Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell?

March 30, 2011

A mate of mine Brad Davies just completed the Terra Australis, a 7-day mountain bike race in the beautiful Victorian high country. It’s a race that I watched with interest because for a long time now I've been keen to give one of these mountain bike stage races a crack. However, I'm very well aware of what 100km a day on a mtb would feel like. Without exaggerating, it would be like a Melbourne-Warrnambool for a week straight. That said, nothing in life worth doing is ever easy.

Given this is a road cycling site, I asked Brad to give me a report that captured the race in `roadie’ terms…

Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell?

by Brad Davies

Terra Australis is in the tradition of the monster mountain bike races overseas: the Cape Epic (South Africa), Trans Rockies (Canada) and Trans Alps (Europe). The format, as with these races, is simple: seven successive days through high mountains – in pairs.

A race like this – with 11,000m of vertical – attracts its share of masochists. To set the tone, on the first night it was announced that Bicycle Superstore (race sponsor) would issue a `HTFU’ award. It soon became clear that hardening up was the last thing that some of these riders needed and so the award was changed to `STFU’ (ie soften up). Some of the candidates for this award included:

A rider who got a stick caught in the front spokes coming down a fast descent on day one. He landed as you’d expect – heavily – and badly broke his nose. Knowing they had to act quickly, the guy’s riding partner duly held the affected rider’s head still so that the rider could push his own nose back into place. He didn’t ride the following day, but did remount on day 3 and finish the Tour!

A South African rider (Jo) who ran out of water on the Buffalo stage, and decided he would rather drink out of a muddy puddle than risk dehydration. He said he made a calculated judgment that it was a `pretty clean puddle’

To Jiri, a Czech native who rode a Pugsley bike (a fully rigid mountain bike with massive tyres that are meant for traversing snow and ice) for the full 7 days. The tyres ran at 10 PSI and he decided that for the time trial he would mount a second chainring so he had more options. “How are you going to change gears – there’s no front derailleur?” – the mechanics asked. “I will change by hand while I’m riding” – which he did!

Having spent a lot of time in the Victorian high country, I know all the big climbs well. Hotham, Falls Creek and Mount Buffalo hold no fear. The Terra Australis tackles the same mountains but on different roads. Steeper, gnarlier, God-forsaken roads. To demonstrate, the tarmac climb up Mount Buffalo covers 1000m of vertical in 18kms. We rode Mt Buffalo – on Day 5 with more than 10,000m of climbing in the legs – from the back side. We covered the same 1000m but in 11kms. The tale was similar when we rode into Dinner Plain. We had done nearly 2000m of climbing to the bottom of the big climb up to dinner plain – a 30km monster of sharp pinches and short downhills. Against that day from Falls to Dinner Plain made the Audax pale in comparison (a 200km race from Bright to top of Falls/Buffalo and return to Bright).

So what makes the Terra so difficult?

Climbs. If you heard the words `sawtooth’ profile at the rider briefing the night before a stage my stomach would churn. Sawtooth in Terra terms can be largely unrideable jeep tracks that are almost unwalkable. The climb to dinner plain took nearly two hours at intensity. We climbed Mount Ebenezer (between Harrietville and Bright) at lung-busting pace in 90 minutes (I climb Mt Buffalo in less than an hour). The 10km climb up the back of Mount Buffalo took a similar amount of time, and as much concentration as you had to simply stay on the bike in sections.

Descents. Riding downhill on a mountain bike is fun. But it’s also inherently dangerous and potentially race ending. During the Terra I rode some of the most amazing descents I’ve ridden (and I have toured in 50 countries) but also some of the most terrifying at speed. Some of the roads we covered are used very infrequently and I can see why. But in a way, that’s why we were all there: to ride tracks (including some private property) that are almost untouched.

Mechanical challenges. By my reckoning only one team in the top 10 did not have a reasonably major mechanical. Ours came in the form of a split rear tyre (and subsequent second flat), but the sticks and rocks also claimed countless derailleur hangers, derailleur, tyres, pedals and spokes. Most riders know this going in, and prepare accordingly. Not one rider had a mechanical destroy their race – just lots of time. How you deal with mechanicals and bounce back demonstrates as much about your determination as fighting your way up hills.

