Hanmer delivers a new love affair

Four days in Hanmer riding bikes and talking bollocks over good wine, what a way to start the week. Hubby and I and a couple of mates headed up to Hanmer Springs on Sunday afternoon and met up with insane winds. We all settled into our lovely wee house and watched the wind tear the gorgeous autumn foliage off the trees and send the leaves spiralling round the garden. We all agree that riding in a forest in that wind would not be the best plan so we headed to the pub. The rest of the day was spent eating, drinking and telling ridiculous stories.

We woke the next day feeling slightly fuzzy in the head with a combination of over indulgence the previous evening and a night of sleep interrupted by various bangs and thumps caused by the wind. Luckily the wind had blown itself out and it was a pleasant if overcast day. The day started well initially with some practice hucking off the deck. I was very happy with my progress on this front and later in the day my new found confidence came in handy. We all agreed to a gentle start zooming around the flat Forest Cruiser tracks and taking it from there. Unfortunately these plans came to an abrupt halt after a nasty head vs. post incident which meant hubby and I had to go into town and get a new helmet. Luckily, the lovely Neil at Krank came to our rescue and hubby’s brain was once more fully protected from harm. Neil also filled us in on the new track and how the forest was riding. We headed back to our little house and I left hubby to nurse his headache while I went for a blast through the forest, retracing some of the fantastic 4hr course. Through the forest, and I was flying at race pace. It was gorgeous in the trees with all the foliage in yellows, oranges and reds. The track was often obscured by the fresh leaf fall from the previous day’s strong winds, which made some of the corners even more exciting fun. Soon I was crossing the road and heading up the twists and turns of Mack 1. I think I actually enjoy this track more going up than down now! It really is a lovely wee climb. From there it was up the road to Larches Picnic area and down Dog Stream. I was humming along, zig- zagging between the rocks when I heard a nasty tearing noise. I slowed slightly in preparation for all the air to evacuate my back wheel, but nothing happened so I continued on and forgot about it. Onto Jolliffe Rd and up I headed, gently spinning and enjoying the lovely day. Soon I was at the skidder site and heading into Red Rocks. As usual the Anthem climbed like a dream up the steeper sections of the climb and I was feeling great at the top. I started heading down the dry track and noticed I was bouncing around a fair bit over the little drops and realised I hadn’t unlocked my front or rear suspension. D’oh! Quickly flicking the two switches on a flattish piece of track and I was soon zooming down the hill, loving every second of the descent, which has become a wee bit rutty. This just makes it all the more fun though. All too soon I was at the bottom and hopping my bike round 180° when I over balanced and took a nice big chunk of skin off my knee. Typical behaviour from me. Get through all the technical, potentially dangerous stuff and then fall off when I’m barely moving.

After lunch back at the house and cleaning up my knee, hubby and I headed out again. This time I took my Jamis as we were going to explore the new track Yankee Zephyr, plus hit Tank Track and a C-Line which have a bit more gnarl than I’m comfortable handling on my Anthem. We headed through town and up Clarence River Rd to Flax Gully and I was quickly reminded that the Jamis doesn’t like to go up hill. She’s such a fatty, and it was such hard work heading up the gravel road that I almost regretted bringing her. As we entered Flax Gully this was soon whipped away as we hit two lovely jumps and the Jamis soared through the air. Fun times. I ground my way up the rest of the track and soon we were at the skidder site, looking out across the barren, logged hillside. We could see Yankee Zephyr winding down and it looked great. Unfortunately it also looked like a nasty steep climb to get up to it, and it was. Also, we took the less scenic, more horrid climbing route to get to it and at one point I even had to push my fat girl for a bit. I haven’t had to do that in aaaaages!

It was oh so worth it! A little bit of singletrack climbing and we were standing on the edge of a steep bank, looking down at a narrow track that dropped away sharply and then started flowing through a seemingly endless series of berms which made perfect use of the gully below us. Down we went and soon there were little jumps off old stumps and drainage ditches to be hucked. The corners were all beautifully formed and once in the gully the fun really began with the need for pedalling and brakes removed by the track layout where you’d drop off one corner into the gully, and swoop up the other side to enter the next corner. This went on for at least 7 or 8 sets of corners until you are spat out on the road grinning from ear to ear and ready to head up the hill and try it again. Unfortunately for me my legs weren’t ready for that so we headed up another hill to Tank Track. On the way up the most ghastly steep bit of 4wd track we found the true entrance to Yankee Zephyr which cuts through some gorgeous old growth forest making the climb much more fun.

