The mighty Thunderbolts Adventure is happening this weekend, celebrating its 10th anniversary. The event is Australia’s longest-running gravel cycling event, and its flagship ‘monument’ race covers a gruelling 175km and 3,500m of elevation gain in the NSW Barrington Tops.
One-time XCM racer and Australian World Championships representative Justin Morris will be there racing in the colours of his former professional road team, Team Novo Nordisk, for which he continues to work as an ambassador. The team’s mission is to educate, empower, and inspire those affected by Type 1 diabetes around the world. Join us as he takes us through his Argon 18 gravel bike for the task ahead at the Thunderbolts Adventure.
The event’s namesake, ‘Captain Thunderbolt’, was known for being somewhat of an escape artist in 19th-century New South Wales. He escaped from Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour before venturing to the New England area, where this race takes place. The iconic bushranger spent seven years robbing mailmen, local farmers, and stores to sustain his and his wife’s survival in the bush. As a bit of a contrarian, Thunderbolt was renowned as a gentleman, having never hurt anyone during his crime spree. He has since become something of a cultural icon, especially to those in this part of Australia. How might the legacy of the race’s namesake influence bike choice for a long, gruelling day in the mountains? Let’s have a look.
Justin Morris’ Argon18 Dark Matter for Thunderbolts
Argon 18’s Dark Matter gravel frame sets the foundation for my ride at Thunderbolts—a traditional geometry 58cm XL frame, which suits an old roadie like myself well. The bike has the capacity to become quite a racey machine with its adjustable head tube and the option to install a straight-bladed fork. Being close to 40 years old and well beyond even the twilight of my competitive years, I have kept the rake in the front fork and installed the medium spacer in the head tube, making the wheelbase a tad longer and the stack a more reasonable height. As Captain Thunderbolt would attest, longevity is key to survival—such is the sage approach of an ageing stock horse.
Argon 18 has been a faithful partner of Team Novo Nordisk for five years now, and they share a passion for spreading a message beyond cycling to fans. Such is the basis of this team: using this equipment to prove to those affected by diabetes that it need not hold one back from pursuing their dreams. Hopefully, someone may take inspiration from my adventures aboard the Dark Matter through the Barrington Tops on Anzac Day. More impressively, the team currently has riders competing professionally in some of the most arduous bike races in the world, in continental Europe and beyond. If you are a cycling fan, you may have noticed them at the recent one-day classic Milan–San Remo. From Milan–San Remo to the Thunderbolts Adventure, the message remains the same.
In the theme of reliability and longevity, the groupset is Shimano’s mechanical gravel 12-speed GRX820: a 42T chainring up front and 10–51T at the rear. If I were my former self of six-plus years ago, with more youth and competitive urge, I would likely have opted for a 2x setup with a 11–36T cassette, as this would enable a bigger ratio for the long descents in this event. Alas, at this point in life, ease of function and fewer complications in setup and operation are more appealing than outright performance—as Captain Thunderbolt would also attest.
I have opted to run Ultegra road pedals rather than the usual XT MTB pedals I would use on this bike. As I do not plan on unclipping too often at Thunderbolts—and unlike at Unbound 2023, I do not foresee having to do much, if any, walking—a larger pedalling platform feels more powerful and stable. Over such a long ride, every watt I can save will help ensure I reach the finish line in a respectable timeframe. My apologies in advance to my white road shoes. Again, longevity and efficiency are key factors in survival, according to the successful bushrangers of the 19th century.
The stem, bars, and seatpost are all alloy and in a traditional road style. PRO PLT components are among the more lightweight offerings from PRO, and I have found them to be reliable and predictable across all my bikes for many years. With air travel to and from the race required, lightweight carbon in structurally critical areas of the bike is not appealing to me.
I have also yet to adopt the gravel ‘flare’ in the bars, sticking instead with a traditional road drop. After 26 years on road bikes, I find the direct drop comfortable and confidence-inspiring. From an aerodynamic perspective, it also makes sense to remain slightly narrower. Over such a long distance, efficiency is paramount. As much as I love gravel cycling, I don’t see much appeal in spending any longer than necessary on the bike in a timed event.
A similar rationale applies to the alloy 27.2 seatpost and the PRO Stealth saddle, which I have found to be comfortable while still allowing adequate manoeuvrability. I still tilt the saddle slightly forward to better stabilise the pelvis and load the hands, encouraging more traction on the front end of the bike—something I find especially important in gravel racing.
Too fat for Thunderbolts?
Tyres are the Maxxis Reaver, the lower-profile ‘racey’ gravel option from Maxxis. With the course largely following established gravel roads, the reduced tread is appealing due to lower rolling resistance compared to the more aggressive tyres I would normally run for regular Hobart riding. I’m sticking with 40c, having only recently moved up from 38c tyres. In fact, in my first gravel race—the Coast to Coast in Michigan, USA, in 2018—I ran 32c tyres and found them perfectly adequate.
I recall being in the middle of my road racing career during the shift to 25c road tyres and being among those who thought it was a pointless innovation that would never take off. Evidently, I was very wrong. Still, one of the most important adages in cycling, I believe, is “feel fast, go fast.” Riding on 45–50c tyres doesn’t look or feel fast to me, so I’ll stick with a more modest tyre width this weekend.
Here’s hoping this setup gets me to the finish line of an event I have viewed as a spectacle for nearly a decade. Big respect to Mike Israel and the team at Graveleur for having the vision to bring such an event to life.
The message around Type 1 diabetes being a challenge—not a barrier—is something I have been passionate about for the past 16 years. These days, I aim to do just one event per year to keep my love for cycling alive and to continue practising what I preach about not letting a chronic condition hold one back. The 175km through the mountainous Barrington Tops for Thunderbolts will be a challenge—but, as Captain Thunderbolt would attest, not a barrier. It’s a fitting metaphor for living with a condition like Type 1 diabetes.
Hopefully, I’ll see you at the finish line in Gloucester on Saturday.