Photography by SuperSportImages

The Otway Odyssey Through The Eyes of A Roadie

by CyclingTips

It’s now three days since the 100km mountain bike enduro called the Otway Odyssey and only now am I'm beginning to pick myself up to write about it. 100km: How hard could it be? That’s two bottles and a gel if I’m going well. I should have this done and dusted in three hours and be sipping a latte by late morning. Or at least that’s what this roadie thought …

The Kona Odyssey is held once a year in the Otways region of Victoria. It’s attracts a huge number of roadies as February is a relatively dull month for road racing events. And let’s face it, all roadies have a dirty mountain bike fetish that we need to satisfy once in a while.

More than 1600 competitors lined up at dawn on Saturday morning to tackle the new Odyssey route which promised to feature more singletrack than previous editions and multiple passes through the town of Forrest.

As a rouleur lining up for a mountain bike race, the first thing any well-seasoned roadie does to size up his competition is check out his adversary’s socks, shoes, leg definition, and sponsored equipment. All important ways to judge who’s wheel to follow.

The startgun goes off and the massive peloton of daggy kits, hairy legs, and camelbacks begin the 100km dirty sufferfest.

Moments after the gun goes off. Photo by Jordan Thomas (a gun mountain biker from back in the day)

As the race gets underway on the gravel roads, the still morning hummed with the sound of knobby tyres and a frequent “bzzzzzt” when wheels touch. Near the front of the bunch it’s an easy sit while all these mountain bikers are nonplussed with sticking their noses in the wind and doing all the work. Suckers.

After one kilometer, a minuscule rider with a lack rag-mop attacks. He is only showing us that he doesn’t stand a chance in hell. He knows it too, but still it’s a fact: he has to choose between finishing at the back after shining, or finishing at the back after not having shone at all. - Tim Krabbe, The Rider

I see my mate Alby up at the front leading the way while attempting to complete the race on a cyclocross bike. A true thoroughbred grimpeur Alby is (loves a drink too). Eleven kilometers into the race, still on unsealed roads, I hear a “psssssss.” Alby’s out. All that preparation we did together, all four hours of training, down the drain. But one less person to chop the prize money with. See ya later Alby.

I look around again to take stock of who’s left. The road starts to rise and as my breathing gets more laboured, I see a guy with a beard, hairy legs, and AC/DC jersey beside me looking comfortable. This can’t be right; him beside me commenting how beautiful of a day it is, all while I mask my groveling? I need to check into those new 650b wheels he’s riding.

Come the singletrack it’s less obvious who to follow. Competitors are politely saying “you go first mate”, “no, feel free, I insist”. The etiquette is appauling. Who taught these guys to ride?

Road racing imitates life, the way it would be without the corruptive influence of civilization. When you see an enemy lying on the ground, what’s your first reaction? To help him to his feet. I road racing, you kick him to death. - Tim Krabbe, The Rider

I elbow my way in front of Mr. AC/DC and take the holeshot into the singletrack. I’m absolutely flying but can’t shake him off my slipstream. He keeps saying, “good job mate, keep it up…” I don’t know how he’s keeping up with my lightning quick accelerations out of those corners and quick braking into the next. It must be that new SRAM 1×11 drivetrain he’s using.

We exit the singletrack and I’m back home on the gravé clocking up the kilometers. I’m flyin’ and drop Mr. AC/DC while he plays with is camelback and makes smalltalk with another competitor. I allow a hairy legged Neanderthal to pass and I lock onto his wheel. I get a free ride for much longer than I should. He eventually flicks his elbow. I roll a soft turn and then pull off again.

Every time I take a pull up front, I feel it: I’m strong today. So what if I attack right here? Then my chances would be reduced. Correct. - Tim Krabbe, The Rider

At the 70km mark after all the sugar, caffeine, and my 500ml bidon has been depleted, I start going hungerflat. My thoughts get cloudy and I start making mistakes. I look around for my team car, but nothing. I call out for my teammates to no avail. Mr. AC/DC comes from behind and offers me a bar. He’s got a Camelback full of them.

The bar has no effect. It’s one of those gluten-free wheatgrass protein bars. I eat three of them just so he has three less.

Bicycle racing is a sport of patience. Racing is licking your opponent’s place clean before starting on your own. - Tim Krabbe, The Rider

I’m fading fast. I misjudged my peak and didn’t taper properly. I must have picked up a stomach virus too. Mr. AC/DC is now coaching me along through this rough patch. I turn a corner and see men playing bongos in the middle of the bush. Where am I?

The final 20km take me two hours. I go over the handlebars multiple times. Competitors who I dropped hours ago begin to overtake me. They ask if I’m alright.

I roll into the finish with Mr AC/DC and think, just for a split moment, to spend my last ounce of energy and pip him at the line. But I don’t. I’ve come a long way in this five hours and arrived to the realisation that mountain biking is slightly different than road racing.