I made it to the start of Tank Track wheezing like an old woman in a poorly heated house in Southland. I had a quick look down the track and was glad to have my beloved fatty with me. Soon I was bouncing down big roots and over drops without a care in the world, whooping and laughing. Tank Track was good, but over way too quickly. It’s narrow and twisting through old growth forest and the track is criss-crossed by plenty of slippy roots which make for fun drops in many places. It was the first time I’ve ridden that track and I’m keen for more. Unfortunately on that day I wasn’t keen for more climbing so I watched as hubby powered up the hill for another lap of Yankee Zephyr, before we headed down Swoop, and Majuba and I headed home. A great day’s riding.

The next day threatened showers and I woke feeling very tired and unrested. It was a struggle to pull myself out of the warm bed and my upper body had that familiar aching in the shoulders and chest. Too many hucks the previous day maybe? All four of us decided to head out on the Jack’s Pass – Jollies’ Pass loop. As we climbed Clarence River Rd again I felt flat and uninspired to ride and then it started drizzling. Blah. The boys waited for us slower girls where the road meets the forestry road a short way up. The drizzle was fairly persistent now and hubby decided he wanted to ride the singletrack while it was still dry. Our friends continued on up the Pass and hubby and I headed to the correct entrance to Yankee Zephyr and I discovered I had a flat tyre. While searching for the source of my puncture I also discovered I had very neatly sliced my sidewall the previous day when rock hopping down Dog Stream. Luckily my tyre was about due for replacement so it wasn’t the end of the world. Both hubby and I were a bit grumpy after the tyre fixing and I realised I needed more sleep. Luckily the fantasticness of Yankee Zephyr took the edge off. We headed back to the wee house after that and I had a nap.

That night we rewarded ourselves with a trip to the hot pools, which despite the 60 primary school children who invaded the place just after we went in, was lovely. It was a chilly night, with almost a full moon and plenty of puffy clouds skudding across the sky. The warm, healing waters soaked into my aching shoulders, chest and elbow and all was right in the world. After a long long soak we returned to the wee house for night caps of delicious Black Ridge pinot noir.
The next morning we cleaned up the house and packed away our mountain of provisions. We’d all bought enough stuff with us to be staying a month so it took a couple of hours to get ready. Hubby decided he wanted to tackle Jacks-Jollies before we left and I decided I wanted to tackle mini golf. That worked out well so I headed off with our friends while hubby blasted up the pass. The mini golf was hilarious, and I was glad to improve on my shocking 96 from the last time I’d played this course. My putting prowess was much improved this round and I finished with a respectable 54. I bade goodbye to our friends and headed off to the forest to get a quick blast in before hubby returned from his ride. Unfortunately I’d only been going for 5 minutes when he called to say he was in town, speedy bugger!

It was a great trip and although I didn’t get as much riding in as I would have liked I was really happy with how my injuries held up to the fun singletrack. In complete contradiction to what my physio said, my osteo has said I should keep riding. I’m going to see how I feel after this weekend’s Singletrack Fiesta!

A little Getaway

With all the house madness recently hubby and I were very happy to be heading north on Sunday to the lovely Hanmer Springs and some much needed riding together on lovely singletrack. It was a gorgeous sunny day and we got on the road by lunchtime, both happy to be leaving the city behind. It was scorching in the air-conditioningless car so windows were down and I drifted off to sleep, dreaming of downhill bikes. I was woken rudely by Pete’s exclamation of “Bloody hell” and soon saw what he was talking about. Ahead of us the hills were on fire and I made my first ever 111 call. Luckily the fire service already knew about the blaze and were on their way.

After dumping our stuff at our little cabin outside Hanmer we headed to the forest and decided to ride a lap of the proposed Hammerhead course. The whole first section is 4wd track climbing and I quickly discovered I wasn’t feeling very strong and the heat was making me grumpy. The fact that I hadn’t really eaten anything useful added to this and after heading the wrong way up Tank Track I had a wee rest in the shade and ate some muesli bar. Feeling greatly rejuvenated, we then headed over to Swoop which was fantastic and flowing, fast with some nice little technical-ish bits, then down Majuba, fantastic, and then back up to my most hated trail Timberlands. I managed to ride the whole thing without stopping once, but I still hated it. Then up to Red Rocks. I stuffed up the rocky pinch just before the top and flailed around like a fish out of water at the top over the rocks. The Anthem was very twitchy and I didn’t want to leak any blood on this ride. Down Red Rocks was fantastic, but the cool rock berm that I rode last time I was here completely psyched me out on the anthem as it looked a lot more cut up. Further down Red Rocks and a clay bog claimed Pete, which was amusing to watch, but I was glad I hadn’t ridden into it. After tip toeing through we continued on down to Dog Stream, then blasted down the road to Mach 1. I fluffed the first switchback, which annoyed me a lot, but decide to concentrate harder on the rest and they were sweet. Mach 1 flowed nicely and then we decided to quickly dash up the road, well Pete quickly dashed up the road, I slowly spun, to Black Dog for a fun but rut riddled blast down to the Forest Camp and Camp track.

