The next project…

This blog has been quiet for a while, cos honestly, I don’t think many are still reading it ;-) But anyway, here’s an update of what the next project is about…looks something like that…

Yup, it’s time to put on the rubber again and bike on hideous looking aerobars, pee in the wetsuit, on the bike and the run and do a marathon after a warmup of a 4km swim and 180km ride…yea baby, this year its time for Challenge Waaaaanaka

16th January 2010 in the beautiful location of Wanaka, South Island, NZ…

So yea, I’m back on the Triathlon horse, will be out there racing Olympic distance tri’s, obviously Challenge Wanaka and then it’s time to get the speed up for Xterra…on a singlespeed? Hmmm….

Anyway, this season I’m supported by Active Timing, Deano and Marcus’s timing company – so if you see www.timing.co.nz all over my butt, you know what that is about!

So, giddy up, might see you out there at the races and might even keep this blog going with some stories about my races…like the one where I did not set my alarm for the 5am start????

Over and out, Dr. Kat

Ryders Riders – the photo story

 

Photo’s are courtesy of Julie Melanson and Dr. Me, music by the genius Parker, from the album “To Eternity”.

Enjoy the show…

BC Bike Race Report

BC Bike race, 28^th June – 4^th of July, North Vancouver to Whistler. 7 days on a MTB. The ultimate singletrack experience. A years dream.

So. How did it go, what was it like?

In the previous two years the race had much more forestry road riding in the first three days, which was why I thought I’d be able to cope with the technical riding alright and have enough time to get used to riding roots and rocks. But the closer race day came, the more changes were made to the race – you guess it, they wanted to make it the ULTIMATE singletrack experience. And that’s what it was! This race is less of a ‘we ride from A to B to C to D’ kinda thing, it’s more a ‘we ride as much singletrack as possible at point A, then transport you to point B and ride as much singletrack as we can there, then we move you to point C…’ and you get the picture! This was bad news for me, but someone wanted a challenge right?

The race course was amazing. I never knew how much singletrack you can hide in a place. It went on and on and on, some days I was just looking forward to ride on forestry roads to get a break…for example on Day 2 we rode the first 40k’s exclusively on singletrack, oh hang on, I lie…there were about 5ks on the road riding through Nainaimo…it was mindbobbling at times. The terrain? Rough for me or anyone who was not Canadian. Julie always said, nothing in NZ can prepare you for what you’ll get to ride here, and on Day 1 I knew what she meant. Loads of up and downy tracks over roots, loads of lifting your bike (via riding or pushing) over uphill roots, tricky turns and twists, riding up rocks, riding down rocks and some rather steep shit…The organisers also made a lot of new tracks for this race, which was their payback to the local biking communities, but it also meant we rode a lot of real fresh trails, which, on a long day, can be a pain in the A. But there were also plenty of wicked old trails, flowy and just like back home! Needless to say I really enjoyed those!

And every day was different. None of the courses were the same and you never got bored.

And how did our race go?

Day 1 – North Vancouver, 30km. This day was short but insane, the North shore is the home of freestyle riding. Nuff said…riding on xcountry bikes is something for nutters, there was a lot of walking downhill and I wasn't the only one...

Day 2 – Nanaimo to Parksville, 70km. We got transported to Vancouver Island and got our first of 4 Ferry rides. The day was long, as said before, the first 40k’s were almost exclusively on singletrack and I can't really remember what went on there, loads of roots and rocks on the trails I guess?

Day 3 – Cumberland, 60km. Still on Vancouver Island. Julie's challenge for me was to ride at least 3 things that scare me, I did 6 1/2...was another long day, and frustrating at the end as I lost screws in my cleats - both of them. Made for some interesting riding, permanently clicked in on one leg, the other one did whatever, generally didn't unclick when I needed it, so I got to have a good look at the ground a few times. Oh yea, and we were lost halfway through the day due to some course tampering, cost us about an hour that day as we had to wait a long time until the marshalls figured out where we were meant to go...

