22 December 2009

Roped in and the creeper

My friend Jarred only just arrived back from working in Cairns about a week ago, it’s great to have him back as he’s great value, good to hang out with and thrash the trails with (we don’t actually damage the trails though but rather ourselves ;) ). We were out riding last week and he mentioned that he was going to do this half ironman as his friend Guy talked him into it. Jarred didn’t know when the race was going to be other then sometime in December. Turns out it was only half a week away and he hadn’t done any swimming for a while, and his knees don’t like the running much! Hm…. Rob therefore had the great idea to get the entry change from ‘solo’ to ‘team’ and rope me into doing the run for Jarred!! Guess it doesn’t hurt to step in for a friend in need ;)
So I ended up doing a half marathon on Saturday as part of the Rotorua Half Ironman. It turned out to be a great event with really good and very casual atmosphere and the course was just stunning as the swim was in Lake Tikitapu, also called Blue Lake, the ride went along State Highway 30 out to Lake Rotoiti, Lake Rotoehu and Lake Rotoma and the run was around Lake Tikitapu and down to Lake Tarawera lookout.
Below is what you see from the lookout (luckily there was no snow on Mt Tarawera though)
It was extremely windy in the morning when the race started, the lake was super choppy and a lot of swimmers seemed to struggle with the conditions, not so Jarred's friend Guy Crawford who was way ahead of any competition and got out of the water 4min ahead of the next athlete, he only took 26 min for the 2km swim! Jarred didn’t do badly at all other then for his swim-bike transition; I quote Rob: ”He took longer then your girlfriend takes to get ready to go out!” , it was rather painful for us to watch, but also a great laugh as we weren’t worried were we would get in the race (I am not saying we wouldn’t give it heaps ;)) .
Jarred was riding my Roadster (Santa Cruz road bike) as he needed a roady and Rob assured us triathlon bikes are meant to be small so it would be the prefect fit for Jarred who is about 6 ft 1 (1.86m) and I am 5 ft 4 (1.66m) (not sure about ft as I work in meters) but anyway, Jarred is quite a bit taller then me.
We followed Jarred along the first bit of the course, watched him hammering it up the hills and overtake everyone along the way, it was great to watch. He had a good ride despite loosing his computer and therefore having to do a u-turn to get it back (we blame Mike Metz for this one), his time was 2hr 45(-ish)min.
Guy was still in the lead when he came back from his ride but unfortunately kicked his shoe when he hoped of the bike and managed to break his little toe! He didn’t look that happy when he started the run, now I know why! Nevertheless he took off like a gun and was on target to do his run in 1hr 22min before he started getting rather bad cramps and had to stop ever 2km to stretch before being able to move again. Guy won the race by 15sec!! What an awesome effort! Jarred and I weren't quite up there but did quite well, as we had fun which was our main goal. I had a pretty good run 1hr 30min which was still 2 min slower then Guy’s!! and we ended up 3rd amongst the all male teams (no typo there ;) )

all winners got a big cuddly toy ;) and some booze


below blue lake nice and placid (unlike the day of the race)

Ps: our team was called ‘roped in & the creeper’

07 December 2009

The Goat Run - final of the triple crown series



Wow I cannot believe my four weekends of racing have come and gone so quickly! It feels like I've only just been looking forward to it and now it's already been and gone. Crazy!
It has been a great challenge and not as hard as I had anticipated. The hardest part was Toi's (I think you can tell by the impression on my face in the pics) as I was still recovery from some big runs and rides. But they all races were a lot of fun and all were completely different which was just fantastic. I can recommend all of the four events and am looking forward to doing them again ;)

So now to the goat run, we were driving down to the national park, Fiona, Jason (thanks for driving!!) and I. We were not sure if the race was going to be postponed due to the week of rain leading up to it, we had heard the river levels would possibly be too high. It felt like a little adventure driving there and not knowing whether we would have to stay over night to race on Sunday or if it was on as planned or if we would be doing a different race course altogether.
But when we got to national park we went to the registration and everything was according to plan and we headed up to the start line to find some familiar faces like Budgy who was in charge of safety for the event (so we knew we were in good hands ;) )
having a chat to Sjors before the start:
Lining up on the startline:

The race starts off with a mad run down the tarseal road before it heads into a super technical walking trail with lots of river crossings, ups and downs, lots of sliding and clambering and falling over. I am well battered and bruised now but it was all worth is ;)
I wasn't doing that well at all (obviously if I admit to falling over a few times), I felt like a roady on a slippery and technical single trail, especially when one of the girls came flying past me, it looked rather amazing and I had no idea how she did it. I did luckily catch her up on mama's mile, like the year before with Oksana, but this time there were 2 girls already over the finish line well before I started that last climb. I got 3rd, and was 1st Triple Crown woman over the line. So I managed to win the series, very happy :)
as you can see the weather wasn't that flash at the end of our run.

Fiona did really well in her first goat run and crossed the line, very dirty and wet and with a SMILE on her face :) - you cannot quite tell in the pic

30 November 2009

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Huka XL

Saturday was another early start, I am slowly getting used to them, as it is getting easier to get up. This time it was quarter to five when the alarm went off so not quite as early as the week before. It felt a bit odd to be heading out for a mountain bike race as I hadn't done one for sooo long! It was a good feeling though; I like to mix things up a little as I might get bored otherwise. I also knew it was going to be a good race as I had done it last year and really liked the course. And the other massive plus was that I was going to be riding my awesome new bike, the carbon lt! - Rob reckons the best bike ever ;) I would have to agree :)
It was nice to see some familiar faces on the start line; the atmosphere was very social, as we were chatting away while waiting for the race gun.
It took me a little while to warm up but that was expected and so I was taking my time to get the hang of riding my bike and the different style of trails. The trails in Taupo are really quite different to the ones we have in Rotorua, they are much more tight and windy, with little kickers and not much time for rest.
I had a really fun race, enjoying the endless single trails, which was the bigger part of the 80km course - to be fair, it was mostly single trail ;). Plus it was great to see all the smiley marshals along the course, cheering us on and having a good time, I hope they did!
Time went by rather fast as I, despite having done the race the previous year, wasn’t quite sure what was coming up as they had changed a few bits and so you keep getting surprised about what’s coming up. And on top we got to see some stunning scenery; rode through beautiful old bush, along magnificently coloured streams and obviously the Waikato river.
I won my race for the 2nd year in a row, might have to go back next year ;)

Ps: my bike is so much fun I had to take it out again on Sunday, and I felt surprisingly strong, I blame the bike as it’s so much fun to whip it through the trails; so I guess it took number one on my bike chart

Sorry couldn’t find any pics yet, hope to find some soon and put them on.

22 November 2009

The Great Kauri Run




What an absolutely fantastic race! :)
We got to enjoy some absolutely stunning views, a nice challenging course with ever changing surroundings from beach, bush with stream crossings, tight single trail, steep descents and climbs and rough roads. And all this with a good cause in mind, to try re-establish some of the enormous Kauri forest that once covered the Coromandel peninsula some 200 years ago. For every competitor in the great Kauri race (13km and 32km, walking and running options) a Kauri tree gets planted along the race route. over 1200 trees over the distance of 3km have been planted before the race this year and another 360 Kauri trees will be planted after this years race (the 6th ever Great Kauri Run)!




