The annual Paluma Push event was held last Sunday 21 July 2019. It was one of the best organised Paluma Push events in recent times. There was a ‘Check Point Operations Plan’ available in advance which was extremely informative, especially for new volunteers. It clarified set up times, duties and the number of persons needed at each Check Point. Equally useful, a digital map was provided and updated so that all organisers and volunteers were aware of the designated Check Points along the course.
This year there were four categories:- Competition 70 km. Intermediate 53 km. Recreational 42 km and the new E-bike class 53 km. Start times from Paluma were at 09.00 am, 09.05 am, 09.10 am & 09.20am, respectively.
The Paluma Dam Road was in very good condition after the recent remedial roadworks (following the February 2019 deluge) and the fastest competitor arrived at Check Point 1 in just under 28 minutes. One has to say that at many of the checkpoints some ‘assertive direction’ is necessary where the different competitor classes diverge to take different courses.
Radio communications were essential, provided mostly by handheld radios supplied by the Rural Fire Brigades, Mt Spec SES and Townsville SES. Members of all three services manned Check Points and some additional local volunteers manually recorded and counted the numbers of competitors as they passed through the Check Points. Waterfall Creek Rural Fire Brigade handled from Check Point 5A onwards, while Paluma volunteers manned the rest. Interestingly some of the Check Points which had excellent communication in previous years had some issues with static and positioning problems.
From the Check Point 1 rider count we believe there was a total of 445 competitors. The rider numbers in the first three categories were quite similar, whereas in past years the highest number of riders were from the Recreational group. There were 9 riders in the E-bike class – a recent addition to the Paluma Push competitors.
All volunteers regarded their participation in the Paluma Push as rewarding and a great day out on what was a perfect Paluma winter day. Many enjoyed the excellent barbeque provided in the Paluma Community Hall after the race.
Report by Les Hyland