Mountain Designs Wild Women - Hells Bells

Girls deep in thought during map preparation

Golden Beach was HQ for this year’s edition of Hells Bells and we were all a bit sceptical about where we may be taking our boogie boards on the mystery discipline, given that we had earlier dropped our bikes at Coochin Creek. This year being a part of the new A1 series this event had to deliver on many fronts and I think the Wild & Co Team certainly provided all teams with a spectacular well designed course with plenty of route choice and interesting navigational challenges. 

Our team for this event and our main roles:-

Kim Beckinsale – Team Captain – Navigation
Cass Kimlin – Navigation
Gina Dunsdon – Descriptions & Distances
Ali Wright – The ferret

For those of you who don’t know much about adventure racing having specific roles within the team, provides everyone with an opportunity to be engaged in the course, thus more likely to feel like a valuable part of the team and enjoy the experience, even when the going gets tough. We ‘Mountain Designs Wild Women’ pride ourselves on our team work and are certainly willing to share these roles around to ensure we all have the opportunity to develop / maintain key AR skills.

We're off Hells Bells 2017......Cass and Gina set a cracking pace out the front for the team

Kim and Ali hang back and check out what everyone else is doing here!

Leg 1 Trek

This was the most spectacular leg of the course by far. Starting off from HQ at Golden Beach we managed to swim across to Bribie Island using boogie boards and then being carry them for the rest of the leg. I had a big board which made the swim easy, but the run pretty tough as I had one big wing which provided lift force in the opposite direction to travel. Gina carried Buzz & Barbie for much of the leg, so Ali had hands free for ferreting, and a bit of extra recovery time. Lucky we decided to dump the boards at the TA before collecting CP 6 & 7 (our first route change of the day) as we did not think the bush bash would save time – especially with boards. It was nice to see many of the Fairy Bells teams on this leg and also gauge our position with an out and back CP at 6, Thunderbolt and Peak were leaders and we were around BMX Bandits.

Cass, Gina, Kim & Ali, just loving this beach run.....so spectacular.

Leg 2 Paddle

Wild & Co transported our kayaks to the TA by boat to make this leg possible. I must say we were quite relieved that the promised swim out to our kayaks was canned, so we were pretty excited to see the kayaks all lined up on the bank. Not that it was cold, and nor were we wet, but it did mean we could at least start the paddle relatively dry, as we knew we would be out there for a while. Due to the excessive low tides, so of the CP’s became unreachable so we only had to collect 3 of the planned 6 CP’s. Cass & Gina paddled together and set a cracking pace, meaning Ali and I had to try to catch up after punching the CP’s.

Kim, running through the mangroves on paddle leg to locate CP

We all had to get out at CP 11 and wade through mangrove mud, lucky for us we had a fair idea of where the CP was located as the lead teams were still wading back as we approached. This would have been extremely hard to find had it been dark. We manoeuvred our way through the Pumicestone passage up Coochin Creek to the next TA having a bit of a chat and boat drag with BMX Bandits. Upon arriving at the TA the sunlight was just starting to fade and most of the lead teams were just setting off on bikes.

Mountain Designs Wild Women - Gina & Cass display great teamwork on the paddle.

Leg 3 MTB

There were quite a few navigational challenges on this leg, which enabled some teams to get quite an advantage if they took the risk and or worked it out. In saying that you would probably have to have been out on the course to understand what I am talking about. Our first challenge was to decide whether to cross Mellum Creek or ride around. We were warm and dry after the paddle and could not see quite how deep the water was…..but seriously it looked like a swim! We opted to ride around, so probably added 7 minutes, but meant we were dry going into the night!

Girls all smiles as we remain dry, after opting not to swim Mellum Creek!

After CP 16 we had to cross under the Bruce Highway and here the road took us automatically left, so it wasn’t until we looked at the compass bearing, and had a good look at the map, that we realised we were going the wrong way. Our next challenge was working that out and trying to get our bikes up some seriously steep embankments to get under the highway. We were here with BMX Bandits who liked the look of my TREK Superfly and tried to take it……accidently of course! Mawson’s Road on the map was non-existent, so a few route recalculations were required as we approached CP 17.Light was now almost completely gone and we were heading for some hills. I remembered this area from some of the early Wild Women Races, but had a bit of trouble interpreting the briefing notes in relation to single tracks and CP’s. We had some fun here riding the hills and the single tracks and finding a few Fairy Bells Teams along the way as we picked up CP20, 21 and 22. After crossing Steve Irwin Way we had the opportunity to ride some of the quite nice single track around Ewen Maddock Dam. I really enjoyed this part as I just ride the trails trusting my map-board compass and Gina’s distances. I would stop and say ‘ we are almost there’ and Cass would look left or right and say ‘ there it is’ and then in would go Ali for the punch! Great teamwork girls J

Lots on this map to think about!  CP29 on to TA3 looks so easy.....but it wasn't!

