Day Night Thriller 2009

Two weeks out from the DNT I was fairly happy with my build up to the event. Plenty of riding, making good use of my lights and warm winter clothes! I’d survived the first race of the PNP series – even scoring a third placing, thanks to the long climbs and to Catherine and Charlotte not racing. The masters women’s courses for this year are longer and more technical, so just completing the event was a big step forward for me.

Then – my father passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Although he had been seriously ill, his death was an unexpected shock. 3 days later I picked up the stomach virus that’s been going around – which knocked me flat for 2 days and took 2 weeks to fully recover from. Needless to say, I was emotionally and physically drained.

2 days before the event I was managing to eat (relatively) normally again, so Lisa, Shane and I headed up to Taupo early on Friday morning. I hadn’t managed my usual week of obsessive planning and list writing so, although everything was organized I felt a little out of control. My main goal for this event was to test out our plan for the 24hr – and to allow Lisa to indulge her inner geek with a mass of spreadsheets! We were greeted by rain and clouds – lucky I’m waterproof! I went for an easy lap of the track to check out the new section – 1.5km of easy rolling and twisting trail. The course seemed to be riding pretty well and was nice and dry despite the rain. Time to head back to the motel for pizza and the 2 hour Australian Idol special!

I started slowly, as usual, and for some reason it didn’t occur to me that the weeks leading up may have sapped some of my top end speed and I began to doubt myself – however I’m learning to deal with this kind of thing a lot better and managed to carry on without getting too low. We’d planned a feed stop 3 hours in to the event but Lisa, from watching me and my lap times, made the call to feed me earlier than expected. This was the first step forward for me – had she not pulled me in when she did there’s a pretty good chance that I wouldn’t have finished the event. I was light-headed, sweating despite the cold, shaking and had had a few near-falls due to brain fade… probably due to the after-effects of the virus and lack of food. A pikelet and jam later I was ready to go – and felt progressively better as the lap continued. Talk about sugar rush – I was singing, chatting, babbling and generally feeling really good about life! Continued feeds ensured that, although the sugar rush wore off, I stayed steady and strong for the rest of the race. I saw Charlotte ahead of me several times at the point where the track crossed – about 15 minutes ahead. I’d abandoned any hope of winning the event this year – I decided to focus on staying strong and sticking to my game plan for the whole 12 hours. As it started to get darker I finally settled into my familiar rhythm – the feeling of being tired, sore, strong and focused all at once. Once I’m in this zone if feels like I could stay there forever – and I did for the rest of the race. I’d been instructed to finish my bottles every lap, as Lisa had precisely measured the amount that I needed to take on, so there were some humorous moments as she watched me desperately gulp down the last few mouthfuls before throwing my bottle away – I didn’t want to get told off!

In this case strong and steady finally won the race – I was pleased to have won and relieved that my body had held up for the 12 hours. The prizegiving was a let-down – with the third place finisher being awarded the first prize medal, bumping Charlotte and I down a place. It was eventually (after the ceremony) sorted out… but I was really disappointed not to get the chance to thank my support crew and sponsors for helping me to win the event 2 years in a row.

So- providing Kanye West is not around – I’ve got a lot of people to thank. As I’ve said before, a solo event requires much more teamwork than any ‘team’ race.

Charlotte – for riding and training with me… and pushing me to my limits on the day.

Gav – for his thorough and meticulous preparation of my bikes.

Shane – for support, encouragement and the hundreds of little things that add up to allow me to do what I do.

Robyn - for coaching and beyond...

Lisa – for bringing a whole new meaning to the role of supporter. This is our third event together and she just keeps setting the bar higher. I’m incredibly lucky to have someone who understands what I’m trying to do, what I need to be able to do it – and who can interpret my ramblings and body language to work out what’s actually going on… and graphs it all for later viewing!

Sponsors: Porirua Cycle and Mower Centre, Jamis Bicycles, Sram, Continental Tyres, Foxshox, CrankBrothers, Tifosi Optics.

The last 2 months - the condensed version!

We headed out on a road trip to the 1st N-Duro in May – along with several other Wellington mountain bikers. I was a little apprehensive, but hoping things would turn out OK. I tagged along a on ride that included some of NZ’s fastest XC riders in the pouring rain and slushy mud on Friday (big mistake). I was slow (and felt even slower), struggling with the wet and slippery trails and just generally miserable as I groveled along trying to keep the others in sight. This really got me thinking about how out of my depth I was going to be in the race on Sunday. Race day started out well – I got to chat to Catherine while warming up and on the start line… I didn’t see her again until the finish! I felt slow off the start, got held up on the single-track climbs, then did my best not to hold anyone else up. I felt that I was flowing a little better as the day went on – although I was off and walking on far too many descents. I finished tired but OK… it wasn’t until others started talking about their times that I realized quite how far away I was from where I hoped to be. There are plenty of excuse cards that I could play (and others have played on my behalf) – but they don’t change anything. It was a fairly harsh wake-up call that set off a rough few weeks for me.

I was distracted for a few days when I hit the tarmac courtesy of a Rav 4 that failed to give way at a roundabout in Porirua. Minor damage to me (mild concussion, a couple of bruises), broken forks, buckled rims and written off helmet. Way to take my mind off navel gazing for a while!! I took a couple of days off the bike to recover, then back into both riding and the mental storm. My poor coach bore the brunt of this storm – I also owe thanks to Shane and Lisa for putting up with my whining. Solving this problem isn’t going to happen overnight… but it will happen. It’s currently a work in progress, and my main goals have changed a little.

I took a relaxed approach to the next N-Duro. There was a whippet-fast ride going out on Friday – having learned my lesson I bailed out of this early on and left them to tear the course to shreds while I enjoyed a nice chatty ride with Paula and Geoff who were also up from Wellington for the race. The ride finished in true roadie style – at a coffee shop in ‘town’. The next day I went exploring the beginning of the course with Lisa, who very kindly backed her pace off for me and patiently waited while I plodded my way along the trails!

The details of the race have faded a little – but generally, once things had settled down from the initial mayhem, I passed some people on the climbs, they passed me back on the descents… my main focus for the day was to stay positive regardless of how I felt I was riding or how the race unfolded; I had lots of chances to practice this during the day! I arrived at the finish during the short course prizegiving (which is always fun…) and headed back to the van to collect my thoughts. Overall, I felt better about this race than the last one (luckily there was plenty of fire road) and managed to stay up-beat about things. Several of the Welly crew ended up with well-deserved podium spots, which was a nice finish to the day.

