Forest2Falls MTB race
So I did the Forest2Falls 70km on Saturday (results can be found over at Spectrum Sport Timing). What a tough race that is! 70km off road with a total ascent of around 1450m. Crazy.
It’s the second time I’ve done this race, but it wasn’t any easier than the first time round. Well, actually it was a bit easier. My HR averaged around 165 last year and it was only around 156 for this race. So my fitness level is definitely up. But since I’m training for multiple disciplines, my legs weren’t that accustomed to peddling as I would’ve liked. Anyway, here is a brief report.
It rained the day before, so we were expecting a pretty muddy event. We had the race briefing 10mins before the race and set off on time at 8am. It was quite chilly at first, but after a few km’s I acclimatized and was thankful of the colder weather.
The first 10km or so was a bit dull. It was mostly dirt roads through chopped down plantations. Then we reached some narly single track through the pine trees. Unfortunately some of the noobs couldn’t stay on their bikes and we had to walk bits.
After that we reached the picturesque Berlin cascades. I kept pushing so did not really have much time to appreciate it though. A bit unfortunate. We then hit a 16-18% climb for about 200-300m. Literally crawled up that hill. We then passed over the top of the river and rode down some more plantation roads. Crossed a railway twice and managed to get some air in the process. Great fun!
After 35km we passed the start again to do a different 35km loop. The 35km race stopped here.
The second 35km sucked big time! A 900m ascent for the second loop. Blegh! Just as we left the start we were smacked right in the face with a 250m climb called Heartbreak Hill. That hill did indeed break me. Sort off.
The terrain was crazy. If you weren’t crawling up a hill you were flying down a bumpy dirt/grass road. The roads were overgrown with “savannah type” grass, which was only cut short for the race. Or so it seemed. It was like a million little speed bumps. You could never quite settle into a rhythm.
I made up some serious time on the downhills and reached a maximum speed of 66km! WHHOAHAAA!! No one ever passed me on the downhills… save a 50-60 year old guy down one of the final hills. Can you believe it!? He came flying passed me saying something childish like “WHHOAHAAA!! That was fun” Hehe. Awesome. I want to be that guy when I’m older. Anyway, back to race.
The final 15km had less grass, but my legs were dead by then and there were still plenty of hill climbs left. I considered walking up the hills a number of times, but my legs were dead. It would’ve been a waste of time. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to push the bike up the hills.
I must say, one cool thing about the final 35km was the patches of mud along the course. It wasn’t nearly as muddy I thought it would be. There was only a few puddles/ponds in the dips. I blasted through those and was dirty as hell by the end of it all!! Brilliant! As Murphy would have it, I fell 4km before the end in the last bit of mud of the race. I tried to overtake someone and my bike lost grip at around 25km/h. I slid down the road on my shoulder. It was spectacular!! Wish I had that on film.
In the end, I finished with an official time of 4:13:12, finishing 116th out of 240 competitors. Not too bad. Quite pleased with that. I say this after every event, but I wish I was a bit fitter. Just enough to get through that final 10-15km with greater ease.
All in all, a good race. I’ll recommend it. Especially the 35km race.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 05/03/2008
- Time: 08:00:00
- Total Time: 4:13:12.00
- Average Heart rate: 156
- Max Heart rate: 178
- Calories: 2916
- Distance: 70 km
- Average Speed: 16.59 kmph
- Max Speed: 66.96 kmph
- Ascent: 1445 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking, Race Report |
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