Terra Australis mtb race

April 5th, 2009

Terra Australis is an epic seven-day Mountain Bike journey [ Modeled of the Trans Rockies in Canada ] . An unforgettable adventure that will take us from the heights of Victoria’s Alpine Resorts, through historic high country villages.  Teams of amateur and pro riders will pedal their way across the rooftop of Victoria and into the luscious alpine valley’s of North East Victoria. It will be a true test of our physical endurance and mental resolve but the sense of personal achievement will last a lifetime. 600 km’s…..7 days….. 15,000+ mts of ascent later we will celebrate our own personal victory in TERRA AUSTRALIS 2009.
Peter Hepworth and Bryce Young are taking on Terra Australis on March 29th 2009. 600km of mountain biking as a team of two. Point to point racing over some of the toughest trails in Austraila.

Here’s our story

Well  we finished the Terra Australis Great Southern Land Mountain Bike race. 550km [amended to 570km!} over some of the most demanding riding you will find any where in the world.[ quote from Olympian Dan McConnell and world age group champ Kerry Ryan].
Bryce and myself finished in 38 hours in 13th overall and 7th in the Open category .Going into the event I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was a little disappointed that only 70 people had entered. But by the end of the week the realisation that we were going to achieve some thing great was overwhelming.

The friendships made and the respect for the other competitors made the event even more special.
Over the coming days we will post our thoughts and experiences of this amazing race.
A big thanks to event organisers Finish line Events for putting on a world class race. thanks to Clayton and wife Kylie for helping us with everything we needed.
In the meantime check out our photos on the Gallery page.

” It is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves”-Sir Edmund Hillary

Peter’s Race review.
Terra Australis

Rego Day
Driving out of Melbourne, heading for an adventure of a lifetime was certainly enough to get the nerves tingling. We drove to Beechworth where we left our car for the week, so we didn’t have to get it at the end of the 7-day epic ride. There we were meet by Bruce, a local who had volunteered his time to help out at the event. We went via Albury airport to collect other riders then on to Falls Creek Alpine village. Once arriving and seeing the other competitors, both Bryce and I new we were in for something special.
We shared a lodge with other teams including Legend Veteran rider and Event ambassador Kerry Ryan. We were to find out during the week that age has no barriers in cycling as this 60 plus rider showed up most of the field with his cycling abilities.
We registered and meet all other competitors at the race briefing. We received our competitor numbers and show bags. Back at the lodge we got our bikes ready and then prepared meals for the next two days.

Day One 79km [92km] Elevation Gain 2550m  6hrs 44min
Race day came around very quickly. We started the first stage in the village bowl and as soon as the gun went to start the race, the pace was on. Once out of the village we climbed up to Mt McKay and I noticed that my heart rate was in the high 170s. With a week of racing ahead I told Bryce that I wanted to ride my pace and we soon dropped of the back of the main pack. The altitude certainly had something to how bad I felt in that first hour. All I could think about was what a long week it was going to be.
We soon had a fast but rocky decent where we saw the first of what was many punctures for the day. After a road climb back to Falls it was of to Rocky Valley Dam an out to the High plains and Mt Bogong. With some very tough descents that had us wondering what we had got our selves into, we finally came to the 2nd drink station at Lake guy at Bogong Village. A much need refill and stretch of the bike. My whole upper body was numb after going hard on the rutted firetails. The staff at the drink stops made our week as they all had a smile and a joke and of course some great food. We then had to climb over Big Hill via Springs saddle, this caught a lot of riders buy surprise as the stage was going to be some 12km longer than advertised and this last climb took us over 80min to get over. Thankfully the decent into Mt Beauty almost made up for all the climbing. Some nice single track to finish the stage with.  The stage took 6 hours. A short drive up to falls to start cleaning our bikes, cooking our dinner and swapping stories with our roommates about the days adventures.
Day 2    Falls creek to Dinner plain 96km [102km] 2112m elevation. 7hrs 15min
Waking up at 4am and not going back to sleep with so much excitement, was how I started day two. This stage was super fast over the first 40km. In fact this took just over two hours. The last 50 km of this ride took us over 5 hours. I was felling the effects of the day before but was loving the Aqueduct tracks around Falls. This stage had lots of different terrain. 4 river crossings and some amazing views of the Bundarra Valley. True “Man from Snowy River Country”. We started the last climb up to Dinner Plain, which really saw me hit the wall at the 70km mark. For the next 10km I really question what I was doing there. With my teammate climbing with ease I was dragging my bum up the climbs. 10km to go, I managed to regroup with help of eating and drinking more. The last bit of the climb to the village was tough as the air was noticeably thinner and also getting cold. I will never forget the sight of the first cabin at Dinner Plain; I thought I was seeing thinks. To cross the line was very satisfying. Not much time to rejoice in our achievemts as it was off to wash our bikes and organise our accommodation. And of course cook dinner. The night’s presentation set up a week of nightly stand up routines hosted by race organiser Clayton. The highlight was interviewing the 3 person teams. The “foot Specialist from Wangarta ” said that they came to do a “ride” but realised that after stage two there was only minutes separating the top 3 teams so now it had become a “RACE!!!.
Consumption for day 2,  3.5 litres of water, 2.5 l of sports drink, 2 bananas, 1 sandwich, 4 Energy bars, 5 gels , lollies, .5 orange.
Again this stage was longer than advertised and was very hot for most of the day. Tired but satisfied to get through to fight another day.

