Taupo Enduro (2007)

Taupo is a bit of a pilgrimage in many ways. The days leading up to the event see everyone travelling hours, (or in some cases days), to Taupo and the surrounding areas. My trip up would be shared with two of my three children. Alex and Amy are good kids, and they knew that with a bit of patience while Dad was driving them up to the "Mega Race" would see them getting a slap-up meal at a dinner on the way up to Taupo. Ruth, Mum and David would follow later in the day, and this worked well, as I could travel along at the 90kms per hour that our van prefers.

The first 90 minutes seemed to drag on, with Amy not feeling well, but like most good trips the day started to progress better as we got closer to lunch and by the time we got to Hunterville we all decided that lunch could wait until Waiouru.Lunch was interesting. Alex and Amy were delighted to learn that they could choose anything they wanted for lunch, with the decision finally being to have fish and chips. I decided to go with Subway and with there being only 2 people ahead of me in the queue I figured on a brief stop. What I didn't expect was someone ordering 10 subs. It was insane, and they must have parted with over $130, as they also ordered drinks and salads. A relaxed lunch followed, with the stop giving us all a chance to have a chat and enjoy the view of the mountain.

The last time I saw Mount Ruapehu I was actually on a bike. I did the "Round Ruapehu" ride in January and the main reason for the outing that day was the rare opportunity to cycle along the Desert Road. I made it to within about 5kms of the end of the Desert Road and having already had the chain fall off twice it snapped. This was the end of the ride and I was pretty philosophical about the early exit for the race. The heart rate monitor had failed to work and (coincidently) I have been meaning to change the battery for a couple of months. So 2 important lessons were learnt and I know make sure I change the heart rate monitor batteries just before a big event and I know carry a "chain breaker" and spare links in case the chain breaks.

The remainder of the event was experienced from the passenger seat of a support vehicle and the lasting memory of that day, apart from the rare privilege of seeing the leading cyclists in action, was a comment from the driver support vehicle. Matt Tuck was the organiser of the event and commented that there were some strong cyclists and that "some of the cyclists here are actually Enduro riders". This really stuck in my mind. The street cred from completing the event seemed to know no boundaries.After finishing our lunch at Waiouru we were to experience a heat I had not been in for years. The temperature was scorching from Waiouru to Hatepe and at Hatepe the accommodation needed every single window and door opened to cool the house down. The heat had that pulsing sensation you tend to get only 5-6 times every summer and it started to dawn on me for the first time that the heat could play a big part on the outcome of the event. My mind was put slightly to rest later in the day however, as the evening weather outlined a cold front that would arrive on Saturday. This was good news and left me in better spirits for getting gear together for the ride. (In a conversation with a Maxi rider weeks later it transpired that the following day was identical for them on Lap 1.

The view of Mount Ruapehu from SH1.

Once the temperature had dropped I slept well, but even with air-plugs in my ears I could still hear the trucks heading along SH1. The trucks must speed up just before Hatepe, as they make a hell of a noise as they go past the settlement. The noise however was not as bad as last year, when we had to also keep the window closed due to the noise. The only difference was sleeping in the spare room so the kids wouldn't wake me in the night. I eventually went to sleep trying to work out how a place can be both so cold and also so hot in a single day, and my last thought as I drifted off to sleep was that two nights later I would be out there on the road completing my own outing.

Awake at 7:15am (I still don't know why I set the alarm!!) I found the day to be cool and overcast. I was acutely aware however that just 24 hours later I would be hopefully wrapping up Lap 1 and would be somewhere around Hatepe. Excellent news was to follow soon afterwards, as I read in a local paper that registration for the Taupo Challenge started at 1pm, (not 2pm as previously advised). This was great news and would give me an extra hour to get gear ready, sleep, or simply relax before the race started.

Friday was about more that simply registering for the event however. Some of the other tasks ahead included...

• Where Mum (support crew) would meet me at the 140km mark. (Top of Hatepe).


• Which service station I needed to sign in at Taupo.


• Where Mum would meet me with drinks.


• Where the turn-off to Marotiri Road occurred. (Top of Lake Taupo).

This all went well, with the decision being made to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and Mum would meet me at the turn-off for Marotiri Road with the drinks. We also checked out the starting area for the race (Redoubt Street - Not the main street) and then enjoyed a relaxing time with the kids in the park while I counted down the time until the registration. At 1pm I headed over the Taupo events centre and was pleasantly surprised to find only approx 100 people waiting to register. Not too many, but also not so few that I was an hour early!! Polite small talk followed, with most of the Enduro riders I spoke with talking about having a focus on primarily finishing the event (rather than racing). This was pleasing, as my sole aim was to complete 2 laps and it would be good to have other like minded individuals around me.