My friends Ann and Bryon were mad enough to offer to take me to the race, the poor buggers had to get up at 4am! How crazy is that!?!
The race started at Waikawau beach; with the first two kms being in rather soft sand we were trying to dodge the incoming waves, it looked rather playful watching Graeme Pearson way in front of me weaving up and down the waters edge. we then left the coastline and the course went along a nice bush trail following a small river upstream and crossing it a few times along the way until it got steeper and steeper up the hill and we lost the river to head to the top of the ridge and from there pretty much followed the ridge line for the rest of the course. At places you could look to the right and left and see beautiful coastlines to both sides, how awesome is that! :)
Running along all by myself for a while I was fully absorbed by the stunning views and just enjoyed a great time out there following the ever changing terrain towards Coromadel. I must have slowed down a little then when I looked back in the very technical single trail about 3/4 of the way through I could see Michelle Hyland, and she was pretty much right behind me. I knew I had to change my pace or she would get me and I might loose my ride back home as Bryon had warned me that he would leave me behind if I didn't win. ;) I knew there was a nice long decent coming up and then we would be pretty close to the finish line. So I wasn't too worried yet about having to walk home to Rotorua. It was a great feeling running down that last long downhill section making use of the gradient to speed up the legs and get a sensation of speed. I wasn't quite sure how much of a gap I had but I was safe. I won by just a minute.

Bryon and Ann were waiting at the finish line with a punnet of strawberries as I had told them about how nice it had been at Toi's to get some strawberries at the finish :) thanks heaps they went down a treat! :)


Ps: we couldn't stay till prize giving as it would have meant we would be home after 9pm (which wouldn't have been very nice for the driver when he already got up at 4am!) so Graeme Pearson was so nice to pick up my goodies and take them to Rotorua for me. man was i surprised when i saw what i got!!!! the best ever prizes i reckon! i got a beautiful rare swamp Kauri bowl, some nice sunnies, a handy backpack, an cool event t-shirt and a free entry to next years event! will i go back?? bet i will :) it was so much fun and then i get spoilt rotten after! COOL!

16 November 2009

Toi's Challenge







the toi's challenge is the first race of the triple crown series. it's an 18k running race from Whakatane to Ohope and back, it's super scenic and has loads and loads of steps, 'ouch!!' yeah people have told me about them but i certainly didn't get it until yesterday when i saw/felt it first hand, but it might have been a good thing not to know, as it was very painful in deed. i must be getting soft! oh well! other then stairs there was a bit along Ohope beach and on the way back we ran through some beautiful bush, it was absolutely stunning and i can recommend anyone to go and walk or run the track, depending on your level of madness ;)
the race was really well organised and there was lot's of smiling people that cheered us on along the way. i blame the amount of sunshine these people are able to enjoy for always being so happy :)
i had a good battle with a local girl Karen, who took off like a rocket at the start and seemed to just want to keep going at that mad pace, luckily for me she was fading too, just like me. we changed lead a few times before i managed to pull it off and win the race, i was pretty shattered though i must admit.
Fiona got second in her class, awesome effort!! ;)


almost forgot, one of the best things about the race was that when you crossed the finish line you got a punnet of super delicious strawberries - they went down a treat!!! :)

looking forward to a restful week and then to the next challenge - the Kauri run! i hear it will be a stunning run as well, can't wait! ;)

to finish off another pic from the breathtaking Toi's track ...

26 September 2009

getting a new bike yipee! :)

my new bike is being built up...., I am very excited about it trying out. unfortunately the weather is rather miserable so will have to wait at least until tomorrow. :(
Rob and Mike already tested their new carbon lts and love them! to be honest I thought my santacruz lt was 'mean as' but if I can trust the boys' verdict (and normally I can) the carbon frame is EVEN BETTER!?!? crazy! not sure how that can be but I shall find out soon ;)
my new bike is a new santacruz carbon lt with the new fox float 150 forks and the new sram xx gear (10 speed), mean!!!

will get a pic when it's all built up and 'hopefully' not too dirty yet.

happy trails.... :)

11 September 2009

a few images from our trip to Switzerland


Rob in Livigno (Italy) having a play on the burms


on our way up...




same trail still but a bit further on
above St Moritz at Lake Suvretta, ... taking in the sights and having a breather before enjoying the super long and technical downhill single track ;)