Day 3    Dinner Plain Via Mt Hotham to Bright. 72km Elevation  1219m  4hrs 9min
After a bad night sleep due to the alarm in the real estate building below us going off all night. A cold start and a controlled start for the fist few Kms. We rode to Mt Hotham and started one of the best one day rides you could possibly do. The decent down the valley was amazing, with 12 river crossings and some fast flowing 4wd tracks. BY had his only puncture for the week. The stage finished with some flowing single track into Bright. Back to the Caravan park to do our washing, clean our bikes and some much needed food. Our routine had been set and we got all our jobs done so we could relax. We were wondering what it would be like to have a support crew……

Day 4     Bright - Mt Buffalo-Bright  116km  Elevation 3206m -7hrs 51min
The longest day of the Epic. A 10km controlled start out of Bright was a nice way to get the legs moving for the longest stage of this race. After the first two days being longer than advertised we all hoped the numbers were going to add up. By and I had a simple plan, to eat heaps and go at our own pace. We stopped at Buffalo Lake for a sandwich at 12pm .We both felt that we needed, as much fuel as possible and that only 2 drink stations were not enough. As we stretched and ate our “little Solders” 3 teams speed past. Not much fun watching teams speed of, as you are stationary. The first feed zone was very busy and By and I tagged along at the back of a few teams as we headed out to climb Mt Buffalo. This was a tough climb that saw lots of teams walk. I was determined to ride the whole way, and even doing 5km per hour I didn’t get of the bike. The extra food felt like it was working, as I was feeling stronger as the day went on. BY was even starting to feel it, which made me happy to know both of us were at our limits. The last feed zone was also a welcome sight. We caught up with the fast Veterans of Hans and Kerry who had had a mechanical problem with Kerry’s brakes. Not a good thing considering what we had just came down. Later it was explained that Kerry’s pads had worn out completely! This was the only day that we would get some time on the old bastards!
The last climb was a beauty and really hurt me. We made the top with a few teams around us. I was still feeling good and decided to give the decent a real crack. The last hour was mostly fast down hill and I really enjoyed the thrill of heading to the finish of my longest MTB ride. We had put about 8 min into the teams we went over the top of the last climb with, but this was to prove fruitless as the next day the “fuel tanks” were empty.
Back at our cabin it was time for washing and a swim and spa! Very nice. Then off for our booked massage in Bright. There wasn’t a part of me that didn’t hurt. After the rub we headed to presentation, which was again a highlight with numerous stories of the days fun. By and I realised that we hadn’t eaten anything and it was close to 9.30 when we started cooking dinner. Not ideal way to prepare for the next day. I was on such a high from the day’s ride I didn’t eat or drink enough that afternoon. In bed by 11.30pm feeling very tired!

Day 5      Bright-Harrietville -Wandiligong-Bright Elevation 2295- 80km  6hr 49min
This day ended up being the toughest day for me. The course was changed to accommodate the Burnt tracks of the Beechworth fires. We climbed for the first 3 hours. I really struggled to find any rhythm and also had my second flat tyre for the week. The climb out of Harrietville up the Ovens Valley totally broke me and even BY offered to carry my bike. Teams around me kept offering friendly advice, but finally over the last big climb I could get some speed back. We lost over 50min to the teams around us on GC. By this stage I could hardly sit on my seat as the last 5 days had taken its toll.
Day 6 Beechworth to Beechworth 49km Elevation 1037 -2hr 44min
Well this day started slowly. I brought a comfy seat from the local bike shop. It took me 30min to get into any comfort. After the first drink stop I really started to fell good. We had our first rain for the week. Still warm so very nice conditions. We caught up to the NSW pair of Jiri and Petr on the last big climb. We had swapped turns all week and now was time to push hard to the finish in Beechworth. I went hard down the descents to try and drop these guys but they hung in and with us pushing each other we pulled back some other teams. With only 3 hours of racing, today felt like a sprint. We went to the Beechworth Brewery to re hydrate and watch a amazing electrical storm….I think we stayed there too long!
We made sure we had lots to eat this day so we had plenty of fuel for the final day.
Day 7 Beechworth to Wangaratta 50km-Elevation 343m   3hr 24
The group decided to ride hard to last drink stop and regroup and ride into the finish all together. They served up Champagne at this stop so made the last 20km interesting . I had to stop to go to the toilet and got dropped from the group. I approached the finish a few minutes back with BY waiting patiently as he had done all week to cross the line together. A major feeling for relief and personal satisfaction.We had a great Presentation night with awsome speeches and great food. Our accommodation was not a highlight of the trip. But what can you expect for $50.00 for a double room. The domestic that happened at 4am next door was also a lowlight, and both BY and I couldn’t wait to get home and see our families. A big thanks to BY for taking up th challange with me. Thanks for riding at my pace and getting me accros the line.
A big thanks to our partners Celine and Becs for letting us indulge ourselves in our hobby. Especially Becs for letting BY go away while it was her birthday.
Also to our Sponsors ; Avanti Plus  Topgear Cycles-Specialized Bikes- Uvex Sunglasses- Endura Nutrition- Geaks Tyres- [ and Nurafen Gel and Panadol!]