Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 2008

160 km / Around Lake Taupo
www.cyclechallenge.com
Time: 5:14:46
Category Placing: 41st

Well it’s done and dusted – and I’ve got the best tan lines to prove it!

I was feeling pretty confident going into this race, mainly because having done it last year I knew a bit better what to expect in terms or terrain and pacing myself.

The ordeal really began the Thursday prior, when I hauled myself out of bed at 4.30am and went for an AM ride. Repeat Friday, but minus the ride. I was attempting to adjust my sleeping patterns to make that somewhat elusive sleeping thing easier on Friday night, and getting up at 3am on Saturday to drive to Taupo less of a stress.

Unfortunately it didn’t go quite to plan and I failed to get any sleep at all on Friday so I drove to Taupo on Saturday morning without having slept since 4am Friday. This is exactly what happened last year – next year I won’t be such a cheap-skate and I’ll pay for accommodation in Taupo!

After a 30 min warm up I got into place at the starting gate. I was starting in group 4 which is for estimated finish times of 5.00 to 5.30. My secret goal was sub 5.00 but I assumed that was a bit of a pipe dream – for this year – and I was aiming for under 5.30.

I was running my beloved Schwalbe Stelvio tyres. These tyres are so good – really smooth and fast and beautiful to ride and they handle great on corners, but they also have good puncture resistance which in a long race on less-than-perfect terrain is essential for my mental peace of mind.

The race started at a fairly easy pace; I assumed everyone was being semi cautious at this point with so many riders clustered together. It all felt a little too easy though, so I broke away from my initial bunch in the first 10 kms and rode up till I found a slightly faster group to ride in, but it was a big group, maybe 100 or so riders after a while of picking up stragglers. Being anywhere other than the front of a 50+ bunch is a big lose. You get bombarded with too many surges and irrational riders swerving all over the show. I was amazed at the lack of self-awareness or consideration by many riders - not keeping their line, randomly without warning standing up to stretch and simultaneously decelerating. It's hard and takes a lot of mental concentration when you have no trust in the wheel a few inches in front of you.

Things were going pretty smoothly in the bunch until the first little incline which must be about 100 m or so. I climbed the hill at about double speed as most in my group and kicked up my pace a bit on and over the crest to catch another much smaller bunch I could see up ahead.

Kuratau, the longest hill of the ride, at about the 80km mark, was awesome fun. I remember this hill being utter hell last year so I had consciously paced myself a bit prior to approaching it. No worries at all this year though – legs were still feeling pretty fresh so I do what I know I can now do proficiently and charged up the hill passing at least 100 or so riders (or basically everyone on the hill!) without really exerting myself. Man I am loving hills right now! This might sound stink but I get huge satisfaction/motivation from effortlessly passing riders on hills when I can see they are hurting.. heh heh.

I had a few riders along the way comment on my hill climbing technique and speed which is pretty cool – my daily laps up Reid Road and weekend excursions over the Kaimai hills are really paying dividends now! I've worked hard on my technique too, so it's certainly deserved. It was pretty frustrating how some riders were situated on the road on the climbs - riders of the same slow pace taking up the whole breadth of the road and making it an obstacle course for the likes of myself and other hill demons to get past..

After Kuratau is a 40 km flat section. I had anticipated this to be the hardest part of the course for me because I often struggle to keep good pace over flat terrain for long periods. I initially passed a lot of riders that were going a lot slower (20-25 km/h) but eventually hooked onto a sole rider who was going about 30. I sat on his wheel for a bit then we alternated and took turns on the front. Our little bunch eventually grew to about 20 riders by the time we got to just before Hatepe. It was a really functional group with numerous riders taking turns up front. I was still feeling reasonably fresh and I would have really liked to have pushed the pace a bit more with this group. We were going about 30-35 where we could have been doing 35-40 km/h. I could see my pipe-dream of sub 5 drifting into the ether. I tried a couple of times when I went to the front to push the pace a bit but no-one seemed keen to reciprocate. I figured it was safer to stay in the bunch though, there was a bit of a head wind at this point and I was not confident I could sustain a faster pace solo for the duration required.

