Moving goal posts

Alas Alpine Epic like other great events has succumbed to lack of entries and hence viability so we were of course very disappointed to hear the news we’d hoped so not to hear – our event was unfortunately cancelled just over one month out from the start date.

However we are not to be discouraged and have thought long and hard on how we can still fly the flag for raising awareness and money.

So (drum roll please : ) I'm please to say we will be doing two events in two weeks at the beginning of April.

First off the block on the 2nd of April will see us travelling up to Blenheim to compete in the iconic Graperide - the catch being we will be doing two laps of the famous course and that = 202kms www.graperide.co.nz

Two weeks later we'll head down to Wanaka and compete in the Contact Epic - a Mountain Bike race that takes us around, up and over Lake Hawea and covers a distance of 125m. www.contatcepic.co.nz

So between these two events we'll be covering more distance in less time than our original event and will be really pushing our limits to do so - training for two different races - a road bike and a mountain bike race is quite different so just as much of a challenge - if not more than our original plan!

More updates on Dec/Jan to come….

Wanaka weekend

With Canterbury’s anniversary weekend mid Nov we took the opportunity to head down to Wanaka to see our mate Harry and take in some of MTB rides around this beautiful area in Central Otago. Harry’s is a new immigrant to the region and we were very impressed at his set up in Albert Town just a mare 50m from the beautiful Clutha.

Our mate Harweeee

Day One

Took in the Mace town track – We’d done this back in Easter so were keen to see were our fitness was in comparison, we were pleasantly surprised at taking off over an hour on our ascent however it was slower descent. The Arrow River was pretty high with the combination of recent rains, warmer weather and quite a bit of snow melt – so most of the crossings were mid thigh height at a minimum, so river reading skills were put to good use! We worked out later we spent 1h 20m in river crossing alone. But it was a great day out, the weather played nice and Stumpy the pre loved purchase from Wendy got a test and it could be said one's riding was improved just by standing beside it!

(Right) Arrow River from Macetown Track

(Left) Made it to Macetown! Ruth loving her Stump Jumper!

Day Two -

Started out along the gorgeous river tack along the Clutha to the inlet of Lake Wanaka – you get absolutely stunning views of the river and if a kayaker can be constantly being distracted by the clear blue/green water and forget which sport you're partaking in! Once hitting Wanaka town we headed out along the Glendu Bay track which is awesome - undulating and some fun switchbacks in parts where you really need to dig it in and gets your heart rate up but mainly graded so pretty accessible to all. We then headed back to the way we came and were pleasantly surprised on our return to Albert Town we’d clocked over 60kms in our legs for the day.

(top) Andrew at the start of the inlet track

(bottom)Looking toward Glendu Bay - 1/2 way

Day Three

Saw us having to return to Chch but not before we took the chance to check out the newly opened single track out to Dublin Bay and return. The local club has down an awesome job on this track – lots of smooth flowing single track plus a few nice wee grunts and enough technical thrown in to keep your mind on the job

Start/finish loop - Dublin Bay track

Clutha from Dublin Bay track just before hitting the forrest

We were really pleased with the riding we got in our legs over the weekend – still so much we didn’t ride Wanaka is really a MTBers paradise - so we’ve decided to head back down again for some more fun in the New Year.

Safe and Happy Riding - A&R

Best laid plans

Sometimes go astray...

SO what should have been a cruisy 4 - 6 hour ride through Okuku Pass and up MT Grey - became an hour and a half of riding MT Grey - over an hour of that going up!! So a good opportunity to get some hill wok in our legs.

What would we do different next time:

- Get organised the night before
- But most importantly know where you are going : ) reading maps on an Iphone doesn’t really work that well lol

A hard days night...

As Team Pedal for Parkinson’s fronted up to the start line we each had a goal in mind – Andrew to knock off 20 10km laps in 12 hours, me to do 10 in six but by that stage nerves had started to kick in and what was left was the hope that a well practiced race plan came together. It was great to be wearing the Pedal for Parkinson’s team kit, it really stood out and hopefully other competitors took notice.

As par for this race, the start is a bit of a scramble – with 100’s of riders bustling for room - you don’t want to get caught too far in front with the fast boys or trailing to a stop at a time while the field spreads out and left at the back end of the field – I think we did both!

The course itself was a good mix of 4WD road (for passing – or being passed!) and free flowing single track which winds through McLean’s Forrest and up, over and along the stop banks of the Waimak River.

At around the two hour mark Andrew lapped me and while it was great to have a quick chat and exchange how we were feeling, we both wondered what we’d gotten ourselves into – but the reminder of riding for this great cause was never far from our thoughts. We’d both agreed the section of the course that was our least favourite was what I’d named the ‘Goat Track” which looked like an old running track and was rough as guts. It connected the single track through to a 4WD passing lane, each lap it got just a little bit harder, but the reward came when you hit the single track once again on the last few km’s home.

I finished the day with 10 laps under my belt and time on the clock up my sleeve, so very happy. Poor Andrew still had another six hours to go and by this stage was feeling pretty crook and had to have several port-a-loo stops along the way!! (we’ve since discovered he’d come down with a bad virus that had been making the rounds) but with a mental toughness and determination only seen by those with rocks in their head (plus the help of Red Bull and Snickers bars) he pushed on through and we (Team Complete Performance – Richard Greer, Rosie and Craig Shakespeare) tried our best to give encouragement each time he came through the pit stop! With 75mins left on the clock he hit his target and then almost the ground as his body decided it was well and truly done.

So we finished off the night feeding Andrew pizza and finding out at prize giving he had placed 3rd in the Vet Men’s race –what a legend and a great showing for Team Pedal for Parkinson’s first race!

On your marks...get set...

We've got the custom cycle tops (thanks to our mates at Blox), the bikes are clean (well kinda) and we're hydrated (well we will be come tomorrow) ...now have we got the gas in the tank!?? First event off the block seeing how many laps we can squeeze into either 12 hours (Andrew) or 6 hours (Ruth)