How Townsville has ruined winter for Canberrans

The week after I got back to Canberra from racing the Hot Rocks 24hr in Townsville we had more hours below zero then we had hours above zero degrees. Every one of those days I woke in the morning to look at the weather lady on ABC TV tell me that Canberra would be -5C to 12 again, whilst way up in the top end of Australia, Townsville would be getting 19 to 27C. I was filled with nostalgia for an event that had only happened a week before, of riding around during the day in short knicks and short sleeved top and for all I knew I’d time shifted back into summer, only to be returned to the reality of winter in the national’s capital.

This was the first running of the Hot Rocks 24hr in Townsville an extension of the extremely popular Hot Rocks 8hr, it was also touted as the first 24hr race in FNQ. This seems to be the popular time (winter) in Tropical North Queensland to be running sporting events of any kind especially MTB events of which the Paluma Push has become a mainstay and regularly sells out well before the event. So how does a temporary Canberran (ex-Tasmanian) end up in TNQ racing a 24hr at the start of winter, when the furthest north he’s been before was Brisbane? Since 2009 I’ve spent every Easter riding around in circles trying not to get lapped too many times by Jason English, some years have been more successful than others.

However this year something weird happened in this country of constantly changing weather landscapes. The CORC Easter 24hr at a re-shaped Majura was cancelled due to lack of rain and an abundance of dust, then the Kona 24hr at HVAP in Brisbane was cancelled due to abundance of rain and a lack of dust. I found myself without an Easter Solo 24hr and was kind of looking for a 24hr early in the year. Thankfully Owen from Ride Mechanic in Brisbane was all across it and invited me to attend a 24hr in the town of his childhood, Townsville. I wasn’t that sure where it was, but a quick look at the map got me excited about travelling somewhere new, riding somewhere new and meeting some new people. I have a childhood memory of Magnetic Island, a barometer and temperature gauge that my Nan and Pop must have bought for a memory from a trip there, so it was very exciting to fly over the island on the way into landing at Townsville. It’s always weird to land somewhere hot wearing jeans and puff jacket, but early flights from Canberra mean chasing a Taxi town the street in the rain in near zero degrees to make your flight.

Beardless.

I was collected by a very friendly and knowledgeable Townsville local, he was a bit thrown by the lack of beard (which had been shaved off the week before to accommodate some facial surgery I needed to have done) but he still gave me tour of the town and a bit of the history behind the town, which is quite rich and varied. It seems that the MTB scene has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past 4-5 years, with the amount of legal MTB trails being built, even some in a National Park and the local juniors seem to be flying as well. On the Friday afternoon I was taken on a trail ride in the Pallarenda Trails area. You know you’re in a different part of the world when the locals pull out an industrial strength can of mozzie repellent before the ride and seriously suggest that you cover everything that you can and try not to stop riding for too long. This is the town that has the Ross River flowing through the town after all. However a ride that takes in the shoreline between the mainlands and Magnetic Island with the sun setting was a very special experience. Riding past hand built look-outs used during WW2 and the fight in the Coral Sea brought home how close the war was to Australia.

After a great Pad Thai and a night discussing all things and a relaxed morning eating breakfast on the balcony in the sun it was race time. The Hot Rocks 24hr was being run as a 3 loops course, 6hrs of the first lap, 12 hours of the second lap and 6 hours of the final lap. I’m familiar with the 3 loop 24hr course from my time doing wet 24hrs in Forrest in ’09 and ’10. It’s a concept that can work quite well, but that first lap in the dark on the second loop can be confusing and it can be an extra effort on behalf of the organisers, but generally it’s good fun and breaks up 24hrs of the same course. The first lap had great climbs and stomping descents, and I got a very good feel for why the local MTB club is called the Rock Wheelers and the race is called the Hot Rocks 24hr, basically it’s HOT and the course is full of ROCKS, that last bit might be an exaggeration, but there were a lot of rocks.