Day 4 – The Sunshine Coast, Setchel, 70km. That was the one that killed most of us. We had to get up at 4.30am to catch the ferry to the mainland, race started at 11am, yes, it was HOT, and the course was longer than what they had announced. I think we were out for 7 1/2 hrs or so, there were tantrums thrown left and right and centre around us but we all made it home somehow. Best part of the day –one of the volunteers at the finish took one look at us and gave us an ice cold beer! Gotta love it!

Day 5 – The sunshine coast part II, 55km. This day started with 2 flats at the beginning of the ride, on the road section - we lost the bunch big time and had to play a bit of catch up so that they don't pull us of the course as it was road closure through the public area...day 4 caught up on us that day, Julie was the first to bonk and the first half of the day was rather slow for her...once she came right, I decided to not be happy with the heat anymore and bonked! Talk about ping pong! I was about ready to throw up and pass out by the time the last aid station came round and we made it home somehow...

Day 6 – Squamish, 50km. This was the Test of Metal course and somehow we both managed to recover well after low energy day, even funnier was that we both felt better than on any of the days. People started to look rather tired around us and we felt it on the uphills when we started to leave the usual groupetto behind.

Day 7 – WHISTLER! 30km. As with Day 6, we were feeling on fire. We both rode stronger than on any of the days, I rode up hills I would have usually walked up and felt fine! The day started with a major climb, but we didn’t really care. We had a blast and screamed down the downhills and buzzed up the uphills. We were almost sad that the race was over and that we wouldn’t see the trusty volunteers at our Aid stations that had been such a relief every time we reached them!

The ups of the race?

Riding with Julie. She’s the best person I could have done this with. Sorry Julz that I was so slow at the beginning…

Riding with likeminded people around you. We’ve made so many friends, there were no egos out there (well, we didn’t hang out with the pro’s…) and it was a wholloda fun riding with a bunch of people that get the same buzz out of riding your bike for hours without end!

The singletracks. Who would have thought, but I started enjoying it!

The volunteers and aid stations. Social bunnies as we are we made friends with them, from day 3 on we just rolled into Aidstation 2 and our bikes were taken care of, water bottles and hydra packs were filled up for us and we got our special peanut butter sandwich handed to us! Talk about luxury treatment, you only get that when you’re at the back!

Tent city. Despite the snoring that went on in some of the neighbouring tents on some days it was such a great atmosphere, which you totally missed out on if you’d stayed in RV’s or hotels…go budget, have fun!

The Kick Arse Coffee. Yea, coffee man was THE man. Not having a good coffee in the morning almost stressed me out more than riding scary singletrack stuff – but there was no need to stress, coffee was served every day as soon as we got up! Good coffee!

Beers. There was always beer.

Being sponsored by Ryders Eyewear. Thanks to Brent I am now travelling light with 8 pairs of sunnies!

The downs?

The singletracks…yes, you can get sick of singletrack…

The transporting. We spent a lot of time in busses and on ferries in order to get to our starting point each day. Meant the mornings were a bit busy and hectic and starting times were late.

Day Zero. Have I ever stood in a line longer than on that day??? Hope they get this sorted for next year. If you go – be there early!

The non-existent after party. Apparently huge in previous years, but due to loss of sponsors and the economics, that was one of the things to go first. Meant we never really got to say good bye to some of the friends we made over the week.

The lack of bears. All hyped up, and nothing seen! Not even my favourite banana slugs were out!

Lessons learned?

Never listen to volunteers about a) what the track is going to be like or b) how much longer it will take you. They generally told you that there’s some really cool flowy downhill singletrack coming up, but ALWAYS forgot to mention that we had to ride through some tough shit or uphill for flipping yonks before we got to the downhill! And if they say, you’re there in 20min, it’ll take you at least an hour!

Take spare screws for your cleats. Nuff said.

Skills rule over fitness in this race. Knowing how to ride these Canadian trails or having good MTB skills is way more important than being superfit. If you don’t have the skills, you need persistence or just be dumb enough to try and ride the stuff!

