It’s all about the battles

The Auckland MTB club have been running the XC series for a while now in various forms. I’ve participated in various rounds through the year but never managed string together the full series.  This year the stars aligned and the schedule was free of clashes. Round 3 took place at the Slater Road Farm. Slater Road is a hidden gem. The opportunity to ride these trails again made me doubly excited for the race.

What makes sport entertaining to me is definitely the battles. Think back to your most memorable moment in any sport and there will undoubtedly be a fellow competitor/team pushing you, paying you out with a photo finish or a last minute goal. Going into the race I was sitting tied for first place with Nicholas Reeves in the overall series. It was all on the line in the series finale. Game on.

The race went well for me, getting put on the ropes for the first lap by Adrian, but managing to get away during the second lap. A bit of a downer to see Nicolas on the side of the track with food poisoning, so looking forward to another battle in the future. The win meant I took out the overall series but with a bit of a hollow feeling.

Thanks to Echelon Cyclery for showing my bike some love after the recent trashing it’s been receiving.  The epic performed amazingly as I’ve become accustomed too. It really is an amazingly dialled xc machine, making up for my lack of skills. Thanks to the Auckland MTB club volunteers for running an awesome event.

Xterra World Championship

My flight over to the island paradise of Hawaii was scheduled the day after the Auckland ITU worlds. This meant the after party of the Auckland Race had to be a bit restrained, not that many people feel like partying the night after a 5:00am wake up and a triathlon. The Air NZ flight to Honolulu was packed with other athletes, some returning after the Auckland race, but most heading to Maui for Xterra.

After the short 8 hour flight I arrived in Honolulu at 10:00. I had cheaped out on my plane tickets so didn’t get feed, so I was pretty keen to find some. The motel I booked was in the middle of an industrial area in Honolulu. There was nothing. The one petrol station was shut. I was roaming the streets around 11pm when I ran into another guy who I could only assume was on a similar quest. it , nothing open for food. Turns out he too was a kiwi on route to NY city. We did a little research on his iphone and bingo, Wendys restaurant 1.5miles away. After the hike and salivating over what to get from the menu, we tried ordering from the drive through, since the restaurant part was shut. The manager gave us a big palm, “no service unless you are in a vehicle”. You have got to be kidding me! I found a vending machine and ate some nuts for dinner.

I booked a flight to Maui at 8am. The following morning. Why on earth did I do that. Honestly. Check in to the place I was staying was 3pm leaving an awkward 5 hours of wandering with my bags. Luckily I managed to get the hotel to keep my bike bag.
I was Wednesday and time for registration / opening of the courses. The place I was staying (Lahaina) was about 15km south of the resort where Xterra was happening. Sounded fine to me, 15km wazrm up and down each day. Riding out to the course was super hot. At 9am in the morning the sun was beating down hard and it was already 28+ degrees. Bit of a change coming from the NZ winter. I registered and set out for a bike course reccie. The Xterra bike course is long hot and has a lot of elevation change. While the trails are not overly technical riding some of the off camber corners and the loose soil conditions takes a bit of getting used to. The riding reminded me most of dry queensland type condition. Semi Dessert like land. The ride around the course took around 2 hours. I was not pushing hard but battling to settle my heart rate under my threshold level. I felt like I was soft pedalling but my heart was racing. I came out of the ride dehydrated and a little demoralised to be honest.
　
After my 15km warm down in the afternoon sun, I got back to the hotel and I was smashed. I lay down for a few hours feet up and AC blasting. Maybe this isn’t going to be so easy!

Triathletes and most athletes I suppose are a commonly plagued by self doubt. Doubts about your training, form, performances play havoc with ones mind. That ride hit me mentally more than anything. Maybe the Triathlon in Auckland was not such a good idea. The recovery time was short and I would not be ready for Xterra. Then I remembered why I do triathlons. Who gives a crap im just here to have some fun.
After a good sleep, some macdonalds for breakfast I was off to Kapalua for a run of the race course. On the way out I couldn’t help by antagonise some roadies by drafting them for about 10km. I even rolled through doing some turns with my backpack on and running atire. They were getting agitated and tried some legitimate attacks, with out of the saddle sprinting on liitle rising. Each time I pulled them in to receive a dirty look.
The run course is knarly. 3 miles of uphill, hellishinsly steep in parts followed by a slalom downhill smashfest with off camber corners tree truck hurdles, the works. The run was good, I really enjoyed the course running the uphills at tempo and taking downhills easy. In hindsight I think I did this wrong. The swim was topped off by a swim in the ocean.
That arvo, I rolled on over to the Lahaina Aquatic centre for a few laps of the pool. Got to say, swimming in a outdoor pool in 30 degree heat is awesome. A far cry from crowded, ,dark, over chlorinated pools in Auckland. Overall a good day of training.

