NDuro 24 hour - the missing link

Earlier this year it was announced – the return of the NDuro 24....... YAY! Finally an end to 6km slogs through churned up mud bogs and an endless loop of Lady GaGa’s greatest hits that has formed the bulk of my 24 hour events to date. Being ‘run by mountain bikers for mountain bikers’ NDuro events have a great reputation of having an interesting mix of challenging tracks and a chilled out, friendly, atmosphere.

 So we found ourselves once again in the car heading south to Rotorua, a couple of weeks after Easter. Summer’s awesome run of fine weather had finally broken and normal Autumn conditions were back – along with the uncertainty of ‘how much will it rain?’ that seems to plague my run of 24’s. The event was being run from an alternative venue – the old TITC facilities at Waipa. It’s the sawmill where people learn to be sawmillers – no mud bogs and proper flush loos being 2 of the key selling points. Pit tent setup done, off to camp where we had booked a cabin. Friday’s dinner was chilled out & relaxed – for some reason I was not ‘feeling the hype’ of previous 24’s and was just ready to accept whatever came on the day. It was also great to meet and chat to a fellow sufferer of many a Moonride, Jodi McMahon & her partner, staying in the cabin next door.

Race Day Saturday – the midday start time being of real benefit. Arriving at the venue, Emma immediately made friends with the team at Registration, being the lucky receiver of many a Natures Valley ‘freebie’ (Muesli Bars & Water Bottles) throughout the day. A small but very high quality field had assembled, basically the cream of NZ Endurance mountain biking. The overnight rain had cleared (for now at least) – although rain was forecast for later in the day and overnight. Pre-start routine completed, there was nothing left to do but take my place at the start line.....

Photo call, countdown and off! To my complete surprise I was quickly in the front group of half a dozen riders as we blasted our way around the tarseal loop of the event village. The Conti Race King tyres I had put on for this event gave a very low rolling resistance and combined with a sudden surge of startline adrenalin, I was flying! I did settle down and back the pace off somewhat after a couple of kilometres, telling myself ‘it’s a long way to go yet....”

The course was a figure 8, using the event village as the centre point between the 2 loops. From the Village, it was onto an old 4wd track, then forest road, crossing over the tarseal 8 Mile Gate Rd, then into a short steep climb on a logging track to the start of Pondy – the first proper singletrack. Pondy, Rollercoaster and then into Old Chevy (this track never seemed to end), Yellow Brick Rd, then back along the forest rd/4wd track to the Event Village. Pass through, then a gentle (but long) climb up Nice Rd to the start of Sweet & Sour. Cross over at the top and into Rude Not To, then Mad if You Don’t, completing the lap with a tarseal run into the event village. 22.5km total lap length – the longest I’ve ever had in an event like this.

Conditions were good – the rain had held off and even though there were a few muddy spots, it was great to be riding. For some reason I did not feel stressed at all – no ‘hurry up’ mode. It wasn’t long before I was back at the event village, demolishing a filled roll at reasonable pace, while keeping an eye out for an old friend from 2010 World Solo, Andrew Jamieson, who was somewhere behind me.

Lap 2 & lap 3 pretty much followed the same formula – just ride and enjoy the scenery. Because of the long lap length and the low number of competitors, I was riding completely alone for quite a lot of each lap (something I had expected would happen). After lap 3 Sandra gave me a stressed out ‘hurry, hurry’ talking to in the pits. I’d been just quietly getting on with it, not mucking around and certainly not dilly dallying when I stopped. Guess it was just the high quality field (some of the top riders – Thomas/Megan try not to stop at all  in the pits – whereas I still needed to in order to survive). It had been drizzly off and on – yet for some reason I felt completely happy. It’s a weird thing to explain – but out in the forest on my own I felt a presence, a something that was keeping me warm, happy and safe.  I don’t know what it was, only that I did not want ‘it’ to go away.... I knew I would be okay if I just carried on doing what I was doing.

I did – and lap 4 was complete. It also signalled Sandra & Emma’s exit for the night back to camp, leaving me as a ‘solo solo’ until morning. It was also around that time (dusk) when the first big lot of rain came through. Thankfully I had the sense to grab my jacket just before it started (mainly at that time to keep warm). Again the presence was there, guiding me forward, along with a never ending song loop in my head – Tim Finn’s ‘Staring at the Embers’ remembered from way back in the early 80’s and recently discovered on MP3 download.

Out on my own again, I had a sing-song “Staring at the embers, all that’s left of me, trying to remember just what you meant to me, now and then I’m falling, Alligators crawling, staring at the embers...” and along with Talking Heads “Wild Wild Life” this propelled me around the course again.