Unfortunately we got into a bit of a pickle not long before the trek, we had punched the final two CP’s on the leg CP 28 and 29 and were heading for a road crossing of Steve Irwin Way. We were near the ‘BIG KART TRACK’ and we were bamboozled. The only way that looked right said ‘private property’ and we just got freaked out as there was an OOB marked on the map, near that area. We rode around in circles and out and backs for a while with nothing working out on the compass. Eventually we went through a gate that just did not seem right...however the bearing was actually spot on! Relief was probably what we were all thinking at this point, as we approached the trek. It was after 11pm and we had been going almost 12 hrs and that little bit of confusion must have cost us almost 45 minutes.

Leg 4 Trek

The trek would take us through the Duchlara National Park, somewhere most of us have visited before in one of the Landsborough based Wild Women Races and even Hells Bells the first time Dare You Adventure put on the event. We had 5 CP’s to collect in any order, so we chose E D A B F C. We were ready to set off on the leg at around 11.30pm just as we saw Peak Adventure coming back through the TA??? They had left the TA on the final bike leg 15minutes ago, but must have gone the wrong way. We enjoyed this leg immensely even doing a little bust bash out of B to the track cutting out a climb.  CP F was in a creek and unfortunately, we went down the wrong creekline, it was very pretty and there were quite a few tricky cliff like sections, but no CP, so we backtracked, popped over a spur to the next creekline and got it bang on. We collected C on the way back to the TA and prepared for the final leg, it was now around 4.30am and the birds were stirring.

We went EDABFC.....most seemed to go the other way. 

Leg 5 MTB to Finish

The final leg on the map looked pretty straight forward, however this was certainly not the case approaching CP 33. We came to some locked gates on the road we were travelling and it seemed a bit strange to proceed, we continued and came to another gate, and then it seemed to me as were travelling off the map, so to make sure we were not going to be entering OOB and to get the right spot to find the easement we went about 2k back to a bend in the road, to get the exact distance to the gate we were looking for. Now I still don’t think we worked it out perfectly, however  there were quite a few Fairy Bells teams in the area and we eventually found our way to the creek and located the fencline where the CP was located, thanks to a little chat with Kelsey Harvey – Team Champions.

Looking at the map it looked like the trail we were looking for was on the other side of the creek, there were teams standing around looking at the crossing and thinking it looked impossible. I went down, found a crossable spot and hurried on the rest of the team, a bit of a procession then followed us, as we clambered up the steep bank and Cass forged her way through the thick bush, recognising the fact that others had definitely travelled this way. We were stoked to pop out of the bush and find the powerlines and the track we were after. Then it all went pear-shaped for us when I decided to jump a fence at the junction, what was I thinking???? Well for some weird reason I thought the bearing was headed the way I took the team……wrong! We travelled maybe 2k and then we were in really, really long grass, at first it was hard to tell if others had been this way or not….but the reality as we proceeded was ‘probably not’.

After CP 33 we must have headed South....what was I thinking?????

Anyway, to cut to the chase we ended up on Old Caloundra Road and we were pretty upset as it was clear we had gone OOB, we could have cut straight across the highway here and taken a really short route home, but we decided to go the long way and get back on the ‘in bounds course’. Then Cass suggested why don’t we go back to the point where we left the course, so that’s what we did, so about 3k out and back and we were then happy we had tried to make amends for our mistake of going into OOB. The ride back after this on the bike paths was a bit fun…..like spot the path, so we were all taking turns at finding the next bit of path to follow on our way to the final CP34 and the finish line.

 Mountain Designs Wild Women finished Hells Bells 2017 just after 7.30am with an official time of  20hours and 9 minutes placing us 1st Female Team by 11hrs and 7^th overall. While the finish line of an adventure race is never anything like an Ironman finish, we were chuffed to see our Tri Adventure friends Jan and Shan (who had completed the Fairy Bells Course the night before in just 10hrs),  event organisers Chris Dixon and Dave Schloss as well as Todd Vickery from Adventure 1 there to share some of our stories. During the presentation ceremony, the team was recognised for its honesty and integrity in regards to ‘recompleting part of the course’ after accidentally going out of bounds and thus nominated for one of the Adventure 1 ‘Marco Polo Awards’ and thus avoiding any penalties for our misadventure.

Thanks to WildnCo for staging such a great race, putting Hells Bells back right up there in terms of ‘must do adventure races’ in Australia and thanks also to long time sponsors ‘Area 51’ for their continued support of this event since the very first Hells Bells back in November 2004 on one very scorching day in Brisbane.

To our team sponsors Mountain Designs, Ay Up Lighting Systems thank you for your continued support in providing reliable good quality gear that we can always trust, and also thanks Tri Adventure, Kayak Noosa, Venture Cycles for continuing to support and encourage our adventurous spirits.

Mountain Designs Wild Women conquer Geoquest AR Sawtell 2017

For this blog rather than provide a description of Geoquest from start to finish,  I thought why not write about some of the challenges we faced along the way, as well as of the highs for an all-women’s team completing an adventure race in less than ideal conditions. As this blog is also our way of trying to inspire and encourage more women to get into this amazing sport, I will also provide a bit of an insight as to what worked and what did not during the event.