All in all, a wicked wicked race. Go and do it! Even a MTB dumbo like me can enjoy this!

Big thanks to everyone who got me there – Ryders Eyewear, Peak Fuel, Em’s Powercookies, R&B Consultancy and Paul from Tricoach.co.nz

A huge thanks to everyone who has dipped in and supported limbs4all, the charity I chose to support during this race – every donation is greatly appreciated and will help someone to get back on their feet, literally.

And finally, a monster thanks to Julie for riding with me for 7 days!

And for Julie’s view on things, look at

http://www.juliemelan.blogspot.com/

limbs4all - Thank you all soooo much!

Guys, you are legends - to date we have raised almost $1700 for limbs4all, which equals at least 5 wheelchairs or 8 legs in Cambodia or Nepal.

I am so stoked about everyone's support ... thank you thank you thank you!

BC Bike Race Photos

Some random shots from our 7 days at the BC Bike Race

The trusty Giants
Tentcity


Julie pulling her weight and both of our bags.

One of the views on the ferry crossings
4.30am start...

Bus life

Compression sox and a beautiful view

Riding time
This should be called "Course tampering in progress" - we found signs and markers but not the way home for some time!


Now who looks like Dean Watson???? can't escape em...
Singletrackbottleneck, daily procedure at the beginning. Spot the Kiwi!
Riding through Nainaimo
Always having fun with the volunteers - at this aid station it was orange kisses. Maybe one of the reason for our slow riding times?

the MASH crew

Stu & Mike, out tree planting boysMe, Sarah the flying Kiwi and Julie

Always having fun with the volunteers aye...Andrew from Tokoroa, one of our angels from Aidstation 2

Finished!!!!
Sarah Heine second in the Female 40+ solo category

Tony Hogg 3rd in the open male solo

Are we there yet?

First of all - THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has donated to limbs4all to date. You guys rock, you guys make a difference!!!


2 more sleeps and we're on the start line to the BC Bikerace, 7 days, from Vancouver to Whistler.

Julie's about to arrive in Vancouver tonight, tomorrow is rego and briefing and drop of gear day.

I'm feeling the nerves, especially about the first day. The race used to start in Victoria, this year it has been moved to Vancouver, more specifically, North Vancouver - the home of freeriding...I checked out a few of the trails that we'll be doing on the first day and they are no good news for me. Lot's of roots, rocks and a lot of - at least for me - rather technical and steep stuff. This will be a challenge for me and I just hope that I and Gaili will stay in one piece.
I guess this is the point where I am so glad that I have Julie with me. She's a good technical rider and at home on those roots and rocks. I fully trust her, so I'll just sit behind her and try and do the magic she does on those trails - and hope it'll work!
Once day one is over I hope I can relax and get into the thing I really enjoy - riding looooong....

On a positive note - yea, the sun is shining!!!! And my sunglass-addiction has been fulled by our sponsor Ryders. I visited Brent Martin at the Factory the other day and got kitted out - 4 new pairs in 10 minutes, wayhooo. Love it, thanks Ryders!

I'll be signing out here for a while now, check www.bcbikerace.com for updates on the race progress!

Thanks big time to our sponsors Ryders, Peak Fuel, Em's Powercookies, R&B Consultants and Paul Westwood from tricoach.co.nz (in case I make it...).

Auf wiedersehen!

Countdown has started eh...

3 more sleeps to go and I'll sleep on the plane to Canada...well oh well. It's the usual Kat-stress-before-I-go-overseas situation, nothing ever changes. Still got a couple reports to finish and decide about which bikini I shall pack...ah, yea, there was a bike race too, right!
Prep in the last few weeks, actually since the moonride, have been a bit average. I've seemed to be able to catch every bug in the air, damn it, so a big fat flue (not the porky oink oink one...) and a good old tummy rumble have ruined my last two big weekends. Well, gotta go with what get's thrown at ya and make the best out of it. Got a whole week to settle into the race????
I will post again just before the race, at this stage I would like to say cher bro to all the peeps that kept me company on my rides or at least part of them, especially in the later stages of my unmotivated training...A da Man Adam, Sarah PC, Martin and Jamie tha nutter - 4hrs in the rain wasn't enough for him, he did the same thing again the next day...tsts...

