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