I was still keen to have another go at the bike course and since I didn’t have much else on the cards, I decided to give it a crack early the next morning trying to escape the worst of the heat. I rode out, stopping in for oatmeal and coffee (breakfast of champions) on route. Being 2 days from the event, I really needed to take it easy so was spinning hard on the uphills trying to keep the heart rate low. Immediately I could feel the body working a bit more normally, with a usual range of hr for the perceived effort. I. don’t know if I was acclimatising to the heat, if it was just cooler or if I had recovered a bit better. The ride went a lot better and I started to feel a bit more confident about the course. Anyways a step in the right direction.

Struggling for things to do and being ADD, I found a scooter hire place and got one for the afternoon. I missioning over to the other side of the island in search of a famous kite surfing beach I had read about. Just following my nose I found the beach. Holy shit!



It dawned on me I had committed a crime. Bringing a mountain bike over to Maui to ride stinking hot, dusty, average trails when a kiting spot like this was just sitting there. 20knots of consistent on shore breeze, not a cloud in the sky, beautiful beach with flat water and the occasional 3 foot wave / ramp. Not a mistake I will repeat.

The rest of day involved a litre of coffee, about $4 of gas (2 tanks) and some quality exploration. It would be fair to say the scooter was tiny but I did manage to get her up to 45 Mph drafting a truck on the aero position. People must have laughed seeing me. Tucked up in the aero position in stubbies on a scooter.


The Saturday was the day before the race and I didn’t want to do anything to strenuous. I hired another scooter and embarked on a mission around the northern volcano. I stopped off at the event site for a quick swim at DT Flemmings beach. There was some quality shore break rolling in, hitting 5 -6 foot during the sets. Perfect. I went for a short 700m swim and then watched apprehensive athletes trying to time their entry into the water. Quite funny at time.


Further up the coast, the surf was amazing. Hundreds of surfers were out ripping. The roads up around the north of Maui become fun. Less like an American highway, more like a coriander road, twisty and steep, which coincidentally become a whole lot more fun on a scooter. Some of the up hills were a bit of a struggle, with speed dropping down around the 10mph mark, the point where I was considering jumping off and pushing. The roads got down to a single lane a some points. A particularly funny moment happened when about 5 cars in each direction met each other on a narrow bit. No one was taking charge of the situation and it ended up in this odd, retarded stalemate where everyone just decided the road was blocked and there was nothing to be done. I couldn’t believe it, and couldn’t help wander how different the outcome would be if the same situation happened in NZ. Luckily I was on a scooter, wished them well and burned off into the sunset chuckling.

That night was the opening ceremony at the Ritz. Finally we got to see what the high entry fee goes towards. The Xterra folks do a really good job at branding their outfit and giving it that family club sort of feel. Noticing that sort of marketing more and more with sporting companies. Before the night was up there was one further curveball to be thrown into the mix. An Earthquake just off the Canadian coast had raised a Tsunami Warning for the Hawaiian islands.

TSUNAMI!!!, everyone drive some where. Traffic on the way home was crazy. The place I was staying in Lahaina was inside the evacuation zone. I could hear people getting evacuated from my hotel, I switched off the light and didn’t answer the door. Ill take my chances thanks guys. Could use the swim training anyways.

I woke up to everything as per usual. Tsunami warning had been lifted. Excellent, meaning they wont cancel the swim. I jumped on the bike stopping at macdonalds for the customery oatmeal and coffee combo. What is it with lines and this country. The body marking line was several hundred metres long and took over 30minutes before I could rack the bike. I don’t understand body marking. What is the purpose of numbering the arms and legs with irritating ink/permanent marking when we have number on both the bike and run race belt. Seems like a hangover from pre race number days where men wore only speedos and drawing pins where deemed to dangerous.

I love the swim start and with a little surf even better. A few duck dives and we were away. All the pre race nerves converted into an intense burst. The first bouy rounding got interesting. Think it was about 6 wide and was in the middle. A bit of a scrum but I got round fine. Apparently there were dophines swimming a couple of metres under the bouy, I missed them because I was too busy avoiding getting kicked in the face.


Onto the bike and the first hill on the course is steep. I found myself immediately reeling some people in. The first bit of single track had a lot of traffic and I knew I had to not fall into the trap of becoming complacent behind someone. Going into the first technical downhill section I caught up to a pro who was struggling. He was really nursing the bike down the section, any slower and you would be sliding on your arse…Dude did a front flip in front of me landing with his $10,000 bike parking slap bang across the trail. I thought this is bull, so bunny hopped over his front wheel and I was free. Moving onto the extended climbs is were I made the most progress, reeling in some of the competition.

The Downhills although not particularly challenging were still fun - hitting around 65 km/h. Doesn’t seem to fast when you compare to road, but on a water rutted dirt road with water bars and patches of loose sand that shit is getting pretty real. Full Aero tuck as id practised on the scooter. I might include scooter riding on my training montage when I make it.

Towards the end of the ride, a group of 4 age groupers formed. Olly Shaw, myself and a couple other young guys. Going into the last section of single track, I wanted to put some pressure on one of the riders so started to push the pace a bit surging and so on. Going through one of the tighter sections I clipped a handle bar on a tree and went down. The others all past. Ended up coming into transition a couple seconds after the others sporting some fast becoming ‘customery’ blood down the leg. it’s an intimidation tactic I use, nothing to do with my gumbiness.

