Tour de Timor 2011 Kylie’s Report Following 2 Ironman races in mid 2011 I impulsively decided to enter the 2011 Tour de Timor. It was a 6 day, 600km+ mountain bike race in East Timor and while everyone told me it was tough, I figured my triathlon fitness would get me through, which it did (just). Pre‐Race There were about 420 riders including 80 Timorese riders. Riders were in 4 person teams, with the team's time taken each day when the 3rd team member crossed the line. I arrived in Dili the day before the race. I had sent my bike over earlier in the week as the small planes were unable to fit everyone's bikes on each trip. I stayed at Timor Lodge as it was where the race registration and briefings were happening. Timor Lodge is a compound surrounded by razor wire and much of the accommodation is converted shipping containers ‐ not exactly a luxury resort holiday, but it did have a nice pool and bar area. I was happy to find my bike easily and got it set up quickly. The rest of the day involved a short test ride, registering, finding a team to join (thanks Pippa, Liz and Gil!), collecting my riders kit, race brief and getting organised for the following day. Day 1 – Dili to Laclubar 111km Day 1 was a mix of excitement, anticipation & exhaustion. It started with waking up to a pre‐race flat tyre, which was quickly fixed. Fortunately for me it was the only one I had for the event.

The first stage started out very pleasantly, with roads in pretty good condition and spectacular scenery heading east away from Dili along the northern coastline. The end of the stage was

particularly tough, with a massive hill climb culminating in a King of the Mountain stage that I could barely drag myself up let alone my bike and goodness knows how anyone rode up it. I missed the official cut‐off time, arriving about 15 mins later, and was very happy to hear later that ¼ of the field missed the cut off and so long as you arrived before the sag wagon your time still counted. I had a cold shower, set up my tent, had a feast for dinner and sent a text message home saying “what the hell was I thinking, I don’t want to play anymore”. Day 2 – Laclubar – Beacu (122kms) This was supposed to be a mostly downhill stage. It was not. My lack of mountain bike skills really showed. I walked up many loose, rocky, steep uphills and cautiously slid down the downhills. 122kms later I was extremely relieved to make it to camp. Again I showered, set up camp, ate and sent a message home “ditto”. Day 3 – Beacu – Illomar (69kms) This was supposed to be an easier, shorter day, but with the onset of a sore knee and fatigue from the past two days it certainly didn’t feel any easier. We crossed over a dry riverbed and I felt sorry for the guy who got a flat tyre in the middle of it – it was hot, dusty and no shade in sight.

With 7kms to go and a throbbing knee I stopped at a roadside shop for a can of coke while chatting to the local community and taking photos. Feeling sufficiently refreshed I prepared myself for the final 7kms of climbing for the day, I got on my bike, rounded the corner and there was the finish. Haha oops, I felt a bit stupid stopping 500m from the finish line, but I enjoyed my time with the local village. Message home: “Item for e‐news: Mountain bike for sale. Just kidding, but only just.” Day 4 – Illomar to Com (79km) This was actually a pleasant day, flatter than the others, relatively short and very little knee pain thanks to an event physio and some voltaren. The stage ended with a tricky steep downhill which I was happy to get through without falling off. With an earlier finish I was able to do some washing and wander around the beach. Later that day the top 30 riders had an off‐road criterion. Text message home: ”Hey, that was almost fun.” Day 5 – Com to Manatuto (142km) Despite being the longest stage this was supposed to be a fast one, with sealed roads. The start was delayed with news of an accident with the support crew vehicles who were travelling ahead. Sadly later that day we learned that an Australian soldier who was assisting one of the teams had died in the accident.

When we got underway people formed groups and started drafting (which was allowed for this event, but it was amusing seeing packs of people drafting on mountain bikes). This should have been a long but pretty straight forward stage however the past four days caught up with me and after trying but failing to stay with various groups I found myself going about 15km/hr on good, flat bitumen. I was so exhausted I was about to fall off. With a big hill climb to come I decided I couldn’t go any further and found a rare shady tree to sit under and waited for the sag wagon to pick me up. Message home: “Sag wagon wins, I’m sitting under a tree waiting to be picked up, found my so buggered I’m going to fall over point”. After about 45mins of lying down, eating and drinking I started to recover and along with the person I was waiting with we decided to get back on the bike and roll along until the sag wagon picked us up. As we got to the start of the hill climb to Baucau I looked back and could see the sag wagon approaching in the distance. The hill climb turned out to be not too bad and I made it to the top before the sag wagon. I caught up with a few people, made it to the next aid station and started to think maybe I could make it to the finish. With a lot of assistance from a fellow Darwin rider Mike, I drafted the last couple of hours and made it to the finish line 15 minutes before the sag wagon. I was so happy to beat the sag wagon and I sent an ecstatic message home that started with “take that sag wagon”. Despite the event being a race against the clock and each other, for me and several others at the back of the pack it was often a personal race against the sag wagon to get to the finish line first. Day 6 – Manatuto to Dili (85kms). The last stage was a formality, but in the usual Tour de Timor fashion it wasn’t easy. It was quite a hot day with a few decent hill climbs and once arriving back to Dili we were made to ride another 20kms around town including several kms down a dry rocky river bed.

It was a great relief and feeling of accomplishment to finally finish and the beer, hot shower and a proper bed that night were very much appreciated.

After It took about a month to face putting my mountain bike back together, I’ve only been for 1 mountain bike ride since, but I would consider doing the event again. It definitely helped my road cycling, was a very different adventure and a challenge that wasn’t always fun at the time, but felt very rewarding to finish. The race organisers sent an email saying the 2012 event will be shorter and faster, but no doubt it will still be a great challenge. An entertaining Tour De Timor race report ‐ http://www.dorc.com.au/dorc_rides_reports_2011TourDeTimor.html The 2012 Tour de Timor will be held from 10 to 15 September with entries opening on January 15 at www.tourdetimor.com