Taupo

I’ve just ridden around Lake Taupo again.  It’s New Zealands biggest cycling event…..a very scenic 160km ride around NZ’s largest lake.  We had over 11,000 cyclists turning up this year, and I keep coming back.  This is my 5th time, and the fourth I’ve ridden around on a unicycle: Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge

Anyway, we got up early on Friday packed up my Schlumpf 29′er geared unicycle and headed up north with my cycle buddy Colin and his partner Wingya.  I love road trips and it was a beautiful day…..summers finally here!

Race day started with my usual pre-race meal of rolled oats and bananas.  If there’s anything that will get you through the day…this is it!

Now with 11,000 odd cyclists it takes almost 2hrs to start everybody off in waves.  I join the 6.30-7hr group, which was what I was aiming for.  My previous best was 7hrs43min, but with the geared unicycle I was hoping to cut time on the flat sections and make use of the peletons.

And it all went according to plan for the first 40km or so….I was cruising at a brisk 25km/hr average, and hitting over 30km/hr on the flats.  It’s definitely an advantage with the bigger gear.

And then my legs died.  Not literally, but they might as well have been pedalling backwards.  Not good.  I found myself cranking up the shallowest gradient in 29′er 1:1 gear.  That’s like granny gear on a bike.  Not even that…more like great-granny gear.

Now, normally I can cope, but this happened at 40km.  A bloody long way from the finish.  And added to that it was a scorching hot day….I don’t do well in heat at all.  I bonked big time.

I got to the half way mark, was was looking forward to having one of the famous pies at the half-way pie shop…..I was dismayed to find it shut.  Not literally in tears, but close enough.  Big ups to the riders who gave me a sandwich.  That got me up Kuratau Hill, before a long downhill and flat stretch to Turangi for a quick rest stop at Burger King.  A super sized burger combo got me the rest of the way back to Taupo, thankfully.  Now, a word of advice when doing endurance events….do not stuff yourself with a super-sized combo and wash it down with copious amounts of gaseous brown liquid.

I had the hiccups all the way to Taupo, and crawled in at 10hr4min….my slowest ever LTCC.  ARgh.

On the plus side, I slept like a baby, and kept everyone awake with my hiccups.

It was still an awesome (*hic*) weekend.

I’ll be (*hic*) back next year!

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