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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 down
wards! 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.
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 down
wards! 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.
