Well, another Moonride done & dusted! Also a milestone – this was my 5th 24 hour solo race.
Change of venue this year – the tracks where the event is usually held at Waipa forest have recently been logged and are in the process of reinstatement. The event organisers announced a new & exciting venue – Tui Ridge Park, out at the ‘back of beyond’ Ngongotaha end of town.
Having never ridden at Tui Ridge before, I was a little apprehensive as to what to expect. All I knew was that the track would most likely be benign (this is an event for the masses, not just the experienced) and that the venue had proper camp ground style toilet blocks, some cabin style accommodation and a hall to use as race HQ. My only hopes were that the tracks would be ‘mountain bike’ standard, not ‘dual use’ tracks (there is a big difference in terms of layout & flow) and that we would get decent weather – to make the elusive 300km dream possible (previous best 250km in 24 hours).
The week leading up to the event and the weather looked shaky – sure enough, the Rotorua raino’meter recorded 42mm of rain over one day, 3 days prior to the event – oh dear. Mentally, I changed gear – the words ‘mud’ and ‘moonride’ always seem to be in the same sentence!
Sandra & Emma were going to do a day support for me on the Saturday, so after a massive BBQ’d T Bone steak for lunch on Friday, it was into my loaded car & off to Rotorua. Registration, then race start 9pm.
Arriving at Tui Ridge, it didn’t look so bad – just a stiff south westerly making it rather cold. Registration done and (dry) pit site found, I quickly set up my pit, organised food and bike and wolfed down a couple of yummy filled rolls. I had time for a quick recce of the park, before changing & heading over to Race Briefing, which was a remarkably chilled out affair (the main organiser can sometimes be a tad flustered by the time briefing rolls round).
Taking my place in the front half of the pack of 24hour team & solo riders, the countdown to the gun, then off! I was riding Mojo, gears & suspension helping me ease into the course. Off the road & into the track proper, I was surprised with the quality of the track – 4WD width, smooth, with great flow & no nasty bits. There was a flat bit leading to a nice downhill (exposed to the teeth of the wind), more flat/downhill, then a shallow climb, which turned into a steep pinch climb at the end. Across a clearing, up a rise, then into a fantastically flowy downhill to flat section, which turned onto a small climb another flat section, then climbing up towards the main entry/exit road. Across the road at the controlled point, before a rough but fast blast down one side of the gravel road, then up & into the forest again. Short flat section, leading to a bridge (nowhere as dangerous as the briefing suggested it was), then a climb onto a plateau – straight along until a series of short tracks that climbed up to drop us back at the start of the huge park area. Ride around the perimeter, cross the timing mats, 6.5km total. Slow going, though – I was being pretty cautious and already there were definitely boggy bits of track to avoid.
Lap 2 and I had the distinct feeling gears would be a disadvantage, lap 3 and decision made. Stopping at the toilet block at the far end of the camp area, I spied the firehose – applied this to my already very muddy drivetrain (I had the good fortune to be the first rider to discover this particular firehose). Back at my pit, I locked Mojo to the car & grabbed my singlespeed bike – the Tranny (trust me – that’s what Ibis Cycles named it – it has a clever frame design that allows the bike to either run gears or as a singlespeed, without using a chain tensioner device, hence its ability to ‘transform’ i.e. Tranny). As it will be my future Brevet bike (in geared mode), I was actually looking forward to spending an extended period of time riding it. In the past it has always been the ‘backup’ bike – so not wanting to trash my only just rebuilt (and still paying for) Mojo drivetrain gave the Tranny the opportunity to shine.
Fun! That’s the only word to describe the next couple of laps. Having only 1 gear instead of 27 and being slightly over-geared for the conditions (I was running a 34/18 setup, probably should have been 32/18) meant that any pedalling was propelling me forward at much greater speed than on Mojo as I sought to get on top of the gear. No rear suspension meant that all the power was being used to propel me forwards. The track was deteriorating more and with the larger gearing it meant I had to run/walk sections that I was riding on Mojo.
12.30am, time for the midnight feast and battery change. Rather discouraged at the already very muddy track, I got out of the cold into the car with a thermos of coffee and a decent amount of food. The novelty of riding the Tranny had worn off – this was now no fun – just a slog in the dark, trying not to go base over apex in the mud. I seriously considered giving up at this point. I came here to ride, dammit, not walk with my bike! Other solo riders I had spoken to on course felt the same, the Tui Ridge dirt over clay surface holding water far more effectively than the Waipa dirt. For a lot of us, the track was down to 2/3rds rideable – what would happen in the morning, when the 12 and 6 hour events started on the same course?