I’d planned to head to Taupo for race the next weekend – I wasn’t sure whether to enter, but Shane was going to race so I’d be there anyway. After a quick chat with coach towards the end of the week, I got the go ahead to race. I can’t say that I was really looking forward to it – my legs were pretty toasted after the N-Duro. We went exploring the trails on Saturday and I felt like I was towing a very large and reluctant elephant behind me. I enjoyed the trails that we rode, although they were unfamiliar they were more forgiving than those I’m used to – apart from the odd demon rut and scary bridge! The race itself was a mass start with both short and long courses starting together. I got held up a lot on the initial climbs – I have a lot to learn about assertively calling and passing! Things settled in to the now familiar routine of me passing Dean up a hill, him passing me back on the way down, repeat … it was nice to have some company on the pedally parts of the track, though. During the race I rode a couple of bridges that I’d wimped out on the day before, along with enough scary (for me) stuff to be happy overall. There’s a lot more that I probably could ride if I got determined – and I’m sure it will still be there when I go back! The trails were fantastic and a real credit to the hard work of the local mtb club. I managed to get back before prize giving and, although well out of the merit prizes, I was stoked to win a lovely Pear Izumi riding top courtesy of Top Gear Cycles.

No traveling for a month or so now – time to knuckle down and work on all of the things that I need to do before my next 24hr!

Moonride... but not as I know it!

As the Moonride loomed closer, I was keen to enter as a 12hr solo – mostly to prove to myself that I’d learned the important lessons from the 24hr in March. Coach Robyn quickly squashed that idea and, despite much whining and stamping of feet on my part, the answer was still “no, you need a break!” Knowing that she was right didn’t make it any easier for me to accept! I’d gotten so used to structured training by this stage that I felt quite lost not having my weeks planned out for me! Official training was to begin the day AFTER the Moonride. I was allowed to ‘race’ as part of a team, but warned to remember that I’d been on a break and that I wouldn’t be fast… no kidding! Short and fast laps are the exact opposite of my chosen event. On the bright side, this would be a chance to experience 12hr team racing for the first time. I have to admit that it was a hell of a lot of fun! I also got the chance to yell, cheer and generally support friends who were racing, something I don’t often get to do.

I’d been taken on board by one of the Jamis “Rec” teams – after a quick team meeting we decided on double laps, due to the shortness of the track and the low temperatures. This was the right choice for me – I did 3 double laps and each time my second lap was faster than my first, even after warming up! My main concern was being the team ‘boat anchor’ but, as it turned out Laura, Lynairre and I were all pretty even in the end. It was a novelty to come in after my stint buzzing from adrenaline and bouncing around like Tigger – I really didn’t know what to do with myself for a while! This was also the first real outing on my sparkly new Jamis XCR, having received the shock and forks back from being custom valved by the lovely folk at Blueshark.

In between my laps I had plenty of time to watch the real action take place. First up was Lisa proving that she’s on her way back to her best form by comprehensively destroying the women’s 6hr solo field. In a complete reversal of roles I managed to pass her a bottle for her last stint. It was good to see her ride so strongly for the whole event, busting out incredibly consistent laps.

Charlotte had entered 12hr solo, supported by her amazing mum. It was a privilege to watch Charlotte’s display of mental and physical power and she swapped with the initial leader a few times early on, then slowly but surely pulled away to an unassailable lead. She looked strong and focused throughout and, in a lesson for me, stayed well fed and hydrated as well.

Also based out of our corner was Pete – who rode an impressive and slightly crazy 24hr solo, toughing it out until the finish, then heading off to hospital! 24 Solo (the movie) is only a guide, Pete!

Clive just kept on going at race pace – around and around and around the course to take out the 12hr Club Champs.

A non-racing highlight for me was to catch up with Jim (Jemima Brindle) – a fellow crazy endurance racer now focusing on road racing. She’d had to dust the cobwebs off her mtb to bust out a few laps for her team! Jim’s taught me a lot in the races I’ve done with her and it was good to see her again.

24 hr N-Duro

Right-o – time to get a pot of tea and a packet of Tim-Tams. Really. This is going to take a while…

During the last weekend in March I reached another milestone on my cycling journey. A couple of years ago when I crewed for the N-Duro 24hr I couldn’t imagine being able to take part. A year later I acted as ring-in when Shane’s team needed a female rider – and now here I was planning to ride the whole event. Solo. I guess I’d let the event get on top of me mentally – physically I was confident that I’d done all I could to prepare by following my program – but had I pushed myself hard enough? I was also a little intimidated by the caliber of the people helping me… cue the little voice saying “who are you trying to fool?” I knew that I could ride for 24 hours, but there’s a difference between knowing something and truly believing in your ability to do it. These factors unfortunately set the tone for my ride – I constantly doubted my ability and the event became as much a mental challenge as a physical one. We arrived in Rotorua on Wednesday to check out the course as best we could before it was marked. There were two spots that I chose to walk – one a tricky root, the other a muddy section followed by a log. Both sections were totally rideable, but not by me yet. I spent the next few days chilling out at Dean and Helen’s place, putting the finishing touches on my race plan (and reading trashy novels) while Shane put my new bike together. I settled on two goals for the event: first and foremost was to ride for the whole 24 hours; the second was to aim for 16 laps which meant an average of 90 min per lap. The trip around the supermarket on Friday was fun – along with the trusty pikelets, bagels, jam and coke, anything that looked tasty or that I thought Lisa might enjoy went into the trolley.

The 24 hours are a bit of a blur – the things that I remember may be out of order or a little inaccurate – call it poetic license

The event started with a Le Mans style “run” (in my case a kind of amble) around the paddock (note to self – gel bottle should be in the middle pocket for this), on to the bike and we were off! The first time through Tahi and Creek was as part of a procession and was uneventful apart from a close encounter with a tree. I rode with Dean for a while – we both decided that it was better to let him go ahead of me once the single track started pointing downwards! I was passed fairly early by the “2 Aussie Andys” (Fellowes and Bell) who were having a nice chat as they flew past! Andy F went on to win the 12 hour. Further on I was lapped by Erin (Greene, eventual solo women’s winner) and Holy Crap is she fast!! To keep that pace up for 24 hours is an incredible feat – I think she’s going to create a stir among the elite women if she competes at the World Solo Champs in July.

I continued reasonably consistently for the daylight hours, apart from an unscheduled rest stop in a prickle bush – I had to stop and get my crew to remove the remaining prickles from my butt!! Such a glamorous job they have! Every time I came through the pits Lisa was there with a fresh bottle, words of encouragement –she ran along beside me most times – and some wonderful coloured labels on the top of my drink bottles with key words to help me stay focused. I started to get annoyed with some shifting issues – and a couple of loose sections on the track had me questioning my choice of tire. The tires I had are fine for an aggressive rider, but I thought I’d be happier on my trusty Speed Kings – especially as the ground was likely to get wetter with the overnight dew. I met Shane (and the ever present camera) through MIYD and called for him to ride with me while I explained what was going on. The solution was to do a lap on my new bike while the boys swapped my tires over and re-tuned my gears… as it was getting close to sunset they also took the chance to attach my lights so I wouldn’t need to stop. In hindsight a short break at this point might have been a good idea – to check where I was fuel-wise and to get some solid fuel on board. I only stopped for long enough to change in to a warmer top and add leg warmers. I was pretty toasty in this for my first lap – but I was glad of the extra warmth as the night wore on.

