The Lanterne Rouge of the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Maxi Enduro

 

I recently returned home from my annual pilgrimage to Taupo for the Lake Taupo Challenge. I've Now completed 7 challenges, and 18 Laps of "the pond". This year I entered the four-times round "Maxi Enduro 640km" category, and whilst this is my quickest 600km ride by about an hour and a half, this was no rando ride and I decisively came last out of the seven finishers. With this I can provide a definitive guide on how to claim the Lanterne Rouge in this category:

• Get really severely crook six weeks beforehand.
• Roll on the floor crying like a girl while passing kidney stones with five weeks to go. (Trust me, Strava doesn’t know what suffering is)
• Ride 1200km with mild heatstroke three weeks beforehand.
• Arrive in Taupo, on the startline overcooked but pedalling on all the same
• Stop at Burger King Turangi for a snack two or more times during the ride!

Ride Data:
Distance:	328.5km
Time:	34h50m
Elevation gain:	7,625m
Ride Data:	Strava / Garmin Connect
Starters / Finishers	15 / 7 (47% finished)
Location:	Taupo, Nov 23-24, 2012

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge 640km Maxi Enduro 2012
Place	Rider	Time
1st	9810 Josh Kench	23h50m
2nd	9811 Rich Baty	25h02m
3rd	9805 Paul Lewis	25h55m
4th	9800 Colin-Wal Anderson	26h56m
5th	9801 Steven Berveling	29h29m
6th	9808 Alistair Davidson	30h09m
7th	9804 Craig McGregor	34h50m

 

Start-line

The start-line contained many familiar faces with legends Joshua Kench, Colin “WAL” Anderson, Graperide Ultimate Champion Greg Manson, Tim “The Potato Guy” Neal, Andrew Morrison and others. And others with non-riding support from Stu Downs, Lis, Helen and Tarbabies Paul Barnes and Rick & Jo.

 

Team Potato Guy was represented by Tim, Andrew Morrison and myself. Unfortunately Tim & Andrew were only able to complete two laps each, so we have since claimed to be the first ever 3-person 8-lap Extreme Enduro relay team as we completed the eight laps between us.

 

 

 

Lap One

Off the start-line I was able to hold Josh’s wheel for at least 3 metres – in the “neutral” zone! I didn’t see Josh again until he lapped me on the way up Waihi Hill on my third lap. The last 50km of the first lap, following the left-hand turn onto SH1 was in reasonably heavy, but friendly traffic with many cyclists arriving for the 160km and relay events beginning the following morning. I also received great support from some of the Onslow Tarbabies on their way, with Mike Faherty & Dave Flynn stopping to wave their Tarbabies jerseys as support flags – thanks guys. I really appreciated the support. I rolled around the first lap in 6h30m which was a half hour outside expectations. I found myself amongst some of the next days one-lap riders out for light spins, enquiring about the Enduro events on the way into, and out of the Caltex Station that acted as the interlap checkpoint. Traffic in Taupo was heavy as I idled my way through town, More concerning however, were the stats coming out of my heart-rate monitor. I knew that I would not able sustain these stats for another three laps, with my heartrate well up on where it should have been relative to the effort. This most likely pointing to a lack of recovery from my previous ride, the 1200km Great Southern Randonnee.

 

 

Lap Two

 

I stopped for a snack at the farmstay 10km into the second lap, which turned out to be well timed as the a heavy rain shower passed over while I was dry inside. In the first half of the lap, Alistair and I rode past each other a few times whilst faffing about eating, or organising lights and/or reflective clothing etc.

 

With Mt Tongariro letting off some steam earlier in the week, I thought there may have been viewing in the night but the live screening of “Volcano” had apparently been abruptly cancelled.

 

I had Tim on my wheel as I approached the Turangi checkpoint. Whilst I felt like some solid food, as good as the Hammer is, I need to chew and popped inside for a late night burger. A French Patisserie would have been more ideal?  

 

I came back out for my bike to find Tim in the van icing a sore knee but was soon back on his bike. We exchanged places a few times en-route to Taupo, where Tim was unfortunately unable to continue. Two meal stops on a 100-mile lap, may make the 8h50m slightly more respectable. I certainly wasn’t racing and had very much slipped into 1200k generous time-limits cafe-hopping rando mode.

 

Lap Three

 

I knew that lap three would be key for me. It would be a lap in the darkness and this is where fending off the sleep wombles becomes critical, especially once the moon goes down. Thankfully, I had good support with Dad tailing me and just before day break I jumped in the car for warmth and a 15 minute snooze before sending him back to the farmstay while the road was open. Alertness did not fully return with the arrival of the sun which has been my usual experience as I struggled to get the legs going after day break. As I made my way through the Kuratau and Waihi hills, Joshua Kench came through and lapped me. It had to happen sooner or later. He was sounding a little disappointed to be outside of record setting pace as we exchanged a few sentences.