The course seems really fun, with all of horrible climbing in the first half at the start of the lap and plenty of recovery before the singletrack climbs up Timberlands and Red Rocks. We called into Krank to find out about the new track that might be included and it sounds like it might be that old favourite Yankee Zypher. It was a great ride and the Anthem held its own, but was not as grin inducing as the Jamis. It was more nervous giggle inducing.

After a terrible night’s sleep we were up bright and early, Pete to fix his brake and gear cable issues, and me to lie about in the sun watching Pete fix his brake and gear cable issues and then getting him to fix mine. Once that was done Pete was showing off doing wheelies, which I’ve always struggle with. I thought I’d give it a go on my Anthem with its very different geometry. I was wearing very appropriate footwear, fluffy slippers that are a size to big, so it was rather amusing. Despite this slight handicap I found getting the front wheel of the Anthem off the ground was rather easy compared to my other bikes and with a bit more practise I think I could be wheelie-ing like a pro! Well maybe not, but I should be able to do them much better. This encouraged me to try riding up the wee rock wall outside the cabin and that went very well. Then it was time to head off on our ride of the day.

The Twin Passes! Up Jacks Pass, with just over 500m of climbing. It was very hot and still and very dusty with plenty of people heading back into Hanmer down the metalled road. Surprisingly my legs didn’t hate me too much and the climb wasn’t too horrific once we got past some of the nasty steep bits near the bottom. I did have to stop at one point to dunk my head under a little waterfall because I was overheating in the sun, but after that it was all good. I was very happy to make it to the top and enjoy the stunning views on all sides and a delicious bacon sandwich.

We also spotted that rare and elusive mountain creature, the wild lime green jandal. It was basking in the warm sun and taking in the beautiful view all around it. Then it was time to fly down the other side. The sun was starting to succumb to the clouds that were rolling in so we decided that loitering unnecessarily wouldn’t be a good idea. Down the other side and into Molesworth Station’s boundaries we flew, enjoying the stunning scenery. I know a lot of people who don’t like riding on metalled roads, they hunger for technical challenges and something more interesting to their riding. I like that too, but I do love riding along a deserted dirt road surrounded by mountains or plains or rivers or lakes or the sea or whatever. When you’re rolling along you can take in the grandeur of your surroundings and share conversation with your riding companion. I loved this ride, I was with my husband and the countryside rewarded us with a splendid show of light and nature.

Then we were at the intersection with Jollies Pass Rd and I was remembering how horrific I felt last time I was there. Luckily I didn’t feel quite so shocking on this ride, but I was pretty hammered from the big climb. The climb up Jollies was significantly shorter and easier than I remembered, which wasn’t too surprising, and then it was the fun blast down the gravel road. I focussed on keeping my weight going through my front wheel and really forcing it down into the road. It was tiring on my arms, but I had heaps of control and was able to blast as fast as I would have on my bigger bike. On the way down we found the entrance to Threshold and I decided I wasn’t interested in more climbing so continued down to find it’s exit while Pete went up to ride it. I’m very glad I didn’t bother as Pete found it a hard climb with a pretty tricky descent full of switchbacks with root drops, pinch climbs and not much flow. I found a strange trio of animal skulls to keep me entertained while I waited. Then it was down the road and off to the pub for a well earned drink. With all of the side trips and it was about 2hours 20 riding over about 28kms.

Once back at the camp I decided that I wanted to learn to huck off the step properly. It looked way too high to roll off and freaked me out when I rolled into it. So Pete showed me how he did it and then I practiced that on the wee low bit of wall I had been riding up. Round and round I went till I felt like I could land with both wheel simultaneously, rather than my usual trick of landing front wheel first. It was tricky getting the front to come up enough without then lifting the back, which I didn’t even know I could do until I didn’t want to do it. Then it was time for the “big” step. My first attempt showed me that landing front wheel first was fine, muppet. Then I got it. I’m really rather stoked with this achievement and need to find somewhere safe to try it with my big bike and then I’ll be ready to huck of bigger things!

Tune in tomorrow for an AMAZING vid of my mad core skillz*

*Note: this statement may contain traces of sarcasm.

Girls go Wild on the Singletrack

It’s been another fantastic week of riding, with a strong roadie ride over the “Pyrenees” , then a fantastic night ride up the Port Hills and topped off with a brilliant road trip to Hanmer Springs.