The major mistake that I made during the day (and night) was not concentrating enough on my nutrition plan. I had worked out how much I needed to eat/drink to keep me fuelled – but I didn’t realize quite how far I was missing this mark by. The long laps meant that by the time my crew realized this I was already feeling the effects. Plan B was to start adding solid food – but I never managed to really come back from the initial deficit.

During the early hours of Sunday I wasn’t really ‘seeing things’ but my mind started to play tricks. I’d catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye (such as a ginger cat curled up on the trail) – but when I looked directly at it, it would revert to being a curled orange fern frond. Another fern took on the look of an intricate and scary carving – while a log near the entrance to Lion Trail became a pony. This was quite entertaining really and helped to keep me amused, along with the wallabies, possums and rats that crossed my path in the darkness. At one stage my bar light went out at the end of Lion Trail – apparently it must have been fading out for a while, but I hadn’t noticed! I headed off down Challenge with only my helmet light – more than enough light for my snail’s pace, but I prefer floodlighting!

The night laps are all a bit of a blur – some high/low points stand out in my memory:
Desperately trying not to go to sleep up Princess Anne Drive – I actually got off and leaned against my bike at one point. I had to really push myself to get back on and ride when all I wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. Luckily most of that road could be ridden with unfocussed and/or closed eyes!
· I stopped to add a vest later… and more antichafe. You can never have too much antichafe!!
. Lisa’s company on 2 laps – this was a huge boost. She was calm, chatted when I needed distraction and kept quiet at the right moments – and managed to refrain from mocking my muppetty sleep-deprived riding - although she did remind me to steer my bike when I fluffed up a switchback!
. We met up with Andrew Bell up Princess Anne Drive – he was having the same trouble that I had had on the previous lap – legs were fine, but he was too tired to ride in a straight line. We tried to get him to tag along with us – would have been slow, but we would have done our best to keep him awake. He chose not to follow – and I believe he pulled the pin at this point. I really felt for him – I could only imagine the disappointment and frustration that he would have felt… I guess I knew that if I could ride through it, then he could ride through it also. Although I contemplated sleeping on the side of the trail, actually pulling out of the event never crossed my mind… not that Lisa would have let me! Andrew’s efforts were still good enough to earn him 3rd place.
. You see some seriously strange stuff in the small hours of the morning!
. It was very lonely on the trails after midnight – often went for 20 minutes without seeing another rider or marshall.
. I remember Marcello from Bike Vegas yelling “Go Jude” at some point in the dark, while jumping around with far too much energy.

Lisa and I quickly discussed the number of laps remaining once it got light – I though I could do 2, but didn’t have time for 3. Lisa thought differently – and she was the boss at this point! I put in a harder lap as it began to get light – but not sticking to my nutrition plan had taken its toll. I still had plenty of strength in my legs, but no fuel to drive them. I tried to put another strong lap in – but there was nothing left in the tank. I shed a few tears on this lap, not thinking very clearly but mainly upset and frustrated that I was letting my incredible support crew down after they had put so much in to getting me to where I was… I managed to clear these away before returning to the pits and telling Shane that I was done… nothing left. I thought that was it – but I was reminded that I’d aimed to ride for 24 hours and 16 laps and another lap would see me achieve both of these goals. I don’t remember exactly what Lisa said, but it worked. I found I could still turn the pedals, so off I went again, not at all sure that I could make it back in time, but determined to try. Lisa offered to come with me – but I needed to set off on my own to prove to myself that I could. Loaded up with a fresh bottle, took off my vest, gritted my teeth and eased my sorry arse back on to the saddle. Being late with applying antichafe, combined with trip into the prickles was making sitting down pretty unpleasant (Sorry, TMI!) Thanks for the encouragement from the pits – I remember Charotte cheering me on for a final lap.

I was caught by another 24hr rider on Creek Trail – as she was much fresher than I was I offered to let her past several times, but she chose to stay and ride behind/with me. Brave move considering I really wasn’t worth talking to by this point – and I’m pretty sure I’d started to grow horns… Further through the trail I heard a familiar sound – Lisa’s hub! Although I’d decided to do the lap solo I was overwhelmingly pleased to have her company. We popped out on to the 4wd track at the end of Creek and my lower back seized up – pretty much everything was hurting now. With encouragement from Lisa I kept turning the pedals... I rode what felt like a spectacularly slow lap, doubting that I could finish in time, cursing every root and pinch climb – I felt like I’d grizzled and whined the whole way around – but maybe it was all in my head. I looked at my watch at the top of Lion and realized that I could finish in time after all. This made it easier to push on through the last singletrack, up the last pinch climb, down the hill, around the paddock and HOME!!! I eased myself back off the bike and waddled duck-style back to the tent, leaning on my bike the whole way. Hugs all around from the team – this just shows how dedicated they were as I smelled pretty damned bad by now!

I need to say a huge thank-you to the people that supported me before and during this event. Two little words that in no way do justice to the work that Robyn, Shane, Gav and particularly Lisa put in to making this happen for me. Basically I’m left with nothing to do but turn the pedals as my team do the thinking for me – reminding me to eat, drink, turn my lights on – pretty much everything! Special thanks to Lisa – I basically handed control of the event to her – she did everything I could have asked for and more. The confidence that being able to trust someone to that level gives you is amazing – you rock!!

Will I do it again – hell yes!! I’ll be back fitter, faster and better fuelled next year!

Thanks to:

My long-suffering husband Shane –for supporting me, giving up his own riding to help me with mine, working on my bikes, generally putting up with me and having a lot more faith in my abilities than I do.
Lisa – for being the most incredible support crew I could ask for. Also for knowing the right words to say – and when to keep quiet!!
Robyn – for getting me to the point that I could compete in the event, for support and encouragement up to and during the weekend. Text and phone contact meant it was just like she was there – except that she was possibly a little more warm and comfy!
Gav – who did a fantastic job preparing my bikes and performing running repairs to keep them going.
The support crews that yelled and cheered every time I came through the pits.
My sponsors: Porirua Cycle and Mower Centre, Jamis Bicycles, SRAM, Continental Tyres and Crank Bros.

