Alaska’s Big Wild Ride

Back in July, I travelled all the way to Alaska for the Big Wild Ride 1200k. Have to say, this was my favourite 1200k to date. The Big Wild Ride has to be among the crème de la crème of twelve-hundy’s. Big thanks to Kevin & his crew for organising this fantastic event.

The following article also appeared in Audax Australia’s Checkpoint Magazine No.58 – Summer 2014.

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Landing

It is midnight local time. The sun is still up and I have just landed in Anchorage, Alaska after a 26 hour flight, which is about a week quicker, and a whole load less exhausting than the annual migration of the Kūaka (Godwit). Connect to the Airport WiFi, you have new mail…

“… when the recent local black bear, grizzly bear, and forest fire news began to gain momentum these past few weeks, we focused our attention on the one thing we could do with the BWR2013 to minimize the course's objective hazards, making the ride safer and more enjoyable for all the riders.”

And online links to follow:

“A bear killed a 64-year-old Fairbanks man late Thursday”
“A three-mile stretch of Crow Pass Trail has been closed to hikers after a "brown bear charging incident" over the weekend.”

Not exactly the most reassuring news at the start of my five week visit to “Bear Country”! Did I really need to waste my money on the return ticket?

Spectacular!!

Prince William Sound, Alaska

Cruising on Prince William Sound

The Big Wild Ride is neither an out and back, nor a loop. The journey from Anchorage to the starting town of Valdez via the Alaska Railroad and Marine Highway was nothing short of spectacular! This provided a chance to meet the riders I would see over the next 1200km and observe the scenery and marine - glaciers, icebergs, whales, sea lions, seals, purpoises, orca, sea otters - spotted along the way.

Whale's Tail, Prince William Sound

Valdez, Alaska

Day One: Valdez to Delta Junction (436km)

It was a balmy 21 degrees at 11:59pm with the light more dim than dark. The snow-capped mountain tops were clearly visible despite the street lights shining.

Big Wild Ride Start, Mountain Sky Hotel, Valdez, Alaska

The first 10km was flat with a bunch of 44 riders gently getting into the ride, at times at only 20km/h. This was a bit relaxed for my fresh legs. I moved forward, presuming a small bunch would follow. Surprisingly I found myself at the front, but progress was good and I didn’t feel like I was burning any matches. I was soon joined by Damon Taffe and Scott Griffith on Cervelo P5. A little more flat riding before the 855m climb over Thompson Pass. Scott’s time-trial bike had received a bit of attention from other riders before the start. It was here for the simple reason that it was the only bicycle he owned. I was trying to hold onto his wheel when he led out at over 40km/h and I was in the unusual position of being near the front over a major climb.

Sky at Dawn (Photo: Damon Taffe)

Riding through dawn (Photo: Damon Taffe)

The sun was already rising at 3:10am but at 9 degrees it was a tad chilly as we rolled down Thompson Pass. All my layers were now on. I had obviously acclimatised to the warm summer in Alaska, following sub-zero winter night training back in Kiwiland! My legs still felt good, but I was feeling mentally tired and lost a bit of pace through these early hours, although I was soon into the second control at Tonsina Lodge (133km) where a magnificent breakfast had been organised. This was a true testament to how Kevin, and his organising crew had worked with the lodges along the route to provide services to the riders. I wish I was feeling hungry. It all sure looked good, but I skipped the early breakfast and headed back out on the road.

Riders riding North, past the Wrangell-St Elias Mountains (Photo: Damon Taffe)

Taking in the views of the of the Wrangell-St Elias mountains to our right, we pushed on to Glenallen (191km). I had a large group of riders for company, including Craig Mathews, Kelly Smith, and Tim Wouldenberg. Craig Mathew’s ride almost came to an early demise when his derailleur snapped in two up a short pinch a few kilometres short of Glenallen. Meanwhile, Tim was riding strongly on his recumbent and doing a great job rolling back to draft riders back into the pack, that usually being me - thanks Tim!!

With few roads, and nowhere to ride but North we proceeded toward the 4^th control at the Sourdough Roadhouse (243km) where we had to wait an hour or so while the status of road construction ahead was confirmed. This allowed plenty of time to eat and rest before 61km to the next ice-cream at Paxson Lodge (304km).

Summit Lake (Photo: Damon Taffe)

Travel got a lot steeper, with a bit of climbing up to Summit Lake. Tim and I were riding together a bit here, but were spreading when it either pitched up, or down. In Tim, I had finally met my match on the descents as he flew by on his recumbent and I didn't see him again before sharing moose (actually Caribou) stories at Delta Junction.

“I also don't trust Caribou anymore. They're out there, on the tundra, waiting... Something's going down. I'm right about this.”
― Joss Whedon

As I cruised along a road that was surely longer and straighter than any road in Aotearoa, I was pushing hard, head down trying to get into Delta Junction before midnight. And things suddenly got a little interesting. I looked up, and there was a large beast starring me down, on its hind legs and displaying its antlers threateningly. I slammed my brakes and backed off very carefully. I was in for a bit of a delay as the Caribou found the grass at the edge of the road to its liking, in between displaying its antlers if I tried to advance forwards.

Caribou, preferring the grass on the edge of the road to Delta Junction

With the excitement over, it was a gentle roll into Delta Junction for a few hours' sleep on my Thermarest in the High School Gym.

Day Two: Delta Junction to Healy (334km)

I woke feeling a bit drowsy as I scoffed some breakfast made by the helpful vollies (thankyou), before heading out in a small group. Not being a noted morning person at the best of times, alertness was a bit of a struggle. Tim kindly gave me some of his spare caffeine pills. These were helpful, although I personally prefer my caffeine presented via freshly roasted beans and an espresso machine.

The snow-capped Alaskan Range glows over the Tanana River

City of North Pole, Alaska

Santa Claus House, North Pole

The ambient light enabled great views of the Alaskan Range, and local wildlife with Elk, Moose and a Mink all sighted. With the benefit of a tailwind I found myself in a large bunch riding through North Pole (563km) and down to Fairbanks (593km). I was a bit slow at organising eating, ice cream and resupply at Safeway, and it took the rest of the day to catch up again.

