Hard Yards in Heaven

Ok, so I blatently ripped off that title from Hamish Carters old training camps.... but that essentially describes my epic weekend. Back home and enjoying our house in vegas, rather than relax I had a big weekend of racing lined up. Firstly, the Port of Tauranga half ironman (NZ Champs), followed with the first race of the N-Duro Summer MTB series on Sunday.

Crazy? Maybe. But I reckoned I would be at my most tired two days later from the half, so racing the next day would be ok. Twisted logic but it seemed to pay off. end result? 12th at the NZ half ironman champs, and 2nd in the N-Duro a mere 40sec behind Dirk Peters. Right now I'm on about my 4th coffee of the day to stay awake.

Saturday: Tauranga Half-Ironman

This was always going to be a big challenge. My logic in entering was that it would force me to commit to a steady period of base training in swim/bike/and run over November and December. Training had gone well, but having never TT'd more than 40km and not run a half marathon since 2001 it was a big unknown. With Nic along to support along with Mum and Dad it was pretty good motivation.

First suprise was to turn up and discover I'd inherited Cam Brown's #1 spot in transition. My Clip on aero bar equipped standard road bike (a mint Malvern Star Oppy C7) looked a little out of place in a rack full of TT bikes but it certainly gauranteed great product placement for my faithful sponsors.

Second suprise was the difficulty of the swim. I hadn't realised how much the chop and currents effected the swim here in Tauranga. And I also quickly discovered I am very poor at picking the currents and swimmingly accordingly. As such I proceeded to almost overshoot turning bouhys, swim extra distance, and fight to stop myself being swept into various boats. I survived the 2km though, but was dissapointed to see myself around 5min further down on where I wanted to be. Exiting in 100 something'th. Not a good start.

The bike? How hard is a flat 90km? Mentally really hard. I spent the whole ride catching and passing people, trying to make up time. I would be constantly out of the saddle every 5min as TT position just didn't seem comfortable. One guy following me even tried to abuse me with.... "can't you hold an aero position? You ride like a Mountainbiker...." Thanks I replied. Compliment I thought. Still, I averaged 39 point something Kph in difficult conditions and passed most of the womens field.

Onto the run and I had two goals. First to catch Robin Reid who'd just smashed me on the bike. And two... to win the womens race. I succeeded. Turns out I run ok for a mountainbiker. Plenty of "go cabin" and "go the mountainbiker" spurred me on to a solid 40min for the first lap. However my feet were really starting to hurt and with 10.5km still to go I was struggling. In my hurry to get through transition I'd gone sockless and I was paying for it with heinous blisters. Pushing on I finally overtook the womens race leader with about 7km to go, but got a fright to see Sam Wariner had closed to about a minute from me. That prompted me to up my game and I finished strongly.

A 1hr21 half marathon the days 8th fastest run, and good enough to move me up to 12th. Not a bad debut....and happily I "won" the womens race by a comfortable 3min :)

Sunday: N-Duro Summer Cup

Backing up the next day was always going to be a tough ask. However I'd done the recovery thing well. Got all the food in thanks to Balance, and had used the 2XU compression as recommended. It wasn't all serious though as a healthy dose of ice-cream was also diligently put away.

Turning up on Sunday morning it soon became clear this would be no easy day. Rotorua turned on the weather and around 240 keen beans turned up to enjoy the trails and racing. The men's field was only missing 2 or 3 riders that would have made it a NZ Champs worthy field, and it wasn't too different in the womens.

From the gun the womens race turned into a Nic v Annika battle. It was great for both of them as they pushed each other hard. Probing for weaknesses with various attacks. The decisive moment came about 2/3 of the way through when Nic crashed heavily on No-Brains whilst chasing a flying Annika. She got up and got going but had lost contact. She pushed hard to the finish but fell 90sec short of Annika. They were flying however and their battle had pushed them 8min clear of 3rd. Encouraging signs for upcoming races.

And me?

Was pretty determined to stay as near as I could to the front for as long as I could. Suprisingly I felt pretty strong. Turns out the pace was pretty hot and whilst I felt comfortable we'd soon whittled down the field to a select group of 5 (Mike Northcott, Ed Crossling, Dirk Peters, Ash Hough, and myself). The race went to pieces up Lookout Rd. Mr Ed attacked hard and only Mikey and Dirk could respond.