Stop at the pits - toilet, lights, lube, all the while munching food. Sandra had done a great job of setting up a trackside food stand for me, so it was simple to lift the tarpaulin, grab some food, gel and a swig of coffee, then go.

Approaching half way at midnight, time for a big pit stop – fresh batteries, food and a clothing change were in order. I also found the battery charging station, as I needed a top-up to get me through until dawn. Jodi found me and assumed the role of pit manager, looking after my battery charging and giving me some assistance over the next couple of laps whenever I came into the pit. It was actually an awesome feeling, having Jodi and another couple of random helpers at times during the night – the ’24 hour community’ looking after each other.

3am – now I knew I would make it through to dawn. There was rain off and on, thankfully the track was holding up well. I only had 2 concerns – mud in my eyes and a steadily declining amount of gears available on Mojo. Realising my vision was blurry and my eyes hurt I managed to find someone to flush my eyes with a water bottle. Great globs of dirt came out.... the same could not be said for my drivetrain – it was really hurting my hand trying to force the shifter to engage a rear derailleur shift. Just the mud and dirt clogging everything up. Easier just to leave the chain somewhere in an easier gear on the rear and just front shift instead, giving me 3 ‘usable’ gears.

Now I was really tired – somewhere not far from the start of Pondy I stopped, turned the lights off and put my head down on my arms on the handlebars for a few minutes. Asleep, but awake – still straddling the bike. Continuing on, the Marshall stationed at the exit of Rollercoaster was witness to my next power nap, again just a couple of minutes.

Old Chevy – it’s a track I had visions of entering and never exiting... just the way the trees form this forboding entry at the start of the track. Now with my 3-speed Mojo I was forced to walk several of the steeper pinch climbs, as I didn’t have the legs. Some of the short descents were a bit sketchy too, the rear of the bike trying to overtake the front on a couple of occasions previously – I’m not sure if it was safer to walk down a couple or not.... pretty slippery underfoot too! Finally completing Old Chevy and into Yellow Brick Road, (which was now the track that seemed to stretch on and on......) by comparison Old Chevy seemed to have gotten shorter....

Quick stop at the pits for another gel and swig of coffee and on my way again. Another 2 powernap stops later (the start and finish of Sweet & Sour) I was back in the pits and really looking forward to dawn. Setting off on the next lap, there it was – the glimmer of light turning the sky from inky black to smudgy gray. Not long after - a few bird calls – yeehaa! Riding through the night is something that I haven’t achieved in every 24, making the feeling of achievement just that more special. It lifted my spirits and provided a surge to get another lap ticked off.

Breakfast – more filled rolls, coffee and something sweet. Back out I went again, wondering if the girls would be there when I completed the lap. The course was a bit muddy, I was a bit muddy, but at least I was still circulating (the night had taken its toll on the field, with several riders electing to finish early).

Calculation time – how many more laps would I get in the time allowed? NDuro were running the event under ‘International Rules’ with riders allowed an extra hour to complete their final lap beyond the midday 2400 time. Looking good for a couple more.....

Crossing through the event village mid way through the next lap and there they were – my girls were back! Sandra had seen an un-slept in tent and could see I was a happy camper, so after a good dose of  ‘Go Daddy!’ from Emma I was back out there.... Geez it was starting to hurt though. Uncomfy and down to walking a bit as I searched for any further gears beyond my 3, I was still positive and happy – especially when ripping through Rude Not To, doing the entire top section without braking – awesome!

Final lap! Again a bit of a walk and a grovel, urging myself on. Quick stop half way for more food, then into the final run through Rude and Mad if You Don’t (another favourite). Popping out onto the tarseal at the start of the event village, I spied Ra, the event director – both of us with ear to ear smiles. I even managed to co-ordinate an awesome high-5 while still riding –yeah! A final burst around the village and DONE! The happiest I’ve ever felt finishing a 24 – it had been a real test with the long lap length, the rain and mud, but I had happily survived! 10 laps, 225km. AWESOME!

Banking thoughts of sleep until the car ride home, it was time for prizegiving, a catch up with other riders, pack and into the car. Having a definite case of the ‘munchies’ (Emma included) we headed for the Fat Dog cafe, downtown. Fish & Chips + some frenzied eating saw me well satisfied and ready for a long nap while Sandra drove..... didn’t quite happen – the storm that had been threatening all weekend finally broke as we neared Matamata and with torrential rain it needed both of us on full attention just to stay on the road!

For what I had thought would be my final 24 hour solo, it all went exceptionally smoothly and with minimal stress, producing one of my best results. Final 24? We’ll see......