07 September 2009

update - finally

it's been, once again, ages since i updated this site, sorry! at least i have a good excuse this time ;) i have been in Switzerland visiting my family and having a fantastic time, good enough an excuse?

this is in the Swiss alps above St Moritz, riding there is just amazing! ;)

i'll be quick as i should be other things this time of the day and week (oops)
Rob and i got back from our holiday on thursday morning so we are still a bit jetlagged. glad the sun has been out every day since we have been back, it helps heaps!

i did the final of the three 1/2 halfmarathons in 3 month in Taupo on saturday. almost 1000 people lined up to do the run or walk of the W2K- and Headlands track loop. we couldn't have wished for a more stunning day, it was sunny and mild. we also got spoilt with worldclass views across the lake where we could admire the mountains covered in white, there was a clearing with a seat somewhere along the track; i was soooo tempted to stop there ;)

running i felt better then i first expected, not too fresh but pretty good considering the circumstances. so i managed to make it three wins in a row, very happy about that.

i went for a spin on the bike yesterday to stretch the legs and ride some of our world class trails (there are one of the best for sure ;) ) the body wasn't feeling to fantastic but thanks to the great trails i seemed to find a little bit of energy to get up to hot-x etc... good times ;)

Well done Fiona for doing so well on the weekend and looking forward to the next challenge.

sorry for not having any pics, i will add some 'shortly', at least one from a ride in the Swiss alps ...

02 August 2009

Mizuno Half Marathon - Lake Taupo

I just got back from Taupo half marathon.
What a stunning day - it was super sunny and the views of the white mountains were fantastic, it was like they were inviting us for a ski - it was really quite tempting i must admit ;)
Apparently there were 2000 people doing the run and 1000 doing the walking option! pretty amazing really!
The race was good and pretty hard, we had quite a bit of side/head wind to fight, well that is my excuse anyway ;). it felt strange running on the road as i normally do my running in the forest, i prefer being in the nature surrounded by plants and birds and breath in the fresh air.
The first half of the course was pretty much all along the main road which is the highway and is pretty straight, but to keep us sane we got to see amazing views of the lake and the snowed in volcanoes, so i cannot really complain! From there it went across some grass fields and onto the cobbled walking tracks that follow the lake front. So you get to enjoy the nature despite it being a road race which is a big bonus!
I was being chased the whole race by a girl who looked like a runner and had a mean stride on her. Luckily i was a little taller then her, i guess that was my advantage but i don't know. Anyway i thought i had dropped her a little while after half way but i was quite wrong there. then i got a surprise when i could suddenly see her pony tale in the shadow that was following me as we were on the home straight 3 or so ks to go! (bugger!) From there she was pretty much stuck to my heals and i had to dig deep to keep her there rather then the other way round ;)
as i was running towards the finish line i was still expecting her to challenge me, and i was super glad to get over the line first ;) i think i got 20th overall, and 1st female (i know that one)
Fiona got in a little after me, she had a great run too!
we are now looking forward to the next half marathon (the last of the 3 in Taupo this winter) and it will be an off road one which is more our style, sweet! :)

ps: there was some hot soup waiting for us at the finish line, it might not sound like much but it was such a treat and warmed us up nicely :) thanks!