The coffee and that voice in my head both got me up and moving again though, took half a lap to warm up. Second half of each lap was where the worst mud was, the unrideable section and number of walkers growing by the hour.
Food, ride, push, ride – pretty much the pattern for the next few hours. At 5.30am I stopped with the intention of a quick but decent feed, then riding through the dawn. I felt pretty out of it and queasy and as I jumped off the bike at my pit nausea overcame me. Thankfully only a short bout of dry retching. Feeling pretty rotten I jumped into the car (it was definitely warmer in there than in the 4 degree pre-dawn), with my friends Coffee and Food. After consuming my friends with less than rabid enthusiasm, I lay back on the seat, eyes closed, helmet still on, willing myself to carry on. Slowly, life returned as my friends Coffee and Food worked their magic and at 7am I jumped back on the bike.
The next few laps were good – the track steadily packing down as the dew lifted. The 6 & 12 hour riders stared at 9am (I was in the forest & could hear the PA getting louder & more frantic as their start loomed. Following in their wake, I picked off a few back markers – who were already struggling on the (now deteriorating again) trails.
Breakfast at 9.30am – a call to Sandra (I was thinking of cutting the event short – but would ride until they got there) and another lap – and another – and another – and another. Hmm, track back to a lot of walking again, but for some reason it was easier in daylight and I began to enjoy myself. It was helped by the 2 downhill parts to the track that were not full of mud – they were just pure fun to ride and I was learning the art of very subtle bike control to hold my lines and not veer off into mud bogs.
Sandra & Emma appeared just as I had started another lap – this gave me a good boost and soon I joined them at my pit for lunch. Sandra primed Emma into cheerleader mode and off I rode, another lap down, then another, another and another. I might just keep riding & see what happens....
Dinner at 5pm heralded the arrival of my full cheerleading squad – Brother in law Graham, wife & family. Hello, ra-ra, see you tomorrow, another couple of laps done. Sandra & Emma departed around this time – back on my own again to ride (maybe) a couple more laps, then an early finish.
2 laps turned into 3. Suddenly a realisation that if I got cracking, I could get another 2 laps in, instead of the 1 lap planned. The course by now was a ride/push/ride/push/ride/looong push mix, 50% rideable. What seemed to make it enjoyable out there were the other riders around me – a mix of 12 & 24 hour riders, who were very friendly. I received many compliments for riding solo – especially once the person I was talking to realised that it was 24 hour solo and on a singlespeed! (the ‘solo’ helmet cover given to all soloists clearly identifies us as nutcases). This all made a very nice change from the usual aggressive atmosphere of past Moonrides, where people get impatient and want track space.
My last 2 laps were ‘splash & dash’ style. Refuelled with just enough food, I was on a mission to make the last lap count (any lap completed after 2400 doesn’t count). I even ran through some of the worst mud bog!
Done! 20 minutes to spare – not enough time for another lap (my last few were at the 40 minute mark), but enough time to start the eat/drink/escape from wet & muddy gear/pack up process, before cold & fatigue took their toll.
150km done, 130km of it on the Tranny. Oddly, it’s a bike that I’ve never seriously thought I’d ride in a 24 solo - yet it was brilliant. Super comfy & a heap of fun to ride! No trashed drive train, either!
Filled rolls, a lukewarm hot chocolate and water sufficed for dinner, consumed in the large gymnasium during prizegiving. Extremely nice to be able to sit in a warm, well lit building – instead of standing about in the cold or rain, willing the organiser to ‘get it over with’.
Finish packing, then a naughty drive to the campground in Nogngotaha where Sandra & Emma had grabbed a cabin. I’d packed a tent to stay at the event village afterwards, but the fact that my pit had turned into a mud bog (thanks to excessive bikewashing just over the way, meaning water straight into my pit area and onto the track), so the idea of pitching camp was less than appealing. The noise of the many generators used by various teams makes sleep difficult to come by anyway.
Sandra was quick to orientate me at the campground and I did an extremely good job of quietly (it was midnight) getting lost. For some reason the toilets were in a separate building to the showers and sinks, meaning a trip to 2 buildings for a loo and toothbrush. Emerging out of the shower building I confidently headed off in the wrong direction. This ended near a fence. Changing tack, I had another go. Nup. Just when I was wondering how on earth I could be so lost 100 metres from the cabin (the campground isn’t very big, either), I figured it out, arrived back at the cabin and fell onto the bed. 41 hours without sleep – Moonride 2012 was over.
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