Top Gun - The Bike Race
On October 25, 2014 the Kowalski Brothers organised a 24 hour team race for thousands of mountain bikers to participate in multiple categories of teams of four and six. The Organizers proposed the podium positions could only be attained by the top one percent of its participants. The purpose was to encourage the lost art of dirt combat and to ensure the handful of men and women who podiumed were the best mountain bike riders in Australia. They succeeded. Today, the mountain bike community calls it The Mont 24 hour. One rider calls it: Top Gun
 Starring Phil Welch, Ben Edols, John Miller, Ian Bridgland and Kelly McGillis (as the token love interest) | Only three weeks ago, I was approached at a race and pulled to a covert location. I was informed a Top Masters four man team had a rider down and they were looking for a fresh recruit. They heard that I had a reputation. I was a quality rider but I was dangerous. The word was my ego was writing cheques my body couldn't cash. But this team was willing to take a chance and so the approach was made. As the conversation unfolded, I knew this person was a leader of men. He told me his name was classified but I could call him Ben. If I took up the challenge, I would be joining a team of veteran warriors on whom the sun daren't set. I was honoured by the offer, but such an undertaking could not be entered into too lightly. I needed to withdraw to ascertain my options, but a week later I sent a message to say I was in. I would be racing against the best. I would be going to Top Gun. |
The team of combatants I was joining was known as 'Benny and the Jets'. Apparently Elton John's 1974 hit single is Marilyn Manson's favourite song and inspired 'Guns and Rose's' lead singer Axl Rose to become a singer. I was inducted into the squadron as the 'Hornet'. As a supersonic twin engine machine capable of Mach 1.8 and an all-weather multi-role fighter I felt the name was reasonably appropriate. Of course Benny was our squadron leader, but John 'Iceman' Miller was a bike pilot of considerable reputation and experience and has fought successfully in top-level triathlon, while Ian 'Goose' Bridgland was the best wingman in the business and a terrific bike pilot in his own right.
| As a solo rider, having competed in no less than nine solo 24 hours, I was seen by the team as an independent minded person and certainly not used to working closely with others in a team. I was labelled 'Maverick' and the name appeared to stick. Ben addressed his troops: "Gentlemen - You are the Top 1% of Mont Bike Riders - The Elite - The best of the best". We were now expected to prove it. The training was over and as, in excess of 6000 competitors turned up in the paddocks adjoining Kowen Forest in Canberra, the mood changed from jovial to austere. Ben would lead us into battle and as a crescendo of cow bells signalled the start of the race, Ben flew past our position in a cloud of dust as he sucked the drag of the lead motorbikes. He was so fast, only one of us actually saw him and she was able to inform HQ that Ben had been sitting in 10th place until the start of the first climb. Unfortunately, at this point multiple bogeys swamped our squadron leader. Ben held his nerve, and negotiated the wonderful twists and turns of the magnificent 19 kilometre course to finish his lap in 52:29 and 32nd position overall. He even had the audacity to buzz the tower as he flew past transition and handed the baton to John Miller. |  Ben Edols - Squadron Leader |
 John Miller - as cool as ice |  Ian Bridgland - suffered major wing damage | John 'Iceman' Miller is the undisputed powerhouse of the Jets. Also known as 'Ramjet', he rides most efficiently at supersonic speeds of around Mach 3 but has been known to have reached speeds of up to Mach 6 on the 'Luge' descent at Mt. Stromlo, Canberra. John lived up to his name, putting in the team's fastest lap of the whole 24 hours, finishing with an impressive lap time of 51:52. |
Ian Bridgland took flight for our third lap, aptly named 'Afterburner' because Ian is most noted for ingesting several caffeine gels during solo 24's, enabling him to inject additional fuel into his engine and allowing him to blast past his bemused opposition. Unfortunately, Ian was suffering damage to his left wing, and the rocky and uneven terrain was taking a toll early on. He managed to limp in to transition with a respectable 57:41 but the early signs were not good. Painkillers were taken as frantic work was carried out on his damaged shoulder in preparation for his next lap. Only time would tell whether or not he could nurse his battered fuselage through another 21 hours.
| It was actually a relief to start riding and to at last engage full throttle. It was 2.43 pm when I started my first lap, and all the waiting around had only made me more nervous. I just didn't want to let my new teammates down and I just didn't know how well the Hornet was going to fly. I shouldn't have worried. Despite the incredible amount of traffic I needed to pass and the heat of the day with the mercury tipping 30 degrees, I was motoring. The course was an absolute dream to ride and I cherished every kilometre. My only problem was trying to engage in conversation (as commanded at race briefing) with all 50 riders I passed on the course on that first lap. I actually lost my voice by the time I made the final descent. Despite negotiating so much traffic, I still managed a 54:33, the fastest time in our category for that particular lap. We were sitting fourth in the Masters Category, three minutes behind 3Fidi Coached, who were in third. |  Phil 'Maverick' Welch |
| Ben and John were able to put in two more solid sub 54 minute laps which had put us into third by five minutes, but the team was going to experience its first major casualty. Ian had taken several hits and his wing was severely damaged. To continue would have ended in total destruction. I took off on my second lap, but I knew my buddy was gone. I cast my mind back to my first ever squadron of riders: a team of six at the Scott 24 hour. We lost 5 of the riders, 3 to injury and 2 left disillusioned. I was left to ride alone, solo for 24 hours. I still managed third. It was the same here. First one dies, you die too. But there will be others. You can count on that. I had to let him go. The team had to let him go. I rode on, driving down the power in memory of my lost comrade. A 54 minute lap was my tribute to my fallen hero. Night had fallen on Canberra, but the night had yet to fall on the team. We would fight on as a team of three. |  Ian Brigland - Manning HQ after sustaining collateral damage during the race |
Our next three laps were solid, and as I flew into transition to finish lap 11, we had regained third by the narrowest of margins: just 16 seconds. By the end of my next lap, we had slipped 53 seconds behind. It was 1.15 am and the night was beginning to bite. Our illustrious leader Ben, looked jaded and his times were slipping over the hour. Meanwhile, our opposition were staying strong, their superior numbers helping them to rotate less frequently. We knew they would be getting more sleep. We had time for very little. The gap opened to six minutes. Ben was hurting and he seemed worried about the increased kilometres he was having to do. This had definitely not been the plan. The team needed to remain strong.
| I managed to get a little sleep and when I opened my eyes, I could see the sun had risen over the Canberra hills. John Miller appeared from behind the sun and had monstered an incredible 58:39 lap to put us two minutes ahead of 3Fidi. A titanic dogfight ensued in the early daylight hours. Ben then dug deep within his body and soul and pulled out an outstanding 57:30. I commented that it was truly a captain's knock. Their times quickened but we were able to match them and even surpass their times by a few seconds. We felt the need...the need for speed. All three of us rode 56 minute laps. The final five hours involved both teams throwing in all they could. Nothing was left in the tank. But when John rolled in at midday, the sun had truly set on 3Fidi. The gap had blown out to six minutes and the battle had been won. This race was all about the podium - there is no glory in fourth place! |  Benny and the Jets Post Race |
 A captain's knock - Ben Edols is congratulated by wife Cath |  All smiles after Ben rolls in a sensational last lap |
In case some of you are wondering who the best is, they are up here on this podium. (Viper, Top Gun)
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