There were a few more hills out of Fairbanks as we crossed the Alaskan Range for the second time. I was lamenting my lack of climbing performance with two other riders, before it suddenly clicked and hot and thirsty I arrived at the Skinny Dicks Halfway Inn (637km) - one of the ummm, more cultural bars. After a thirst quenching Ale and some potato chips shared with Steve Atkins, and against the advice of a few doubters who were unconvinced of both the nutritional and hydration benefits of the Ale, I rode on to the next ice-cream control at Nenana with the after burners on.

I soon caught up to the group I lost at Fairbanks, which was now almost one hundred miles behind us. I thought I would finally be able to drop in for some drafting, after a long solo slog into the wind -- only for them to turn off to a mountain lodge 100m later for dinner. Whilst I was invited, I wasn't mentally ready to eat just then and headed on toward Healy.

Approaching Healy (765km), Scott caught up with me and we rode together for the third late evening in a row. We were soon bouncing along a long stretch of road construction, with the road covered in rocks rather than gravel. Surprisingly, there were both signs "Double Fines while workers present" and a speed limit of 65mph. As a truck came by in the opposite direction and sent a rock flying past my right ear lobe, I finally understood why every vehicle in Alaska has a cracked windshield.

Day 3: Healy to Talkeetna (269km)

Tim rides towards the snow covered Denali

Shortly before turning toward Talkeetna, I had my only mechanical, with my front derailleur bolt becoming loose. It felt like a cable break, so I rode on in the inner ring before realising what was really up and securely fastening it just before arriving at the Swiss Alaskan Inn (1030km).

This was a very comfortable overnight control, where I was greeted by Tom Parker, whom I had met a fortnight earlier when he was marshalling at the Fireweed Ultra Race. Quite promptly I was enjoying a couple of, ummm, well, er recovery drinks with Tim, who was well settled in by the time I arrived and dinner was soon on the way. A 10 hour layover was about double the most time I had ever spent at a control in a randonneuring event.

We spent much of the morning riding toward Denali, North America’s highest peak and past Denali National Park to Hurricane Gulch (885km) and Mary’s McKinley View Lodge (948km) where Tim and a few others arrived moments after me - just in time for lunch. We enjoyed an Ale while arguing that hot foot was the only ailment shared by both recumbent and upright riders alike, and surely an Ale is the only known cure?

Naturally, after lunch Tim and I had the after burners on as we rode on to Talkeetna. As with the past 400km on the George Parks Highway avoiding rumble strips was an annoyance, covering most of the wide shoulder of the road. As oncoming traffic approached it was vital to use the mirror to check for tailing traffic and when to bounce on the rumble strips, which were the only downside amongst the awe inspiring scenery.

Day 4: Talkeetna to Anchorage (190km)

After a few days out in the wild, the final morning was less memorable as I rode toward civilisation, with breakfast inhaled enroute at the McDonald's inside a Walmart at Wasilla (1148km). A short section of freeway shoulder riding led to the most complex routing of the ride through an assortment of quiet roads and cycle ways through Eagle River and onto Anchorage (1212km). This complexity was a relative thing… there were more than two turns on this section.

I finished strongly and was feeling remarkably fresh considering that I was at the end of a 1200k and much of the previous 84h54m on the saddle.

 

Wrapping Up

During The Big Wild Ride I saw more wild life, had more sleep, and drank more beer than in the previous three 1200k rides I had ridden. It was also the most scenic, and my quickest 1200k to date.

A big thanks to Kevin Turinsky for organising this memorable ride, and to his dedicated crew of volunteers that helped it all happen!  And for my fellow randonneuring brethren that I met on the ride - maybe we’ll ride together again soon.

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Wombats of Mass Destruction

Randonneuring has many great rides organised by our sister clubs around the world. Often, these rides are not only scenic but place us among creatures of which we are unfamiliar. This year, while travelling to 1200k events I have unintentionally cycled with moose and caribou; hiked amongst the grizzlies and wolves; camped out with black bears and sea kayaked near(ish) killer whales.
Next up was short excursion to Australia, a land known for the presence of creatures with both poisonous and large jaws. From the worlds most toxic snake, the Inland Taipan to the more common Eastern Browns, which are responsible for more human deaths. Add to that the Redback and Funnelweb spiders and the large jaws of the Saltwater Crocodiles and Great White Sharks - it’s a dangerous place out there in the outback.

Map of Australia and surronding nations


Ultimately, my short excursion to Australia for the Sydney to Melbourne 1200 had more thrills and spills than expected. Having not dropped my road bike for two decades, I first had a blowout at over 70km/h descending the Great Dividing Range, which whilst scary fishtailing on the rims only led to two small grazes and a damaged steed. Eventually I was rolling again, although shaken up and under some time pressure, thanks to some assistance from Chris Walsh & Graham Carthews including his spare wheel and a little patching up from Tom Aczel (thankyou all!).

That'll buff out!

While I had been eliminated due to the timecut, the ethos of Randonneuring is of self-sufficiency, so I pushed on with the aim of riding onto the finish in Melbourne. Unfortunately, while descending toward Mansfield at ~30km/h, I came to a rather sudden demise from one of the few species in Australia without a fatal bite. Lurking in the woods had been some cyclist destroying marsupials. With their extra tough posterior, the Wombats were launching themselves across the road like a missiles. I had slowed and drifted left to allow one of these missiles to cross in front of me. And out from the woods, aimed straight at my front wheel like a heat seeking missile came the second. With nowhere to turn, my last thought was "I am not crashing again. This is not happening!". Then it was time to pick myself up off the road (again) feeling a little sore. Whether it was due to adrenaline or male pride, I was oblivious to exactly how much I had hurt myself and without any cellphone coverage I continued on, for at least another 200 metres before admitting some pain to myself and putting on my warm clothes and stopping for a rest. I should have pressed the SOS button on my SPOT tracker instead, but I was only a little hurt right? Shortly following, with the pain in my ribs more evident, I could not back up.

