Grafton to Inverell 07 - Race report
Congraulations to all our riders who rode the Grafton. A quick report on the finish. 7 starters & 6 finishers. Grant was our only DNF with some bad luck forcing him to swap bikes a day before the race due to a mechanical. Eugen won King of the Mountain and our others riders rode as a group to the finish. Well done everyone...
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Simon Llewellyn
- Posts: 1532
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 22:31
- Location: Tempe Velodrome
Guys that was a great bike race... I swore after the race that would be the last time I would ever ride it. Then a few hours later it became I definitely would not ride it next year. Now two days on I"m contemplating if I do it next year, what I will change to do better...
I've got to say that the Grafton is like what I once heard Stuart O'grady say about Paris-Roubeaux; it doesn't matter where you finished or if you finished, everybody has their own story to tell in the showers afterwards....It is as a much an adventure as it is a bike race and a magical one at that. There are so many highs and so many lows in one day & I don't know if a report could ever do this race justice, I remember when we finally made it to Inverrel I can't remeber who it was I think it may have been Huw said something to Al about the amount of pain. And Al just looked at us all half dead on the floor or stiff to the points in our chairs that we couldn't move & said with the biggest smile on his face and a shining in his eyes, "now you know how it feel, we've all felt it." & at that point I knew exactly what it meant to be a Grafton finisher. The pain in my legs, back, arms & just about every other muscle in my body all told me that this was the magic of the Grafton....
But I would like to congratulate Eugen on his great ride & our ring in Phil from North Sydney. I don't know how you guys managed to ride into the top twenty but that was a spectacular performance. Also Huw rode a great race almost getting the team onto the podium, if it hadn't of been for the unknown success of the local.
I've got to say that the Grafton is like what I once heard Stuart O'grady say about Paris-Roubeaux; it doesn't matter where you finished or if you finished, everybody has their own story to tell in the showers afterwards....It is as a much an adventure as it is a bike race and a magical one at that. There are so many highs and so many lows in one day & I don't know if a report could ever do this race justice, I remember when we finally made it to Inverrel I can't remeber who it was I think it may have been Huw said something to Al about the amount of pain. And Al just looked at us all half dead on the floor or stiff to the points in our chairs that we couldn't move & said with the biggest smile on his face and a shining in his eyes, "now you know how it feel, we've all felt it." & at that point I knew exactly what it meant to be a Grafton finisher. The pain in my legs, back, arms & just about every other muscle in my body all told me that this was the magic of the Grafton....
But I would like to congratulate Eugen on his great ride & our ring in Phil from North Sydney. I don't know how you guys managed to ride into the top twenty but that was a spectacular performance. Also Huw rode a great race almost getting the team onto the podium, if it hadn't of been for the unknown success of the local.
Trying to give an account of the Grafton to Inverell race is a bit difficult given its mammoth proportions. But here goes anyway (others please add where I miss things).
We had 7 riders in C grade for this years race. The race kicked off in still and sunny conditions as we left Grafton. We started by heading over 70km or flats and rolling hills until we hit the base of the Gibraltar ranges. At the beginning of the race, the peleton split very early. In fact I was shocked at how quickly it happened. Within a few kms, Eugene’s red jersey could be seen leading the pack away showing who were the real contenders in this race. Grant, Joe and myself were at the back and worked hard to stay in touch with them but as soon as we caught up, they just took off again at another hill. Eugene and Phil were leading at the front of race. As the leading group hit the big climb Eugene gave it to everyone with his alternating sitting and standing attacks. The others slowly dropped off one by one. It was true Rasmussen style (but without the drugs), Eugue took the King of the Mountain with 2mins on the chasers. He even had time for a little break at the top before until he waited for the main chasing group to reform. Phil was also right in there and stayed with Eugene in the main bunch that fought it out all the way to Inverell. Huw was also doing very well and was in the second leaning bunch after the climb. The rest of us had been left on our own as we passed through the mountains on our way to Glen Innes. Eventually James, Simon and myself formed a little bunch and we rode most of the way back together. I held the boys up with my chronic complaining about a cramp in my left foot which had me in constant agony (its time from some new shoes). I then had a flat that slowed us down some more. Back at the front of the race, Eugene and Phil were still in the leading bunch. From what I gather it came down to a large bunch sprint. Phil was in second wheel with 300m to go, but the Inverell club dominated the sprint with a big move from behind. Phil described the sprit as totally exhilarating with a massive crowd there to cheer everyone home. Phil was the best placed in 12th position with Eugene not far behind in 16th. In the chasing group, Huw was next best finishing 47th and despite having a stand out race, he was probably deserving of a better position after having been seriously delayed by a flat tyre between Glenn Innes and Inverell. At the back, James, Simon and myself were left with many existential questions as we soldiered on against a hot sun and strong headwinds. Eventually we picked up Joe on the road and with some encouragement from our support crew we made it all the way to Inverell just before the cut off time. Grant had a difficult weekend after his derailleur has broken just before the race. Gallantly, he decided to race on Gill’s bike but it wasn’t to be his day. He was naturally disappointed but still managed to make it 3/4 of the way finishing at Glenn Innes.