# Challenge - East Coast Low approaches Sawtell what impact will this have on the event?

Teams were faced with the reality that the event could be cancelled at any minute. At the event briefing the full course was modified, which meant that two river paddles were cancelled along with the connecting MTB leg due to potential flood risk. The event was going ahead, we were confident we had the right gear and equipment and were very mindful of the fact that team work will play a key role in this event!

In the garage packing our gear.....awaiting the final news on the paddle course.

# Challenge - Despite a massive swell building the full ocean paddle was still on the cards.

We had spent months and months preparing for an ocean paddle and had purchased the perfect ski for this event – an EPIC V8 Double from Kayak Noosa, however we were certainly not confident that we would handle the ‘alternate Leg 1 course’ which was a paddle out through Coffs Harbour around Kortis Islet and back. Looking out at the swell was petrifying, so we were honestly relieved that the course was shortened to three laps around the harbour, and confident we could handle the dumping beach break as long as we were patient and alert.

We are not sure that we are ready to paddle out of the harbour....it looks so scary out there!

# High – Girls survive the paddle!

Just as we were about to start the paddle we lost vision of the yacht we were to paddle around, we thought the event was about to be canned, but seconds later the rain eased, and we heard the countdown 10, 9, 8…….3,2, 1 and then the horn! Alina and I made it out straight away, Gina and Cass were right behind us, but had to wait out a big set off high rollers, once out we stuck together as a team and paddled the swells cautiously yet confidently. Soon we were in a thunderstorm, we did not see lightning but heard the thunder, but we made our three laps and were heading in. All our training in Noosa of ‘not catching waves’ on big easterly swells had paid off……we cruised into the beach, without mishap to the delight of our nervous support crew Erica and Tom who had been witnessing carnage in front of their eyes! For the record we finished 3 laps of the paddle and are super stoked that we did, we also realise that some teams who finished ahead of us did not complete 3 laps, however understand and respect reasons for the decision to allow teams to continue on the course without penalty.

Look at Erica in the middle....perfectly dressed for the occasion! Waterproof waders on and helped many teams get out!

Kim & Alina on the left, Cass & Gina on the right finish 3 laps.....pretty perfect beach landing in these conditions!

# Challenge – Water Crossings & No crew at TA 2

This coastal trek – Leg 2 had a few inlets to cross so we linked arms and worked as a team during these crossings. However our biggest challenge here was trying to get around the rocks at Korora Beach….we saw the waves coming but made a run for it….Gina was leading….suddenly I was swept off my feet and was being sucked out by the wave…..I had to dig my hands into the sand to prevent being sucked out….phew….that was lucky!

Unfortunately we overestimated our time for this leg and as a result it meant our crew had not arrived….no drama…..we just took shelter behind the toilet block out of the wind and waited for the crew to arrive….

# High – Nailing the Foot O Leg 4

We arrived at the TA pretty wet and soggy looking forward to a run to warm up a bit. Our support crew had some really amazing hot soup for us here and it was so so yummy. We had to mark up our maps so pretty glad we had kept them dry to this point. Our plan to drop CP C & D worked well opting for a longer run and less creek travel. Although some of the marked trails did not exist and other unmarked trails did, team work and good navigation choices helped.

Great set up in TA by the support crew.....loved the soup!

The Trek Map marked up.

Cass and Kim both on the maps the whole way!

# Challenge – locating CP8 on Bike Leg 5

We had made some use of the tow rope to keep the team together on the previous bike leg, so the system worked well on this leg too. We had a steep climb up past Bucca lookout on our way to CP8. We certain we had taken the correct route down Schooner Road to find the track to CP8, but were a bit confused when the track marked on the map did not seem to exist. We rode to the next junction looking for an alternate track route, but it did not exist, so headed to where we though the track should be and started a bush bash. But wait…..this was stupid the description was track creek junction, so there must be a track. So we were prepared to head back up past the highpoint and take another route to the CP. Then we looked down a trail that we had previously discounted as it was too high and thought we may as well give it a go! We did and found the CP – this was definitely a low point as if we had just not been navigators and not been looking at times / distances etc we may have just turned anyway…..oh well time to move on now! It was getting dark so on go the AY UP lights!

Ay UP Lights on and ready to roll!

Our planned course to CP 8

Our movements looking for CP8

# High – Great Support Crew

We arrived at Boambee (CP12 TA) to the sounds of Mummy….Mummy…..is that you Mummy! It was pouring with rain, we were covered in mud after a slip and slide down off Little Boambee but Alina was so excited to see her two little boys (Archie & Jackson) out there on the course to share the experience. We were treated to shelter, hot food, washed off shoes, and dry socks….sometimes it’s the little things that count! Erica and Tom had an awesome set up and we were so thankful for their support.

