Labour weekend – yay! Traditionally marking the start of
‘summer’, it’s also a great weekend for a great race – the Whaka 100.
I’d first had a crack at Whaka 100 in 2011, taking 8hours
and 8 minutes to do the 100km through Rotorua’s Whaka forest. It’s a brutal
course – covering all the major climbs (and descents) in the forest - a
singletrack feast! This year I had high hopes of a fast time – I was much
fitter than last year (thanks to all the singlespeed work commuting) and coming
off the back of a good ride at Taupo 12 hour I was hopeful of a low 7 hour
time.
The week leading up to race weekend was busy – work and
home. Work was work, but on the home front we had several things going on – we
had bought a trailer for Emma on the MTB and a new Macpac down sleeping bag for
Emma’s camping activities. Fantastic - except that the trailer ended up being a
splash & dash pickup on Thursday night before the race and the sleeping bag
gave all of us a sleepless night.... picked this up on Tuesday, Emma was full
of excitement (as only a child can be) and of course she wanted to sleep in it.
Easy – except that the bag and Emma would do a slow motion slide off the bed
onto the floor. After the 4th unplanned exit from her bed (at 2am)
enough was enough and even Emma happily agreed that getting into (rather than
onto) the bed was a better idea. We all were rather worse for wear on
Wednesday. This was compounded by all of us having a cold – Emma first early in
the week, then me, then Sandra – oh dear. The weather forecast (like all
forecasts for holiday weekends) was extremely variable, leading to some stress.
Do we not camp and find an alternative? With a 2 degree low temperature
forecast for Friday night, camping was a marginal call (especially with Emma in
an untested sleeping bag).
Friday was packup & drive time. Seemed to take a lot longer
than usual to hit the road, very strong winds on the trip down to Rotorua –
leading me to question the reliability of the 2 degree forecast (the wind would
keep the temperature up). Managing to score the site we had wanted at camp, we
pitched tent & settled in. Sunny and not so windy – lovely! Bedtime for
Emma and sure enough, the temperature started to drop just as fast as the wind.
By the time Sandra & I ate dinner it was very still and cold, but still
quite a pleasant evening. With all of us tucked up in our sleeping bags, we
were quite cosy. Just getting to sleep (after a bit of coughing on my part) and
Emma has a nightmare. Nearly an hour later & after a walk with Emma through
Little Red Riding Hood’s forest (the name we gave to the tree lined walkway to
the facilities block) we settled down again at 12.30am. Emma coughed, Sandra
quietly raged and I accepted that as the root cause of all this suffering I
should be suitably chastised. The coughing fixed by using a blanket over Emma’s
Portacot bed (to warm the air) and eventually things settled and we all managed
a few hours sleep.
A 6.30am alarm and I climbed out of the tent. Ice on the
outside – yes the forecast had been accurate. A quick breakfast & it was
off on a 2km sprint to the start line, turning up about 10 minutes before race
start. Sandra & Emma arrived just in time to give a quick wave to send me
on my way.
Straight away I knew I would be in for a long day – my head
definitely was full of illness rather than mountain biking goodness. The legs
felt okay, but definitely not ‘alive’.
The first tracks were despatched reasonably quickly – the
newly rebuilt Dipper trail bringing a smile, with lovely pumpy, flowy lines,
then it was up the hill through Challenge, Genesis & Grinder. For some
reason I took an alternative line on Grinder around the log drop – bad move as
it had hardly bedded in and the corner at the bottom was very cut up.
Saw Sandra & Emma again as I exited Ball & Chain,
grabbing a Mars Bar ‘roadie style’ from Sandra’s outstretched hand before
starting on Yellow Brick Road trail. From there it was on the gravel roads out
to the Green Lake & Mossy trail.
Managed to get a break on a group I was riding with heading
into Mossy, held that all the way until I somehow managed a wrong turn at the
Tikitapu Rd Aid Station. Thankfully only a 500m return journey, but the lost
time & position was an annoyance. Was a much easier climb than I remembered
up Kakapiko to the start of No Brains. This trail was the one ‘jungle’ trail of
the ride – seemingly permanently damp, as well as being rocky & rooty in
parts it needed my full attention.
