There was a little drizzle for part of the first leg but after that the rain held off until some time after the finish; very thoughtful.

What a beautiful ride by Matt Burton, finally obliterating that long-standing event record; and, of course the more recent course record (Matt Dec's 3:53) - by a huge margin. What a pity there weren't more riders out there to share it with him; it will possibly last for some time because conditions today were pretty good. The one-sixty is a special event, never without some drama and always demanding something special of its riders - out of proportion to the shorter distances and so much more than merely riding the distance..
Steff Van A continued her run of recent successes: even though she was the sole survivor of the women's contingent after a couple of last-minute withdrawals and one DNS, she produced a well-measured ride, slowing only marginally as the wind rose in the latter stages and thoroughly deserved her trophy.

Almost unnoticed at the time was another course record: Pam Criddle shaved over three minutes from the previous 92km course record. In fact Carolyne Doherty also bettered the old mark but, as Pam had started first of the two-lappers, Carlolyne didn't get the chance of bragging rights even for a short time. Never mind - well done both of you!

There was a bit of moisture on the road to begin with; not too much although Ben Madsen might dispute that as he came to grief near the end of his first lap on what proved to be a somewhat treacherous corner; oil and water are a pretty slippery combination… He compounded his woes with a puncture and a wheel-change the next lap. Nevertheless, the wind was in the right direction and the temperature was ideal. There were some other punctures and a few DNFs as a result.

There was work enough for our rescue squad: Alison Ramm (who should have been riding but asthma got the better of her), Sam Bolton, David Equid and Lorraine (who was also our starter). Your registrar was Carolyn Equid once again and scattered around the course were Karl McIntyre and John Healy (swapping so they each got the chance of a quick one-lapper); Paul Laidman and Dave Nangle; Alex Cairnduff and Colin Rose (Colin also did a very quick lap). Troy had another full day: setting up the course, packing it away again, recording elements of a history-making ride and doing his own very fast lap (the second-fastest of the day, in fact). Thank you all.