Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif Challenge

After spending two days driving up from Sydney I finally registered for the Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif Challenge on Friday night. At this point I was very annoyed to find out that there was no bus to get us back to Grafton the following day. The event organisers claimed that they didn’t have enough people to warrant a bus. That’s ok, but they didn’t bother telling anyone that this was the case, so a few of us were left scrambling to try to organise lifts with other cyclists. I was fortunate enough to find two meet two kind cyclists from the Grafton Cycling Club who were able to drive me back that night. My co-rider Sergio – who’d also driven up from Sydney – was also stuck having to beg for a lift. There were some other problems with the event, but I had a wonderful time so I won’t dwell on them.

On Saturday morning, Sergio and I started the ride at 6:50am. We were a bit late and missed the first three bunches. The morning was dark and foggy. Unfortunately I left my sunglasses in my back pocket and they fell out somewhere over the first 20km. Expecting that they’d probably been turned into roadkill, I pressed on and did not go back to look for them. At the beginning of the ride there were many rolling hills that made it hard to work together. Sergio was setting a cracking pace and I suggested we slow down (at least) until after the climb. At 70km we were at the base of the Gibraltar Ranges National Park. From this point, there was a 1000m climb straight up onto the tablelands. Thankfully, the gradient was just right and my 42/25T granny gear managed to make it up without forcing me to stand out of the saddle (very often!). We hit the summit in around 1hour 15mins (maybe less?) and we passed a lot of riders on the way up. From there, we passed along some nice downhills and flats out to the Mt Michell feed station. At 120km we had our first feed, but I didn’t feel that hungry.

On the road to Glenn Innes we joined up with two cyclists from Sydney (the brothers Davin and Joel) and established a little bunch that would ride together for the next 100km. It was nice riding in a group as our chatting was a distraction from all the effort we were making. As we passed over the tablelands it was amazing how quickly the scenery had changed from lefty rainforests into dry open cattle country. There was one cowboy herding cattle along the road. This was the first time I’d even signalled to the bunch to watch out for a cow on the road. At approximately 170km we passed through the town of Glen Innes. Our bunch had grown to around 6-7 riders and we did some really nice group riding over the last 50km. I was feeling stronger as ride continued and so I was keen to set the pace at the front. Although there was one rider (nicknamed “Sponge”) who didn’t make even the slightest effort to share the work. The only thing that was bothering me over the last 20km was a cramp in my left foot. I tried to move it around as well as off the pedal but I was in agony over the last 10km. As we came towards Inverell I passed the 200km mark for the first time. There were only two minor hills that we climbed over from there. Sergio and I ended up riding ahead over the last 5km, however, I had to stop 1km from the finish when the sensor from my bike computer fell off the fork. I’d already lost my sunglasses so I wasn’t going to loose this as well. We finished the race in 8 hours and 30mins. The distance was 228km with an average speed of 27.1km/h. After the ride we jumped in the Inverell pool to cool off and do some stretching. Despite a few hiccups at the beginning it was a great day and I’d easily do it again. We were very lucky to have perfect riding conditions on the day. My only regret was carrying copious amounts of weight on my bike, however I was prepared for anything that day and the only prize was finishing.