Le Randonneur wears Prada (Photo: Annette Whitton)

Rolled onto the backboard (Photo: Annette Whitton)Load him up (Photo: Tom Aczel)

I had been expecting some riders behind me, but they had opted for a sleep back in Whitfield, so it wasn't until a couple of hours later that I heard them fly past, probably thinking I was sleeping? A few minutes later Annette Whitton drove by to ask if I was alright, "Ummm, No". Shortly after which, Tom Aczel was summoned to patch up his loyal customer again, and then the Ambulance Service which delivered me to Mansfield Hospital.

Wombats of Mass Destruction: As proof that it is stopping that hurts more than the crashing - this lower speed crash resulted in five fractured ribs and a grade 3 separation of the AC Joint in my shoulder. It will likely be six* weeks before I am back on my bike - and that will be in wombat free, New Zealand!

Following the crash I was looked after by our fellow club members in Audax Australia. A special thankyou to Tim Laugher and Pat Dorey for taking such good care of me until I was able to get back to New Zealand.

My helmet did its job!

My PBP reflective vest looks like I've been mauled by a wild animal

And not much left of the Brooks Saddle

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* Looking more like twelve weeks plus.

This article, also appeared in Audax Australia’s Checkpoint Magazine No.58 – Summer 2014

Father Randonneurmas Delivers

Thankyou Santa Mark Thomas.

I was hoping Santa was going to deliver the Audax Australia Checkpoint Magazine today, but he chose to surprise me instead .
Thank you Mark, and perhaps Santa is from quite as far north as the North Pole, as previously believed?

Mark, was riding on Audax Australia’s Sydney Melbourne 1200k where I had a bit of a spill after a collision with a wombat (more on this blog soon, or see the Summer Issue of Checkpoint Magazine). Aside from  five fractured ribs and a separated AC Joint on my shoulder, I did destroy some clothing and left a few scratches on my cycle. As I’ve previously noted, finding genuinely reflective isn’t the easiest of tasks, so it was wonderful to receive this surprise in the mail.



It serves an example of the camaraderie between Randonneurs around the world.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Surviving the Great Southern Randonnee 1200

This ride seemed to throw everything at me. From extreme heat to southerly wind and rain; illness & mechanical concerns.

!Training

To be fair, I didn't get much training in over winter. Actually, it may be more honest to say that I did not get any training in over winter. The weather was pretty awful, I had a short bout of illness. That said, following three road 1200's and a dirt 1100km event in eight months, I was overdue for some time off the bike. However I did get a small weather opening to get some hill training in :).

As you can see, from the snow and ice in shot, it was perfect weather conditions to acclimatise to riding in Australia in early summer, or perhaps it wasn't :>. That said, Mt Ruapehu has been warming up somewhat since then. (See: Mt Ruapehu could blow at any time).

I did get a pair of back to back 200's in shortly before departing for Australia. Whilst the wind served well for strength training, the rain on the 200 home may have been the instigator for mechanical issues experienced 900km later.

I’ve digressed, time to talk about the ride. The briefing mentioned being ware of kangaroos, wombats, and magpies with these black and white birds described as dressed up as New Zealanders. Fair cop. Obviously no need to mention wallabies, they have proven afterall, that they are clearly no threat. (Although the locals seem to be claiming a recent draw between the All Blacks and the Wallabies like a victory).

Moonlight

Ride Data:
Distance:	1,206km
Time:	89h00m
Elevation gain:	7,625m
Ride Data:	Strava / Garmin Connect
Location:	South-West Victoria, Australia  Oct 29-Nov 2, 2012

With the ride beginning from Anglesea at 6pm on  clear and calm night, for the initial Bellerine Peninsula loop. This first 200km began in the early evening and featured sunset followed by a still moonlit night, of which was most beautiful at the point when the moonlight was being reflected off the water over Port Phillip Bay.

Aided by good conditions and an early bunch, and a short time sucking Hamish’s wheel until I was dropped swapping my water bottles from my back pocket. Ooops, a little trickier to do in motion from under a reflective gilet. 197km & 3 controls (plus a secret control) down and a meal break in 8.5 hours, and I was well ahead of my planned schedule, a quick snack and I feeling great and ready to rock on!!!

Some may like it hot, but I sure don't!

I was still making good time to arrive at Apollo Bay (271km) before 7:30am, with a mere further 213km planned for the day, I was on schedule to arrive at Port Fairy (483km) at about sunset (8pm-ish) as planned. Unfortunately, it was a bit uphill & downhill for me all at the same time me as the morning became day and I started coming to a grinding halt unable to keep myself cool. In New Zealand I would have dunked my head in a stream to cool off, but here is Australia ‘t'is a dry and barren land with no such options available. I found the Lavers Hill climb to be arduous. On the one hand, this was a mere "Australian Mountain" and not much more than a false flat by home standards, but with the sun beating down, a lack of shade and the temperature at 32degC and rising, the energy was being sapped from me turning this into an epic climb. I consumed my three water bottles consumed in a mere 31km, and once I reached the top, there was a fairly hefty margin applied by the proprietors of the store on top of the hill. AUD$21 certainly doesn't go far there!

Following the joy of the descending, the ride through to Port Campbell (367km) was scenic, but featured as little shade as possible, with views of the ocean to taunt me by never quite close enough to offer the chance to jump in for a swim. The temperature continued to soar, with my Garmin fenix watch peaking at 37 degC. I can assure the last and warm mouthful of water in a bottle is neither thirst quenching, nor refreshing.

An ice bath would have been great at the Port Campbell control but I settled for beans on toast followed by some COLD ice cream. After spending an hour so at the control, gaining some respite from the sun I headed back out bound for Hopkins Falls and Port Fairy. I was soon struggling in the heat and pausing for rest whenever a shaded opportunity presented itself. The time advantage built previous evening all but evaporated as I arrived for for a quick break for soup at Hopkins Falls (435km) on dusk. I started experiencing cramps at this control but pushed on for Port Fairy. Riding late into the evening, without the temperature seeming to get much any cooler, eventually arriving at Port Fairy (483km; 11:25pm) struggling with the heat and unable to eat and promptly collapsed into a heap obviously the floor in the corner, hoping to feel better after I woke up. The offer of a comfortable bed being a few too metres away for me at the time lol.