Running off the bike at first appeared all good, but as the trail started climbing, my legs were fried. The run is incredibly difficult after the 30km of climbing you’ve just done on the bike. The first 3 miles of the course are essentially up hill, with some steep sections which make you cringe just looking at them. Once at the 3 mile mark, its back down the hill, except for a nasty pinch right near the end. I was getting past all over the shop, notably by A flying Leslie Patterson, Cabin cranking some extreme downhill speed and Barbara Riveros came powering past me on the pinch, I tried to follow here at the top and try and match her downhill speed but she immediately put 20m on me within a few seconds.

I battled through to the end. The beach was pretty much torture and the last uphill section to the finish line I was on my last legs. I felt a huge sense of relief crossing the finish line. The Hula girls stuck a Lay around my neck, and the weight of the flowers knocked me to the ground. The ice cold water and wet towels were like heaven. I could not stand up straight. That was one of the hardest races ive done.
Although I would have liked to win my age group I am happy with a 3^rd place. I came in as the 8th amateur and 40th overall including the Pro field. Got a sweet medal to add to the trophy cabinet. 2nd fastest bike split in the amateur race. (everyone knows thats what really matters :p) Results are here: http://www.jtltiming.com/results/x-maui12.html. As a side note, i ended up achiveing my goal of beating Barbara Riveros because of the 2 min head start the pro field got on us. Pride is in tack.

Sorry about the length, that’s what happens when you have 6 hours hanging at the airport with a bike bag stopping you from going anywhere.

 Sporting a sweet pink bandage to draw attention to the fact i am a rookie!

Triathlon World Champs in Auckland

Yesterday i competed in my first Triathlon World champs. Auckland was really buzzing with an influx of lycra clad, carbon wheeled, sperm hat looking athletes. An awesome thing to be a part of.
The day started early accompanying the boss down to her race. Sam was having a crack at the sprint distance as her 3rd ever tri.
Watching the sprint distance athletes go off sparked a bit of excitement. The goal of the day was to have a good bike split, not swim too far off course and survive the run. The swim started off with a long wait on the pontoon. Butterflies were abuzing in anticipation for the chaos to follow. 93 mid 20's males full of adrenaline is just asking for a bit of biff-o in the water. The hooter sounded and the chaos began. I've always been good at the 50m sprint, unfortunately for me the swim was a bit longer and inevitably the field swallowed me up. Time to settle into a rhythm. The first bouy rounding was fun. I was 2nd inside on a 6 wide funnel. one side of my goggles got taken out of commission. All good, there's always the other eye. The rest of the swim went well. Another competitor even gave me a foot massage all the way along the back straight. I needed it after the barefoot warmup run on the tarmac before the race. I let him know i had had enough with a polite kick in the face. He understood, must be a universal language.

The transitions were tough. Long carpet and tarmac runs. i was relieved to get too my bike. Time to lay down some smack. Shoes on and i was away. There was an endless line of athletes from my age group to reel back thanks to my average swimming ability. Hitting Gladstone i decided to get this campaign underway. I stood up to power around the first corner. Ewwwww, better rethink this as the legs were filling with acid like the sinking Rena. Triathlon riding is a little different to trying to burgle stravas during the lunch hour.

I really enjoyed the bike course. Its not often you get to really lay it into corners when the roads are open. Thanks to Rich (https://www.facebook.com/#!/RtkPhotographer) from Mt Eden Cycles, i had a camera on board filming the entire ride. Theres a few good passing manoeuvres, trying to negotiate around slower riders. Keep tuned for some footage. It was mounted just in front of my stem between the aero bars so catches a bit of each hand for most of the filming. Unfortunately at times the hands combine to look like someones arse crack so the video ends up looking like its film from inside someones bottom.

All too soon and the ride was over and time for a gallop. By the time i got to rack my bike, i was already asking myself "are we there yet". It always feels really slow transitioning to running after cycling but i kept myself restrained and checked the GPS for pacing. Pretty soon into the work i was joined by Rob whom i battled throughout the race in the Auckland ITU event the year prior. We race together for the entire first lap. I managed to put about 10m into him early on the second lap but couldn't seem to pull  away any further. You could definitely tell the calibre of the field with the speed some guys were running past me. With about 2km to go i really started to feel it. My running form was out the window and i was in survival. I could here Rob behind me from shouting spectators. I knew he was coming, i knew i had nothing. I tried to pick it up with 1km to go but that was a joke. He past me heading into the finishing shoot and gap the shit out of me. I looked back and in relief there was no one else. I spotted Sam and here family so busted a short exhausted attempt at an "aeroplane". Fun race all in all. Plenty of support and atmosphere.

I ended up 15 th overall out of a field of around 90 starters. 2nd fastest bike split.

Building up

Over the past month I’ve raced in the first two rounds of the Auckland Cross Country champs, rode the day night thriller in a mixed team, and done some quality Strava racing.