3nz

Jude is out on her 16th lap.....

providing she finishes this lap and bar a major I cant see why not

Jude will achive her two main goals for this weekend plus a few minor ones also

Big thanks to Lisa and Gav without you guys it for me would have been so much harder
Dunno if it could get much harder for Jude ???

I for one to say I am stoked with the result would an understatement

did I mention 3nz anywhere

here in the pits it got down to 4 degress at about 6am, its currently 7:30am and 4.5 degrees although daylight is here so is the fog so it's another lap with lights, Jude is still in third looking as good as one can expect...so with 4.5 hrs to go we will see what happens

its 2:38 am, the 12hr have long finished, the music has been turned down, the fog has rolled in in the pit area

After Jude running out of battery on her bar light, for some reason we choose not change her helmet light battery knowing that it had more than 1hr less use but I desided to not risk it for last few down hill trails. I mission up to the end off Lyon with spare battery (chased a wallabe up the road at about 30 clicks for while.

I'm thinking Jude is in new place at the moment, as it currently about 6 degress and she has 14+ hrs in her legs.........

Lisa has gone out to check the track out....seemed like a good idea at 2 in the morning......yep ok

Gone past midnight...12hrs done

had the bar light battery run out on that lap

but other than that position have not changed

Still comfortably 3rd

9hrs temp is down to 10 degress.......the running order is status quo...

sorry no pics the connection is not strong enough

there is 9 female solo 24hr chicks

almost 6.5 hrs and Jude is still in third behind Megan D (don't ask me to spell her surname, might google it latter if I get board and can keep the conection long enough.



the gap betwwen the first for place's is about equall between them



Megan is still riding strong



We sent Jude out on her spare bike as she was have a little trouble with gear shift and wasn't happy with tyres she had on as it as getting a little damp in places, so she is now on her Conti Speed Kings, we also fitted up her lights and Gav gave the bike the once over

Ok! just over 3hr in and Jude (to best of our knowledge)is sitting in 3rd
her second lap was quicker than her first so all good

Waiting for offical results to come out

The weather is overcast but still very warm 21c

Erin Green ex-commonweath games racer is leading...she riding very strong

But we still have a long way to go

Gav just gone out on his SS to view the track first hand

Ok! the race got under way prett much on time...

So now I can start relaxing......even with the top notch crew Lisa & Gav here this weekend I have been stressing to max......no sleep last night for me

3 1/2 hours to go

Gav and I headed out at dawn to set up the tent site......its dawn a typical grey rotorua morning
Now back at the motel for breakie etc and final sort out of plans, clothes, etc

T - 13

T-13

Jude has the most of the course sorted...but I just went out for ride under lights and found some changes to what was marked out earlier today and some changes from the map......

not major changes and nothing technical has been added, so all ok, as doing reccy tomorrow morning for Jude is not really in the plan

Judes new bike (09 model of what she is riding Jamis Dakar XCR Expert) arrived in the country on last friday and were able to collect it from the courier's on wednesday although I got is assembled and the part swapped to make it the set up as old bike the suspension is not tune for her so she will be riding her trust 08 Jamis XCR expert this weekend

Karapoti - A Day at the Spa

I hate mud. Just in case you didn’t know, I really hate mud. However, I’m told that it’s fantastic for the skin, so I decided to head on out to the Karapoti Day Spa for a full body mud-wrap. We got to the venue early – Shane set up the tent while I sat around and yakked, watching the rain slowly ease off. This was good – rain might have washed off the mud before it had a chance to work its magic!! The conversation then turned to why on earth I had thought this would be a good idea!



3-2-1 Go!! With bike on shoulder I stumbled my way through the river crossings, then climbed on board and we were off. I tried to push myself here – which worked well up until the end of the tar seal, where I ended up as part of a procession. A routine was quickly established – splash through muddy puddle, squint, blink rapidly to clear crud from eyes, repeat… I got to the warm up climb to see a crowd walking/preparing to dismount and yelled “riders” (just because I could, really) only to get grumped at for not specifying which side I wanted to pass on. Funny! Especially funny considering the walkers were spread 4 wide along the climb! I then enjoyed the novel sensation of calling to pass most of the way up – although I bailed at one point through not anticipating the rider in front of me stopping. I was wary of the loose descent down in to the stream, so stumbled down on foot, trying to stay off the ride line. At this point a girl asked me if this was the Rock Garden. My reply “giggle, snort – um, no… that’s further on!!” I lost a little time at the bottom trying to get going while staying out of the way – in the end I had to stop and run the small rise at the end along with the riders ahead of me.

I pedaled and pushed along and up Deadwood – stopping for chain suck at one point. I’m not used to this, so it took me a little while to figure out that the chain had skipped off one of the jockey wheels. Luckily this first episode of was also my last – while it got harder to shift as my drive train filled up with mud, the bike still behaved perfectly. I didn’t ride as much of Deadwood as I had hoped to (story of the day, really) – some of which I put down to the slippery and heavy conditions, some (especially the rockier descents) to self preservation. It was great to watch several women go bombing down some of the places that I wimped out on – gives me confidence that I can ride them next time!

I paused briefly in the river at the bottom of the Staircase – the time was up on my initial mudpack and my face felt like it was going to crack… and the mud on my lips was not that tasty. Onwards to another procession up the staircase, stopping a few times as others further up slipped or paused for a breather. It was slippy, sticky and slow – the top section even had a small river running down it! A quick stop at the top to re-lube my chain and fill a bottle, and on the bike again. I finally got some music going on the downhill section – I’d been blasting Evanescence in the van all week and now was singing it out loud (sorry to anyone that may have heard). A time check at the bottom of Dopers was disappointing – I’d felt that I’d been riding better this time around, but the clock doesn’t lie and there was no way I’d be getting back any faster than last year, let alone anywhere near my goal time. Oh, well. S**T happens. On to Dopers…

I rode through the stream (yay) and up as far as the first rut, off and running around the corner, then back on board and riding past plenty of walkers – it was hard to find enough breath to call for room, let alone be polite (why do people walk on the ride line, anyway?). I did get some nice encouragement from a few guys, though. I walked more than I had in my pre-ride – partly due to conditions, and partly I guess through just not having the carrot of a faster time in front of me. I stopped at the top to mix another bottle, then set out for the last leg of the race. I was fairly conservative down this descent (yeah, I know, as usual!), dismounted to run the stream at the bottom (having fallen in it previously) then prepared to give anything I might have had left on the way home. I quickly passed some guys who had zoomed past me on the downhill, then set about chasing down anyone I could see. I caught and drafted another bloke for a while, then hooked out and passed him as he began to slow… and left him behind. Ooops. A thorough re-application of mud ensued as I was well past trying to ride around the puddles by now. On to the tar seal, hammer to the river, off, try and figure out where Shane meant for me to cross… I stuffed things up a little, and my bike was dragged off my shoulder and just about headed off, taking me with it! I staggered, splashed and swore my way to the bank (sorry, kids), back on and rode past a few guys who were walking up the finish chute. Stopped to have my timing chip removed and get my medal – with a white ribbon, which is now brown. Off to the didymo wash for my lovely hubby to clean my bike – then had him empty a bottle of water over my head to at least thin out some of the mud. I reckon I must have been carrying at least a kilo of mud and crud between my clothes and the bike! I had mud everywhere. Really.

