Stromlo Forest, Canberra

Last weekend I made a quick trip to Canberra to see what the terrain could be like for the worlds. A couple of months ago I found a 7 hour race that fitted nicely with my plans. My Mother joined me for the trip. We left Wellington at 6.45am on Saturday morning and finally arrived in Canberra about 1pm Australian time - wild life count, one dead Wombat!

After a quick supermarket stop it was off to Stromlo Forest to get a practise lap in. I was really surprised how wet the track was. It had rained all week and the hill was literally weeping - lucky we have had a lot of rain as this didn't phase me. There was a lot of panic from the Australians, an apology for there being mud at the race briefing, and the race marshall's putting wooden planks over the worst of the mud!

The race started at 7am on Sunday, with a very cold 3 degree temperature. The day was sunny but cold. I still managed some tan lines though. The first lap was a total pain. The course headed into single track far too early and there were very polite queues waiting to enter. The standard of riding was very high, everyone was polite when passing or being passed - a refreshing change from the aggression of Moonride or Daynight Thriller.

The course was neat, with lots of variety and plenty of rocks. This required concentration and so the time just disappeared. The course really didn't suit me as in the 10km lap there was 200m of climbing all at once, I am much better with a bit of undulation. By the end of the day the most of the muddy sections were unrideable however the downhill was still just fantastic.

I didn't have a good day and I didn't have a bad day, my head wasn't quite in it, and the early start the day before took its toll. I finished 7th out of 17 women and my only regret is deciding not to complete an 11th lap, if I had done this I would have come 4th. The field was strong with the first 3 finishers all contenders for the world 24 hour solo world title.

We headed back to Sydney straight after the race and I was home by 3.30pm on Monday.

New Sponsor, Taupo, and other stuff

It has been a long time since I posted anything and this probably reflects how pre-occupied I've been. I ridden my bike a lot, been to two 65 birthday parties, completed a lot of house renovation and got a new sponsor. R&R Sport have kindly agreed to sponsor me. I am greatful for this support especially given the present tough economic times. So if you need some new kit (tent for the summer perhaps, some skis, or a new bike) you know where to go!!!

Since the race at Santoft, I've done a lot of riding but no races. I completed my longest ride about 4 weeks ago - twice around Lake Taupo and a few deviations.

I started at 4am in a relatively mild Taupo, I had so many layers on I could hardly move. As I got close to Kinloch I rode into a freezing fog. I knew the road was a little frozen and so was exceptionally careful and also very slow. It was pretty cold and tough to drink and I was kind off my drink because there were "chunks" it - I was questioning my bottle washing ability. When it got light I realised it was ice and my drink was semi- frozen. It was so cold any moisture on me, on my jacket, gloves, shoe covers, cables and lights had frozen. It really didn't melt until I got to Turangi.

I stopped to top up my food at the Motel in Taupo and headed out for my 2nd lap. This seemed to take forever and I was pleased to finally reach Kuratau Hill. Near Pukawa I had a chat to a chap out on his road bike. He asked where I had been/was going I mentioned I was riding around the lake, he commented that I was looking good and riding well. If only he had known it was my 2nd lap! Just outside Turangi I got a puncture and managed to limp to the BP where I bought a pie and a hot chocolate, and fixed the puncture.

After Turangi I developed a severe dislike of the rumble edge strip used on SH1. Between Turangi and Motuoapa there has been two attempts at placing the edgeline. The first attempt has been ripped up and the next set placed slightly further into the lane. Unfortunately the actual "rumble" is has not been removed and so the ride is super uncomfortable.

Just before Hatepe Hill, a car cruised by, and I realised it was my car, out jumped Tim and Belle, with tonic water, sharkies, and Red Bull. It was fantastic and I flew up the hill I really hadn't been looking forward to. Tim also mentioned the rain in Taupo. Up until this point I had been very lucky with the weather.