A few km’s from Hatepe hill the bunch started to splinter and about four or five of us broke off the front – finally (I assume these riders were playing the same safe card tactic as I was)!

Hatepe was cool, I stood up and sprinted for most of the hill (my last chance to shine for the day). I remember thinking near the top, "How I am still feeling so fresh? I should be feeling toasted by now". At the top of Hatepe I started feeling a bit angry about the whole thing and I really picked up my pace and pretty much went as hard out as I could (Hatepe is the last hill and is about 15 km to the finish line). Halfway down the decent I got caught by about 5 riders who were in my last bunch and we rode together until the last km where everyone splintered and made a mad dash to the finish (I think I was about mid pack).

Overall it was a pretty good ride with no mechanical or hydration issues – despite the scorching 30+ heat. I’m a little (a lot) gutted I didn’t do sub 5. In retrospect I think I was certainly capable of starting with the wave ahead of me (group 3). The pace of the riders around me just wasn’t blistering enough a lot of the time – it felt more like a training ride than a race at times and I still had a decent amount left in the tank come finish. But at the end of the day I still think I made the right move by staying with slightly slower riders rather than initiating a big hero solo effort though.

Scott Cycle For Life 2008

100 km / Clevedon and surrounding area
www.cycleforlife.co.nz
Time: 3:43:36
Category Place: 1st.

This was a fun little race. It coincided with the more prominent Lake Rotorua race and that's basically the only reason I won my category (but let's not get caught up on small details).

I felt exceptionally mud in the first 20 km, despite a 45 min warm up prior. I got dropped from the leading bunch and didn't put in much effort to catch up; I just lacked the motivation today. I'm a little vague of the route the course but we went up around the Maraetai/Beachlands coast and back through Whitford/Brookby, then out to Hunua and up Ponga Road hill back through to Clevedon (or something like that).

After riding solo for quite sometime I was caught by a few riders out along the Maraetai beach coast and I managed to stay with them. There was a 200 m or so hill in Brookby (I think) that I made some gains on and at this point started to meet up with a lot of riders who must have also been dropped from my first bunch. I stated to find my legs after the hill and picked up the pace somewhat.

There was a long flat/undulating section from about the 40-60 km mark and one other rider and myself slowly combined and reeled in riders to form a bunch of about 30 or so. For at least the first 15 km it was just myself and the other initial rider taking turns at the front. Far out, some people are lazy! Sitting on their laurels at the back of the bunch - it really grates my nerves to be honest! After about 15 km and after been on the front for about 10 minutes (a stupid time for a group this size!) I peeled to the right and slowed down to allow the bunch to pass me and slip into the back. I figured I've well and truly done my time! I suspect a lot of these riders don't regularly ride in bunches or have much experience as there was minimal communication (via hand signalling) of obstacles etc and the bunch was less than considerate of cars trying to get past. I wanted to start yelling, "CAR! LEFT!" etc but I didn't. In retrospect I feel like an idiot for being so passive. Sometimes I get scared of been perceived as condescending in these instances since a lot of riders are so much older than me.

Anyway, notable hill of the day is Ponga Road - this is a bloody gem; I can't wait to get to Auckland and ride it again! I think it was about 3 km but with quite a steep grade in parts. It's a semi-rural residential road so there is minimal traffic too.

As always, I passed lots of riders, stragglers and otherwise, on the hill. As this point, with 10 km to go, I started wondering how far up the front I was - in terms of female riders. I knew a few would have been doing the shorter 70 km ride which peeled off of the 100 km route and I knew I had gone quite far ahead of all the girls who were in my previous bunch on the flats. And I knew none had passed me. It was hardly a very fast ride by my standards so I didn't let myself speculate.

Got to the finish happy to have to not needed to stop at any point or have any mechanical issues.

