VERT wrote:1st timer here had lots of fun, was a great course. My only complaint though was I started the race at the back as we arrived (at the start line) at 6:40am, everyone seemed to have crammed in at the front of the field already, there were even relay riders in front of us. So our wave didnt start until after 7:30am and i spent the whole race trying to pass everyone - usual story with people not wanting to let you pass, often holding up big queues of 20+ people!
But im pretty happy with my time think i enter the XL next year to avoid the queues

I was in the second wave away and still had the same thing, people only letting one person at a time pass when there is a big queue behind them, or slowing down to a stop at the top of a hill so no-one else could keep riding or get past them. And I won't say about the slow on single track but pass you on the open tracks only to be passed again on the single track. But it was a great day out, a bit too hot for me by the end I was just after shade and a swim, but that's life.

I think traffic is almost always an issue in events like this, especially when there isn't a lot of "seeding" (Which is difficult to do with 300+ riders). If it's any consolation, even riders near the front of the XL race had a fair bit of traffic to deal with along Tank Stand & Grinder on the second loop.

That aside, the Huka is a great event IMO. Good to see it's penciled in as the NZ marathon champs for 2011.

jeyboi wrote:That aside, the Huka is a great event IMO. Good to see it's penciled in as the NZ marathon champs for 2011.

Nice.

Pretty much everyone that passed me (and the few that I passed) was polite, no dodgy passing/shoulder barging and the faster relay riders that caught me were really appreciative when I called them past. Good day out, although damn hot!!

i think it's excellent they have MTB racing at the same time as the road stuff. Good conversations with MTBers after the race.

Klarkash-ton wrote:i think it's excellent they have MTB racing at the same time as the road stuff. Good conversations with MTBers after the race.

I agree. I had heard that many MTB riders cross the finish line by themselves and was looking forward to crossing the line solo. But just as I was joining the road 300m before the finish, the enormous 4hr 55 bunsh went flying past and instead I crossed the line swarmed by roadies!

Heres my ride for the day: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58375209
If the distance they gave for the race was accurate I probably rode about 100k for the day.

Race didn't go so well for me, my ongoing back issues played up less than 20k into the race so that was pretty much me done. Dawdled round the rest of the course for a time of about 4:40, significantly slower than last year. Front derailleur bent itself out of shape about halfway through so decided to just muscle the big ring, 5min later both my inside thighs cramped which was lolsome . Rode back home afterwards feeling fine, felt fine the next day (apart from where I cramped). I wish I could get power out for the duration of a race and feel written off the next day

XCrazy wrote:Heres my ride for the day: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/58375209
If the distance they gave for the race was accurate I probably rode about 100k for the day.

Race didn't go so well for me, my ongoing back issues played up less than 20k into the race so that was pretty much me done. Dawdled round the rest of the course for a time of about 4:40, significantly slower than last year. Front derailleur bent itself out of shape about halfway through so decided to just muscle the big ring, 5min later both my inside thighs cramped which was lolsome . Rode back home afterwards feeling fine, felt fine the next day (apart from where I cramped). I wish I could get power out for the duration of a race and feel written off the next day

Thanks for the GPS, good to see where we actually went, I had no idea where I was 95% of the time,
Great event, hands down more fun than the road race.

My race went well fitness wise and no real knee probs which I was pleased about, only drama I had was a broken rear axle which I think was broken before the race started, would cause my gears to slip badly under load which involved me nutting myself several times Put pay to any hope of climbing with any power.
Didnt realise it was busted till when I got home and removed the wheel and bits of metal and ball bearings fell out.

WayneG wrote:And I won't say about the slow on single track but pass you on the open tracks only to be passed again on the single track.

While I'm not condoning this - there's nothing wrong with riding to your strengths. In my "racing" days I had no problems making sure I passed someone on a downhill, even if I knew I would be passed again on the climb. Why sit in behind and fritter away an advantage? 30 seconds gained on a downhill is 30 seconds less lost on the next climb. It goes both ways too. Why try and pass someone on the climb when you know you will be passed again on the way back down?*

I could ask why you weren't riding faster on the open track? It is a race afterall....



*all within reason of course - no point doing a hero manouvre 2 seconds before the end of the climb/downhill

I saw LOTS of people sufferering from cramps, and have read LOTS of stories about cramp sufferage on the road ride too. Im a serial cramp sufferer (got my first twinge at 2 hours). At the first sign of cramp I take a shot of Cramp Stop spray and ease off the hammer for a couple of minutes until it goes away. This avoids the monster cramps and means I can manage it pretty well. That said, I must have had 10 shots of cramp stop over the course of the race!

Get you along next year Sifter

Third time I've done it, minimal training so reasonbly happy with being just on 5 hours. Not sure whether I will do it again.

The single track from the relay change over to the tunnel is pretty bad, too tight and no flow, too many 90 degree corners. Heard later it was built by contact workers who weren't riders which kind of made sense. Just my 2 cents.

That track is called Kegresse and is the most painful, boring, tedious piece of track I have ever ridden.

This was my first time, and I was trying to take a really Pro Tour approach to this race. Knowing it was a long race I had an appropriately long taper to make sure I was fresh - around 2 months. Just like the pros I had to take a bus from Welly to get there. I have never been on a pro team bus before but assume they are very similar to my experience. A stop mid way for a sausage roll and chips, and another passenger engaged in violently loud and expletive filled domestics via cell phone. So after this pro stlyz preparation I arrived fresh, well fueled, and psyched up. No room for excuses.

I felt good off the line and powered up the first hill before having to sit in for a while through the first single track. By the Tunnel track I was clear of traffic and had plenty of room to make the most of it. Had tons of fun for the first 3hrs, legs feeling good and motivation was high. Swapped positions with a couple of others a few times, but also had plenty of time alone to contemplate things. Was rudely surprised by one drop that resulted in my seat giving me a bit of a testicular tickle-up but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

Tried a cunning psychological ploy of telling myself I was loving the overly twisty track mentioned above, which seemed to work as I dropped the couple of people around me that looked pretty frustrated by it all.

Sadly my back packed up pretty badly somewhere around the dam and the last section was a grueling suffer-fest. Still had plenty in the legs which was a shame as my back didn't allow me to put any of it into the pedals and I just had to do what I could to get to the finish.

Overall an awesome race

I enjoyed that bit of track others are not happy with, it's a good challenge, unlike the wide open sections, if I wanted wide open easy riding than I would be a roadie.