My whole life had only one goal: making that last wheel, here, now. I was wasted. But that elusive finish line, eight, seven, six and a half meters in front of me, kept my hope and desire awake. I coughed and slobbered. - Tim Krabbe, The Rider

Even Wayne Hildred (bottom middle) who has raced Tour of Flanders and Bordeaux-Paris was Odyssised. Will we be back again next year? Hell yeah!

Of course this is my attempt to be facetious and point out the differences between road and mountain bike racing culture. I love both, but for very different reasons. The heart and soul of mountain biking is something I miss and partake in far too little.

I’ve only done the Otway Odyssey once before this so I had an appreciation of how big a 100km mountain bike ride is. For me, that means 5-6 hours of fumbling around on the singletrack. I’ve done the Melbourne-Warrnambool many times and can confidently say that the Otway Odyssey is just as hard.

This time when I finished, as exhausted as I was, I immediately decided that I’d be back next year. I’m happy it’s only once a year, but it’s one of those events that will be booked into my calendar for as long as I can keep doing it.

Thank you to the race organisers, Rapid Ascent, for creating such a good event as well as all the generous volunteers and sponsors who made it all happen. And most of all, Chapeau to Mr. AC/DC who got me to the finish. Vive le Odyssey!

Check out this awesome web service. It’s called VeloViewer and shows an animation of all strava uploads for a particular segment at a specified time. A race like the Otway Odyssey is a perfect illustration. I’m the blue dot, everyone else who uploaded to Strava are the red dots. I can’t embed the animation here, so I’ve uploaded a screen-capture to youtube (above).

Click here to see the Otway Odyssey on Veloviewer.

See Otway Odyssey Strava data here.

RESULTS

100km Kona Odyssey 2013

Male
1. Chris Jongewaard 4:19:19
2. Adrian Jackson 4:19:40
3. Paul van der Ploeg 4:22:14

Female
1. Renata Bucher 5:13:35
2. Peta Mullens 5:14:34
3. Rebecca Locke 5:32:57

50km Kona Odyssey 2013

Male
1. Chris Hamilton 2:17:24
2. Joey Esterhuyzen 2:19:19
3. Jack Lamshed 2:21:21

Female
1. Katie Chancellor 2:51:45
2. Philippa Birch 2:53:38
3. Nicole Jeffries 2:54:18

Click here for FULL RESULTS

Tags: mountain biking, Otway Odyssey

http://twitter.com/jamescbdunn James Dunn

Is that Wayne Hildred (bottom right?) or Chris Smith from Zoom Video racing?
http://twitter.com/john_groves John Groves

Wade, do come to Avoca winery next month for the big hill events marathon. Harder climbing, more technical descending, the best feed zones on the planet…and start and finish at a winery.
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  ooh..tempted. Do you have a link with more info?
  - MadBlack
    
    http://www.bighillevents.com.au/marathon_challenge/race_information.html
  - Anonymous
    
    it’s a tarp! the only thing more relentless than the hills in that race is people’s friendliness. it sickens me! ;)
MadBlack

I’m glad to hear that I wasn’t the only one going backwards in the last 20kms! Well done Wade and thanks for giving kudos to us mountain bikers! I have similar feelings and internal monologues about the roadies when I race on the road.
Notso Swift

LOVE that Animation
It is almost like we can see you dropping wheels and getting back on ;-)

Obviously you are getting a bit more serious with the stories now you are full time, a great little read for lunch time fantasies.
jules

is descending forrest single track better than sex? the answer is not obvious to me. this event is so much fun.

i felt like a roadie for the first half, having stupid falls and feeling stiff in the corners, then progressively got my groove on as it all started flowing. i felt like i was flying by the end (although you only need to look at Jongewaard’s timed descent to realise this is an illusion).

i will break 6 hours next year.
- Notso Swift
  
  Sorry Jules, but the answer is obvious for me, you must be doing something wrong :-P
  - jules
    
    maybe i need a partner?
    - Notso Swift
      
      GOLD!
Chadwick

Is there a picture of mr AC/DC? He sounds like a stand up bloke if he stayed with you while you hunger flatted and gave Eusketel Euskadi a run for their money. Yellow Carrot maybe?
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  I wish there was a photo of Mr AC/DC, but there were lots of them who helped me through to the end
  - Craig
    
    They obviously felt sorry for the poor roadie in the DayGlo kit! At least you wore bllack socks.
Jase

Haha - what a great article - nice one Wade!
Anonymous

Great article. Why did Alby DNF? No spare tube?
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  He was using singles and he glued them on so tight he couldn’t get it off. So pro that he didn’t finish…
  - Anonymous
    
    All respect and no offence to Alby but what what a peanut! I bet they were Dugast too? Maybe he needs a new mechanic? I know a good one in Sth Yarra.
  - Simon Phillips
    
    Thanks for extra detail CT… I’m very interested to know what gearing Alby was using on his CX? Was thinking of doing a 100km MTB race up here in QLD (the EPIC) and think my 46/36 might be too optimistic! I will obviously run clinchers now.
    - geoff.tewierik
      
