Hells Bells would have to be one of the biggest AR events in Australia with over 100 teams lining up this year…..it has be been going for 21 years now and it’s definitely one of my favourite races on the calendar. I was super excited to be back again this year after missing out on racing in 2022 (recovering from surgery) and 2023 (family wedding). Mountain Designs are such great supporters of this event and have been sponsoring Hells Bells quite a few years now, so we the Mountain Designs Wild Women are always super proud to be out there racing and representing the brand.
Mountain Designs Wild Women Team
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| Kim Beckinsale, Cass Kimlin, Nicola Jelenik and Ashild Cridge |
One of the things that I love about adventure racing is that you can race in similar places or locations, but you still always are provided with a course that is never the same and explore places you have never been before. So, pre-race once HQ is announced, it’s hard not to speculate where the race might travel…..I usually get a few places right, but most of the time the course goes somewhere completely different…..and this was the case for Hells Bells 2024.
Adventure Racing and all that gear!
Adventure racing is a sport where gear means everything!
This includes anything from bikes, helmets, shoes and packs to lights, paddles,
thermals, jackets and the all-important compass! The logistics planner helps
the team know exactly what to pack, where to put it and what you have to
carry….just working all of this our can be time consuming….but it is worth it! In this race we tried out the new Fibril Mapboards as well - we met at the bike drop and
fitted these to our bikes in seconds ….wow they are super light, quick and easy
to fit. Kim used the clips version and Cass had the cover!
Pre-race is always so frantic….despite seemingly having all
the time in the world to pack your gear into boxes….once the maps come
out…packing stops and it’s all eyes on the course and planning our route. As we
did not have to submit boxes till half an hour before race start, we had time to make
a few changes and then madly finish packing just before we had to do the drop
offs. My philosophy is …if it fits in the box….pack it as you never know if you, or another team-mate, may need it…. This is especially true for extra thermals,
spare socks and food! We also had to provide a paddle bag and had the option of
bringing kayak trolley wheels, and straps as there were options to portage on
the course.
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| Three tubs and a paddle bag to pack |
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| Hells Bells 2024 - Teams have dropped off gear and almost ready for action |
The Course 150k if you go the right way!
This year there was split start….we were on course 2 which meant we started with a Trek/Paddle/Trek. Course 1 started with a Paddle/Trek/Trek, then both courses were the same - Bike/Trek/Bike/Trek/Paddle /Trek – a total distance of around 150k. Course 1 Teams started at 11.00am and Course 2 teams started at 11.15 am. In between the Fairy Bells teams started off with a trek and we all had 24 hours from our starts to get back to HQ for the BBQ 😊
Broken Compass
Okay, so I started the race with 4 compasses, you would
think that was enough hey? We were off to a great start, we cleared the
first trek (Kings Beach, Shelly Beach, Moffat Beach, Bulcock Beach and North
Tip Bribie) in good time, transitioned to the paddle (no wheels required) and
decided on an anticlockwise course on the water. I had my compass attached to
my lifejacket with a piece of string and it’s not the one I carry for the rest
of the course. I also had the map in a map case as it can be windy – it was, so
I did not lose the map. We paddled and navigated well but were just a bit
bamboozled when one of the CPs was not electronic as per the description on
the course notes….we were 100% in the right place! Other teams coming the other
way had been told by an official it was not electronic…so we moved on and
arrived back at the TA/Start with around 4 other teams who had chosen the
opposite direction. It was a quick run through the streets to Ben Bennet Park
(Sugarbag Road MTB Trails). At this point I was using my Moscow thumb compass
and we managed to get a break on a few teams on the maze of foot trails before
arriving at TA1.