90 minutes later I woke with simultaneous cramps in right calf; left quad; right foot & left hand! I felt rested and awake but also like I was being slowly roasted. Still feeling hot and flustered I was struggling to eat and get food down, and could barely drink a cup of tea! I was incredibly uncertain of my capability to complete the ride. In fact I was almost certain I would be recording a rare DNF at this point. Peter McCallum was quite big on telling me to HTFU (refer rule #5) at this point and advised me it hadn’t been hot at all of course, hails from North Queensland. I must invite over for some winter rides, perhaps in the deep south? A big thanks to the vollies at Port Fairy who helped me get back on the road.

Randonneuring is all about the finishing and not racing, or lowest net time. It is crucial to never redraw until it really is absolutely impossible to complete the event. I made some calculations of latest time I could leave for the next checkpoint at Macarthur and keep within the time limit. It came down to, if I could keep scrambled eggs on toast down I would continue. With this successfully I achieved  Phew, not feeling great but I was still rotating. Julian and I set off for Macarthur together.

Arriving at Macarthur (532km) right on the close off time, I had soup for sustenance and headed onward for the well setup Dunkeld (600km) control where I was able to move on soup and consume a solid baked spud before heading up and through the Grampians with Mick. We tried to ride together but had different strengths so as the it briefly warmed on a sun exposed clibn and I soon found myself riding alone again climbing, at least until reaching a temporary road closure for a quick snooze during a 46 minute wait before charging with springs in my legs for Halls Gap (665km). I appeciated both the scenery and increased shade that this hillier, and more forested section of the ride presented.

A brief snack at Halls Gap before heading out for the return trip to Moyston (697km). This section seemed to drag on for a mere 31km, but after getting my card signed and turning around with a tailwind, I could understand why. This provided a nice quick return back to Halls Gap (729km).

Leaving Halls Gap, just before dusk left a chunk of night riding back to Dunkeld (794km) and featured a certain amount off kangaroo slalom as I made my way through the Grampians to Dunkeld, during which the wind turned and the temperature finally began to cool  down. At Dunkeld I enjoyed another spud and a two hour sleep during much of the rain before heading back to Macarthur (863km). With the wind now a south-westerly with showers in the air, I was more-or-less riding home conditions now. With the weather bringing my body temp down, I was feeling much better and felt like I had powered down to Macarthur and onto Port Fairy (911km) regardless of the strong head and cross winds. Some of the other riders told me later that they thought they were going bit be blown over, but blowing at 50km/h – surely a mere gentle breeze?

I was pleased to arrive in Port Fairy (911km) in better health for many reasons. Perhaps one of the more important was that this time I would be able to the apple crumble that I unable my previous time through this control.

A pain in the ball bearings

On the ride back to Hopkins Falls (960km) I began to feel some movement in my cranks for the first time, and by the time I reached Port Campbell (1028km) it was becoming excessive. While I ate dinner, some of the helpful volunteers took a look and soon had the very worn ball bearings living in a grease bath that would hopefully survive the remaining 200k. All the grease had been washed out in by rain some time earlier, so the bearings wore themselves out.

I don’t usually ride the Madone  in the rain unless it is during a 1200, so with no play before I started it was disappointing to encounter this issue in the middle of such a long ride. I did get drenched at home the weekend before departing for Australia, so that may not have helped.
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I have subsequently discovered that Trek uses a proprietary flavour of bearings in the Madone, that can only be ordered from Trek. A Madone BB90 is not like other BB90's. Non-standard components are not exactly ideal for long distance cycling. My LBS suggested riding with them so worn was not a good idea because with this design (no press-fit bearings and no sleeve) as it could lead frame damage.

The return trip over Lavers Hill in the dark seemed to take an age, conscious of the bearings and crank movement I took it easy and battled a fare amount of tiredness too. I rode some of the section through to Hordern Vale (1102km) with Sarah & Bec (see Sarah’s GSR Video). The climb up to the Hordern Vale control sort of reminded me of the uphill arrivial at the controls on PBP last year.

Bringing it home

I was able to get a couple of hours sleep, once again at the same time as heavy rain before leaving on rain break for the descent to Apollo Bay and a coffee to warm up before the final push back to Anglesea (1200km).

By the finish I was having reasonable difficulty changing the front derailleur due to extensive crank movement, so spent most of it pushing the big-ring (refer rule #90). It felt a strong finish in my legs, but likely only in the context of already have 1100km in the legs.

I was pleased to finish, following an over-time-limit on the Kiwi Hunt, and after it wasn't looking good at Port Fairy, after riding in the heat on day one. To top things off, the Town Crier arrived at the post-ride barbeque and welcomed all the international riders (including those from New Zealand even). We were presented with Aussie flags and kangaroo pins.

Completion of 1200’s continues to leave me with a feeling of accomplishment, and I’d like to think I have more many more 1200’s in me yet! With 1200 routes selected proudly by local organisers to show off there part of the world, they present an excellent way to get out and see the world. I felt well looked after on the GSR, and think I will be back again when it is next schedules in 2016.

Apparently I was not the only person to suffer from the heat. About a quarter of the 1200km field, and 10 of the 12 1000km riders were unable to continue. I hope you all find conditions more in your favour for your next rides.

And a huge thanks to ride organiser Stephen Rowlands and the army of vollies that organised the ride, kept us fed, watered and rotating for 1200km.  (sorry I can’t recall all of your names right now. And a special thanks to Dave for transport to and from Melbourne.

Also see:

I didn’t take many photos on this ride, but you can enjoy more multimedia from the ride visit the links below.

• Audax Australia’s GSR 2012 Photo Gallery
• Cath Stephenson’s “Best Of GSR 2012”
• Cath Stephenson’s GSR 2012 Deeper Water Video
• Sarah Chaplin’s GSR2012 Video
• Audax Australia's GSR2012 Results (google docs)

GSR 1200 Summary

The GSR felt like an eventful ride for me, so it may be a while before I have a full post of the ride up.
I struggled after the heat of day one, but managed to keep rotating and roll in, nursing what was left of my bottom bracket bearings in 89 hours - a whole hour to spare.

