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.