Thursday night saw a group of 4 of us head up Rapaki in the dark and immediately my legs suggested that yoga and hill climbs should not be done in the same day. Further up the hill they suggested that perhaps I’ve been doing just a leettle bit too much riding lately and not quite enough recovering. Rapaki was a nasty slog that night and the 2 whippets we were with raced off ahead of us. I was looking forward to hitting the Traverse though, so this slight sufferfest was worth it. As we cruised round the road the fog rolled in and gave the ride a wonderful spooky atmosphere, but by the time we hit the singletrack it was gone. Zooming across the Traverse in the dark was fantastic. Again the Anthem was super responsive and if my legs hadn’t been such weak pieces of over-cooked spaghetti I would have been shredding the whole time. As it was I really flew along the second half and particularly enjoyed the new berms towards the end. And then I rode Brake-Free for the first time since the accident, and while I didn’t do any big jumps, I did a couple of small ones and it was fun. It felt good to conquer my fear. Then we headed down Sesame St and it was fabulous, but I did discover my brakes weren’t working too good. In fact by the bottom of Vic Park they weren’t really working much at all.

The next day I was so tired I could hardly move, so did the sensible and thing and planned a roadie ride in the afternoon. Luckily, I guess, my work interfered and I didn’t get to go on it. This meant I was very keen for some riding on Saturday and what could be better than a girls day trip to Hanmer? Well it turns out, not very much at all actually. Yesterday was one of the best days riding I’ve ever had. After a great trip to Hanmer, and the all important ingestion of delicious pies, we headed to Krank to get the skinny on the tracks from Neil. We all (well not Neil, he wasn’t involved in the conversation) decided that we were keen for fun and shiftiness. Unfortunately for me, this meant we were heading for Red Rocks (YAY!!!), via Timberlands (BOOOOO!). Timberlands quickly taught me that my legs were still toasted and that a spin around the carpark is not enough of a warm up for a steep hill climb. The hill climb continued, after a brief pause for important discussions, up Red Rocks, which I remembered well and then we were finally at the top. From there it was a fantastic fast, slippy descent down the old track, which then flowed into swoopy new bermed goodness and then went up a rocky pinch into a great fall-line rock berm. My excitement to be on my bouncy bike had me keen to ride it and a very nice local gave us a quick demo. After watching him I decided to take a completely different line and set off up the track to get a run in. Not far enough up the track because I didn’t have enough speed when I got to the crest so bailed and headed back up the track for a second go. This time I got the speed just right and nailed it. Brrrrraaaaaapp! It was brilliant and I was buzzing as you can tell from the corny grin.




Red Rocks was over too quickly and we pootled up Dog Stream and then up Detox. Anna and I made it look easy (hah!) and almost like we were enjoying ourselves (HAH!), climbing the 4wd track.

Both of us were not loving the climbs. It was worth it again though as Detox was sweet flowing goodness and I was stoked to nail the rock drop without having to scope it first. We sessioned it a bit and Michelle showed us both how to really ride it properly. Unfortunately I’d gotten a bit over excited with the fun riding and further down Detox I got a bit tangled up in a rut. I managed to bear the brunt of my crash on my well padded hip, but I did end up in the middle of the track with my bike on top of me. I yelled back to Anna so she wouldn’t get too much of a shock to see me there, unfortunately she was distracted by my ladylike, spread-eagled, beneath bike pose and tipped herself gracefully into a gorse bush. So then I was lying under my bike yelling “Are you alright?”, while she was lying in a bush yelling “Are you alright?”. We both were and giggling uncontrollably, it was soo funny. Not having learnt my lesson at all I continued bombing down the slippery track at highspeed only to stick my front wheel into a rut and go flying over my handbars. This was my worst nightmare as I landed right on my bung arm, and my dodgey knee. Good news!! My arm is mended and strong, and now I don’t have to worry anymore. Even after being a complete muppet on that bit of track I was still grinning at the bottom.



We were all pretty tired and zoomed down Camp Track and back to the car to take photo’s of alien baby that was now growing out of my knee.



Off to the pub for some mulled wine and sunshine before a well earned soak in the hot pools. But the thrills weren’t over and we braved the freezing evening air to take on the “Blackhole”, the pitch black hydro slide at the hot pools. Insane fun. After three runs I decided that I didn’t want to bash my already bruised knees and elbows any further and so we soaked in the octagonal pools and scared the other pool dwellers by all touching our noses with our toes! I tell you, the fun never stops on our road trip. After a feed of traditional kiwi kai we were on the road and singing hits of the 90s the whole way home.

