Wagga Dirty 130

Yet another country town has been getting into the cyclosportif act.  Having previously sampled road events centered on Bathurst, Bowral and Orange, would the “town of many crows” be any different?

Although, at 130 km, it was going to be shorter than the aforementioned events, it was certainly going to be interesting in that 40 of those km were unpaved - somewhat blurring the line towards this being a gravel event.  And many saw it as exactly that, given the array of on-trend specialty machines strewn about the park hosting the rego.

Word was that a road bike shod with fatter slicks would do the job, short of bringing 29er hard-tails, so that’s what we brought.  I’ve been running 25s front and rear for a few years now, but for Ham and Anita it was their first foray into having more rubber on the road.

No rain was forecast, but a frigid start was certainly in the offing, necessitating the right combination of layers to deal with the arc of the sun.  The Soggies were a large bunch this year - no doubt pining for Monts past - as we assembled at the start. 

The first gravel sector arrived only ~ 15 km in, with a plume of dust heralding its arrival.  The dust in those early segments was so thick it was hard to see what was going on a times, and punctuated by doubled-over bodies strewn along the sides, dealing with what was, for many, the first of many punctures.  I think Ben suffered 3 in the first 25 km, then another later on, Mikey got one, whilst I also felt that squishy feeling just after the penultimate strip of dirt.  The tracks themselves ranged from hot-mix quality hardpack, through squirming sand, rooty double track, all the way to horrid ice cube gravel.  Something for everyone, and every bike setup.  Ideally tires more towards CX width (low to mid 30s - which standard road frames wont swallow) would be more appropriate , given there is still 90 km of asphalt to gobble.  If it were 90 km of dirt, you’d go the 29er hard tail.

I was a little put off by how far one has to drive to make Wagga from Sydney, but it was certainly worth it.  Of all the abovementioned events I think Wagga is probably the least serious, most fun, and one we’ll be back for in years to come. Heaps of accom, good country town vibe, and Baillon’s crake an easy tick at the local wetlands.  And what better excuse to justify adding to the number of bikes lurking in the garage?