Many thanks must be given to our amazing support crew with included Al, Coral, Ron, Strech, Sheryl and Gill. They were all ready for us at every feed station and supported us throughout the race. They were also wonderful in driving us up, helping us packing and organising accommodation. Al even managed to provide us with a most entertaining drive as we headed back on the F4 into Sydney, but you can ask him about what we saw.
But the story doesn’t end there. Despite narrowly missing 3rd place in the teams event, Dulwich Hill did manage to “win” big in the Grafton to Inverell. That is, at the sweepstakes. James won 2nd or 3rd prize which was an impressive 54cm TV and DVD player. I won a $100 voucher for cycling clothing from Scody, and Phil won $100 cash meaning that 3 of our 7 riders were winners out of a total of 180 competitors. I don’t know what the probability of that is but we sure were lucky.
We had 7 riders in C grade for this years race. The race kicked off in still and sunny conditions as we left Grafton. We started by heading over 70km or flats and rolling hills until we hit the base of the Gibraltar ranges. At the beginning of the race, the peleton split very early. In fact I was shocked at how quickly it happened. Within a few kms, Eugene’s red jersey could be seen leading the pack away showing who were the real contenders in this race. Grant, Joe and myself were at the back and worked hard to stay in touch with them but as soon as we caught up, they just took off again at another hill. Eugene and Phil were leading at the front of race. As the leading group hit the big climb Eugene gave it to everyone with his alternating sitting and standing attacks. The others slowly dropped off one by one. It was true Rasmussen style (but without the drugs), Eugue took the King of the Mountain with 2mins on the chasers. He even had time for a little break at the top before until he waited for the main chasing group to reform. Phil was also right in there and stayed with Eugene in the main bunch that fought it out all the way to Inverell. Huw was also doing very well and was in the second leaning bunch after the climb. The rest of us had been left on our own as we passed through the mountains on our way to Glen Innes. Eventually James, Simon and myself formed a little bunch and we rode most of the way back together. I held the boys up with my chronic complaining about a cramp in my left foot which had me in constant agony (its time from some new shoes). I then had a flat that slowed us down some more. Back at the front of the race, Eugene and Phil were still in the leading bunch. From what I gather it came down to a large bunch sprint. Phil was in second wheel with 300m to go, but the Inverell club dominated the sprint with a big move from behind. Phil described the sprit as totally exhilarating with a massive crowd there to cheer everyone home. Phil was the best placed in 12th position with Eugene not far behind in 16th. In the chasing group, Huw was next best finishing 47th and despite having a stand out race, he was probably deserving of a better position after having been seriously delayed by a flat tyre between Glenn Innes and Inverell. At the back, James, Simon and myself were left with many existential questions as we soldiered on against a hot sun and strong headwinds. Eventually we picked up Joe on the road and with some encouragement from our support crew we made it all the way to Inverell just before the cut off time. Grant had a difficult weekend after his derailleur has broken just before the race. Gallantly, he decided to race on Gill’s bike but it wasn’t to be his day. He was naturally disappointed but still managed to make it 3/4 of the way finishing at Glenn Innes.
Many thanks must be given to our amazing support crew with included Al, Coral, Ron, Strech, Sheryl and Gill. They were all ready for us at every feed station and supported us throughout the race. They were also wonderful in driving us up, helping us packing and organising accommodation. Al even managed to provide us with a most entertaining drive as we headed back on the F4 into Sydney, but you can ask him about what we saw.