When I reached Taupo I decided to call it quites as it was raining and of course dark again. After 15.5 hours, about 380km and 3000+ metres on climbing I was pretty happy. Tim had chicken and salad waiting as well as a hot spa and red wine.

The next day I dropped Tim off at the start of the W2K track and drove around to Kinloch to meet him. I felt so good that I managed a 2 hour walk with Belle!

It has been two months since I've raced and I'm really looking forward to my adventure this weekend...watch this space sometime next week

Wet, Windy and Muddy Weekend

Nothing very exciting has happened since Moonride 2 months ago. There has been a lot of kilometers ridden, a lot of rain and a lot of wind. Sometimes, as much as I like training, I get sick of it, and this is when I know it is time to find a race to do. It is fair to say that in the last two weeks I have been well and truely over getting wet, getting sand blasted by the wind, and of course the mud, so on Sunday I decided to head to Bulls to the Santoft Sizzler 5 hour event.

Santoft was on Sunday, so what better way to enjoy a particularly vicious southerly storm than to go and ride in it for 5 hours on Saturday. For some reason I decided riding to the top of the Akatarawas would be a good idea, I am particularly good at poor route choices! The road was closed for an unknown reason, and I made it to the top enjoying the lack of traffic. The ride home was a slog straight into the southerly. It was so windy I nearly didn't make it around the corner into Point Howard. All character building stuff. Did I mention how windy and cold it was?

The poor weather continued all day and all night and Sunday did not dawn bright. During the drive up to Santoft the weather didn't seem to improve. It was ;ucky the trails were in a very sheltered area. The canpoy of tree cover protected us somewhat from the from the wind and rain. Thanks to Shane I got a great park and elected not to do a warm up lap, instead I idilly chatted and watched the dirty riders come back from their practise laps.

The race started bang on time and I couldn't see Jude. It turned out she kind of missed the start and got stuck behind some people who proved very difficult to get past. I had to ride faster in the first lap than I really wanted to as I was constantly being held up. Once I got some clear track ahead of me I found my rhythm and rode a consistent pace.

The course was awesome and considering how wet it was it held up very well. There were losts of pinch climbs and no long climbs and so playing to my strengths. The course was swoopy and lots of fun. As the day wore on the laps got longer and longer as the track got chewed up and porridgy. The last couple of laps were really hard work with the track being a super mudfest. It seems that the Santoft mud is special and is super glued to my bike! I need to have a 2nd attempt at cleaning it.

I was so impressed with everyone who participated. It was very relaxed with people pulling over to let me past before I even got close, kids keeping out of your way and faster people calling early and being cheery. The event had a great spirit and is maybe reflective of the attitude of the Manawatu Mountain Bike Club - they certainly seem to attract a neat bunch of enthusiastic people.

In the end I completed 10 laps in 4hours 45 minutes and achieved all my goals for the day. My I really wanted ride consistently and not hold anything back and I did this well. I was first female, Thomas Lindup and first male (I am pretty sure I was the next rider after Thomas), Jude was 2nd female and Shane and Ken came third in their category, so all in all Wellington riders did very well and took home a selection of nicley sprayed painted pine cones.

As I had hoped a hard race has blown on my cobwebs and I am ready to get my head down and focus on some quality training days. In fact, I'm fizzing :)

Cateye Moonride 2010

Finally my first 24 hour race was here. Before I say anything else I want to thank the two people who made it happen, my support team. Juliet and Tim were awesome, I couldn't have asked for more from a support crew!!!

One thing that concerned me about Moonride was the 10pm start, effectively meaning that a 40 hour stint without much sleep was required. In the week leading up I made sure I went to bed early and slept in until 7.30am. Maybe extra sleep makes you super sleepy because all day Friday I couldn't stop yawning.

The lead up to the start was very relaxed, I had spent the two weekends previous, packing stuff into boxes, getting food ready and writing instructions for my crew and so I really didn't have much to do once we arrived in Rotorua.

