A dark shadow scurries with a sideways gait into our camp in the fading light. ‘So what’s that then?’ asks Jonas. After the parade of Pademelons, Bandicoots and Possums we have just seen before dark, I don’t get too excited but turn around with my dinner still in my hands expecting to see a possum trying to raid one of our tents. ‘It’s just a….Devil!’ I reply excitedly. Sure enough just like that, one of the most iconic of Tasmania’s marsupials, a healthy looking Tasmanian Devil is wondering through camp. He cheekily attempts to drag our water sack away into the bushes before retreating sideways with a soft grunt and slips away into the darkness as quickly as he had appeared.
This is wild Tasmania, and we are here to ride Wildside, a four day staged mountain bike race from the mountains to the sea in some of the wildest terrain on the west coast of Tasmania.
Jonas, Anna and myself have been planning for this event since mid last year and we are joined by Jonas’s brother Chad as support crew chef, and Ed (the local and Wildside veteran) as our team mechanic and bike washdown coordinator. We will ride with over 400 other riders from all over the country from afar away as Western Australia and international riders from the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland in this epic event.
Cradle Mountain - Race Preparations
As part of our preparations and a way to rid ourselves of some nervous energy we decide to go for a short walk from Dove Lake. This short walk slowly becomes a short epic as we are lured up to Crater Lake, in amongst the Deciduous Beech and ancient King Billy Pines before descending back down to Ronny Creek and then returning to Dove Lake. Our support mechanic and Tasmanian insider Ed arrives in before darkness just after the event briefing to check in on our team and is relieved to hear we also have a team cook Chad. After a quick familiarization of all bikes he will be servicing, cleaning and lubing for the next four days he chastisers us for not resting during the day, ‘Everything you do from here on is about WILDSIDE!’. He quickly relaxes when we all have a cold Cascade to celebrate and bond the team. This sets the tone for the rest of the week, competitive, well supported, but here for a good time. I find it hard to sleep, dreaming of single-track and Tasmanian Devils outside our tent.
Stage 1 – Cradle (16 km)
The anticipation is almost too much to bear as we muster up with the majority of the competitors near the Cradle Mountain Chateau. The rain comes in and low grey clouds create a dramatic scene against the ghostly gum trees. After a short cruise on the bitumen and our first of many creek crossings we roll up to a rocky little knoll for the start of competition stage 1.
After all that time waiting, getting nervous, staying warm, drinking, going to toilet we are on the start line and with a quick briefing we are off racing, I quickly fall off the back of Group D in my usual ‘let’s not rush at the start’ tactical maneuver. Things seem rough and rocky and I don’t seem to be riding smoothly at one with the trail….and then I realise 10 minutes in that my forks are still locked out from the road cruise (how could I be so stupid!). By this stage with the rain and mud my riding glasses are useless with fog and huge chunks of mud. So a quick stop to remove them and unlock my fork and I’m away again. All of a sudden I can see, I can flow over the rocky and rutted terrain and I find some flow and settle into a more comfortable zone passing a few on the climbs and then hooting some downhills. Riding in the mist and rain, alpine vegetation, creek crossings, and flowing 4wd tracks this is what Wildside is all about. The 5km, 3km and 1km to go signs appear in quick succession and then into the open for the finish line with hordes of people looking on just in the right spot to catch me nearly come unstuck under the finish arc.
Jonas comes in right on cue as does Anna, with only a few minutes separating us and the challenge is on for the rest of the event… No mechanicals or punctures just a little muddy and we all have smiles from ear to ear. Ed gets to work on getting our steeds into shape for the next cruise and race stage, with a washdown and lube in the rain.
Stage 2 – Que River (20 km)
After a long break with stiffening legs and a big lunch, backing up for an afternoon race stage proves more challenging than I thought. The start groups have been reallocated and I find myself in better company in Group F.
The muster, compulsory toilet runs into the bushes and then my group is on the start line. A good 200m of fire road before it narrows into fresh single-track to start this stage off…should be interesting. Still everyone sprints off the line only to come to a bottleneck standstill before entering the Myrtle forest. The new single-track is spongy and unridable in sections but it sorts out the mountain bikers from the rest. Soon it opens out to wide fast fire roads through some mining leases with small sections of technical single-track. All riders are asked to dismount for the Que River crossing as I jump in the cool water laps around my upper thigh and the mud is washed from my riding shoes. The stage gets crueler towards the end as every downhill bomb is followed by a pinch climb, and another downhill and another climb and so it goes.
