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Race to the Rock

#adelaide #uluru #ayersrock #2.300kms #self-supported #gravel

By BIKEPACKING.BE

August 27^th, 2016

Some people ask about the race, others about the bike and kit I take with me … and yes, you can track me every minute of the day. On this page you can find everything you want to know.

Maybe I’ll add more information to this page in the next coming days.

Write your story here. (Optional)

The challenge

Australia … never been there, so from the moment I read Jesse’s crazy idea on Facebook to organise a race from Adelaide in the south of Australia right to the centre, to one of Australia’s biggest landmarks Uluru / Ayers Rock … I knew this would be 2017’s main challenge.

The course is challenging, from Adelaide through the Barossa valley, on to the Mawson Trail through Flinders Ranges, entering desert and the Oodnadatta track, where it will become quite challenging to find water and food. Finish at Uluru / Ayers Rock (that’s why it’s called Race to the Rock ;-) ).

Total distance = 2.300 kms offroad, mostly gravel, … in dust we trust !

It will be a bit like Tour Divide and the Arizona Trail Race, more or less. It’s offroad, mainly gravel like Tour Divide, not hike-a-bike through a (Grand) canyon like AZT … Wilderness, solitude, food/water challenge … very different than the Supermarket-race (aka Transcontinental Race). Every challenge is different, one is not harder than the other, it’s different, the preparation is different, …

LIVE TRACKING —— http://racetotherock2016.maprogress.com/#

Follow me from behind your screen (you lazy b*’s)
Instagram pics: https://www.instagram.com/bikepacking.be/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guntherds (If you don’t ride a bike, not much chance to become my FB-friend :-) , but there’s still a Follow button)

Race to the Rock Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RaceToTheRock
Race to the Rock information: https://www.curvecycling.com.au/pages/2016-race-to-the-rock
Race to the Rock pictures on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/racetotherock/

THX!

Many thanks to a number of people:

- Robbert & Hajo of Santos Bikes (http://santosbikes.com/) for the fantastic Santos CrossLite, great bike!

- James from Le Col (https://lecol.net/) for the comfortable cycling clothes, my butt thanks you!

- Sebastien, the executioner of Progress Training Centrum (http://www.progresscentrum.be/), for the core stability exercises.

- Lorenz, my physiotherapist, for bringing my shoulder and arm back into shape, and his great sense of humour (het begint met de letter D, en ‘t hangt aan de muur … d’orloge …)

The Rules

Riders must act in the spirit of self-sufficiency and equal opportunity for all racers. For those interested in treating this as a race against the clock, the following rules apply:
1. Ride the full route. > This means that any deviation from the route not due to road closures will exclude you from the General Classification. No exceptions. Navigation is part of the challenge. > It is fine to go off course to resupply and of course also for emergency reasons (mechanical or medical). Riders must return to the exact point of departure from the route to recommence their ride and not miss a millimetre of the race route.
2. No drafting. > If riding with someone else you will be expected to ride side-by-side. > Recognise that riding in a group, even when not drafting, is significantly easier than riding solo. Riders will be asked to declare the extent of group riding after the event and this data may accompany the final results.
3. Accept no help that others couldn‘t also receive along the way. > This means no support from team cars, friends or family. Serendipitous support offered unexpectedly by race fans along the route can be accepted within reason. Encounters with “trail angels“ add to the experience of these events! Each rider will have to live with their own decisions in this regard (accepting some water is fine, but do not accept private lodging). > Using any form of social media to broadcast requests for help is forbidden. Sure, by all means contact commercial services through whatever channel you like but having your social networks help you while in the field is not in the spirit of self-sufficiency.

the route

The first part of the race passes the Barossa valley, according to the track we still pass quite some villages and resupply points. Once we get to Flinders Rangers, things become more difficult. And it becomes a real challenge in the 2nd part of the race, on the Oodnadatta track, with a few 250-300kms without any resupply point.
The Pink Roadhouse in Oodnadatta will be relief….

The mawson trail

Wikipedia: The Mawson Trail is a long-distance cycling trail in South Australia starting just east of Adelaide in the Adelaide Hills and extending almost 900 kilometres to Blinman in the Flinders Ranges. It is suitable for mountain bikes.

The oodnadatta track

The Oodnadatta Track, Australia is an unsealed 617 km outback road between Marree and Marla via Oodnadatta in South Australia.

Solo

It will certainly be different than all the previous challenges. I started bikepacking (races) in 2007 with Tim, Naturaid Morocco, Trentino, Sardegnia, organised 2 challenges ourselves in Morocco, Greece, the 4.500 long Tour Divide, the Highland Trail, the gruelling Arizona Trail Race last year … apart from the Transcontinental Race (2014, from London to Istanbul … yes, sometimes I’m an asphalt junkie), we did everything together, or at least we went together to the start.
This also meant that the whole preparation I did mostly solo, and to keep motivation high you sometimes have to do and plan crazy stuff, like visiting all the Belfries or crossing France in one go, on a single speed bike.
I will certainly miss Tim … because he’s the smartest of us 2 when it comes to tactics :-)

If you wanna go fast, go alone.
If you wanna go far, go together.

