The initial call was for 16 riders to escort 8 wheelie entrants for the event. Well before our 6:45 meeting time, quite a number of us have already gathered at the footsteps of Sydney Harbour Br cycleway. Fluoro vests and whistles were handed out to all in preparation for our duties. As the 7:10 official start time approached, we could only see four competitors getting ready on the start line, including multi-Paralympic gold medalist and intending Kokoda trail "crawler" Kurt Fearnley. And then it was the start and utter chaos as most of us weren't formally assigned to any of the competitors. With the uphill start and within the first 15s, there were already three groups with Fearnley flying up the hill, 2nd and 3rd formed the next group and then the 4th. Being caught out in between and seeing excess number of riders with the later groups, I charged up the hill to join the first and the right hander onto SHB.
The first view of SHB from the top of Milson's Point turn off gave a taste of what's to come for the next two and a half hours on the bike... Car free with police motorbike escort all the way! The whole bridge was cleared of cars and we had a free run down the hill and flying across the lanes, dead heading for Cahill Expressway turn off. Pointing to road irregularities, holes, selecting the best surface and warning corner conditions for the wheelies became our robotic action. Meanwhile just think, how often can a bunch of two wheeler cyclists take over the whole of SHB? I am still smiling!
With the large time gap and damage done, the race turned into a steady "push" by Fearnley to sustain his lead. With four riders surrounding him and judging by the chats exchanged, he didn't sound too stressed and even gave a few laughs along the way. Going up Macquarie, Oxford Sts and Anzac Pde, we were able to pick the smoothest lane. A quick loop in Centennial Park and then back out for some there and back loops on the main roads around there gave us the first indication of the lead Fearnley had, around 6 minutes at the 15km mark! On the flat of Anzac Pde, the man was cruising at 25-27km/h and hardly out of breath, all through his upper arm strength. I avoided the temptation to translate that to wattage as it'll likely to put my legs to shame. At this point, a radio warning came across to our bunch leader Marty, reporting a large area of glass at the corner of Pitt/Park Sts. I was promptly sent back to warn the later groups and 6 minutes was a long wait. Eventually, I looped back to the Tyler Byer's group (eventual silver) for the rest of the way.
Along the way, cheers were heard from both spectators as well as runners coming in the other direction. Of course, us escorting cyclists were also trying to be helpful. It was interesting to watch these racing wheelchairs, or triwheelers for a better term. The CF Zipp wheels shod with singles were making that characteristic woody and hollowish noise along the way, accentuated by the coarse road surfaces of Sydney. Despite their lowish position, these three wheelers were not stable. A big bump or a sharp corner can easily see them hop up or roll. It was our duty to call upcoming road condition well in advance and upcoming corners while they buried their heads. At the same time, these athletes were super agile with their 6kg rides using their incredible upper body strength. The sight of sweat flying off their helmets in a continuous stream as they quietly climbed that long City West Link hill towards Norton St gave me profound respect for these wheelie marathoners. This is more Grafton-Invarell material than a Fasties RNP ride!
The climb back to the Western Distributor from Pyrmont St, Darling Harbour was the last climb. A down hill run towards Sussex St turn off and the subsequent smooth run on Hickson Rd brought a smile to Byer, remaining in 2nd position with a 2 mins lead. The home straight is in sight! Just before hopping on the boardwalk in front of Park Hyatt Hotel and make the swing around Circular Quay for the finish, I was called aside with fellow rider Naomi for the next duty, which was to wait for the abled marathon leader and assist with path clearing duties around Circular Quay. We waited under a lovely windless Sydney spring day chatting our exciting experiences of the last two hours until the first sight of the timing car swinging into view. Then it was back on the bike, whistles at top pitch as we made our way across the finish line at Opera House. The able bodied marathon was won by Kenya's Julius Seurei by a large margin. We watched him cross the line with a huge beaming smile behind all the press photographers.
The 30+k crowd at the Opera House precinct made for a long walk to the debrief area in road shoes. GeoffS and MarianL foresaw the problem and had MTB styled shoes. We didn't wait for the award presentation and after a brief good bye to our charges till next year (?), we proceeded to Bar Coluzzi in Darlinghurst for a post ride refuel before the home ride. It was certainly a very rewarding and satisfying ride. Despite the modest 60 odd km for a Sunday, it was an experience that I would not pass on.
Anyway, above was from my perspective and I'll leave GeoffS and MarianL to report their as I understand that they also had some "fun". Hopefully they'll be able to supplement some photos from Marian's camera and the video taken by Marty.
PS. I would never do that 42-odd km course by foot... It's murder! Much more pleasure on a nice pedal bike.
http://www.sydneymarathon.org/
