Pete's Oz Odyssey

 

Report: Pete Turnbull, Gateway RT

Image: Jon Barter

 

If you're in Australia next year, bring your mountain bike and ride the Otway Odyssey - it's the toughest, most fantastic 100km you can race". This was the "sales pitch" made to me by a big Aussie while racing the Cape Epic in South Africa last year. At 198cm and 115kg, Tom Smitheringale is not your typical mountain biker, but as a member of the Rapid Ascent team that organises and promotes the Odyssey he certainly has the "inside track" on the event and he can be very persuasive. On a wet summer's day in Australia I discovered that Tom is a man of his word.

It's hard to imagine a better location for the start of a MTB race than the seafront in Apollo Bay on Victoria's Great Ocean Road, with waves crashing against the shoreline and an imposing mountain range coloured by a dense forest. At 7am the 800 riders entered in the 100km event were seeded according to whether they were "Olympians", "big ringers", "middle ringers" or "granny ring riders". The front row of twenty Olympians included Chris Jongewaard, the 2007 Australian National Champion and eventual race winner, Dan McConnell, the current Australian Marathon Champion, 2004 Olympian Sid Taberlay, and World 24 hour Champion, Tinker Juarez.

 

Right: Peter crosses the line

With a line-up like this it was no surprise when the race cranked off at a furious pace up a long climb - a very long climb. In fact, the first 1hr 30min seemed to be nothing but climbing - and hiking. The day before the race it began to rain, and it kept on raining. The downpour was welcomed by the locals after a prolonged dry spell, but not by the Otway MTB racers. Most came equipped with summer tyres - myself included - and the climbs became impossible in parts in the thick mud. The descents were not much better, with riders losing control as they picked up speed along the sweeping forest tracks. As the rain continued to fall, it began to feel more like a Welsh winter than an Australian summer. Grimaces were only occasionally broken by grins as riders passed the stage markers on the course - the Aussies' sense of humour included the "Grunty Thumper", "Nucking Futz", and "In Quads we Trust". In contrast, the "Fall from Grace" and "Elevator to Hell" were no laughing matter.

At 67km the riders entered the finish zone in Forrest, and old logging town that has been regenerated by the construction of almost 60km of truly awesome single-track. It would be no exaggeration to claim that with fresh legs and sunshine, the next 20km of the Odyssey could possibly be the most fun you could have on a mountain bike. But with tired legs and pouring rain it became a real test of the riders' endurance and technical skills. As this was only my third outing on a mountain bike since arriving in Australia in mid-January, I quickly became acquainted with the local flora and fauna. Once again, the clues were in the stage markers: "Float Like a Butterfly - Land Like a Brick", "White Knuckle Slide", "Roots Manoeuvre" and "Careless Twister".

At 87km the riders found themselves back in the finish zone before heading out on a final 13km loop of stunning single-track. After 4km of climbing the riders could sense that something special was on offer, and sure enough the trail swept down through the forest around fast flowing berms, with countless jumps, drop-offs, and logs aplenty, both to jump and ride. Even with desperately tired legs it was hard not to jump out of the saddle to keep your speed high and your grin wide.

Coming into the finish zone in 29th place overall, after more than 6 hours of riding, I was completely exhausted. This was my first race since the British Marathon Champs at Coed y Brenin back in September 2007 and I'd paid the price for my early pace on the big climbs with recurrent bouts of cramp. But as always, once over the finish line, all the talk was about the adrenaline pumping sections of the course, the thrills and the spills. This kept most riders talking for hours.

For me, this was certainly the toughest, and probably the most exciting 100km race I'd ever ridden. So let me pass on some advice from a big Aussie - if you ever have the chance to be in Australia in February, make sure you take your mountain bike and ride the Otway Odyssey.