mid camp - day 3

Once we pulled into mid camp we were feeling pretty good about things.  We were all healthy, we were 1/2 way (as far as distance) and we were going to get a big sleep.  We were fed a nice hot meal, given the opportunity to clean up with a warm bucket of water and get some sleep.  This was the only real opportunity to look at the trail mail but there really wasn’t time to go on line to do that.  I spent a couple of minutes looking at it but really needed to get sleep.  We greatly appreciated the trail mail but didn’t get to look at it till the race was over.

The race management  provided a wake up call, for us it was 3 am.  I was hopeful that we would be on the road by 4:19 (our 6 hour point) but I was really moving slow and we were a little late.  Brian gathered up the kayak stuff and loaded the wheelbarrow.  I was struggling getting my bike taken apart and my gear put way.  Finally, about 4:40 we were off.

Being off meant pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with kayak gear down the road for 20 kilometers.  In the 1870’s Queensland had a gold rush (much like the one that occurred in California a few years before.) Many on the miners had no horses or wagons, so they transported all of their worldly possessions to the mines in wheelbarrows.  Midcamp was at a town called Dumbula - apparently the wheelbarrow race capital of the world.  It was from this transition that we pushing our nice green Kelso wheelbarrow.

It was very dark and foggy when we set off and I really had to rely on the bearing because we couldn’t see more then 50 feet.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the bridge to get across the Walsh river. Less then 1/2 a click down the road Jen realized she wasn’t wearing her mandatory vest.  She quickly ran back and got it and we were on our way.

We had agreed that we would alternate every 5 minutes and everyone would take there turn.  At first, it wasn’t too bad.  Our wheelbarrow was pretty nicely balanced and the weight wasn’t too bad.  As the hours rolled on the push became harder as we each in turn was glad when our 5 mins was up and we would have 15 mins of walking without pushing. 

As the sun came out and the fog cleared it got hotter.  We were clearly heading to the outback.  The narrow road we pushed Kelso had almost no vehicle traffic except photographers and one lady who scolded us for being on the wrong side of the road.

Finally, at a little before 8 am we got to the kayak put in.  It wasn’t much to see, just a spot by a very low river.  It because obvious that the rumors were true, the river was so low we would be doing a great deal of portaging of one kind or another, including just dragging the boats over the shallows.

For hours it was paddle a little, push and pull a lot.  The river bottom was very treacherous with large slick rocks making up the entire river bottom.  Walking along the bottom risked twisted ankles and banged up shins.  Also the consistent   jumping in and out of the rubber boats tore up the shins, especially as they got burn burned.

We “paddled” for hours.  Some times we would be in an open area where we could actually paddle then we would be looking for some small river off shoot were the river continued and flowed into another open area.  Jen quickly realized that we had to always follow the moving water and became our route finder. 

Around 5 pm (an hour before darkness) we located the bend in the river where the 1st CP on the river would be.  We beached the boats and Karl and I went looking for the  flag.  It appeared to be close and I thought I would just grab it quick. I must have over run it because soon I found my self heading up a creek bed and was too far.  I tried to circle back but must have missed it again.  Daylight was waning and I didn’t want to be out there without a light.  As we were heading back to the boats we ran into Latitude 19 and they had already gotten the CP.  They gave us a bearing and I walked right to it.  I had gone completely around it on my first go.

When I got back it was almost dark.    We changed into our night kayaking gear. The bad news was that all of my gear was soaking wet.  The good news was that it was not too cold so we were fine.  We got back in the boats and continued on.  Hour after hour paddling and pulling and following little shallow narrow water ways.  We saw some “freshies” (small fresh water crocs.) Finally around 1:30am we need some sleep so we pulled off on to a beach and build a fire.  We had seen Latitude 19 pulled up a few 100 meters before.

I wanted to sleep for a few hours but the general consensus was that we would only sleep for a hour.  After a very quick, but comfortable hour we were folding up camp and putting out our nice warm fire.

Our getting started early strategy didn’t work so well.  We paddled to the end of the water.  We didn’t see or hear the outlet.  I got out of the boat and looked around but did not do a very good job because I missed the water which was about 50 meters to the west.  I was relying of hearing the sound of moving water which was not happening at that location.  Soooo we paddled back up river running into the Kiwi girls.  We didn’t find any other way so we turned around again and paddled back to the end of the water.  This time, as the sun was starting to come up, we found the outlet that we were looking for.