The race started out hot and fast with a mixture of teams/solos/and 5+5 hour racers. The race numbering had me confused for most of the race, so I had a bit of trouble working out whom I was racing. Two solo boys had made the trip down from Cairns (one of which was the eventual winner Graham Grant, the other third overall Gavin Scott) with a plan to race, ride hard, ride together and use each other’s strength, one to lead on the singletrack and the other to power on the long flat fire road sections. I rode with them for a bit, but I knew that pace was going to be a bit too hot for me in the early heat of the day; I’d have to wait until the cool of the night to try and pull some time back. 6pm brought the first course change to the race. Whilst it added in a long and amazing piece of singletrack way out the back of the course, it also (unfortunately for me) introduced two very long bits of flat fire-road into the equation, one to get out there and one to get back. Long flat fire-roads are the bane of SSers everywhere. As always the night disappeared for me, somewhere, it got down to 17C, so not really cold, I remember getting a flat tyre whilst taking a different line into a fire-road passing another racer, I had a sore throat (showed up Friday night) that would tighten up when I started pushing to make up time, so I remember not being able to eat and drink properly, getting a bit cross-eyed, slowing down to eat and drink and then trying all over again. The gnome was a theme of the 24hr race and they were placed all over the course and would move during the night, so that kept me amused as did the out of place rooster with all the other gnomes in the quarry section that radiated heat out of its rock face all night.

There was quite an enthusiastic local bike shop crew setup on the transition part of the track, we become very good friends and their random yelling during the night kept me awake and enthused, I’m not sure if those camped nearby and trying to get some shut eye would agree. But the first thing you learn about a 24hr race is don’t camp near transition if you plan on sleeping. Sun up brought the last loop of the course change. Rumour has it that me asking for a track pump at 4:30am was the motivation that the organiser needed to get out of bed and make that final course change happen. So the final lap was interesting, what had been stomping, flowing, downhills the day before were now punchy, leg snapping climbs, descents were on new trails that hadn’t been ridden in a while and were a bit loose and drifty for the first few laps until enough riders had cleaned the surface. Not my favourite lap of the race, but still a great lap. 12pm saw the end of the race, with laps finished after 12pm NOT counted. The overall was a great race between a pairs and threes team that went down to the last lap, there were also plenty of 5+5 racers putting in on the last lap to make the time cut off. Presentations were held and the Solo Winners, Graham Grant and Chris Labes were much deserved winners, receiving a Gnome as trophy for their wins. Chris Labes had a great smile and attitude all race and was a real pleasure to catch up with on the track. Graham looked VERY broken at the finish, which I was happy about and had a done a great job in his first 24hr solo race, it seems that all the training he’d put in had paid off with a great race and a great result. I’m keen to see how he goes in the future as your first 24hr solo is always the best as you have no idea just how broken you’re going to be later. Every 24hr solo you ride after that you always have that memory of pain sitting in the back of your mind. Hot Rocks was Number 20 for me (24hr Solo SS), so who’s knows what going on in my mind these days. I was even allowed to present a gnome sporting a huge beard to a Family Team that exemplified the best spirit of 24hr racing.

Graham Grant – solo Male Winner

All in all, a great weekend of 24hr racing in the sun in FNQ. I have heard talk that the organisers want to make sure that this event happens again next year and are considering a move to a weekend in the mid year school holidays to allow people with families to fly north to escape the winter in the south, ride a great 24hr in an amazing place, and then stay for a few more days to soak up the sun and warmth on the numerous beaches and it’s not even blue stingers season!

A big thanks to the Hot Rocks 24hr organisers who made me feel at home, to the members of the club who took time out of their busy lives to show me around their town and trails. To Owen from Ride Mechanic who made it all happen, we also managed to get Bike Mix (chain lube) at the right ratio to get 8 hrs in very dry and dusty conditions between lubing – now that is good news. Finally to all the riders from FNQ who made a great event, full of enthusiasm, happen in the winter heat.

Chris Labes – Female Solo Winner