The Day night thriller was awesome fun as usual. We put together a mixed 5 person team consisting of workmates, and my partner Sam.  After a restrained Friday night (considerable less beers than the previous year) I attempted to challenge for the much converted first lap honours. I started ok for my standards, but a couple of the u19 boys were off the blocks like rocket ships. The best I could manage was 3^rd. That was my effort for the day. Overall a very enjoyable day with everyone in the team digging deep to pull out a 3^rd in the mixed category in the filthy weather. Sam maintained her amazing mountain bike podium record as a result. Shes come on the podium in all the 3 pervious mountain bike races she had entered, a record most riders would be proud of.

The following weekend it was the first round of the Auckland XC champs at Woodhill. After half a dozen beers at the pub the night prior, I rode my bike home from the pub to get psyched for the race.  I’ve always like racing at Woodhill, as I know the trails and conditions relatively well. I started well covering all the surges and entering the first single track in second place. I was keen to get into the front so I could limit the amount of surging (hadn’t done any speed work yet). I made a slightly questionable passing manoeuvre to get by Sheldon. There was so shoulder rubbing but all in good fun.

 Once clear I opened up a gap and managed to keep it going for the rest of the race. I had targeted this race as a key training session so tried to keep my heart rate cranking to the end. I felt myself slipping off several times but kept the speed up to roll in for the win.

Sam came out for the Woodhill race but unfortunately slipped to a mid pack finish. The golden run is broken. I told her I was disappointed.

Two weeks on and it was the turn of the Hunua Ranges to host the 2^nd round of the Enduro series. I always love riding in the Hunuas. It is a fantastic area and the race course is always good fun. I’ve always battled a bit racing at Hunua. The tight nature of the race course with technical sections requires quite a bit of concentration.

  

This was not helped by confusing my bike handling senses by riding a 6inch freeride bike the evening before. Suddenly my fasttrak tires felt sketchy when compared to the tractor tires I had been riding. The start was good, moving into the single-track 3^rd. Sam Gaze had a plane to catch so way in a hurry and sight gapped the field within the first couple minutes. That guy is quick.

Pretty soon it was Nicholas Reeves and I riding in 2^nd and 3^rd. We swopped around a bit before i made an un-co mistake on a steep section and a gap opened up. I hung there for a bit before he slipped away. I felt strong and my heart was rev’ing nicely. Good signs for the training as I was able to maintain threshold for most of the race, by my skills and concentration let me down. I suppose I have to invest a bit more time in riding a mountain bike if  want to be able to compete. I followed the race up with a short run and felt good off the bike. Bring on Xterra.

So its 6 days to the Tri Worlds and the atmosphere is building on the waterfront. This will be my last hit out before flying to Hawaii. More importantly its 7 days until I fly to Hawaii for Xterra, Maui. The field is shaping up to be a cracker with two of the Olympic medallists competing.

I’ve been relatively restrained when it comes to Strava racing recently. Once Xterra is over, it’s on like Donkey Kong.

N-Duro Winter Series Race 1

6 O’clock on Sunday morning I’m sitting in the dark watching my idols do battle in France. Rogers and Porte tapping a ferocious tempo and destroying the peloton. Stage 7 of the tour did not disappoint. Sensational viewing and certainly lit the fire for the serious climbing ahead.

Shortly after the coverage of the tour ended I realised I was running a bit late for getting to the race. The car windows were completely iced over and my feeble attempt to spray the windscreen with the garden hose ended up creating a thin layer of new ice. I rolled into Long mile road with 20minutes to race start. Still having to enter I enjoyed a short jog from the car to the rego to try and make it before it closed. Thankfully i was allowed to enter. Race briefing was 5 minutes away and i still needed to eat get changed and build my bike. Weekends are not supposed to be this stressful.

I got to the start with 5 minutes to go sans warm-up. It was not a warm morning so I was a bit worried about the start. The race starts with a road climb followed by some single track. An easy start to blow yourself up. I knew i wasn’t going to be able to start with the big boys without a warm-up so tried to curb my enthusiasm on the first climb. I held back but my cold legs still started to build up some acid. Not ideal. A pack of riders formed a front group, through the first single track and traffic I lost eye contact. I could vaguely see them on the forest road through my watering eyes. Time to settle in, there’s plenty of hills to come.

Coming back to real mountain bike racing came as a shock to the system. The course was hard. The climbs were long and plentiful. Eventually I got into a bit of a rhythm. Must have been 30-40min into the race. Started to tap out some decent tempo. The course was epic. Riding down some walking tracks, across ice fields. Frozen mud is super tacky so traction was good. I never saw a sole from my event for almost the entire race, which was a little disappointing. Would have liked to ride with some locals and learn some of their lines.

With about 5km to go the penny dropped. I was empty. The infamous bonk. I looked at my watch 2:25 minutes. I had taken 2 gels and a single bottle. Absolute rookie error. There was nothing left in my legs. I switched into survival mode. Spinning  the 36 tooth up climbs and trying to be as smooth as possible. Every time I had to accelerate a piece of my soul died. I was pretty damn thankful for the big wheels and suspension on the epic round about now. Think Specialised should explore some marketing around that: Get a Epic and you can save on nutrition!

