The 150km outing around Mount Taranaki, (or Mount Egmont as it used to be known as), started in earnest the previous day and my breaking of a golden rule of events. "Don't do anything new for an event". This possibly includes changing your bike from 9 speed to 10 speed while also swapping over the vast majority of the bike's componentry. This was to happen, at home, first in the morning, and once completed I would be on my way to New Plymouth. Thus a busy day was ahead.
The fitting of the componentry took longer than expected. A number of smaller issues were identified during the componentry fit, with the bottom bracket being slightly the wrong size (actually suited for a triple chain ring), the handlebars 15mm too high (but I will retain for comfort, rather than gaining power), the seat is 20mm too high (but I will retain for comfort and also it is jammed in it's current position!!). So the seat was simply moved back slightly (about 15mm). The complete refit and bike fit was more than expected, but in hindsight I had a lot done. In total the upgrade included a new small chainring, new big chainring, replacement of all break pads, removal and replacement of all cabling, and the handlebar tape also needing replacing. The derailleur did not need to be touched during the upgrade and this was a bonus, as I had heard this may need to be upgraded also.
The fitting of the componentry took longer than expected. A number of smaller issues were identified during the componentry fit, with the bottom bracket being slightly the wrong size (actually suited for a triple chain ring), the handlebars 15mm too high (but I will retain for comfort, rather than gaining power), the seat is 20mm too high (but I will retain for comfort and also it is jammed in it's current position!!). So the seat was simply moved back slightly (about 15mm). The complete refit and bike fit was more than expected, but in hindsight I had a lot done. In total the upgrade included a new small chainring, new big chainring, replacement of all break pads, removal and replacement of all cabling, and the handlebar tape also needing replacing. The derailleur did not need to be touched during the upgrade and this was a bonus, as I had heard this may need to be upgraded also.
Departing shortly thereafter I enjoyed a trip up to New Plymouth with a friend from the Kapiti Cycling Club. Adrian has a love of watermelons, so he slowly ate his way through his prized melon while I had rice and water in preparation for the following days outing. By the time we had reached New Plymouth we had put the world right and also found the weather to be perfect. This was a good omen for the ride. Curry (and more rice) was consumed overlooking the ocean and I had a lingering feeling that something very special would happen on the ride the following day.
The view I had for my dinner.
Waking at 5:45am the following morning I knew that the day would seen me start in the only event I'm doing this year where I started in the masses and would be go hard out for the entire ride. The Graperide Magnum will also involve racing (rather than simply riding), but would have only 40-50 starters. Then later, Taupö will see just 15-20 of us start together and I imagine that I will be riding 640kms on my own.
So with a game plan in mind I started the race and knew that the first hour would be quite intense, with my HR needing to sit between 92% and 94% for the first hour or so. Game plans are good, but even the best of them need to be flexible enough to deal with unexpected situations. Thus, minutes into the event I heard the sound of a bottle falling to the road behind me. I felt the bottles behind my seat and one was gone. I now had three bottles for the next 150kms. I needed to make the decision to either manage my drinks from the start (ie. three drinks for the ride) or drink as normal and stop when I was out of water. I decided to manage my drinks, with the rest of the game plan to remain the same.
Things were going fine, with my start in the back third of my departing group seeing me near the front within about 15 minutes. I wasn't out to blow myself apart early on, but an unexpected opportunity presented itself and I wanted to make the most of it. The group that left 2 minutes before us was now within view. Catching smaller groups of riders is common place, but to reel in the entire starting group ahead of us was totally unexpected. Catching these riders would obviously see me up by two minutes on all those around me. An priceless advantage in terms of my eventual event placing.
The views on the ride were breath taking...as was the ride itself at times.
While trying to catch-up the group it became apparent that no one would help me, so when I was 40 metres from the group I simply sat up. The cyclists behind me realised that their opportunity was slipping away now and a group passed me. I jumped on to the back of the group and we joined the back of our new group. Things were still early in this outing, but the ride was going well.