To paint the Terra as a slog and nothing more would be doing it an injustice. The race is hard but there’s more to it. Apart from the competitive side of the race –we had a current World Champion (Jess Douglas 24 Hour Solo Champ) and reigning Australian cross country champion (Katherine O’Shea) – the race attracts a number of overseas riders keen to sample Australia’s version of the big mountain bike epics We had riders from Belgium, South Africa, England, Czech Republic and the US among the group, and we got to meet most of them as part of our one week travelling circus. A few of the highlights that get lost in the tales of endless climbs and bone-breaking descents are:

Scenery. To be honest, I think scenery in bike races is over-rated. I never seem to notice. However, there were a few moments in this race where I almost stopped pedalling as I looked across the valley at the high mountains from perspectives I had never seen as a road rider.

Camaraderie: Mountain bikers are generally less cut-throat and the shared pain of a race like this makes on track benevolence even more pronounced. When you puncture every rider that comes past offers assistance. When you are being passed even by arch-rivals there is encouragement. It might sound a bit new age to us roadies but when you are in the bowels of your own private hell then it can be the difference between despair and simply hurting. Perhaps the deepest sense of camaraderie is between rider and partner. The rules stipulate that riders be no more than two minutes apart for the entire race, and you form a very close bond with the person that you help / helps you. It could break relationships, but in most cases it appears to cement them.

Achievement. The only road race I have done where there seems to be real honour in finishing is the Melbourne to Warrnambool, and perhaps the Hotham stage of the Tour of Bright. Most other times if you are way off the pace you simply pack up and save your energy for the next race. But when you have raced for a week straight, pulled yourself and bike (literally) over sawtooth climbs, dragged yourself out of bed when it threatens to snow and fought on when you want to die, there is a great sense of achievement

The big question is would I do it again, and would I recommend it to roadies? To the first question: absolutely. I would happily forsake my annual trip to Rotorua for another tilt at the Terra – and I love my annual trips to Rotorua…

Road cyclists are made for this event. It is gruelling, mountainous and each of the big days (there are at least 5 of the 7 in that category) are as `epic’ as Baw Baw or the three peaks IMHO. The timing of the race is also perfect to give yourself that one week block of training that could set up your season. The race is also family friendly, and a perfect thing to do as a group of mates. A few of the internationals had brought families along recognising that (from the comfort of a vehicle) this race is a great way to see some of the terrain we spend our time in.

One of the turn-offs can be the pricetag: almost $2000 for the week. But it does include all meals, transfers, accommodation and the availability of full mechanical support. On a day-by-day basis it’s great value, and as Mark Fenner (one of the Australia’s best credentialed mountain bikers and Terra regular) says:

“You can’t put a price on experience. A race like this you will take to your grave, and when it comes down to it experiences are the sole purpose of our life.”

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Guest

No offence but BORING post and topic.
http://www.jonxmack.co.uk Jon X Mack

I really enjoyed the post, nice work :)
Notso Swift

… yet you are deliberately trying to be offensive and posting as a guest give you no credibility

Liking the last phonto, there is hope for big blokes to get over mountains!
AnotherGuest

Are you for real? This comment should be deleted.
Anonymous

Good work Brad.. you are a true hard-man! Forsake Rotorua? Maybe you should just ride it 10% slower so the rest of us could keep up.

And CT, when did you start reading Nitzsche?
Mitchandme

I thought it was a great post! Loved the photos… well done to everyone who even finished, absolute champions!

But, arguing that at least 5 of the 7 days were as hard as the three peaks is a bit rich… unless of course the $2000 included a bag full of Sustanon ampules, sweet tasting lolly flavored dbols and a few thousand IU’s of EPO…
http://twitter.com/Sumo_21 Chris Riordan

Not even Jens uses his hand as a front derailleur!
Bradjdavies

I probably should have clarified ‘felt as hard as…’ due to accumulated fatigue – fair point. Brad
http://twitter.com/MrDanielStrauss Daniel Strauss

You’re boring.
Mike T.