I just held a rythym and by the top passed a now blown looking Ed. Mikey and Dirk were long gone. By the bottom of No-Brains I past a stricken Mikey repairing some damage, and inherited 2nd. Getting a time check of 40sec to Dirk I pushed as hard as I could all the way home but really struggled on the steep punchy climbs. Maybe half ironmans aren't good prep?! In the end it was a very satisifed 2nd.... still 40sec down. Carl Jones was 3rd a few minutes later, trailed in by Mikey. But where was Mr Ed?

Turns out he'd decided to use No-Brains for Human Cannonball practice and after a successful and lengthy flight had decided to use his face to stop himself. It was nasty crash and thankfully Ash was quick on the scene to stop and render assistance. So big thanks from everyone to Ash. And recover fast Ed.

All in all a very successful, and very tiring weekend for me. Looking for a few days of nothing, and probably a few pies I imagine!

Swim start as age-groupers watch the pro's to see how its done. For their sake I hope they weren't watching me

Swim survived. Time to go to work

Holding Aero position... must've seen the camera

A bit over 3km to go and stoked its mostly gravel!
My poor feet. FYI. Wear socks when running 1/2 marathon

New Year catch up

How slack of us. We haven't posted anything up here in a month. Oops. Well, things have been pretty busy. Plenty of training, moved into our new house, family xmas, then down to Nelson for the Tour De Femme.

We had a great Xmas, which was only enhanced with our extra special Xmas goodies packages for our various supporters. Exciting deliveries from 2XU, Nature Valley, Balance, and Smith all ensuring we are well stocked up on food and looking flash for summer. Also there was the small matter of a shiney new Avanti Questa Team roadie for Nic, and some nice Zero Carbon wheels to use also. Pretty damn cool.

Off to Nelson and Nic lined up at the annual Tour de Femme. A great way to build some form and learn some new skills. Not only was it Nic's first roadie tour, but first road race full stop! So it was in the deep end and she quitted herself bloody well. A good climb up Takaka Hill, and plenty of strength shown getting into the front group and doing more than her fair share of work mixing it up. Seemed to improve each day and by the end of 5 stages had grabbed a strong 12th on GC. Ruing a couple of small mistakes that cost her any shot at the top 6 or 7. Next time eh?

Warming up for stage 1 and still smiling
Takaka Hill.... this is actually after the finish. Nic decided she liked it so much she'd warm down by climbing another couple of k's.
Flat TT. Not exactly an MTB'er fortay, but at least we put aero bars on?!
Final stage, lead group sprint. In amongst it.....

....Meanwhile Cabin works on his xmas cake intake

Meanwhile we are back home in Rotorua. Fantastic to be in our own place and amazing how much motivation it gives to actually look after something when you own it eh? I've even mowed the lawns a couple of times already! Taking it easy this week as on Saturday its my turn to leap into the unknown as I give the Tauranga 1/2 ironman a crack (backed up with N-Duro #1 on Sunday). Fitness is good, and with Malvern Star providing me a mint dura-ace equipped carbon roadie and some fast Zero wheels I don't have too many excuses.

Like all good triathletes I relaxed last night with a blast on the MTB and hitting up the step down gap jump on Old Chevy (as did Nic). Life is good.

Festival of Cycling

Well, we are back home again, after one of the most fun cycling weekends we've had in a long time.

As Nic alluded to in her earlier post about the Huka.... one of the most exciting things for MTB at the moment seems to be the frequency that it is being recognised and included in Festival style events. Following hot on the heels from Taupo, was the Armstrong Motor Group Festival of Cycling in Christchurch. Now in its fifth year, Simon Hollander and his team decided to add in an MTB event so we showed up to try it out.

The festival is impressive. And while the MTB event was maybe a little short, it was certainly demanding. Our races didn't go quite to plan. I felt really strong, but lacked a top gear. So when Brendan Sharratt and the impressive Richard Anderson jumped away I could only watch. I had the tiny Anton Cooper for company. Turns out he wasn't much use to draft off.... and then I made the mistake of letting him lead me into the singletrack.

Turns out Port Hills singletrack takes some time to adapt to. Its narrow and rocky. I didn't see Anton again till the finish. 4th it was then.

Nic on the other hand stormed up Rapaki track into a commanding lead. Relaxing across the top she didn't notice local Sarah Taylor working well with some of the guys to bridge across to her. Making the same mistake of letting the local into singletrack, she couldn't find a way past. And had to settle for 2nd.