Today I’ve been completely shattered. My whole body hurts, apparently hitting the ground hard a couple times isn’t something my body likes, even my left ear which may have hit a rock or a bee? But I do love road tripping and riding with the girls and I do love learning new skills, like tipping my bike into berms, and realising I still need to get my knees wider when descending. I love riding my bikes, but this week I’m going to rest for a few days and get my strength back. In other exciting news, I’ve managed to lose a whooping 6kgs in the past 6 weeks so all the riding seems to be paying off. I can’t wait to get out again next weekend, bring on the sun and the singletrack.

Goodbye wonderful track – Parting is such sweet sorrow

Dear Bigfoot

I haven’t known you long, not even a year, but you were my favourite from the first time we meet. Getting to know you wasn’t really that easy. Your many many tight switchbacks with their rocks and roots tested my legs, and lungs and commitment, but that first ride last year did not daunt me. Your sweet, flowing, thrilling descent hooked me and fixed you firmly in my heart. So it was with great sadness that I wrote to Neil at Krank to confirm a rumour I didn’t want to believe. Your lovely trees are to be logged this month and no longer will I, or anyone, be able to swoop down amongst them.

I couldn’t just let you go without saying goodbye in person, it would be wrong. So to Hanmer I went on Monday, to ride you one last time. Upon arrival it seemed to me you are steeling yourself for what is to come. You were icy cold and gloomy, sucking the warmth out of me. The climb up the road from your exit to your entrance was dark in the afternoon, damp, frigid. But then your entrance was bathed in warm sun, welcoming us, and my husband was winding up upon you as I took you in. You are unforgiving though. Your wet switchbacks, with their roots and rocks, more than a match for me and my currently weak legs. You showed no charity to my broken elbow and taught me that I can no longer turn right tight enough for you. In gloom, with my heart racing, you were not the friend I remembered, but on I pushed to the top and the thin rays of sunlight.

You taught me the importance of tyre choice and that my chosen tyres weren’t for you. But the descent was there before me and I hoped you would be kind and show that side of you that made me come back to say goodbye. You did, and I flowed along you, through your trees, smiling and whooping, yet melancholy that this would soon be nothing but a scarred chaos of stumps and destruction. And then you reminded me that you were in no mood for such sentimentality with one steep wet rutted corner that took my breath away as my wheels squirmed and my bike bucked under me. I held it together as you tested me, and regrouped for a final descent. Again you picked my spirits up and had me laughing as I jumped over tree roots and swept down corners and floated down drop offs. Then ahead of me I heard the warning thump of a bike hitting the dirt as your final corner stole my husband’s bike and left him standing on the track. You are a trickster in the wet Bigfoot, it’s a side of you I haven’t seen before and I didn’t really like it much. It was disappointing to have to creep down this last difficult corner on sliding feet, but I was in no mood to injure myself.

We said our goodbyes and decided to pay a visited to your older bother Detox, who is much more forgiving and fun in the cold autumn sunlight. While Detox was still quite wet and rutted in places it was all slidey fun and I rode it fast(ish) and laughing. Detox reminded me not to take you too seriously Bigfoot. Your dark tree lined corners are more testing in the wet, your climb more difficult for those struggling to regain lost fitness and confidence. But you aren’t to be blamed for my frustration and with the joy of Detox in my veins I forgave you for treating me badly.

Sometime in the next two weeks the loggers will come and they will bury you. It is a great loss, and I will miss you. I know the wonderful trail pixies of Hanmer will bring you back to life as soon as they can, but without your mature forest some of your magic will be lost forever. Rest in peace, my dear Bigfoot, you will be missed by many.

Maxed Out – The Hammerhead

Way back in March was the last time I went riding in Hanmer Springs and reading my blog entries from that trip really shows me how far my riding has come.

We got into Hanmer just after lunch on Saturday and checked into our cabin at the Alpine Adventure Tourist Camp (very nice it was too, in fantastic secluded surroundings). We were both feeling a bit flat so it was an effort to get into riding gear and head out for a pre-ride in the heat. We called into Krank for an updated trail map and to get the skinny on the course from Neil. After a good chat we were on our way warned of loose gravel and nasty little tree stumps on the new track Mac 1. We gave this track a couple of rides and Neil was right, it was very loose in the tight corners, there would be carnage in the race for anyone who over-cooked those (hehehe). We then had a blast down camp track and back along Dog Stream, checking the entrance for the race off Jolliffe Rd, again potential for carnage. Then we headed up the road till we got to the exit of Bigfoot where it hooked up with Nature Trail. I’ve never ridden this so in we went. A nice little trail with a couple of scary bridges with no sides. Then up Detox. I really wanted to practise riding the rock drop in this section as last time I was here there was no way I would consider it. My first attempt was terrible. I took the hardest line over the highest steepest point in the middle and got bounced off my brakes and then over braked when I got them back. Only a small amount of skin off my leg as a reward (I was quite worried it might be worse before I looked at it, yay resilient skin).

