek/rogaine saw us take a wrong turn and head down a stream we should have been navigating up – a rookie mistake the likes of which we had not made in the past, and one to put into the memory bank. That small error cost us about 55 minutes and by the time we completed that leg the leaders were long gone as were most other teams and we were already playing catch-up. 

Next leg was a SERIOUS mountain bike which included a very big, long climb. Craig and I both suffered a few cramps during this leg, a result of not replacing salts well enough on the first bike leg when we started out well rugged up for the cold, but quickly lost a lot of fluid. Another lesson learnt. Wade was looking amazingly strong, and even assisted Craig by pushing his own bike and Craig’s up one part of the hill. He would huff and puff, cough and splutter and you could see the effect of his smoking, but he would always reach the top of the hill in reasonable shape and recover almost immediately – go figure?? Following the uphill there was a fun steep single track downhill that brought us out along an open spur that revealed the most amazing mountain scenery you could imagine. The views were so spectacular I think I was even enjoying them as I flew over the front of my handlebars (twice) on the way down. Craig also took a nice spill, but fortunately the only damage was to the pride. 

Into transition around 4pm and Tim bundled us into the car immediately and we headed straight back to Forster HQ to get some warm food into us and prepare for a 21km paddle up to Coolongolook in the dark. We hit the water around 7pm (our only mandatory break for the whole race) and with our fast double racing kayaks things were going along very nicely until Wade and I headed up what we thought was a channel between oyster leases (the area is FULL of them) only to find out the hard way that we had actually paddled straight into a lease. Unfortunately the impact bent our rudder back into the boat and we lost all ability to steer. With 11-12km to go and no steering it really was a long slog from there. Coupled with the extreme cold (another note to self - should have rugged up better for the paddle) it made for a very trying paddle leg. After what seemed like an eternity we finally arrived at the bike transition at around 10.30pm and spent plenty of time trying to warm up and recover, with most of us shivering uncontrollably for about 20 minutes. Then a fumbling text message to our trusty support crew to fix our broken rudder (just to ensure they were getting NO sleep that night – why should they if we can’t!) and we were off on our bikes. 

Well as all long course athletes know, you have your ups and downs along the way. The trick is to be able to push through the lows knowing (hoping) things will get better. And I would have to say the next 30 minutes were some of the hardest (mentally) that I have experienced. The problems with the kayak rudder had meant I had put in a huge effort on the last leg and it was telling on me. I had developed a severe headache like nothing I have experienced before, like someone had my head planted in a vice squeezing on each temple and was turning it hard. And the next creek crossing on our bikes certainly did not do anything to lift spirits. The former bridge had been washed out in the recent floods and the water looked at least waist deep. After just stopping shivering and putting on some semi-dry clothes, there was no way any of us were ploughing straight through that. So it was off with the shoes and socks and carry the bike around the long way – possibly another 10 minutes wasted but it was worth it!!

Soon after I started coming good and we were off again. Spirits were lifting as it was a beautiful starry night – where else would you want to be! A couple of check points down the road and we caught up with some other Coffs friends who were competing in the half and looking great. We did a few laps of a few roads together trying to locate ourselves and find the next checkpoint, which we eventually did before saying adios and riding off into the night on our trusty steeds. The remainder of the night saw us accumulate all but one of the bike check points (we were allowed to drop as many as three) and arrive in Buladelah for the next trek at daylight. 

The number of check points you needed on the next trek depended on how many you dropped on the bike leg. Unfortunately we had elected to drop an out and back check point on the bike that was an easy, flat ride - another small tactical error for next time. Our team was definitely far stronger on the bike than on foot, and it is amazing the amount of time you can waste in the hills, in thick scrub, on foot. 