AND - a big thank you to everyone who has donated to limbs4all ... we're slowly getting there and its great to see who helps me and Mark!!! thanks so much!!!!

Okay, back to those which bikini shall I take issues...

Marc Herremans - some inspiration

Another inspirational story about someone who doesn't give up when shit hits the fan...

Marc Herremans

“Life’s only limitations are the ones we make – its all in the mind and nothing is impossible!”



Marc Herremans is a Belgian Triathlete who made it to 6th place at the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i in 2001, after being in this sport for only 3 years. One year later he crashed during a training ride in Lanzarote, leaving him paralyzed for life from his stomach down to his feet.

Yet after a short period of 3 months after the accident, Marc refused to be discouraged and started training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i, this time as a wheelchair athlete. That's how he earned his nickname, "Mad Max", as he never gives up hope and always tries to push his limits to the furthest possible.

He participated in the Ironman World Championships in 2002, only 10 months after his accident. Although he didn't finish first, he participated again every following year, because his ultimate goal was to win Hawai'i. In 2006, he finally succeeded in his goal: he was the first wheelchair athlete to arrive at the finish of the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i(ironically, he didn't receive any prize money, because wheelchair athletes do not receive prizes).

In 2003, he started a foundation called "To Walk Again" that supports other disabled people, such as making a sports centre for disabled people, and that invests in bone marrow research. To gain more support for his foundation, Marc met disabled celebrities such as Christopher Reeve.

In October 2007, Herremans became the first person to complete the Crocodile Trophy with a hand bike. The Crocodile Trophy is one of the world’s hardest mountain bike races, traversing part on Northern Australia - 1400km in 10 days.



read more about him here

7hrs of A-Z results and the Moonride 12hr solo

Whaka's Trails A-Z in 7hrs ... where did I get to?

Hm, maybe it's called Karma, coincidence, luck or the spirit of Whaka Forest ... in 7hrs I made it ... to the letter E ... for those that know, the only trail in Whaka's network with an E is .. tataaaaaa ... EXIT TRAIL. How convenient at the end of a 7hr ride. Thanks for A Da M and Sarah PC for keeping me company at the beginning and rippin up Corners, I only had to do it twice that day...the A-Z mission will continue...

Moonride - 12hr Solo

Firstly - Murray Flemming, the organiser, kindly donated my race fee to limbs4all. Thanks for that Murray!

moonride...I never really enjoyed those 12hr MTB races in teams - don't get me wrong, I enjoy the team situation, I just don't like this caning it for 25min and then resting for 2hrs and then trying to cane it again and rest again...I just DON'T go fast and always find it frustrating and don't enjoy this riding/resting format. SO - I did wonder if I would enjoy a 12hr solo more than a team race.

And the answer is yes!

With all this training for Canada I knew I was fit enough, the question was how I'd deal with riding an 8km loop for 12hrs, round and round and round in circles...

It turned out to be easier than I thought - at the end of the day it's like an Ironman, you don't look at the whole 12hrs ahead of you, you just break it down into laps and your next stop, rehydration, refuelling and all that shabang. Jamie Campbell and Sarah PC were my supporters and kept me going during the day - Jamie's got heaps of experience in going long and doing nutter things like a double Ironman, so he was perfect support and kept me on my no-doze and knew when I had to do what - thanks big time Jamie!

I really enjoyed the ride and was stoked that I managed to pace myself - Yoda shall be proud! I kept my lap times consistent, even the first few night laps. I slowed down later on and finally bonked on my 21st lap, that one and the 22nd were quite hard. I just got into a real low, the legs were still fine (-ish, as fine as can be after 10hrs of riding) but mentally I just hit the wall. Man was I grumpy! Anyway, Jamie made me ride 21/22 without a break and then stop for one last re-fuel - Coke and sour lollies aaaaaa - and I was all good for my last lap. Knowing it was the last lap helped!