About 25% of the 1200km field was forced to withdraw, mostly due the heat. The timing of the 1000km start resulted in more heat, and 2/12 finishers. I struggled to keep going from Port Fairy with cramps, high body temp and barely able to eat. Mostly survived on soup until the weather turned and cooled down.

Some memories and thoughts from the ride:

• Beautiful moonlit night after the 6pm start for the 200k loop around the Bellerine Peninsula, especially when the moon was reflecting off the sea in Port Phillip Bay.
• Temperature control is impossible at 37degC with little shade and no cold rivers  to dunk your head in.
• Too many electrolytes equals heart burn; too few electrolytes equals cramp. If thou are really special you can get both on the same day!
• Keep on pedalling. Carrying on when you are struggling, can yield the benefit of faster riding when you feel better (or in my case when the weather turns bad "home conditions"?) and a successful finish
• Temporary road closures are a good chance for a power nap
•  Kangaroo slalom at night.near Halls Gap would have been even more interesting if I had been hallucinating.
• Starting a 1200 on holiday and under a full moon reduces sleep requirements.
• The vollies (volunteers) on Audax Victoria rides do a fabulous job looking after the participants.
• Apple crumble & banana splits :)
• Bottom bracket bearings can wear out fast during a 1200 if the grease runs dry.

1200km again?

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

I will be making way to the Western Islet of New Zealand shortly. This being the little island that serves as a prison colony to the western edge of this fine nation. The locals being uneducated believe they are free, and refer to their convict colony as “Australia”.

 

Unfortunately, the nzopengps project maps do not provide coverage for the Western Islet, and after some fickle efforts to compile OSM Australia maps myself to install on my Garmin Etrex30 I curiously discovered why the convict colony is also known as “downunder”.

 

 

However as discrepancies such as this are not present on the web version of Open Street Map, maps of the area, this is not so much a fault with that projects mapping data as my failure to compile it neatly for Garmin GPS use. (or, the fact that the convenience afforded by nzopengps is unavailable with this project)

 

It is very good of Mike & Stacey to put up with me for a couple of days before I head to Angelsea for the Great Southern Randonnee.  48 others and myself have entered the 1200km event organised by Audax Australia. With the ride starting at 6PM, Monday 29 October AEST. Locals along the route should be aware of the potential of 49 two-wheeled zombies arriving for halloween two days later.

 

For myself, the training has been lacking through a miserable winter then the painful ailment of kidney stones. However,  I was able to get in a 420km last weekend around the Pahiatua Loop and three laps of the Tour of Waikanae. That pretty much serverd as both my first and my last endurance training ride for this epic event :).

 

Obviously I have the disappointment of being narrowly over the 90 hour time limit in the Kiwi Hunt 1200 to rectify. There is also my 1200 personal record of 85h32 to improve upon. Regardless of my lack of training, I was reasonably happy with my strength last weekend so consider the PR as on the table. Whilst the GSR has no significant mountains it does have four steep pitches of about 400 vertical metres over the Otways, of which the last two are likely to hurt after more than 1000km in the legs.

 

 

There are some 20 checkpoints including start and finish, so if you are bored at your desk jump online and check my progress on my SPOT Tracker. This is several more checkpoings than the PBP, but using average speed at similar distances to get the PR I need to be tracking ahead of these times. PBP had a 30km bonus at 1230km long, so if I am able to maintain the same times (on no training)I should finish 2 hours faster.

Checkpoint	km	PR	Time-limit
1. Angelsea	0	29th 18:00	29th 18:00
2. Geelong	54		29th 21:36
3. Queenscliff	122		30th 02:08
4. Angelsea	196	30th 02:35	30th 07:08
5. Apollo Bay	269		30th 12:04
6. Port Campbell	364	30th 11:55	30th 18:28
7. Hopkins Falls	431	30th 17:02	30th 23:00
8. Port Fairy	481	30th 19:43	31st 02:12
9. Macarthur	529	31st 01:40	31st 05:28
10. Dunkeld	597	31st 06:24	31st 10:05
11. Halls Gap	662		31st 15:47
12. Moyston	694	31st 14:46	31st 18:35
13. Halls Gap	726		31st 21:18
14. Dunkeld	791	31st 21:21	1st 03:01
15. Macarthur	859	1st 05:39	1st 09:04
16. Port Fairy	907	1st 08:33	1st 13:22
17. Hopkins Falls	957		1st 17:34
18. Port Campbell	1024	1st 16:08	1st 23:32
19. Hordern Vale	1099	1st 20:45	2nd 06:02
20. Angelsea	1200	2nd 05:20	2nd 12:00

Hallucinations in Haast, Overtime and the Kiwi Hunt 1200km

I was relatively late confirming my start for the Kiwi Hunt. I wasn’t sure how the legs would come back after easing my way into mountain biking, completing the 1100km Kiwi Brevet bikepacking event only two weeks prior. With airfare booked, I confirmed I would be there, but not whether I would be riding or helping out with bag drops. Ultimately my legs came back well with mental tiredness and lack of alertness being more of an issue. Possibly relating to the amount of work I was doing between these two epic events. As crazy the proposition may sound, I often believe that in some situations an employee may be deserving of being paid double-time for time spent on annual leave to account for the additional work that must be completed immediately before and after time away from the office.

Ride Data:
Distance:	1,210km
Time:	90h19m
Elevation gain:	10,153m
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect
Location:	South Island, NZ February 25-29, 2012

Randonneuring is relatively unknown in New Zealand, but with eight foreign invaders and myself we had nine starters for the first 1200km randonnee in New Zealand. This  made for the most starters I’ve ridden with in New Zealand randonneuring events.