12 July 2009

Brooks Half Marathon

It's been a while since I have done an event. It was good to have a break from it for a change, also I haven't got that much spare time for training and racing anymore now that I am working and not studying and with the short days - cannot wait for daylight savings! Yay we are slowly getting there! :)
Pam, Nick, Fiona and I all decided to participate in the Brooks Half Marathon in Taupo which was on today. It's a new event by the organisers of Whirinaki Quest. The event was really well organised and attracted close to 400 runners and walkers - man I wouldn't have wanted to walk in these conditions, it was freezing enough running! - just heard the wind speed was up to 70km/hr at times! no wonder it felt like you were trying to push through a concrete wall at times! ;)
We were super lucky with the weather as it was meant to be pouring down over night and maybe even during the event, but all we had to put up with the strong and frosty wind and some super dark clouds that kept eyeing us up but decided to hold off. Nice!
It was quite funny how just before the event EVERYONE seemed to be debating about what and how much to wear, it made for some random conversations amongst strangers ;)
The race itself was fun. The course took us around Mount Tauhara. There was plenty of uphill and downhill over farmland, through forest roads and a bit of single track and at one stage some cows had to share their paddock with us, they didn't seem to happy to see me, I must have been pretty smelly, they all ran off in a hurry.
Fighting against the wind was the hardest thing, at places it felt like you were not moving much, it didn't seem to help when I ducked down to try make myself smaller for better aerodynamic - I might have to practice that one ;)
It was a cool event, really well organised and no need to hang around for ages for prize giving as the spot prizes were in our registration pack and they handed me the trophy as soon as I crossed the finish line - forgot to say, I won :)

sorry no race pics ;(

Here a picture from the course, obviously not taken on race day, what a shame we didn't get to enjoy the magnificent views today. I did see the lake but Ruapehu was hiding under a duvet of clouds.


12 May 2009

Scott Big 'O'Trail Run



My friend Fiona told me about the Big 'O' trail run a little while ago, it sounded great! The idea of running either 19 or 35km offroad through the bush, along lake Okataina and over farm land is very appealing. So Fiona and I decided to race the 19km starting at Miller Rd by lake Okareka as we both hadn’t done much more then 1 ½ hrs for a while. We went to explore the Western Okataina walk way on the Saturday prior to check out some of the race course (we thought! – but you only do this bit in the 35km course) and test the legs. The walk way was awesome – very beautiful with the native vegetation and the birds producing some good sounds ;) and no other people around! We ran to the look out and were stunned to see the ocean from there and it wasn’t even a clear day!
On Monday before the race I decided to change my entry from 19 to 35km – I wasn’t too sure if that had been a good decision I just made when I checked the weather forecast – it looked like a storm was going to come through on Saturday! Perfect weather to do a run of a length I had not done for 10 years! Ha, nothing like a bit of a challenge! ;)
But the weather wasn’t anything like they predicted! Lucky us the weather was a mix of overcast and sun but with a nippy wind. Some people were running in little running shorts – it made me shiver just looking at them! (ha something my mum used to say to me – I must be getting old ;) ) I felt a little out of place at the race brief – in bike shirt i looked like the mountain biker at the wrong event ;) the back pockets of the shirt were pretty handy for storing my food though.
The race started with a big climb, it took me about 20min to get to the top (also the junction to the look out) and from there it was undulating all the way to Miller Rd (that was the bit we had ran the week before). I thought that the first part (the Western Okataina walk way which is the first 16km) was going to be the hard one due to the big climb; little did I know that the next 19km was the hard bit. It was super stunning though as first you got a view of Mount Tarawera behind it’s Lake and then we ran through stunning and ever changing bush and parts we looked down onto Lake Okataina . And every so often I would hear a Tui showing it’s skills off.
There were many very steep climbs where you question how much slower it may be to walk instead of run (which was actually more a shuffle) and how much less pain your legs would be in if you’d give in and walk ;) it wouldn’t be a race without a little pain though. The run was getting harder with the legs getting more tired and really quite sore, but the terrain still didn’t get any easier – it still went up as soon as you think there is a bit of flat or downhill to recover on. Alos you had to lift your feet and watch where you are going as the Eastern Okataina walk way is a stunning walking trail with rots and a few rocks and a nice cliff to one side. I was eagerly anticipating the “3km to go – drink station” it did seem to take quite a while to get there and it was such a relieve to finally get there! But then the last 3km started with a super steep climb – and it kept on going and going – bugger! I was so ready for the finish line and managed to overtake (sounds like biking – guess there is a running term for this…) one more guy who was doing the 35km race who I remembered taking off on the first hill to put a massive gap on me (it was Graeme Pearson). I thought ‘He’s for sure going to get me back’, so I kept pushing on to the finish trying to ignore the pain in the legs. Seeing the finish line was awesome and quite a relieve :)
I got 4th over all and was 1st women. It was an awesome race and will for sure do it again!
Fiona made it over the finish line before me (she did the 19km); she was determined not to let me catch her ;) Awesome effort!

