12 Hour Challenge - Yellowmundi

Saturday September 4, 2004

Dropped off the kit minus bikes to Pauls' on Friday night.

Early start on Saturday morning - 5:15 am meeting at Pauls'.   All aboard the Voyager for the quick trip to Yellowmundi via Windsor.  Much quicker than via Penrith.

Being nice an' early we staked out a great spot near the transition area.  Excellent - chairs, tarp, table and plenty of water.  Registration was delayed 'cause as a team of 4 we had to complete Day Licenses again.  For some reason they had a technical issue with the teams of 4.  Good chance to grab a Bacon and Egg sandwich for breakfast along with a hot coffee.

With rego complete it was time to prepare for the start - Le Mons style but in a different place to the last few years.  This year it was on the first climb after the transition instead of before transition.   First riders were Phil for the "Short Guys" and JohnD for the "other Short Guys".

After some chaos on the first few corners and narrowings to single track it settled down for the 10.533 (recurring) circuit. 

Back in transition Paul was ready to take over for "Short Guys" and Ashley for "The Other Guys".

Graham and Greg rounded out "The Other Guys" and Peter stepped in for a couple of laps to help them out.  Yarro and JohnO made up the rest of the "Short Guys".  Rod joined into the fun duelling with Peter and the kids had fun too cheering and chasing beside them.

The weather was great, steak sandwiches too, bikes everywhere, and the track in good shape.  No injuries and the massages helped ease the muscles and strains.

Dark came around 5:30 and Phil was on the track along with JohnD.  JohnD tangled with some nut and cut his nose when the rain started.  Phil was about 20 minutes behind JohnD placing him out in the middle when the skies opened up and the thunder and lightening hit full strap.  The track turned to mud in minutes - slipping and sliding became the norm - along with a few stacks.  Paul had fun with the last lap as the rest retired to reflect and pack.

Results can be found at http://www.wsmtb.com/2004twelvehour/NZO12HrEnduro2004Results.htm

Photos courtesy of Greg can be found at   http://album.tunnock.net:8000/12Hr-MTB-2004/