Heading east from Buladelah we encountered an unexpected obstacle – a very colourful local female resident had not taken well to the sound of people’s voices passing her house since 2am and had taken it upon herself to provide most of the early teams with a nice cold shower from the front-yard hose. Fortunately all we received from her (even though we were not talking) was a good verbal spray. Naturally Wade gave as good as we got and we continued on our merry way. At the top of the cliffs above Buladelah there was another interesting leg – one of the team members had to climb to the top of a sheer rock wall (with rope safety guides in tow). Of course Wade was quickly nominated (the man rappels down elevator shafts and from helicopters with no safety gear, who else!!). While Charlie, Craig and I enjoyed a nice 10 minute rest, Wade was off and into the climb. We were told nearly every team so far had made the climb within the allocated time, so of course this would be a snap for our stunt man. So you can imagine our surprise when the radio message came back – team 42 fail, 18 minute penalty!! Unfortunately for us it had just started drizzling about ½ hour earlier, and the slippery rocks had made the climb all but impossible. So we all sucked it up and sat there having a very nice rest for another 18 minutes (funny how no-one complained). 

The rest of the trekking leg to Myall lakes was through some extremely steep, thick scrub country and was very trying at times. Some of the trails were very overgrown and difficult to spot, and at one stage a wrong decision saw us trying to travel down the side of a heavily overgrown mountain looking for a mystery track below. After hitting impenetrable lantana about half way down the 30 degree slope it was a quick consult and backtrack up the hill, re-group and re-assess. Eventually we got out and even managed to run some of the flat sections (which were rare) as we neared the lake around midday. 

The next leg was an interesting one. We were required to construct a raft using 8 tyre tubes, four lengths of framing timber and two lengths of rope, and then paddle 5.5km including a short section where we would have to carry the raft across an island. By all accounts there had been some very good ones and some major disasters prior to us. As it turned out our boat, which we had designed with the expectation of only having to paddle across a river for a couple of hundred metres, held up OK. It was a very difficult, trying leg and certainly we were passed during the leg by a couple of teams with far superior designs, but in the end we got there. 

Straight off the rafts and naturally the shoulders and arms were seriously tired. What more could you want following a two and a half hour rafting session on a complete piece of crap than a 22km paddle on the pristine waters Myall Lake, just to burn off a bit of the lactate! Well pristine it was and pretty quickly the rafting debacle was forgotten and we were into our rhythm. There was no wind, few clouds and it was just on sunset. The lake was superb and this leg actually flew by very quickly indeed (except for the 1km boat portage across land from one lake to another). 

Our arrival just after dark at the next transition again saw our trusty crew awaiting us with all of our gear set up and ready to go. However there was to be absolutely nothing quick about this transition. As luck would have it a very enterprising coffee shop owner (who usually closes at 3pm on a Sunday) was still open about 50m away and there was only one thing for it. The orders were submitted and in between handling gear and keeping me warm, Caroline found some time to pick up four take-aways that were made in heaven! 

The logistics of what to take and wear for this last 19km trek were interesting. Near the start there was a tubing section, meaning we had to cross a large body of water using one tyre tube each and our life jackets, which we had to then carry for the remainder of the trek. On top of that there is a range of compulsory gear you MUST have on you at all times, including thermals, medical, goretex jackets etc. etc. At 35 hours and no sleep just thinking straight about what to take and what to wear was getting difficult, but we eventually sorted it and following another slick ½ hour transition we were off. 

After negotiating the tubing section quite quickly we were on our way into what turned out to be a very eventful leg. On plan the navigation on this leg looked simple, however in the dark it was far from. The tracks and trails were very difficult to find and more than once we had to hike it cross country and off-trail following a compass bearing. Then to throw a real spanner in the works, about half way through this leg Wade tore his calf muscle while negotiating a fence. From there it was a very slow walk/stumble dragging/pushing Wade up some very big hills, but fortunately we eventually came across some other teams that were also finding the navigating tough and together we found a way through to Blueys Beach. A quick call to Irvo and he was on the way to pick up Wade. With only an hour and a half or so of trekking left but some big hills still to negotiate, Wade was in no shape to continue on foot so we handed him over to the car and he took a well earned rest near the next transition whilst waiting for us. 