Exit trail was still super fun even in my delirious state.

Rolled in 6^th in the 42 km race. I wanted to be in top 5. As my parents frequently said to me in my childhood, “Im not angry, just disappointed”

Some photos from Helen Brumby:
https://picasaweb.google.com/118048449050020800818/NduroWinterSeries2012Race1?authuser=0&feat=directlink#

Xterra Run Shakespeare Park

Over the course of my life I have entered 2 running races  (this is excluding all the cross country races I had to do at school). Shakespeare Park Xterra trail run was the third.

Having never been to this particular point of the country, I was in for a surprise. Shakespeare Park is simply stunning. After kicking myself for never coming to this spectacular spot i got ready for my maiden Xterra trail run. I am a massive fan of trail running so was pretty excited about the prospect.

I rocked up to the race briefing after annihilating a flask of coffee.  It was go time. After the briefing had wrapped up, i joined the 200 strong crowd trying to cross the Doc mats to wash shoes with detergent. The start line was a further 500m up the road and just as i got through the wash station the gun went and we were off. I looked back at the 100 odd people who hadn’t yet made it over the mats and laughed “Suckers”.

After making my way through some of the “more fortunate” participants I quickly realised I was running quite fast and the acid started descending on me. I got to excited! The trail soon turned awesome as we went into a forested creek area. This was awesome fun. A big chain of dudes smashing through the forest. It kind of felt like a bike race for a second. Pretty soon we popped out on the beach and the adventure began.

A short section of beach running quickly led into rocks. Now I’ve always secretly rated myself as having some rock hoping skills. I have always enjoyed a good frolic from rock to rock, but this shit was a whole new level. Endurance running over this sort of terrain was intense. It required the same sort of concentration as taking a calculus exam.  My ankles aren’t the most structurally out there. If fact on could say they are comparable to Snoop Dog; Loose and loves to roll. This meant that I had to concentrate pretty hard.

A couple of the guys around us formed a little group of 4 who stuck together for most of the coastal section. We were catching others up and passing them so we must have been going alright. In saying that the few guys ahead disappeared into the distance. Maybe they had done this before.

Every now and then we would get a small break in the form of a sandy section. Now ordinarily i would never look forward to running on beach sand, but this was faster than skipping over rocks and allowed some mental relaxation. Shortly after coming off the rocks and onto some sand, no sooner had i relaxed, my gumbie ankle folded beneath me. Bugger. My buddies left me and shit was looking dire. My rock hopping confidence was shattered and i had to nurse myself back into it.  I soon caught back up to the boys and the show was back on the road albeit with a little less power coming out of my left ankle.

There were some tricky sections where you had no choice but to go waist deep into the surf to get around the rocky cliffs. This made the shoes rather uncomfortable but hey, better than mountain bike shoes. The final part of the race was a small lap of the interior of the peninsula. It was hilly. It was difficult. I spotted a guy ahead of me and worked away at him until I was about 50m back before going onto the final beach section. Unfortunately I had nothing left and could not pull off the sprint finish. I am embarrassed and realised I have let The Quest down. Next time

T42 Mountain Bike Race

I’ve never ridden the much talked about 42^nd traverse and have always wanted to, so thought how better to enjoy the scenery than in an intense race.

Friday started off in an intense rush, Gapping a clients office on Queen Street back to the office and then onto the motorway. Off we go baby! An hour later and 2 km down the highway we were listening to some shitty pop music on Jeremy’s wifes ipod. Living the dream.

Fast forward time the best part of a decade and we were in Taupo. Only fitting to go to the pub for a beer after work on Friday, so the pub it was for a pint and fish and chips. Really got to sort my pre race nutrition out.  

After a early night, first light had not yet broken and we were off towards National Park. Taupo is a few degrees colder than Auckland and a certain member of of the party was whining like a 5 year old girl about it. I suppose not having any hair means a lot of body heat is lost.

We arrived at the race site nice and early to get sorted. Next challenge was to rustle up some survival supplies enough to satisfy the officials. The requirements were fairly strict requiring everyone to have a jacket, poly prop, space blanket, first aid kit, whistle to name a few. I rocked up with most things covered, but my interpretive whistling didn’t pass the safety requirements. Apparently I had to purchase one.

I had a good warm up and snuck into the front row for the start. The start was nice and controlled, but the bunch was surging a bit. I heard a couple rubs of tires and started getting nervous. Too many hormones and race start adrenaline is not conducive to safe riding. Heading onto the dirt I made sure I was up front to avoid inevitable carnage. The first part of the course is farm track with some grass farm land with pinchy some climbs. I am a fan of this stuff so no problems here. Very soon it was down to about 6 of us, with Reynolds and Northcote setting the tempo. I was pretty happy to just tag along for now. Didn’t really know what to expect in terms of course but knew there were a few larger climbs later on to force selection.