Overall – At first I was pleased to have ridden better than last year while disappointed that I was slower than last year. I had high hopes of a better time, thinking that my riding and strength should have improved… but this wasn’t the day that I was going to prove it.

I caught up with Charlotte after the race – she had already cleaned up, changed and gotten her lunch by the time I got in – she was surprised and super-stoked to find she’d finished in 3rd place in our category. Congrats, Charlotte – a well deserved result!

The longest day...

My lovely coach had set me a 10hr training ride for the weekend – followed by 3-5 hours the next day! On Saturday I awoke to a cool, moderately cloudy day. This was to be my longest training ride… also my longest ever solo ride. Shane had planned my route and printed out directions for my big adventure – I had no real idea where I was going! I loaded up with 2 bottles of Perpetuem, stuffed a couple of gels in my pocket and I was off! Through Taupo, over the bridge, turn left into a stonking head wind! I proceeded at a snail’s pace, but I remembered this section being slow on the Enduro so just kept on pedaling… my goal was time, rather than distance, after all. No music today – I wasn’t in the greatest of moods (in other words I was a grumpy cow) and was determined to Get The Ride Done. The next few hours were a mix of heat, rain, hills, sweat and roadworks! I got towards the end of my first set of directions and saw “turn right into Huirimu Rd” which I did – and promptly found myself on an unsealed farm road – yee har!! Thinking “how bad can it be”(and also having no idea of where else to go) I started along it. Pedal, slip, ride, walk, curse… I made my way for about 4km to find that the road took a sharp turn in the upwards direction, and no way was I going to be able to negotiate that with the amount of lose gravel/rocks on the surface. My text and call to the Waambulance (Shane) went unanswered; so I trudged and pedaled my way back to the start of the road, where I finally met Shane. Don’t think I’ll be entering any pave races any time soon! After a slight detour I was back on track and made my scheduled 100km-ish stop for fresh bottles and a gel. More of the same weather and hills followed, interspersed with some amazing scenery – I’d even perked up enough to smile at the camera (which I was seeing far too much of, but hubby had to keep himself entertained somehow)! I did a short stint on SH1, which was the worst part of the whole ride. Noisy, lots of trucks, splashes from puddles – utter pants! I wasn’t watching my time, just distance, so I was disappointed to see that I still had over 90 minutes to go at the 210km mark! I made my final scheduled stop – taking on H.E.E.D for a change of flavour – and changed plans slightly to avoid the Whirinaki Valley (I’d had enough of hills – and would have gone well over time). I still had some time to kill when we got into Rotorua, so Shane led me on a tiki-tour of the city’s highlights!! I got off the bike once we got to the motel and waited for my brain to re-engage – it didn’t! I gulped down some Recoverite, took a l-o-n-g shower and used the miracle of modern technology to order pizza. Then I was ready for some serious sleep…

Then, all too soon, it was Sunday morning. My plan said 3-5 hours on the road. I decided to head out from the Waipa Mill carpark, which was the base for the 3rd round of the N-Duro Summer Cup. Shane was racing, along with Catherine and some other friends, so it was a good chance for a gossip and catch-up before the ride. I eventually got going just as Op Shop came on over the sound system… that was to be today’s soundtrack, as well as the ever present Pink (and some hideously awful 70’s number that I refuse to name and couldn’t shake). My legs felt as powerful as your average wet noodle – but I’d expected that. I hadn’t expected the puncture I got after 25 minutes… Grrr at people who throw bottles on the road! I had some mild entertainment of my lap of the lake – provided by a roadie (?) in a baggy white top who was out for a ride with a female companion. I passed them as I turned on to Haumurana Rd (around the back of the lake) and was surprised to discover him on my tail a few km later (having left his friend behind!). Now I was pretty tired, I’m too small to be a good windbreak and not the fastest on the flat at the best of times – but hey! If you wanna draft me, knock yourself out! He pulled up beside me on the hill (with a squeaky bike) – but must have stopped to wait for his companion, because I didn’t see him again until I’d been through Ngongotaha – and he went passed me on the tail of some other random roadie!! At this point I was starting to feel pretty flat – but made the wrong choice to wait a while before taking on a gel. Bad move! Part way into the journey home (back around the lake) I totally ran out of go. I inhaled a gel and slogged my way along waiting for it to kick in. In hindsight I hadn’t refueled properly the night before, and was running on empty before I even started the ride.

I arrived back at the car park to find Shane had won his class – awesome! – and Catherine had also won hers. Time for food… the food cart had nachos! Excellent! Catherine very kindly helped me demolish my rather generous portion!

Finally it was time for the drive home. Tired, grumpy and teary – but pleased to have met my training goals for the weekend. Got home to an ecstatic greeting from the cat – who is always pleased to see me no matter how grumpy I am or how bad I smell!



All the photo's are here

1 long training ride

This post is by Shane

Mission

Date: 21/02/2009

Location: Waikato

Type: Road

Start point: Taupo

Finish point: Rotorua

Distance : 250Km approx

Duration 10hrs approx

Start time 08:30hrs

Weather 1st 45 mins : Sunny

Weather for most of ride: Showers, some heavy in between being damp, little sun

Weather for last 50 mins: Sunny

Head wind for 1st 100ks

some big hills

a gravel road Doh!

Karapoti is calling...

And no matter how hard I try, I can’t ignore it! Preparations began with my first meeting with the lovely Tip Track in quite some time. Gee, I’d missed it. Anyways, I climbed on at the 2nd gate and proceeded to cough, splutter, gasp and curse my way up. I’d never managed to ride cleanly up to the stockyards before, let alone the whole way, so I was stoked to see the top gate not a dab taken. Ha – cue one muppet moment and –SPLAT- I was on the deck, leaking from a knee. Oh, well… back on the bike, pedal to the gate, push bike to the top and collapse in a heap. 4 minutes faster than my previous best, but no land speed records today. I was just happy that the little red Jamis seemed to climb so much better than my previous steed. I was scheduled for 2 full climbs, but with my throat mildly infected feeling pretty raw I decided to aim for the stockyards and then turn around. I rode much smoother this time – who’d have thought climbing is easier when you relax and don’t fight the bike (durr) and was happy with the time it took.