      Good luck, EPIC is well known for chewing up tires and tubes. Bring plenty of spares.
    - PaulS
      
      I regularly do a 80k ride that includes the Lysterfield xc trails on my cx bike. My gearing is 48/34 with 12-25 cassette. lysterfield is pretty flat but I regularly use my easiest gear. SRAM and shimano do a road derailer that works with an 11-32. I’m also using a tubeless setup to stop pinch flats. Michelin muds on durace c24.
Steel

Great writeup CT. Sometimes I find your writing a bit clunky which is to be expected from an ex-engineer. (I’m in the same boat by the way). This was much improved. I got a few genuine LOLs out of it.
- jules
  
  nice backhanded compliment there Steel. “someone” didn’t even make it to the startline either…
  - Steel
    
    Someone needs to find the shift key on the keyboard. It’s under the capslock, above the ctarl, and left of the z if you need further directions. It’s known to help at the start of sentences.
    
    I will break you in next year’s Odyssey btw.
    
    Have a nice day Jules.
    - Marty
      
      I never realised that there are computers out there that have an ‘a’ on the Control (Ctrl) key…. :-)
      - Steel
        
        Yeah but that’s how Homer refers to it. Where’s the any key again?
        
        Marty
        
        Just below the ‘Tab’
        
        Marty
        
        Just below the ‘Tab’
- http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
  
  Thanks Steel! (I wasn’t a very good engineer either). Now that I have Matt (our new editor) proofreading stuff things will be much better.
Chris

Sweet, sweet post - thanks.
http://www.facebook.com/ian.thomas.980 Ian Thomas

“The bar has no effect. It’s one of those gluten-free wheatgrass protein bars. I eat three of them just so he has three less.”

Made me laugh like a drain!
Steel

The coolest thing about MTBing? Dust really enhances your quad definition.

Check out the dude on the single track photo.
Anonymous

Brilliant read Wade, nice editing Matt.
Looking forward to getting out on the trails with you while your still beat up, i’ll kick the boots in while I can ;-)
http://twitter.com/ankush83 Ankush Agarwal

seems to be an awesome ride. Had a good laugh with the write-up, ” I eat three of them just so he has three less” is the favorite line
Mat Stone

Next time, eh?
Dom

As a roadie who does a bit of mtbing I’ve found motocross riders that catch me out the most. You pass these T-shirted guys who don’t even look like they’re in the race, then BAM on the downhill flying past you at a million miles an hour!
http://twitter.com/nlothian Nick Lothian

Love the quotes from The Rider. Such a perfect story.
Wayne Hildred

Great work Wade. That wasn’t a smile either. A 70 year old went past me and offered to tow me along, i held on for a km then he just road away! Now I know how it feels to be the younger guy! Well done old mate. I will shout u a coffee next time you r at Bright Velo.
http://byke.com.au/ Byke

Flouro green has yet to catch on with the hairy-legged brigade?
- Andrew
  
  Sure has, it is called a high vis vest, available at most safety supplier shops, cheap, non body fitting and guaranteed to make you sweat up a treat
Mark

Reading this you’d think you did it in about 7 hrs!!! Great time and great right up especially from an Engineer ;)

Next year I want to be there.
Mark

Reading this you’d think you did it in about 7 hrs!!! Great time and great right up especially from an Engineer ;)

Next year I want to be there.
Marc

Well done Wade, awesome time and congrats to all finishers. Glad you didn’t “pull out at a convenient spot” like you mentioned you might when I was talking to you in the carpark on Friday arvo at registration CT. Twas a hot dustfest this yr but a great new course, and it’s truly an epic race that challenges you both physically and mentally.
Joel

Great report brought back Fond memories of my cape to cape to cape getting dropped on single track and descents but dropping the mtb ers on the climbs faces much dirtier than you blokes though
NotAHairyLeg

+1 to the hunger flat at the 70km mark. I remember riding out of the 65km transition thinking … I’ve just jammed down 100gms of carbs and a Coke and I still feel like sh1t … and there’s still 2hrs of riding to go!
chook

My friend calls it the “Otway Idiocy”
x

Well written, but appauling spelling.
http://www.facebook.com/jim.athanasopoulos.7 Jim Athanasopoulos

Thanks for the great read, hilarious! MTB culture sure is different to the roadie scene isn’t it?
Hubbard

Brilliant article. Thanks! You really captured the difference between the road and the MTB races. Both are competitive but in such different ways.
Diego

Here in the states I ride some of the National Ultra Endurance series, 100k/100 mile races, a guy on a cross bike attempted the Mohican 100 - 2 flats, bent rim, multiple crashes, helmet dent, done by 15k. uhhh, can’t win if you don’t finish. And tubular tires for a distance race? seriously? ain’t no team car deep in the woods…
wizofaus

Despite being in the same region of Victoria and a similar distance, sounds very different to the Otway Rainforest ride I just did a quick write-up for here: http://pedalingtowork.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-great-ocean-ride.html