Kiwi Brevet

sifter · *by **sifter** on Sat 4th Feb 1:43pm*

Lynskey wrote:
sifter wrote:there'll be some very excited cyclists trying to get to sleep in Blenheim right now! I'm going to try to do a summary of the upcoming course each night on the Kiwi Brevet blog...

http://kiwibrevet.blogspot.co.nz/

My pick tonight is for Lindup to "throw the dice" and push on past Hanmer.

I recently spoke to Simon who watched (or rode with) the field up to Taylor's Pass. jeyboi first over the top, and my bet is aiming to be at Hanmer before the hotpools close at 9pm.

As far as the trackers go, either there are a lot of people sifting at a cafe in Blenheim, or they haven't quite mastered the art of reseting the SPOTs! (Not that I can talk, I never left Culverdon last time!)

sifter · *by **sifter** on Sat 4th Feb 1:57pm*

Just been having a further look at the trackers.

Most have left Blenheim, which is great, though Andy Reid seems to be in Tekapo (perhaps still resting after the Great Southern Brevet).

Dave Sharpe is still reading Blenheim

Ollie Whalley first SPOT on the road, and looks like he's about to enter the Molesworth station (well before the 5pm deadline!!!!) with Thomas Lindup a little way behind.

Jonty Ritchie, Alex Revell, David Kleinjan, Stephen Butterworth and Jeff Lyall look to be together (though Steve, David, Jeff and Alex's dots are currently obscured by Jonty's).

Matt Gerstenberger (who rode with Jonty and Jeff last time) isn't far back.

Darren Tatom (who finished sub 4.5 days last time) doesn't ride fast, but he keeps going and going and going. Peter Maindonald isn't far behind him. He did the 2010 edition, though had to slow right down after problems. He also did the Tawhio last year and used it to refine and reduce a pretty large gear list...

Looks like Pat Hogan might also be looking to reach Hanmer. Pre-2010, he'd ridden only as far as 90km in one hit, on a road bike!!! He only made Picton on the first day (much of the field were in Nelson by this stage) though completed with the 8 day limit.

Geof Blance is up there somewhere I suspect. He's shown way back down the road, but the SPOT hasn't fired for almost 2 hours.

FUN!!!!!

BillB · *by **BillB** on Sat 4th Feb 2:14pm*

That's strange. I thought Geof Blance was still doing the GSB and holed up at Alex

http://trackleaders.com/gsbi.php?name=Geof_Blance

:eh:

Simonk · *by **Simonk** on Sat 4th Feb 2:57pm*

Dave's SPOT is on the move! He and Ollie have entered Molesworth Station and will be over the high-point of the course soon. Geof is not far behind.

There are some groups forming, for sure. BTW, Matt only rode with Jeff to St Arnaud last time - then slowed up and cruised with Mike Thompson. If he can stay with Jeff this time (give Jeff's awesome form) he'll be doing very well indeed!

Looks like everyone is really moving well! Conditions in the Awatere valley were slight tailwind, overcast and temp of 21 degrees at 11am this morning.

scatter · *by **scatter** on Sat 4th Feb 6:00pm*

So. Will people incur a penalty if they're still on the Molesworth at 7pm? :hmmm:

Simonk · *by **Simonk** on Sat 4th Feb 6:11pm*

Looks like Matt may be hanging with the Jeff Lyall/Jonty Ritchie/Alex Revell group no problem. The 7pm-7am road closure is starting to take effect with a big group gathering at the north end (riders who will wait until tomorrow before continuing any further). Dave Sharpe turned his SPOT tracker off there, but I suspect he has carried on and can just about smell fish and chips in Hanmer by now.

Ollie just texted from Hanmer - has ordered $30 worth of takeways!

Simonk · *by **Simonk** on Sat 4th Feb 6:17pm*

scatter wrote:So. Will people incur a penalty if they're still on the Molesworth at 7pm?

Self-imposed penalties perhaps? Or a telling off from DOC ranger?