I totally forgot to mention that what really got me through the run was the fact that I was going to be rewarded with the worlds best massage on monday night ;) Pam Dickson rocks! Thanks heaps!!!!

26 April 2009

nz single speed champs

pic: Single Speed Society President Gaz is having a good time :)

the weather was pretty perfect for the event - it was raining on an off all day - it wouldn't be right to ride a single speed on a perfectly sunny day. you might ask: 'but why would you wanna ride a bike with only one gear anyway?' oh well it's just a pretty crazy, fun event and great for a laugh and makes for good spectating. and you might as well do something a little crazy every now and then.
we all had to leave our bikes at the race village and walk up the road so we could then run to the bikes to not find them in 'our' spot. the spectators had been asked to move our bikes to a different spot while we walked off just to make it more entertaining for them, and us? as soon as we found our bikes it was pretty much a normal bike race, other then the fact that there was a short cut option somewhere along the course that you could chose to take as long as you sculled a beer or eat a weetbix with peanut butter, hm yummy! i realised how much of a short cut it was after not taking it in the first lap and then finding myself behind people i had passed a long time ago - oh well that learnt me ;)
i was adamant that Anja was in front all along and i assumed she had taken the short cut on the first lap so she would have made an even bigger gap on me, so i tried to catch her up..., was chasing her the whole race - little did i know that she was behind me all along. i was chasing a phantom ;)
i only found out that i was in the lead just before crossing the line.
Tim Wilding won the men's race!



crossing the finish line while the rain is starting to get rather heavy!

if you are wondering why i am bulling a face - it's because i just sculled a fizzy drink at the short cut tent, so it's not that i am not happy about winning ;)


ps: we weren't meant to drink more then 3 times and i thought i rather not try the eating option and do i long lap, or maybe i just wanted to see the scenic spots of the long course ;)


ps2: i guess my bike was the most fun to ride - i was riding my blur lt! :) (as a single speed obviously)


found an other pic, you can see my mean ride ;) and my red knee - hm shall i blame my skills or the beer for the crash? ;)

22 April 2009

xterra 09



I got talked into doing xterra which was my first triathlon, or to be fair ‘let myself get talked into doing it’ just less then 3 weeks out from the race, so not much time to get my head around the swimming part (and I am not a swimmer – unless you count breast stroke :)). Hm, I guess that showed.
I did look really fast in my super fancy blueseventy helix wetsuit (unfortunately they don’t come with propellers so as soon as I tried to swim I did look more like the clown, but hey, someone has to be the clown right? ). I was second to last out of the water, 6min slower then the leading girl Monique Avery and look pretty much same time as the slowest in my category. This set me up really badly for the ride as I now had to try navigate my way through the field on the bike, unfortunately the bike was not very long and due to the traffic I didn’t manage to make up any time, I actually still lost some! But I made up one place.
The run was my best part of the race, I finally managed to catch up a few girls and I felt pretty comfortable and really enjoyed that part. I had the fastest run of the girls by 2min, am pretty stoked about this.
I ended up getting 3rd, less then 30sec back from 2nd. I knew I shouldn’t have fluffed around in transitions so much or maybe should have even practiced them. But it’s better to make the mistakes now and then do better next time when it counts, I reckon.


So I have got loads to work on and I am already looking forward to next year’s one.

