Five Stages set over two days marked the target of the Forrest Festival held over the first weekend of December 2012. Becs and I drove toward the black clouds and lightening strikes that seemed to be pointing at Forrest's location in the distance. Once arriving at the caravan park we dodged showers as much as possible to quickly get the tent into living shape so we could get prepared for the first stage the following morning.
Intermittent rain and storms throughout the night cleared within an hour of the start of Stage 1. Over 200 riders had assembled in the main street of Forrest for a start that would take off in three groups. The Elite (M&F) and Juniors all set off first, 2 minutes or so later the huge Veteran Male field made a start, and another 2 minutes later saw the rest of the field (which included both Becs and my categories) head for the trails.
The tempo was all business. With a 15km stage ahead that was mostly single track it was going to be worth anybody's while getting as close to the front as possible during the opening 500m to 1km of road. I got to the trail head without encountering too much congestion but there were at least 4 of us trying to get into the one-lane twisted track. It didn't seem long after this that we had caught the tail of the Vet males and so passing moves were presenting themselves at a rapid rate. In usual MTB courtesy it all went in a smooth and polite manner with only minor hold ups at technical points, but in general terms, the pace was on. The first half made use of the amazing, flowing berms of Follow the Dog and Roller Coaster before crossing back over the main highway to descend to the track below the West Barwon Dam. The climb up to the road along the dam wall saw the climbers hold speed as more tired riders began to feel the gradient. It was the first of two final climbs that would nag at any signs of fatigue but the payback came as the tail end of Red Carpet was the hoot to the finish line.
The finish order of Stage 1 set the individual start times for the Time Trial style Stages 2 and 3. Stage 2 was an uphill attack of 5 km. Riders were started at 30 second intervals, moving alongside the flat of the creek below the West Barwon Dam before heading up the short but steep pinch towards the bulk of the 5km climb. The legs spent most of the time burning but every time I saw another rider ahead I figured I'd catch them first then think about easing off. I picked past four other riders and was on the wheel of one more when the next switch back pointed us across the finish line. So I eased off after the finish line.
The finish was at a point where the single track climb reached onto the dirt road above. At the top was a timing station and a monitor scrolling riders' times as they crossed through. On the other side of the road was the start of Stage 3, with each person having about 10 to 15 minutes wait for their individual start time. Stage 3 was a timed downhill run on the famed Red Carpet descent back to where the previous Stage 2 had started. Once again riders were set off at 30 second intervals. There was about 800m of open road at about the midway point, with enough rise in it to give the legs a little more of a thrashing and then back onto the last of the Red Carpet, re-riding the closing kilometre or so of the earlier Stage 1 finish.
There was then a couple of hours to refuel, stretch and relax before heading off to the trails in an area known as Caspers for the Stage 4 pairs TT. The pairs had been arranged by GC time of each category, so 1st placed GC rider in Vet men was paired with 2nd in GC of the same category. I was paired against/with Angus Rodwell, a guy I had not yet met. The 5km course was an open track start for about 400m then single track for the next 4km, initially with a slightly downhill aspect through the grass trees that the area is renowned for. Angus and I shook hands and laughed about an ambition to catch the TT pair that would leave 30 seconds before us. We were riders 3 & 4, starting behind riders 1 & 2 of our Masters category. At Go we surged forward down the open road. I put in as much effort as I could to take the front wheel in a bid to get first vision of the single track. Angus sat in and yelled forward that he had heard the open road ran out into a pretty sharp right hander. From those words on, we worked together. I was doing my best to give Angus something to chase and his constant pace was giving me a hurry along. We were using every bit of track we were allowed and caught several pairs of riders from other categories already out on course as the second 2 to 3 km gently climbed back toward the start area. The course then did a flat hairpin that we both powered out of cleanly, headed away again slightly downhill. We continued, wheel to wheel, drifting into corners, clearing log hops, and soon being spat out onto a few hundred metres of fire road with a slight incline. Plenty before us had pre-warned us that the slight rise of the dirt road was going to suck the last of any life left in the legs, and my immediate concern was that Angus, still sitting fast on my wheel, was just waiting for this to pull out, put his substantially longer legs into the next gear, and ride away. So I threw everything I had into the pedals and pushed on. I was able to hold position as we turned back into single track for the final 100m or so toward the finish line, crossing a second ahead of Angus. We didn't catch Ollie and Brian (riders 1 & 2 of our category) but we were able to close 1 or 2 seconds on them.
For the day ahead loomed Stage 5, the 50km marathon labelled "The Forrest Fiddy".
Stage 5 was a 10am start outside the Forrest Caravan Park. Facing us south along the road it was a mass start with the opening 5 to 6 km being on open road leading into rail trail. I watched the power riders slip further ahead and held with fellow TopGear rider Angus Crisp. I was able to regain some places once the track turned up a steep climb and I started to put some more effort in to give myself any advantage I could when we reached single track. There were a few hold ups in the first section but once out onto wider trails I passed more riders and started to set myself into a good pace. Several fire road sections linked so many lengths of fantastic single track. By the drink station at the midway point I had enjoyed some fast flowing trails, one or two steep pinches and some loose descents littered with roots and branch debris. I was in the midst of a group of about 10 when we reached a fallen tree at about the 28km mark. It created some confusion as to where the trail picked up beyond the tree but we soon spotted the intended route. I leapfrogged a few more riders through the next single track section but was dropped on the fire road that followed. A rider in TFM kit passed me so I pushed hard to hang onto his wheel. I was able to get my speed back up, and recover a little on his wheel in prep for the next leg of single track. By about the 43km mark I caught up to a now familiar rider in Angus Rodwell. Once again we worked well together. I suggested we should get across to the next rider, the TFM guy I had tagged onto earlier, as he was stronger on the open tracks. At the passing of the 5km To Go sign I asked Angus how well we would be able to put the last 5km together, as we did OK on the last 5km of yesterday's pairs TT. The return to the finish outside the caravan park was back along the rail trail. The TFM rider was still some way ahead, and had passed another rider so we closed in on that rider. Angus lead on for a while then called me through. Once on the other rider we recovered a little bit and both realised we could still get a little further on. Angus lead off and we offered the other guy some respite on our wheels but he dropped away while we pursued our next target. The TFM rider ahead was still pushing at a good pace, Angus then called me through again as we reduced the gap from 30 meters to 15. Bridging the next 15 seemed to take everything and take forever, but we got there despite the stories my quads were starting to tell, and sat on in time for the gradient of the rail trail to rise. At the top of the rail trail the course broke left for 50 metres then right again for the 50 metre approach to the finish line. As we closed in on the left hander Angus pulled out from behind me and passed on the left. At the same moment I pulled out to the right and passed the TFM rider and tipped it into the left hander. Angus, just ahead, lost traction which was my chance to break past and get the lead into the right hander for a sprint to the finish. Angus congratulated my timing, we were sprinting for 2nd place of our category.
The result secured me second place to Ollie Klien for Masters for the Festival, which was an accumulation of times from each stage. As category went, I was able to place 3rd in Stage 1, 1st in Stage 2, 3rd in Stage 3, 1st in Stage 4, and 2nd in Stage 5.
The Forrest Festival was an excellent event. The multiple stages and breaks between allowed plenty of time to catch up with fellow riders in all categories. It was impossible to ignore the atmosphere and nature of the event that the Forrest MTB . There was plenty of healthy competition, while the gathering at the live feed screens at stage finish points was the perfect environment to compare notes and realise the great camaraderie that mountain biking brings.
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