May 2014 - Alice Springs - Ingerekke Commercial Mountain Bike Enduro
Content warning - Its a bit of a long one this time and probably not suitable for people who fall asleep at the mention of bikes! Bonus content is included however though look out for Team Stack living up to their name!!
After the hectic April we both had with our separate travels it was only a few short weeks back at work until we were off on our jollys again, this time, to Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Our trip away was for the Alice Springs MTB Enduro. A 5 day, 7 stage mountain bike race in the red centre. For Naomi this would be her first venture into the outback, and for both of us a chance to visit a new state and experience some of Australia's best mountain biking and most iconic landmarks.
We set off to Alice on the Saturday morning after some careful packing of Bruce and Four Eyes (The Bikes). The flight was a relatively painless 2hr45 and we arrived early evening to pick up Outback Jack... Our hire car. If you haven't guessed over all our previous blogs Naomi has a habit for naming pretty much everything... Puff, Blow, QB, Jelly Bean, Java, Bruce, Four Eyes, Sheila, Rubix.... You get the idea!!!
We checked into our hotel and had an obligatory beer near the pool. My tipple for the week would prove to be Fat Yak a top beer from Victoria.
A beer at the pool bar!
After a relatively early night we set off bright and early on Sunday into the West McDonnell ranges to the West of Alice Springs. After a picturesque drive through the ranges we stopped first at Redbank Gorge around 150km from Alice. After a short walk down the river bed, we found a stunning water hole. Although looking very inviting for a swim the water was freezing due to the steep gorge walls so we decided to dip only our toes in and carry on heading back to Alice stopping off along the way at Glen Helen Gorge and Ormistone Gorge ( spotted a dingo here). We finally braved a swim when we made it to Ellery Creek Big Hole, well I say a swim, we spent 10 mins psyching ourselves up to brave it and approx 10 seconds in the water before wussing out!
Redbank Gorge
Naomi on her rock
Outback Jack
Glen Helen Gorge
Naomi & Dingo at Ormistone Gorge
Ellery Creek Big Hole
We dried ourselves off and headed back to Alice but not before stopping off at the local Alice Landmark Simpson's Gap. We had a great day out and were now ready to see the rest of Alice on 2 wheels.
(Get a tea and biscuit now you will be a while here!)
Simpsons Gap
The Race
So the race involved riding 7 stages over 5 days, it involved the longest ride we had ever done on a mountain bike and another 3 even longer still with the longest being over 80km but more on that soon. So we knew it would be tough and so we had actually taken advise seriously and set our bikes up like the locals. This involved converting our tyres to tubeless. A fiddly and time consuming process it may be initially, but it saves hassle on the trail eliminating the majority of punctures unless you are so unlucky to split a sidewall!
For once I was prepared and got them ready months in advance to iron out any problems. Sure enough no issues on all our rides in Perth...until the eve of the race. Tyre flat... Won't pump up... Knackered valve...Sod's law!!! Luckily there were repair guys on site and had me up and running again within an hour!
So the race involved riding 7 stages over 5 days, it involved the longest ride we had ever done on a mountain bike and another 3 even longer still with the longest being over 80km but more on that soon. So we knew it would be tough and so we had actually taken advise seriously and set our bikes up like the locals. This involved converting our tyres to tubeless. A fiddly and time consuming process it may be initially, but it saves hassle on the trail eliminating the majority of punctures unless you are so unlucky to split a sidewall!
For once I was prepared and got them ready months in advance to iron out any problems. Sure enough no issues on all our rides in Perth...until the eve of the race. Tyre flat... Won't pump up... Knackered valve...Sod's law!!! Luckily there were repair guys on site and had me up and running again within an hour!
Minor stress over, time for pre-race briefing. So let me set the scene; Naomi and I have done a few running races , adventure races and triathlons and many of these have competitors just aiming to finish, lose weight or raise money for charity so we are used to bring middle of the pack knowing the guys in fancy dress are normally behind us. We knew this would be a bit different and more of a race but when the field were to be introduced as World Champion this and Australian Champion that and a few slower ones as State Champion something or other we drastically cut our expectations! The briefing was good though and we found out prizes would be given out at random to whoever was at the presentation...hope for us yet.
So back to the room for an early night only to be disturbed by a redback spider (the nasty ones) hanging in bathroom door at face height luckily I spotted it before it mauled my face!! Unluckily I was stuck needing a wee with my path blocked. Only one solution... Whack spider with a flip flop... Bad idea now I had an angry spider somewhere in the bathroom but I couldn't find it...hmmm..now the wussy thing to do would be to send Naomi in to find it... Glad you all know me better than that! See below for some of our other deadly encounters, not Mr Redback as he was avoiding photographs somewhere unkown!!!
