Moonride 2013

 Despite my annual insistence I am done with the event... somehow I keep finding myself back at Waipa, fronting the starter for the annual and somewhat iconic moonride. This time under the guise of promotional duties for my new workplace where amongst my duties is sales of Magellan fitness GPS products. So a solid team was assembled and the Magellan Strava-Tards (Louis Crosby, Olly Shaw, Graham Norman, Josh Kenyon, and myself) were unleashed to take on the young guns of Team Endura and off to Rotorua we went.

 The boys and girls at MBR had assisted in planning out a pretty cool loop. Unfortunately the weather didn't want to play ball, and what had been a great track was shortened to a less gruelling loop. A good move for safety, but the downside being increased wheel traffic on the trails that were used, and consequently a huge amount of track deterioration throughout the day. As shown pictorially

Late in my first lap (around 2hrs or so into the event), already trying to seek out the drier less muddied lines. Ever the optimist?!

 

One lap (14min or so) later and the strain is already starting to show on the face. Out on course we were witnessing amazing crashes and mishaps. People falling down banks I never even realised existed, as they couldn't even maintain footing on small pinches that in the dry you almost roll up with no pedalling... yet now you could barely stand on.

 



Hands up if you've ridden Rotorua? So you'll know Tahi trail... the really easy flowing grade 2 trail getting everyone into the forest. 6hrs or so into the race and it was way faster to run

 



Some parts of the trails were still rideable. Sometimes. With care. Anyone who survived even one lap later in the day (and especially at night) intact and still smiling deserves a medal. It was pretty epic

 



 

The easy open stuff through the tent village on the grass (?) was holding up really well too. There were some interesting and entertaining crashes throughout the day

 

Despite the challenges the boys kept up their spirits, ate plenty of lollies, and maintained some pretty solid form all day. So much so that the small lead edged out, to a final winning margin of 1 lap + another 9 or 10mins. Pretty solid display, and earned us all one of these medals.

 

Even better... with an earlier start time, and the race cut an hour short..... I was home, showered, and warm in bed by 10pm. Bonus!

Avanti Quantum 3.0 - Buy me.....

New toys and adventures are currently on the to do list. So a few things need to go, including my road bike. So get yourself a mint deal

2012 Avanti Quantum 3.0 - Medium (55cm)  Retail's for ~$4500 and upgraded with carbon wheelset

* ADT R4 Carbon,Performance Road Geometry - Carbon fork/steerer
* Full Ultegra groupset (cranks are 172.5 length with 53/39 rings)
* Zero 38mm carbon clincher wheelset
* Zero strike pro carbon bars and seatpost. Fizik saddle
* Will be sold with brand new Kenda Kriterium tires

Bike is 12mths old, but only moderate use and very well maintained. Asking $2600. Offers to cabinracing@gmail.com

199 posts.....

I noticed that the total posts on this blog was sitting at 199 - so to honor that significant milestone, here's a wee video link to the Mr 199 and one of the most amazing/craziest moments in sport

T42

It seems I have inadvertently returned to racing as its suddenly becoming regular habit again. Good thing I didn't announce retirement as I'd be looking like an idiot now! Instead I've reverted to the "train little race - frequently" style of keeping in shape. Seems to work ok Deciding we needed a Magellan presence at the T42 on the weekend I gathered up my gear and Olly Shaw and headed south. As you can see from the start pic its a spectacular location worth the trip in itself.

 

Race went suprisingly well. I was the holder of the course best time until Saturday. That now belongs to Carl Jones, who skipped off up the road and won by a few minutes. So he should, he left for the european world cups this morning. I did manage to hang on for 3rd, and I now hold the strava KOM for 42 traverse ....... at least until Carl uploads the data from his Magellan.

 

Must have worked pretty hard as we blew up enough post race that the 36km road ride back to the car took just as long as the 46km MTB race did. And the bag of natural confectionary company dinosaurs lasted 60sec. Followed promptly by a rushed trip to BK turangi.... Ouch. So a good day of training banked. I can put my feet up again until the next event.

 

 



 

 

simplification

Just one day after SingleSpeed nationals and the gears have gone back on my hardtail already as really; I am a bit soft. But there is something to be said for the simplification that less gears brings. So while the buzz over XX1 groupsets continues, I started to search for a more affordable option and here it is. Chainring from wolftooth components married to an XTR clutch derailleur. Solid, quiet, simple. Highly reccomended.

NZ Singlespeeds 2013

I seem to pretty regularly preach to people that events need to be fun, and if they're not then maybe it is time to re-evaluate. But its not so easy sometimes to genuinely follow that yourself. Especially when the competitive ego gets in the way. Which is why events like Singlespeeding really are so cool. While it hadn't been on the cards at all until a week ago, I am so stoked I got on board and joined the party.

 

While on one hand the NZ Singlespeed champs is really just the biggest mountainbiking adult fancy dress party of the year, it’s still worth a bit of hard effort once the “race” starts. So dressed as Ralph - The Greatest American hero - I had clearly inherited super powers and with my cape flapping in the breeze (and only occasionally snagging trees) I streaked out to a lead of more than a minute during the first lap of three. Not the first time in such a situation. However clearly i must have an unconscious desire not to be tattoo’ed (to honour the title it is tradition for the winner to receive a tattoo), as it soon became apparent that I had done a stellar job of sabotaging my own bike that I had hastily assembled 24hrs prior. Thus a slipping chain began to hamper my progress. Still trying to ride (and run) as fast as possible…. Mainly to get back to the beer tent as quickly as I could each lap. Did some sweet jumps and wheelies. Tried a few whips and even a couple of nose wheelies. Was the 3rd participant to cross the line - or receive a 3rd beer. Depends which way you look at it. Which in this event is actually 2^nd equal….. along with everyone else.

 

One of these days I'll prepare more thoroughly...... or not...



 

 

 

 

So Easter was pretty fun (and busy). Nic headed off sailing in the Bay of Islands for 5 days with her parents leaving me home alone. I was kind of good and did the lawns, trimmed the hedges, vaccumed the house etc... But more importantly managed to cram some good times in.

 

Did some training. But also added in a few rounds of golf, some quality time at the moto track, and had an awesome times helping guide around a bunch of aussies from an MTB tour group. Amazing how much cooler your local trails seem when surrounded by a bunch of new recruits in awe of the trails. Suddenly appreciate how good we've got it. Enjoyed the company of the infamous "Rick Moss" from Flow MTB. He made me ride the Coppermine so hard I ended up breaking spokes (maybe that was casing a gap jump... maybe). Good times. I look forward to re-enacting this cheesy photo op on some iconic australian mtb trail in the not too distant future.