My legs were surprisingly strong and I found myself unusually off the front, rather than off the back for most of the first 70km. While technically a false flat, I am fairly certain that this was the flattest 70km I have ridden in my entire life. The mountains were sure to come on this ride. Just not today. Preferring to chew on my food, I was dropped at the first control - the cafe in Hororata (70km/2h45m). The food was too good to disrespect it by inhaling, so I ensured that I chewed at least a few times on the way down.

After another 110km of mostly level solo riding I arrived at Geraldine (182km/8h05m) for lunch where I had a chat with Duncan who was driving the van in support of the ride whilst gobbling down half a foot-long Subway, saving the second half for later. With 182km in a fraction over eight hours including cafe stops I was very comfortable with how my time was going at this point.

As afternoon became evening, and I had ridden away from the Canterbury Plains and climbed into the more tussocky sub-alpine terrain en-route to Tekapo (270km/13h43m). I seemed to arrive just after closing for most of the local eateries so the second-half of my steak sub came in very handy for dinner.

With no moon to light the sky and no artificial light on offer a beautiful night sky overhead lead past Lake Pukaki toward the 3rd control at Omarama (358km/18h30m). I lamented the compulsory helmet laws that made it difficult to see the sky, so with tiredness kicking in and wanting to take advantage of the night sky viewing conditions I had a few short rests on my back looking at the sky along the way. It is no wonder there is a proposal to designate this as a World Heritage Site to establish a reserve for starlight. (See: “Tekapo night sky closer to World Heritage status”). On arrival at Omarama, Duncan and Bruce had setup some tents at the local Top 10 camping ground for us. The tents were easy to find with the assistance of some bicycle tail lights, and a chance for a luxurious five hours sleep for myself.

I was narrowly last away from Omarama at about 6:15am, which was slightly surprising as I thought I heard some other riders arrive a some time after me. Perhaps I would pedalling zombies on my travels? Day two began with a  90km ride up the first serious climb over Lindis Pass (971m.asl) before the descent down to Tarras. I briefly passed Paul & Els until I stopped at a stream to top up on beautiful, fresh mountain water. Julian and I spent a bit of time swapping places with each other on the way up the pass. I was quite hungry by the time I arrived at Tarras and enjoyed my brunch at the cafe, which I finished as Julian was arriving on his stainless steel Moulton bling. It was only another 30-odd kilometres into the next control at Wanaka (471km/30h33m), but I was still starving again when I arrived there shortly before Paul and Els were leaving. I was now starting to get near to the time limits but justified to myself on the basis of the amount of time I stationary and eating, with eating being one of the only things in life that is as much fun as riding a bicycle.

It was very hot afternoon riding up to and around Lake Hawea. It was only a few more kilometres up the road, well 17km actually and it was time to stop for a frozen dairy dessert. It is amazing how hard it can be to lose weight even when riding 1200km! It seemed surprisingly hilly around lake Hawea, but I think it was more the heat making gentle inclines feel like hard work. I found myself slacking and catching a quick break when ever I could find some shade. Once through to Makarora the views of lakes, and barren sun drenched grass and tussock lands were replaced by native forest on both sides of the road. Has it been a few hours earlier the shade would have been appreciated. This was a section of riding I was particularly looking forward to and I wasn’t certainly wasn’t disappointed. I would happily ride this section of road again. I briefly saw Duncan again somewhere near Haast Pass (564m.asl)  as he was driving back to Lake Hawea to camp with Julian who had unfortunately retired from the ride.

In the darkness was affecting my alertness as the sleep wombles began attacking. It turned out that the "zombie" even after five hours sleep last night was myself, which was a surprise as I am a natural nightowl. The sleep wombles were soon followed by the tarseal monsters and tree people. Then further along mailbox people as well. Regardless of my slow pace and generous time allocated to both sleeping and eating I I was now in the middle of the full ultra-cycling hallucination experiences which are more common in the RAAM than in randonneuring. Regardless of the five hours the night before, pre-ride sleep deficit cannot be caught up during a 1200km Randonnee. I fought the sleep wombles and hallucinations through to Haast (618km/42h00m) and oh dear, 45 minutes behind schedule. I had a short nap in Haast before heading for the designated overnight location of Lake Paringa.

I initially felt a little better after a short nap as I departed for Lake Paringa. Unfortunately the sleep wombles were back, along with their group of friends otherwise known as hallucinations. A more dedicated sleep was going to be required. There would be no point sleeping on my bike and riding off the road, or salmoning into oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. I called into the picnic area at Ship Creek and caught 2 or 3 hours sleep before continuing on toward Lake Paringa. I started well but the sleep wombles returned as I carefully continued in a straight(ish) line hoping for an improvement as the sunrise approached. Improved al that never came. I even stopped to call Duncan to retire for a rare DNF, but with a lack of cell-phone coverage I had no choice but to persevere. I arrived at the former pub at Lake Paringa where we had some mattresses to sleep declaring to Bruce that I was I out and would be withdrawing. I stopped for some soup after which I decided that I was here to ride, so advised Bruce that although I was well behind time and could not possibly finish, I may as well continuing riding the scenic route up the West Coast until Duncan gets back from Lake Hawea.

I was riding a lot more strongly after the soup and was making reasonable progress compared to the previous night and earlier in morning. Duncan caught up with me as I hit the hills on the way through to Fox Glacier and loaded me up with Endura, a high magnesium based sports/rehydration drink and I was good to go and set forth for Fox. Thanks Duncan! While I was currently tracking well behind time, we thought it was likely that I would be able to get back under the cut-off time-limit before arriving at Greymouth. Once at Fox I gnawed on a good sized lunch, which unfortunately came a tad too slowly for my liking during an hour long stop.. perhaps the cafe was growing the vegetables for the salad?


Now through to Franz Joseph Glacier (760km/57h20m), I was a massive 3h18m behind the cutoff time, but had 11 hours to cover 170km to get back under the time limit. I stopped very briefly for some chocolate milk before pushing on for the relative flat travel through Whatoroa, Harihari and Ross. Ross was notably warm with a distinct burning smell which I asserted must be related to the mining activity in the town. My headlamp batteries were beginning to fade so I was stoked to see Duncan and Bruce again on my way to Hokitika to collect my spare batteries from the van. They had their share of bags to drop around the country side with riders well spread by this point of the ride. I was getting pretty tired on the way into Greymouth, with the final 20 kilometres from Kumara Junction into Greymouth seeming to take an eternity before I arrived at the campsite at 0330 - about the same time Els was leaving for Otira (do you sleep?).

