Inner Mongolia, a province of China, lured us with its temptation of adventure for the Ordos Adventure Quest. Moxie Gear/NUUN Our team put together by Darren Clarke consisted of Luke Haines, Sam Clark (N.Z.) Darren and me, Deanna Blegg. A potentially strong team especially if the disciplines of paddling and cycling were in our favour. Mongolia was an unknown territory to all of us. What would the weather be like? Is it mountainous? How different would the food be? Culturally is it the same as China? Ordos was holding its second International Nandam Fair. A huge event that attracted media from all around the world. For the first time the Adventure challenge was to be a part of it. |  | ||
 | It consisted of 5 days held over 4 stages. Mountain Biking, Kayaking, Running, Horse riding and abseiling, with sand sledding thrown in for some extra fun. A total of 500km. Teams of 4 (3 men and 1 woman) had to navigate their way around a course and punching in at each checkpoint. 25 teams from around the world were there to chase the $200,000 American Dollar Prize Pool. We were one of them. | ||
True to form The Chinese put on an amazing opening ceremony. 10,000 entertainers, 3,000 athletes, 50,000 spectators and a total TV viewing of 1 billion! Now that’s huge. It was a unique feeling to carry the Aussie flag into the stadium. Before it all took place we were able to wander out the back with the Mongolian entertainers all costumed up ready for their performance. I think they were as fascinated by us as we were with. |  | ||
 | The Race Format was as Follows: Day one started with a longer than anticipated bus ride to the start. A few detours were taken as the bus didn’t fit under some of the bridges. It was a relief to arrive. The Yellow river was brown and flowing fast which excited us somewhat as 60km can be a long time in the boat. We paddled well and came out in the top end of the group. Onto the bike for a fast MTB to the start of the Desert Run. | ||
| Our team was solid and fast. It is tough to work as a new team as we each had to learn each others strengths and capabilities. It is important to maximize the team’s strength by working together. It doesn’t always come naturally and can sometimes take a few races to ‘get it all worked out. Transition from bike to Trek was quick and before we knew it the sun was setting on the Gobi Desert whilst we jogged our way into the darkness. |  | ||
 | A really amazing experience. Evening one was camp. We had a compulsory 7 hour stopover in which we set up tents, ate dinner, and then tried to sleep. I sometimes find it really hard to sleep after the first day as the adrenaline is pumping and the body doesn’t seem to want to rest. | ||
Day 2: 3am we awoke, fed, packed camp and were ready to roll over the sand dunes by 4am. Into the darkness we trekked AYUP’s a blaze cutting through the darkness. The desert by night is silent. A black mass of soft sand was our canvas in which each of us left our footprints. Guided by GPS alone we trudged up and down dunes heading to checkpoint after checkpoint. 6am the sun’s glow warmed the scene, and by 7am the sun rose, casting crazy shadows all over the dunes. It was a spectacular site. |  | ||
 | On and on we went, checkpoint then move on. We had 35 km to travel for the day and we wanted to be out of there before the sun rose too high. We, of course, were wearing Moxie Gaiters, and moxie sand gaiters. They did such a fantastic job that over the 9 hours we were in the desert sand no sand got in my shoes. Pretty awesome really.Finally the finish was near, only 6km to go.What a feeling. We were moving along well and in a good position. 6th. | ||
| Imagine how we all felt when the GPS said we should be at the finish yet there was no finish in sight. My heart sunk. A misplotting of the GPS had put us 6km off from the finish. My heart and soul sunk and I truly felt like crying….but…crying does no good when you are 6km from a finish line and the clock is still ticking. Right. Quick mind readjustment. Get the team going, and off we went. The finish was a lovely site to see. We had dropped from 6th to 10th. Spirits pretty low. The only way to fix it was to make up the places and that is what we intended to do. |  | ||
 | I’d been really looking forward to riding the Mongolian Ponies. My daughter rides horses competitively and I was thinking hard of how’d she familiarize her self with a new horse. Let it smell you….well it totally wasn’t interested. Take it an apple…well it didn’t even bother to seem enthused by it. Sugar cube…nope. Nothing. They ignored us completely. Darren and I both had a horse each to ride whilst Sam and Luke were the lead holders. Luke I am guessing was a bit unsure around horses, and after one stood on his toe was even more uncomfortable. Our horses (ponies) were go getters and off we went. Our tactic was to go for it today and see what unfolded. | ||