Not too put off I was determined to get it right and this time surveyed the lines before heading in. After establishing that heading to the right would be best I was over and it was easy. Tyres hooked up on the rock excellently and I felt completely in control at all times, bring on the race.

Race day dawn with a chorus of bellbirds and I was a bit nervous. By the time we got to the Trust Camp for registration I was really really nervous and struggling to keep my breakfast down. I was worried I’d be too slow and get mown down by the elites, or that I wouldn’t handle the intensity of the climbs and I wouldn’t finish. Waiting at the start line I just wanted to get going as I was actually starting to psych myself out a bit. Then we were off, up the very gentle incline of the shingle road. I stuck to my strategy of take it fairly easy off the start line and that proved to be a good idea as when we rounded the corner to enter the Mac 1 single-track there was a line!!!! After standing round for half a minute or so we were off and I was right behind a group of girls. Their speed kept me in check on the single-track so I exited with no dramas and then we were flying towards a short 4wd climb to Black Dog. One of the girls from the group was quite close to me and I decided I wanted to be ahead of her into the single-track and so for the first time in a race I passed someone going up a hill. Yeah! Flew down Black Dog, zigged zagged through the trees and the finish chicane and then out onto the road, down Camp Track and then the climb up the road to Timberlands. I Hate Timberlands and knew it would be my biggest test in the race. The first lap went really well and I rode the whole thing, slowly, but on the bike the whole time. Then out into the baking sun and up the road some more where the chick I had past previously raced away from me and then zoom down the other side. I was pretty conservative on this descent as I wasn’t sure how far it was before the turn into Dog Stream. Made a nice turn into the single-track carrying good speed and then I went into conservative mode knowing there was the really big climb up Bigfoot ahead. I had however forgotten how long the climb up the road was, it went on and on and I clung to the shadows to conserve energy and adopted my favoured spin spin spin, low body position. At the entrance to Bigfoot I let some faster people through and headed up. First set of switchbacks, no worries, 2nd set, the same, 3rd set, small dap, 4th set someone off in front of me so had to run round the 2nd corner. Up and up I climbed (rasping my lungs out as the intensity increased) nailing all the switch backs. Finally though my lungs ran out of puff and my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest and I had to walk the last 2 sets (there’s about 20 switchbacks in total). I gave myself a second for my vision to clear and then I was off. YeeeeeeHaaaaaaa, that climb was sooo worth it. Down the hill I flew, over drop offs round tight corners, through rooty sections and into ruts. It was fantastic and I was grinning like an idiot at the bottom. I almost overshot the entrance to Nature Trail in my enthusiasm, but I pulled it together and settled into a slow climb. Out into the now really blazing sun on the 4wd drive up to Detox and it was like being in an oven. There was no breeze and the sun sucked the moisture right out of you and your energy with it. I settled into a gentle spin, but it was hurting and I knew I was in trouble for the rest of the race. Finally a tight right hand turn and the breeze was back and the rest of the climb was bearable. Unfortunately by now the elite men had started passing me and I knew my descent was going to be holding these guys up. I hate descending under pressure but I decided I was going to just ride my lines and be very clear that I wouldn’t be moving till I was comfortable. So when I heard the call of “Rider” I’d just call back “I’m not moving yet” and when I could I’d move off to the left. This meant I felt obliged to take the chicken line and miss the rock drop on my first lap whichw as disappointing but it took the pressure off for a second. Detox was really fun and I was grinning again at the bottom.
Onto the road and my blast down was slightly curtailed as I braked to let some elites into the single-track of Mac 1 before me. No one in front of me this time and boys whipping past I was going much faster into the gravelly corners than before. Which was all good, until it wasn’t and my tyres just let go. Owwwww! Bollocks, that really really hurt. Back on the bike and feeling a bit despondent.