If they are zeroing in on Acheron (at the south end) by 7pm, it's not a capital offence. If they were right in the middle, it's not a good look.

BillB · *by **BillB** on Sat 4th Feb 6:37pm*

With less than 20 minutes to go before the 7pm deadline (and even allowing for the fact some trackers were last positioned quite a while ago), those shown mid Molesworth had better put the hammer down or the DOC Ranger will need a tape recording for his telling off speech.

Colin · *by **Colin** on Sat 4th Feb 7:32pm*

Simonk wrote: Dave Sharpe turned his SPOT tracker off there, but I suspect he has carried on and can just about smell fish and chips in Hanmer by now.

Did indeed reach Hanmer. Looking like he is going to fly under the radar...

sifter · *by **sifter** on Sat 4th Feb 7:33pm*

BillB wrote:With less than 20 minutes to go before the 7pm deadline (and even allowing for the fact some trackers were last positioned quite a while ago), those shown mid Molesworth had better put the hammer down or the DOC Ranger will need a tape recording for his telling off speech.

Simonk · *by **Simonk** on Sat 4th Feb 8:22pm*

BillB wrote:With less than 20 minutes to go before the 7pm deadline (and even allowing for the fact some trackers were last positioned quite a while ago), those shown mid Molesworth had better put the hammer down or the DOC Ranger will need a tape recording for his telling off speech.

Hopefully they're all OK. I could imagine somebody busting a gut to get through and then hitting the wall half-way in spectacular fashion. And Thomas slashed a tyre in there somewhere.

wachtourak · *by **wachtourak** on Sat 4th Feb 8:35pm*

Looks like some may not have quite got through there in time

ryda · *by **ryda** on Sat 4th Feb 9:11pm*

Simonk wrote:
scatter wrote:So. Will people incur a penalty if they're still on the Molesworth at 7pm?

Self-imposed penalties perhaps? Or a telling off from DOC ranger?

If they are zeroing in on Acheron (at the south end) by 7pm, it's not a capital offence. If they were right in the middle, it's not a good look.

if no penalty is imposed, then it disappointing for those who played by the rules

Simonk · *by **Simonk** on Sat 4th Feb 9:23pm*

ryda wrote:
Simonk wrote:
scatter wrote:So. Will people incur a penalty if they're still on the Molesworth at 7pm?

Self-imposed penalties perhaps? Or a telling off from DOC ranger?

If they are zeroing in on Acheron (at the south end) by 7pm, it's not a capital offence. If they were right in the middle, it's not a good look.

if no penalty is imposed, then it disappointing for those who played by the rules

Remember - this isn't a race. The riders at Molesworth Homestead will be having a great time sharing each others company (and can forget about the riders up the road).

sifter · *by **sifter** on Sat 4th Feb 9:27pm*

ryda wrote:
Simonk wrote:
scatter wrote:So. Will people incur a penalty if they're still on the Molesworth at 7pm?

Self-imposed penalties perhaps? Or a telling off from DOC ranger?

If they are zeroing in on Acheron (at the south end) by 7pm, it's not a capital offence. If they were right in the middle, it's not a good look.

if no penalty is imposed, then it disappointing for those who played by the rules

Yes and no, ryda. Its the sort of event where what actually matters is how you yourself played, and those who get to the end will fill in their own scorecard.

Those who thought they'd get through, tried, and didn't will possibly be pissed at themselves, and will be bothered by it for the rest of the ride. They'll probably also be a lot more rooted than they'd like on account of a hell of a lot of riding, and a bit of stress. Others won't let it bother them.

Those who've stayed at the north end will be having a great time, and will be amped come the morning.

It's a challenge, not a race, and while part of that challenge involves rules, I don't think they really feature in the usual competitive sense. IMO, of course...

PS: I've posted a short preview of Day 2

http://kiwibrevet.blogspot.co.nz/2012/0 ... eview.html and Simonk's loading some photos from the start...

SPOT trackers

http://trackleaders.com/kiwibrevet

Kiwi Brevet

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