So back to the room for an early night only to be disturbed by a redback spider (the nasty ones) hanging in bathroom door at face height luckily I spotted it before it mauled my face!! Unluckily I was stuck needing a wee with my path blocked. Only one solution... Whack spider with a flip flop... Bad idea now I had an angry spider somewhere in the bathroom but I couldn't find it...hmmm..now the wussy thing to do would be to send Naomi in to find it... Glad you all know me better than that! See below for some of our other deadly encounters, not Mr Redback as he was avoiding photographs somewhere unkown!!!
Our personal guard spider - keep those robbers at bay!
Massive golden orb spider!
Monday came around, the morning of the race, I wake up check the boys slept ok (yes I am talking about the bikes) Crapsiclesticks!!!!! Tyre flat again! Major panic from me but all a bit unnecessary as the tyre sealed back up, no issues, life carried on and world didn't end...phew!!!
So the first stage was a warm up... An introduction... An ease you in gently type of day. It started off with a police escort though town which didn't go quite to plan as the eventual winner would plough into the back of the police car. After a minor halt to proceedings we were off onto sand, sand and more sand. Apparently found in abundance in the desert. This gave way soon though to amazing flowing single track. Eventually the 37km trail ended up back in Alice with a lap of the velodrome! Awesome first stage...bit harder than we expected! Stage 1 highlights can be found below
So the first stage was a warm up... An introduction... An ease you in gently type of day. It started off with a police escort though town which didn't go quite to plan as the eventual winner would plough into the back of the police car. After a minor halt to proceedings we were off onto sand, sand and more sand. Apparently found in abundance in the desert. This gave way soon though to amazing flowing single track. Eventually the 37km trail ended up back in Alice with a lap of the velodrome! Awesome first stage...bit harder than we expected! Stage 1 highlights can be found below
Stage1 Team Stack YouTube Video
Stage 1 Official Highlights
Stage 1 Official Highlights
We made it!!
Naomi happy she made it without stacking....yet!
The boys having a well earned nap!
So the 'ease in gently day' hadn't finished yet. In the evening it was time for stage 2 a 300m climb up Anzac Hill. This looked fairly easy on paper only a couple of minutes of effort! So it was in the form of an individual time trial with 30 second intervals between competitors. Naomi was up first with me chasing her down 30 seconds later. I was getting egged on at the start that I should catch 'the girl'...this spurred Naomi on and I was desparate not to lose time. In the end we both won, Naomi cheered across for not being caught and I gained a few seconds back so didn't get 'Chicked'. Although only short it was a killer stage and the legs felt like lead afterwards.
See the race here
Stage 2 Team Stack YouTube video
Stage 2 Official Highlights
Stage 2 Official Highlights
The bottom of Anzac Hill - Waiting patiently at the start line
Made it to the top - thanks Greenwood's for the awesome Yorkshire Team Stack jerseys!!!
View from the top of Anzac Hill over Alice
Tuesday
This was the day for the 50km third stage nearly all on tough single track. It would be one that tested us being the longest mountain bike ride we had done to date. It started off at the historic telegraph station the birthplace of the town as a key communication route from Melbourne and Adelaide to Asia and the rest of the World.
This was the day for the 50km third stage nearly all on tough single track. It would be one that tested us being the longest mountain bike ride we had done to date. It started off at the historic telegraph station the birthplace of the town as a key communication route from Melbourne and Adelaide to Asia and the rest of the World.
The historic telegraph station - you can see the poles in the background
The day started hot, got hotter and then a bit more. The drink station was at the 30km mark and Naomi had found her Camelbak was leaking with most of her water cooling down her right foot as it dripped away!! The first section was amazing though, incredible scenery great trails and fun as we chatted to the riders taking life a little less seriously after giving up on any hopes of a podium finish!! I was grinning the whole way around until my bike disappeared from under me and I fell in thorns!
Eventually we hit the food station for 2 pieces of cake, 10 cookies, 3 handfuls of jelly worms, a cliff bar and rehydration fluid... Compared to an F1 pit stop, it was this level of professionalism that gained us a reputation through the week and we were often told by our food station buddies to stop chatting and move on!
Eventually we hit the food station for 2 pieces of cake, 10 cookies, 3 handfuls of jelly worms, a cliff bar and rehydration fluid... Compared to an F1 pit stop, it was this level of professionalism that gained us a reputation through the week and we were often told by our food station buddies to stop chatting and move on!
Snapped mid climb - Naomi your handlebars look quite wide!
Anyway food eaten, water drunk time to go and that is where it all went wrong. First up Naomi's first stack of the week. And yes watch out for it on highlights package!! Next remember I said new tyres were great as long as you don't split the sidewall?? Well guess what... Sidewall split! Bugger! I decide to chance it and hope the sealant would fill the gap so I pump back up and carried on. Worked like a dream for about 10m then flat again. I give up and put in a tube and patched the tyre, by which point we are cooking in the heat and everyone has passed us, even a bloke on a unicycle (well almost!). We managed to make it through the next 20km or so and rolled back into the casino finish line after what seemed like the longest lap of Alice ever! Knackered and the hardest day on a bike I think we have had.