It transpired however that our entire group caught the group that had before us, but additionally our larger group (upon obviously slowing down once the work was done) was caught by the group that had left two minutes after us. This lead to a group that was simply too big, with riders touching wheels on some of the climbs and every hill seeing the group compacting to the point at which riders were swerving into the right hand lane to avoid an incident.
It transpired however that our entire group caught the group that had before us, but additionally our larger group (upon obviously slowing down once the work was done) was caught by the group that had left two minutes after us. This lead to a group that was simply too big, with riders touching wheels on some of the climbs and every hill seeing the group compacting to the point at which riders were swerving into the right hand lane to avoid an incident.
The communication amongst riders was better than I had previously seen however, with "braking" and "slowing down" being called out or signalled on a regular basis. This was a refreshing aspect to the ride, but the riders were also pretty aggressive, so the ride was a string of close calls in a super fast group.My plan was to altered to now simply wait until the heat got turned up after the turn-off at Opunake.
To be honest I normally dreaded this section of the circuit, but with the group being so big I was anticipating a great number of the group to be dropped, with the hope being I would be in a group of 15-20 by Eltham. This did not transpire however, with the group not pushing the pace at all, and we still had 100 riders at the hill just before Eltham. Losing half the group on the hill we then lost another ten or so riders on the small climb heading into Eltham, so we still had approximately 40-45 riders. This was manageable and my focus was now simply staying safe in this group of faster cyclists. I knew what lay ahead and this included a slight tailwind towards the finish.
The profile for the Round Taranaki event.
From Eltham onwards the group had a steady pace, with the speed seldom going below 50kms an hour after Midhurst. I really thought the pace was just too fast and I had to be careful when I even took a drink. It is safe to say that the riders I was surrounded by were really pushing the pace right from the start, with many getting very tired.Then approximately ten km's from the finish I hit a small rock and about a minute later (while descending quite quickly down a hill) the "pisst...pisst...pisst" sound started, so I started to brake gently and only just stopped in time, as I pretty much lost all control of the steering once the air was out of the tyre.
A super-fast tube change (approx four minutes) saw me catch every rider that had passed me while the change was being made, and I was surprised no smaller groups had formed behind our group. So it was a TT to the finish, and this was the only part of the day that I truly enjoyed, with the opportunity existing at last for me to find some kind of rhythm and simply focus on my cycling. I knew that I had approximately 18 minutes to finish the ride if I was to crack 4:30. This opportunity may not come about again and riding at a pace that would see me finish empty I decided to try to crack 4:30.
The puncture had been a true God send. Rounding a corner near the finish, and with just one climb to go in the event, I passed what was left of my previous group. There were three riders standing next to a Police vehicle (with flashing lights) and three munted bikes. I immediately knew that I had missed a crash that may have ended the day in tears. I truly feel I was being watched over and pushed up the last climb knowing that I had three minutes to get to the finish. Close to the finish I passed a rider with full TT gear (including helmet). I changed up gears, got out of the saddle, and pushed the pedals to my goal. Crossing the line I had no idea if I had broken the 4:30 barrier, as times given out at the stage you finish are all by gun time, not net time. So I would need wait until the results were online.
It didn't matter either way, as I had achieved a PB and had also enjoyed a weekend of spectacular weather. Adrian met me at the finish and explained that his frame had cracked after about 20kms. Thus, he had kindly packed up the tent site and the van. All I needed to do was put my bike in the back, buy lunch, and drove us back to Kapiti.
It didn't matter either way, as I had achieved a PB and had also enjoyed a weekend of spectacular weather. Adrian met me at the finish and explained that his frame had cracked after about 20kms. Thus, he had kindly packed up the tent site and the van. All I needed to do was put my bike in the back, buy lunch, and drove us back to Kapiti.
The official (net) time for my outing was 4:29:52 and I had succeeded in cracking a milestone I could be very happy with. I also knew that I may not do the ride again, with my comment at the time, (and since), being that the event was not my idea of fun. I don't mind pushing the pace and suffering, but the danger aspect was not ideal. Ultimately however, the day will have happy memories and this is all I can ask for. The Graperide is next, then I start over again and begin the build-up for Taupo.
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