On Friday I was pleased to see a nice layer of cloud and so keeping the temperature warm. Of course, as darkness fell the clouds cleared and it started to get really cold. We registered and set up camp at 4pm. We camped next to Paul and backed our easy ups together so that our support crew had company all night.

After a quick plate of pasta at Fat Dog it was back to the ranch and bed for me. I got 2 hours lying down but didn't sleep - there was too much laughing at America's next Top Model going on next door.

I got to the start at 9.30pm and didn't bother with a warm up, it was mighty cold and I made a last minute decision to wear a beanie under my helmet and I was pleased I did. The first 3 laps were a blur, getting used to the track, getting passed by people all enthused on their first lap, finding good lines and trying to relax. By about lap 6 a felt settled and relaxed and was getting feedback that my lap times were consistent.

My first milestone was a battery change after 3 hours and these first 3 hours just disappeared. Poor Juliet wasn't looking warm at all and was wearing 2 puffers!!! Prior to the start and after a practise lap I set a goal of completing 45 laps. I thought if I got to 40 I'd be happy and 45 would be great. After a few hours I realised that 45 was certainly on as my lap times were consistently under 30 minutes.

Somewhere during the night Juliet told me my calorie consumption was trending down and because it was cold and I was not drinking as much as anticipated I needed to eat more. So, I forced some more food down. This was awesome, early feedback and prevented me from being in a deficit position that would be very hard to come back from.

The hardest time of the night was about 4am. I realised I was struggling as I was feeling a little nausious and so came into the pits for a sit down in front of the heater, some hot soup and some bread. I started to get pretty cold and didn't stop for long. By the time I got half way around the next lap I felt great so it was well worth the stop.

Just before daylight it got pretty cold and there was an eiry mist in the forest. Once it got light it was like we were riding on a new track. Everything was new and new lines opened up. As a consequence the next few laps flew by and I sped up considerably. It was suggested I slow down a little as there was still along was to go. I never really got warm and kept all my thermal clothing on.

Tim had gone back to the Ranch for a nights sleep and arrived back at around 8am. I had set a goal to get to 20 laps by the time he arrived and I think I was on 21 or 22 so was super pleased. Juliet then headed back for a sleep.

At this point I swapped bikes for a lap while Tim gave the Santa Cruz a clean and lube at this point I managed to go out on a lap without a drink bottle! After this I stopped every lap for a small mug of soup and to grab some food (bread mostly) as well as a Sharkys resupply. This strategy seemed to work very well. The odd cup of coffee that I was provided with was most welcome too.

I couldn't have timed the start of the 12 hour any worse. Just as I was going over the bridge the first guys passed me. I was kind of unimpressed with the behaviour, and Chris Sherwood was unfortunate enough to hear what came out of my mouth as I got hit. It was nice to hear other riders give the aggressive ones a hard time.

The 12 hour people eventually settled down. I was disappointed to be hit by 12 hour riders 4 times. There seemed to be a lot of aggression and lack of paitence and I hope some people new to mountain biking weren't put off by this.

Sometime before Juliet returned, possibly about 3pm, I had a bit of a grizzle and said to Tim I wanted to stop. He of course took this literally - I was just having a grizzle. Tim even texted Lisa but lucky for me Megan had just gone past and when I caught her and had a chat I felt a lot better and so by the time I got to the pits again I was happy. Tim was very confused and claims that it will never ever be possible to understand women!

I continued to pause every lap, and a mercy dash for extra soup was required! I saw Jude a few times and found out she had had a flat tyre in the night. As darkness fell I lost my way a little and slowed a lot. I just didn't have a goal, time seemed to be standing still.

Then just after 8pm I heard I was catching the girl in front. My enthusiam multiplied and I was off! I wanted to see how close I could get. I pulled out 3 of my 10 fastest laps in the last 3 laps. In the end she did 49 laps and I finished with 48. I can't help but wonder if I could have caught her with a couple more hours notice!