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| Trek Leg 1 - MDWW opted to get this CP last so we had less time with wet and sandy feet. |
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| Leg 2 Kayak - Conditions were perfect - MDWW went anticlockwise! |
We had a super quick transition onto the bikes, found the 2 CPs in the Sugarbag Road single tracks relatively quickly, before being stopped in our tracks by a fence near the Bells Creek Arterial Road – our short cut track was not a track…just a boundary line, so it was slow travel. We had fun crossing under the tunnel under the Bruce Highway at CP 6 despite teams around us at the time questioning whether this was the way we had to go! Yep – I said we have been through this one before! We raced off and were now amongst Hells Bells teams who had started 15 minutes before as well as some of the Fairy Bells Teams. Bonus A and Bonus B checkpoints were actually in part of the Glasshouse Mountains National Park, but it was flat, boggy and the track to CP A was under water, so most teams were hiking out and back. We had to remind a few teams bout the 100m rule and the 5m rule at CPs as it was obvious that some team members thought they could just wait with the bikes or just go in part of the way! This was our marked through route to B, so we had to alter our planned course, there were tracks everywhere and it was a bit tricky. I was riding along and then my compass fell off my map board and onto the ground, oh no! I stopped and turned around and just as I saw my compass, someone rode right over it and broke it…well actually smashed it….fluid was leaking out and there was no way this was going to work again ☹ The good news was that this was an old compass, the bad news is that my newer mapboard compass already had broken at GeoQuest and as I had been away in Canada until a week ago had not had a chance to replace it. So, did I have a spare map board compass??? NO ☹
So, I had to revert to using my thumb compass….now this was
not easy when trying to ride a sketchy single track from Meridan Tower CP7 to
CP8. Ashild was on fire and so strong on the hike-a-bike and so I just said,
you ride in front, so I had more time to be able to use the mapboard and hold
onto the bars, brakes and my compass! Cass was onto it as well, meaning
navigating…. but I must admit, I like to know that everything is lining up
correctly when I am out on the trails. It sometimes means we might be a bit
slower, but we spend less time going the wrong way! The tunnel crossing CP10 saw
us holding our bikes us over our heads…. Ashild led the way …...the water was
waist deep, but that did not phase us! Back on the single tracks we were in
familiar territory on the Ferny Forest trails, but the map and the trails
did not always match up so I was struggling without that mapboard compass! We overshot CP11
because the marked fire trail did not exist, but a bit of local knowledge
helped us backtrack and not lose more than a few minutes!
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| MDWW out on Leg 5 Trek |
We arrived at TA 2 well before dark, so had plenty of time for Cass and I to mark up the maps for the Rogaine while Nicola and Ashild found our gear tub and started getting the stuff ready. We had 10 CPs to locate on foot, in the Ewen Maddock Dam section of Beerwah State Forest. This was a beautiful scenic twilight trek, the map scale was 1:10000, so distance between CPs seemed so much quicker than we thought. A bit of bush bashing and some good compass bearings, saw us finish the leg in good time and just before dark!
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| Leg 5 Trek Rogaine - MDWW check their next route |
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| MDWW running the trails |
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| MDWW at CP M |
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| MDWW bush bash through the Ferny Forrest |
Ay-Up Lights are worth saving!
By the time we transitioned out of TA 2, it was completely dark, we had our Ay-Up lights on our helmets, handlebars and our head torches in our packs! We have dry shoes and socks, and a few extra layers, which is nice and looking forward to riding through the old rail tunnel in the Dularcha National Park.
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| Kim checks the map before mounting on the Fibril Map Board - Ay-Ups are on! |
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| Leg 6 MTB - MDWW Ready to head out of TA 2 onto the final bike leg of the race! |
As we were riding across the dam wall beside Steve Irwin Way, poor Ash fell into the grass and ended up soaking wet…. not a great way to start a long night leg. After riding through the tunnel, we had a massive climb up Brandenberg Road, so I hoped Ash would warm up! She and Nicola rode that hill, like I was riding backwards…. but hey Ash was now warm! It was cool riding the Landsborough Maleny Road ridgeline at night through to Mt Mellum. The descent back through the Dularcha National Park on the other side of Ewen Maddock Dam was pretty steep, so despite having great lights, we had to walk a few bits as it was steep and sketchy. We enjoyed riding some of the single tracks on the west side of Ewen Maddock Dam before crossing the Bruce Highway at Aussie World. There was no time to stop and party, so we continued on through the underpass to the Palmview Conservation Park. Now we know that in an adventure race you often have to throw our bike over gates and fences, but this fence was probably out of our league…..so it was a long way around to CP 20 for us! On our way to TA 3 we came across Lauren and her team, she was new to our Tri Adventure group and new to AR, she was concerned that the trail was into private property. This is when prior race knowledge helps, because I remembered the same spot from a previous race, so I could assure her it was okay to travel that way.
We arrived at the TA just as it was getting really cold and
foggy, many of the Fairy Bells Teams were out there….we could see their
lights….I was having flash backs from a Hells Bells a few years ago….and so was
Cass…about swimming through the creek at night and spending way too much time
out on a trek in the fog and being freezing! We were both willing that not to
be the case this time! Cass and I marked up the maps and we had a pretty quick
transition….except I could not find my compass….well it was not in my hand….I
had dropped it when marking up the maps….Cass found it for me 😊 I did have a spare (thumb compass) in my
pack.
We opted to do an 'out and back' to W then Y, out and back to Z
before tackling X, V and U. We had no trouble at all and in fact we all enjoyed
running as it really warmed us up….as we knew we were in for a cold paddle. Back
at the TA we had a more complex transition, as we had to now fit our portage
wheels and all of our gear to the kayaks. We had packed also extra straps for
our feet and for hauling the kayaks on the trolley. We checked out of the TA
and headed for the banks of the Mooloolah River….it was more like a creek!