After registering I knew that all that remained was to fix the transponder onto the bike, fit the 'Enduro' cover onto the helmet and quickly double check that I had all the boxes of gear ready. At 3:30pm I popped the sleeping tablet and within 20 minutes knew that it was going to send me off to sleep soon enough. All that remained after all of my training, planning, talking, and focusing on this event was to simply lie down and sleep. It seemed like there should be more I should do, but there wasn't. I was finally just hours from my outing.

Saturday's race actually saw me needing to wake at 11pm on Friday to have "breakfast", load the van with all the gear, and make it to the start in time for the event. My sleep was a little broken, with Friday evening consisting of me dozing and reading and eventually getting 4 hours sleep. The trip in the van to Taupo was a quiet one, but once at Redoubt Street things were louder and there was a real buzz in the air. It was 12:45am and approx 30 cyclists were already warming up and chatting at the start line. I am sure many were reacquainting themselves with each other from previous outings, but I was just focused on trying to keep it all together. The thought going through my mind was "How the heck am I going to finish??"

I was also riding the event as an Audex rider, which means that apart from needing to have my bike fully checked at 1am, I also had to sign in at the "Turangi truck stop" at both 108km's (and also 168km's), and additionally sign in at the halfway mark at Taupo. This seemed like a small amount of effort to learn about how this aspect of longer events work and it turned out that only 2 of us were Audex riders. In short, by getting the card fully signed off you then have the opportunity to enter larger events that may require qualifying. The Audex aspect is purely voluntary however and I had already said that I'd probably just keep the card as a memento, so it added no additional pressure to the ride.

At 1:30am we were sent off and I was very much aware that a long day lay ahead. I have the ability to completely blow myself apart on a single hill, so a conservative start was essential. Despite this approach I also did not want to be left behind too early, so it was worrying times when I was sitting on 93% max heart rate by the time the group was turning off SH1. We were still a single group, but this changed very quickly and by the time we finished the short climb that followed we were in 2 distinct groups...those there to race and those there to simply finish 2 laps. About a quarter of the field now remained around me. This was approx 15 riders (no prizes for guessing which group I was in!!). Within 15 minutes the group had broken into riders in 2's and 3's.

This, it seems, was about as good as it gets with bunch riding on longer rides.I had arranged to collect my drinks at the 30km mark, which is the turn-off for Marotiri Road. This saw me dropped by the 'Groupetto' that I had found myself in. I envisaged a lonely ride ahead, but was pleasantly surprised to catch up to the group within 10 minutes. At the 40km mark I decided that the time had come to leave the group behind, as they were cycling too slowly for my liking (this is a rare experience for me!!). This was the last time I was in an organised group and I effectively rode the last 280km's on my own.

My target heart rate for the event was 77%-82% (this included hills). So I would switch on all 4 front lights and bomb down every hill and at the base I would switch 3 lights off and would spin up the next climb. A tedious process, but this left me feeling confident that the lights and my legs would make it to the sunrise at the very least.As it turned out the sunrise was pretty surreal. The sky was getting lighter, but the hills remained darkened, so ahead of me I could see a line of headlights from the support vehicles all heading up the hill that passes the 90km mark. There was also absolute silence...except the noise of my bike and my breathing. I knew within 10 minutes I would be at the point I had just seen the other vehicles and this meant I had not completely lost touch with the riders ahead of me. The memory of this scene would be 1 of the lasting images from my Enduro and I felt blessed to have experienced this moment rather than being amongst the masses jostling for a position at the start line 60kms away.

Turangi had me all ready to sign in at the 108km mark. I still have no idea where the heck I was meant to sign in. I assessed the area on Thursday and assumed that (going by the official guide) that the "Turangi truck stop" would be the place that happened to have trucks parked at it...with a dinner right in the middle of the area. What followed was a frustrated cyclist trying to get 2 confused staff at the dinner to sign an Audex card. Needless to say, I wasted 5 minutes and the Audex card was cast aside as I tried to find some kind of rhythm on my way towards Hatepe. I would not even give the dinner a glance as I passed through here 160kms later.

The road between Turangi and Hatepe has to be the second most boring stretch of road I have ever cycled. (The most boring is SH1 to Palmerston North - In either direction). I was looking forward to getting to Hatepe however, as this is where we were all staying. Ruth had said she would have Alex, Amy and David all ready to wave out as I passed by. This worked out well, with everyone arriving at the roadside only minutes before I rode by. Ruth later said that it was the first time she had ever seen me smile during an event.

At the top of Hatepe – Lap 1.

