I have had soem requests of an update of my little adventure into Kiwi cycling at this years Wattyl Taupo Cycle Challenge, so because I love a good story… here’tis!
Starting out in Auckland, I was collected by my partners in crime for the weekend, Jo – Head of Cycling Support, and Katie – Instigator Extraordinaire. Travelling down the North Island to Taupo was a mixture of the familiar and the not so. The SS V8 Commodore (direct from Elizabeth) growled through valleys as green as a Wattyl colour designer could imagine (nothing like you ever see at home anymore).
11,000 cyclists heading to a small town makes for an amazing transformation. The locals may be used to it given the Cycle Challenge’s long history, but my short experience of cycling events left me awestruck. It took nearly an hour to make it the last 15K’s into Taupo due to traffic…you know you are heading for something special.
I was eager, I jumped out of the car to see if I could run faster to get a glimpse of the lake… nup! We finally crested the last hill, gorgeous town, amazing azure lake, with snow topped peaks in the distance.. thanks Katie for asking me here.
Friday… 12 hours till race time, a stunning warm evening, into town to register, a fantastic vibe, with a noticable tinge of anticipation, especially since the forecast said “20-30knot winds with showers increasing to rain”. Ohh Shit! When I commented how green NZ is on the trip down, Jo reminded me that ‘during the ride I might get to see where all the water comes from!!! ‘ Again…Ohh Shit!
The next twelve hours…… hilarious…. will comment later…. safe to say, a great night sleep and come morning, cloudy, dry, ready to go!
Lesson Learnt: you don’t ride in NZ, you “bike”. So we biked to the start line and now that ‘tinge’ has turned into a ‘torrent’.
And we are off. Katie tells me the first 15K is hilly but after about 60K I’m still going up and down. We got in some great groups, with fun people and we were smoking along. At the halfway mark everything was going pretty well, 2 big hills to go, the weather was looking ominous but it was holding. Over the first big hill of leg 2, the drizzle got a little stronger, and coming down the other side was a little treacherous, but then it was 40K of flat road along the lakes edge with no wind and some great scenery. 25K to go, Hatepe Hill hurt, but then we were home to the adulation of all.
What was cool! In no special order…
1. My Name and where I am from was on the bib number I had to wear in my back, and being from Oz I stood out. So many people chatted to me. “Hey Paul, did you come here for just the ride? or for the chicks?” “Geez Paul, a long way to come to flog yourself!” “Don’t they have hills in Australia Paul?” … So many people like Steve from Auckland who helped me plan the back half of the ride were incredibly friendly and helpful. I met some great people, and they were genuinely excited that someone had made the effort to come to their event.
2. The 15,000 strong crowd that swarmed the park lands to watch the Airforce flyover and for the prize giving ceremony after the race.
3. To the roads, actually they only get half points… they are well sealed but really rough (my hands still hurt), but they are really clean of debris (must be the rain).
5. To Nick, who’s like the “Born Again Christian” of biking. Wild Cycling eyes, mad for a big hill, and keen to press on faster at any moment, but stayed to keep the team together for longer than he had to, great job mate!
4. To Jesus and the Rose lady, what a hoot!
5. The volunteers and the spectators were just like Around the Bay but maybe more fanatical with their support (If that’s possible). Great Stuff! It is so energizing!
6. To Katie and Jo who treated me so beautifully…Thank you to both of you.
7. I know Katie, Jo and I would like to thank Janet so much for saving our skins and putting us up at short notice. In no small way do I say ‘Janet saved our weekend! Thanks Mouse!’
Did I enjoy every minute of it. NUP! It was a tough ride!
Did I have a great weekend… YOU BETCHA!
Will I do it again… I’LL BE BACK! And you should all come with!
Great Biking!
I’ll post some photos and some more info later.
From Auckland… ciao!
ps…. I met a guy who went the whole way round on his Fixie!… LEGEND!
