Anyone who ever says any race is "easy" is either lying or wasn't riding hard enough. It could be argued that the inaugural Taniwha was an "easy" race... True that there was a solid block of road riding in there, and some fast fire trail, but it doesn't make the task of completing the race in the fastest time possible any easier... Just faster... And there was certainly a good chunk of steep climbing, some hike-a-bike sections, and numerous awkward switchbacks which required some technical prowess to conquer at any speed...
Before I launch into my enthusiastic story-telling of my day, I'd like to give a little foremention, to Jonathon Kennett and Paul Charteris, who have been kind enough to let me steal some of their photos from the day to make this blog far more interesting than it otherwise would have been (you should also grab a copy of the Kennett Bros new publication "Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails"... Some excellent holidays in there!!!)
I must say that Total Sport are still the only event organiser I have come across that are game enough to attempt the logistics of a point-to-point race, and they do it pretty well, with relatively minimal inconvenience to the people riding it. Whilst having to attend registration the evening before the race to drop off your bike for delivery to the start line may not sound particularly appealing to all, I agree it is likely the most efficient way of doing it (if you don't have a generous friend available to drop you at the start on the morning of the race then meet you at the end)... So drop off my bike and register the night before is what I did, then I arrived at the finish line just before 6am and jumped on the bus with a bunch of other sleepy riders for the trip to the start line, and to be reunited with my beloved Ninja.
As the sun crept up higher in the morning sky, it became apparent what a stellar day we had ahead of us... Trails, racing, cool people and sunshine. After being reunited with The Ninja and making multiple "nervous pre-race" toilet stops, we stood in on a quick briefing and were on our way! A pack of about 100 riders smashed out a warp speed lap of the park vying for a good spot to head into the first section of singletrack. I was surprised as we reached the gate that took us to our first trail that I was sitting quite high up in the field overall, and my legs felt pretty good. The pea-gravel trail hugged the river at a gradient that just begged for some big ring action, so I chucked it in the big dog and gave it some stick. The fresh morning air had a noticeable bite in it, but I had elected for no vest or arm warmers because I knew it would turn into a roasting hot day (about 5 minutes after the race began, I was sure I had made the right choice!).
The trail at this point was devoid of many obstacles... But at speed, the loose gravel under our wheels was pretty treacherous. On numerous occasions, a straight section of trail would suddenly turn into a corner, where skidmarks and flattened shrubs were clearly seen from where a number of riders had overshot the corner (as I did myself on a couple of occasions). I positioned myself in a pretty good place up the pointy end of the field to start with, and as the trail wound it's way around, I would occasionally capture a glimpse of a female competitor, which would remind me not to relax and keep me on my toes!
Big ring alley eventually gave way to a rougher section of trail and saw us off our bikes up a series of steep, tight switchbacks. It was obvious in a number of places on the trail that the original design of the trail had been for walking. To be honest, the hike a bike didn't bother me and added a bit of an "adventure biking" element to the race. I think I would have been disappointed if it had just been gravel trail the whole way through!!! The course climbed steadily for the first 25km of the race, but it was over such a long distance that, asides from the occasional little pinch, it was quite a mellow gradient. As we exited the trail and onto the road, we were also faced with a headwind. This is one of the bugbears of point to point racing... If the wind is going in the wrong direction that day, you could spend the entire day battling into it... Throughout the race, there was probably a good 15-20km of road, and this was the only time I really noticed the headwind. I was lucky enough that when we popped out onto the road for the first time, there was another rider with me, and whilst I doubt my diminutive figure was much respite from the wind for him, he humored me and we worked together for a while, until we hit the trail again and he pulled away from me.
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As the trail wound it's way back towards the next road section, I was faced with a fork in the trail... And no markings... Post-race, this point was a topic of discussion, and it was only by chance that I guessed the right way (not before wasting 2-3minutes searching around for markers, though!)... Other riders hadn't been so lucky and inadvertently added a few kms onto their race. After popping back out onto the road, we then joined another trail and climbed back up and over to the river's edge again, tackling steps, narrow cliff-edge trails and traversing a spectacular swingbridge... I found a lot of the switchbacks on the trail quite awkward because they were tight and covered in loose gravel... It actually made descending some sections of the trail quite tough work on the upper body and core. The climbing got a lot more challenging in the second half of the race. It was also around here that I started coming across runners and riders from the other (shorter) categories in the event. Everyone was super friendly and very courteous, and I tried to be as polite as possible through taking in huge gasps of air. The scenery was breathtaking, too... And I would occasionally catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and be temporarily distracted. I'd really love to come back and ride the trail again at a more leisurely pace with friends to take in the scenery!