12 April 2009

Mtb Marathon champs


oh well it's now been a week already and i have been meaning to update this blog right away, ... sorry!
yeah so the Highlander 75k which was also nz mtb marathon champs were on last Sunday at the Blue lake Rotorua.
it was a stunning day, not too chilly and not too hot as there was a bit of cloud hanging about and the trails were in mint condition too, so all in all > perfect! :)

the course started with quite a bit of road before hitting the first single trail and then it took us through some mint trails - like Billy T! - and along some super scenic forest roads like along lake front road were you get a stunning view of green lake (it certainly puts a smile on your face) :)

i wasn't feeling too strong and energetic but managed somehow to keep at the front of the women's field and therefore won the marathon champs title, am happy! ;)

thanks for all the support i got along the race course, it's great to see and hear people cheer you on!

wishing you happy easter riding! :)

23 February 2009

the final of the summer series

it was the 3rd and final round of the n-duro summer series that was held yesterday in the whaka forest. hope it wasn't the final of summer though!?! na, it's pretty chilly this morning but i am sure summer will return soon :)
the course was great and again different to the last two events, which makes for more interesting racing and riding. there were a few nice climbs in it and some cool downhill single trails were waiting as little treats at the top of the climbs ;)
we had quite a bit of rain on friday and a few more showers on saturday and over night to sunday but race day was dry, very lucky! a few of the trails were puddly but it wasn't too bad at all. i was riding most of the race by myself which was a bit odd and i kept thinking i might have gotten lost, but i hadn't. maybe i should have pushed a bit harder but there wasn't any urgency.
i won my race and the series, very happy about that.

what's so great about these races is the socializing before and after the race (and on the occasion while racing ;) ), there are so many familiar faces hanging about keen for a chat and to have a laugh. good times :)

sorry no pics again! :(

i think there is no racing till the highlander (5 April) for me now, but who knows there might be a fun race popping up somewhere in between?

02 February 2009

summer cup series race 2

the second round of n-duro summer series was held yesterday in stunning summer weather conditions, yeah it was slightly hot but we don't want to complain about a sunny day ;). the course was awesome, loads of single trail and a good mix of core network trails and others. it's great to do some of the old trails in a race as i don't seem to ride them any other time.
the field seemed bigger this time round, i guess because the race didn't clash with too many other events.
i had a pretty average race as i couldn't get my legs going and it took me about an hour to warm up. oh well, can't feel good every time ;) and it might pay to give the body some recovery time to freshen up before a race. i do actually know this, but the weather has been too good to not ride or run ;).
i did win the women's category though and am therefore still leading the series. next and last race is in 3 weeks. looking forward to it and will try to be more rested for that one.

ps: sorry haven't got a pic - again! :(

28 January 2009

trail running

yep trail running - not riding - this time round. i decided to finally check out Tuhoto Ariki by foot (probably the most amazing trail in the forest because of the stunning vegetation and also because it's slightly more technical riding). i rode Tuhoto Ariki on friday and had so much fun, i am not sure why i don't do it more often. i had been wanting to run through the trail for a while now but never got round to it. i thought it might take quite a while to get there but it took only just over an hour to get to the start of the trail (all uphill though, but fully worth the hard work). the other option would have been to take the shuttle bus up ;)
running through Tuhoto Ariki was awesome and obviously quite different to riding it. i can recommend anyone to check it out by bike or foot with or without the aid of the shuttle bus (it's a walking and biking trail).

other than that, the trails are getting rather dusty here but still great fun to ride.