It had taken some effort, after having previously “quit”  but I was finally back under the cut-off times again - yay. I had a three hour kip before heading off again just after dawn. It was pretty slow start to the day. I had some chaffing irritations to take care of but getting my legs moving on the way to Moana (963km) on this morning was proving to be more of challenge than it should have been. Not even the famed meat-pie and chocolate milk at Moana could seem to resolve it. I ambled into Jacksons (995km) for a frozen dairy dessert which placed me good stead climb in front of me, firstly more gently up to Otira, before the more feared Otira Gorge and Viaduct climb with steep pitches over 16%! While this may seem absurdly step on bicycle (or laden truck)  I have previously felt vertigo tramping up the nearby Browning Pass where 19th century surveyors proposed a road between Canterbury and the West Coast could be built! I assure you that the climb up the subsequently discovered Arthurs Pass is much more attainable and on this occasion with the use of some brief pauses in the shade to manage body temperature I succeeded without using the two-foot gear. I was quite ecstatic, this been the first time I had pedalled the whole up this little slope.



I stopped for a well deserved lunch in Arthurs Pass (1029km) where I chatted to Julian who was back riding his Moulton bling, riding the last 200km or so back Christchurch. I felt I made up for slow morning with the climb up the gorge.

But, unfortunately after lunch my progress came to a halt. I should have performed better over this section but for the dual adversaries of a brisk headwind and unbelievably rough gravel (rocks?) chipseal providing no reward for effort over the undulating 60-odd kilometres to Porters Pass. My motivation was waning at this point, and ultimately this is time I should never have lost and likely cost me an official finishing time. Flock Hill seemed to have grown in steepness from what I recalled with my legs spent, I was left without enough gears and a brief section of  push-biking as I struggled through the late afternoon before finally making it to Porters Pass (1093km) and finally a nice long descent.

Back in Canterbury, I made it to the penultimate control in Oxford (1138km/87h06m) exactly on the time limit. The guy who signed my card had seen Els earlier, I didn’t ask how along ago. Was I close behind, or had he been just at the bar for a long time? I was now pretty exhauated as I ate out some miles through to Rangiora, trying to keep with 25km/h to the finish to make the 1am cutoff in Christchurch (1202km/90h19m). I didn't quite make it, arriving 19 minutes late.

Obviously spending more time riding and less time eating, sleeping and resting would make a great deal of difference and while I was a tad disappointed that 90h19m being over 90 hours and thus not an official finish, I felt that in the context of the adversity of exhausted, overdone legs with two massive rides this month - almost making the final cut-off after "quitting" at halfway is still somewhat an “unofficial achievement”. What I do know now, is exactly where my exhaustion and hallucination limits are, which when into future endurance rides well rested will enable me to plan, enjoy and attain some personal records along the way.

Thanks for organising it all Duncan, and driving all that way so that we could all ride our bikes and enjoy the air and the scenery.

Kiwi Hunt 1200km Results 2012
Jan Erik Jensen	Sweden	83h14m
Rus Hamilton	Australia	85h03m
Rick Blacker	USA	85h03m
Mark Thomas	USA	85h03m
Peter Heal	Australia	85h35m
Els Vermeulen	UK	89h10m
Paul Cribb	Australia	89h17m
Craig McGregor	New Zealand	90h19m (Outside time limit)

It’s just a Little Pond - The Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Extreme Enduro

 

Why?

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 1280km Extreme Enduro 2011
Place	Rider	Time
1st	9907 Ron Skelton	69h39m37s
2nd	9902 Craig McGregor	90h45m
3rd	9904 Arthur Schwencke	92 hours
4th	9905 Colin-Wal Anderson	102 hours
	9903 Neville Mercer	DNF

I approached the Extreme Enduro with two simple purposes:

1. To prove that this is only a little pond to cycle around.

2. To complete 1200km in less time that I took to complete the Paris-Brest-Paris in August.

 

I had convinced myself riding eight laps would prove that it was only a little pond and that without the plentiful supply of pastries and crepes to distract me, I could surely complete this 1280km ride in less than 85h32m. Ultimately I proved this to only be a little pond, however four days of gale force winds was a much greater hindrance than the plentiful supply of pastries, flans and crepes in France.

 

 

The Startline

At the start-line for the eight lap Extreme Enduro was a small field of RAAM finisher, Ron “iRONman” Skelton; Cape Reinga to Bluff record holder Colin Anderson, Arthur Schwencke, Neville Mercer, myself and Bill Lane who was about to start his third lap of ten. Nick Dunne was already well into his third lap of ten. Ron appeared focussed and determined to win at the start-line and four days later it wasn’t so much as daylight between Ron and the rest of the field - it was almost an entire planetary rotation with a 21 hour gap between 1st and 2nd place.

 

With five others, we rode together until turning-off from Control Gates Hill into Pohipi Road. Colin Anderson wisely advised me it would be a lonely ride from here. He wasn’t wrong. I did briefly see Colin later in the lap but I certainly was mostly riding solo aside from the regular swapping places between Arthur and myself for the next eight laps. We certainly were similarly paced with the ebb and flow of proceedings having one of us the stronger than the other at different times over four days. It was mostly riding in solitude, although I had the company of endurance cycling fan and future NZ Outdoor Track 24hr record aspirant Stu Downs for about the first 40k of lap five (or was it six?). By lap seven, the main event had begun with the elite races, 160km solo and relay events all underway. I had been planning on being on my final lap at this time, but not to be with a brutal slow ride of battling the breeze. I rode amongst a number of different riders during lap seven, most of whom thought was crazy, insane or just plains stupid for riding eight laps. I felt obliged to point out it was excellent value at only $12 per lap compared to their  $99 per lap .

