Well, Saturday indeed proved that the 29’er is indeed a great Karapoti bike. A 2hr27 time and 5th place would indicate that I had a pretty good race, no? Well truth is it was a rather frustrating day and one of those that left me with a big “what if” question mark all over it. While Stu Houltham took the race, it could so easily have been a Palmerston North one-two.
The legs were there. Lungs were there. My luck….no.
For the first time in a while, race day dawned and I was feeling the nerves. First time out in a really big event in quite sometime, and although I am still focussed on April, for the first time at Karapoti I was rating my chances.
Lining up in my Delmaine kit I was rather incognito, and as I skipped away up the gorge to get clear of the pack, many hadn’t realised it was me. I felt strong, and things were comfortable. I awaited the chasers to slot back in, and sat in for the ride till the first climb. Deadwood is the one part of the course where 29 wheels could be a hindrance. Speeds are so slow; the lack of momentum can make turning the big wheels difficult. So as Stu Houltham slipped off the front, my plan was to limit damage, and then hammer the long ridgeline section at the top.
All was going to plan, and I had slotted into 2nd when 2/3 of the way up….. Psst! Rear tyre deflates instantly. I had snagged a rock and gashed a hole in the sidewall big enough to put my finger through. A quick repair, and was moving again. Only to realise the gash had opened up more and the tube was now bulging out. So repair #2, with a gel packet inserted between tire and tube as a makeshift repair.
At that point I discovered that 16g CO2 cartridges don’t get that much pressure into a big 29’er tyre. So here I was, with a good 35km to go. 3 or 4mins down in about 25th. No tubes left. No CO2’s. And only 20psi in the rear. Puncture again and it would be a long walk home. I was a little screwed. So I decided to make the most of the day and ride hard on the up’s, cruise the descents, avoid as many rocks as possible, and salvage what I could.
What I salvaged was a PB by two minutes. And a top 5, only 3min something off of 2nd. Frustrated? Very much so. I don’t know I could’ve gone with Stu, but I definitely had a low 2:20’s in the legs. The bike was awesome. Luck just wasn’t with me. The positives are that I am obviously going pretty well, and with another 5 weeks till XTERRA the form is heading in the right direction.
So in typical for me, I let off steam by lining up Sunday morning in the Meridian GutBuster. A demanding 12km Mountain running event round the Karori sanctuary in Wellington . Nic was well and truely sick of spectating and races and needed to get back into something competitive post injury asap. So I figured I may as well join in. She promptly won ( we think, having jumped into the men's start when she saw other women doing the same. It was timed with chips so just awaiting confirmation). Despite my protestations that I am ‘not a runner’ I pulled off 4th overall, in a fairly sharp time. Roll on XTERRA….
