Longest Day Ride 2012: A Journey

I've been a bit silent here (again). Not a lot of riding has been happening, as I continue to work through the issues with my back and hip.  Needless to say, I won't have the pleasure of riding myself to smithereens on the Longest Day Ride this year.  This is an account of the ride I did last year as published in Journey Vol.3.  For a blow-by-blow account with photos, go here.

Long Hot Summer

My ride was a loop of the Waikato, a 200 kilometre amble through the countryside on nicely undulating roads, avoiding as much traffic as possible and stopping at rural cafés along the way. I had successfully lured two long-term cycling friends, Megan and Michelle, along to accompany me on the Longest Day Ride.

The Deluge

It never rains but it pours.  This is nothing at all to do with our hot, dry summer weather and the resulting persistent rain we had in April, but rather my spate of catch-up blog postings here. I'd somehow lost the blog bug last year, but caught it again just before Christmas. Trouble was, I had a huge backlog of unfinished posts, ideas, and photographs scattered all over the hard-drive as well as the usual job and family commitments to divert my attention.

So it became my holiday project, then my New Year project, then my First Term project. The longer I took to sort through it, the more rides and races I had to write up. (Wow, I had actually been riding my bike!!) And even though it's taken a while I'm pretty much caught up.

If you want to read through the backlog, here's a list you can work your way through. You might want to stock up on tea and bikkies and take a packed lunch...

NZSS13

I did it.  I rode, I raced, I drank beer, I didn't crash, and I had an exceptionally good time. Too. Much. Fun. Although some of the photos might tell a different story.  

Thanks to all the photogs that lurk in the forest on their feet all day long to bring these photos to life.  More photos and video on the facebook page for Pig & Whistle NZ Singlespeed Champs.

Dude, where's my bike? Chaos after the Le Mans start.

Puketti Spaghetti: 3 Hours on Repeat

I didn't really know what to think of this 3 hour race.  I'd been pretty distracted in the lead up - riding at Pureora the weekend before and being part of the team organising and running the race, meant that my attention had been elsewhere.  I was excited about the event, the race, the day, and getting to see the club members racing on their home track.

Pureora Timber Trail: Half of it. Twice.

Locked and loaded. Godspeed.

There is more than one way to skin a cat.  And likewise, there's more than one way to ride a trail.  You can even ride it both ways.  Not wanting to mess around with shuttles, dropping a car at the end of the trail, or taking more than one night away from home, Megan and I decided to start at the halfway point of the Pureora Timber Trail and ride the second half there-and-back in one day.

Colville Connection 2013

Sunset. Firth of Thames,
 Coromandel, New Zealand

Setting up my tent at 10 o'clock at night in the middle of a paddock was not my idea of a good lead-in to a bike race.  The flies were buzzing my ears and biting my hands.  Probably because I had unwittingly trodden all through their dinner and covered a good chunk of their dessert with the floor of my tent.

I'd driven up from Hamilton earlier that night with the aim of picking up my registration pack before setting up camp.  I arrived at Colville school in the pitch black darkness.  As I got out of the car, something caught my eye and I looked up.  The sky was smeared with stars laid out before me like those pictures you see at an observatory.  It wasn't just a few twinkly stars like we see above the city sky at night - the whole sky was spray painted with stars.  This beautiful country we live in, moment #1.

Ngutunui: Twice is nice.

In a bid to find some fitness and some climbing legs before I committed to dragging myself around the Colville Connection, I decided I needed to find a better training ground.  I felt my progress was good and my gravel riding skills had improved over the few rides I had done so far.  But, if I was going to survive the 72km ride at Colville, I had to step it up in terms of distance and elevation gain. 

The Ngutunui Time Trial had been on my radar for a while.  This is a 50-something kilometre pan-handled loop in the backcountry between Pirongia and Kawhia.  A lot of local mountain bikers have been using this loop as a measure of their training progress and preparedness for events.  It had the right mix of climbs, descents, gravel, and distance.  And the Waipa Mountain Bike Club was doing a group ride out there this Sunday.

Karioi: Around Again

Raglan

Mount Karioi stands majestically on the coast to the south of Raglan township.  It is a dominant feature of the west coast, draped in a mixture of native bush, green grass, and windswept scrub (and a number of sheep).  The foothills of the mountain disappear into the vivid blue ocean by way of steep bluffs and cliffs, hemmed with a winding gravel road.

The road vaguely follows the coastline and contours of the mountain; dipping deep into valleys and cresting with eye-popping vistas along the coastline from each little ridge.

I'd ridden around Karioi with Megan in 2011, doing the lap at a relaxed pace on our mountain bikes.  This time I was alone, riding my cyclocross bike and hoping like hell I could make it to the end because I had no backup plan.

Fillery Fling: Up and Over

I needed to find some hills.  Gravel hills.  This was to be my first real ride in preparation for doing Colville Connection in five week's time.  I'd not been riding much and knew that if I was going to consider making it to Colville and coping with the ride, I needed to do some training.

Time was limited, but after missing Wednesday night racing due to family commitments, the planets aligned for a brief window of opportunity on Thursday morning.  Oliver had just started back at school after the Christmas/Summer break, but Andrew as still on holiday from work so I could dash out for a ride while he hung out at home with Ella.