We continued to paddle and pull boats over the rocks.  In this last half of the paddle there was actually longer stretches of real paddling.  We were with the Kiwi girls off and on.  There was one section where we were weaving in-between and through a groove of trees.  Watching the little yellow boats go back and forth between the trees reminding me of a ride at Disneyland.  Finally we were getting close the final kayak CP.  It was on a big bend in the river, where the river turns 180 degrees to go south.  The map also showed 2 creeks feeding the river with the CP at a hot springs in between the 2 creeks.  We over shot the CP by about a 100 meters but used our backstop (the bend in the river) to know where we were.  The river was so low the creeks were not apparent until we were out of the boats.  We made pretty quick work of finding the CP (there was a muddy bog with steam coming out of it). 

After the last CP we were approaching the rapids.  We were promised a set of rapids with specific instructions regarding how to approach them.  They were not very impressive and a lot of work to get the boat past the little waterfall to lead into the 30 meter stretch.

 Youtube of the rapids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJrnJCNOsY

After the “rapids” the paddling was pretty straight forward except a little strainer we got caught in that caused us to lose our Sun Screen and had me chasing Brian’s helmet down the river after it fell out of the boat.

Finally, 30 hours after starting we arrived at nine mile, the TA.  We came in just ahead of the kiwi girls.  We were told no team had been there for 6 or so hours.  Just after we arrived, however a whole parade of teams came in and soon the TA was very busy.  We had to deflate the boats, stow our paddle gear, try to dry stuff out, eat, and get ready for the most intimidating legs on the course - The Tigerland trek.  This trek was completely without trials, roads or any man made objects.  The navigation was going to be difficult. 

And we were starting just after sunset so we had to travel the early section in the dark.  We had agreed to team up with Latitude 19 again to tackle this section.  We all felt that we would move faster if we worked together.  While I contributed and was very active in the navigation Adrian from the Aussi team really did the lions share of the work.  His ability to concentrate hour after hour was pretty amazing.  There were certainly times when I just faded and was really glad for the help.

 youtube - 1st part of the Tigerland trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysCUPjFG_-U&feature=related

By taking and maintaining accurate bearings we were able to cover the large distances to the first way point, a canyon heading in the main part of the area.  We did some serious climbing that night and were very glad to be doing it in the cool of the night.  We were very concerned about locating water.  We were told that there was water on this section, but seeing is believing.  Fortunately, there was water, as long as you kept to the many streams.  Not all of the water was that great, but we were able to locate enough to keep us going.

We moved well through the night and were getting pretty close to the sole CP on this leg.  However, around 2 am, everyone was tired from the paddle and trekking and we agreed to take a sleep with the understanding that we would be on the “trail” by daylight.  I found a relatively comfortable spot to lay down and was instantly asleep.  Our alarms woke us and by 1st light we were on our way.

By early morning we had located the CP and were pretty pleased with our progress.  We worked well together as we slogged along hour after hour through this hot, barren hostel terrain.  We were making good time as we were trekked along.  As we began climbing a pretty steep hill, I felt the tape on my right heel slip and an instant blister developed.  Up to that point my feet were doing ok, but all of a sudden, I was in a great deal of discomfort.  After a few steps, I had to stop to fix this.  I hated to stop like that but I was doing some real damage.  A few minutes of taping and I was good to go again.

As the trek went on my feet became more sore and various blisters started to pop up.  I taped them as best I could but the ground was so rough and uneven that the feet were taking a beating.

All day we trekked on.   It was hot and barren.  No human has any business in this place.  As the sun began to set we were climbing the last hill that would drop us on to the river that we had aiming for.  We were running low on water and figured this river would be our supply.  The river was dry.  The next part was a climb over another ridge to shortcut the bend in the river.  This was a very steep climb and an even steeper decent down into a creek bed.  After carefully descending into the creek bed we had about 3 kilometers of negotiating  the rocks and uneven ground.

It seemed like this creek bed went on for ever.  Finally we got to the river.  I was so tired I had to sleep.  We got to the river, which did have water, and I immediately laid down and went to sleep.  Latitude 19 went on.