But the story doesn’t end there. Despite narrowly missing 3rd place in the teams event, Dulwich Hill did manage to “win” big in the Grafton to Inverell. That is, at the sweepstakes. James won 2nd or 3rd prize which was an impressive 54cm TV and DVD player. I won a $100 voucher for cycling clothing from Scody, and Phil won $100 cash meaning that 3 of our 7 riders were winners out of a total of 180 competitors. I don’t know what the probability of that is but we sure were lucky.
Some media updates courtesy of cyclingnews.com:
Race report
Race placings
Photo of a determined Joe Grasso on his beautiful steel De Rosa
A journo from The Australian, Peter Kogoy, also covered the race. Read his race report here.
I'll file a race report when I can summon the emotional strength.
Race report
Race placings
Photo of a determined Joe Grasso on his beautiful steel De Rosa
A journo from The Australian, Peter Kogoy, also covered the race. Read his race report here.
I'll file a race report when I can summon the emotional strength.
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Eugen Schilter
- Posts: 120
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 20:05
- Location: Eastwood
- Contact:
My Grafton impression
The seven Dulwich Hill Riders (Grant, James F, Huw, Simon, Joe & myself) reinforced by Phil ‘Philsi’ Scheidegger (Northern Sydney) congregated with the support crew (Alan, Coral, Sharol, Strech & Ron) in the Grafton Hotel.
Out of a total of 180 riders our C grade numbered 120. The news made round that the grading had been done not by the handicapper but by an Inverell local (and a rider too!). No surprise thus we found no Inverell rider in A or B but a solid army of 12 in C grade. Nevertheless unimpressed we were determined to leave our mark on this race as we lined up in red on Saturday morning in pleasant conditions, deep down knowing that maybe the race will leave a mark on us instead.
10km into the race the flatlands around Grafton mutated into the first rolling hills and with it the usual stop and go rhythm reverberated through the bunch and awoke the last rider still daydreaming.
Philsi and I had the plan to participate in any serious pre-Gibraltar move. My first ‘sitting in a move’ was a lemming but Philsi with two others soon took off and disappeared out of sight. With no Inverell rider in it and with high winds predicted after the climb the bunch took no notice and instead did a ‘stop for all’ at km 40! Soon after I found myself behind the wheel of a Manning Valley rider who’s utter determination to get into the front group took was a surprise. Together we caught rider after rider … just to find out that they were ladies and we had to continue the slog. At approx km55 we made it and thus formed a group of five.
Come the feed station right at the bottom of the Gibraltar climb (km70). The plan is to take nothing but I find a bidon poked in front of my nose and you can’t refuse an offer from you best friend, can you. But - where is the brain? - don’t use it to shower yourself, offer it to your mate and then find out it is sports drink.
I wanted to be the first on the hill and happily found that my legs were working to perfection. With 3 km to go I could still notch it up and as I approach the line I see car and cars behind me but no rider; what a feeling! Celebration across the line is marred by Ron Peek announcing Parramatta, Parramatta. Oh go home Rony!
Hew was in the bunch behind with James, Simon, Joe and Grant spread out behind. Joe had to battle pretty much all the way alone to the race finish while Grant was plagued with cramps and had to call it quits, but only after Glenn Innes.
