Build Up To The Vulcaniser!
Here’s a couple of updates from the days leading up to the race while I was getting prepped:
Friday:
Good morning Christchurch! A pity I couldn’t be welcomed with better weather… after leaving the 30+ temperatures in the Hutt yesterday I was subjected to slightly cooler conditions in Wellington thanks to the blustery wind. By the time we landed on the mainland it was 15 degrees thanks to a southerly. It’s still rather cool this morning and it’s all wet!
No doubt the course could use the moisture so that’s all good. It seems like every time I ride the Blur lately it gets filthy. Fortunately I’ve found an amazing product that gets ano-black looking like new again - Pedros bike lust. It smells really nice too.
I’ll be putting the bike together soon, having some lunch then heading out to the course for a few laps.
I’m staying with Michelle and Slim - the place is great (even though I still don’t really know where I am) and the facilities in the garage are superb. I’ve been left with 2 maps and written directions for getting out of town so with any luck I won’t get too lost.
Saturday:
Well it turned out the rain had barely hit out on the course. The dirt is bone dry and the only evidence of any wet stuff was droplets on the grass, which I kept thinking was from the overnight dew until I remembered it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon (it’s all so different!).
The course is super demanding. I’m hoping that the grass sections will bed down somewhat today with people riding the course because they were nasty yesterday - like riding with the brakes on (brakes are bedded in and mint Scotty).
It’s still an awesome course though. Having never ridden multiple laps at race pace I’m hoping not to get tripped up on a lot of the sections that could get nasty with fatigue setting in - and that’s just on the climbs! Tight climbing switchbacks, steep pinches. I’m comfortable with the down hills and hoping to get a bit more flow on today. I really do notice the need to settle in, get my eye in and start to feel the flow over a couple of days on the dirt these days. But it’s all changing around now anyway - most days on the dirt.
I’m going to head out and ride a couple more laps later to get things really dialled in, then prep the bike (and me) and fill in time til the race!