The last 20km felt like the longest part of the race. I had been smashing myself the whole way and my body was starting to feel pretty sorry for itself. As the distance markers disappeared behind me, I finally came upon the last 4km of trail, which was some lovely, rooty singletrack that delivered us straight into the Whakamaru Christian Camp and the finish line. I sprinted in the last hundred metres or so to deliver my body across the finish line.The vibe was great at the finish... I just wish that they had done the prizegiving there as opposed to having to come back into Tokoroa at 6pm (hopefully they will change this next year?)
Indeed, the Taniwha was a tough day in the saddle for me, and not necessarily because the course was hard, but because I rode it hard, finishing the 85km in a personal best time of 4 hours 35 minutes for the win, 15min clear of the second placed female and tenth overall. The awesome thing about this is that it puts the race (or ride, if you prefer) within reach of a rider looking to conquer their first marathon distance mountain bike event, while the fast bunnies can smash themselves for a stab at glory. The Taniwha really does cater for a wide range of abilities and fitness levels and is certainly a worthwhile race to jump on, if not for any other reason than it lets you complete the beautiful Waikato River trail without the hassle of organising logistics for the point-to-point ride.
As far as the start of my season goes, I've been pretty happy to take a third place, second place and now a win, from three races... To be honest, my aim hasn't necessarily been to win races at this early point in the season. My intention has been to use these races as a way to train myself to suffer... So I go out as hard as I can and keep going hard until I just can't anymore... I work on looking after myself on course, paying attention to how different actions I take affect me (what I eat, how much I drink, how quickly I recover after climbing hard). I punish myself in a way that I probably wouldn't in training, and I think it's good to be able to understand how much suffering you can push your body through when you really set your mind to it. For example, I made the conscious decision to run one water bottle for this race. I knew it would be hot and I would need hydration, but I also knew it would be hot enough that I may not want a pack stuck to my back (or the extra weight associated with it), so I ran the one water bottle, and supplemented that by downing a cup of water at each aid station. The result was that it got me through the day quite comfortably, but I suffered quite badly in the following days, recovering much slower than I would have had I maintained my hydration throughout the race... And it really is a trade-off... If I was doing a multi-day race, I couldn't get away with that, but doing a one day race, maybe the benefits of doing that outweigh the need for an extended recovery period. It's nice to experiment with this stuff early in the season without consequence.
It all comes back to one thing I have said many times before though... The body is merely a vehicle for the mind to complete what it set out to achieve, so realistically, a determined mind in a fit body will achieve much more than a fit body on it's own... And following on from that is that the positive mind and a fit body in training will adapt much quicker to increased and sustained efforts to make the body even fitter, which then makes the mind more confident. Interesting stuff huh? What's in your head will always carry you far beyond the point when your body apparently renders itself useless...
Photo by Jonathon Kennett
Before I launch into my enthusiastic story-telling of my day, I'd like to give a little foremention, to Jonathon Kennett and Paul Charteris, who have been kind enough to let me steal some of their photos from the day to make this blog far more interesting than it otherwise would have been (you should also grab a copy of the Kennett Bros new publication "Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails"... Some excellent holidays in there!!!)
I must say that Total Sport are still the only event organiser I have come across that are game enough to attempt the logistics of a point-to-point race, and they do it pretty well, with relatively minimal inconvenience to the people riding it. Whilst having to attend registration the evening before the race to drop off your bike for delivery to the start line may not sound particularly appealing to all, I agree it is likely the most efficient way of doing it (if you don't have a generous friend available to drop you at the start on the morning of the race then meet you at the end)... So drop off my bike and register the night before is what I did, then I arrived at the finish line just before 6am and jumped on the bus with a bunch of other sleepy riders for the trip to the start line, and to be reunited with my beloved Ninja.
Photo by Jonathon Kennett
As the sun crept up higher in the morning sky, it became apparent what a stellar day we had ahead of us... Trails, racing, cool people and sunshine. After being reunited with The Ninja and making multiple "nervous pre-race" toilet stops, we stood in on a quick briefing and were on our way! A pack of about 100 riders smashed out a warp speed lap of the park vying for a good spot to head into the first section of singletrack. I was surprised as we reached the gate that took us to our first trail that I was sitting quite high up in the field overall, and my legs felt pretty good. The pea-gravel trail hugged the river at a gradient that just begged for some big ring action, so I chucked it in the big dog and gave it some stick. The fresh morning air had a noticeable bite in it, but I had elected for no vest or arm warmers because I knew it would turn into a roasting hot day (about 5 minutes after the race began, I was sure I had made the right choice!).
Photo by Jonathon Kennett
The trail at this point was devoid of many obstacles... But at speed, the loose gravel under our wheels was pretty treacherous. On numerous occasions, a straight section of trail would suddenly turn into a corner, where skidmarks and flattened shrubs were clearly seen from where a number of riders had overshot the corner (as I did myself on a couple of occasions). I positioned myself in a pretty good place up the pointy end of the field to start with, and as the trail wound it's way around, I would occasionally capture a glimpse of a female competitor, which would remind me not to relax and keep me on my toes!