Lessons learned?
You know how they always say, never try anything you haven't tested in your training, on race day? Bullshit. I rode with new shoes, never worn before, had new mudtyres on my ride, never ridden those before, and I hadn't done any night riding for over a year - borrowed those wiiiicked Ay-Up lights from Dave Joy at Bike Vegas and chucked them onto my helmet the night before the race. Never took them for a spin beforehand. And I loved my shoes, tyres, lights and the nightriding. There ya go.

Em's Powerbars (hmmmmm Chocolate Oat explosion, yuuuuum) are awesome for a ride like that - broke it into eatable pieces and just chucked them into my back pocket, no wrapping needed as they don't stick to the jersey or crumble appart. Chooooice.

Keep salt handy and put it into your drinks when you feel a cramp coming.

Die Gailtalerin, my ride, rules.

No-doze rules.
Chocolate rules.
Coke and lollies rule big time. See the pattern? Check out the last pic, that's me on a super-sugar-high...

Don't fluff around as long as I did in the evening part when getting changed and eating 'dinner'. It can cost you a placing.

Bring on next year!

Possum left/right and Rotorua Trails A - Z

or - how to keep yourself entertained during training sessions.

Lets admit it - some of those training sessions are a wee bit boring at times...okay, I'll regret this sentence big time if Coach Yoda reads this, so let's reword this thought...some of those training sessions leave you a bit braindead at times (better?) and strategies to keep yourself entertained are in high demand...

Tonight I had to do big chain reps up Tarawera Rd, 8 times...woahooo...keeping count of whatever is not one my fortes.
So what better to do than using that dead possum on the white line at the top of the climb as a lap counter! Choice, even numbered reps - we pass the possum to the left side, uneven numbered reps - we pass the possum on the right side! All counting problems sorted!

But wait, there's more - Sunday is a 7hr ride in the Forest. What to do in 7hrs....??? The German in me likes sorting things, so I thought it would be a pretty smart idea to ride all the trails of Whaka Forest in... A to Z order! Looking at the list I don't anticipate to get any further than letter L. For those that know, check out the order below and think about it.

Anyone keen for a challenge - how long will it take you to ride through the MTB alphabet?

A Trail

Ball & Chain

Be rude not to

Billy T

Bunny Jugs

Challenge

Chestnut Link

Chop Suey

Corners

Creek Track

Dipper

Dragons Tail

Exit Trail

Frontal Lobotomy

Genesis

Grinder

G-Rock

Gunna Gotta

Hot X Buns

Huckleberry Hound

Jeffs Link

Lentil Link

Lions Trail

Little Red Riding Huck

Mad if you don’t

No Brains

Old Chevy

Pig Track

Pondy downhill

Pondy new

Rock Drop

Rose Bank

Sidewinder

Soak Hole

Split Enz

Springroll

Sweet & Sour

Tahi Trail

Tickler

Turkish Delight

Yellow Brick Road

Ridin round Lake Hawea

For Anzac Weekend I went down to lovely Queenstown to hang out with Seano the Porno and do a wee ride around a Lake...The Lake Hawea Contact Energy Race was on, so we thought we'd do it...it's also called 'NZ's Ultimate Mountainbike Challenge' and as we found out, it's called that for a reason!

I won't bore you with race details, the short version is this: with all the fluffin around and a flat tyre it took us 7.45, it's got a whollodda nasty little climbs in it, I had a shit start to the day, came alright (took a package of painkillers though...) and bonked again 30k out to the finish, lesson learned, don't forget your Ensure and eateateat!!!
Even though it's a flippn long day in the saddle, it was a superstunning ride and race - tough tough tough, but wicked scenery and worth every K of pain! Go and do it!
Pic's are below, as you can see, I'm the champ at rippin pics, hope I don't get bitten in the arse for that? Anyway, if you want a photo of me or the Pornmeister, go to Studio5.co.nz....aehem....