It was now not too hot and a light tail wind. At km 105 I get steamrolled by the bunch containing approx 30 riders with Philsi and most of the (Inverell) ‘army’. Our legs were now not in the best of conditions; with Philsi dropped at one point and me just waiting for the legs to grow back. The bunch now whittled down to 18; too many for when your legs do not allow you to attack. Meanwhile in the bunch behind Hew punctured and had to wait long for a wheel. He remounted and finished in a great time:
47 Huw Morgan (Dulwich Hill Black) 44:35 behind the winner
All these Dulwich Hill riders battled on to make it to the finish before closing time:
81 Simon Llewellyn (Dulwich Hill Red) 1:48:03 behind winner
83 Adrian Emilsen (Dulwich Hill Red) 1:50:42
85 James Fowler (Dulwich Hill Black) 1:52:35
86 Joe Grasso (Dulwich Hill Black) 1:55:02
Before Glenn Innes the Inverell Artillery went into position and we were still not game enough to go with it. Four riders formed a move not to be seen again. When I felt better it was too late. A hurting knee and even dizziness left me at the back of the group as I crossed the line with Philsi a few places ahead:
12 Phil Scheidegger (Dulwich Hill Black) 5:38 behind winner
16 Eugen Schilter (Dulwich Hill Black) 5:39
Hew, Philsi and Eugen thus formed the bid for the Dulwich Hill black team. We missed the third place by 12min in aggregate time but put us firmly in the first half of the results list:
1 Inverell Cycle 'n' Tri Team 2 22:17:14
2 Inverell Cycle 'n' Tri 7:37 behind winner
3 Manning Valley Cycle Club 32:03
4 Dulwich Hill Black 44:36
Everybody was showing the signs of the slug with James certainly leading the way.
In the end a result Dulwich Hill can be proud: Six out of seven riders finishing whereof four for the first time.
The Grafton certainly left the mark on us: Hard labour but memory building and deep satisfaction! Thank you to the support crew. What a weekend!
The seven Dulwich Hill Riders (Grant, James F, Huw, Simon, Joe & myself) reinforced by Phil ‘Philsi’ Scheidegger (Northern Sydney) congregated with the support crew (Alan, Coral, Sharol, Strech & Ron) in the Grafton Hotel.
Out of a total of 180 riders our C grade numbered 120. The news made round that the grading had been done not by the handicapper but by an Inverell local (and a rider too!). No surprise thus we found no Inverell rider in A or B but a solid army of 12 in C grade. Nevertheless unimpressed we were determined to leave our mark on this race as we lined up in red on Saturday morning in pleasant conditions, deep down knowing that maybe the race will leave a mark on us instead.
10km into the race the flatlands around Grafton mutated into the first rolling hills and with it the usual stop and go rhythm reverberated through the bunch and awoke the last rider still daydreaming.
Philsi and I had the plan to participate in any serious pre-Gibraltar move. My first ‘sitting in a move’ was a lemming but Philsi with two others soon took off and disappeared out of sight. With no Inverell rider in it and with high winds predicted after the climb the bunch took no notice and instead did a ‘stop for all’ at km 40! Soon after I found myself behind the wheel of a Manning Valley rider who’s utter determination to get into the front group took was a surprise. Together we caught rider after rider … just to find out that they were ladies and we had to continue the slog. At approx km55 we made it and thus formed a group of five.
Come the feed station right at the bottom of the Gibraltar climb (km70). The plan is to take nothing but I find a bidon poked in front of my nose and you can’t refuse an offer from you best friend, can you. But - where is the brain? - don’t use it to shower yourself, offer it to your mate and then find out it is sports drink.
I wanted to be the first on the hill and happily found that my legs were working to perfection. With 3 km to go I could still notch it up and as I approach the line I see car and cars behind me but no rider; what a feeling! Celebration across the line is marred by Ron Peek announcing Parramatta, Parramatta. Oh go home Rony!
Hew was in the bunch behind with James, Simon, Joe and Grant spread out behind. Joe had to battle pretty much all the way alone to the race finish while Grant was plagued with cramps and had to call it quits, but only after Glenn Innes.
It was now not too hot and a light tail wind. At km 105 I get steamrolled by the bunch containing approx 30 riders with Philsi and most of the (Inverell) ‘army’. Our legs were now not in the best of conditions; with Philsi dropped at one point and me just waiting for the legs to grow back. The bunch now whittled down to 18; too many for when your legs do not allow you to attack. Meanwhile in the bunch behind Hew punctured and had to wait long for a wheel. He remounted and finished in a great time:
47 Huw Morgan (Dulwich Hill Black) 44:35 behind the winner
All these Dulwich Hill riders battled on to make it to the finish before closing time:
81 Simon Llewellyn (Dulwich Hill Red) 1:48:03 behind winner
83 Adrian Emilsen (Dulwich Hill Red) 1:50:42
85 James Fowler (Dulwich Hill Black) 1:52:35
86 Joe Grasso (Dulwich Hill Black) 1:55:02
Before Glenn Innes the Inverell Artillery went into position and we were still not game enough to go with it. Four riders formed a move not to be seen again. When I felt better it was too late. A hurting knee and even dizziness left me at the back of the group as I crossed the line with Philsi a few places ahead:
12 Phil Scheidegger (Dulwich Hill Black) 5:38 behind winner
16 Eugen Schilter (Dulwich Hill Black) 5:39
Hew, Philsi and Eugen thus formed the bid for the Dulwich Hill black team. We missed the third place by 12min in aggregate time but put us firmly in the first half of the results list:
1 Inverell Cycle 'n' Tri Team 2 22:17:14
2 Inverell Cycle 'n' Tri 7:37 behind winner
3 Manning Valley Cycle Club 32:03
4 Dulwich Hill Black 44:36
Everybody was showing the signs of the slug with James certainly leading the way.