The cloud cover from the morning has gone and its hot, sticky with the climbs unrelenting and the Tassie sun sweltering. Once again the finish comes up quickly with a steep rocky downhill fire road which ducks off into the bush on a sharp single-track and then under the finishing arc.
The last cruise stage takes us downhill on the bitumen to the township of Tullah and the end of day one riding and time for beers and presentations at the lakeside resort with reflections of mountains and tree ferns lining the edge of the lake.
Stage 3 – Sterling Valley (14 km)
Sterling Valley in the wet…you don’t want to think about. In the dry, well that’s a much better story. Thankfully for us the rain from the previous day had cleared and mostly clear skies greeted us for the start of Stage 3. A relatively short stage of Wildside up and over a mountain range, but with a technical rating of three it was still going to be tough.
The start is fast with the usual hustle and jostling for position. A few creek crossings, some double single-track and then the climbing begins into the lush rainforest on a narrow quad bike track. Technical in nature, the trail climbs steeply in places as it narrows into single-track and the ferns move in to brush shoulders and legs as I try to stay on the high ridges of the trail. Positions gained on a tricky rutted section are then lost on putting a foot down or getting stuck behind a slower rider or someone who has come off. You then have to wait your turn in a stream of riders losing several positions and then its back on again. The forest is so thick with green tree ferns that we barely notice how high we are climbing.
Once out into the open on the fire road the marshals cheer us all on and the trail starts to head downhill. With a few skull and crossbone signs on the fire road descent to highlight some derailleur smashing boulders and ruts you could drive your bike into, the trail quickly ducks into some fine, fast and rocky single-track. Once through the technical sections and dodging those who decide that hike-a-bike is a better option than riding, the trail becomes fast and flowing on a mat of fern leaves.
Sooner than I hope we pop out into the suburbia that is Rosebery, a bit more single track and then to a fast paced finish at the velodrome in town. Once again Jonas is close behind and makes some valuable time into my small lead, and then Anna powers in also not too far behind us both. Support crew is on hand with food and supplies and with the sun shining, a ‘dash for cash’ competition around the velodrome and gourmet lunches by the river under the big trees, there is a real festival atmosphere around the Wildside event village.
Stage 4 – Montezuma Falls (38 km)
This stage has been talked about and talked up by everyone we have met on Wildside as a hard but awesome stage following an old tramway up to a suspension bridge at Montezuma Falls before an epic descent in the big ring of predictable arcing corners through lush rainforest and tree ferns. It is also the longest stage of the event, while not overly technical like the mornings stage it still looms as a tough stage especially after the pace of the morning stage over Sterling Valley
After a steep climb on bitumen to the car park the trail narrows, becomes dirt and continues to climb. The final uphill section to the falls is fast with a group of riders jostling for position on the wet double single track dodging boggy holes, old tramway sleepers and fern fronds leaning over the trail choosing the best lines through corners waiting for the rider in front to make an error in judgement to take their position in the group. There is a line-up at the bridge so this provides a good chance for a breather, remove my muddy glasses again, squeeze a gel in, some water, and then it’s time to hike-a-bike whichever way you saw fit over the narrow wooden slats of the bridge.
Once over the bridge it is game on. Still climbing steadily at a nice gradient I am grateful for the line selection of the guy in front of me as he misses puddles, takes the highline over large ruts and generally flows with the trail. I’m not actually sure when the tramway started heading downhill but when I slip into the big ring and start pushing into the perfect radius corners with such confidence launching from one side of the track to the other I realise this is what all the fuss was about!
I had been hoping that I could relax on the down but it ends up being a hard twenty or so minute slog in big gear out of the saddle chasing riders, ducking in and out of traffic, sweeping corners with the body on the line avoiding ruts, rocks, mud puddles and timber. My hands begin to burn, not from braking, but from holding on for a twenty minute downhill and I actually pray quietly for the thrill to be over.