The descents were awesome fun, bermed corners and super fast. Pretty soon it was a train of 4 of us pumping down the descents. I had one slip up losing the wheels of the others on some clay, but managed to bridge up easily. The train was pretty fun, but not being able to see much of the lines ahead meant that riding became very reactive. Kind of like playing one of those old school four wheel drive arcade games.

 

On one of the rocky descents i heard a bit of a bang on the rear wheel. Didn’t think much of it. Then I heard the Pissing sound of air. Explicit deleted #$%^$#$@#..

I nursed the bike down the decent and through a little river. Jumped off and got a CO2 cartridge out. Tried giving it some juice and hoped it would seal up again. Explicit deleted. Explicit deleted. Explicit deleted. It’s fairly demoralising watching the field ride by while on the side of the track. Brett from Echelon cycles came by and tried to insist I take his bike, but not wanting to subject anyone else to the rookie tactic of not taking a spare tube I sent him on his way to deal to the field.

I could hear bangios as I realised I was in about the furthest spot away from anywhere. I walked back to the last marshall point I had past. Heard a few “dude your going the wrong way” calls. Classical stuff. I found some friendly marshalls including a mechanic, Bonus! I borrowed a pair of pliers and set to work on my rim.  It was a pretty tiny little dent, but causing issues by breaking the seal with the tire. I added some duct tape and began pumping like a got on heat with a little hand pump. The mechanic was a champ and helped out with some of the pumping duties by the tire wasn’t going up. I know how you feel grandma.

I resigned to the fact I was going get back riding and took a seat for some watching. The steady stream of bikers were rolling through, some with better cornering skills than other. I enjoyed seeing a different side of a race with people out to have a enjoyable day with other, chatting away down the trails and sharing crash stories. A bit different from the front end where conversation is held in grunts and internal cries of pain.

The marathoners started to roll through. Dam some of them were moving. I moved on to the next aid station which was a couple kms away. There i found a lovely couple and a 4x4 vehicle. I explained the problem and the guy whipped out a air compressor. Booyah. Excitement was soon lost when i found out it only had a Schrader valve. We macgyvered up a contraption with some tape but the dent in the rim was not allowing the tire to seal. Game Over.

I started evaluating options. I was just shy of 21 km into the ride. I could try and sneak a ride with an official but they were staying there until 4pm. It was about 10:30am. Now, I’m not a patient man at the best of times so the idea of sitting around for 5.5 hours sounded like death. The marshals kindly offered to tie my bike to the car and I could walk out. Walk pfftt.

Alright, better get on my way then. Equipped with nothing but my lycra and mtb shoes I was off. On what would be my longest ever run. I started off fast, since I was a bit agsti from sitting down and watching the race go by without me. I had to remind myself i had 27 km to go.

Offroad marathons are awesome. Good feel amongst the competitors. I suppose I was asking for it, running along in lycra with cleats making an absolute racket on the rocky trails, but I got a lot of comments. Ill give  you a list of the memorable ones:

“Lost your bike man”  “Yeah mate slipped down a creek”

 “Nice shoes” “thanks my podiatrist gave them to me. Really help my running form”

“Where your bike Bro” “Lost it man, dunno what happened”

“Aren’t you in the bike race?” “Nah man, Duathlon!”

The 42^nd traverse is an awesome run, really enjoyed it. The shoes were less than ideal, with a stiff sole and cleats that are not very comfortable to run in. On the upside, the stiff sole means by calf’s couldn’t do any work in the push off so remained minty fresh. I could feel a blister the size of a tennis ball forming itself and providing some excellent cushioning.

With about 2km to go the blister went and so did my spirit. Freshly exposed flesh grinding on the shoes was unpleasant, but only a few minutes to go. Finishing up in the Domain I helped myself to plenty of Vitasport and a beer. Though I deserved a beer after the day’s events. Next year it will have to be, especially after a good reccy of the course.

The marshals arriving back at the Domain was a classic moment. Picture a line of muddy four wheel drives rolling in to the domain doing what looked like a victory lap with a bike strapped to the bulbar like some sort of game prize. These men and women were the champions of the day.

Xterra Rotorua

Friday night was the eve of Xterra Rotorua. I was feeling pretty average with a bit of a headache, probably caused by the thought of sitting in Friday afternoon Mass Exodus type Auckland Traffic.

After a frustrating 4 hour drive we hit the strip. High rise hotels, Strippers everywhere, the sound of pokies making it rain....not quite but there’s a reason that shithole in America stole the Vegas name! This place is epic, It’s the single best trail network I’ve ever been privileged to ride. We rushed into rego then headed to town for the trusty pre race Burger fuel up.

The morning began early as I was watching the guns at the mountain bike race. I watched at the transition/bottleneck from road to dirt and it was everything I imagined it to be providing top comedy. Time for breakfast. Had a Tupperware of muesli and a bottle of chocolate milk, The breakfast of champions. Bit of an oversight with regards to the spoon. Got some funny looks from passer bys when they caught a glance of a man in a onsie sculling a brown chunky substance from carton, milk pouring from the side of my mouth.

I went for a little warm up run. Things felt relatively good. As good as a warm up can feel. Race time was fast approaching. A real highlight in triathlon for me is the part where everyone smothers themselves in baby oil. Any excuse to lube up and go flail around in a confined space.