I am really pleased with my how I went in my first 24 hour event. I've got one more of these lined up and then I think I'll find something new involving long distance and mountain bikes!

Weekend of Super Hyper Training – April 2010

Leading up to my first 24 hour solo event some I have been riding my bike big distances. Since the Brevet I have been confident in my ability to ride long and so was looking forward to the weekend (kind of). Lucky for em the weather gods played ball and the weather really couldn’t have been much better.

This was my 2nd weekend of hyper training. The first involved 10 hours and then 5 hours the next day, and this one was 12 hours plus 6 hours. After much contemplation of route, i.e. should I fly to Auckland and see how far home I can get in two days etc, I decided riding most of the way “around the block” would be a good option. Tim offered to leave the car in Featherston for me and so eliminating finishing the 12 hours with a climb over the Rimutakas.

So, at 4.45am on Saturday morning I left home heading for the Akatarawas. At home it was about 7 degrees with a light northwesterly and so I was quite comfortable in my short sleeved Helly Hansen top, arm warmers, cycle shirt and wind proof vest. This didn’t last for long, the temperature plummerted at Silverstream and the during the descent into Waikanae it was 3 degrees.

I always enjoy riding the Aka’s, it didn’t really get light until Staglands and so progress felt good. By the time I reached Waikanae I was pleased to feel the change in temperature because I was super cold. My plan was to stop in Waikanae for a coffee but I ended up going through to Levin as the traffic was light and the wind favourable. It was a nice feeling to have ridden for 4 hours and be barely feeling it. At BP Levin I bought some food and a coffee and rode through Levin drinking my coffee (until I dropped it and covered one foot in coffee!)

The section from Levin through to “top of” Palmerston North was just horrible. The road surface was rough, and there is very little road shoulder. The behaviour of motorists was bad too. Twice, a car overtook a truck just when I was passing in the other direction forcing me to ride on the grass!

I tested a Red Bull Shot at the bottom of Pahiatua Track and it made the climb over seem pretty good – the nice tail wind was also very helpful. I decided to go to Pahiatua for some lunch rather than take to more direct route to Masterton and started to get ahead of my planned timing. I picked up some lunch and another coffee and headed to Eketahuna. I was anticipating a tail wind and instead battled a very strong wind that wasn’t quite head. It was also a false flat. This was a low point for me but there is no point in grizzling when there you don’t have an audience.

I soon started to warm up (8.5 hours into the ride) and took my jacket and arm warmers off and then my ride became awesome. After Mt Bruce there was 30km of down hill with a tail wind into Masterton! My attitude changed and everything looked good again! It did help that it was warm and sunny. The further south I got the better the weather got too.

At Masterton I knew I would be about an hour early to Featherston so did some loops to make up the time arriving at the car at exactly 12 hours. The day ended with a spectacular sunset.

As my new bike arrived on Thursday I was super keen to ride it, so why not ride it for 6 hours on Sunday? So off to Wainui I headed. A couple of loops of the park and only 1.5 hours elapsed – I stopped for a grizzle where Tim and Shane were digging and ate the lunch Tim had carried for me. I then headed up to the fire road and along to the top of Blue Mountains Rd, following the Crazyman course. I really started to enjoy the new bike. It climbs really well and eats up bumps nicely. Considering how tired I was I think I rode really well and the route is pretty hilly! I managed 5 hours 45 all up.

So, some good miles banked, now for the important job of recovery!

Easter 2010

After the cool experience of the Kiwi Brevet I was keen for Tim and I to do some touring with minimum gear and so we decided on a biking trip for Easter.

We took the 6.30pm Interislander to Picton on the Thursday before Easter. As we had bikes and had to wait for all trains, and vehicles to be loaded first we were last on. Of course, as this was the busiest sailing of the year there were no seats and so we had 3 hours sitting on the floor!