The sting is in the tail for this leg for as quickly as the downhill tramway reaches the road and the low point the trail turns back up the hill through some fresh single-track and then climbs a wet fire road. I am almost out of juice and by my speedo there is still a lazy ten km to go…or so I thought. A ‘5 km to go’ sign gives me hope to push on hard and as those in front have dismounted to walk up a rock slab creek bed I manage to power on up with a few hardy riders. Now running on empty I push on down slippery fire road and through a daunting muddy creek crossing with a bunch of SES volunteers on hand. At the front of a small group I have no best line to follow so with a quick ‘is it ridable…?, followed by a ‘sure is, go for it mate..!’ I plunge into the unknown caramel torrent at speed and ride my luck through to the other side with a few hoots and cheers from riders behind and the SES crew.
The finish line is through some swampy tea tree, cut saplings and up a grassy hill and a large crowd is there to cheer the heroes of Montezuma over the line. In a cruel twist to this stage, later on in the event the organisers confess to the fact that the ‘5km to go’ was mistakingly placed at nine km out. The wind is blowing icy cold, so not too much time to linger on the epic thirty eight km stage, so a quick feed and then a rolling cruise onto the historic mining town of Zeehan.
Stage 5 – Time Trial, Zeehan (5 km)
The 5km time trial starts at the Zeehan Golf course down the first fairway before hooking into single-track, a few creek crossings, some narrow and tight climbing turns before heading through the old mining Spray tunnel, up onto a ridge and some mine workings before descending some steep sandy single-track and entering the big berms of the motocross track and finishing on the 18th green.
We are allocated into starting pairs for the time trial based on our overall time for the previous four stages with the slowest groups starting first…This means that the guy I am paired with is only 8 seconds behind me on overall time. …We should be right on each others tail but I am actually pretty nervous about how I will match up on a short sprint stage. After a cautious start I take my riding partner on a sharp pinch climb through tea tree scrub and I feel like I’ve lost him for most of the lap. The technical riding on our local Adelaide hills trails have prepared me well for stages like this. The Spray Tunnel is dark (even with the lights on inside!) and a bit of faith gets me through and into the open again. The first big berm welcomes me to the motocross track (built for bikes a bit more powerful than ours) and the expectation of the crowd for big airs. Unfortunately I am to disappoint the masses…A little air on the first table top, then rolling from there on, up and out of the track onto the fairway for the short sprint home. I hit the line five seconds ahead of my competition, which now makes it thirteen seconds the difference…worth expending all that extra energy? Not really, but fun.
It’s then a twenty kilometre dirt road cruise up and over a range and down to the west coast fishing village of Trial Harbour.
Stage 6 – Granville Harbour (22 km)
This stage begins as a mass start in the sleepy fishing village of Trial Harbour with a steep sustained dirt road climb. The pace is steady as the ribbon of riders extends up the hill around the corners as far as the eye can see. Things have thinned out a little by the time we veer off onto a four-wheel drive track through the coastal heath and we begin what will become etched in my memory as one of the most amazing sessions of mountain biking I have ever done.
What starts innocently as a white gravel four-wheel drive track climbing over stunted vegetation and ducking through shallow creeks where everyone takes there place in line, transforms itself into rolling white slabs of rock which invites artistic creativity from all those riding it to create their own epic rollercoaster of a ride across it, and they do . I have the sensation I am floating over this landscape, off the brakes, choosing lines that flow into one another and launching jumps that aren’t there. The quartzite rock grabs our tyres with such consistency it instills confidence in every rider to push their bikes and themselves to the limit. I don’t think once about the consequences of coming unstuck, such is my confidence and we all seem to get sucked along with the flow and energy of all the other riders hooting and cheering.
This amazing riding experience is only interrupted by creek crossings, bridges, and some steep pinch climbs up onto the high coastal heath on slabs of rock and sand. This gives a little bit of time to enjoy the amazing surrounds of Mt Heemskirk high above us and the wild Southern Ocean below, while also allowing me time to try and catch back up with Jonas before the next downhill.
This scene of mountain biking bliss is repeated over and over again as in an almost meditative state we float over the west coast geology with ease and purpose.
