Is there ever a bad day riding the trails in Rotorua??? Yesterday was no exception with the third race in the NDuro Winter series. The turnout was a little thinner than usual with the NZ cross country team away in Australia for the world champs this week (good luck guys!!!), but it didn't dampen the atmosphere.
It was a nice change to start the race in the green lake car park, although it was a shock to the legs to crank up a hill first thing at full speed for the first time in a month after the 24 hour solo world champs. The change of start venue gave us the opportunity to do other tracks we wouldn't ordinarily do in a race, and actually somehow seemed to incorporate more climbing than usual (???)
I did the 50km and felt pretty good for the duration, recent racing and riding taken into account (I'm sure the Go Fast had something to do with my body lasting a little longer than it really should have). It had been a little damp underfoot, so the trails were really sticky and I felt great on the descents. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference it makes riding on the custom built race wheels Chickenman made for me (thanks Chicken!!!). They just roll so much quicker and the 500gm taken off the weight of my bike makes a huge difference on the climbs.
The usual suspects were in the course in terms of the trails... "Frontal Labotomy" always to be enjoyed, "Be Rude Not To", "Split Endz", "Spring Roll" and "Sweet and Sour", but the highlight of the course for me was "Little Red Riding Huck" and "Corners"... Sweeeet, sweeeet riding. Then, to finish off, right when we thought we were on our way to the finish line, we were sent back up the hill to descend "No Brains" (very cruel, Marcus!!!)
In the end, a second place, and a good day. The weather held off just long enough to let us cross the finish line, then poured to make prizegiving rather uncomfortable and to create a mud bath of the car park... Ah, thanks to the inventor of the 4WD! Bike is clean again and back to the home trails at Woodhill. Man, we live in an awesome place!!!
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