We stayed at the Tombstone Backpackers in Picton and I would thoroughly recommend them. Cost effective, modern, clean, pleasant staff and close to the Ferry with a good outlook.

On Friday we set out for Port Underwood Road. The day was sunny and warm and with a tail wind the ride was great. After fixing some problems with Tim’s rack we were on our way. I forgot how many hills there are on this road and I enjoyed being able to stay ahead of Tim on some of the climbs. At some point around Cable Bay Tim mentioned he was having a hungry emergency and we agreed that we’d stop lunch in the next bay. In the last 2 hours we had climbed one big hill and then lots of little ones that dropped into nice relaxing looking bays. Not this time, 35 minutes later we were at the top of the next hill and as we headed into Robin Hood Bay and had a quick stop. There was a very brisk northerly blowing and so with full stomachs we headed up another big climb that lead to a decent into Whites Bay. We had planned to ride the Whites Bay loop but decided instead to go and sit on the beach (a decision I am now regretting). To me, Whites Bay was a pleasant surprise. It was sheltered and the beach flat and smooth. We brewed up a cup of coffee and generally relaxed. We made a plan to head to Spring Creek and the pub.

As we headed in the direction of Blenheim Tim quickly ran out of gears and so it was my turn to continually check he was still there (that made a change). Tim was dreaming of strawberry milk, and cranberry juice (the contents of our fridge) as he was still feeling the effects of his hungry emergency. Then disaster, the Pub and the Four Square at Spring Creek were both closed! Lucky there was a small icecream shop/takeaways open. This was a perfect opportunity for another brew, 1.5 litres of coke zero, hot chips and Strawberry milk for Tim, and an icecream.

There was a serious headwind on our trip back to Picton on SH1. I love that there is so much space on the road and the consideration the traffic gave us. Back in Picton it was time for a beer then a spa and then dinner and wine to go with our slight sunburn. All up about 100km and 1700m of climbing.

Saturday was our big day - The Queen Charlotte Walkway all in one day. It wasn’t like we weren’t a little tired from the day before! We left Picton on the 8am water taxi to Ship Cove. I always enjoy a trip through the sounds and especially enjoy Queen Charlotte Sound.

The only way to describe the climb out of Ship Cove is “brutal,” and on a full stomach it is even worse! After 26 minutes we were at the top and enjoying a cool traverse with views of Resolution Bay and then a neat descent into Furneaux Lodge. One thing that surprised me was the number of rocks on the trail, I suppose I was expecting more dirt and tree roots. At Furneaux Lodge we had a quick beer in the sun and luckily the wind was strong enough to keep us moving.

We were passed by a group of cyclists also riding right through. It was a situation where they could see us and so they smashed past us, and then couldn’t get away. They had a girl with them who couldn’t keep up and so we ended up stuck between them. Eventually we let them go, or Tim opened a gate and they went through and left Tim to shut it! They clearly thought they were better riders than us and were getting frustrated with their girls inability to pass us. Of course, we just cruising, knowing we had a long day ahead. The ride around the coast was nice and we passed many walkers who always let us past.

Next stop was Camp Bay. I didn’t realise that we could have avoided a big climb by not going into Camp Bay. At Camp Bay because of the wind our coffee took an age to brew and a Weka stole my sandwich. I can tell you I was not amused! I chased it through he bush until it dropped it. There was no way I was giving up my food supplies! Of course, this was entertainment to at least 10 German Tourists!

We found the next section of the track hard going. There is something about pine trees that just doesn’t cut it after native bush, there were also a lot of small pitches in the track making it hard work. Just as the track got nice Tim got a puncture – sidewall tear in the small block 8.

I really enjoyed the section along the ridge where you could see Queen Charlotte Sound on one side and Kenepuru on the other, then there was a long descent into Portage. By this time it was 3.30pm and we had covered 50km. There were still 21km and one big climb to go.