| So too was that of the Red Bull Team. Together we headed out of transition into the strong head wind for a 100km MTB road ride. Our plan, go hard and fast and stay ahead.This is Red Bull and Team Moxie Gear going hard at it. We managed to start with a 4 min lead and build it up to 11 min whilst the bunch forming behind decided who was going to work to pull us in. Unfortunately for us after the 50km mark they decided to get a system in place. They caught us at about the 80km mark. This mass of Cyclists swallowed our bunch. The only relief being that we were sucked long for the next 20 km. |  | ||
 | This is the pack. Really what chance did we have? We tried. A mass entry into the transition had people and bikes going everywhere. All heading out for the Final 3km Sand dune run and slide. I was fatigued and my legs weren’t playing too well. Sand dunes; please, no more!We finished on the overall ranking at 10th, yet only 5 min behind the leading team for the stage. Happy. It was a good day for us. | ||
| Camping in the rain wasn’t too much fun. Racing in the rain is ok. |  | ||
 | The 18km Canyon River run was pretty spectacular. The Wasps I think stood out for most of us. You’d be running along, hear some men screaming (like Girls) and then all of a sudden parts of my own body were in great pain. I didn’t hear or see them, but I certainly felt them. As I ran further along the track there were more men screaming…no women. | ||
| Funny that. I know I made a few little noises the next time they got me on the face though. Ouch!The Abseil was ok. I’ve been a bit spoilt for spectacular abseils in China so this didn’t stand out too much. Only served to ruin my figure of 8 descender. |  | ||
 | Yes that’s me looking very serious. I must say this stage I wasn’t feeling my normal Perky self. I was towed by Sam and Darren along the River. Thanks so much to them as it made the section happen quicker than if I were on my own. Super strong men on the team fueled by Capilano’s Honey Shotz and hydrated by NUUN really helped. | ||
| This is Darren pulling me up a gutter. | |||
 | The 43 MTB seemed ok on paper; however the rain had stirred things up a bit. The road was now a Mud bath. Long, exhausting, wearing on body and bike, and too came with its complications. | ||
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| A Single Speed -Perfect! | |||
| A 20 km paddle was all that was left to finish the day. Sam and Luke were on fire and pretty much set the pace. I was still having a ‘Flat’ day so did my best to put the power in whilst Darren powered, steered and kept things in line. We motored along pulling in boat after boat and closing the time gaps between teams. Slowly but surely we were pulling the time in. |  | ||
| A respectful 7th for this stage, yet we were still 11th on the overall ranking. The times were tight which meant for an exciting last day. Each place we pulled in was $1,000 for the team. Incentive. My focus on arriving back at the hotel was to fuel the body and allow maximum recovery. Thanks to Luke for cleaning up my bike. After the feed up time was spent preparing for the last day. Not a big Stage yet vital to our finishing up the placings a bit.Sam managed to borrow another bike for the last stage. Thanks Alex Polizzi from Team Peak Adventure. |  | ||
 | Last stage, last day. Yes that’s me in the pic. I am not unhappy, just very cold. A fast 2 laps around town, each team leaving at 30 sec intervals, followed by a quick 10km paddle. This is good for us. A chance to pull in some time and positions. Luke wasn’t too well by this stage. A stomach bug that had been hindering him hit its mark through the night leaving him pretty wasted. His spirits and attitude were good though and we all knew we’d hurt for a couple of hours and then it’d all be over. Sam was super fired up as too Darren. I was keen to smash it too. Our timer beeped and we were off. Pedal to the Metal? | ||
| Hmmm. The roads were clear and wide and we had full use of the 4 lanes. Windy, wet and cold conditions did not deter us as we have it our best. Sam and Darren gave it their all as Luke and I barely hung on in their draft. I was on tow to Sam’s bike to make sure I didn’t get left behind. We managed to take in one team and gain some time on a pack that had formed in front of us. I was riding my TREK Superfly which was light and agile. Perfect for the conditions. We transitioned straight off the bikes and into the boats. Motivation high and spirits to match. Two laps of an extra long 5km circuit. I didn’t mind. The longer the course the more advantage we had in the boats. It felt great to pull in boat after boat and get closer and closer to the finish. |  | ||
| It felt even better to cross the finish line. We finished 5th for that stage with only 6 min separating us from first. Once again another good day.That effort pulled us up to a 9th position for the competition. Well done Team Moxie gear/ NUUN. Thanks Darren, Team Captain from Moxie Gear for making it happen. The team kit was great and the Moxie Gaiters were fantastic. | ||
 | Thanks Jae and the boy at Omara Cycles. Great Bikes, excellent service. | ||
 | Calipano Honey Shotz and NUUN Hydration. Keeping us all well fuelled throughout the event. |