I see Jonas in the distance and push hard to catch him on the flat and the last hills. This has been his stage on the downhill but somehow I manage to pull in on the very last climb and we cross the line together, nothing to separate us on this stage. Jonas is spent, but the smile on his face is one that I won’t forget for a long time ‘That was awesome…This is why I bought the Santa Cruz’. Anna is a little off the pace on this demanding stage, but she still comes in (smiling as always) not too far behind with her quickly growing supporter base cheering her over the line.
Stage 7 – Hells Gates, Strahan (29 km)
‘To Hell and back’, well Hells Gates at least. The final stage is through coastal dunes from Strahan onto Ocean Beach for a long slog down the coast to Hells Gates, named so by the convicts arriving by ship to the convict settlement of Sarah Island.
To add confusion to the start, someone has driven a vehicle along the beach track and got bogged meaning the racing could only start after all riders had passed the Commodore sunk to its axles. Try telling this to the ego’s in group F as they sped off from the cruise pace leaving me off the back of the group before I had even realised what happened.
The dunes are tough riding with long boggy sections sucking up valuable energy. We quickly feel the ocean breeze on our faces and drop down a ramp onto the long stretch of Ocean Beach. I had a plan to stick with a group of riders to share the workload for this section with Ed’s words ringing loudly in my ears, ‘whatever you do, don’t get left out on your own’. So what happens? Within the first fifty metres of beach I have lost touch and am heading solo into the ocean wind. My legs just don’t seem to have the power or pace to keep up at this stage of the event. A few lone riders catch me and pass with ease. My bike feels like it has a handbrake on with the soft sand, sea water, salt in the drivetrain, fading legs and a headwind. A quick look behind confirms another bunch of riders join me. I’m invited to join to help out with the work and up my pace from 22kph to 25kph to keep up. It feels good to be pulling along as one with eight other riders into the stiff wind. It doesn’t last too long, with my legs and mind falling off the pace after a couple of kilometres and I watch them break away.
They did pull me through the worst of it and we round a corner, past some fisherman, past Hells Gates (hell for a different reason today) and then duck off the beach onto solid ground.
I am out on my own for the rest of the stage, no one passing, no one to pass and I actually start to feel good again and push on into the sandy pine forest. A steep sandy downhill slide and I am out on the dirt road back to town. With the wind at my back I reel in two riders on the long road behind Ocean Beach. The finish is getting close and the last bit of the stage weaves around footpaths, bridges and coastal walking paths before emerging out under the Wildside finish arc for the final time with Macquarie Harbour as the backdrop and a large festive group of supporters.
I am done after that stage which was not my best, in fact I lost more places on that stage than any other. This could be attributed to the lack of technical mountain biking on the stage, and lack of road riding fitness, but still managed a pretty good time for the whole race of 8hr 32min and 35 seconds, 185th overall and stoked to have not only survived my first Wildside experience but been competitive as well. Anna nudges Jonas on this stage with some solid beach group riding and comes in close behind me. Jonas rounds the final corner and in typical style pulls a mono over the finish line, energy to burn. Not bad after 144 km of competitive mountain bike racing through this tough terrain.
The beers flow and a gourmet barbeque is prepared by the local sailing club volunteers as the riders continue to finish the final stage with great support from all the punters who have ridden and their support crews.
In the Wash-up
On overall standings Jonas comes in only five minutes behind with a time of 8hr 38min and 19 seconds, amazing how closely matched we have been over the four days of competition. Anna is also not too far behind overall with a time of 9hrs 8min and 33 seconds and 4th place in the Open Womens category, an awesome performance from her and her smile is testament to the good times and amazing riding she has enjoyed on Wildside. We have all pushed ourselves far beyond what we thought was possible of our bikes, our fitness and our mental strength but most importantly had a load of fun on the trails and with the fellow punters and organisers.
We must thank our great support crew Eduardo and Chad, who washed our bikes, drove back and forth to stage starts and finishes, carried jackets and bananas, gave valuable trail condition advice, cooked carb loaded dinners and generally put up with our four day obsession competing in Wildside. Cheers guys, couldn’t have done it without you.
Wildside is on every second year in January on the west coast of Tasmania with the next event happening ….January 2010. Don’t miss out on the ultimate mountain biking staged race. We rode it, loved it more than we believed we could, and will be back to do it again. Check out www.wildsidemtb.com for more information.
