Getting Dirty at the Otway

As a few of you would know, a small but hardy contingent of TdC drove south a couple of weeks ago to compete in the Otway Odyssey, arguably Australia's hardest 100km MTB marathon. Starting from Apollo Bay, the course winds it's way north into the Otway Ranges, ascending to 600m above sea-level at the 30km mark through a series of very steep ascents punctuated by tough descents. The course then climbs and drops for the nest 70km, finishing with a total ascent of almost 3km!

What made it tougher though was the weather. One of Victoria's longest, driest and warmest summers was assaulted by howling southerlies driving rain in almost horizontally for 2 days prior.

The result = MUD

Friend of TdC Ben in front of an easier, flatter muddy track

Mud that made the already unrideable climbs for many alomst unwalkable;
That stole 20cm off every 60cm stride during the walking/stumbling/slipping stages that were up to 5km long;
That stuck hard around tyres meaning they couldn't rotate through the frame - cleaning stops every 20m the norm;
That packed your derailleurs, chain and cables with mud;
That infiltrated every crevice of your body, aided by the numerous falls on and in the slippery mud and puddles;
That was about 20 degrees C, an advancing Japanese Army and a few Fuzzy Wuzzy's away from resembling the Kokoda Track;
That sucked your energy and motivation, left you longing for the hot showers, beer and under-cooked sausage sambos still 85km away...

This sort of treatment would cost around $150 at many Sydney Spas

But from 30km the trail began to dry out a little, a stream allowed the entire bike to be dunked and freed of it's 5kg of muddy burden, and from 40km we entered some of the best singletrack I've ever ridden. - Berms, gully runs, jumps, double jumps, little drops, - the Forrest trails were a veritable playground for anyone with enough energy left to enjoy them!

The other highlight was the spirit of the riders - lots of smiles, jokes and carry on from many of the punters we rode with, sharing the fun of the mud, the awesome trails and the shear pain of so many hard hours on the bike.

And the TdC did WELL! Amy Copcutt came in 12th in the Open Females! Peakey finished first of the TdC gents in a very solid 8hrs 17min. I DNF'd at the 87k mark due to terminal mechanical failure. Our mates all performed spectacularly well, from Marty's 7.5hours to "the other Brad"s huge effort - damaged rear derailleur at 20km, hitched a ride down to the finish 25km away, replaced it, rode back to the 20km mark OVER the highest peak, turned around, rejoined the race and re-ascended the highest peak and rode on to finish strongly.


A massive thanks to Amy who realised our folly of trying to camp in 35knot onshore winds and driving rain! Put us 4 lads up and we all rocked out.

By rocking out I mean cleaned the bikes, went to the pub for dinner, had 2 beers and fell to pieces.