Post-Christmas Pootle

Natural Bridge

Good intentions never get me very far.  I know I should ride at every given opportunity, but I don't always make the most of it when the optimum situation presents itself.  After 'missing out' on a few rides, I'm itching to get out again and usually find myself manipulating a sequence of events in order to squeeze a bike ride in.

We had planned a short holiday with my family in Marokopa and I realised I could fit in a sneaky ride if I played my cards right.

Trundle on the River Trails

On a brief off-base excursion, I met up with Megan for a gentle ride on the Waikato River Trails.  We had heard quite a bit about the trail and seen a heap of beautiful photos taken at various points along its 100 kilometre length, but we hadn't ridden it for ourselves. People who had ridden the trail usually said the same things: the first section (Karapiro) was boring and worth missing if you could arrange your trip around it.  One of the best sections of the trail was reportedly the Arapuni section from the end of Waotu South Road through to Waipapa Dam.  With this in mind, we drove straight through Arapuni village and out to the end of the sealed road.

Longest Day Ride 2012: One Revolution After Another

The plan was to do a road ride around the Waikato, taking in a number of rural cafe's and food stops on our way to reduce the food and water we would need to carry.  Getting kitted up was a simple affair this year, compared to the almost self-sufficient approach to last year's ride.

I never sleep well the night before a ride or race and this was no exception.  I had dragged myself from bed while it was still dark outside.  With gear packed the night before and a quiet exit through the garage door, I left my family sleeping and drove out to the rendezvous in Matangi.

At 5:56am, as sunlight started to spill into the adjacent paddocks, Megan, Michelle and I rolled out of the gate and headed north(ish) towards Morrinsville.  We had over 14 hours and 200km of riding mapped out and no idea if we would make it.

Waiorongomai Valley: Wai not?

When Hamilton Mountain Bike Club took a club ride to Te Aroha I was expecting to ride the trail network on the mountain above the Domain, but one of the locals had other ideas.

We met Geoff as we parked the cars and got kitted up for the ride.  He started telling us about a ride further around the mountain that had some big climbs, a bit of hike-a-bike, some big views, and an even bigger downhill.  The general consensus among the group was that we may as well check it out, because we can ride the usual trail network at any time, but needed a guide for these other tracks.  Geoff was our man.

Just before we rolled out of the carpark, I quickly grabbed a banana and OSM from the car and shoved them into my backpack.  Call it bonk insurance.

Day Night Thriller 2012

Pizza for dinner the night before a race always seems like a good idea at the time.  I'm sure I wasn't the only one delivering a pizza baby the next morning though. With that out of the way I could get organised for a morning of supporting my friends racing, before I lined up at the start of the 3 hour race.

I'd driven down to Taupo from Hamilton the night before, bedding down in a pretty luxurious motel suite at De Brett's with the rad and amazing Cathy and her equally rad just-home-from-travelling sister Roslyn.  I woke early after a very comfortable night's sleep in a warm cosy bed and ate some breakfast before packing up. Cathy and Roslyn were still asleep, with no sign of them emerging any time soon.  I stuck to my plan, assuming they had their own plan sorted for the morning.

Karangahake Gorge-ous

Gold

If you've never been to Karangahake Gorge, you have to get there.  It's really as simple as that.  Paeroa is famous for the golden liquid in L&P, but there's also gold in them there hills - trail gold and good times, too.

During the school holidays, Oliver and I decided to go for a ride together through the long tunnel and along the rail trail.  He has a keen interest in "the olden days" and I thought he'd like the mixture of machinery, history, and a bike ride.

NZCX Series 2012, Round 4: Fog City

The name Fog City leads you to believe that there'd be fog at a 'cross race in the middle of winter in Hamilton.  There was none.  There wasn't any inclement weather to speak of.  Where was the rain, drizzle, mist?  The sun was out too.  This was all kinds of wrong.

Kids Bike Jam 2012

Oliver was a keen starter for the 2012 Kids Bike Jam.  He'd had a great experience in 2011, despite the persistent rain and chilly temperatures. Going home with a souvenir t-shirt, stickers, slap bands, free snacks AND a medal made it a day to remember.

Rotorua stoke

Taking a break at the "road tunnels"

It's pretty easy to get kids stoked on riding their bikes.  They don't have to go far, or fast.  They don't require a whole lot of equipment, special clothes, or the latest in nutrition supplements.

Ring Road and Railway Rumble

Photo: Arleigh Jenkins

Sometimes all it takes is a single small image.  It sparks a memory, a thought, a plan.  It ignites my desire to ride and gives me purpose.  A reason to make an effort to get out and be active.

The photo you see here came through my Instagram feed one day and I immediately felt the need to ride my bike. I had an idea to try to ride a completely offroad loop around the city.

The Commuter Files

I started a new job in 2012, at the same time that Oliver started school.  I decided it was best for both of us to commute by bike.  The trip to school was anything from 1.6km to 2.6km in length, depending on the route chosen, and my work was a further 6km or so from there.

Work for me was at a bike shop, so the incentive to blend in and keep up appearances was high.

Catching up

It's been a long time since I wrote anything here. I've been trying to understand why that is. I still have the passion for riding, the love of all things bicycle, but the past 6 months or so have seen me sharing less of what I've been up to.