Photo by Jonathon Kennett
Big ring alley eventually gave way to a rougher section of trail and saw us off our bikes up a series of steep, tight switchbacks. It was obvious in a number of places on the trail that the original design of the trail had been for walking. To be honest, the hike a bike didn't bother me and added a bit of an "adventure biking" element to the race. I think I would have been disappointed if it had just been gravel trail the whole way through!!! The course climbed steadily for the first 25km of the race, but it was over such a long distance that, asides from the occasional little pinch, it was quite a mellow gradient. As we exited the trail and onto the road, we were also faced with a headwind. This is one of the bugbears of point to point racing... If the wind is going in the wrong direction that day, you could spend the entire day battling into it... Throughout the race, there was probably a good 15-20km of road, and this was the only time I really noticed the headwind. I was lucky enough that when we popped out onto the road for the first time, there was another rider with me, and whilst I doubt my diminutive figure was much respite from the wind for him, he humored me and we worked together for a while, until we hit the trail again and he pulled away from me.
.jpg)
Photo by Paul Charteris
As the trail wound it's way back towards the next road section, I was faced with a fork in the trail... And no markings... Post-race, this point was a topic of discussion, and it was only by chance that I guessed the right way (not before wasting 2-3minutes searching around for markers, though!)... Other riders hadn't been so lucky and inadvertently added a few kms onto their race. After popping back out onto the road, we then joined another trail and climbed back up and over to the river's edge again, tackling steps, narrow cliff-edge trails and traversing a spectacular swingbridge... I found a lot of the switchbacks on the trail quite awkward because they were tight and covered in loose gravel... It actually made descending some sections of the trail quite tough work on the upper body and core. The climbing got a lot more challenging in the second half of the race. It was also around here that I started coming across runners and riders from the other (shorter) categories in the event. Everyone was super friendly and very courteous, and I tried to be as polite as possible through taking in huge gasps of air. The scenery was breathtaking, too... And I would occasionally catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and be temporarily distracted. I'd really love to come back and ride the trail again at a more leisurely pace with friends to take in the scenery!
Photo by Paul Charteris
The last 20km felt like the longest part of the race. I had been smashing myself the whole way and my body was starting to feel pretty sorry for itself. As the distance markers disappeared behind me, I finally came upon the last 4km of trail, which was some lovely, rooty singletrack that delivered us straight into the Whakamaru Christian Camp and the finish line. I sprinted in the last hundred metres or so to deliver my body across the finish line.The vibe was great at the finish... I just wish that they had done the prizegiving there as opposed to having to come back into Tokoroa at 6pm (hopefully they will change this next year?)
Photo by Paul Charteris
Indeed, the Taniwha was a tough day in the saddle for me, and not necessarily because the course was hard, but because I rode it hard, finishing the 85km in a personal best time of 4 hours 35 minutes for the win, 15min clear of the second placed female and tenth overall. The awesome thing about this is that it puts the race (or ride, if you prefer) within reach of a rider looking to conquer their first marathon distance mountain bike event, while the fast bunnies can smash themselves for a stab at glory. The Taniwha really does cater for a wide range of abilities and fitness levels and is certainly a worthwhile race to jump on, if not for any other reason than it lets you complete the beautiful Waikato River trail without the hassle of organising logistics for the point-to-point ride.
Photo by Paul Charteris
As far as the start of my season goes, I've been pretty happy to take a third place, second place and now a win, from three races... To be honest, my aim hasn't necessarily been to win races at this early point in the season. My intention has been to use these races as a way to train myself to suffer... So I go out as hard as I can and keep going hard until I just can't anymore... I work on looking after myself on course, paying attention to how different actions I take affect me (what I eat, how much I drink, how quickly I recover after climbing hard). I punish myself in a way that I probably wouldn't in training, and I think it's good to be able to understand how much suffering you can push your body through when you really set your mind to it. For example, I made the conscious decision to run one water bottle for this race. I knew it would be hot and I would need hydration, but I also knew it would be hot enough that I may not want a pack stuck to my back (or the extra weight associated with it), so I ran the one water bottle, and supplemented that by downing a cup of water at each aid station. The result was that it got me through the day quite comfortably, but I suffered quite badly in the following days, recovering much slower than I would have had I maintained my hydration throughout the race... And it really is a trade-off... If I was doing a multi-day race, I couldn't get away with that, but doing a one day race, maybe the benefits of doing that outweigh the need for an extended recovery period. It's nice to experiment with this stuff early in the season without consequence.
It all comes back to one thing I have said many times before though... The body is merely a vehicle for the mind to complete what it set out to achieve, so realistically, a determined mind in a fit body will achieve much more than a fit body on it's own... And following on from that is that the positive mind and a fit body in training will adapt much quicker to increased and sustained efforts to make the body even fitter, which then makes the mind more confident. Interesting stuff huh? What's in your head will always carry you far beyond the point when your body apparently renders itself useless...
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