Phew made it to the end and they still had some food left!!!
Wednesday was probably the day I was looking forward to most. It consisted of 2 stages of 22km both on the same course. The first an individual time trial in the morning followed by a second run around but this time at night in the dark!!!
The start line at Alice Springs Golf Course
Done - 4 stages down - Uh Oh we have to repeat this again in a few hours!
After a short break for lunch and a hobble around the town it was time to get all ready again for the night race, stage 5. I was excited as we had bought new toys, our AyUp lights, which we got to try out. The night stage build up was awesome with tension building as the sun went down and the atmosphere of 150 riders gathering with headtorches pointing everywhere.
Naomi - looking very nervous!!!
Not a bad view waiting for the start!
Hey there shiny head!
And we are off!!
Naomi was a little nervous setting off and we took it steady for the first few kms. We soon found our rhythm though, and started to pick up the pace. Afternoon delight and sunset hill descent were again the highlights with locals lining the route to cheer us over the top. Riding in the dark was an experience I will never forget and one I would love to do again (well we have to to justify the price of bloody lights!!!) We finished up around 15mins slower than our morning time not bad as we had to stop midway to fix someone's handlebars for them.
Made it! No Stacks!
Back to the golf course we headed and gobbled down our huge pasta dinner just in time for Alice to receive its once a year rain. It chucked it down and all our kit was soaked. We hurried back to the hotel to dry as best we could and try to rest for the big one... The long stage!!!
(Time for a top up on that tea??)
Thursday
The 'once a year' rain returned Thursday morning and this made all aches, pains, bruises, lumps, chafes, blisters and pulled muscles feel doubly sore. Motivation was lacking somewhat! Rain coats were on and we reluctantly set off to the velodrome for the start.
Good news the rain eased to a light drizzle as we started and the coats could be packed away. After a short section on the Stuart Highway under police control (no crashes this time) we peeled off onto singletrack. A tough section of uphill, that in the wet was a little unrideable, greeted us, but this soon eased up into some great flowing tracks and I actually started to forget about my aches and sogginess and cheered up around 15km in.
The 'once a year' rain returned Thursday morning and this made all aches, pains, bruises, lumps, chafes, blisters and pulled muscles feel doubly sore. Motivation was lacking somewhat! Rain coats were on and we reluctantly set off to the velodrome for the start.
Good news the rain eased to a light drizzle as we started and the coats could be packed away. After a short section on the Stuart Highway under police control (no crashes this time) we peeled off onto singletrack. A tough section of uphill, that in the wet was a little unrideable, greeted us, but this soon eased up into some great flowing tracks and I actually started to forget about my aches and sogginess and cheered up around 15km in.
The next 15-20km were incredible, views over the MacDonnell ranges were amazing and some incredible trails. We were to reach to food station at 30km after an awesome descent (and one minor stack Naomi). From then was a relatively easy 30km on cycle path to Simpsons gap and later road through to the archery centre. We even managed to get interviewed for the official race highlights in this stretch. At around 60km we got to the second food stop and I stocked up as I had heard about the last stretch. From the food stop the easy bitumen fell away to rocky technical climbs and loose rocky descents. Tough but I felt at home as it was peak district riding! Many of the locals complained about this stretch - Soft Aussies - but we loved it even with tired legs. So a few tough hills later and we were on the run in to the BMX track! Only one obstacle left... we had to do a lap of the track to finish!!
Stage 6 Official Highlights - look out for our moment of fame!
Stage 6 Team Stack YouTube Video
End of the long one - and the sun had come out!
Post race burger - GET IN MY BELLY!!!
Stage 6 Official Highlights - look out for our moment of fame!
Stage 6 Team Stack YouTube Video
Friday
The last day started with lots of hobbling bodies, sore bums, patched up wounds, broken bikes and a bunch of really fresh looking locals. The Friday stage was not only the end of the week long stage race but also an opportunity for the locals to ride a single stage with us.
So the locals, full of enthusiasm, set off with those looking for wins, with us hanging around chatting at the back! The stage was advertised as 39km which would be long after a week of racing, but in typical fashion this proved to be wrong with the final distance logged at around 45km. The only complaint I could make though was that the distance wasn't wrong by more, as it was one of my favourite days on a bike ever! The trails were some of the best I had ridden anywhere. Naomi was flying around the course particularly after the obligatory jelly stop. The final 15km around the telegraph station was the best continuous section of trail I had ever ridden, a perfect way to end the race and we crossed the line with grins ear to ear!
