Lake Taupo Bike Challenge

Both of us successfully completed the 100 miles/ 160km Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge last weekend in the company of 10,000 others. In an event which is both a challenge and a race Tim clocked in at just over 5 hours (and about 30 minutes ahead of the pugilist MP in the post below!) and Tracy just under 7.

We were staying about 4km from the start so we had a gentle (downhill) warmup on a dull and drizzly morning to get down to the start about 7am. Here the 5000 or so participants in the solo ride (one lap of the lake) were corralled by estimated finish time to start in waves over maybe an hour, and having been extremely conservative in our estimates (we signed up without having biked much this year... then actually trained quite hard) we were well to the rear. Tim was in the 6:10-7 hour group and Tracy in the 8-9 hour division. From now on this is Tim's account:

After a long period of shuffling forward towards the starting arch as groups ahead began it was finally time for the off and I was soon overtaking people, especially on the early hills. To begin the route is rolling and climbs gradually from 360m (1170ft) to 640m (2080ft) in 20km (12 miles) or so and it was easy to pass with few big bunches forming. The road became tougher on the west side with constant climbs and drops, but the conditions remained perfect as the drizzle stopped and the wind held off.

It was clear that I had started well after I should have and was very glad that there were no headwinds because I could never find a group to ride with consistently. Mostly I was running quicker than the others around, but occasionally we were passed by small groups in the 2 people relay (80km each, starting a little later than we solos) who I would try and ride with briefly before they would disappear ahead. Further south on the west side the views began to open up south over the lake to the volcanos beyond but still the wind stayed away. This stretch ended with a huge, fast, winding descent where I raced at a scary speed and whistled past others... while those of a braver dispositions raced past me.

From here much of the route is flat and for a while I would latch on to a group for a breather before racing on solo until finally an 80km relay group went past that I could actually stay with if I worked hard. At one point I was passed at the back of the group by a strong rider but one who a) seemed to have trouble holding his line and b) had lost quite a bit of skin in a previous crash. I dropped back from him till he moved away! By now we were overtaking some bigger groups and I was finally dropped by the quicker riders trying to get past a large pack, but found a few riders to stick with on a short up and down stretch before the last big climb up Hatepe Hill. For the last time I was able to blow past a lot of people, riding with another guy who also clearly relished the hills. From here it was a question of hanging on with a few riders at the same pace for a brief stretch with headwind, enjoy the last big downhill and get the head down for the last 15km (10 miles) into town.

The final stretch was a lot of fun despite the exhaustion with a stretch by the lake with some cheering spectators and a final dash down the finishing straight with quite a crowd. Then it was time to get off and throw down a few bananas and energy drinks thrust into my hand by volunteers. On the whole I'd managed to keep pretty well hydrated and fueled with only a low point just before a high energy sachet I'd taken in anticipation of the last big hill kicked in.

After a little recovery time I biked up to the hotel, showered, changed and drove down to find our friends and wait for Tracy. After checking out the event field (food, drink, stalls and lots of tired riders) I retrieved the bags we left at the start, took pictures and decided to go for a beer. For some reason however I went for a look at some more finishers before leaving in a barwards direction and who should be riding up at that moment than Tracy in a very impressive time (especially as she'd lost a few minutes en route looking for a beer!) and much earlier than anticipated . We repaired to a nearby Irish bar and were soon joined by friends Joan and Sam.

The rest of the afternoon/ evening was spent getting Tracy showered, meeting Wanganui friends, watching the prizegiving and rounding things out with a curry in the company of Tracy's colleague Jean and his Swiss cousin who had put us to shame by being one of the 18 riding twice around (8 riders did 4 laps!). All in all we both found it an excellent experience.

Politician Shortage

It is easy to forget how small the population is here but some things bring it home. The long serving Prime Minister recently reshuffled her cabinet in an effort to freshen things up as she trails in the polls with an election due next year. With a relatively small number of MPs to choose from a minister will hold a number of responsibilities so while very few faces actually change in the reshuffle the jobs get passed around. The ministers are also arranged in a pecking order of seniority with the top 9 in the cabinet.

The lack of available replacements meant that an MP who decided the best response to an opponent making some choice remarks about his divorce the other week was to "take it outside" and land a couple of punches was punished by dropping 3 places in the "chart" and losing the choice portfolio of Sport. Including responsibility for boxing I guess...

Road and Rail

The rail system here has declined a lot over the years but still has quite a network of freight lines. These very often lie in close proximity to the roads with many level crossings and it is only the scarcity of trains that prevents more accidents with cars. While the main crossings have lights, bells and sometimes gates many minor roads cross with just a warning sign, and late at night I wonder how many people think to check for trains. That thought came to mind on a dark night in the middle of nowhere as a train suddenly - and unexpectedly - passed me.

On the South Island's west coast the road and rail lines run parallel and shared the bridges... not side by side but on the same one car wide span. We never saw a train though. I assume that as the rail traffic has declined the cars have proliferated and there was never a time both were so prevalent as to cause trouble.

Just Like Home

We took a long drive up to Northland to meet up with my parents, and this gave us our first taste of travel in the populous part of the country between Hamilton and Auckland. Much of the terrain closer to Auckland is very reminiscent of southern England: dull farmland, cattle and even a motorway looking exactly like it was transplanted here from the UK. Even the Motorway Services look pretty much the same. North Hamilton also seems to be trying to look like modern Britain with faceless out of town shopping estates and an overdose of roundabouts.