In the end a result Dulwich Hill can be proud: Six out of seven riders finishing whereof four for the first time.
The Grafton certainly left the mark on us: Hard labour but memory building and deep satisfaction! Thank you to the support crew. What a weekend!
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Eugen Schilter
- Posts: 120
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 20:05
- Location: Eastwood
- Contact:
Gill to be added to my reported list of DH supporters. My apology Gill!
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mikesbytes
- Posts: 6991
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 13:48
- Location: Tempe
- Contact:
Excellent riding guys.
Huw, how much did getting a flat cost you?
Huw, how much did getting a flat cost you?
Looks like it cost me about 6'30''.
When the front tyre blew out, I was in the 2nd/3rd group, which eventually arrived +38' (Graham Norris, Mick Patton, Michael Sparke et al.). In the case that I finished in this group, still wouldn't have made up the time to take Dulwich Hill Black to 3rd in teams.
When the front tyre blew out, I was in the 2nd/3rd group, which eventually arrived +38' (Graham Norris, Mick Patton, Michael Sparke et al.). In the case that I finished in this group, still wouldn't have made up the time to take Dulwich Hill Black to 3rd in teams.
OK Simon, its probably the closest you will ever get to experiencing childbirth.......Guys that was a great bike race... I swore after the race that would be the last time I would ever ride it. Then a few hours later it became I definitely would not ride it next year. Now two days on I"m contemplating if I do it next year, what I will change to do better...
Hopefully we can try and knock those Inverell guys off the podium next year.
Just a little to add. 10kms before Gibralter i made an "accidental" move off the front of the bunch with one other rider. We caught one other guy after a short while, but he was obviously a bit stronger and kept surging up the rises, and my legs were not performing to perfection. Once i hit Gibralter i tried to get into a a good rythym, but found i didn't have it, and as i went up i gradually got slower and slower. So, the bunch passed me including Huw. At 100km the little niggling cramps began, luckily not too bad, but it took a while for my legs to refill with energy, leaving Simon and Joe to pass me, and then i joined up with Adrian further on, before finding Simon again to give us all the motivation to get through the headwind to the finishline.
Anyway, it was great to finally finish, and have such a good turnout for the club.
......I just wonder when my legs will regain some energy
.......
Just a little to add. 10kms before Gibralter i made an "accidental" move off the front of the bunch with one other rider. We caught one other guy after a short while, but he was obviously a bit stronger and kept surging up the rises, and my legs were not performing to perfection. Once i hit Gibralter i tried to get into a a good rythym, but found i didn't have it, and as i went up i gradually got slower and slower. So, the bunch passed me including Huw. At 100km the little niggling cramps began, luckily not too bad, but it took a while for my legs to refill with energy, leaving Simon and Joe to pass me, and then i joined up with Adrian further on, before finding Simon again to give us all the motivation to get through the headwind to the finishline.
Anyway, it was great to finally finish, and have such a good turnout for the club.
......I just wonder when my legs will regain some energy
.......-
Simon Llewellyn
- Posts: 1532
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 22:31
- Location: Tempe Velodrome
here's some images...
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2824.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2898.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2913.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2917.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2934.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2935.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2824.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2898.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2913.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2917.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2934.html
http://www.cyclingimagesonline.com/albu ... _2935.html
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Grant Bond
- Posts: 113
- Joined: 14 Mar 2007, 21:28
My Grafton
By now you have heard the stories of many of the others and now its my turn to share my personal version of the beautiful race that is “The Grafton to Inverell”. As a "DNF" i wasnt even sure that my story should be here. Its been hard to capture the experience in so few words.