# Challenge – Finding CP 17

Although this trek did not have the some of the Geoquest classic legs features of bush bashing along steep ridgelines or clambering along wet slippery creek beds, it did have the classic ‘tracks marked’ may not be as they appear! We had moved extremely well to CP 13, 14, 15 and also located CP 16 after a bit of persistence paid off hiking up a creek line for what seemed much longer than what showed on the map, great stuff Alina! On the way to 17 the marked track was quite indistinct and soon we were climbing….not right! So we headed straight back and found our trail. It was bucketing down with rain so we were running to keep warm. We all managed to cross the skill tester plank bridge without falling – yay – and then ended up on a big trail. It seemed strange but correct bearing so we continued. We were headed for CP17 Bridge – all seemed good until we crossed the creek before the ‘marked bridge’ and started climbing! This was not meant to happen….we were somewhat bamboozled and tried to make sense of it. For some reason because we had been running we thought we must be somewhere else – and thought oh, maybe it was back at the skill tester bridge, so we ran back (about 1.5k) and had a look….nothing.....gave another team some help re CP 16 and confirmed we were where we thought! So once again we headed along the trail to 17 as before but much more slowly checking every twist / turn / contour and ended up at the same creek, and the same trail that went up a hill not to a bridge…..so we had a scout around in the creek, Alina found a waterfall but no bridge. We had to keep moving at this point and finding this CP was our trail home, so we just had to think laterally and go well this track might just be wrong but take us where we want…..and it did! We soon found the bridge and the CP…..why did we not think that earlier???? The descent off this range was challenging too and Cass helped Gina with her footing while I relaxed my thinking on following the trail as it was not as it appeared but was generally headed in the right direction so pretty stoked when we hit the bitumen heading to CP18/TA.

This is what we did from CP 16 to 17

# Challenge - Archery on a cold dark wet morning!

A bit of fun trying to hold a bow straight when you are shivering….but we all had a go and after missing the board many times we eventually got the hang of it! Don’t pull back too far, and aim for the ground – bullseye!

# Challenge – Crossing the raging Bonnyville Creek to reach the Finish.

We opted to run the Bundegaree Coastal walk track all the way to Bundagen Headland and then hit the beach, Gina was amazing walking at a rate that we had to run to keep up, so we ran walked all the way to the crossing! Wow the map was right…there seemed to be dangerous currents and the water was rushing out…..this crossing looked pretty scary! But when you get there in a race and you know others ahead must have done it, I suppose it does give you some confidence. We could see people on the other side, so headed to the sandbar, linged arms and waded in. Soon we lost footing and wer all swimming, trying to stick together….we stood up a bit and then we were swimming again…..liked drowned rats we emerged onto the bank pretty excited to see Tom and the kids!

Mountain Designs Wild Women approach the final creek crossing.

The team links up and stays together for as long as we can.

Time to start swimming!

 # High – Getting to the Line of Geoquest AR

The finish was now a reality for team Mountain Designs Wild Women…..so joined by Alina’s family for the final jog up to the Sawtell Surf Club we were greeted by our other amazing support crew Erica and our Tri Adventure friends - the Cowgirls and Cowboys and their crew!

Mountain Designs Wild Women at the Finish Line

Mountain Designs Wild Women - 12th Overall - 1st Women's Team - Full Course

We Mountain Designs Wild Women Kim Beckinsale, Cass Kimlin, Gina Dunsdon and Alina Mc Master are grateful for all the support we have received from our major sponsor Mountain Designs, not only for their support of an all-women’s team, but also for their passion and foresight in sponsoring Geoquest since its inception in 2002 and providing some of the best gear for taking us to places we’d rather be.

                                       Mountain Designs Wild Women at the presentations

If you are reading this please check out the latest Mountain Designs blog and where possible try to support Mountain Designs when considering equipment and gear for your next adventure.

http://www.mountaindesigns.com/blog/news/a-wet-and-wild-2017-mountain-designs-geoquest

I would also personally like to thank Andrew from AYUP lighting systems for his continued support. The product is amazing and the fact that we can keep going all through the night in the pouring rain whether it be riding, hiking or paddling is something that the average person would not believe even possible! Ay Up lighting systems have supported me since 2007 when I was lucky to be a part of the winning Geoquest Team, and always look after my team mates as well as well as the Tri Adventure group! If you are looking for a good set of lights for your next adventure – you should definitely check these out. https://ayup-lights.com/

So for all the girls out there, who might be considering Geoquest here are a few tips:-

1.       Start with the GEO HALF and try to develop your skills across all disciplines.

2.       Get some skills instruction in the disciplines you are least experienced, if possible in an all-women’s environment. Tri Adventure have some upcoming ‘Wild Women Skills Clinics’ – 16^th July, 12^th August, 2^nd September. Contact us at Tri Adventure for more information about these upcoming clinics.

3.     Enter some smaller events first, such as the Wild Women Adventure Race where you get to test out your skills in an all-women’s environment over a course created by women for women. Alternatively there are smaller upcoming events such as the Northern Rivers Raid and the MOJO Raid, so check out the Qld Rogaine Association for more details. Then there is also the iconic Hells Bells and Fairy Bells  Adventure Race located in the Sunshine Coast Area.

Why not also have a go at some single discipline events in your local area, such as  foot rogaines, orienteering, trail running, mountain biking and paddling as these provide you with some great training and preparation for adventure racing as well.