 

 

The Wind

 

The 2011 Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge is destined to be remembered as the year of the wind. In the case of the Extreme Enduro it was a case of an entire four days of gale force wind - making the Extreme Enduro far more extreme than I had anticipated in advance. Friday night was by far the worst. With the wind gusting beyond 85km/h there were branches flying past me, and the road became a slalom course of broken branches to avoid. There was a point of almost stopping during these conditions. After brief reflection, I was simply too stubborn to quit with only one and half laps remaining. In the light of Saturday, the Huka XL mountain biking event was cut short due to trees falling. I assure you by that time the wind whilst strong, was not as fierce as it was in the early hours of the morning! Given the branches flying past me on the road in the night, I can assure any disappointed competitors from the Huka XL,  that it would have been incredibly dodgy in the forest and I suspect impossible to run the event safely.

 

 

Mechanicals

 

Accessories - Unbelievably after thousands of kilometres of riding in New Zealand and France with an identical bicycle and lighting setup I had nothing but trouble with my lights on this ride. I think this was large the result of a chip-seal roads that had a lot of trucks peeling some of  chip-seal from the road making it a reasonably rough ride for a sealed road.  I had a few issues with the bumps bouncing the battery cables out of my Ayup lights and a few similar instances reset my Garmin 705 bike computer to zero (possibly related to my auxiliary Duracell power supply). I also lost my backup light overboard, never to be found again when descending Kuratau Hill in the middle of the night. The Busch & Mueller Ixon IQ was an excellent light powered by Nimh AA rechargeable batteries with both a good range and spread of light emitted. Unfortunately, the mounting system was not as good as the light unit itself .

 

Worn out tyre induced puncture - I suffered one puncture on this ride. This was caused by wear. I should really have put new tyres on before the event began, but I was hesitant to add to my array of half worn tyres. Early during lap seven I had to replace the tyre and inner tube after puncturing with the tyre worn through to the canvas around its entire circumference. I continue to be pleased with the performance and relative lack of punctures that I am experiencing when using 700x25C Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tyres. In over 10,000km ridden on these tyres, while I have worn through two rear tyres I have only suffered two punctures, this being the second.

 

Gear cable - On my final lap I assumed I had a severely frayed the rear derailleur cable. Following the post-mortem, it turned out to be gunk preventing cable moment within the cable casing. The original casing has since been replaced by some higher quality shimano cable outers. Thankfully with a support crew in-tow I was able to swap from my Trek Madone “Black Beauty” onto my Specialized Roubaix “Blue Angel” for the remaining 100km.

 

Night Riding

 

One of the lessons I learned when riding the Paris Brest Paris was how much less tiring a little moon was, than the pure darkness that zero moon and zero sun represent. I should have checked the moon phase before entering the event. During the rain of the first night, the moon rose before the sun. From that point on, the moon was rising at or after sunrise, thus providing no assistance for night riding during this event.

 

I have climbed Waihaha Hill many times, but when ascending at night it is far more ominous than it is during daylight. Without being able to see the top, climbing a hill without corners or changes in gradient the climb to the top of Waihaha Hill seemed like it was never going to end!

 

As I am more of a randonneur than a racer I am not accustomed to having a support crew. It may have been hard work for me into the wind but I noted that this type of event is even more tiring for the crew than it is for the rider. I was thankful to have a support crew provided by Mum and Dad (thank you). It was much more comfortable riding at night with a support crew behind me – much more room given by other traffic. Having a support crew was particularly useful during a couple of particularly cold moments in the middle of the night, jumping in the car with all the heaters on was very useful!

 

 

Sleep

 

I had my first sleep a lap sooner than anticipated. With accommodation in Turangi, my plan was 2 3/4 laps, but a combination of darkness in collaboration with rain and strengthening head winds left me tired and exhausted after only 1 & 3/4 laps to Turangi. I successfully set the alarm on with my phone  - in silent mode :) and got a healthy 4-5 hrs sleep before departing for Taupo to complete lap 2 . I was now well entrenched into last place. On Thursday and Friday nights I got through two laps a day plus a 2-3 hour sleep and then rode through Saturday night. All up, this would have to be considered a luxurious amount of sleep during an ultra-cycling ride. Typically in these events, those who approach it as a ride get a lot more sleep than those who approach it as a race.

 

 

The Finish

The finish was part personal glory, part anti-climax and a few hours later complete surprise. Before the event I had envisaged finishing in 75-80 hours which would have had be arriving shortly before or during the prize-giving festivities. After battling the wind, and sleeping far more than intended I did not finish until 6:45am on Sunday morning. I rode as hard as possible from Turangi trying to finish in under 90 hours, but with no tailwind and nearly 1280km in my legs, the first 20-30km went well but it was a slow crawl into Taupo in exhaustion. Whilst I received some encouraging toots from early departing traffic carrying Taupo riders and their bicycles south, it was no grand arrival. There was no-one there and the timing equipment had all been disconnected and packed up. I recorded my time in paper at the BP station and made my way to shower.

 

 

I hadn’t realised how well I had placed until my belated arrival at the Enduro Breakfast when talking to other Extreme Enduro riders. While 21 hours behind Ron, 90h45m in the wind was good enough for 2nd place this year.  Randonneuring is not well in New Zealand and I had hoped to introduce randonneuring and the Paris-Brest-Paris to the riders that we there from the 2 lap Enduro and 4 lap Maxi-Enduro events. At the time I was so exhausted that I could barely keep my head above my shoulders and as a consequence may not have expressed this as well as intended.

 

 

Reflections

• Lake Taupo may have a surface area of 616 square kilometres, but on bicycle it is merely a little pond.
• There is much, much more solo riding in the Extreme Enduro event than in the ‘Solo’ category.
• I continue to love riding my bicycles. Even in the adversity of riding in the wind, without the benefit of drafting for 1280km I still had a smile on my face the whole way.
• In trying conditions attributes of determination and stubbornness more than made up for my lack of speed or natural cycling talent.
• Ultra-cycling events are just as brutal in the form of exhaustion for the support crew as they are for the rider.
• Stopping for numerous pastries en-route is not as time consuming as riding into a headwind for four days . Yummmmmmm!!!