Prelude
For those of you that are new to this bike racing caper it is difficult to understand what finishing a “Grafton” means to bike riders, three years ago I thought it was just another bike race, but after sitting enchanted for hours listening to Ron and Al speak in hushed tones about riders who had “done a Grafton” I realised it was something special and thought I might give it a go
When I put my money on the line and entered the race I didn’t really understand what it was all about, but I signed on the line,went off and trained consistently for two months organized some time off work…and got myself to Grafton by mid afternoon on Friday ready to check in to the team hotel and catch up with the rest of the Dulwich Hill mob.
We started unpacking the car…bags out first, then wheels, then Gills bike then mine and then disaster…my bike had a broken deraillieur hanger, At 3pm on a Friday afternoon in Grafton this was not good news…we did a quick chase around of every bike shop in town but to no avail…Al offered me his bike and then I realised I had a solution sitting right in front of me…Gills bike had the same top tube length so with some changing over of components I could be back in the saddle.
After two hours of wrench work and a little bit of swearing and cursing all was well,we had a functional bike that had all the components that I needed and a nice set of white handlebar tape.
I took it for a quick spin around town before dark and then collected my number and made some final adjustments before heading off to the RSL for some lovely prawns entwined in pasta and sharing of pre race nerves with the guys.
We went back to the team hotel, prepared our musettes and drifted of to sleep to the dulcet tones of the local cover band. In all reality I didn’t sleep so well…the nervous energy kept me awake most of the night- note to self (learn to relax before races).
Race Day
I woke up at about 5:30am, ate a good breakfast, wished everybody good luck, stretched and then at 7:30 C Grade rolled out of Grafton, 7 DHBC riders and 1 Ring In (Phil) It was beautiful sitting in a bunch of 130 odd riders, watching the colourful parade as the bunch wove and twisted its way in the neutral zone, the sun shone, the wind was at our backs and we were all happy. There was a bit of nervousness in the bunch, but soon things settled down.
I was dropped with a group of 20 or so including Adrian and Joe at the first decent climb, we worked our way back on to the main field but had given too much and only managed to be spat out the back again on the next climb.
I ended up in a group of 4 or 5 sitting about 1k off the back of the race caravan by the first feed station. I jettisioned my bidons , grabbed a fresh water and then it was time to attack the Gibralta range, 17k of climbing with no relief, I found a reasonable rythym that wasn’t going to blow me up and climbed for and hour and a half or so. This was one part of the race that I rode to plan…I stayed within my limits and just kept pushing on.
I got to the top of the climb, descended for a mile or so and , tried to eat and get my energy back, but I was in trouble. My legs felt OK but I just couldn’t get enough energy to them to get going again.
I struggled onwards and upwards, wondering if the hills would ever end? In a lighter moment one wry old bloke asked me whether they imported hills from other districts for this race.
Onwards I struggled, past the water stop and feed station two and out into the wind on the Plateau.
I kept climbing, pushing on, focusing on trying to finish, I was traveling at 22kph into the wind and realised that I wasn’t going to make the time limit. The mind started to wander and doubt, nothing I could do could get my legs going, I couldn’t even outsprint the magpie attacks!
The last 20km into Glenn Innes took over an hour, after a navigational error in Glenn Innes I was isolated and alone, on the wrong road. I sat on the side of the road, and for the first time understood utter exhaustion, I was desperately unhappy and had used everything my body had to give, at that point in time I realised that my race was over. The mind was willing but I just couldn’t go on.
I scraped myself back together and rolled up to Feed Station 3, apologised to Gill and Ron for not being able to continue, and hopped into the waiting sag wagon, I sat with my heat in my hands for the next hour on the road.... The great race had beaten me this year.
At the finish line I was inconsolable, it was the hardest thing in the world to sit at dinner and be the only guy at the table that hadn’t finished the race..I just felt so empty, all that effort for so little. I talked to James about it and he just said “I know mate- I felt it last year”. On Saturday night I felt like I never wanted to see a bike again...I just wanted to disappear into the night and be alone with my thoughts...