Fantastic post. Good balance of photos, personal drama and the experiences that shape the event.
Enduro racing is like going to war, and this one sounds pretty epic!
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

The last photo is of Brad and Jess. The camera seems to have added 10kgs on them. I can tell you for certain, these two are not big!
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

The last photo is of Brad and Jess. The camera seems to have added 10kgs on them. I can tell you for certain, these two are not big!
jules

Jens only needs one ring – the big one
http://www.mountainbikeslatest.com/?p=4203 Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell? « Mountain Bikes

[...] post: Terra Australis: 7 Days &#959f Heaven &#959r Agony? Further stories on this topic:Hell on Wheels can be Heaven A quality mountain bike and helmet, a [...]
Malocchio

I’m guessing this bloke has a $10,000 bike, $10 legs, and spends more time in Cafe Racer than actually on Beach Road (which is evident by the supreme stretching of his eBay Gerolsteiner kit across his expansive midsection).

Hot tip fella: get out and ride more, those endorphins might make you a nicer person.
Ben V

Fantastic post, this one is on my radar for sure. There is better then a week of riding bikes, making friends and pain (good pain)
Anonymous

Yeah they are, just look at their guns….hugggggeeeeee!
Anonymous

Yeah they are, just look at their guns….hugggggeeeeee!
Anonymous

Jems DOES have two chainrings… a 56 and a 56.
Anonymous

I like the comment about this being a good training session to set up your season. Maybe it is good training to be able to continually hurt yourself.

Great post, grats to all that competed…completed said event. You all need the STFU award.
hairylegs

I love these tales of amazing and adventurous rides, regardless if it’s an organised race, a bunch of mates pushing themselves or a solo ‘epic’. Be they on road or dirt it is great hearing about and checking out photos of this kind of thing – people pushing themselves as hard as they can to achieve something great with their passion for cycling.
Inspiring, motivating and I can’t wait to get out on the bike!
Ben

looks awesome….. nearly makes me want to get a MTB!!!
Matt keenan

Next stop for you the Crocodile Trophy. I liked the achievement perspective where just finishing the thing is a great effort.
cementbagcyclist

A friend of mine (Claire) did it and after hearing about it, I can only imagine being able to pull my guts over the course. These people are amazing athletes and have more courage than most of us dream of. What an achievement just to finish, let alone achieve what Jess and brad did. Thanks for the post CT and Brad – it does us roadies good to hear about some other possibilities??
cementbagcyclist

A friend of mine (Claire) did it and after hearing about it, I can only imagine being able to pull my guts over the course. These people are amazing athletes and have more courage than most of us dream of. What an achievement just to finish, let alone achieve what Jess and brad did. Thanks for the post CT and Brad – it does us roadies good to hear about some other possibilities??
eatmorelard

Saw these guys up on the High Plains and heading down Falls when I was on my unofficial Three Peaks a few weeks ago. It looked like they were having fun. At one point on the decent of Falls one of the marshals tried to direct me onto the dirt. I pointed at my road bike and my carbon wheels and said “not with this gear, mate, maybe next time!” (mind you the gravel up the freshly resurfaced Gap made me wish for the ‘cross bike).

Great write up. It sounds like a fun way to sample the highlights and pain of the High Country and earn some HTFU credits for future days on the road.
eatmorelard

Saw these guys up on the High Plains and heading down Falls when I was on my unofficial Three Peaks a few weeks ago. It looked like they were having fun. At one point on the decent of Falls one of the marshals tried to direct me onto the dirt. I pointed at my road bike and my carbon wheels and said “not with this gear, mate, maybe next time!” (mind you the gravel up the freshly resurfaced Gap made me wish for the ‘cross bike).

Great write up. It sounds like a fun way to sample the highlights and pain of the High Country and earn some HTFU credits for future days on the road.
Notso Swift

Bugger back to square one – 195cm and 90kg just doesn’t work up hills, regardless of the legs… just ask Maggie Backstedt, winning P-R makes him a poster boy for guys built like me
Notso Swift

Bugger back to square one – 195cm and 90kg just doesn’t work up hills, regardless of the legs… just ask Maggie Backstedt, winning P-R makes him a poster boy for guys built like me
Troy

Very interesting to read. It makes me feel like an absolute beginner! If I do 3 days in the Vic alps on the roadie i feel good – but then posts like this are quite humbling. How do you know if you are ready for something like this?
It would be very interesting to understand how to ‘rank’ myself against other cyclists if only to get a feeling for what kind of events I could consider entering, and expectations to set for myself. Any suggestions?
It’s the way I roll

Check out Jen’s cassette: 11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11,11 & 12 (for mountains)
Slhaydon

many road cyclists could do with a dose of that good will, nice natured camaraderie. My experience is that most are far too bloody serious. I would love to mountain bike but couldn’t be arsed cleaning my bike everytime. Thanks for the post – sounds hard core.
JBS

…and if he ever needs to switch between them he simply stares at the chain until it changes rings.
Nick V

Great article Brad. I’m from Bright and it’s great to have world class athletes riding our tracks. The scenery, as Brad described, is nothing short of amazing and the sense of achievement after any ride here is awesome.

