Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge and Rotorua MNIC Round 3
What I can tell you is that I just managed to achieve the goal I set for myself of coming in under 5 hours, taking exactly 1 hour off my previous effort mangaging 4hrs 53minutes. Conditions were pretty near perfect and all in all things went well. The fuelling strategy worked well but I learnt some lessons, the first of which is that 2 bottles on the seat adds a very noticeable amount of weight, particularly when the race goes up hill for the first 5 kms. I had an awful start and I think that may have been a factor. So I spent a lot of the first hour trying to empty bottle number 1 (I was carrying 3) just to get the weight off the bike but still not run out of juice before meeting the feeder around the 130km mark.
Turns out I needn’t have worried as I threw out a full bottle to collect my new one (less in it but different mixture for the finish). Next time, 2 on the bike!
So I spent the first 30-odd minutes getting passed by wave after wave of riders and trying to keep my spirits up. Eventually a group came by and they must have had my legs with them because once I jumped on I stayed with them, cresting most of the climbs first, through to Kuratau which split things up. I then found myself in a growing bunch heading for Hatepe, started out well but lost it after a couple of minutes and unfortunately couldn’t regain the bunch after the top. But the legs felt good and I was able to push on through on my own to the finish for the last few k’s.
Fast forward another week to Saturday’s race in Rotorua, round 3 of the Mid North Island Champs. I didn’t do the first 2 rounds and am not contesting the series, but any excuse to race in the Redwoods… especially when it’s multi-lap format!
Last week I invested in a roof box for the car, something I’ve been wanting for a long time. You can pack a lot in to a Commodore, but it’s nice when the passengers aren’t buried in luggage and gear. Turned out it was just in time as we would have had to apply some major tetris talent to fit all the gear in otherwise! On that note, I’d like to say a big thanks to Gary at Autostripes in Wellington for always looking after my roof/bike/rack/box needs at short notice.
We had 4 in the car for this trip - me, Gav, Jen (catching the race bug) and token Aussie Mark who was racing the downhill on Sunday.
So, boot and box full to the brim but plenty of room to move inside, we drove up to Vegas on Friday morning in time to go for a lap of the course in the afternoon and enjoy the thunder and lightening storm that passed over just to the west.
Saturday was race day and start time was an uncharacteristic 11am. By that time a week previously I was half way around Lake Taupo! So it may come as a shock that I have to admit that I missed the start! Yes, again!!! I was heading back down Longmile Road finishing my warm up when I noticed a distinct absence of people lining up on a start line. Oooooh crap (yet according to my watch - 6 minutes fast by the way - I still had a couple of minutes… who knows?). So I ditched my warm up bottle as I sprinted past the start and let them know I was joining the race. A lot of the faces lining the road looked shocked, confused, surprised, even sympathetic (must have thought I’d had a mechanical).
There’s nothing like knowing your competition are all up ahead to really get the focus dialled. Basically I had 4 laps to catch as many people as possible, on a course similar in hurt level to the nationals course back in February. Keep the hammer down and you’ll make time, let off for just a moment and you’ll be going backwards. The course was really fantastic - fully rideable by all abilities but hard work if you wanted to take it fast. It included a couple of sections I’d never raced before - one I hadn’t ridden before, and they were so much fun!
For the first couple of laps I was picking riders off regularly and getting my lines dialled. By the 3rd lap I was flying and had worked my way up to 3rd place. I’d passed junior girl Jesse Loe on the downhill at the end of the 2nd lap and she’d got right back on my tail by the bottom of the climb on lap 3. She stuck to me like glue right up to a little pinch at the end of the first piece of singletrack - I held her off, but until that point I could not shake her. It’s good to see some juniors improving so well. She must have flown down exit trail!
By half way around the 4th and final lap I was really feeling the hurt on the climbs but felt I had my flow on in the down hills. I haven’t had much time on the dirt this year so I’m not on it yet but there’s no doubt it’ll come back.
I finished up holding on to 3rd place a few minutes back from 2nd - too many for the late start to have made a difference.
The race was fantastic - well organised, great competition, a great course, and more great weather. Thanks to the club for putting it on (and thanks for making a spectacle of me at prize giving - not!).
I’ve just completed 8 races in 8 weeks, so while I could go for 10 in a row, I’ve decided to take next weekend off (off racing, not training) so won’t be competing at the Makara Peak rally. But you can be sure I’ll be there in some capacity. Probably arriving on a wrong looking bike… My final two races for the year are the final round of the mid north island champs in Napier, and then the Tour de Femme in Nelson between Christmas and New Year.
Yep, the fun never stops :o)