The ride up Moerangi to Split Enz dragged a bit – legs started
cramping soon after the climbing began. Ride a bit, walk a bit to ease the
cramps, remount & try again. Eventually the legs behaved and progress came
quicker.
Split Enz – always a lovely trail to ride, then Pondy
Downhill, which was fast & smooth. Pondy New disappeared quickly, then Old
Chevy, popping out at the 63km team transition/refreshment point. Don &
Denise had arrived & were keeping Emma entertained, while Sandra stuffed
food into my pockets, I stuffed a full waterbladder into my pack & kept
stuffing food into my mouth.
Part 2 – featuring just as much climbing as the first 60km,
but in a much shorter distance. The
Chinese Menu trails weren’t much of an issue. Out onto the gravel road &
around the back, not too bad getting into Lentil Link, before the big climb up
to Frontal Lobotomy. Started to feel pretty rubbish again, but was motivated
enough to keep riding – passing a few people, which gave me added motivation to
stay in front of them. A walk up the last steep bit of Frontal Lobotomy, then a
slowish walk the next 200 metres up to the start of Billy T.
Billy T was completed in a ‘bash through’, rather than
‘dance over’ style (fatigue and illness taking their toll), but managed to
survive incident free and onto G-Rock and Rollercoaster, which provided the one
major scary moment of the ride. Cresting a small rise at speed, my chosen line down
the other side was about to take me over a bank and into trees below. Some
emergency braking and creative dabbing with one foot saw me back on course
again.
Rollercoaster complete (not my best work), a short section
of non-uphill gravel road was completed then the steep climb up Direct Rd to
Hot X Buns. Sheer willpower made most of the climb disappear, however I truly
felt awful. I walked the top quarter of the climb, eating as I walked. Hot X
Buns = fun, in a challenging way. It’s a trail I always have a sinking feeling
in my stomach about before I ride it (not sure why – it’s not that bad). Glad
to get it over with, I headed sedately down Rude Not To, not having had many
runs through there since the trail was rebuilt after harvesting. I’m sure I can
do it with no braking – just need some practice (and no illness or so
knackered)!
The final big climb was a short (compared to the other
hills) climb up Katore Rd to the horse track. Instead of going down Gunna Gotta
(last year) it was a long slog all the way across the ridge (mostly uphill) to
the Tokorangi Pa track intersection (the hike up the steps to the actual Pa
site is worth it – from my running days). Afterwards, “are we there yet” mode
kicked in, with the steady and at times uphill descent to the refurbished Exit
Trail.
Exit – love it, although the refurbishment got rid of a lot
of the techy bits, so now it’s a lot smoother. Up Nursery Rd Hill and finally
onto the Mudpool Horse track to the finish line. YAY! 7hours 55 minutes –
feeling a mix of achievement and disappointment. While I beat last year’s time
by 13 minutes, it was nowhere near the time I had hoped for. It was also quite
apparent to me that I’d completely emptied the gas tank – the usual post race
bounce back to being in the land of the living taking a good 20 minutes and not
the usual 5.
Accepting a lift back to the campground (2km away – I was
definitely not well!) it was a splash & dash to get ready for Prizegiving
at Pig & Whistle pub in 40 minutes time.
Emma’s first visit to a pub – the garden bar area crowded
with mountain bikers and the lack of a PA made hearing the proceedings a little
difficult. We all loved the (extremely) large platter of curly fries that I’d
bought and demolished them fairly smartly. Emma enjoyed the dishes of Aioli
& Tomato sauce, although by the end it was impossible to tell which had
been which as she loved dunking a chip into first one and then the other.
Thankfully the bedtime routine at camp passed without
incident and Sandra & I enjoyed a late supper of fried bacon (which was
supposed to be Sunday breakfast) before completely and solidly sleeping the night
away.
Postscript – one month after, fully recovered. I was pretty
bad for a week afterwards, gradually improving from there. Now actually
enjoying getting back on bike and having fun!