Cass was with Nicola and Ash was with me…. we hopped into the
kayaks and started paddling….I could barely see the map…. too much plastic
because I had it in the map case…. well, I did not want to lose the map! Next
minute we hit a tree…. because I was not steering and looking at the maps and my
Ay-Up Lights fall off my head and into the water! Now I couldn’t see the maps
at all …. But I could see my lights…. they were under water at the bottom of the river…. shining brightly! There
was a strong current taking us in the direction we wanted to travel, but we had to retrieve the lights! We could touch the bottom with our paddles, so we tried to
scoop up the lights…. we tried and tried but it didn't help. Nicola offered to jump
in….I said no…they are my lights…. I will have to jump in! But the water temperature was potentially
under 10 degrees, we had probably 3 hours of paddling to go and we were all dry
and toasty warm with our waterproof pants and jackets on. So, I decided to strip
off down to my socks and get the lights! I walked into the water and used my
feet to lift the light up until I could grab it. Ash helped me at the edge of
the water not fall in as I was putting all of my dry clothes back on. Cass then
said…hey Kim…. Have you got your lights…. I said yeah…they are on my head! At
that point we saw another set of lights in the water shining…. Cass and Nicola
tried to get them with their paddles, but then the lights turned
off…darkness…. they would be too hard to find now.! We headed off, after I was
dressed….I still couldn't see the map…but I had my Ay-Ups!
Do we really need paddles?
Off we went down the river with the flow towards CP 21. I
was hoping that we would just see it as I could not see the map, I had a
compass…. but it was no use if I could not see. Cass…. who is much younger than
me, was trying her best to see and thought we were almost there…. BINGO – CP21.
Now we had planned to portage from here, but it did not look like anyone else
had…. we paddled on…got to a strainer and thought…. mmm maybe we were meant to
get out! We paddled back to CP 21 against the current …. looked at the bank
and went nah! So, we negotiated the
strainer trying carefully not to tip in and made our way to CP 22. It was not
easy to see as it was hidden in a tree…so lucky the girls caught a glance. As
we were getting out… Ash almost lost her paddle…. but we saved it! Phew!
This was now our portage with the kayak wheels…that we had
strapped onto the kayaks. It looked like about 1.6k. To be honest…we struggled
getting the kayak trolley wheels to work with us …. I had the same wheels that I
have used in other races…. but not with these particular kayaks. Cass and Nicola
were off, yet Ash and I had to stop a few more times. The Cass’s kay trolley
had a meltdown and ours followed suit! Maybe it would have been quicker just
carrying them???? Who knows??? We got to the North end of Lake Kawana near the
entry point when Ash looked at our Kayak
and said…. our paddles…we do not have our paddles…. I looked down and went…. Oh
no…. I can’t even remember having our paddles. We had a 6k paddle to go and we
had no paddles….so we had to turn back and find our paddles! Ash thought she
had stashed them up near a tree ‘so they would not fall in the water’ they
were still there when we went back…phew!!!
This added about 3k extra to our last paddle leg…. but probably still faster than trying to paddle two double kayaks with just two
paddles and 4 people. We enjoyed the end of the paddle as we were really warm
from the extra running and opted for the bonus CP C – we got 30 minutes time
credit, for 30 minutes of paddling…. now that is not a win win situation, but it
meant that we could clear the course. So,
this is what the Mountain Designs Wild Women did, we ran the final trek and
finished just before sunrise at about 5.30am on Sunday morning….it probably was
not our smoothest race…. but we finished all smiling and super satisfied with
our efforts and decisions out on the course.
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| Mountain Designs Wild Women at the finish! |
Adventure Racing does not always go to plan and despite how much you plan and prepare for every single contingency a race rarely goes 100% the way you intended. Next time I just have to carry an extra map board compass in my saddle bag (which means I have to remember to buy 2 new ones now) and just work on those back to basics questions like ….have we got our paddles…when we are portaging!
Mountain Designs Wild Women finished Hells Bells - 1st All-Female Team and 7th overall
We are so thankful to have the ongoing support of MountainDesigns, Ay Up Lighting Systems, Tri Adventure and Venture Cycles….as you can
see having the right gear at the right time is essential!
Video Clip Hells Bells 2024 - Mountain Designs
Thanks to Chris Dixon and the Wild&Co Team including all the volunteers for helping to make this event such a success! Also thanks to Jan Leverton ARWS Race Referee for giving her time to ensure the event is safe and fair for all. Adventure Racing in Australia is really on the rise so it fantastic to have the CEO of the Adventure Racing World Series (ARWS) Heidi Muller meeting participants and helping out where she was needed. Hells Bells is part of the ARWS Oceania Region. Heidi has signed up for the Tri Adventure Wild Women Adventure Race which is being held on 12 October on the Sunshine Coast. Thanks to Margarete Oti for being out on the course and capturing such stunning images for us to cherish and share.
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| Women in Sport Jan Leverton - ARWS Referee; Heidi Muller - CEO ARWS; Kim Beckinsale - MD Wild Women |