An overhead camera flew over everyone while we were standing on the start line. The thing was crazy, straight out of a sci-fi movie.

After the 20 minutes of waiting on the start line (more like 2 in real time) the gun went off.

The Swim went well although it’s always hard to know at the time.  I did my trademark smash the first 300m then realise I haven’t actually done that much swimming. Swimming is not a bike race. One day I will learn.

I came out of the water feeling like id had a big night on tequila but moved relatively well through transition despite a few issues with the Velcro on my wetsuit.

Onto the bike, very excited. This feeling quickly subsided as my legs began burning. I passed a few people before leaving the road. Onto the trail, tracking well all the way up the climb. I past a couple people who yelled out my position. 9^th place mate. Happy with that!

The trails kept climbing until out of nowhere, frontal lobotomy. I love this trail. Genuinely a piece of trail building mastery that you can make an uphill switchback trail this good. Got another guy on the pinches. Next on the list was Billy T. Arguably one of the best trails in the around, but my lack of mountain biking was evident. Felt a bit sketchy but was moving along alright.

I started hearing the clatter of a rider coming up behind me. Bet that’s Cabin. This thought was interrupted by Shit there goes my bottle. That’s all my drink and food. Bottle cage you are dead to me. I let him through. Vegas locals know how to pin these trails. I jumped on his back wheel and tried to follow his lines. Front wheel washes out on a gravelly corner. Damn that hurts. Dead leg. High on adrenaline I grab the bike and go. I can hear the rider i past earlier catching me up. I push on. The leg was in absolute agony every pedal stroke. Getting it moving with some fast cadence. I look down to see some blood on the knee. I let the dude behind me through taking it easy down G-Rock following this guy. It’s about then the thoughts of pulling out and ‘how the hell am I going to run 10km’ in this state start coming.

After G rock the trail goes up again into Chestnut link. Use the climb to pull in a couple more people. No sign of Cabin though. That man was on a mission. We climb up to split ends. I love this trail and have gotten a little more mtb practise from the previous trails so it’s game on. Blow past the French rider who pulls over in a super courteous out of his way manner. “Cheers dude see you on the run” (he looked like a weapon). The confidence is a bit lacking so I take it a little easy on the gravel corners. I am joined by Carl Jones. I jump on and work with him along the lake side.

Into transition, I chuck the bike down. Shoes on. Think to myself I should probably get some food and drink on board, since it’s been an hour and a half. Dammit, some dudes snapped me with the camera having a Picnic. I grab what’s left and go. Leave transition with Carl sipping back on some wallpaper glue. Start getting into my running, Carl drift back might have something to do with the taped up knee. Once I get into the bush it gets extreme!  Slip and sliding, ending up in a bush on the first corner. wicked fun.

Doesn’t take long for the Frenchy to pass me. Watch him go by wishing I knew how to run fast. To say the stair were painful is an understatement. Every time I pushed down with my left thigh I got a dead leg. Excellent.  Besides the pain I don’t think I was running to badly. Then Vincent came blowing past me. I tried to pick up the pace but I’m rubbish at sand running, hence why I let The Hof take the lead on Baywatch.

Second lap was alright although I couldn’t wait for the finish. Now everyone has to have some memories of running away from something in their childhood. Mine was a crocodile. Searching for balls next to a golf course in Durban. Trying to imagine a crocodile chasing me. I’ve got to stop running in zigzag. It can’t be very efficient. 

Running scared is not a fun way to run, but it certainly keeps you going. Luckily no one got up to me. Finishing 7^th overall and first non pro. Less than 8 minutes down on the winner. Very happy but in pain. Was time for a swim in the lake and some beers.

Next day I did some shuttles down Billy T. Got that corner sorted now. Xterra Worlds are next on the agenda.

Partners Life: The Dual Motatapu

Coming off the high of winning the Colville race a couple weeks ago I was eager to get in some good training. I had a fairly easy week/taper leading into Colville but could not afford that luxury for the Dual. The leading into the Dual was a tough one, with training and the atrocious weather. Stroke and stride in the pouring rain was actually heaps of fun.

I had a quiet couple days before the Dual, partly because I wanted to try recover a bit from the training earlier in the week and partly because the wind was pumping and kite surfing sounded like a whole lot more fun than trying to battle the wind on a bike. The morning started at 5:30 am, having to catch the ferry over. The ferry really adds to the relaxed feeling of the Dual. A cruise across the harbour and we were pulling up to the island just as the sun was peaking. Epic. Found my bike easily, and was surprised by the amount of Specialized bikes around the place. Other people must have found out “the secret”. I am very impressed with Total sports. That event is a logistics masterpiece.

Pre race was incredible chilled out. Motatapu is a hidden gem. I got amongst a big Thermos of Coffee. Something I had prepared earlier. The 50 km race is about at my one bottle / two bottle limit. In terms of hydration. I decided I’d take a second bottle in my back pocket so I could keep nice and hydrated throughout. Lucky because somewhere in the first 10km, my bottle on my bike was pick pocketed and i would have been left high and dry. I decided to skip the race briefing in favour of dropping the Crosby kids at the pool, which proved to be a rookie move as I found later when my lack of knowledge of the course made it awkward on several occasions.