I think I'll do this ride again next year, I really like the route - I love cycling around Clevedon and out to Kawa Kawa Bay/Okere Point and beyond. It holds special nostalgic meaning for me too, being the area I rode when I conquered my first 100 km ride which is only just over a year ago! I feel pretty stoked to have come along way since then! Not only in terms of speed and power, but also stamina - I remember feeling absolutely shattered after that first long ride and required a very long sleep immediately after. Now it's more like a standard morning exursion to me! It's all being good fun :)

K2 2008

200km / Tairua to Tairua
www.arcevents.co.nz/k2cycle/content
Time: 7:28:
Category Placing: 10th

Damn, slept through my alarm. Awesome start. I like to be up for at least 3 hours before embarking on these little expeditions. The weather in the morning was exceedingly calm and clear. Seemingly metaphorically reminiscent of the calm before the storm.

2 km’s into the ride we approach the first climb, Pumpkin Hill (240 m), a relatively easy climb on fresh legs. Up the coast toward Whitianga I rode within a bunch of about 15-20 cyclists. This section is all a bit of blur to me now, the pace was pretty intense and there was a strong head wind in parts. I had to work exceptionally hard not to get dropped, but after a period started tagging precariously at the back and inevitably got dropped. DAMN! I rode solo for at least 10 km before reaching Whitianga where I was fortunate to be caught by a very friendly and welcoming bunch of about 10 guys who verbally invited ("hey - slow down and join our bunch!") me to tag onto their bunch. We worked together harmoniously up until the little steep rise out of Whitianga where I (inadvertently) climbed the hill at twice their speed but they again caught up to me about 1.5 km back onto the flat.

This was a predominant theme for all 40-50 km of hills and really showcased my strengths and weaknesses. Within the bunches I rode in, if we were riding up the hills at the same pace, there was no way I could keep up on the flats – and vica versa! Part of this can no doubt be attributed to the fact that the majority of riders were men whom on their own weighed more than myself and my bike combined. Hill climbing is all about your power to weight ratio and technique. Part can also be attributed to my self-perceived weakness on hills which has lead to obsessive hill training for the last 10 months.

I eventually went off the front of the bunch for good after Myundermann’s hill – a relatively short hill but with a steep grade that was made more taxing with the wind against us.

The next section of undulating terrain was probably the hardest point of the race – I rode mostly solo and the wind was heinous! I looked down at my computer a few times and felt pretty demoralized and lethargic at a lacklustre 18-20 km/h! Nevertheless, I wasn’t going keen to try anything heroic with the ominous Whangapoua hill approaching (albeit slowly). By far the hardest hill of the ride, Whangapoua is around 380 m and must be 4-5 km climb.

Whangapoua started off *very* slowly but I was actually feeling pretty good and re-energized near the top. Endorphins? I had to stop at the water station to fill my 2 now empty bottles and that cost around 1.5 mins. Down the windy descent into Coromandel town I started getting the first hints of a blistering headache that in retrospect I believe was due to dehydration.

Felt pretty good over the next two hills leading onto the flat Thames coast. I caught up with 2 guys who over the course of the 30 km coast line turned into a bunch of about 10-15 riders. The pace was pretty good, around 35-40 km/h. I unintentionally pushed the pace too much when I was leading (out of fear of not being able to maintain the pace!) and the group eventually split into strands, but most of those left behind caught up further down the coast anyway. Was possibly a bit too fast for most of us!

Past Thames is the last of the 7 major climbs – Kopu-Hikuai which is 13 km. It’s a fairly steady climb that is not too step in most parts but I was certainly starting to feel the 150km’s in my legs and I didn’t press my pace for fear of blowing up. My headache returned halfway up the climb with double the intensity of the first bout – AAARGGH! - if it hadn’t been that there was only 30 or so km's to go I would have seriously considered pulling out based on how pounded my head felt at that point! I even shed a few tears, just quietly! It was nasty and consuming and I couldn't think straight to save myself. The huge decent was pretty dampened by how bashed my head was feeling. I took the time to just stay steady and safe, drink heaps and try to recover a bit for the last flat 15 (or more?) km's to finish. It was a little tactic that worked in my favour and I managed a pretty good pace to the finish line – despite not been able to shake mental images of my hurting brain being eaten alive by cock-roaches and magpies (!!) and just wanting the whole thing to be over!

I finished with a time well and truly under my tentative goal of sub 8. If it wasn’t for how bad my headache was I feel I could of sliced at least 10 minutes off that effort. Sub 7 next year fo' sure!