Festival of Cycling, Harbour Bays

The Harbour Bays (long Bays) cycle race had never really interested me as a race as I have ridden it so many times as a training ride. But I must say that I really enjoyed the race and pushing myself that much more than normal. As I am not a registered rider I had to enter the recreational grade, not that it is very recreational at the front of the field though. As I got to the start line a bit later I had to squeeze into the crowds towards the front but I did find a good spot about 5 deep. Before you knew it we were off and we were already doing 50km/hr with in the first few hundred meters. We were heading out of Heathcote Valley when I heard the noises of a crash behind me, the first of many for the day I was sure. The ride out through Tai Tapu and on to the Gebbies Pass all went by pretty quick as we were doing speeds from 45-50km/hr and at that speed in a bunch you really have to watch what is going on around you. There were probably 100 riders or so taking up the whole left lane and some so it sometimes is a place for disaster especially when someone (….) drops their drink bottle in front of you but luckily this did not create another crash. Heading up Gebbies Pass I managed to stay with the front bunch over the top and down the other side but from there on no one was really committed to riding too hard as they knew that Evans pass from Lyttleton to Sumner was going to be the telling story. So somehow I found myself at the front a couple of times and wondered what I was doing there although I felt strong but not strong enough to try and go by myself. We were now onto the last climb up and over Evans Pass, I felt quite good up two thirds of the climb and then it really started to hurt and I had to tell myself quite a few time to try a bit harder and hang onto the bunch, I couldn’t quite manage this but I had a great downhill into Sumner and passed a few people and the main bunch was only about 150m ahead, somehow me and a few others managed to rejoin the main bunch, so it was all going to be on for the finish line sprint. I slowly worked my way to the front and we were doing 53km/hr across the causeway and into the last corner at McCormacks Bay I was in fourth place and held this until about 300 metres to go when the pack started the sprint and I was unprepared and had nothing left anyway. I went from being in fourth place to 23rd just like that and 5 seconds down on the winner. It was a great day out, 2 hours and 1 minute for the course, passed a few elite riders along the way, had a blast.
Thanks again to Brad and the Halswell Butchery and Delicatessen.
Thanks to Merida bikes for the Scultura Evo 907 in the photo.

Big Day At The Office

I arrived back in NZ at the end of October after racing at the AR World champs in Spain, I had to throw myself in deep end and started training on the 1st of November as I got roped into doing “The Big Day at The Office” race as Brad from the Halswell Butchery wanted to the race and wanted me to do it as well. I must say the first week of training was incredibly hard and after three weeks of some good training together we were at the start line of the Teva Big Day at the Office race. Some of Canterbury’s best Multisporters along with Dougal Alan, Gavin Mason, Glen Currie and Carl Bevins that has recently moved to Christchurch were also there so it was going to be a tough day at the office. The first 40km bike ride was going to be interesting as there were team riders and also the duathlon competitors. Before we really knew we had start and it was all go at the front with Gavin Mason leading the way and want the pace car to go faster. Not much happened in this ride really but there were a few attempted break-aways but to no avail, except for Nathan Smith and one other got a small gap but by the end of the ride they only had 10 seconds or so. It was only 9.10am and it was already very warm and was going to be hot over Mt Somers, there was quite a group that all started off on the run together and they all had faster transitions than me so I spent the 3km on the shingle road to the track trying to catch them up. After reaching the Mt Somers walk way I worked my way through the field until there was only Dougal Alan and Jeremy Mckenzie ahead of me, I tried my best to keep them in sight but was having trouble keeping up the intensity and once we had got into the tighter parts of the track I lost sight of them. I was finding the run harder than I would have expected but kept trying as hard as I could, once out to Sharplen Falls I felt quite good running on the road to Stavely and passed a “catch me if you can” runner and apparently I passed Jeremy Mckenzie in the transition onto the bike. Once on the bike I was suffering and my legs just want to cramp all over so it was a rather hard ride for me and I’m sure quite a few others, eventually the legs came back to me a bit but then the ride was over and it was down to the Rakaia River for a 17km paddle. I was looking forward to getting into the kayak and resting the legs a bit but I was also a bit unsure how it would unfold as I had never been on this river before and in a new boat and also a new paddle. And to top it off my legs were cramping again and my arms didn’t seem to have much strength either. It was very nice to be on a different stretch of water and it made it mentally all go a bit faster even with a head wind. The organisers had basically marked the channels to take, which I thought was a great idea as this would mean that there was no disadvantage to people that had never been down the river before. Once at the transition my support crew told me that they had left the safety flag on the rudder of my kayak, maybe this is my it felt so slow, not really I was just exhausted I think from the heat and intensity of the race. It was really in the heat of the day now and we had to run uphill for 2.2kms to the last bike of 10km to Methven. I actually felt a bit better now and the run up the hill felt pretty good but once onto the bike I started counting the kilometres and this was a bad move as it all seemed to take quite a while to get to the 3km mark. I had to tell myself to push harder as the finish is just around the corner (well not really it was pretty much a straight 10km road to the finish) I was very glad to cross the finish line in 2nd place even though it was about 14 minutes behind Dougal. It gave me a good gauge of where I am with my fitness and skills at the moment and what to work on for the next race. The Teva Big day at the office was held in Conjunction with the duathlon which was pretty much on the same course as the multisport race and also “The catch me if you can” running race over the Mt Somers walk way. Thanks to Multisport events for a great race in a wonderful place and stunning weather, what else could you ask for.
Full results can be found at http://www.multisportevents.co.nz/
Thanks to my sponsors
Halswell Butchery, Macpac, Merida Bikes, Inov-8 shoes, Ems Power cookies

Wulong Mountain Quest

The team, Tored Macpac again proved its ability and won in China for the second time in 2010.