Somewhere in the early hours of Sunday morning I realised that to hang up my cycling shoes would be to let this thing beat me…I couldn’t allow this to be the case. Finishing this race now means so much to me...its hard...maybe one of the hardest things you can do in cycling...but thats what makes it so special. I think i have started to understand what Al means when he tells those beautiful stories about Graftons of the past.
To all the guys that finished congratulations...you have my utmost respect as bike riders and as men.
I would also like to thank everybody that was there to support us, Al and Coral, Stretch and Cheryl, Gill and Ron...you are such an important part of helping us riders, i think i represent everybody when I say none of us could have done what we did without you.
I will be back next year, intensely focused, fitter and stronger, motivated by the thought of never wanting to let a bike race make me feel like that again.
I hope you can all be there with me.
By now you have heard the stories of many of the others and now its my turn to share my personal version of the beautiful race that is “The Grafton to Inverell”. As a "DNF" i wasnt even sure that my story should be here. Its been hard to capture the experience in so few words.
Prelude
For those of you that are new to this bike racing caper it is difficult to understand what finishing a “Grafton” means to bike riders, three years ago I thought it was just another bike race, but after sitting enchanted for hours listening to Ron and Al speak in hushed tones about riders who had “done a Grafton” I realised it was something special and thought I might give it a go
When I put my money on the line and entered the race I didn’t really understand what it was all about, but I signed on the line,went off and trained consistently for two months organized some time off work…and got myself to Grafton by mid afternoon on Friday ready to check in to the team hotel and catch up with the rest of the Dulwich Hill mob.
We started unpacking the car…bags out first, then wheels, then Gills bike then mine and then disaster…my bike had a broken deraillieur hanger, At 3pm on a Friday afternoon in Grafton this was not good news…we did a quick chase around of every bike shop in town but to no avail…Al offered me his bike and then I realised I had a solution sitting right in front of me…Gills bike had the same top tube length so with some changing over of components I could be back in the saddle.
After two hours of wrench work and a little bit of swearing and cursing all was well,we had a functional bike that had all the components that I needed and a nice set of white handlebar tape.
I took it for a quick spin around town before dark and then collected my number and made some final adjustments before heading off to the RSL for some lovely prawns entwined in pasta and sharing of pre race nerves with the guys.
We went back to the team hotel, prepared our musettes and drifted of to sleep to the dulcet tones of the local cover band. In all reality I didn’t sleep so well…the nervous energy kept me awake most of the night- note to self (learn to relax before races).
Race Day
I woke up at about 5:30am, ate a good breakfast, wished everybody good luck, stretched and then at 7:30 C Grade rolled out of Grafton, 7 DHBC riders and 1 Ring In (Phil) It was beautiful sitting in a bunch of 130 odd riders, watching the colourful parade as the bunch wove and twisted its way in the neutral zone, the sun shone, the wind was at our backs and we were all happy. There was a bit of nervousness in the bunch, but soon things settled down.
I was dropped with a group of 20 or so including Adrian and Joe at the first decent climb, we worked our way back on to the main field but had given too much and only managed to be spat out the back again on the next climb.
I ended up in a group of 4 or 5 sitting about 1k off the back of the race caravan by the first feed station. I jettisioned my bidons , grabbed a fresh water and then it was time to attack the Gibralta range, 17k of climbing with no relief, I found a reasonable rythym that wasn’t going to blow me up and climbed for and hour and a half or so. This was one part of the race that I rode to plan…I stayed within my limits and just kept pushing on.
I got to the top of the climb, descended for a mile or so and , tried to eat and get my energy back, but I was in trouble. My legs felt OK but I just couldn’t get enough energy to them to get going again.
I struggled onwards and upwards, wondering if the hills would ever end? In a lighter moment one wry old bloke asked me whether they imported hills from other districts for this race.
Onwards I struggled, past the water stop and feed station two and out into the wind on the Plateau.
I kept climbing, pushing on, focusing on trying to finish, I was traveling at 22kph into the wind and realised that I wasn’t going to make the time limit. The mind started to wander and doubt, nothing I could do could get my legs going, I couldn’t even outsprint the magpie attacks!