In this last section we had passed two lots of couples. On both occasions the girl was at the back grovelling and the guy was up to 1km ahead waiting impatiently. We couldn’t help but notice the tension in the air. It didn’t seem like a fun weekend for either party. Tim and I are lucky we can ride at a similar pace and can enjoy long rides together. (well, I can ride fast enough not to annoy Tim)

I started to make another coffee while was decided what to do. Lesson learned – it was too windy for the Bialetti to work, it just wouldn’t get hot enough. In the end 30 minutes was wasted. This swayed our decision and we headed along the road from Portage to Havelock adding 10km to our trip but cutting out climbing. It was 50km to Havelock, and in no way flat. The road was pretty and quiet and it was neat riding out of Kenepuru Sound to Mahu and the Pelorus, though the hill over to Pelorus was totally mean and unexpected.

After 10 hours of riding we arrived at Havelock with Tim redlining and having another hungry emergency. I can recommend the pub at Havelock for a good meal at a reasonable price.

It was fair to say that the YHA Havelock is pretty average and after a terrible sleep, the inability to get food early on Easter Sunday and being kind of tired we decided to head back to Picton and head home rather than tackle Nydia Bay.

The ride back to Picton was nice and easy with a stop in Anakiwa. At this stage I kind of regretted skipping the last 20km of the track…..so, we’ll have to go back I think.

Karapoti 2010

The 2010 Karapoti was my 4th Karapoti. When I think back to the first time I went around Karapoti, the big hills, the mud, getting lost with my Dad, I never thought I would enter agin far less 3 more times. Karapoti has that pull factor and it is one event I really don't want to miss.

Just like a marathon, sub 4 hours has always been the goal for me. This should have happened in 2009 but wet, muddy conditions prevented this. Going into 2010 I was really unsure how I would go. I felt fully recovered from the Brevet but who knows I was still having those "I can't be bothered moments." I was pretty confident I could do a pb.

Two days before the race I made a random new bike purchase, a hard tail when I am used a full suspension and decided to use brand new untested tyres.

I am always a slow starter and it felt like every female in the field had passed me by the top of Deadwood. For some reason the hills didn't seem so long but I felt very slow. On the rolling hills across to the Rock Garden I managed to pass a lot of people. In fact I am pretty sure know one passed from from behind after the top of Deadwood. I felt really good in this section and strong too. Big wheels are great for carrying momentum and when you have to ride around people off the riding line.

This year there seemed to be a lot of people in my way. This is the problem in starting with the last group. This year I seemed to be catching more people than in the past and the slower riders from the groups ahead seem to have little awareness that there are faster people coming from behind. I suppose this is one of things that makes Karapoti what it is, all sorts of people big and small, fast and slow come out and have a go.

My riding in the rock garden was limited to the first drop and by then my inexperience on a hardtail and people everywhere reduced me to a run. At the bottom of the Rock Garden I had an involuntary mud bath much to the joy of my fellow riders. The push up the Devils Stair Case was as always tough but I always find it a turning point in the race as this is when I try and pick up the pace.

At this point I started to smash it and got past another 3 girls. The new bike decended like a dream and when I roared through the stream at the bottom of Titi I knew I was on for a pb.

I caught poor Rachel at the bottom of Dopers who had had a puncture nightmare and really pushed myself up Dopers to keep up with her. I cramped about 3/4 up and the cramp stop seemed to work. About 1/4 of the way down I spotted Rachel again and then "bang" and high speed crash! Lucky there was no damage done. Within no time I was at the bottom of Dopers and heading down the gorge. I must have passed 30 people in the gorge, cramped gain and then saw Rachel again walking with more puncture problems. I couldn't help as I only has 29" tubes but as soon as I finished I spotted Liam and he went to Rachels rescue.

I was pleased to finish in 3:52 in 4th place in my category - 20 minutes faster than last year and 1 hour and 7 minutes faster than four years ago. I know I can go faster - I felt I didn't pace myself correctly as I started too slow. 3:35 next year....watch this space