The Flyer, Highlander & a trip to the Tour Down Under

On the 4 & 5 May it was doublewhammy time again - 100km Flyer roadrace from Rotorua to Taupo on Saturday followed by the 75km Highlander MTB race on Sunday...this time it was my own idea, not even Coach Satan's!

The Flyer was rather non-eventful and weird. I don't like the new course, even though the Waikete hill is hard, it was nicer riding through Waikete Valley and not riding singlefile along the State Highway. A staggered start meant no big bunch, in my case no bunch whatsoever until Adam the Bungy Marshment came up and I had someone to sit on. Apparently by that time I had a bunch of guys hanging off my arse - funny that, I asked the guy that was sitting behind me if there's a bunch behind us (hoping I could drop back) and he said ... naaaaaaaa. LYAAAAR. At some stage we were finally in Taupo, I had popped my lolly about 20k's before Taupo and wasn't too stoked about my ride.

But then there was prizegiving. And YEA BABY, I took home one of the major spot prizes - a trip to next years Tour Down Under!!!! Woooooohoooooo. Sexy muscly, shaven, hot as pro cycling legs, here I come! The race wasn't so bad after all!

Sunday was Highlander time. Organized by my buddies from NDuro, Dr. Kat finally took part in one of their races instead of sitting in the timing boot, sipping coffee and looking important. Check out the race here http://www.n-duro.co.nz/run/
Again, a rather 'interesting' race - this time as we bumped into an injured rider rather early into the race. With my NDuro hat on I stayed with the poor fella and his poked out shoulder until someone came to look after him - which meant by that time I was the last person on the course!
Oh well...I pedalled off and did my own thing, ended up picking up a few spots and actually really enjoying my ride. The Highlander is a wicked course and the highlight was defo the ride on Mossy track down to Green Lake - a stunning view!
I was feeling pretty good even though I did the race the day before, until my back started playing up about 20ks to the finish. The crash a few weeks earlier had not only left a scar on the knee, but my rather solid impact on the ground and the bruise on my thigh had screwed up my body...Yoda's massage assessment a week ago was 'your as relaxed as a fencepost'. Obviously my gluts and back were still not sorted, and I ended up with spasms in my back - not good on the downhill parts, especially on No Brains...good thing the First Aid guy was waiting at the end of No Brains and I managed to score some rather pink looking pain killers. The pills, a heap of lollies and my coke did kick in about 20 min later and I was back in happy Kat world...
Didn't do the ride in a stellar time, but was happy with how I felt that day - until the back thing...

Talkin bout crashes - oh yes, there's more. Where Kat is, there's always more...it's pretty bad and embarrassing, but yes, I came off again...again on gravel and yes, on the same side!!!! My elbow looks rather interesting at the moment, but thank god the knee got a hiding a bit above the stitched up scar!

Soooo, I'm off to Queenstown for the weekend, to do the Lake Hawea ride with my mate Seano the Porno. 120km of Gravel...wonder how often I'll crash on that? ;-)

Over and out, may the force be with me and let me stay upright!

My new ride and how not to collect mushrooms

Ladies and gentleman, I would like to introduce....Die Gailtalerin!

I'm the proud owner (okay, my credit card is) of a new ride, a sweet Giant Anthem. She matches my helmet, which is a good omen, but she better go fast too!

Oh, and what not to do when mushroom collecting...riding your (old) bike with no thread on the front tyre, fluffin around and taking a left turn too fast on gravel...results in this:


the 4 stitches are courtesey of my landlady Gen....

Race time ... this weeks flavour, races starting with a K...

The last two weekends were filled with traveling and some fun racing...in mud...