The last 20km into Glenn Innes took over an hour, after a navigational error in Glenn Innes I was isolated and alone, on the wrong road. I sat on the side of the road, and for the first time understood utter exhaustion, I was desperately unhappy and had used everything my body had to give, at that point in time I realised that my race was over. The mind was willing but I just couldn’t go on.
I scraped myself back together and rolled up to Feed Station 3, apologised to Gill and Ron for not being able to continue, and hopped into the waiting sag wagon, I sat with my heat in my hands for the next hour on the road.... The great race had beaten me this year.
At the finish line I was inconsolable, it was the hardest thing in the world to sit at dinner and be the only guy at the table that hadn’t finished the race..I just felt so empty, all that effort for so little. I talked to James about it and he just said “I know mate- I felt it last year”. On Saturday night I felt like I never wanted to see a bike again...I just wanted to disappear into the night and be alone with my thoughts...
Somewhere in the early hours of Sunday morning I realised that to hang up my cycling shoes would be to let this thing beat me…I couldn’t allow this to be the case. Finishing this race now means so much to me...its hard...maybe one of the hardest things you can do in cycling...but thats what makes it so special. I think i have started to understand what Al means when he tells those beautiful stories about Graftons of the past.
To all the guys that finished congratulations...you have my utmost respect as bike riders and as men.
I would also like to thank everybody that was there to support us, Al and Coral, Stretch and Cheryl, Gill and Ron...you are such an important part of helping us riders, i think i represent everybody when I say none of us could have done what we did without you.
I will be back next year, intensely focused, fitter and stronger, motivated by the thought of never wanting to let a bike race make me feel like that again.
I hope you can all be there with me.
Ok, finally got a chance to get the photos. I'll put them on the website when i have a bit more time, but for now you can take a look here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/13985577@N ... 112076734/
Hopefully that's the correct link, just let me know.
Hopefully that's the correct link, just let me know.
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Simon Llewellyn
- Posts: 1532
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 22:31
- Location: Tempe Velodrome
Photos are up onto the main page with my commentary. If anybody wants any of the captions changed just say which one and what you want in replacement.
http://dhbc.org.au/index.php?pr=road9&c ... bum=#album
http://dhbc.org.au/index.php?pr=road9&c ... bum=#album
Unfortunately Huw wasn't in the right place when we took our group photos......
I'll edit some of the captions when i have time. Is there a way to have the photos the correct orientation or do i have to resize to prevent them being side on?
I'll edit some of the captions when i have time. Is there a way to have the photos the correct orientation or do i have to resize to prevent them being side on?
Just rotate them in Photoshop or similar editing programs. Or simply edit the EXIF data associated with the photo.Is there a way to have the photos the correct orientation or do i have to resize to prevent them being side on?
Phil and I were standing in the sun, but we came over just after this. Who was the random guy who took our group photo when Phil and I got there? How do we get pictures from him?
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mikesbytes
- Posts: 6991
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 13:48
- Location: Tempe
- Contact:
Is there a bigger version?Here's a great team photo courtesy of Brian Crawford on the Cycling NSW site.
FYI: I found some photos of the race
See: http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/p895884687/recent.atom
Theres individual photos of Eugene, Grant, James and myself and a whole lot of nice photos from the day.
See: http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/p895884687/recent.atom
Theres individual photos of Eugene, Grant, James and myself and a whole lot of nice photos from the day.
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mikesbytes
- Posts: 6991
- Joined: 13 Nov 2006, 13:48
- Location: Tempe
- Contact:
Excellent photos
Also Huw in the background of this one
Also Huw in the background of this one
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Grant Bond
- Posts: 113
- Joined: 14 Mar 2007, 21:28
Great Shots- just looking at that photo reminds me of a whole world of pain...as i recall they were taken pretty late on the Gibratar ...i was really over the whole climbing thing by then. It shows on my face!
You saw the camera in the distance and you stood up... That's your reflex isn't it?My photo doesn't show what was going on up Gibralter, must have got me in a good patch, not that i remember having any.
Admit it, it's your paparazzi reflex!I usually ignore the cameras when i'm stuffed, because i just don't care anymore. I could have just been trying to get a tiny bit more speed into the bike, just hoping it would all be over quicker.
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