The next day was a 4 hour road ride – I meet Charlotte in Johnsonville so had company for the last 3 hours, which made time go a heck of a lot faster. We then finished the day in the best possible way – BBQ, red wine and lots of bike talk!
Fast forward a week and Shane and I met up with Charlotte and Tim to have a look at the Karapoti course. The first time I rode/walked Karapoti (last year) I just about burst tears. I thought that, since I’d done Taupo, Karapoti was only 50km and would be easy. Yeah, right! I think my eyeballs nearly popped out of my head on the Warm-up climb! At least this year I was better prepared for how tough it would be. I piked on the first stream crossing (on the to-do list for later) – but was stoked to ride the whole of the Warm-up climb for the first time! Yes, it’s been graded and is the easiest it’s ever been, but I was still happy. A combination of riding, walking, sweating and hard breathing followed – I’m OK on the uphill and rolling sections, but rocky downhills have never been my strong point. Then we got to the Rock Garden, which scares me – and I confess to not really having the right attitude to ride it at this point. I’m saving my mental energy for the things that are within my physical abilities! So I walked most of the way down… next stop the Staircase. A combination of push and carry worked well, except for the initial step, where my legs were not long enough for the line I had chosen!!

I walked 3 sections on Dopers – the rut just after the stream and 2 rocky pinches – which is the least time I’ve spend off the bike on that climb, so I was happy again. Not so happy on the way down – a combination of looking where I didn’t want to go and general un-coordinated-ness left me off the side of the road in a heap. It took me a few minutes and some loud “Ow” ing to get back on my bike and catch the others. I’d managed to re-open my knee wound from Tip Track and add some nice lumps and bruises for good measure. Ooops. Anyway, back to the van in about 10 minutes slower time than my race time last year. I felt stronger and faster, but this wasn’t really reflected in the time I took.

Only 3 weeks to go. Although this isn’t one of my goal events, I still feel I have something to prove. I guess I’ll find out on race day!

In search of Mojo

After my last update it seemed I’d left whatever mojo I had back in Vegas… So – what else could I do but go back and look for it! I’d booked a skills session with mtbskillsclinics.com to coincide with Shane racing the 2nd round of the N-duro Summer Cup. 3 long days in the forest (including a race)– surely that would be long enough to hunt down and recapture the mojo? Well, as so often happens, life had other plans for me as I came down with a rather nasty episode of food poisoning on the Wednesday night. I’ll spare you the gruesome details – suffice to say I was feeling a little less than my best when we set off on Saturday. (3 days without coffee is neither natural nor healthy!!) On our reccy ride of the unfamiliar parts of the 25km course it became obvious that I still had some recovering to do. While my tum had finally settled my energy levels were way down and I was feeling as flat as a squashed pancake. A quick consultation with Coach – and it was decided to flag the race and go for an easy sift through the forest instead. I was disappointed, but realistically had nothing to gain by racing.
Monday – my skill session was booked to start at 10.00am, which left time for a nice, leisurely breakfast at Milly’s (trying to make up for lost eating!) – yay for cooked breakfasts.

We met Gabby and Dodzy (who had just got off a plane after racing in the South Island) in the Waipa Mill car park. We started out by reinforcing some of the skills from the Phundamentals course on the fire roads, then into the trails to put them in to practice. We headed for a couple of rooty spots that I’d never managed to clear – and I eventually managed to wobble my way through them. I also found that I can, in fact, go faster than granny-gear pace through flowing singletrack! I can’t say enough good things about Gabby – she has a great eye for what you’re doing (or not doing) on the bike, the ability to break things down into terms that I can understand (I learn best with key words) and, most importantly, seemingly endless patience when faced with Scaredy Cats like me! It would appear that I had indeed located some much-needed mojo. I still have bucket loads to learn, and so much practice to do before the techniques that I have learned become habit… but I feel like I made some really good progress over the weekend.

Big Weekend...

Saturday: Well, it had to come around again sooner or later… that time when I end up spending silly amounts of time on the road to toughen up my legs (and other places) to prepare for 24hr events. A later-than-planned Friday night put paid to any plans I had to ride early, so by the time I had finished work, prepared my bike, fuel and sorted myself out it was nearly mid-day. Thankfully the weather decided to co-operate and it was a beautiful sunny day, marred only slightly by the ever-present stroppy northerly. I headed out from Porirua to Karori (via Makara), down Tinakori Rd, around the Bays, along SH2 and along to the end of Petone Esplanade, where Shane had parked the van. 4 hours down – half way! Yippee! Swapped my empty bottles for fresh supplies of Perpetuem (that I’d frozen the night before, so were still nice and cold, yum), and applied the sunscreen that I should’ve put on to start with. Ooops. Anyway, onwards – back along the Esplanade, up SH2 and towards the Akatarawas. The internal i-pod was stuck on repeat; Pink’s “Sober” was the track of choice! At some point I looked down at my watch to see 5:01:20. About 10 minutes later I looked down to see 5:01:48… the world had gone in to slow motion! Luckily things reversed as I reached the climbs into the Aka’s – I managed to get to the sawmill without remembering how I’d got there! Pretty sure I didn’t teleport, but who knows… I had a couple of close calls with oncoming traffic further up – just as well I’m not a few inches wider!! I finally reached the top, basked in the sun for a few seconds, then headed back down, dodging boy racers and inhaling the refreshing smell of cooked brake pads (not mine). Soundtrack had now shuffled to an 80’s number “live it up” (I think by Madness – appropriately!) and some more forgettable tunes. Shane was waiting for me at the base of the hill – one hour to go! I turned towards Te Marua then headed along Whitemans Valley for the final stretch. Met my wonderful hubby again with 30 minutes to go – he handed me a bottle of coke, flattened with a splash of Powerade – my favourite ‘getting to the end of the ride’ brew! The last half hour sped by – capped of with me getting laughed at by refusing to stop a second before the 8 hour mark!! 201km in 8 hours. Not fast – but what I’d been aiming for. Tired, but not totally broken.

Sunday: Only 3 hours – easy as! Yeah, right! My enthusiasm ran out about an hour into the ride – not helped by my friend the northerly. Did a combination of the roads around Pauatahanui – first part of Moonshine, Bulls Run, Grays Rd, SH 58 – and to the summit of Pakekakariki Hill… then a couple of hill reps to make up the distance. 2 hrs and 57 minutes. Close enough would be good enough today!! Got home and proceeded to eat at least my own bodyweight in food (or it seemed like it)! Phew. Day off tomorrow. Yay.