STICK TO PLAN A, BECAUSE THERE IS NO PLAN B.

Some advice from Jesse, the guy behind the race:

I‘ve been watching the major bikepacking events this year. As always loads of riders quit. That‘s the beauty of Race to the Rock… There are no fail-safe quitting options north of Leigh Creek / Copley (from Copley a bus can take you back to Adelaide). North of this point there is no public transport, there are no towns on train lines and no towns with commercial air services. If you decide to have a sore leg, choose to dehydrate yourself, or decide to cook yourself in some other creative way, think hard about doing it before you reach this point otherwise you‘ll need to hitch your way out of trouble. ‪#‎racetotherock‬

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Gear

I’m using a different bike than in AZT (https://guntherds.exposure.co/the-setup-for-azt750), of course it’s still a Santos and it’s still a Rohloff, but this one has a more relaxed geometry.
Some parts of the track are quite challenging when it comes to water and food, therefore I’ve chosen a setup than can easily expand. Some fixed water bottles on the bike, but also 3 bladders when it’s getting really hot. So I can easily scale from 1,5 liter to 8 liters.
No, I don’t use a saddlebag, yes, I use a carrier, this gives me all the flexiblity for food and water I need.

Plan for what you need, not for what might go wrong.

Bike

- Santos CrossLite with Rohloff hub, SRAM DoubleTap shifters, Gebla box and Gates belt drive - http://santosbikes.com/assortiment/lite-serie/cross-lite

- ENVE MTN Fork + SON Hub
- Tri bars and water bottle holder
- Carrier

Bags: Apidura frame bag + Alpkit Airlok drybags - 1 * 5L front + 1 * 13L back + Topeak Fuel tank + 2 * bottle pouches

Cycling clothes: HTTPS://LECOL.NET/
Basic kit: bib short - summer cycling shirt - summer socks - short sleeve thermal shirt - windstopper jacket - arm warmers - sun glasses - helmet - cycling shoes
Spare kit, for cold & rain: long sleeve thermal shirt - merino socks - neckie/buff - shirt - knee warmers - rain jacket

Hygiene: toothbrush & toothpaste - sun cream - painkillers 1gram (an endurance cyclists best friend) - anti-diarrhea drugs - butt cream (aka chamois cream) - daktakort (skin recovery cream) - patch when saddle sore gets really bad …

Camping??? No, bivvying!
Quecha light sleeping bag - SOL Escape bivvy - foam cut to the size of my back - boxer short - RAB down jacket

Booze
3 * 750ml bidons, one on top between the tri-bars, two on the side in a pouch -
3 * 2L bladders - gives me the freedom to put them away when not needed (almost no weight), and to fill them when needed, they fit in frame bag and rear drybag.
Saltstick minerals

Spare parts: 2 inner tubes + patches + zip ties + ducktape - Crank Brothers multi tool - Lezyne pump & tire levers

Lights & charging:
Exposure Revo front light connected to SON hub
Rear Knog light
Sinewave USB charger - connected to SON hub
External battery
USB cables

Electronics:
Garmin Edge 705 - Sony Cybershot camera & charger - Samsung S4 mobile phone Etc …

Etc …
Printed route maps + personal notes on routing/gas stations / hotels & motels
Passport - Credit cards - Money

And of course … my legs :-)

Preparation rides

I’ve done my miles this year … except for the DuoDiagonaal (a team race from Virton to Ostend in April … during the night) I’ve done all my K’s singlespeed or MTB-geared. Since my Transcontinental crash last year with the road bike, I’ve found pleasure in riding singlespeed.

“I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft. Come on, fellows. “- Henri Desgrange

I visited all 56 belfries in Belgium and France, and the one wanna-be belfry in Sluis.

That was a preperation for a 1.000kms singlespeed race from Vezelay (France) -> Clermont Ferrand -> Montpellier -> Perpignan -> La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona). A good preperation, 4th place GC, 1st place SS.

And then I went for a Mont Chaberton visit in Italy, started in Luxembourg, on the brand new Santos CrossLite MTB … the TGV-F*’s didn’t let me on their train with the bike, so I crossed the Telegraph and Galibier and went home again. Still, 850kms in 2,5 days on the “dikbander”.

3 weeks ago, I had the crazy idea to ride one of the 9 Diagonales, from Hendaye to Dunkerque. But some muscle problems forced me to quit. Damn, only 500k’s io 1050.

Last week, Paris-Roubaix as a closure. The gravel was replaced by cobbles …

I trained harder (singlespeed, lower hart rate, more K’s than previous challenges) but smarter. More K’s at the same moment than other years, of which 75% singlespeed , … and race season still has to start … ;-)

I’m ready.
The body is ready.
The mind is ready.

It‘s just a matter of stampen and blijven stampen, until you see a rock appearing on the horizon. Life can be that simple :-)

I'm ready

ust finished my last preparation ride for the Race to the Rock next week in Australia. A chillaxing ride. More k‘s than previous years at the same moment and race season still has to start, better pace, 75% singlespeed, lost 11kg of trappisten-fat,… And a ‘Stick to plan A because there‘ ‘s no plan B‘ mindset. I‘m ready.