Ok so Ive been missing in action since I got here to NZ. This being a tourist is quite exhausting and finding a decent internet connection that doesnt charge and arm and leg for 15 mins is another story.
Paul Aka Musket was good as his word and set me up on his bike and Tims race wheels. What I didnt know was you buggers swap your brakes around! Whats up with that? Anyway nice little wipe out on the pre ride led me to suspect something with the brakes, duh. I wondered why when I grabbed loads of back brake I couldnt get it to slide!
Paul had that sorted on the morning of the race, the other issue was Tims road cassette that was still on the wheel. I kinda liked the gearing of it and said to leave it after Paul offered to swap it out. Tim rolled his eyes a bit when he heard I was still running that cassette and it turned out to be my undoing.
The swim was awesome, amazing clear water and you could see all the other swimmers around you under the water for at least 20 ft. watching the bubbles coming off people and the light hitting them was a little mesmerizing and i had to remind myself I was in a race.
Took off up the road climb for the mountain bike and started passing a bunch of people, got to the first single track and it was chaos. A lot of angry people shouting that others should get out of their way. To some extent they were right, some people were deadly slow and it was painful being behind them on the downhill, knowing you could be flying through this, but were on your brakes stuck behind some dweeb gripping his for dear life.
Did'nt make much difference to me after about the first big single track climb. Id been passing people and was just reaching the top when..clank, whack, everything went slack and then locked up. Broken chain? I got off and everyone I had passed started filing past in an endless stream. Turned out Id broken one of the gears out of the cassette and it was second down from my largest which was only a 25. Pulled the chain out and got going again, only to try to change gears and have it fall into the hole where the missing gear had been. jump off again and more people still everyone is pouring past me. Just trying to pull back into the line of traffic was like jumping on the freeway at rush hour. No one wants to let you in and you sit there waiting for a gap.
So now Im way behind, ssiped off and stuck in a gear that Im either grinding away at up hill or spinning like a banshee downhill with no drive. I pulled off and was going to quit the race, it was getting so nasty in there on the single track with people getting upset at the slow riders, and Id pass people on the climb, but didnt have the gearing to stay ahead on the flats and theyd all come past me again. I talked to a Marshal about quiting, but it seemed like I might as well mosey along the best I could and at least try to finish. So I just put on a lets have fun face and rode it out.
The run was nice, since I hadnt really pushed my legs at all, although making the mistake that there was two laps instead of one was painful when I sprinted for the finish only to find I still had a lap to go!
So that was it. A really big thanks to Musket for the awesome bike, Im glad I at least to got to do the race. 3.06 finish time. And thanks for letting me use it the next day to ride with my friends, that was probably more fun than the race. I cant believe that for $120 odd bucks you dont even get a stinking Tshirt! sheesh the goodies bag was parc compared to the American ones. Someone really needs to sort that out.
heres a little pic too |