To the guest that commented first, well, its insulting that you even posted. I for one, as a mountain biker, think it’s great that Cycling Tips, a predominantly roadie based blog, has posted this article.
Matcalabria

Great Post..thanks for sharing and congrats Brad, massive effort. I would highly recommend going on Brad’s website and reading his trip reports from his Cycle tours..especially the “tans..” they are a great read..
JA

Great post CT.

As a mug punter with a soggy mid section, I did this race (ride for us) in it’s first year 2 years ago. Great mix of scenery, soul destroying pain and absolute elation at simply finishing a day. It has brought myself and a couple of mates closer together and is an absolute experience.

The sweep rider in our year is the guy mentioned in the post with the self adjusting nose – Rowan – an absolute gentlemen who nudged as through some of the tougher days as back markers. The organisers know their stuff and make the ride accessible to World Champions and Weekend Warriors.

Thanks, as always, for the balanced content and perspective on all forms cycling – I can recommend this one.
Anonymous

the race has 13,000 – 15,000m of climbing in 7 days.

“set up your season”?! Brad if that’s what you consider base training I no longer want to race you during winter.
JC

Jens doesn’t need a derailleur, he taught his chain how to shift automatically – DiJens.
TomTierney

Fair play to all that participated. A great insight to this event by Brad and thanks to CT for sharing. I really liked the bit about offering assistance to riders in need. That is something all cyclists should strive to do.
Tim Martin McGrath

great stuff Brad & Jess! I’d love to do that race,
as for road vs mtb I can’t tell the difference any more, it’s all far too much fun!
Anonymous

Totally agree Nick I’m 100 % a roadie however after reading the odd Cycling Tips post I made the step of buying a Mtn Bike and completed my first race a few weeks ago, loved it ! I sucked but man was it fun and I love the way that the atmosphere is so different to Road Racing. I will never let hair grow on my legs but what a blast keep these up CT adds to the charm of the site.
Anonymous

Totally agree Nick I’m 100 % a roadie however after reading the odd Cycling Tips post I made the step of buying a Mtn Bike and completed my first race a few weeks ago, loved it ! I sucked but man was it fun and I love the way that the atmosphere is so different to Road Racing. I will never let hair grow on my legs but what a blast keep these up CT adds to the charm of the site.
http://shadowlans.net/ Andy

Think I’ve just found my next challenge! I know I bought that MTB for a reason. Just need to work on the better-half so I can get a leave pass for next year… ;)
Ao

i dont enjoy mountain biking, but that was a quality read… sounds bloody tough, but well worth it in the end!
t3z

It might not be the camera adding weight to the riders, but the way the images were resized. Assuming the images were shot with a longish lens.
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[...] Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell? [...]
JJ

Im a roadie who occasionally dabbles in mountain biking, did the Leadville 100 last year and doing it again this year, and a mate of mine tried to talk me into racing the Terra Australis this year. When I heard about the terrain and stage lengths I baulked!! These people are hardass to the nth degree. Chapeau!!
http://www.jessicadouglas.com Jess Douglas

Living life back at 300mts asl, legs are tired and carbs give me nightmares…
Here is day 2 report from me, have a laugh at what I write about Roadie Brad!
http://www.jessicadouglas.com/terra-australis-mtb-stage-race-day-2
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

But you still smashed me at the Australia Day Massacre….
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