We soon forgot all that though on day 2 of the festival and the event we'd all really been waiting for. The celebrity tandem crit (on singlespeed tandems). 10 cycling celebrities were paired with 10 businesses for a pretty fun (and intense) race. There was a bit of carnage off the start line but things soon settled as we started to test how well these things braked and turned. Kashi and Jack Bauer weren't as agressive as we might have hoped, but Nic was making up for things. Meanwhile Heath Blackgrove and Robin Reid proved pretty adept and aggressive pilots and pulled off some strong passing manouveres under brakes. I tried to line them up into the hairpin into the last lap only to drop our chain.

Nevermind... we still hit 46km through the speed trap. Awesome fun. Thanks to Simon Hollander for an awesome weekend. We might have to investgate a few more tandem events I thin?!

Cabin and his shadow.... until the shadow got away
Nic displaying impecable DH form

Before the start of the tandem race where all form went out the window

Lean angles were surprisingly good....

While Nic decided pedalling wasn't really neccessary

Taupo Huka Wknd

Just like 11'000+ ppl Cabin & I made our way to Taupo on Friday afternoon. Amazing - isn't it? That many people participating in a cycle event! Each year it grows I am in awe of the effort, organisation and community spirit Taupo demonstrates to host such an iconic event. It is quite remarkable.


Cabin & I were there to participate in the Huka MTB race. It was a mixed bag for team n-Duro. Cabin had a fine ride, carving the craters single track at a very consistent pace riding up to third place in the open men's race behind Stu & Mikey. Congrats to these guys who battled it out on the home straight for a photo-finish...kinda close huh. Awesome. And top ride to Poppa Cabin, letting the younger riders know he is not over the hill or even close yet!

Meanwhile I was on the side of the trail trying to come to terms with a DNF. I had a return of my vision problem. Off the start Annika & I rode out to Craters at a comfortable pace & I was thinking sweet, legs & lungs will go the distance well today. Not long into the single track I was aware that my vision was a little 'blurred' but thought it was just a dim day & I was adjusting to the light. I stopped to request riding glasses & lost touch with Annika although on the open climb I could still see her & set about a good pace to hopefully get closer. But I didn't see her again, in fact I didn't see much. My eyes got thicker with white cloud/fog and my vision was all but gone by the time I got to the 55km mark at Heli-star. I had been battling with the decision to w/draw as I was crashing frequently through the last trails in Craters & getting really agitated. When we popped out of the forest into the open, the glare seemed to make it worse - I could see white & bright but that was all. I put my bike down & sat down on the grass unsure of what to do next.

It is pretty hard to deal with when your legs are strong, you feel good & then have something like this occur. I was extremely frustrated and disappointed. I just wanted to ride & finish but I couldn't even do that. So for me, it wasn't the day I wanted. Of course we are investigating further & hopefuly we get to the bottom of it fast.

Even with the generous help of a supporter finding some riding glasess for me (if you are reading this please let me know!) to use, my vision deteriorated pretty consistently once it had set in. I doubt that having the riding glasess helped, but it was definately worth a shot. Thank-you!

The thing that did cheer me up however, was that my eyes recovered within 4hours (previously it has taken 8-10hrs) and I could go and participate in the 5k Heart Childrens ride which I had been looking forward to too! This was a truly fantastic way to turn the day around. Heart Children NZ is the official charity of the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge. Along with Bevan Docherty & Eroni Clarke I had the pleasure of some quality bike riding and hanging out with these courageous Heart kids. They are inspiring, you would never guess the great deal they have been through. I am sure you will all agree that prizegiving had a particularly 'feel good' factor to it. It was a celebration of participation, riding bikes and fulfillment. It was also a wonderful fundraiser for the most deserving children & families in NZ. Go the Heart Kids!!


So all in all it was a great weekend. We had fantastic accomodation at the Rahui Racing HQ - thanks Marty & Tristan! We liked your racing tales :) We caught up with a good few friends & spent some quality time with sponsors & fellow bike riders.

Someone said the other day that... 'track is for racing, road is for training, and dirt is for potatoes'. I think the addition of the Huka MTB race to the Taupo programme is fantastic & I reckon we will see a few changing discipline to 'see how the other compares'. Let's hope so! 300 starters in the Huka MTB race on Sat... no doubt there were just as many tales and heartbreak in the Huka as with the road event. I don't mind being called a spud if I get to hoon around 70-odd km of single track getting some mean drifts, physical & technical climbs, no bunches and crashing w/o suffering from road rash...suits me fine. See y'all next year (and I will be SEEing you at the finish)...

