 |
| GeoQuest 2009 - Forster |
Well it's been about 2 weeks now since the 2009 GeoQuest was run in
Forster, NSW. It was a great event, made even more enjoyable by
having my siblings as part of our support crew.
The race was made up of 2 legs.
Leg1 (bike, rogaine, bike)
Leg2 (kayak, bike, rogaine, trek, raft, kayak, trek/swim, trek, kayak)
It was an early start just to make the start line in the Barrignton
Tops. A last minute issue with my bike made the start even more
interesting. I noticed that on the way up, my front tire had blown due
to the exhaust of the car. Bummer. But Alex out mechanic was able to
sort it out quickly. Cheer Mate.
Once started it was a 30+km ride (nice and quick, and the mud made it
enjoyable although a bit dirty :-) ) to the rogaine section, a change
of discipline is always nice. We need to collect 3 controls in any
order, there was plenty of bush bashing through some thick, wet rain
forest & creek crossings. then it was back on the bikes for a hard
slog over the Copeland Range, but the down hill was a lot of fun. We
finally made it to the end of leg 1 to a cheering support crew... :-)
From here we had a mandatory 3hrs rest period before we could head
out on the kayaks to begin Leg2.
Leg 2 started with a 20 km kayak to our bikes. It was a perfect
night, the moon was full, the lake was a smooth as glass. A nice and
relaxed pace saw us make the distance in 4 hours. As we were making
the transition to the bikes, the fist signs of the forecasted rain
appeared. The bike rogaine section was pretty straight forward, on
paper that is, but we did have some difficulty with keeping track of
the tracks. We did lose a lot of time here, we were planning on
completing this section in 6 hours but ended up taking 10. By the time
we finally made it to the transition area, we'd had pushed through
km's of mud and up plenty of hills. All part of the adventure.
Due to the delays, we decided to only get one of the controls on the
foot rogaine section before heading off to the lake and the much
anticipated rafting section. It was a 14 km walk, we finally reached
the lake at last light. After a quick change and food, we put the raft
together, so far so good. Just as we all climbed aboard the raft,
buoyancy was an issue.... hmmm this was a small problem.... the
support crew needed to inflate the tire a little bit more... take 2...
all's good. :-) We finally launched, and not wanting to waste anymore
time, we headed off into the darkness of the night. :-) finger
crossed. This particular section was to be one of the most challenging
for us. It not only tested us physically, but it also tested out
emotional and mental resolve. We finally made it across, the portage,
and the second paddle.... nearly 6 hrs later. A lot of teams pulled
out or were assisted in the section, after 20-30mins of recovering...
we pushed on to the next kayak section. this kayak section was to be
my greatest challenge... the sleep monsters came for me in a big way.
I was falling asleep and this was risking my kayak buddy as i was
risking rolling the kayak. It got to the point were we had to pull to
the lake shore so i could sleep for 15 mins.
Once we finally reach the section where we need to portage the kayaks
up to 2 kms, it was 4am. After a team meeting, it was discussed that
with another kayak and trek section and final kayak leg we would
either be short coursed by the officials of just pulled off the
course. Time had really run out for us. So it was decided that we
would short course ourselves and head straight to the last kayak leg
and at the very least paddle ourselves home.
It was a bitter sweat experience, great to get home, cross the finish
line, but sad that we had to short course... that has left us with
some unfinished business.
We couldn't have done this without out great support crew... Tim, Alex,
Carolyn, Michiel, Phil & Tanya.