One of the things that I didn’t mention in the article is how accessible the race is. There were people there competing in their first ever mountain bike race – seriously – as well as seasoned pros. There was nothing in the race that would cause a beginner mountain biker any technical problems – some people simply walked the really sketchy downhills (and in some cases all of us walked those downhills). I have some daily race reports on my blogsite http://www.cyclingbrad.com as well for those interested.
Anonymous

ok, maybe we can race a little bit.
Logan^

Its posts like this as both a roady and a MTB that I enjoy, I am investigating doing the TransAlp for 2012, I think that would be amazing “fun” (fun is defined as 8 days in the box and 20000m of climbing) but yeah fantastic post.
jules

are you levi leipheimer?
Kenny

Looks like we have a winner for the S(shut)TFU award
Le Matelot

The other thing you didn’t mention is your paddock tour on Saturday night :-)
Andrew

Love the post Wade…. keep it up
Anonymous

Yes, The image looks like its dropped at least 15kg on both of them. Far from reality for these two fine athletes, unless of course you two went on a beer swilling and donut rampage over the week ;-)
Paddy L

Great post Brad, well done both of you.
Black

The Line between mountain bike race and road race is very fine. That race is on dirt roads and there is very little single track therefore you could argue it is not really a mt bike race. It looks a long way to peddle a bike however I would prefer to ride more single track than fire road. Also too much suffering for it to be fun for me
Great report and I enjoyed reading about it. thank ou for the post
Jim

Makes we want to ” get that n+1 ” bike.
What do these guys ride anyway hard-tail, 29er or full suspension bike ?

Wade this blog is great – I’m not going to bother renewing my Bicycling Australia subscription that I got as a present a couple of years ago.
Chad

Mountain or Road… I just like spinning the pedals and making the wheels go round.
Great read and serious kudos to Brad, Jess and everyone that had a crack at this monstrous epic.
Fenz

Great work Brad, capturing the essense of a race like Terra is very hard to do. For me it is the best race in the Country on so many levels and one that has to be locked in on the race calendars of riders all over Aus and overseas. As you know I froth at the very thought of it again in 2012. I was stoked to have you there to make us really race mate and I look forward to a rematch next year. Oh and my brother from another mother, don’t forget, we have to think about a race abroad together sometime ;o)
Arran Pearson

Great post Brad – really captured the spirit of the event. Work has begun on convincing the fam for next year (but the full 7 not the ‘soft’ 3!)
http://swedishfurniture.org/i-am-proud-to-be-british-r-u I am Proud to be BRITISH r u? | Swedish Furniture

[...] Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell? [...]
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[...] Terra Australis: 7 Days of Heaven or Hell? [...]
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

Thanks Matt. BTW – I employed a lot of the road tactics taught to me by your good self out there during the week… Had memories of that Tawonga breakaway on some of those roads…
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

Thanks Fenz – was an absolute pleasure mate and would love to get to an OS race with you. And big props to Torq for their contribution to the race – outstanding job. See you on a trail soon…
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

Great work Arran – best to start the positioning early… Was great to meet and I will be there in 2012 for sure.
http://profiles.google.com/bradjdavies Brad Davies

Great work Arran – best to start the positioning early… Was great to meet and I will be there in 2012 for sure.
Le Matelot

Here is an enlargement of that photo of Fenz and Jo Wall – check out the rooster tail! Plus a few of Brad and Jess at the finish. An album for each day is at http://picasaweb.google.com.au/lematelot56
Mr Bailey

Most people for enduro events are on short travel dual suspension.
Tim

WW, I am keen for it next year?
And I am keen to line the Croc up in the next coupla years, schedule permitting.
Mars

great stuff guys (great post Brad), always good reading stuff that has that air of intimidation and the call to be a part of it.

dare say next year’s massacre may have a few wanting to dip their toes

catch you soon.
professed

Jiri is indeed a legend and a top bloke.
It may not be entirely clear in the excellent article but he rode that Pugley monster as a Single Speed !
Having ridden some of those hills with a superlight carbon 29er – with Jiri – is enough for me to comand the greatest respect for my freind.

What is it with the first cranky post? Why is it still there?

I have had posts of mine removed from here which are the truth but inflamatory only to a particular pro rider.
Likely this post may also be removed because of said line above.

This guy “Guest” is offending everyone here.
professed

for the terrain on terra – IMO light as possible for the 10Km of vertical and big wheels for the very lumpy but fast trails.
professed

for the terrain on terra – IMO light as possible for the 10Km of vertical and big wheels for the very lumpy but fast trails.
et

Why does Cycling Tips has to be a road cycling site only?
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