Dusk to Dawn - 12hr

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Held in sunny QLD, where it wasnt as hot as the rest of the country. The race was held out towards Beaudesert on private property.

Report will be released soon.

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Ay-up Dusk till Dawn 12hr

Two Wheel Promotions the SE QLD based event company teamed up with the Aussie made light company Ay-up to put together the annual 12hr event Dusk till Dawn. The event this year had moved to a private property near Beaudesert where they have been hosting their events recently. The track was a six km loop and had everything to make a great MTB event. There was hot food and drinks, endless areas to camp beside the track, hot showers and plenty of loos.
What was great was the dedicated enthusiasm emitting from the check point crews and camaraderie between competitors. Even other participating support-crews made the effort to encourage rides. This made for a fun 12hrs.
The first part of the track was made up of a two km mowed paddock section which tricked you with its fast sweeping curves to begin with then tears you down with a grass hill climb and soft flat sapping grind. It then switches to some sweet wide flowing descents and tight switchback climbs with a touch of sand. There were no tough technical sections but in the dark, things are not always how they seem and caught out even the seasoned rider.
Over 140 riders participated this year with the solo men podium being made up of all Ay-up riders, Andy Bell travelled from Melbourne to defend his title and succeeded, Andrew Fellows came in second with Sean Bekkers nipping at his heals one lap down from Andy.

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But how was the race you ask? As with most enduro events, it was quick off the start. I sat in with Bozz on the second row not wanting to hassle the guys who considered themselves fast on the front row. It ended up being a good start with the fast team and solos flying off the front and the grass section giving plenty of room to space out over the first two km. It was dark from the get-go and I didn’t pre-ride the track making the first fast lap interesting. By lap the end of lap three I was warmed up and finding the fastest/smoothest line on the track. Once again my light was so bright and the conditions being 98% dry the dust was catching the light making the track look too smooth.
My support crew was made up of Bozz’s partner, Pearso’s partner and a couple that were friends of Bozz. They did a great job keeping me hydrated and fed, the bike was effortlessly serviced if I stopped for a moment to stretch. A big thanks to the crew for looking after us all, all night.
I had managed to keep pace with Bozz for some of the night and even passed him for a while. I believe we were fighting out 5th and 6th position, with many hours of darkness before us it all could change. It got to about the six hour mark and I was starting to wear, it was probably my body wanting to stop/sleep. And it was about this time I starting wanting the sun to come up again. The pinch switchback climbs began to take their toll, similar to Stromlo these climbs were steeper and some time before sunrise I flipped back to the granny gear for a couple of laps.
It was around this time Bozz had found his second wind and turned up the pressure, lapping me for the first time. Only a few hours later he did it again, at this stage I was getting worried, Andy had passed me two or three times as well. Thankfully our pit crew kept me positive with talk of a possible top 5 position still. These hours were the most quiet on the track with large chunks of empty track.
I was caught by an Ay-up rider some time during the early morning, I think, he passed me only to come in close contact with a fast rocky decent. This was the only incident I came across on the track. The vibe during the race was one of the most relaxed I have raced at this level.
Finally the sun started peaking over the hill and my night haze was starting clear. This is where I wanted to focus and I purposely stopped once the light was enough to ride without a light. I stretched, fuelled and the bike was serviced. I removed my light and with about two hours or so of time left I could possibly fit five or six more laps.
One of the fun moments was after passing through the start/finish I caught up to a small bunch of possibly casual solo or casual team members. I asked for room to pass on the right and they commented “that will be on of those fast solo riders, lets keep with him and he can show us a few fast lines”. I knew the fast grass section fairly well and left them for dead on its sweeping corners. They probably caught me on the grass hill climb, that’s fun racing.
I felt good for those last two hours on course, grinding up the climbs and spotting all the fast lines I could see in the dark. I hope my last four or so lap times show this. Close to 0700 and the check-point crews were cheering us on for our final lap and I stopped at the pit-crew. Then was told I had a minute and a half left and possibly 4th position. Am I crazy? You bet, I was passed another water bottle and raced to the start/finish to pass onto my 28th lap with at least 30 seconds to spare. With no time to spare and a hot lap to complete, I smashed down a gel and got to the task at hand.
I had a good time during my 24hrs in QLD, thanks to Bozz and Kiri for their support in getting me to and from the Airport. Congratulations to Pearso and Kel, Pearso placed 24th. My bike from Bikes at the Basin worked flawlessly and FRS like a charm. I placed 4th behind Bozz, two laps down and one lap over 5th.

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For photos head to google photos enter dusk to dawn and view Ants.
Or Astrovisual for the official pics.
Others may be viewed on my blog in a couple of weeks time.

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Bozz got his name in print next to Andy Bell and Andrew Fellows!!

In the latest MTB mag.

MTB Enduro man of the Year and a cover shot is your next challenge.