-->
The
Mont is dead, long live the Mont! Yes
folks, after 18 years of Monts the last edition was (probably) run last
weekend. A combination of ebbing numbers
and organizer fatigue as seen it go the way of the Scott the year prior. I have a sneaking suspicion, however that
it’ll be back - if not next year, then soon after. 1650 riders voted with their
feet at Kowen’s forest. I just can’t
believe there aren’t enough fans of the format for it not to make a return.
And
when it does return, I hope it does so without an E-bike category, the only
blight, IMO, on what was another sterling weekend bashing round the bush with
like-minded friends. And just in case you are wondering, it's dead obvious, from sound of the motor alone, when one creeps up behind you.
Now
that I’m all fired up and nostalgic, it got me thinking about Monts of old.
It’s
2009, and with two Scott24s under my belt I get roped into a team with Craig
and a couple of other ACT dudes (Sparrow Smugglers). Lawrence, Ben, Mike and Adam also joined in
(Lamb Tender and Tasty) and we all crushed into the Sparrow Hill venue as a
rainstorm drenched the tent city, bogging cars and giving Lawrence and I a good
soaking as we put up our tents. Someone
turned the tap off during the night and left the flowy trail in perfect knick
for the race itself. I know time does
funny things to one’s memory, but I still reckon that course was the most flowy
of any of the Monts I’ve ridden. The
Smugglers had a fairly sedate race by Lamb standards; Mikey establish his precedent
for hitting things at speed and corked a thigh, Adam broke a saddle rail, and
then snapped his seatpost bolt altogether on the replacement saddle. Ben discovered the stove half the world cooks
on, and there were about 450 teams in total.
2010
returned to the Sparrow Hill venue, where mega amounts of dust was the order of
the day. The Salmons joined Lawrence and
I as “Sushi Salmon and the Wasabi Nostrils”, whilst a second team, comprising
GK, Jimmy, Sean and John, were “Green Eggs and Spam”. Lawrence, Jimmy and Sean must have broken
some sort of record by squashing three people, three bikes, and camping
equipment inside a VW polo. GK
established his penchant for bringing the wrong bike, and the Nostrils clocked
400 km to place 136th in a field of 545 teams, and over 2600 riders.
2011
saw the venue change to Kowen’s forest and the first incarnation of the Soggy
Bottom Boys (along with Mike, GK and Ham), with the fantastic kit put together
by GK, who also impressed by bringing a portable shower. We fielded three teams in total, including
Kev, Chris, Mike, Iain, Felix, Jasper, Andy, Sara and Giles. Collectively, the 2011 edition was packed
with misadventure. Mikey with 4
punctures, Chris and Kev crashing out, Andy crashing out before the event had
even started, and Ben crashing the car in sympathy. We wisely called it a day on the second
morning when a deluge hit the venue. 550
teams in total.
2012 The much anticipated slop fest, on the tail
of Capital Punishment just prior, didn’t happen. Miraculously conditions were perfect. We fielded two teams, with Craig roped in as
a gun to join Mike, Ham and myself. Ben
rocked the stripy duds for the first time.
Mikey hit another something early in the piece, and ended up in the
hospital tent with a hematoma below the knee.
Heavy winds, followed by heavy dew, and down to three resulted in us having
a break through the night. The excuses
column first appeared on the lap board.
Mikey recovered Lazarus-style to roll morning laps, giving the same leg
another whack for good measure. Good
times!
2013.
Another dry and dusty affair, with 593
teams making for an extremely hazy first lap of a figure 8 course complete with
flyover. Anita did her first day and night laps, overcoming abject terror
before stating that she actually enjoyed bits of it. Them’s slippery words. Giles proved that you can circulate with zero
brakes. Sara joined GK in rocking a
29er, Felix rocked his laps on flats, I lost a crank arm on the last lap, and Mikey
sweet-talked the MC into donating a carton of butt cream to the ensemble, to
ensure the Soggies stayed soggy. We placed 107th outright.
2014
was the year of the deluge so dramatic that the event was re-scheduled till
late in the year, when the weather gods provided spectacular conditions. 2800 riders and almost 600 teams on track. This edition was notable for grumbling among
the riders union about rider order and schedule - resulting in the team of 6 (Sara,
Nicky, Anita, Giles, Dave LB and Ben) showing up the showpony quartet, and in
doing so placing quite respectably in the team of 6 mixed category. This sparked a rethink as to how we might attack
future editions. And we didn’t have to
wait long.
2015
rolled around in no time, and back to the late march timeslot. Moira was now keeping the lapboard in check,
and the quartet reshuffle gave us the top spot in mixed masters quartet. The race was rolled in perfect weather apart
from a fog of biblical proportions in the early morning, which made seeing
through goggles of any kind nigh on impossible.
No one ended up at first aid, which in and of itself pointed to a
successful weekend for all.
2016
was the yin to last year’s yang (or is it the other way round), and a few of us
did indeed end up in the hospital tent; take a bow Mikey, and then Anita on day
two. Campsite shenanigans now extended
to Frazer and Jeremy wielding lightsabres to keep things in line, which was
just as well as, down to three, an evening of chit chat and beer was in order, including
discussion of lumens and the warping of space-time. Sara was now starting to get mistaken for
Anita, and also posted the fastest split, finishing only minutes after she’d
started. As in 2014, the sextet (Ben, Sara, Andrew K, Dave LB, Nicky and Giles)
kept things sane and sensible, running through the night, although Giles’ much
improved splits caught Ben napping, twice.
Which
brings us to 2017 and an episode of the Mont on a very different track to the similar
variations of years past, but one that grew on me as the laps tumbled. The mixed 40s quartet had a real battle on
its hands, with three other teams (of 9) all in close contention till the very
end. Despite our taking the lead briefly
during the wee hours, the Jindy Trail Fairies came back strong and in the end deserved
the win, holding us by 9 minutes, with the Podium Pensioners rounding out the
steps. Hats off! The other two Soggy quartets were a little undermanned,
but thus had more freedom to be lapping when it suited. Giles once again demonstrated that he is only
getting quicker with age, and Chu Wei, despite never having ridden such an
event before, posted a pair of day and night laps, on a 26er so antiquated as
to be fully rigid. Chapeau! According to the results 316 teams took to
the event (the SBBs placed 42nd outright), which is towards half the
number of teams as in it’s heyday, only a few years back. However it’s still a
big number in my book.
Hopefully
this is not the very end of the Mont24 chapter, but a mere breather before it re-emerges
in some form in the future. Even though
it takes quite an effort to get down there, let alone get the dust out of
everything back home, I’ve never regretted doing the event, catching up with
fellow Soggies, furthering my education about negotiating corners, and
experiencing the joys of trailer showers and trailer cuisine. Guess I’m just a trailer kind of guy. I’ll miss it!