We got up about an hour and half later.  It was still dark as we made our way, crossing the fingers of the river.  We started out pretty well but turned the wrong way on the river for a short while.  Just before sunrise, Karl climbed to a high point and we got ourselves back on track.  We were making good time as we were working our way towards a road that was on the map.  As we were crossing one of the river fingers, we ran into Latitude 19.  They had camped out, explaining that they had become so tired they had to stop.

Again, together, we soldiered on looking forward to finding the road and getting to the TA.  Of course, the road was not where it showed on the map.  So we continued to work our way along the river along the uneven and rocky terrain.  Finally we found something that use to be a road.  We followed this “road” until it slowly turned into a real dirt road.  Still we had several miles to go.  We slogged on till finally hitting the little oasis in the middle of this wasteland - in the shadow of Mount Mulligan - an old cattle station.

Youtube - coming out of the Tigerland trek  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu51p-kw4Mc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMJxJQ3URs&feature=related

Again, when we pulled into to the TA we were told that no one had been there for several hours.  Shortly after we arrived a bunch of teams came in.  Again we were feeling the pressure of the teams behind us.  At the end of the trek we were in 18th place. It was around 3pm

We took the time to eat, rehydrate and rest.  The station had a shower, which felt great.  We decided to take 2 hours, to get past the heat of the day before we got back on the road.  We rested, got our bikes put together and loaded food in our packs.  We were told that the navigation was going to be tricky as there were many roads that were not on the maps.  This proved to be true.

We had talked to Latitude 19 about riding with them, but when the time came for us to leave they were not ready.  They were having some serious medical issues that ultimately caused one of the team members to have to be taken to the hospital.

Putting my bike shoes on was a very painful experience.  Walking in bike shoes was even worse.  Fortunately, riding the bike was not so bad and didn’t really hurt to much. 

The first CP was only a couple of miles north in a cemetery in a ghost town.  Then we would back track and head south towards a gold mine some 30+ kilometers down the road.  We took off about 5 and within 20 minutes were at the first CP.

As we were heading back past the TA, we saw several teams right on our tail.

We made good time down the road as darkness fell.  We rode along uneventfully and worked our way to the next CP at a gold mine.  The maps (being 30 years old) were not completely accurate but we were able to work our way to the home just above the mine.  The family that lived there was very nice and very excited about the race.  They said that they had been following our progress and gave some helpful local information.  They were also selling cokes which was very nice.  As we were drinking our cokes several teams came up, including the Yogi Bears, BMX bandits and Racing 4 Cancer.   After these many days you would think we could relax, but instead the pressure was still on.

We grabbed the CP 1st and took off.  We were riding well as a team.  The trail was very rocky and rutted and at times technical.  We rode together very well working the climbs and downhill well.  A few miles in I crashed and got a pitch flat.  We quickly fixed it.  A little while later Jen did an endo.  Fortunately she was ok.  Still we were making good time and appeared to be putting time on other teams.  We were told to follow the fence till we got to a gate.  It all came together and I was lulled into feeling like we were going to knock this ride off without any trouble.  Wrong. 

When we got to the gate there were two routes indicated on the map - a northern route and a southern route.  On the map the northern route looked shorter and easier.  However, we simply couldn’t find the right road.  Every road we took dead ended.  After an hour or two we went back to the gate.   The Yogi Bears were also there.  We tried to work with them, but they were not interested in working together.   As we sat there trying to determine what to do, we decided  that a little sleep would help.  There was a nice sandy area and we were able to get a few hours sleep.

When we woke up, we spread out the maps and after looking at everything, and based on Jen’s suggestion, tried the southern route.  I couldn’t find the roads that were on the map, but I figured that if we stayed on roads that went either south or east we would be fine.  We rode past a group of trailers that looked like a meth lab.  That lead to a road south.  We made pretty good time down the road.   It was very misty and foggy and the visibility was poor.  We found a main road and followed it for several kilometers.  We ran into a construction worker who gave us some good directions.

We were trying to find a canyon with a river running through it.  We peddled on and were going in the correct direction.  We went on and on and I couldn’t understand why we had not got through the canyon.  A little after sunrise, we came to an open area and I looked back.  As the fog lifted, there was the canyon.  We had ridden through it and didn’t know it.

A short while later we found the CP, which as on a hill top.

