:: Ballan 6 hour enduro ::

I have just washed my bike knicks out 5 times, and there is still mud coming out of the chamois......lets go back to the beginning.

The 4th round of the victorian enduro series was held at Ballan on Sunday 7th May 2006. The weather forcast for the area was for a top of 9 degrees, showers and hale. I was ever the optimist hoping that because of the amount of rain that had fallen overnight the weather would improve.

Bung racing team member Matt Aldridge and myself had decided to do this enduro entered as solo riders, but we riding together for the 6 hours. This was Matt's first enduro solo. My mum and dad had braved the cold weather to do our feeding during the race.

It was cold, and clothing of choice was to race in a rainjacket, this was a good decision as it rained on and off for the day.

The first lap is always a little busy, with all riders starting at the same time, up the fireroad we went, then a left turn to walk up the muddy hill ( the first of many walks) Last year when I did this race in the dry I did 40 min laps, but after the first lap my estimate of doing 9 laps in the 6 hours was changed to 5 or 6. The track was just so muddy and hard. The climbs were unrideabe, and the flat singletrack was an art in keeping your two wheels straight. Pretty soon the bikes were totally glugged up with mud, and gear choice came down to small chainring on front and a few on the back.

Matt and I slogged away, each lap felt like a constant hill climb due to the mud, bikes got very heavy with mud as we pushed up the hills, and the number of riders on the track began to dwindle ( where had they all gone?) Still we soldiered on, amusing ourselves with lines out of little britian, and much laughter from me as matt rode the slippery descent to go over the bars in a wombat hole at the bottom of the hill. Just as we were hopefull that the track would dry out, rain started again, and a little hale. This played havoc in the carpark with our quickshade tent taking off with my mum trying to keep hold of it. On we went, eating mud covered jelly beans and drinking from a bottle caked in mud ( is mud good for you?) and why do you get a big glob of mud in one eye on a difficult descent, so you continue with the other eye open only to get another glob of mud in that eye?

6 hours finally ticked over, it had felt like 12, and we had done 5 laps. Results are'nt through yet, but I think I finished 4th, and I'm not sure about matt. The fact he rode his first solo 6 hour without stopping is a great effort.

The trip home in a warm car, eating hot chips from the Ballan cornershop and listening to U2's under a blood red sky was a nice way to finish the day.

now to clean the bike......