Three phrases to sum up the third day of the Cape to Cape: drizzly rain, berms and whoopdies, and forest singletrack.
Today was a super fun day. We started en masse from Xanadu winery and all 1100+ riders formed a peloton for a procession through the centre of Margaret River. Bussell Highway was closed for an hour on a Saturday morning, and the locals were all our cheering us on. Terrific experience.
We stopped the other side of Margaret River and re-started in our speed groups with gaps in between. I was very happy to be at the back today, knowing there was a lot of singletrack coming up.
The rain had started before we left the winery this morning and didn't really let up all day. It was just a matter of whether we had heavy drizzle or a few spots of rain. Hard to see through glasses, which were covered in muddy rain drop, and fogged up when we were going slowly uphill. But glasses are important for eye protection when mountain biking.
There was a short section of gravel at the start, then into the singletrack. We were in a long line of riders and I was happy to stay at the back - until we got to some uphill sections. Then we started picking off the riders in front of us until we were at the front of the line with three other women. A few comments from the guys about "girl power" :)
So it was all going great at the front of the line, then we reached some tight twisty trail. I was just taking this easy and trying to stay smooth and not brake too much. Then we got to the first proper obstacle of the day, a log roll over. As it had been raining, the logs and roots were a bit slippery so I got off and walked this one. Then I decided it was time for a break to have something to eat and let the line of riders past. We have become known amongst our fellow riders as the picnickers :)
After our picnic we continued on our merry way. More twisty singletrack between trees in the forest. Then we got into The Pines proper. For anyone who rides a mountain bike in WA - if you haven't been to the Pines you must get out here. Some of the most fun trails I've ridden, and they won't be around much longer once the logging starts. Lots of berms and whoopdies and flowing trails. We did a recon out there a couple of days ago and I was a bit grumpy and freaked out. But after the last two days on my mountain bike my skills are improving and I loved it. I was brave enough to ride most of the berms without braking and whoopdies are my new friend, super fun.
After the fun non-technical trails we did a few of the more technical trails in the Pines as well. Rock and Root (yep, there were lots of rocks and roots) and the Chimney Trail (including a nasty short steep climb with rocks at the top). I walked the tricky obstacles but didn't feel too bad about that as it was still damp and slippery and hard to see out of my glasses.
We then left the Pines and rode some sections of rail trail and bridges to connect to the next section of singletrack. It was all so much fun it's hard to remember which bit was where. Some downhill twisty bits where we had a guy on our tail. He asked to get past when we got a chance to move over. Next thing we heard "bang, crash" behind us and "nevermind about that passing". He was okay, he did come past later on. Then we passed him on an uphill section. Leap frog :)
The last 10km were quite undulating. Three longish and toughish climbs, they were rideable but required a bit of pacing and in some places the riding line was quite narrow. One of the steep points was at least 18% gradient. Of course with all the uphill there was also plenty of downhill. Most of it was flowing downhill and around sweeping corners. One section was quite straight and fast with a few little roots and rocks. Normally I would take this type of track at a safe sedate pace. But after three days in a row on the mountain bike my body position, skills and confidence are improving. So I went "flying" downhill (relatively speaking) and fully got some air off one little obstacle. I also didn't even hesitate to jump over a couple of logs.
On the last hill, we caught up to and passed another lady. We called to her to join us and kept a steady pace up the climb so that she could keep up. She stuck with us til the end and we had a sprint finish through the grass at Colonial Brewery to the finish line. She was very happy to have our company for the last few kilometers to pick up her spirits and her pace. This is what it's all about. It is great seeing the same riders each day and we get to see them multiple times, as we pass them uphill, then get passed on the downhill or when we're stopped having our picnics (mmmm homemade muesli bars).
Today was a great confidence boost as I had been nervous about the singletrack. Tomorrow is lots more road riding plus more singletrack so a bit of a mixed bag.
Great to finish with a gourmet burger at Colonial Brewery - a terrific atmosphere with lots of riders and spectators still cheering for the last few riders coming in.
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