19 January 2009

dh racing!


photo by Nick Lambert

wow what a week!!!!
i went to test ride Mike Styli's bullit and check out how scary the downhill course is on tuesday with my friend Jo. Jo proofed herself as the mean downhill coach, she showed me all the do-able lines and i managed to get down the dh course pretty safe and with a huge grin on my face :) man it's soooo much fun and not as hard as i first thought (as long as you go a slow pace). it's pretty scary when you look back up the trail and see how steep the trail is you have just ridden down but even more rewarding too.
Jo and i ended up doing a whole day of shuttles (10 runs) and we almost went back for more that evening, we were so amped that we didn't realise how tired we were from the intense riding. Alice and Jo convinced me that it would be great fun to enter the dh race on saturday (just for fun and to hang out together). i had no bike but Budge said it was sweet for me to ride his black beauty (a mean bullit too!). thanks HEAPS Budge :)
Jo and i went back to the dh on wednesday morning but were riding pretty badly which surprised us but the boys at the shop made us aware that 10 shuttle runs in one day (if you are not used to it) is a lot and it's pretty normal to feel rather tired the next day.
i went back on thursday night (first time with my own helmet and armer - no more borrowing other peoples protective gear, yay! thanks Bike Culture!) and had a few more good runs and got used to Budge's bike.
every night i was dreaming of lines and riding the dh bike - man it's pretty intense and i felt pretty smoked from the few shuttle runs and the riding in my dreams.

race day was great! other then that Jo injured herself and wasn't able to race, this really sucked!
it's very nerve wrecking when you line up for your run and then even more so when you are sitting on the start ramp. the plan was to stay upright and hopefully stick to the lines i had in mind and most importantly to HAVE FUN :)
i didn't crash and despite riding a bit ragged i am stocked with my first dh race and i am planning to do some more.
i got 5th in open women, behind Alice.

Rob did awesome, he got 2nd! behind Mike Metz (congrats!!)

thanks heaps to everyone involved in making the race happen, it was an awesome event!

12 January 2009

n-duro summer series #1

i had another race yesterday, it was good to only have a week in between races as the body is still used to the intensity of racing. the trails had been starting to get very dusty by the end of the week so it was perfect to get a bit of rain overnight before the race. as always there was a good crowed at the event and plenty of familiar faces to have a chat to and laugh with before race start. i had an ok race and got 1st woman and 7th overall, but lots of riders had raced the day before, either the moa or the national series north island round 2. the course wasn't as great as expected but i am hoping for more fun next time on 1 feb.

05 January 2009

dh race - watching only

Yesterday I went to watch the first round of the national downhill series in Rotorua to support the boys (Rob and Mike), admire some great riding skills and socialize. It was stunning weather after the rain the day and night before which made it perfect for spectating and racing (other then being a little hot under all the protective gear). The boys did really well despite a few crashes in the seeding run due to the wet (slightly boggy) track and wanting to go a little too fast (race nerves?). Mike ended up winning the masters class (he looked well smooth), Rob got a 5th which is wicked for his first proper dh race! Gabby Molloy made an amazing 2nd place in pro elite, she looked wicked zooming down her dh track. It was a great racing weekend, looking forward to the next Rotorua round in 2 weeks!

04 January 2009

National Series Round 1 XC Rotorua


the course for this national round was quite different to the typical national round race course format as we only did 3 longer laps instead of 5 or 6 shorter ones. i much prefer doing less laps as i find it quite boring doing the same course over and over again. also the course had great single track, some good climbs and offered some great spots to watch the action so all in all a really good race course.
i had a really bad start but that was ok as there was no great urgency to be first of the line as we headed up a long forest road before hitting the single track, so there was plenty of time to pass people and get a good position. i managed to get to the front a little way before the single track and therefore got to enjoy the nice trail without much traffic. the course was pretty tough as we didn't get any rest until we got up to hot-x (we only did half of the track though) but from there on it pretty much was all down hill back to the start of the lap: hot-x, dragon's tail and mad. it was wicked fun! there were heaps of awesome spectators cheering and yelling and as it seemed having a good time. - thanks heaps for all the support i got from you guys!! it makes racing so much more fun :)

and the weather pretty much held out too, we only got rained on at the end of the race. i was pretty stocked about that especially for the spectators who would have otherwise had a miserable time standing there in the rain.

my next race is on sunday 11jan, the first of the n-duro summer series.
happy trails - hope that summer weather is going to arrive sometime soon ;)