4.     Remember that for most of us Adventure Racing is a lifestyle sport where we test ourselves physically and mentally against what nature and ‘man’ aka race director throws at us. So always expect the unexpected – maps that are not perfect, conditions that are not perfect, and situations that are not perfect and just deal with it…..trust me, this will help you cope in other situations in your life that you are faced with and is better than what any doctor or therapist can prescribe! It is not a sport about doing what the masses do, it is about doing something that you think makes you a healthy, fit, strong and happy!

5.       Most of all, if you want to get into Adventure Racing and Geoquest in particular you want to be out there doing these adventures with like-minded people that you know, trust and like to be around, and everything will just seem easy………maybe not at the time …….but after you finish you will reap the rewards of adventure racing!

 Written by Kim Beckinsale June 2017

Rocking Around Glenrock - Gearing up for Mountain Designs Geoquest

Rogaines are like orienteering - navigation with a map and compass, however they are always completed in a team and the map scale is usually 1:25000 instead of 1:10000 or 1:15000. A rogaine map may have very few tracks or other significant features marked and thus ensures that the navigators rely heavily on contours, creek-lines and the CP location. QRA events are for the uninitiated are very affordable and great value for money, given the length of time out on the course, the food provided post event and the opportunity to visit places that the general public rarely would visit.  We at Tri Adventure believe participation in Rogaines is one of the best ways to improve navigation and test out the feet off track, so great preparation for #GEOQUESTAR.

Rogaines are great preparation for Adventure Racing....so the Tri Adventure Crew are all here!

Kim, Cass and Ali teamed up for this 8HR event at Glenrock (west of Gatton), and were pretty excited to have our new AY UP lights ready for the hours of darkness, as the event started at midday. Strategy and route choice always plays a big part in any event where navigation is involved, so we set what we thought was a conservative course with a few short course options and a quick way home via the only track on the map if required.

CP - Descriptions

Rock around the Glen Event Map - with our planned course marked up!

Unfortunately, we did not get off to a great start, totally miscalculating our way to CP32 and ended up getting CP70 first. While we were happy we knew where we were on the map it would have been stupid to go and get 2 of the planned CP’s as they were now in the opposite direction, so we headed for 41 instead, as it looked pretty easy. It took us 1hr 20 just to get 2 CP’s, not a great start, so next up was 101 about 1k up a creek. It was a great challenging CP to find as we decided it was best to travel in the creek as the spurs on both sides seemed covered in Lantana. We persisted and found it eventually however many teams didn’t. Then we traversed around to collect 61 before dropping into the creek for CP82. We totally overshot this one as we were expecting to just see it in the ‘main watercourse’ but must have walked straight past it as it was positioned about 10m up another watercourse, we found it on our way back! Then we headed for CP 50 and 42 on our way to the featured CP of the event Glenrock worth 200 points, most teams started this way and were up the top within 30minutes of the event start, we were now 4hrs in and light was fading, we ran across the ridge to CP55 and then headed down the middle spur towards 60, as our planned route looked like a cliff. This section of the course was our favourite as the views were amazing….we wished we had a camera….next time!

Cass and Kim taped up their shoes to avoid grass seed - it only lasted 1hr - but the Moxie's lasted the entire race!

We had opted for a massive lantana bush bash to CP60 as I spotted it from a distance, but it was on the other side of a steep watercourse. At this stage I opted for a crowd surfing technique to get through as my legs were not long enough to step on top, and we all ended up looking like we had wrestled a lion! Now getting dark we popped on the AYUP’s and headed for the road, and completely changed our planned route. We headed for CP52, 53 and then 73 as they were now close to the road and gave us a quick route home. 52 was a bit tricky to find the watercourse, and we were pretty excited to see the Cowgirls (Tri Adventure – Jan & Shan) at that point and were smashing it. We are not sure what happened at 73 but we did not find it, we were in the main watercourse but just could not find the junction to the watercourse where the CP was located, so disappointingly we had to abandon as now we had just 40mins left. We absolutely sprinted towards CP 43 and found a little track straight to it, and then sprinted again to 40

So we ended up with 930 points placed 11^th overall and 3^rd women’s team, not quite the result we had hoped for but none the less great navigation practice and a good 8hrs on the legs leading up to Geoquest.

Mountain Designs Wild Women - Ali & Cass

On Thursday night we were invited to attend the Mountain Designs Kawana store VIP night  All GEOQUEST participants were provided voucher for 25% off MD’s gear leading up to the event, so Gina Ali and I attended and picked up some awesome MD’s product and had the opportunity to chat with the Kawana sales team Dan and Vanessa about adventure racing gear.

Mountain Designs Wild Women - Ali, Gina & Kim - Visit the Kawana Store

If you are a after a few great Mountain Designs products for Geoquest……here a few items that Mountain Designs Wild Women Team highly recommend

MD Ramble Coolmax Socks – nick and thick to help prevent blisters

http://www.mountaindesigns.com/store/products/160797/md-ramble-coolmax

MD Super Dry 16LS Base Layers (Top & Pants) – super warm and quick to dry

http://www.mountaindesigns.com/store/products/160039/md-superdry-16-ls-crew-w

MD PRO ELITE Transient GORETEX Jacket – super lightweight http://www.mountaindesigns.com/store/products/160003/md-pe-transient-gtx-jkt-w

MD Drysack 24L – stuff your entire pack in this when on the Kayak legs inGEOQUEST http://www.mountaindesigns.com/store/products/160925/md-lightweight-dry-sack-24l

Mountain Designs Wild Women in action – Rogue Raid Wivenhoe 2017

There has been quite a bit happening on the adventure scene for all members of the Mountain Designs Wild Women Adventure Racing Team.