After doing some slow walking for the last hour or two, we were now getting a very strong second wind and started running again. It was amazing to see just how many teams you pass and how much time we were making up whilst running. The remaining hills and a final 4.5km beach run to the final transition saw us feeling really good, possibly the best of the whole race. Maybe it’s because we were so close! At one point along the beach without about 1.5km to go we became perplexed by the sight of a light headed our way. Our first guess turned out to be right, it was our nutter mate Irvo going for a nice light run at 1am in the morning! He had taken it upon himself to “cache” Wade in his car in the sandhills to wait for us, so Wade could walk with us into the final transition. These tact team guys really are endurance fanatics, and after doing security stints in places like Iraq and Afghanistan I guess a run at 1am on a Monday morning is small-fry. 

As it turned out, many teams had huge problems with the final trek leg, and several actually pulled out due to a combination of hypothermia and getting lost. We had made up a lot of places and were now actually leading the all men’s teams race. 

The final transition must have been our slickest of all, 10-15 minutes and we were in our boats and gone. On Friday night we had set a goal to make the outgoing tide and we had done so by the skin of our teeth. One more checkpoint on an island on the way and we were paddling back into Forster and the finish. The finish has very little fanfare (as you can imagine at 3am on a Monday morning), just a little different to an ironman! But we had our support crew there, and that’s all the fanfare we needed. Some pizza and beer to help “come down” and by a bit after 4am we had all crashed. All in all it was another amazing event. Unfortunately, although we had crossed the line first in the all men’s teams event, we were placed un-ranked due to the transport Wade had received. But who cares, we had competed and we had finished in 42 hours and 40 minutes. 

Logistical planning is possibly one of the biggest areas that really sets this event apart. There is no food or water out on the course, it’s just you and your team and your backpack. A great deal of thought needs to be put into planning what you will eat and when, where you can re-stock and what clothes and gear you will need. Add to this the fact that your planning can really only be finalised on the Friday night before the race when you know the course (while you are still trying to map it out and plan it) and it really does make for a massive logistical exercise. 

The navigating also offers a very different, technical element. Couple that with the constant changing from bike to boat to foot and back again and it is an extremely challenging event. There really is no point watching the clock, you just go and you keep going and going and going. If you need to walk, you walk, no ifs or buts. The time you spend actually running is quite limited, it’s just too far to run up (or sometimes even down) hills, especially given they are mostly in scrub and very steep. You have four people out there to look after, so you also need to think a lot further than just yourself. You must all stay within 100m of each other at all times, always watching each others backs. 

A lot of people from our local triathlon club have asked how the difficulty of this event compares to an ironman triathlon. This type of event really is a completely different mind-set, and I can’t answer that question. Both have their difficult elements, and it really comes down to your own personal expectations and how hard you can (or are wiling) to push. In ironman it’s just you and the course and your body. In this event there are so many other elements thrown into the mix. I guess what I would say is that mentally this event is possibly tougher, and I think you learn even more about yourself in an event like Geoquest where you are committing to go almost non-stop for two days – in anyone’s book that is a hell of a long time. Bring it on!!!!!!

Gloucester to Forster (Only in Australia would that rhyme!) by Dave Ellis

Team More Training Required 

Quick bit of background for those who don’t know me – or I haven’t talked to for awhile…
I always thought that when I got old (i.e. turned 30) I would maybe settle down, do a bit less on the adrenalin side and try my hand at some endurance sports. So I bought my first XC mountain bike and entered my first XC race since I was 15 – Dirtworks 100km. It was pretty fun, so I did a couple more, extended it out to 100miles and then a friend of mine got talked into running the 6 ft track marathon; I had a bit of a crush on her so next thing I know I’m doing a bit of running as well. Fared pretty well in that race so came to the conclusion that maybe I should try and combine these sports. 