K-race number one was the Kururau Krusher in good ol Taumaraunui. Doc Martin and I teamed up for this bike-run-kayak-mtb event, it was 'Doctors Order' time! There were some random rain-storm-flood-disaster warnings going on that weekend and we weren't really sure what would await us, but the god's must have had a good time and spared us too much crap weather on the day. It rained the night before of course, just to mush up the MTB track...The race went well and was a lot of fun, Martin had a good first 44ks on the roadbike and I went off on the run with maximum running training under my belt (3 runs in 2 months is pretty solid?). I had a blinder on the run and surprised Martin by showing up a wee bit too early at the transition! Off went Doc M and into the wind! By then the wind was quite gusty and made the paddle rather interesting - but Doc M managed to pull off a PB and did not go swimming! Last but not least was the MTB...Doc K payed a wee bit for her blinder on the run and the first bit of the ride was, hm.., rather slow. Blame it on the headwind? The second part, the downhill part on farmland, which was rather WET and MUDDY was interesting...that day I did understand why people have mudtyres! Well, sliding down the hill on a solid block of mud and no traction made for some entertainment and added about 5kg to my MTB! All in all a solid and good day out, 1st 2 person mixed team home, we were happy with that!

So, off we went to race numba 2 with a K - the Karapoti Classic. Apparently this is THE to do MTB race in NZ. So we got told. So we entered. So we heard one horrorstory after the other. Just before the start of the race someone said - do you remember the worst day in your life? Forget it, today will be it! Ohhhh well....

Again, weatherforecast for the weekend was rather crappaloodels. Hm, any greater Karma or connection between races starting with a K and rain??? I can see another phd rolling along...but I'm diggressing. As usual. Dave 'thumbs up' G and I made our way down to Wellington, after some navigational 'issues' ('Dave, we're a few k's away from wellington, weren't we supposed to turn off somewhere?....) we found our way to our luxury accommodation - I never knew you could squeeze 4 people into a 2 squaremeter big cabin, but you can! To keep the K-race tradition up, it pissed down all night long and stopped raining at the start of the race. Choice. More mud...bring it on tampon, as Bevan would say...

Karapoti is one of the biggest MTB races in NZ, 1000 keen racers to take on 50k's of hell (as I found out that day). http://www.karapoti.co.nz/ has a nice vid on it...
Start is in le mans fashion on the other side of the river - yep, wet feet right at the start, even better! Race starts were staggered and us girls started last with the old farts, so that the boys have something to look at when we ride past them, but that gave us time to watch the start of the pro's and first age groupers and to suss out where NOT to cross the river! There was some serious swimming going on, very entertaining...so, about an hr after the first riders we were finally sent off and I had a nice start. I took Sarah P-C's advice to shut up and ride and not talk to everyone in the field and dug deep at the start to work my way through the field. And then the first hills came...and another...and another...and another...Sarah Beadel had passed my by then and showed me how to ride up a hill, shame I could only watch! So, the race went on and so did the hills. Karapoti is most famous for the hike/carry/push a bike section up Devils Staircase - at this point I wished I was in Taupo doing Ironman as it felt like the way easier option! And then there's the rockgarden...and more uphills. And bogs. And more uphills. Have I mentioned the uphills yet? There were a few! BUT - there were some wicked downhills, and I loved them! And yes, I passed lots of guys, so starting at the end of the field wasn't that bad after all...hehe...so, 3.59hrs later I was across the finish line, muddy like everyone else and swearing (gotta love the doublemeaning) I'd never do that race again. Somehow today I already thought what I'd do different next time...

Sunday was another day of ridin, the tumbs and I went to explore the Makara Peak MTB tracks in Wellington - some choice uphill singltracks with wicked views over the city and the sea! The downhill was rather quick, so we had enough time to check out the skills park and do some jumps, ride sea saws and fall of obstacles...we finally found the coolest track, Livewires and I learned not to trust Dave's advice about which line to take 'left kat left' - me thinks, what the heck is good about this pile of rocks on the flippin left??? - 'oh, no sorry I mean right, right'..yea whatever....all in all a nice ride over there, but sorry Wellington, ya can't beat Rotorua...nothing better than home sweet home ;-)