Gold, Gold, Gold! - 31/3/11

You know how Hyundis are to BMWs? And Huffys to Parlees?

You know how the Commonwealth Games are to the Olympics? And the National Road Champs to the Worlds? Lang Lang to the Warny? Doncaster Netball Club to the Melbourne Vixens?

Well yes... it was the Victorian Emergency Services Games mountain bike race - but it was still GOLD!


I went there today with a goal of winning in my age group (40-49). I came away having won by a significant margin overall. Very happy! And the field weren't hacks. It included a former Australian 24 solo champ, the inimitible David (foc) Foster and many other scary lookin' riders.

I've learnt enough about MTB racing to know that how you start can determine the events of your whole race. The 500 metre uphill start was enough to sort out some of the field, however the following 200 metre section of downhill was still a fight for first into the single track.

I hit the descent hard, using all of my 100 kilos to gain speed, then dived into the single track first of the pack, determined to back myself as the fastest up the first 1.5k of technical single track.

When I got to the top there wasn't another rider in sight and I didn't see anyone for the remainder of the race. I rode the first lap like I was chasing Neil around Hans's on a Wednesday night and then, confident I had a good lead, I backed off for the next lap and a quarter knowing my legs were going to be screaming after yesterday.

Finishing off the last lap hard, I was rapt to cross the line knowing I'd gained a significant margin on second and won the whole race as well as my age-group. Goal achieved!

Looking forward to seeing the results and will post when received. Sorry Vlad, next time I'll remember to do the zipper up for Cycle Works.

Tim Arch and me after the race.
(Tim competed on his single speed 29er)

Dave Fossie and me after the race.

The trails of Angelsea and Eumarella Scout Camp are fantastic. This race had a good bit of everything in it (except another five hours of riding!). Definitely worth another visit just for the fun.