Add to that the fact that living in Manly, there are lots of days where you want to be out on the water but the waves are pretty small. So I’d bought myself a surf ski to fill in the gap.
Did the math and adventure racing seemed like a great next step. So I did a 3hr Kathmandu race, went pretty fast but was terrible in the Nav department – confident that our team covered more km than anyone else in the race (quick note –often a tell-tale sign you are going the wrong way when you see a race committee boat out on the water and they are trying hard not to laugh) 

So decided to build a team for the Geo half to see what full-on adventure racing was all about. Unfortunately I lost my entire team to injury and work commitments, so ended up with no team 2 weeks out from the race. Luckily, hopped on Sleepmonsters and convinced a team that I could last for the full race and wouldn’t be too much of a liability out there…

Fast forward to 4pm Friday 5 June, and Craig & Louise are handing out the race booklet and it’s all on from there. The next 4 hours is a bit of a blur – but at the end of that point we had a whole series of waterproof maps with our optimal route, distances, key bearings and time estimates. Came to the conclusion that you might not be able to win the race during the planning phase - but you can definitely lose it… 

Next thing I know its 8:30 sat morning and everyone is huddled above Barrington tops with a great downhill bike descent in their immediate future. Living in Manly and training early in the morning (occasionally at least) you often see the walk of shame – people stumbling home in their suits and slinky dresses at 7am. But by 9am Sat I was introduced to the ride of shame – glad I wasn’t one of the teams pedalling back uphill to hit the checkpoint they’d blown past – great motivation to nail your navigation! 

After a quick and fun bike descent we transitioned into a short but sweet Rogaine section – 3 checkpoints that required some quality creeking, bushbashing, taking a compass bearing and hoping like heck the trail you were aiming for still exists. Conveniently the trails did – inconveniently they were so overgrown I heard tales of teams jumping from 8ft in the air to try and break through the bushes. I’d officially like to thank those teams for making our trip through relatively easy – a few stinging nettles but nothing to write home about

A second bike leg took us through to the next transition – where a white water paddle would have followed if it wasn’t for the week of torrential downpour preceding the race. Special mention should go to the final descent onto the road – I felt like I was back on my downhill bike as we hammered down super steep waist high grassy fields – brilliantly fun. 

We then hopped into the truck for a 3 hr commute back to the next start – which sounded like a ton of time to relax – but by the time we had our gear set up at the next checkpoint and a bit of food in our bellies we were out in the kayak for a scenic paddle out of Forster. Beautifully clear night – totally relaxing except for the high tech racing skis that kept trundling past our Mirages… Balanced out a bit right near the end though – a ski tried to follow us through a shortcut which was only 4inches deep – which was fine for our boats with 3inch draft but sure didn’t sound too healthy for them…

Set off on the bikes once again around 9pm into a relatively cold night. The “Bridge out” sign 10 minutes in was a bit inconvenient – the river crossing was rideable but it meant wet feet for the next 8 hrs – think there are some good photos of what those feet looked like by the next transition. Lots of criss-crossing logging roads meant good nav was essential in the woods – our navigator did an amazing job and we stayed out of trouble for the most part. Only minor lapse (apparently when he was distracted by towing his brother up a hill) turned into the best recovery I’ve seen – looked at the map – decided where we thought we were, bashed up to the top of a knoll and found the trail we were expecting to be there – complete with an old rusted out sign saying “Broken Broad Axe Trail”. This was the source of the greatest emotional turnaround for my entire race - first hit rock bottom: suspected we were pretty lost, got the tow system on the back of my bike caught in my spokes and thought my rear wheel might be destroyed, and when I stopped to fix it didn’t call out loudly enough to the first half of my team didn’t stop – and they had the map. So there I am on a sketchy trail, no map, possibly broken bike, middle of the night – and then it all worked out – the spokes held up, and there was our team sitting about 100m ahead at the end of the trail – right next to a checkpoint. Beauty.

After 8 hrs of pedalling we hit Bulahdelah and chucked on our running shoes for the next leg. Started off with a steep enough hill I was kind of glad we’d dropped the bikes. Then came the section I’d been looking forward to – a promised 5.13 top-roped climb. Unfortunately, we came in just after Girls on Top, and they got the choice of climbs – not surprisingly they took the rolling corner section that may have been 5.13. I, however, ended up on what appeared at first sight to be a featureless vertical wall. In daylight, with climbing shoes, fresh muscles and my chalk bag I might have been able to figure out a sequence to climb it. 6am, 22 hrs into a race – not so much. But slowly the headlamp picked out a couple shadows; a few crumbly cracks and a potential route appeared. In what must have been the single ugliest climb of my life I smeared up the wall one move at a time – and definitely need to thank the girl on belay for giving me tension after any number of uncoordinated stabs at holds on the rock – would not have made it up otherwise!