Alina Mc Master has been busy being famous and promoting Ultra-Trail Australia https://www.ultratrailaustralia.com.au/

Alina said “It is a super busy time of year preparing for the organisation of this event - over 4,500 runners and 10,000 supporters so am trying to fit training in where possible” Alina has been up many early mornings doing some 30km runs with some ultra-runners preparing for the 2017 event. Here is a link to the TV interview –‘Australia’s Fittest Couple’.

https://au.tv.yahoo.com/the-daily-edition/video/watch/34977764/australias-fittest-couple/?cmp=st#page1

Alina Mc Master on TV

A few weeks ago Cass and Gina raced at the Hiddenvale MTB6hr event placing 1^st and 2^nd respectively in their categories, while Kim and Ali were working on their navigation skills at the very popular Bunyaville Rogaine, with Kim racing with Jan Leverton taking out the Women’s Open category and Ali teaming up with Shaun Lauder placing 3^rd overall.

Bunyaville 3hr Map

Rogue Raid

This weekend Kim, Cass, Gina and Ali raced as a team of four for the first time at the Rogue Raid here is how the event unfolded…..

Map handout was at 8am and as usual we seemed to run out of time, even though we had waterproof maps and did not have to do much contacting. This was the first time that we had all had the opportunity to race together as a team (on paper Mountain Designs Wild Women 1 & 2), so we were all very excited.

The event consisted of 5 stages – Paddle; Trek; MTB; Trek; Paddle – with the MTB leg split by the second trek leg. The most points were on the MTB and Trek legs so our strategy was to maximise our points on these legs, but still have some time to get some good points on the final paddle.

Leg 1 Paddle – We set off and managed to get all the planned CP’s (1,7,2) in about 1hr 30, then we decided to go for two more CP’s (4 & 5) to gain an extra 120points, but as we headed to CP4 there was a massive headwind, and waves and we quickly decided when our kayaks were pretty much totally under water, to turn back and maximise the time later.

Rogue Raid Map 1 - MD Wild Women Leg 1 Course Plan

Leg 2 Trek – there were 9CP’s available on this leg and we planned to go for 8 of them. CP 17 looked like it was not worth just 80 points being 6k out and back. However, after making great time to CP12, 13, 14 (via MTB CP20) and 15 we had a look and thought why not have a go, as we are after all in training for #GeaquestAR. Well we got it but it took us about 1hr definitely fatiguing the legs for the final 3CP’s in the leg 11, 10 and 9. We were very excited to roll into the TA just as the sun was going down having cleared the run leg. The 6hr event had just finished and they were enjoying HOT PIZZA, but not for us yet L

MD Wild Women in action - running most of the trek legs

Leg 3 MTB Part 1– It was dark by the time we set off so time for the AY UP lights to be put into action.This leg was quite challenging at first as my map-board compass and Cass’s compass showing completely different directions after CP 18 and as we were doing a bush bash out this was not good. We did go a bit off direction at first but found a fence line which was good travel, so it went to exactly where we wanted to all good! After climbing Pine Hill we had a fun ride down collecting Cp20, 21 riding some really nice trails beside the lake. It was then time to head to Coomynia and the rail trail. At CP 24 we chose to do the opposite of what most teams did and that was to go from CP 24-28, complete the tricky MTB navigation CP’s in the ESK State Forest, before doing the TREK, in the same area. Initially we only planned to get CP 28, 30, 31 and 33, but after clearing the first trek and making good time to CP28 we also opted for 29 and 32. Our plan almost came unstuck as we approached CP32, when a huge stick totally bent my derailleur hanger. I was ready to do the whole single speed thing, but thought I would try to bend it into place first….the hanger cracked but did not break, so I wrapped heaps of electrical tape around it and tested it out…..gears were changing and it seemed like only one gear did not work….happy days! We totally overshot the track to CP33 as it certainly did not look like it did on the map, bit after bit of backtracking and running into Ian and AP from Isodopes we eventually found it, and thus cleared that section.

Leg 4 Trek – This trek took us back through the ESK State Forest, as we had cleared the first trek, we though well why not have a good go at clearing this one, especially as we were now familiar with the area. The TA officials told us the tracks were quite unreliable…..really???? We chose an anticlockwise course heading from 35, 36, 39, 41, 38, 37.  It worked really well with the only glitch being my miss-interpretation of the CP description for 39 as HIGH POINT not HIGH POINT on overgrown track…..after a few 360’s and holding the map upside down …..we eventually got it…..thanks to Cass for being on the ball there! My favourites of the trek were following the spur to 38 and the challenging  lantana bush bash out of 37 back to the track…..because they were the most challenging….not that I love lantana that much….it’s just so good when you find your way out of it!We arrived back at the TA at 6.20am….1hr and 20 minutes over our estimated time.

