quick zip over into Makara Valley, looking for some hill work. wanted to work on my cadence up hill seeing as i got a new fandangled computa. was well pleased with both the compta and how well i was spinning.
saw a few out, including someone in Roadworks kit heading down into the gorge as i rode up (10.20ish) ~ that was me with a flashy light on helmet/fluro jckt.
then i worked on the garden. man it was cold in the shady bits.

Welliz -> Silverstream -> Blue Mountains -> Whiteman's Valley -> Upper Hutt then smashed it home along the SH2. Fantastic day for it

On January 1st 1987 at about 1.00pm , 26 degrees I set off to ride the Wainui hill. I made it up the first stretch (just) struggled for a while, caught hold of a truck who dragged me for a bit, then I just gave up and walked.

Being 95+kg hills have not really been my thing. I keep reading things by Joel and Fergie saying things like hills are 90% mental and to HTFU and just do it. Living in Maungaraki meant every ride from home finished with a hill climb, and Dowse drive has beaten me on several occasions, where I have had to stop for a break. (but NEVER walk up). So I stuck to coming up Korokoro and crossing the top, dropping back down to home.

Today for morning tea I had 1 part coffee, 1 part HTFU and at lunch time I set off to right some wrongs. Having recently tackled a bunch of significant climbs (Horokiwi, Blue Mountains, Aka's, Moonshine, etc) I decided that I must be able to do Wainui. I allowed myself a thought that if I had to I would stop, but I would not walk it.
After a short and scary ride through hutt traffic to the bottom of the hill, I took a swig of drink, set the stopwatch (for no apparent reason) and found myself gliding up a hill. 11:40 later (without stopping!) I let out a small wahoo at the top. Only a small one because it was really a non-event!
Dropped down into Wainui, took a photo of my brothers old house and came back up. Took a couple more photos from the lookout and descended into a hell of a headwind. I was thankful to make it to the bottom. I expected to hit over 80 on the way down, but never made it over 65. Back across the valley I decided that I was still feeling OK, and so it was time to rid myself of the Dowse Drive monkey that was on my back. remeber that headwind I said about coming down the hutt side of Wainui....Dowse drive faces exactly the opposite direction....meaning going up it Dowse it was still a headwind. I did it! I have to admit, I did stop, but not because I had to. This time it was because I wanted to. I wanted to take a photo looking back across to Wainui for my blog. Back on the bike and just to put the monkey well and truly in the grave I continued on up, past home, to the top of the hill where I simply turned around and dropped back to home.
24km, 410m vert (I thought it would be more) and two monkeys off my back. I am no longer worried about the climbs in Taupo, and over the past few weeks I have become one of the people who loves to climb. It may hurt, but it's great view at the top.

nzmatto wrote:On January 1st 1987 at about 1.00pm , 26 degrees I set off to ride the Wainui hill. I made it up the first stretch (just) struggled for a while, caught hold of a truck who dragged me for a bit, then I just gave up and walked.

Being 95+kg hills have not really been my thing. I keep reading things by Joel and Fergie saying things like hills are 90% mental and to HTFU and just do it. Living in Maungaraki meant every ride from home finished with a hill climb, and Dowse drive has beaten me on several occasions, where I have had to stop for a break. (but NEVER walk up). So I stuck to coming up Korokoro and crossing the top, dropping back down to home.

Today for morning tea I had 1 part coffee, 1 part HTFU and at lunch time I set off to right some wrongs. Having recently tackled a bunch of significant climbs (Horokiwi, Blue Mountains, Aka's, Moonshine, etc) I decided that I must be able to do Wainui. I allowed myself a thought that if I had to I would stop, but I would not walk it.
After a short and scary ride through hutt traffic to the bottom of the hill, I took a swig of drink, set the stopwatch (for no apparent reason) and found myself gliding up a hill. 11:40 later (without stopping!) I let out a small wahoo at the top. Only a small one because it was really a non-event!
Dropped down into Wainui, took a photo of my brothers old house and came back up. Took a couple more photos from the lookout and descended into a hell of a headwind. I was thankful to make it to the bottom. I expected to hit over 80 on the way down, but never made it over 65. Back across the valley I decided that I was still feeling OK, and so it was time to rid myself of the Dowse Drive monkey that was on my back. remeber that headwind I said about coming down the hutt side of Wainui....Dowse drive faces exactly the opposite direction....meaning going up it Dowse it was still a headwind. I did it! I have to admit, I did stop, but not because I had to. This time it was because I wanted to. I wanted to take a photo looking back across to Wainui for my blog. Back on the bike and just to put the monkey well and truly in the grave I continued on up, past home, to the top of the hill where I simply turned around and dropped back to home.
24km, 410m vert (I thought it would be more) and two monkeys off my back. I am no longer worried about the climbs in Taupo, and over the past few weeks I have become one of the people who loves to climb. It may hurt, but it's great view at the top.

Matt that is a truely great effort, well done you:) I am going to have to get off my arse and strart riding again otherwise you will be home at the house in Taupo drinking beers before I even finish!!!