The last day started with lots of hobbling bodies, sore bums, patched up wounds, broken bikes and a bunch of really fresh looking locals. The Friday stage was not only the end of the week long stage race but also an opportunity for the locals to ride a single stage with us.
So the locals, full of enthusiasm, set off with those looking for wins, with us hanging around chatting at the back! The stage was advertised as 39km which would be long after a week of racing, but in typical fashion this proved to be wrong with the final distance logged at around 45km. The only complaint I could make though was that the distance wasn't wrong by more, as it was one of my favourite days on a bike ever! The trails were some of the best I had ridden anywhere. Naomi was flying around the course particularly after the obligatory jelly stop. The final 15km around the telegraph station was the best continuous section of trail I had ever ridden, a perfect way to end the race and we crossed the line with grins ear to ear!
All smiles at the hotel for the final start. No. 17 & 107 reporting for duty!
Views over the ranges from the trial.
Naomi nailing the Moab Like descent!
Final stage and Ingerekke MTB Enduro 2014 - DONE!
We had made it to the end without too many dramas, we didn't win, not even a raffle prize (well I won a spare tyre but 2 days too late I had already had to buy one) but we didn't end up being knocked over by a police car, stabbed by a mulga bush, breaking arms, gashing knees or any other multitude of injuries that took people out through the week. We even escaped from dingos and redbacks without harm!
It was an awesome week and Four Eyes and especially Bruce behaved very well indeed!
Stage 7 Team Stack YouTube Video
Thanks for reading this far it's been a long one but you can relax now..... Oh no wait I nearly forgot we went to see a big rock!!!
Stage 7 Team Stack YouTube Video
Thanks for reading this far it's been a long one but you can relax now..... Oh no wait I nearly forgot we went to see a big rock!!!
(Put kettle on... Last top up I promise!!)
Saturday - Uluru (Ayres Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olga's)
After a week of having to power ourselves around it was time to sit on our bums for 6 hours to travel the 470km to Uluru - Kata Tjuta national park. We were glad to have a comfy seat on the bus for a while! We headed South on the Stuart Highway before taking the only turn of the day onto the Lasseter Highway. Around half way into the journey we stopped off at the Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse - Similar to a Welcome Break on the M62!
After a week of having to power ourselves around it was time to sit on our bums for 6 hours to travel the 470km to Uluru - Kata Tjuta national park. We were glad to have a comfy seat on the bus for a while! We headed South on the Stuart Highway before taking the only turn of the day onto the Lasseter Highway. Around half way into the journey we stopped off at the Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse - Similar to a Welcome Break on the M62!
Sat Nav Not Needed
Outback Roadhouse
The Emu Bus
The Camel Car!
After this brief stop I couldn't believe it... I had spotted Uluru! Naomi had handed over the $50 (1st to spot the sea usually but in this case the rock). We stopped off at a salt lake where we could get photos of the rock but I was a little disappointed to be told it was actually Mt Connor also known as Fooluru as many people make the same mistake. Naomi enjoyed getting her imaginary $50 back!
Fooluru - Mt Connor
After a brief stop off at Fooluru we headed into the National Park and headed towards Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Kata Tjuta is made of 4 main domes and a number of smaller ones rising to over 1000m above sea level. Kata Tjuta translates to Many Heads in the local Aboriginal language and it is said the domes are the heads of local women who were turned to stone after a disagreement between tribes!! Watch it Naomi it could be you if you don't behave!!!!
We walked up the gorge between the main domes before driving to a viewing point a few km's away.
Kata Tjuta - The Olgas
Inside Olga looking out
Next we headed over to Uluru for a walk around the base. We learnt about the formation of Uluru and the fights between the two snakes Liru and Kunia who are responsible for the formation of many of the features on Uluru. The base walk was awesome, seeing parts of the rock which aren't shown in any postcards. We were surprised how many caves and gorges were available to explore around the base.
'Spear Holes' from a fight between tribes.
Wave Cave - Also used as a classroom for Aboriginal Kids. Rock art used for lessons is still visible in the caves.
The teachers desk!
Within the gorge to the waterhole
Greenery due to recent rains
After the base walk it was time to head over to the sunset viewing area where we were treated to a Champagne BBQ. After fighting off a bizzilion flies trying to eat our snags the sun started to set over Kata Tjuta turning Uluru red. It was an incredible sight and a great way to end our trip.
Sunsets over Kata Tjuta and Our Outback Adventure!
So thats it for our Alice Springs Adventure - A long one for you so hope it was worth the read. Not sure what is next now winter has set in now and as I write this an enormous storm has just blown in causing flooding around Subiaco. Good news is winter only lasts a month or two so I am sure we will have some adventures to write home about soon.
Until then Keep Stacking!!!
Team Stack
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