Photo's to be added :)

Get Lost

Or should that be, try NOT to get lost, and get round the forest as fast as you can in the meantime. What am I on about?

Sunday saw a random edition to my training plan. The NZ MTB Orienteering Champs were on in the Whaka forest, so I figured why not give it a nudge. I was super experienced afterall..... with a stellar performance at some primary school orienteering event in Naseby back in, oh, about 1985 I think?! Best case scenario was I'd do great. Worst case.... I'd get lost, ride in circles, and as a result get a solid days training in.

Aparently you need a mapboard and compass. Since my preparation was so good I didn't have either on Sunday morning. So bugger the compass.... but I did fashion a magnificent mapboard out of random stuff around the house. See pic below. Reason #126 for regular ice-cream consumption.

The event? Well I started great, and was leading apparently till the 4th control which I messed up pretty good. Then rode and navigated steadily and slowly brought the gap down until the last control which I made a monumental error on and lost an estimated 7min. Oops.

End result? Well it was an NZ champs, which means obviously I finished in the regular slot.... 2nd. Andrew Bott rode/navigated awesome and smashed me. Great fun though and certainly something different. Recommend all to give it a shot once if you can find an event.

For a proper event report click here

Looking focussed? Well I still knew where I was going at this point!
Only the most technologically advanced equipment for me thanks.
How much sense of this do you make?

Whirinaki Quest

So there is now a new addition to "Cabin and Nic's must do, highly reccomended NZ MTB events" list. The Whirinaki Quest.

We enjoyed an awesome comeback to competitive MTB after a wee break with this great event, now in its second year, which all going well will become an iconic NZ event. Organiser Nick Reader does a great job drawing on his experiences with Motorcycling to bring together the key elements for a great ride.

We turned up on Friday night for the free camping on the sportsground. BBQ dinner, a few beers, and great company made for a very relaxing start to the weekend. Rolling out of bed literally at the start line made things so much easier the next day too!

The event? A great mix of purpose built singletrack, old logging roads, and 4wd trails added up to a challenging ride for all. The final addition at the 30km mark of "Grovel Hill" will go down in Folklore. A bike carry/push to rival the Devils Staircase proved the final kicker.... but led straight to a fresh cut loamy singletrail downhill that in Gaz's words "after two corners made you forget the effort in getting there."

I managed to take a comfy win after being chased hard all the way by Rotorua junior Nigel McDowell. Nic won the women's and managed 10th overall. Making it all the better was the relaxed social atmosphere afterwards. The BBQ cranked up, burgers on offer, and smashed competitors in varying states of "smashedness" relaxing on the grass and telling tall stories of their battles with the course.

Worth the trip? Hell yes. Will we be back? Definately. These guys run an awesome event and have plans for more, so keep your eyes pealed. And we'll see you all at Whirinaki 2010.

The Night before
Post race and organisers Nick and Deb's enjoy a well deserved burger in the sun

.... while Marty goes for the trusty beer and chips combo.

One of the more relaxed race venues you'll come across

The local catering crew was awesome. Steak & Egg burgers anyone?

The "wise" men? Nick and Gaz deep in discussion. Judging by the Gaz's hat I can only assume it was about the best format for a backyard cricket match?

Finding Balance..

It's been pretty busy here in Rotorua for the last couple of weeks. In between working back at the farm in Raetihi, Training, and shop work in Rotorua; Nic managed to find and negotiate a deal on a mint house for us here in Rotorua. So we are now home owners! (Well we will be mid december).

So we'll be expecting visistors a plenty. Are you reading this Conrad? MTB, Dirtbikes, and awesome fishing... and no clashes with XTERRA's NZ & Sth Africa in 2010. No excuses.

In other news, reports of the impending Bushlove/Wgtn December assault on Rotovegas will certainly have the locals concerened. Fortunately we won't have possession of our new house then so at least that is safe.

Other than that its just been fun times mixing work and play (also known by some as training). Road + Runs + ice-cream + MTB + Swimming (even used up a 10swim card in 3 weeks!!) + Pizza and Beer + BMX + great friends to catch up with and hang out = Awesome.

And a wee bit tired..... Resting today. Whirinaki Quest MTB on Saturday, which added to Road Crit racing on Tuesday night, and BMX club racing wednesday will make a great week of bike racing. Life is good.

Tuesday Crit. First Road Race in a loooong time....
.... As it was also for proud mum Sonia

And getting in some sneaky BMX practice