Leg 4 Trek with MTB CP's highlighted

Leg 3 MTB Part 2 – I had estimated it may take us 3hrs to get back to HQ for the final paddle, so all things going well we should get there with enough time to get on the water. The return journey was pretty fast as on roads through to ESK, via CP 25, 27 and 26. Then back via CP24 and the rail trail over the same route as the way out. We were all taking turns on the front here and setting a pretty good pace, with Ali on the front as we hit the grassy trails back near HQ. It took us just 2hrs 45 to get back so we were keen to get paddling.

Leg 5 Paddle – This leg had plenty of points on offer but we had just 1hr 30, so we opted for 45, 47 and 43 in that order, so we got the 100 points first up. Cass was first to work out that we may have to approach CP 45 from the west due to low water levels…..the plan was spot on….good one Cass. We arrived back into HQ with just 10 minutes to spare….so glad we did not get too adventurous on the final paddle.

A beautiful day on the lake for a paddle!

Pretty stoked to finish 6^th overall and 1^st Women’s team on 2410 points, clearing all of the Trek and MTB legs, so just two all-male teams and two mixed teams in front of us…..Thanks to Liam St Pierre for creating another great course and the Rogaine Association for supporting this style of racing, it is so great to have a course where teams can almost choose their own adventure within one big adventure, allowing us to cross paths with so many others out on the course. Awesome to have such a great group of girls to race with and an opportunity to put all the adventure gear in action …. thanks to Mountain Designs, Ay Up Lighting Systems, Tri Adventure, Venture Cycles and Kayak Noosa for supporting Mountain Designs Wild Women.

Strong Happy Team - Mountain Designs Wild Women

Welcome to the first edition of the Mountain Designs Wild Women blog.

Hopefully this page will share some our adventure racing and multisport experiences and inspire more women to have the confidence to challenge themselves to take that next step towards creating a healthier, happier lifestyle full of fun and adventure. The reason I think this, is because this is exactly what being a part of the adventure racing and multisport community has done for me.

Mountain Designs have been supporting Adventure Racing in Australia since the first ever Geoquest back in 2002, and to me this is still the most iconic event in Australia. As last year was my 10^th year at this event, I decided it was time for me to captain a team and have the opportunity to be the lead navigator at GEOQUEST.  Subsequently I have put together a team of tough strong women who will be keen to share the journey. After finishing Godzone last year, I discussed my idea with Alina Mc Master (who used race with her husband Tom Landon-Smith in AROC Mountain Designs….winning GEOQUEST in 2003, 2004, 2005 and the first XPD in 2005 and then then 2007) and invited her to join the team....she accepted with Tom and the kids also coming on-board as support crew, so what an opportunity for the team to get to race with Alina!

 Check out the latest online Mountain Designs specials here!

Also at GODZONE, and finishing the full course, were Cass Kimlin and Gina Dunsdon racing for Team Tri Adventure, so little did they know at the time that I had hatched a plan of putting this team together. Gina and Cass have been training with us and the Tri Adventure group regularly and now both have successfully completed so many adventure races as well as two XPD’s, but never the full Geoquest. Gina and I raced 4 of the Wild Women Races together with 3 victories and in 2016 she teamed up with Cass to win event that Tri Adventure hosted in Pomona with me as one of the Race Directors.

So I suppose when coming up with a name for the team that encompassed little of everyone we decided on Wild Women and though wouldn’t it be great to be Mountain Designs Wild Women, as they have sponsored me for the past 7 years and Alina Mc Master in the past. So a little seed was planted and now it has started to grow.

Red Bull Defiance

I lined Cass Kimlin up to compete under the name of Mountain Designs Wild Women at the Red Bull Defiance in Wanaka, this was our first event under the new team name and what an event it was to kick-start the year!  Although not a navigational race, it was extremely challenging and so spectacular, you just wanted to almost stay out there longer, even though at times it was snowing and absolutely freezing. Cass was backing up from XPD Shoalhaven so I was so impressed with her ability to tough this one out and still finish supper keen for more and more! We finished 5^th place in the Elite Womens category, against a very tough field of Kiwi women and certainly would love to go back and have another go if the opportunity arises.

For more information on the #RBDefiance visit  Red Bull Defiance
Entries for the 2018 RBD opened on the 16^th March, so get in early for a discounted entry.

Cass & Kim ready for some snow at the Red Bull Defiance

Adventure 1 Series

While we were in NZ we heard about the Adventure 1 Series – an all Australian Adventure Racing series including X-Marathon, Geoquest, Hells Bells and Wildside….it got me thinking why not encourage the team to do all the events in the series….even though as an all-women’s team we are not eligible for prizemoney! Each team can have up have up to 6 team mates in the series so this was exciting as now there was room for two more women to make up the team Funnily enough when just back from NZ we heard from Ali Wright contacting us as she wanted to get back into a bit of AR, as she was super keen, I quickly lined her up for Hells Bells, Wildside and also the Rogue Raid. Unfortunately, we could not all commit to the X-Marathon, but got to do some dot watching whist heading to our first Rogaine of the season.