Out of the singletrack on and up to Black Dog. Zip down and someone calls out “Go Mel” from the timing caravan and I feel much better (no idea who it was, but thanks). I can do this. It’s about finishing, you know you’re going to be at the end of the pack, but you will finish. Second lap and mentally it’s actually easier, just 2 big climbs. Zip down Camp Track, up the road to Timberlands. Legs completely toasted, spin spin grind grind grind, shit. Walk walk walk. Plenty of people are streaming past me now, but that actually doesn’t bother me, must finish though. Back on the bike and spin up the single-track and out into that bloody sun. Up the road and then down the road, much faster, I know where the turn off is this time. Into the single-track and conserve. Mentally I’m struggling with the climb ahead of me, shit my legs are gone, how am I going to do it. Crawl up the road in the shade and a very nice man tells me to keep my head up as it opens your chest and makes breathing easier. I thank him for the advice and then think I must be looking bloody awful for such advice to be given. Finally the start of the single-track is in front of me and it’s as bad as I thought. My legs have nothing to give. I only manage to make it up the first 4 sets of switchbacks and then I’m walking. Gutted, but I have to finish and this is the only way I’ll do it. I look at my speedo and am gratified to see that I’m probably walking faster than I could ride at this stage. Finally I reach the top and again enjoy the fantastic ride down, although there’s a faint hint of terror lurking in the back of my mind as I’m feeling super dopey from exhaustion. I ride all my lines and make it to the bottom an extremely happy camper. Up into Nature Trail and then onto the “road of death” to Detox. I just can’t ride it, I’m soo spent. I push my bike for a while till it levels off a bit and then spin slowly to the right hand corner and into the breeze. No one is around me this time and I nail the rock drop. The rest of the lap is just pain. I’m out of water and the fuel tank is not only empty, its fallen off and is lying somewhere on Timberlands. At one point I start singing Mr Brownstone out loud to trying and keep going and it works. Finally I’m in the final single-track, zipping through the trees and speeding over the finish line. I’m very broken but am getting better at hiding it. I get some water straight into me and after a while it’s the prize giving and my name is called out as 3rd in the Sport 30-39yrs Women. Wooo hoooo.

Anyone looking closely at the results will see that I also managed to come last, but hey, I finished, I got a place and I had fun. I rode the same amount of track in this race as during the whole time I was in Hanmer in March so I’ve gotten soooo much fitter. And I have a very nice set of scrapes to show for my efforts, and a NZ Mtb Calendar. Today I feel terrible. I think I managed to give myself some heat stroke on the drive home as our air-con in the car doesn’t work. By the time we got to Amberly I was a mess and we had to stop for some cool air and food. Met up with Andy and Cath at the Nor-Wester and they had the same problem!! I’ve never felt this bad after a race so I’m planning on resting up this week.

Molesworth Muster – Mission complete

Skiving off work extra early on Friday and getting on the road helped my pre-race jitters a bit, but by the time we got to Hanmer it was snowing and I was feeling quite worried that we might not make in at all. This was exacerbated by the “Chains Essential” sign on Jacks Pass and the snow on the road. We made a quick return to Hanmer to call into the Krank shop and once more Neil provided as with the goods in the way of excellent advice and we were back into the snow. After about half an hour of driving we popped out into the sun and although it was pretty cold there was no more snow (in fact if we’d been half an hour later we wouldn’t have even seen any snow). I was paying careful attention to the road as this would be the route for the race. I was worried, and when we got to Wards Pass I was really worried. This was a damn long way and it had a number of decent climbs in it.