Burwood Night Races

What a blast, I would highly recommend that you get out some warm clothes, your night light and get out there for the last two events, check out http://www.bluedogevents.co.nz/
It was very cold and rather wet under those tyres but so much fun it was all worth it, ride there and ride home and it was a great 2 hour training session.

I must say that it does help a little bit if you know where you are going out there, well if you want to be at the front of the race like I did. I think I finished 16th and got passed by five guys two corners before the finish line because I didn't know where I was going.
Hopefully I will do a bit better this week ans see you there.

The Run 77 Lake Tekapo MTB race

This was not really a race that I have ever been interested in but but a friend said that he was keen so I thought why not.
I had this impression that is was a bit of a road race on a mountain bike and it was a bit but still very challenging in the terrain and distance. There was a bit more up and downs and a bit of what I would call mountain biking.
And The scenery was just stunning, the head of the lake and river crossing were picturesque in the snow and it was a wonderful place to be on a Sunday morning.

The race start was at 9am and we got to the start area at about 8.25, no point being too early as it was winter and expected to be cold and wet that day. The day did not start of to cold and it had not rained yet! I should have gotten to the start line a bit earlier as I was about 5 or 6 deep and this was not the best place as I was about to find out.

Off went the starters horn and kaos is what I would call it, as always at the start of a race. I was trying my best to get closer to the front but it is aways hard to get past people and as soon as the track turned up hill and the terrain got a little bit harder people started to struggle which doesn't help when you are trying to catch the leaders. There was about 5 or 6 that had gotten away from the rest of us but I still had hope that we would be able to catch them as there was more of us.
Once we were onto the sealed road I did think we were catching them but eventually this was not to be, some in our group of 8 wanted to work but the others didn't and this then makes you less than 100% committed as you do not want them along for a free ride but it is also very hard to drop them at this point. I think it started to snow on us after about an hour and continued for the next hour or so. Luckily it wasn't actually that cold and it hadn't rained either, it seemed like a long was up the the point where we were to cross the rivers at the head of the lake, the head of the lake had been in sight for quite some time but it seemed like for ever to get down to the river bed.
I was dreading getting cold feet and that is why I had 2 pairs of socks on and booties and this worked a treat. The rivers weren't actually that cold and some were even rideable so that was a small relief but the hands and fingers were getting a bit cold. Some people after the race talked about not being able to change gears very well as their fingers were so cold. I didn't have this problem as I have Sram XO twister (gripshift) and it was great.
The group of 8 didn't seem to be splitting up, everyone knew it would be much easier together than to be left out there by you yourself.
Once past the half way point and the Lillybank valley road, the ride was really a road race on a mountain bike.
I think everyone was feel the pain of the last 2 hours or so and 1 by 1 people started to drop away. It seemed like a long way on this road but before you knew it we could see the relief of Tekapo and the finish line, a couple of guys made a small break in the last 5km that we could not pull back.
In the end I finished 8th and learnt a few lessons that day which is always good.
I will be back next year and better prepared to be at the front of the field.


Thanks to Merida bikes, Macpac and Halswell Butchery

Merida 96-Team

I have just obtained sponsorship from Merida Bikes and took delivery of a 96-Team full suspension MTB. I have always been a hard tail rider so it was a tough decision to go for a fully. But this bike is so light and that is what sold me on it. I received it on Friday the day before Mt Isobel challenge and I only got to ride it down the street a few times just to set a few it up.
On the day of the race it was great to jump on to the new machine but it will take me a little bit of getting use to and making some small adjustment to the bike and my riding style. I am really looking forward to every ride with the Merida 96-Team.

If you are interested just click on the Merida logo on the right hand side and it will take you right to their web site. And if you decide you just need a new Merida go to The Cycle Warehouse on Moorehouse Ave, Christchurch

Mt Isobel Challenge

Saturday the 22nd of May dawned to be a great one which was unexpected really, the skies were clear but it was cold.....
The start was at 10 am but it didn't warm up much so I was wearing most of my team Merida kit that I had just received the day before along with my new bike. I was very keen to win this race as I had a won it a few times before and this year I was representing both Merida bikes and Macpac.
It all started of well as we all headed up the hill, the field soon start to spread out and I was were I wanted to be, we headed into the single track after about 10minutes and I was in 5th place overall. I soon past a couple that were were actually team runners and I could see Brendon Sharratt and Anton Cooper back down the track and I wasn't making the ground on them that I was hoping to. I got to the transition with one individual in front of me (Norman Dunroy) he has also won the event before so it was going to be hard work to catch him and not to be caught.
I felt good on the bike down in the Clarence Valley but heading up Groan Hill I didn't feel strong like I usually would, I was caught here by Brendon and Anton and I tried my best to hold on to them. I kept them insight until the bottom of the descent but they were working together and pulled away from from me.
I finished in 4th place about 2 minutes and 50 seconds down not quite what I was looking for but still a good effort.
Looking forward to The Run 77 Tekapo MTB race in two weeks.

Thanks to Merida bikes (The Cycle Wharehouse, Christchurch), Macpac NZ and Brad and Moana at Halswell Butchery.