This led us onto a good technical navigation section where we had to find the quickest way to get off the mountain we were currently on and over to the next ridgeline. We went the easy route – found a road over to the powerlines wandered up the nicely mowed slash to the top of the hill – where a convenient trail ran past all sorts of checkpoints. Made it into the next checkpoint in time for breakfast – which may not have been all that leisurely, but did include time to build a raft. Loved our raft design – and think it was pretty unique. Modelled it on the Star Wars X –Wing fighter – if its good enough to blow up the Deathstar it had to be good enough to paddle 5km! 

The best part of the design is that the front 2 paddlers can take full strokes – and it has sufficient buoyancy to support our team – likely one of the few in the “Clydesdale” category for team members over 100kg… 

This was one of the hardest sections of the race – luckily warm and sunny for us – but wow did you ever have to paddle hard to get the boat moving – and the angled cross-braces did not make for the most comfortable of seats!

It was a pleasant relief to get into the kayaks again – our Mirages felt like they were floating through air in comparison! Hit the kayak portage perfectly – nosed up into the swamp right beside the road, and didn’t even collect any leeches (wish we could say the same for the rafting leg).

Hit the next tubing/running leg just as it was getting dark – and the thought of floating across Smith’s Lake (greatly bloated due to hitting it bang on high tide) didn’t have a lot of appeal from either a warmth or tide perspective. So we wandered around the edge as far as we could go without hitting the Out of Bounds Area – judging by the lights we could see and the other race reports it seems like this was a pretty popular option! Ran into a few rednecks truck camping on the beach – they definitely were having a hard time comprehending what they were seeing – much to our amusement. That amusement came to an abrupt end as we tried to work out how to get out of Cellitos and up towards Bluey’s. Wasted about 30 minutes, then just hit the high ground and took a bearing towards the closest rd on the map – a plan we should have adopted 20 min earlier. And that’s where it all started to go pear-shaped. None of the roads we found quite matched what we were looking for based on the map and the contours we could vaguely make out in the darkness. So we tried numerous roads & explored all over the shop – but never just sucked it up and climbed Mt Taric – the obvious feature and the simplest way to guarantee we got where we needed to be! Suspect that 40 hrs without sleep may have had a negative impact on our decision making…

Ended up following a road that we didn’t think was the right one, but optimistically hoped it would take us where we needed to go anyway. Was definitely not to be – next thing we knew we were on Lakes rd – out of bounds and not at all where we wanted to be. Here came the most difficult decision of the race: do need try and walk to the next checkpoint anyway and accept our penalty – or do we pack it in and chalk it down as a learning experience. We made it to the shops in Bluey’s by about 1:30am (7hrs after we left the last checkpoint) pretty much shattered and unstoked that we were off-course – and unsure whether we would be disqualified totally or just heavily penalised. And so we decided not to find out: instead packed it in – called up our support crew and threw in the towel. 

Still not sure if it was the right decision or not – first time in 6 yrs the team hasn’t finished the race – not a bad record at all; but I’m personally 0/1 – not a result I’m comfortable with in the least. And when I think back to some of the adversity of persevered through just to finish races in the past (pedalling 25km with no seat in the highland fling, pushing a bike 17km to the kayak transition in the Upper Murray Challenge) it seems ludicrous in retrospect that I was happy to pull out just because we had wasted 5hrs and were going to be penalised. But I suspect it’s useful to have these experiences as well – now I know what it feels like to pull out and sit at the finish line watching all the teams that made it successfully…

And I think I’ve got a pretty good plan to redeem myself – the preparations have already commenced for XPD 2010… Look forward to seeing you there. 

Dave Ellis