After the CP, we back tracked about a 1/2 kilometer to a “road” that, on the map should lead us to a main road and toward the long paved stretch to the TA.    This “road” was rutted and a real mess.  Slowly, it improved and was looking very promising.  We were moving along at a good rate, and except for some huge spiders, the going was good.  Then all of a sudden, the trail just ended.   We backtracked but could not find a better another way around.  I figured that we were within a kilometer of an actual road.  So the only real option was to bike whack.  As much as it hurt my feet to walk, that is what we did.  Pushing and carrying our bikes through the high grass, soon we could ride and then we were at some kind of farm.  After jumping a fence what did we see - two teams just ahead of us.  We cut through the farm and there we were, back with Yogi Bears and BMX.

Youtube - riding through the field - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzG_BKT3U4&feature=related

We were out of water so we had to stop to fill up at a garden hose.  The other teams went on.  As we caught them, they were talking to a local who was giving some directions and clarifying where we were on the map.  The other two teams then stopped for water as we continued on.  From this point to the lake was going to be all paved roads.

We worked out a pace line as best we could.  We were making pretty good time and looking forward to getting off the bikes.  About 15 K into this part of the ride the BMX guys caught us and we rode to gather, more or less to the town of Tolga.  In Tolga, about 10 k from the TA at Lake Tinaroo, we hit a cafe for meat pies and drinks.  I was completely spent when we got there.  This was a real low for me.  I ate a pie and had a chocolate milk then promptly feel asleep on the patio.  A solid 20 minutes and I was feeling much better.

We started to the Lake for our TA, but followed the directions given by the ladies at the shop, instead of the map.  So a 1/2 hour later we corrected our mistake and were on our way. 

We got to the Kayak TA around 4:40pm still in 18th place.  While I was a mess, everyone else on the team seemed to be feeling pretty good.  They wanted to push on into the trek without sleeping.  I just couldn’t do it and told everyone that I had to have some sleep before the trek.  At the TA, I worked on my feet, cleaning and re-taping.  I was very concerned about the last trek and was trying to get my feet as ready as I could.

Everyone else packed the boxes, inflated the boats and generally got us ready.  While this was going on Yogi Bears came in to the TA and left before we were ready.   A couple of other teams - BMX and Race 4 Cancer came and left the TA before us.  We were out of the top 20 when we left on the kayak - just as the sun was setting.           

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 12:21 am and is filed under Race Reports, Team. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [Permalink]

mid camp - day 3

Once we pulled into mid camp we were feeling pretty good about things.  We were all healthy, we were 1/2 way (as far as distance) and we were going to get a big sleep.  We were fed a nice hot meal, given the opportunity to clean up with a warm bucket of water and get some sleep.  This was the only real opportunity to look at the trail mail but there really wasn’t time to go on line to do that.  I spent a couple of minutes looking at it but really needed to get sleep.  We greatly appreciated the trail mail but didn’t get to look at it till the race was over.

The race management  provided a wake up call, for us it was 3 am.  I was hopeful that we would be on the road by 4:19 (our 6 hour point) but I was really moving slow and we were a little late.  Brian gathered up the kayak stuff and loaded the wheelbarrow.  I was struggling getting my bike taken apart and my gear put way.  Finally, about 4:40 we were off.

Being off meant pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with kayak gear down the road for 20 kilometers.  In the 1870’s Queensland had a gold rush (much like the one that occurred in California a few years before.) Many on the miners had no horses or wagons, so they transported all of their worldly possessions to the mines in wheelbarrows.  Midcamp was at a town called Dumbula - apparently the wheelbarrow race capital of the world.  It was from this transition that we pushing our nice green Kelso wheelbarrow.

It was very dark and foggy when we set off and I really had to rely on the bearing because we couldn’t see more then 50 feet.  We wanted to make sure that we got to the bridge to get across the Walsh river. Less then 1/2 a click down the road Jen realized she wasn’t wearing her mandatory vest.  She quickly ran back and got it and we were on our way.

We had agreed that we would alternate every 5 minutes and everyone would take there turn.  At first, it wasn’t too bad.  Our wheelbarrow was pretty nicely balanced and the weight wasn’t too bad.  As the hours rolled on the push became harder as we each in turn was glad when our 5 mins was up and we would have 15 mins of walking without pushing. 

As the sun came out and the fog cleared it got hotter.  We were clearly heading to the outback.  The narrow road we pushed Kelso had almost no vehicle traffic except photographers and one lady who scolded us for being on the wrong side of the road.