Rode to work and back yesterday....too tired to even attempt the Waitakeres home. Rode home.

Took the car today with a bike frame wrapped ready to send. Phoned Fastways to collect it from here. Have they been yet?
Maybe, maybe not?

Rollers tonight - I might cope with an hour (= 2 CDs)

nzmatto wrote:Wainui hill.

I thought it was you I saw at the top! I was heading up the Hutt side as you started down.

nzmatto wrote:Wainui Hill ...

and over the past few weeks I have become one of the people who loves to climb. It may hurt, but it's great view at the top.

Good one MattO!

As i keep telling Sean (and myself) ... "hills are your friend"

CaF

Caligula wrote:

nzmatto wrote:Wainui Hill ...

and over the past few weeks I have become one of the people who loves to climb. It may hurt, but it's great view at the top.

Good one MattO!

As i keep telling Sean (and myself) ... "hills are your friend"

CaF

Ride them in the Dog..

After doing some speed work at the pool and feeling rather shit I packed myself two muesli bars, some NCC dinosaurs and a banana and headed out into a fresh Northerly on the roadie. 5Okm later I was atop Paekakariki Hill Rd taking in the beautiful vista (and very bored of headwinds) then I returned to Karori West. 100km.

nzmatto wrote: I let out a small wahoo at the top. Only a small one because it was really a non-event!
Dropped down into Wainui, took a photo of my brothers old house and came back up. T

So you did do it twice!! you have to be the HTFU man of the week, hmm maybe the day

Good effort mate.

Flynnster wrote:

nzmatto wrote: I let out a small wahoo at the top. Only a small one because it was really a non-event!
Dropped down into Wainui, took a photo of my brothers old house and came back up. T

So you did do it twice!! you have to be the HTFU man of the week, hmm maybe the day

Good effort mate.

Not really twice, the other side is more of a bump that smells of burnt rubber than a hill climb. I just wish I had have had time for the lovely cruise out to the coast and back, but adding 44km to a lunch-time ride makes me think that lunch may have been too long....
Interesting things about Wainui that I saw.....
Wainui drivers must be really well off to afford tires they way they drive the hill. To find a family just look through the haze of smoke outside the nearest child care centre (mothers holding babies smoking outside. To find school kids look for the nearest takeaways. To get stared at just ride a roadie over there. To find kids who should be at school but aren't find the nearest park.

I never did like Wainui......still dont.

After work I rode up to Swanson, up Crows, Sunnyhills, Redhills, Taupaki, up Taupaki Hill, Annandale, turned around and back to the bottom of Taupaki Hill where I saw a female CMC club member riding so rode with her to Waitakere Village where a woman pulled out of a carpark in front of me to drive a few carparks down the row.
I tapped on her window to see if she'd seen me. She had - that was why she'd not gone on my side of the road - except she had. No apology offered - so a Roadsafe complaint for her.
Up Bethels Road to Te Henga (past my old guitar teacher's house in the bush), up Scenic Drive and down to Forest Hill and home

64kms.

I CRASHED tonight (see above ride).
I was coming down Forst Hill in the dark, taking it more slowly with my "be seen, but not see too good lights", probably doing about 35kph (where in the light I can do say 55kph) when I found myself on some (hardpacked thankfully) gravel.
Roadworks I thought, need to get off this so aimed the bike to the right to get back on the tar. Unfortunately there was about a 30mm edge on the tar so my front wheel flipped out and I landed heavily on my right side with my bike boucning up into the air and clanging down again.
Thankfully I had the good sense to get off the road quickly as a car was coming down.
They didn't stop...which is annoying - I would stop for someone who's crashed.

I managed to find my helmet mirror in the middle of the road after my helmet smacked into the ground. Refitted it.
I put the chain back on, checked out the rest of the bike - it seems a-ok thankfully apart from a longer rip in my Arione and the plastic on the right STI scraped.

With my bits and pieces stinging I rode home (almost all downhill).

I now have roadrash and bruises on; hip, elbow, ankle, knee and shoulder.
It could've been much worse.

Ventured out in the cold to watch the schools racing. TTT. Boys High got the win over Christs College.

Made the mistake of riding back into town over the Downs with a group of A graders (real A graders) who had come out to watch. Big mistake, they go hard and Im on the wheel sitting 20watts/10bpm over threshold then we hit the killer climbs. So much for an easy return to riding.

Hmmm, crashes. Brooke Williams got taken out by a milk truck last Thursday and has a broken arm, Phil Podmore got knocked off by a car riding home from the race on Saturday, has a totalled bike and James McCoy had a car door opened on him on Sunday. James is a tough nut and said "is that all you got" and is pressing charges! Be careful out there people, there are some nutters behind the wheels.

Raining today. Crap. 2hrs on the spin bike watching 2003 Liège-Bastogne-Liège doing my intervals. Complaints from her indoors about the smell and condensation. Feeling inspired for the Al Lees memorial h/cap on Saturday by watching those guys (Tyler, Axel, Lance, Jan) putting some moves on while deep in the hurt-box. Not sure how those hills will affect the chase in a h/cap race though.