Hatepe Hill then followed, with the top of the hill seeing me have a full swap-over of clothing, food, and spare clothing. I made a judgement call at this point and decided to brake my rule of wearing enough layers of clothing for the worst case scenario. So with grey skies and a wet road I hoped the rain would stay away zoomed down Hatepe Hill dressed for a warm day. On this occasion I got away with it. (Although I did have spare clothes in my backpack). Heading towards Taupo I was passed by the Maxi Enduro rider who was finishing his event and went onto win the 4 Lap race in 22 hours. I am pleased I resisted the temptation to sit on his wheel and make up time. Nearing Taupo, and with the Maxi Enduro rider well out of sight, I passed an Enduro rider who was struggling to stay on his seat. He looked cooked and no words were exchanged.

Upon arriving in Taupo (7 hours for Lap 1) it is fair to say I felt fresh. I have been more tired on some of the rides commuting the 30km's into work and I suspect that the anticipation of joining the Solo and Relay riders was giving me a real boost. I was very conscience that tiredness would find me soon enough however, and it was with some trepidation that I approached the intersection of Spa Road and SH1. The marshals were stopping everything that moved and I slowed down and called out if I was allowed to go through the intersection. The marshal took 1 look at my helmet and replied "Hell Yeah!!". As I went around the roundabout I could hear "3...2...1...GO!!" from the announcer and I thus had a group around me right from the start. This was a truly unique moment.Starting Lap 2 I really felt relieved. A big fear I had was doing Lap 1 in 8 hours, arriving at 9:30am, and thus looking down the main road and seeing that 6,000 riders had already departed. I certainly did not expect to be feeling fresh at 160km's, but conversely I did not expect to hit the wall at the 200km mark. (I had figured on about 220km's).

I have found it makes the ride a whole lot more bearable to just accept that (at the very best) this is how I'll feel for the remainder of the ride and fighting the tiredness will just make the situation worse. So for the last 120km's my maximum heart rate was 65% maximum, with the only exception being Hatepe.The down side of being amongst other riders was that I had started Lap 2 as they were releasing the relay riders. To be blunt, I saw some shocking displays of group riding and there was more than 1 descent where safety had to come before speed, as many of the cyclists sat up at the top of the hill and would brake during the entire descent (as you do). Some descents were too good to resist however and saw me bark out "On your right!!" as I approached the riders.

The Solo riders start their race...and were still leaving when I came through shortly thereafter.

The farthest I had ever ridden previously was Kapiti-Palmerston North-Kapiti. This was 220km's and is possibly not the hilliest stretch of road in New Zealand. On that ride I was truly buggered at the finish. So it was interesting that in the additional 100km's I didn't really feel too much worse as I progressed and the only notable point was a further lose of leg strength as I neared around the 280km mark. My breathing became laboured however, and I was thankful for my methodical approach to the event. I truly feel for those who go all out in an outing like this. To suffer on such a day is a true sacrifice of an event that could be enjoyed (relatively speaking) for extended periods of time.From the 260km mark I knew that all that truly remained was turning the pedals...and Hatepe. I was determined that I wouldn't be pushing the bike up the hill and keeping a steady rhythm (while avoiding a few cyclists with the 'Hatepe Wobbles') I was relieved to get the top without needing to stop. The remaining 20km's was the usual assortment of cyclists too tired to care, mixed with riders giving it 1 last burst.

Finishing Taupo 2007

I took it easy up Airport Hill and then for the first time in the day I enjoyed the view of Lake Taupo as I headed in for the finish. Approaching a rise just before the beach front I knew I had just 1 last climb and it was great to simply spin the wheels up this final vertically challenging section of road. All that remained was getting to the finish. My official time was 14 hours and 8 minutes and my first thought crossing the finish line was relief that I had completed a goal I had set myself in March. I would love to say it was easy and I did it all on minimal training, but to be honest I gave the training and event itself absolutely everything I had. I said "hi" to everyone and thoroughly enjoyed 2 massage sessions in the tent. My legs were eternally grateful for this.I would definitely recommend the Enduro anyone. To be honest, I genuinely doubted my ability to finish the race, and I only started to gain hope that it would all come together when I was passing Kuratau for the first time, as this marked a quarter of the ride completed. Thus, the event marked the end of an era for me.

In the small lonely hours of the outing I promised myself that if I finished the event I would never doubt myself again. This outing therefore would, to me, represent much more than simply cycling around a lake twice. It was to become a day I would always fondly remember.These are my memories of Taupo 2007. They are no more important than the experiences of any of the 10,000 riders who took part in the event. I guess this is what makes Taupo so special.