Finally, at a little before 8 am we got to the kayak put in.  It wasn’t much to see, just a spot by a very low river.  It because obvious that the rumors were true, the river was so low we would be doing a great deal of portaging of one kind or another, including just dragging the boats over the shallows.

For hours it was paddle a little, push and pull a lot.  The river bottom was very treacherous with large slick rocks making up the entire river bottom.  Walking along the bottom risked twisted ankles and banged up shins.  Also the consistent   jumping in and out of the rubber boats tore up the shins, especially as they got burn burned.

We “paddled” for hours.  Some times we would be in an open area where we could actually paddle then we would be looking for some small river off shoot were the river continued and flowed into another open area.  Jen quickly realized that we had to always follow the moving water and became our route finder. 

Around 5 pm (an hour before darkness) we located the bend in the river where the 1st CP on the river would be.  We beached the boats and Karl and I went looking for the  flag.  It appeared to be close and I thought I would just grab it quick. I must have over run it because soon I found my self heading up a creek bed and was too far.  I tried to circle back but must have missed it again.  Daylight was waning and I didn’t want to be out there without a light.  As we were heading back to the boats we ran into Latitude 19 and they had already gotten the CP.  They gave us a bearing and I walked right to it.  I had gone completely around it on my first go.

When I got back it was almost dark.    We changed into our night kayaking gear. The bad news was that all of my gear was soaking wet.  The good news was that it was not too cold so we were fine.  We got back in the boats and continued on.  Hour after hour paddling and pulling and following little shallow narrow water ways.  We saw some “freshies” (small fresh water crocs.) Finally around 1:30am we need some sleep so we pulled off on to a beach and build a fire.  We had seen Latitude 19 pulled up a few 100 meters before.

I wanted to sleep for a few hours but the general consensus was that we would only sleep for a hour.  After a very quick, but comfortable hour we were folding up camp and putting out our nice warm fire.

Our getting started early strategy didn’t work so well.  We paddled to the end of the water.  We didn’t see or hear the outlet.  I got out of the boat and looked around but did not do a very good job because I missed the water which was about 50 meters to the west.  I was relying of hearing the sound of moving water which was not happening at that location.  Soooo we paddled back up river running into the Kiwi girls.  We didn’t find any other way so we turned around again and paddled back to the end of the water.  This time, as the sun was starting to come up, we found the outlet that we were looking for.

We continued to paddle and pull boats over the rocks.  In this last half of the paddle there was actually longer stretches of real paddling.  We were with the Kiwi girls off and on.  There was one section where we were weaving in-between and through a groove of trees.  Watching the little yellow boats go back and forth between the trees reminding me of a ride at Disneyland.  Finally we were getting close the final kayak CP.  It was on a big bend in the river, where the river turns 180 degrees to go south.  The map also showed 2 creeks feeding the river with the CP at a hot springs in between the 2 creeks.  We over shot the CP by about a 100 meters but used our backstop (the bend in the river) to know where we were.  The river was so low the creeks were not apparent until we were out of the boats.  We made pretty quick work of finding the CP (there was a muddy bog with steam coming out of it). 

After the last CP we were approaching the rapids.  We were promised a set of rapids with specific instructions regarding how to approach them.  They were not very impressive and a lot of work to get the boat past the little waterfall to lead into the 30 meter stretch.

 Youtube of the rapids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJrnJCNOsY

After the “rapids” the paddling was pretty straight forward except a little strainer we got caught in that caused us to lose our Sun Screen and had me chasing Brian’s helmet down the river after it fell out of the boat.

Finally, 30 hours after starting we arrived at nine mile, the TA.  We came in just ahead of the kiwi girls.  We were told no team had been there for 6 or so hours.  Just after we arrived, however a whole parade of teams came in and soon the TA was very busy.  We had to deflate the boats, stow our paddle gear, try to dry stuff out, eat, and get ready for the most intimidating legs on the course - The Tigerland trek.  This trek was completely without trials, roads or any man made objects.  The navigation was going to be difficult. 