Summer Holiday - Chapter 2... and back to reality

Friday – woke up sore, tired and generally grumpy. Crawled out of bed late and, after a quick check-in with Coach, decided to take the day off. So – while Shane made like a grom and hit the shuttle trails I dealt with the growing pile of smelly and muddy bike clothes (ewwww!!) then spent a couple of hours restoring my bike to its gleaming glory… poor thing deserved some love after a pretty full-on week. My chain and cassette are actually silver, my forks glowing white and the frame shiny red.

Saturday – Today’s mission was Gunna Gotta… to see if I could come close to clearing it. I’d met this trail when I attempted the Winter Series a couple of years ago and to say that I wasn’t ready is a massive understatement!! All went well – I decided to leave one rather daunting steppy rooty section for another day, then stopped to session a small root that was on an angle. Finally got it, then round the corner to a more challenging section! Sometimes not having time to think is a good thing, as I lined that sucker up and (apparently) rode the best, but trickiest to get to, line. More grins. Time to head on back and get sorted for tomorrow’s race and the long drive home. Then for the highlight of the day – tagged along (on foot) with Rita and Emmeline to look at the Dual Slalom course behind the camp grounds. Emmeline demonstrated just how it’s done – track stand at the start, massive speed through the corners and beautiful floating jumps. Then watched Rita nail the nasty, tricky jump over the grom pit of doom (well, that’s what it looked like to me!). On the way back Emmeline treated us to a demonstration of her trials skills – on her XC hardtail, seat in place, wearing full-face helmet!! All I could do was sit in awe, cheering and clapping as she bounced her way onto, around and over the giant picnic table. She is one talented lady, for sure.

Sunday – race day (again). We arrived nice and early (as did my nerves). Yakked for a bit, caught up with Megan (Dimozantos, Nz 24hr Womens Champ) who had raced the NI Cup in Auckland the day before. After a quick warm-up (totally inadequate as it turned out) I lined up at the back of the pack and we were off!! A lap around the paddock, then out in to the forest in my usual sweepers position! I was surprised by how fast they all took off – in previous (winter) events I’ve had no trouble keeping up for the first few km’s – mind you, they used to start up-hill!! On my own through Tahi, Creek, bush-bashing section (yes, really… head high foliage and all!), then a couple more trails and up, up, up to No Brains. I’d made a mistake in assuming the climbing would be all on fire roads; although most of it was, there was a fair amount of over-grown muddy grass and track to gingerly work my way through. I passed a few riders on the steep road up – and they all passed me back down the single-track!! I walked a large portion of No Brains, as expected. I’m sure more of it is rideable, but another day, maybe. The photographer put his camera down in disgust when he realized I wasn’t going to provide any action over the log steps, which were the scene of much carnage and face-planting by those brave enough to ride them. With a huge sense of relief I finished the dreaded trail and headed off for Pondy Skid. As Shane had predicted (sometimes he is right!) a hard line had formed, so I was able to ride and tripod most of the way down. I managed to pull back the riders that had passed as we went up another hill – and I was stoked to stay away from them for the rest of the race. Small win – normally I would have been passed back through Pondy/Roller Coaster etc. Old Chevy gets more enjoyable every time I ride it – save for the pinch climb that I muppeted! Things suddenly got way more exciting when my front brake faded half-way through the trail!! Seems like a rascally air bubble had finally made it’s presence felt as my lever went all the way to the bar with minimal effect!! Oh, well, not much downhill left – so on I went, taking things a little more cautiously (yes, that was possible!!). I caught a couple of weary 25km racers on the way home - would have been a long day out for them! Up the Pig track, tootle through Haro, bumpy bump bump down the horse track that the Moonride uses (was a little scary with negative braking power), I still had legs, so powered (haha) over the finish line in 3hrs 17min. Slow, but not last. And – I was back way before prize-giving!! Funnily enough, due to the lack of Masters Women entered, I also came 3rd by default!! I was disappointed with the way I rode the first part of the course, along with my attitude towards No Brains – but other than that I was generally pleased with how the day went. This was another chance to test my fuelling strategy – Hammer Perpetuem (http://www.hammernutrition.co.nz/) seems to well and truly agree with me – I went through 2 bottles during the race and still had energy left at the end (OK, so next time I’ll work harder!!) . I downed a much-needed coffee while we sat through prize-giving, then headed for home. On the road again…


And back to reality. I went to have a play on Mt Vic, with the thought that maybe, after my progress at Rotorua, I would be ready to race the NI Cup course. Erm, no. It would appear that any skill and/or confidence that I gained in Rotorua had remained there. I proceeded to fall off several times on an easy piece of track (one that I had crashed on just before we went away) and end up riding as though I’d never sat on a bike before. Might as well have been banging my head against a tree for all the progress I was making! Cue tears of anger and frustration, and a thoroughly bewildered husband! Luckily, Lisa happened to come past – giving a sterling demonstration of how the trail should be ridden – and suggested that I put the bike away for the day and write it off as being “one of those days”. I guess sometimes you’ve just got to walk away and save your energy for a day when the planets are better aligned, or something! The good thing to come out of this (am trying to be positive!!) is that it made me get off my backside and book some individual coaching with Dodzy (http://www.mtbskillsclinics.co.nz/newsite/) at the beginning of February. I don’t expect them to work miracles (although that would be nice) – but I feel I’m lacking in some of the basic skills that I need to survive on the bike. I’ve done a couple of their clinics – so I am really looking forward to learning some cool new things, and being reminded of things that I’ve forgotten.

Some stills from the video my lovely hubby took of my crash last month…

Summer Holiday - Chapter One

You remember when your teacher used to make you write about what you did in your summer holidays?? I feel like that now… a week away and so much to write - not to mention dealing with an accursed laptop keyboard!!

Thursday - loaded up the bus, met Celia at Paremata and set off for Rotovegas. Yee har, road trip! We went exploring with Celia and played ‘guess where the course goes’ - got most of it right! Celia cleared everything easy as - it took me a little longer, but I managed to ride the race section of Hot Cross Buns. More fun and games with rooty sections (!) - then off to Rotorua Thermal to set up camp. It felt a bit like the whole of Wellington had shifted to the smelly city for the weekend!!

Friday - Jo and Shane went exploring, Celia and Ashley went for a fast pre-ride and Lisa was under instructions to have a very easy day after competing at the Tour de Femme in Nelson… so she rode with me!