I went for a good warm up, getting the heart rate up and getting the legs turning over. From past experience, on a course with a hill straight out of the blocks, this is important. I suddenly realised a distinct lack of people warming up. Ah shit, 10 minutes to start. Did some high speed gravel cornering and snuck in the side of the start near the front. Had a quick survey of the start line, a few familiar faces. Race start promptly followed. The first gravel climb is longer than expected, I remember from the last time I attempted the Dual. After the initial jostling around the tempo soon strung out the field. I felt average but the pace must have been good, since the group had whittled down to 4. I moved to the front about two thirds up the climb to control the pace, and so I could have some clear lines on the descent. The epic is awesome for gravel road descending. Something about the long wheelbase, big hoops and suspension. Immediately felt like I could pull away, but no need at this stage. Patience young grasshopper. I knew the climb up Rangitoto was a bit more significant and would force gaps naturally so no need to waste any energy.

Suddenly the landscape changes and you’re riding up a Volcano. Half expecting to see dinosaurs I hid at the back while Cabin set a high tempo at the base. Cabin is a personal idol of mine, so it was pretty cool to be riding in a group with him. Before long the track started kicking and the rocks became looser. Reynolds took over the tempo with a few spurts giving the legs an injection of battery acid. Patience. Nearing the top, the climb grows in bumpiness so I though it was a good time to make the hardtailers pay for that lighter bike they were riding. I could spin along seated while they were getting bounced around over the rocks.  At the top it was just Tom and I with Cabin a short distance back. The descent was super fun ripping the ‘black pow’, with some 2 wheel drifts  before I stopped and thought about the mess that would be my body if I crashed. Tom and worked together on the flat bit, obviously not full gas because we were having a bit of a yarn along the way. Before long Cabin had caught back up. Machine.

Going back onto Motutapu, I was preparing myself for the fight ahead. Rolling back through the village was awkward as we almost ran over runners queued for the toilet. Going back up the same climb we had started with was less enjoyable the second time around. Cabin was setting a strong pace. Tom was ready to pounce. At the top, Tom had a stab pulling a 50m or so gap the rest of us. I wasn’t particularly worried as there was a lot of race left. Eventually i decided thats enough of a gap, time to chase. I jumped across to him and we opened up a bit of gap on Cabin.

Going into the grass portion of the course I made a point of mentally thanking Brett for convincing me to go for a full suspension over a hard tail as the farm tracked were as bumpy as a road in Christchurch. The climbing started getting steep and punchy. Perfect. I particularly enjoyed the wire fence touch, a fence we have to jump over. Only in NZ. While this may not be an issue under normal circumstances, picking a bike over a fence when your heart is beating like a teenage girl watching the Twilight saga, is not an easy task. The course has a brief visit to the beach which is a nice touch. After a perfect dismount and leap across the river outlet I was left feeling with a cyclocross star. That didn’t last long because immediately after the steepest part of the course awaited us. Tom slipped past and set a high pace. Heart rate was maxing and I started doubting. At the top we were together still remarkable and remembered the old saying “the other guy is hurting too”. There was a few more accelerations and tactics. It was the point where something had to give. I went to the front for a downhill section and decided to give the epic a trash. It opened up a slight gap. The downhill was followed by a particular steep section. I was in the low gears spinning away. Tom hopped off and was running his bike behind, keeping up if not going faster. Problem with running is that you need to get back on at some stage. At the top the gap opened a bit more. I said to myself “Alright I’m all in”. Time to use what’s the rest of the gas. The hills kept coming, and i witnessed the return of ‘the song’. Something that was plagued me throughout my biking life. Every time I’m on a steep hard climb an atrocious S Club 7 song sneaks into my head. “ Don’t Stop, Never give up Hold your head high until you reach the top”.  Turn that shit off.  

I gave it everything for the last 5-10km over the bumpy farm track. Started hitting the traffic from the 30km race and a few runners. Good to have some company. The traffic meant I had to take rough lines to pass people sapping even more energy. I couldn’t image the others are fairing any better. Dam the last hill was bumpy, but a very welcome sight and rest. Rolled through the finish. Great Success. Tried to lift the leg over the bike to dismount, Cramp. Turns out some more liquid could have been good.

Cheers to Echelon for the awesome speccy epic. Can’t think of a better bike for a race like this. Cheers to all the other competitors especially Tom for yelling when I made a couple wrong turns.

Blogging....

To be perfectly honest I’ve always judged people who have a blog. It always seemed like a way to pamper ones ego while all the same time reveal a little too much about oneself. Anyways, something clicked when reading through a certain triathlete’s absolutely classic ramblings. Word Callum Milward!

So I’ve decided to get some of this action, mainly to tell the stories of sport and adventure and to embrace blogging and free speech and such magical things and hopefully not offend anyone (too much).