Arriving at the Molesworth Station around 4ish it was lovely and sunny and in no time we had a lovely flat camp site set up by the river and were relaxing in the sun. Well, Pete was relaxing. I was checking my bike and making sure I had all the right things in my pack and generally fussing. With a hot pasta dinner in us we climbed into the tent before the sun went down to try and retain as much warmth as we could. Turns out this was a brilliant idea as it was a 5 degree frost and we were warm and cosy and slept extremely well. Unlike a lot of people. We awoke nice and early around 5ish and crawled out into the freezing morning air. Brrrrrrrr. Thank goodness for Kathmandu snow socks. My poor bicycle was frozen to the ground and everything was covered in ice. I wanted to take a photo, but the cold had killed the camera battery so no shots from the race unfortunately.
Soon after our stuff was all packed up and Pete was heading off in the convoy back to Hanmer, leaving me sitting on the side of a little hill in the sun, trying to stay warm and waiting for the race to start. I chatted with a few people and soon we were off for the 1.5km rolling start, up a nice steep little hill, just to warm you up. Nasty. I had a plan for all the hills and that was to spin as gently as I could and not expend any extra energy. Thumbs tucked under and upper body low to the bars I put this into practise and was up this nasty wee climb like it was nothing. Yay. Unfortunately I couldn’t really open it up on the other side as there was too much traffic, but I did work my way forward. At the base of Wards Pass we crossed a small ford and I didn’t think much of it at the time. My feet got wet, but it was sunny so I wasn’t too concerned.
Wards Pass stretched up steeply in front of me and I resolved that no matter what I was going to ride all the climbs. Dropped down into grannies and started spinning and breathing and just concentrated on keeping the rhythm and not going too fast. Lots of people whizzed past me at the beginning of the hill but soon I was passing walkers and the odd strong person was passing me. I got to the top sooner than I thought and wasn’t even out of breath. I popped my sunnies back on, zipped my top right up and cruised over the crest and down the other side. Wahoooo. I zoomed past lots of people on the descent and was grinning as I crossed the bridge onto Isolated Flat. I quickly put my strategy into action for this bit and built myself a nice wee bunch. Three of us at the start but when it was my turn at the front I managed to hook us onto another bunch and we were flying across the flat at about 30km.
The next 20km were a scenic blur. Climbs and descents and nice riding. Just before the halfway point I started to notice that my feet were freezing. Despite the sun there was a gentle southerly breeze and it was chilling my legs. My feet were really hurting at the halfway point and the pain was beginning to shoot up into my legs. It was about now I started ruing the fact I’d put my snow socks in the van to head back to Hanmer. I did have a dry pair of socks, but they were just cotton. I stopped at the halfway point and whipped my shoes and socks off and tried to massage some life back into my feet. I couldn’t feel my toes at all so I decide to have some lunch and give my feet a chance to thaw out properly. After a sandwich and some “delicious” leppin I put my dry socks on and my damp woollen socks over the top and headed off. Much better. Then pain in my feet was gone and so was the pain in my legs. I was a little concerned that I felt like this at the halfway point, but I pushed that thought away. I’d be going for around 2hours 30mins so was feeling good about finishing inside 6 hours. Of course at this point in time the guy who got first was already in Hanmer!
On I went, enjoying the scenery, passing people on the descents, being passed by the same people on the climbs, but riding at a pace I knew would get me to the end. At about the 50km mark my feet started hurting again and I could feel my legs getting colder and colder. I had tights in my bag, but instead of being sensible and pulling over I decided to tough it out to 60kms before stopping. In retrospect this decision, and the decision that my feet would be warm enough without my big socks, were my biggest mistakes. My feet and legs got progressively sorer and finally I pulled over and pulled on my tights over my shorts. I took the opportunity for some more cheese and marmitey goodness and set off again. I could instantly feel my legs warming up and working better. In fact I started looking forward to the hills because even though they hurt my legs got nice and warm.
It’s fair to say those last 20kms were horrible. They hurt a lot. More than I’ve ever hurt in a ride before. I was making deals with myself to ride for another 30 mins and then have a minute’s rest. It was pretty bad, but I wasn’t getting in a support van and I wasn’t going to walk any of the hills. By now the wind had got up a bit more and it was a constant oppressive force against me. How I longed for a bunch to tuck in behind. At one point just past the 5 hour mark I hooked onto a couple of guys for a short while, but they were working way faster than I could keep up with. It was just a mental game for me now. My legs were gone and no amount of food was going to bring them back. Seeing the pine trees on the back of Jollies Pass was a great boost. I knew it couldn’t be much longer. Then another hill, a man went past me asking if this was the last and I told him I hoped it was. It wasn’t. We turned off to Jollies Pass. I was really worried about this and told myself to just keep spinning. It wasn’t the nightmare I thought it would be, but it did go on and on and on. Finally I reached the top, feeling broken. I started down fairly tentatively as my senses weren’t really working to well and I felt a bit unstable. After a couple of minutes the adrenalin kicked in and I felt like a new person and really started riding down at speed. I flew past heaps of people. A woman in my grade had passed me at the base of Jollies Pass and I really wanted to catch her. I tucked low and pinned it down the hill. I was in control at all times, but it was pretty obvious some people weren’t as there were some scary looking skids and a group of people picking someone up. There was one hairy moment when I approach a big diagonal rut at high speed, but I unweighted the bike and sailed across it. At the bottom of the descent I started pedalling with reserves I didn’t know I had and soon I was passing my target. Yes!!! Then onto the singletrack and I had to get off as there was a line of people walking it. Frustrating. Then up a terrible tiny climb and pedal pedal pedal to the end. I’d made it and I was completely destroyed. I just lay down and waited for Pete to come to me. Then we hobbled out the way and I got my shoes off. It took a while but once my feet defrosted I felt immeasurably better. And after wolfing down some meat and chocolate milk I was better still and actually able to talk coherently.
I finished in the 5:53:43, under the 6 hour mark and 19th in my division. I’m a bit disappointed in my time, but I’m stoked I achieved my goals and rode all the hills. 80kms is a very long way and 5hour 30 is a long time on a bike. Huge thanks to my lovely husband for driving me in and looking after me at the end and for the rest of the day, putting up with all my riding and generally being wonderful. Also big thanks to Andy from Hub Cycles. He went the extra mile to get me a pair of Serfas RX Lite Woman’s gloves. These gloves are the best I’ve ever had and at the end of the race my hands were fine, no pain at all. Without Andy going the extra mile to get them in for me I’m sure I would have been suffering even more. Congratulations to Chris and Logan for completing their mission too!
I’m going to have a lazy week and just play on my bike, but I’ll need to get into some decent hill ride before the Moa Hunt in 3 weeks.