For more information about the adventure 1 series visit:- ADVENTURE 1

Weir are we 8hr Upside-down Rogaine

Rogaines are great preparation and practice for adventure racing and a fantastic sport in itself, so this one was upside-down, which means we start at night and finish in the morning……a little bit like nightclubbing in the bush! It certainly feels a bit like it when you see all the AY-UP head torches out there bouncing around like disco lights in the distance and when you pass people you know out on the course …..you may even do a little dance!.

Map Preparation for the Upside Down Rogaine

Anyway this event was interesting as we had two maps with two different scales with the 1:20 000 map being the main map and a 1:10 000 orienteering map. The orienteering map had many checkpoints marked on it worth lots of points so we planned a route that took in all of those controls as there was a definite points advantage. Cass and I worked well as a team out on the course. She must have had a bit of fun just watching me trip, fall or slide on my backside down a few steep slopes…..but I was just loving it! I definitely made a few speed errors and Cass was always there on the map ready to question my mistake…..the bonus of having two sets of maps!

Rogaine Map 1

As the event progressed, after a little bit of funky stuff happening around control 74, we headed to 75, 30 and back past HQ.  The plan worked well as we cleared pretty much every control on the north side of the map except 37 and decided 40 was only worth it if doing the loop! We did not think it was possible for us to clear the course, so we headed back near the HH to collect some extra controls on the other side of the map.

Rogaine Map 2 - Orienteering

After nailing control 104, we thought wow, that was not that hard…..but the Lantana bash that followed rivalled a few earlier ones out of 103 and into 100! Maybe 100 is code for LANTANA??? We finally found the marked fence then the track, but then the track disappeared, so we travelled along the creek ( somehow missing the track that took us to 52) to 42 ended up getting 52 and 49 as well, finishing with about 8 minutes to go. So we think we travelled over 30k and gained 1930points, which placed us 1^st place Women and 3^rd place overall.....we were pretty stoked with that result!

For more information about Rogaining visit:- Qld Rogaine Association

Cass & Kim - 1st Place Women's Team - 8 Hr Upside Down Rogaine

Paddy Pallin Adventure Race & Training

Lining up for the first Adventure Race of the season is always exciting as you just never know who is going to come out of the woodwork. As the navigation in the event is mostly on tracks it is always a very fast and furious race, as it is very easy to be seen and be followed by other teams, making the challenge more about getting in and out of CP’s fast. Cass and I decided to share the navigation, so I took the foot legs and Cass the bike. Why???? Well this race is also about putting skills to the test, and I do get the opportunity to do plenty of MTBO but Cass doesn’t, so thus challenging Cass that little bit more! Another reason is that rarely, when racing in a mixed team, am I ever asked if I want to navigate, or provided with that opportunity (unless there is a split). So, providing opportunities for team mates to navigate in race situations, does build a better team.

The event map and our course planning

The event was divided into 6 short legs – Trek, MTB, Trek, MTB, Paddle, MTB. The first trek was Rogaine style so we elected DCABFEG…..we made it to the first CP ahead of the field who opted for the road ….meaning our shorter off track route choice paid off. The most challenging CP was A, however we quickly realised the tracks were vague / missing so planed an alternate attack point which again proved successful. On the first bike we overshot our turn off a few times, but quickly noticed and backtracked. I was in a mad rush to catch the field and our competitors (Tri Adventure Vintage – Jan & Shan) and had a stack in a culvert, however somehow I managed to jump off the bike and land quite gracefully – meaning I was not hurt. We headed out on the next trek with and again chose a cross county route from CP 6-7 and think this really-made up some time, and we were travelling with Pete & Amy who were leading the mixed category. (The all-male teams were on a different course). Cass was not 100% but we managed to still get through with some smart choices and before long were back on the bikes. I was giving Cass a little push while she was looking at the map as this allowed her to concentrate and us to go faster……arriving at the Paddle TA ahead of Pete & Amy. The paddle was short, but quite fun….a bit of mud and the CP’s were a bit challenging as they were zip tied to overhanging trees, making you have to stand up in the boat to get them! The paddle was over in a flash and soon we were riding back home through the finish arch after collecting 2 CP’s on the way. Mountain Designs Wild Women finished 2nd overall, ahead of the first mixed team and not too far behind the ALL MALE outright winners, who were actually on a slightly different course.

For more information about Maximum Adventure events visit:- Max Adventure

Ocean Ski Practice - Changing positions in deep water off Boiling Pot

Gina, Cass and I backed up Sunday morning with an Ocean Paddle as did Amy and Jan. We are just getting in some ocean paddling while the conditions are favourable for practicing capsizing and deep water change overs. Why? #GeoquestAR usually commences with a long ocean paddle and conditions along the NSW coast near Sawtell and Coffs Harbour can be quite challenging…….so we are just making sure we are testing our skills in training so racing will be fun!

For more information about Australia's Premier Adventure Race visit:- Geoquest

Written by Kim Beckinsale