And we were starting just after sunset so we had to travel the early section in the dark.  We had agreed to team up with Latitude 19 again to tackle this section.  We all felt that we would move faster if we worked together.  While I contributed and was very active in the navigation Adrian from the Aussi team really did the lions share of the work.  His ability to concentrate hour after hour was pretty amazing.  There were certainly times when I just faded and was really glad for the help.

 youtube - 1st part of the Tigerland trek http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysCUPjFG_-U&feature=related

By taking and maintaining accurate bearings we were able to cover the large distances to the first way point, a canyon heading in the main part of the area.  We did some serious climbing that night and were very glad to be doing it in the cool of the night.  We were very concerned about locating water.  We were told that there was water on this section, but seeing is believing.  Fortunately, there was water, as long as you kept to the many streams.  Not all of the water was that great, but we were able to locate enough to keep us going.

We moved well through the night and were getting pretty close to the sole CP on this leg.  However, around 2 am, everyone was tired from the paddle and trekking and we agreed to take a sleep with the understanding that we would be on the “trail” by daylight.  I found a relatively comfortable spot to lay down and was instantly asleep.  Our alarms woke us and by 1st light we were on our way.

By early morning we had located the CP and were pretty pleased with our progress.  We worked well together as we slogged along hour after hour through this hot, barren hostel terrain.  We were making good time as we were trekked along.  As we began climbing a pretty steep hill, I felt the tape on my right heel slip and an instant blister developed.  Up to that point my feet were doing ok, but all of a sudden, I was in a great deal of discomfort.  After a few steps, I had to stop to fix this.  I hated to stop like that but I was doing some real damage.  A few minutes of taping and I was good to go again.

As the trek went on my feet became more sore and various blisters started to pop up.  I taped them as best I could but the ground was so rough and uneven that the feet were taking a beating.

All day we trekked on.   It was hot and barren.  No human has any business in this place.  As the sun began to set we were climbing the last hill that would drop us on to the river that we had aiming for.  We were running low on water and figured this river would be our supply.  The river was dry.  The next part was a climb over another ridge to shortcut the bend in the river.  This was a very steep climb and an even steeper decent down into a creek bed.  After carefully descending into the creek bed we had about 3 kilometers of negotiating  the rocks and uneven ground.

It seemed like this creek bed went on for ever.  Finally we got to the river.  I was so tired I had to sleep.  We got to the river, which did have water, and I immediately laid down and went to sleep.  Latitude 19 went on.

We got up about an hour and half later.  It was still dark as we made our way, crossing the fingers of the river.  We started out pretty well but turned the wrong way on the river for a short while.  Just before sunrise, Karl climbed to a high point and we got ourselves back on track.  We were making good time as we were working our way towards a road that was on the map.  As we were crossing one of the river fingers, we ran into Latitude 19.  They had camped out, explaining that they had become so tired they had to stop.

Again, together, we soldiered on looking forward to finding the road and getting to the TA.  Of course, the road was not where it showed on the map.  So we continued to work our way along the river along the uneven and rocky terrain.  Finally we found something that use to be a road.  We followed this “road” until it slowly turned into a real dirt road.  Still we had several miles to go.  We slogged on till finally hitting the little oasis in the middle of this wasteland - in the shadow of Mount Mulligan - an old cattle station.

Youtube - coming out of the Tigerland trek  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu51p-kw4Mc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvMJxJQ3URs&feature=related

Again, when we pulled into to the TA we were told that no one had been there for several hours.  Shortly after we arrived a bunch of teams came in.  Again we were feeling the pressure of the teams behind us.  At the end of the trek we were in 18th place. It was around 3pm

We took the time to eat, rehydrate and rest.  The station had a shower, which felt great.  We decided to take 2 hours, to get past the heat of the day before we got back on the road.  We rested, got our bikes put together and loaded food in our packs.  We were told that the navigation was going to be tricky as there were many roads that were not on the maps.  This proved to be true.

We had talked to Latitude 19 about riding with them, but when the time came for us to leave they were not ready.  They were having some serious medical issues that ultimately caused one of the team members to have to be taken to the hospital.

Putting my bike shoes on was a very painful experience.  Walking in bike shoes was even worse.  Fortunately, riding the bike was not so bad and didn’t really hurt to much. 

The first CP was only a couple of miles north in a cemetery in a ghost town.  Then we would back track and head south towards a gold mine some 30+ kilometers down the road.  We took off about 5 and within 20 minutes were at the first CP.

As we were heading back past the TA, we saw several teams right on our tail.

