Briars Highland Fling by Wild Horizons
Thanks to the metric system when we Australians race a marathon ‘100’ mountain bike race we race in the vicinity of 90-100 kilometres, a perfect distance for most marathon mountain bike racers. On the other side of the big blue, those crazy Americans have stuck with their own units of measure and propagated the marathon 100 mile mountain bike race, in any other language this equates to a very random 160km. Most of us would have heard of the Leadville 100MTB, probably the most renown of the American 100 mile mountain bike events, but by no means the only one. In Australia we are happy with the idea of 100km but every year Wild Horizons throws a spanner in the mountain bike calendar with their Highland Fling 100 Mile, possibly the only 100 mile mountain bike event in Australia at this time (I am not 100% sure on this so it is open to debate).
The Briars Highland Fling is a Mountain Bike Marathon starting and finishing in the village of Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands, NSW. Riders can enter as a Full Flinger (solo approx 110km), Flinging Threesomes (relay team of three but can be done as a pair), or Half Fling (solo approx 55km). There is also the 100 mile option (165km) and the Casual Fling, a 14km untimed participation ride.
“The race will follow a unique route that will take riders out from Bundanoon on great farmland tracks and eventually into Penrose State Forest before riding through more farmland to Wingello Village which marks the end of the Ground Effect Stage. From here riders will start the Shimano Stage and enter the beautiful forest and gully country of Wingello State Forest including the network of singletrack. Riders will loop back to Wingello Village and, for the GU Stage, will follow a different route into Penrose State Forest and eventually back to Bundanoon. You’ll ride on singletrack, open paddock, rough 4WD track and dirt roads and a tiny amount of sealed road. There is some 2300 metres of enjoyable climbing in total and, given you finish back where you started, some 2300 metres of even sweeter downhill!! The Highland Fling will test all who take on the challenge.”
In a few days I will be heading south from my tropical Peregian Beach Studio to a not-so-tropical Bundanoon (forecast in the vicinity of 7-8C overnight reaching a perfect racing temperature of 19C for Sunday, race day) for my inaugural Highland Fling. This will be my very first 100 mile race, it is a somewhat daunting concept from my lounge room right at this point in time but Bianchi Meth is washed and packed, clothes in a pile, waxing booked for 3pm this afternoon and hair shaved to the Davison Hair race standard so there is no going back now! As a virgin 100mile competitor I am fortunate to have some experienced 100mile Flingers as Subaru-MarathonMTB.com team mates (Mike Blewitt, Graeme Arnott) and friends (Andy Fellows and Peter Winfield) so tapping into their vast experience I am sure I will have some semblance of a race plan and nutrition regimen by Sunday. The course consists of a series of loops which is great for spectators and makes the self-feeding plan logistically doable, PLUS there appears to be several water points on the course and knowing the Wild Horizons team, they are sure to be well staffed and exceptionally stocked.
Route Map Highland Fling 2012 by Wild Horizons
This maybe an anomaly but on reviewing the start list my trusted and afore mentioned team mates and friends are not listed as doing the 100 mile Fling this year, scared to ask why?
There are around 36 competitors in the Fling 100 mile (29 male and 7 female), this is the first year the 100 mile event has attracted sufficient females to justify a ‘female category’. We girls are seven in number and nothing to be sneezed at with the mother of mountain bike enduro: Meg Carrigan, the ‘XX’ factor of the Jackson family: Mel Jackson, the 24 hour addict: Jess Douglas, last years winner: Libby Adamson and me.
Check the Wild Horizons website for their 2013 event calendar and you will be in for a treat so long as Huw is at the helm!