Saturday - Race Day! Confusion at registration where there were 2 masters classes listed, as well as U23. Wasn’t a problem to me - I was out for a training day and was never going to get near the podium - but I was surprised that the classes were still being clarified on race day, among other things… anyway, it all turned out OK in that Masters Women was one combined class with 5 entries (can you guess where I finished yet??!) The gun (yes, gun… scared the crap out of me every time it went off!!) sounded and we were off. I took up my usual position at the back of the field, where I pretty much stayed for the entire 2 laps. Played swapsies with Amy - I’d pass her up the hill, she’d pass me on the way back down… felt even more like home when the masters and senior men started to pass me - Hiskey, Dave, Ricky, Tony and Angry Clive all rocked on past on their final laps… I got to check out more than my fair share of lycra-clad Bushlove butt! The detail of the race doesn’t seem so important now… my main aim was to ride some stuff that would have scared the pants off me a few months ago - and I finished the race with pants intact, although in last place. Something clicked for me during the race - Robyn and Lisa have both been telling me too ‘look ahead’ since forever - and I finally managed to work out what they were on about (I’m a slow learner). Tracks started to flow and I started to have fun in the final trail before the finish. I could’ve done with a couple more laps, but never mind! The day finished with a relaxing soak in the hot pools, then in to ‘town’ for a feed at Nando’s, where hot = mild! (Thanks to Jo for the picture that I stole...)

Sunday - a day of two halves. Met up with Celia, Ashley, Tony and Clive in the morning. The boys, tired from racing, decided to behave nicely and not try to race each other… yeah right! Headed through Haro, finally clearing a small step that I’d previously crashed on… on to A-Trail, Tickler, BRN2 (clearing another previous crash scene - seems like I‘ve crashed on every trail!) I was lagging behind most of the way - generally suffering from OTA syndrome and getting frustrated with my lack of speed.

Sunday - PM. Met up with Lisa who was out for another very easy ride (coach said no hills!) so we cruised along Tahi and Creek, on to Dipper (which I finally rode, having watched a small boy demonstrating it to his mother), then on to Grinder (yep, I’d crashed there too!) It was fairly challenging for me, survived OK, down a rooty section to OMFG a HUGE (not really) log with a tree in front of it. Being assured by Lisa that “it’s rollable” I had a couple of false starts, then went back up before the rooty section and off I went… yippee!! Over the log in one piece! What a rush! Had to stop cos I was shaking like a leaf, but YEAH! We carried on for the rest of the trail - Lisa yelling “rollable” whenever we came to something that looked dodgy, and, sure enough, they all were! It was one of those days where stuff just goes right, helped hugely by having someone to help that knows my limits and that I trust not to push me past them. Don’t know if I’ll do the log again in a hurry - but it’s done! Then it was time to head back to camp and eat. Eat lots!

Monday - Should’ve packed the tea and biscuits for the troops as we set out on a long-ish ride. Gav, Ricky, Rae, Clive, Shane and me… the others could’ve had a full on picnic waiting for me at the end of the trails (apart from Gav, who just looped around to ride the trails again). I still have unfinished business on A-Trail and Tickler - both rooty sections that I have yet to ride. One day, one day… Luckily everyone else was in cruise mode, so I got to chat on the uphills. Had only myself for company on the downhills, though… it was all on through Corners - I meandered my way down, getting caught out by the odd root and muddy patch. Ricky, Rae and Clive bailed after then… rest for R & R and horse riding with the family for Clive. If coach Lisa is reading this - Ricky didn’t pedal - honest!

Gav was keen for more riding, so we headed up (and up) to Billy T. I decided to practise my standing climbing - which it turns out is much easier when you lock your forks out (durr - thanks Gav!). I had a couple of moments on Billy T - which is easier and drier than when I saw it last - but was starting to get the hang of looking ahead and riding stuff that, while relatively easy, would have been unthinkable for me 6 months ago. As Shane got tired and I got more confident the amount of time he had to wait and the end of the trails reduced… until we got to the last part of Old Chevy, where the boys went into race mode! My legs were still OK, but my poor brain was fried with the unaccustomed effort, so went up Pig Trail, Turkish Delight, Exit, back to camp for more food. Lots more food.

Tuesday - the rest of the Wellington crew rolled out, headed for Auckland. We had a lazy start to the day, then went exploring… found Baja Trail and Mossy Loop - which was more like Prickly Loop as it was very overgrown with thistles - ouch. Continued around the lake to the jetty, where we stopped to dip our feet in the water and watch the dragonflies… then up, up, up to Pondy DH - where I chose not to ride a ‘steep drop’ - which is nothing tough, but labelled as steep - then Pondy New, Rollercoaster, home… for food. Again. Riding makes me hungry!

Wednesday - had to phone home to see how the cat (Wednesday) was getting on… she’s being well looked after and cuddled by my 2 nieces. Went for a short night ride to test some lights - the lovely folk at Bike Vegas had loaned me their demo set of ay-ups, which I wanted to compare to my current home-builts, and a Night lightning unit leant to me by Colin. I did a few laps of an old part of the 24 hour track to get my eye in - I’m not a confident night rider at the best of times, and the last time on dirt under lights was the Day Nighter! The ay-ups pretty much blew the other lights away… so now I need to save up (or sell some surplus body parts) to get a set before the N-Duro 24 hour at the end of March. I was surprised how easy they were to ride with - riding down Exit Trail was almost easier than it had been in daylight! The most fun of the ride was when we took the long way home via the trail around the lake - lots and lots of possums appeared. A couple popped out in front of Shane and charged off ahead of him along the track - so of course he had to chase them! One ducked into the bushes, then appeared pretty much under my wheels. Ka-thump! Sorry, fella. Stopped to grab an ice-cream on the way home - was a perfect clear night, so what else would you do but ride through town just before midnight eating ice cream and talking?

Thursday - was another great day in the end. Didn’t get off to a great start, though… We’d decided to pre-ride most of the N-Duro track for Sunday’s race, much of which I was familiar with, but I’d never met No Brains (the trail) before. Sorted out the one root that I was fighting with on MIYD, then up, up, up to No Brains. At least there’s plenty of fire road for me to make up time on the real mtb riders! The first part of NB was tricky, but OK. Then right down a newly dug chute and the fun began. Lots of technical descending with roots and rocks - not the sort of thing you can just aim and hope at, but the kind of obstacles that require precision riding as well. I was a little bummed to have to walk so much - but I had been prepared to do so. Then a walk down Pondy Skid - ruts and braking bumps and wetness - I am a wuss and walked! Then in to Pondy DH etc… had the best ride I’d ever had down there, the trail just seemed to flow and I was grinning like a mad thing. Down the ‘steep drop’ (pfft!! What drop!!) Grin, grin, grin, all the way back down. Finished the day with some skillz work practice on Rosebank – which should have been a bad idea after a 3.5 hour ride. W00t w00t – rode some scary (for me) stuff – and finished up at a section that Shane made me stop and look: at a step-down(fully rollable) into a left hand corner. He showed me the smoother line – but that involved much more precision. So – back up the hill I went, over the roots, gentle drop off the step, turn left and down over the next steps. Such a magic feeling – just saw the line and went for it!! Days like these I fall in love with my bike all over again.