We made good time down the road as darkness fell.  We rode along uneventfully and worked our way to the next CP at a gold mine.  The maps (being 30 years old) were not completely accurate but we were able to work our way to the home just above the mine.  The family that lived there was very nice and very excited about the race.  They said that they had been following our progress and gave some helpful local information.  They were also selling cokes which was very nice.  As we were drinking our cokes several teams came up, including the Yogi Bears, BMX bandits and Racing 4 Cancer.   After these many days you would think we could relax, but instead the pressure was still on.

We grabbed the CP 1st and took off.  We were riding well as a team.  The trail was very rocky and rutted and at times technical.  We rode together very well working the climbs and downhill well.  A few miles in I crashed and got a pitch flat.  We quickly fixed it.  A little while later Jen did an endo.  Fortunately she was ok.  Still we were making good time and appeared to be putting time on other teams.  We were told to follow the fence till we got to a gate.  It all came together and I was lulled into feeling like we were going to knock this ride off without any trouble.  Wrong. 

When we got to the gate there were two routes indicated on the map - a northern route and a southern route.  On the map the northern route looked shorter and easier.  However, we simply couldn’t find the right road.  Every road we took dead ended.  After an hour or two we went back to the gate.   The Yogi Bears were also there.  We tried to work with them, but they were not interested in working together.   As we sat there trying to determine what to do, we decided  that a little sleep would help.  There was a nice sandy area and we were able to get a few hours sleep.

When we woke up, we spread out the maps and after looking at everything, and based on Jen’s suggestion, tried the southern route.  I couldn’t find the roads that were on the map, but I figured that if we stayed on roads that went either south or east we would be fine.  We rode past a group of trailers that looked like a meth lab.  That lead to a road south.  We made pretty good time down the road.   It was very misty and foggy and the visibility was poor.  We found a main road and followed it for several kilometers.  We ran into a construction worker who gave us some good directions.

We were trying to find a canyon with a river running through it.  We peddled on and were going in the correct direction.  We went on and on and I couldn’t understand why we had not got through the canyon.  A little after sunrise, we came to an open area and I looked back.  As the fog lifted, there was the canyon.  We had ridden through it and didn’t know it.

A short while later we found the CP, which as on a hill top.

After the CP, we back tracked about a 1/2 kilometer to a “road” that, on the map should lead us to a main road and toward the long paved stretch to the TA.    This “road” was rutted and a real mess.  Slowly, it improved and was looking very promising.  We were moving along at a good rate, and except for some huge spiders, the going was good.  Then all of a sudden, the trail just ended.   We backtracked but could not find a better another way around.  I figured that we were within a kilometer of an actual road.  So the only real option was to bike whack.  As much as it hurt my feet to walk, that is what we did.  Pushing and carrying our bikes through the high grass, soon we could ride and then we were at some kind of farm.  After jumping a fence what did we see - two teams just ahead of us.  We cut through the farm and there we were, back with Yogi Bears and BMX.

Youtube - riding through the field - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHzG_BKT3U4&feature=related

We were out of water so we had to stop to fill up at a garden hose.  The other teams went on.  As we caught them, they were talking to a local who was giving some directions and clarifying where we were on the map.  The other two teams then stopped for water as we continued on.  From this point to the lake was going to be all paved roads.

We worked out a pace line as best we could.  We were making pretty good time and looking forward to getting off the bikes.  About 15 K into this part of the ride the BMX guys caught us and we rode to gather, more or less to the town of Tolga.  In Tolga, about 10 k from the TA at Lake Tinaroo, we hit a cafe for meat pies and drinks.  I was completely spent when we got there.  This was a real low for me.  I ate a pie and had a chocolate milk then promptly feel asleep on the patio.  A solid 20 minutes and I was feeling much better.

We started to the Lake for our TA, but followed the directions given by the ladies at the shop, instead of the map.  So a 1/2 hour later we corrected our mistake and were on our way. 

We got to the Kayak TA around 4:40pm still in 18th place.  While I was a mess, everyone else on the team seemed to be feeling pretty good.  They wanted to push on into the trek without sleeping.  I just couldn’t do it and told everyone that I had to have some sleep before the trek.  At the TA, I worked on my feet, cleaning and re-taping.  I was very concerned about the last trek and was trying to get my feet as ready as I could.

Everyone else packed the boxes, inflated the boats and generally got us ready.  While this was going on Yogi Bears came in to the TA and left before we were ready.   A couple of other teams - BMX and Race 4 Cancer came and left the TA before us.  We were out of the top 20 when we left on the kayak - just as the sun was setting.           

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