Coastal Classic ‘06

For the last couple of weeks, DC has been hinting that BM and I should do the Coastal Classic Mountain Bike Race. This at first was met with a guffaw - the idea that two unfit slobs could get out and do an actual mountain bike race was humourous.

After giving it some thought, and being reassured that I hadn’t been pre-entered into the 50km ride, I decided that it would be worth a look in. BM had prior arrangements (i.e. he was getting quietly drunk, most probably in combination with fireworks and costume) so he couldn’t make it.

I rocked down to Taieri Mouth this morning at 8:30am, registered and then was away. DC gritted his teeth in worry when he saw the state of my bike, but a quick adjustment to the brakes was the minimum I needed to ensure that I didn’t end up hanging from my heels from a barbed wire fence.

The 15km course took me 100 minutes and was a long gentle climb (although hard enough to have me pushing a couple of times) followed by a fantastic downhill scream over a few paddocks and then a long windy twisty 4WD track which had been appropriately dampened by overnight rain. The result was a wet muddy descent where speed is your friend.

Would I do it again? Sure would