I was feeling a bit clammy and exhausted by the time I reached the Turangi Checkpoint, and shockingly returned to Burger King for breakfast, where I was able to swap “nutritional advice” with iRONman Skelton who had just finished first in the Extreme Enduro for the second year in a row. I also briefly saw Paul Rawlinson at this bustling establishment as he grabbed some food to go while supported some 2-lap Enduro riders. I seemed to be riding better with more food in my stomach as I departed BK to get the job done, passing a supportive Stu Downs who was rolling into Turangi on his touring bike. The elite race went through like I was standing still, but I did receive a rousing reception up Hatepe and into Taupo. I suspect none of these people had any idea I still had another lap to go! I was a little surprised to see Andrew Morrison cheering from the grassy slope on the way into Taupo, but he had unfortunately been forced to withdraw after two laps (his blog post here).  Now realising I was the only TPG rider still rolling I was even more determined to finish.

 

 

Lap Four

 

Unfortunately I was too late through to gain the benefit of any of 160km bunches and I ambled through a very hot lap. This was my 18th lap of “the pond”, and the first time I can recall absolutely no wind or movement, nor cloud or rain around the back of the lake. The tar was melting, and the stones from the chipseal sticking to my tyres. On this lap I had pretty much had enough of riding of the rough chipseal that had seemed to have been dropped on wet tar, with no roller applied afterwards. I did not want to see it again! I was struggling to find any pace and appreciated the opportunity for the chance to get an ice-cream in Turangi to help cool down before final 50km to an anti-climatic finish with no timing equipment at either the Caltex checkpoint or the Great Lake Centre finish line.

 

Job done. I have now earned the full set of Enduro helmet caps. Yellow for the 320km Enduro, Pink for the 640km Maxi-Enduro & Green for the 1280km Extreme Enduro.

 

 

 

Post Ride Thoughts

Riding around the Lake, in clear weather, without a requirement to keep a close eye on a wheel in front, or a bunch around me showed many more points offering great views over the Lake than I had previously noted in single lap 160km events, or enduro’s in more inclement weather.

 

I find myself more of a randonneur than a racer, which can make these multi-lap events with a much greater focus on performance  a conundrum for me. Should I race them, or should just ride them? Should I try force myself to save time by staying on the liquid on-bike fuels the whole way? Could “racing” them make me a stronger randonneur?

 

Could I train myself fit enough and light enough to “race” such events? I’m not sure, but I do feel like I have some unfinished business and am likely to give the Maxi Enduro another crack next year, with an aim of breaking 30 hours. This will require quite a different lead-in to the event to this year.

 

 

Thanks to

• Keith Crate & Lynley for volunteering your time to running the Enduro events.
• Mum, Dad & Jamie for supporting me on the course, even if I was occasionally grumpy
• Stu, Matt Oliver and anyone else whose photos I ripped off Facebook :)
• The other riders that help create the event
• All those mentioned above that provided moral support
• “David” who gave me a wheel to follow into the Caltex checkpoint on lap one.
• Random strangers passing me food on laps three & four

Chasing the Lanterne Rogue – The Ruapehu Cycle Classic 2010

After a gorgeous night sky sleeping under the stars near Ohakune I was amped up for the Ruapehu Classic. It was a cracker of day. My only concern was the potential for a long “time-trial” with limited opportunities for drafting with a smallish field. In the end it was an unusual and eventful day for me out on the course.

Not far out of the start in Ohakune, I found myself in a small group of 6-8 riders. Regardless of jittery beginnings with different approaches to operating as a bunch we were soon all taking our leads and then peeling off for a rest at the back of the group. My legs felt good and we were travelling well along the Desert Road with views of Mt Ruapehu dominating the landscape.

BANG!!! It sure did sound like a firearm, but no, it was not from the live firing military site beside us. That was my back tyre. So loud and echoey, my initial reaction was not ohno, I have a puncture but do I still have a tyre to continue on? SIGH!

Ride Data:
Distance:	143km*	6,214 Calories*
Elevation:	Ascent: 1715m*	Descent: 1714m*
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect Player
Location:	Ohuakune, NZ	6 February 2010
* Some missing data due to short ride with SAG etc.

Surveying the damage, the bead that holds the tyre to the rim was, well, holding onto the rim. However, the bursting explosion, (or in this volcanic area should I say eruption?) of my inner tube had pushed the a large section of tyre away from the bead. Hence, the bead was holding onto the rim, but the tyre was not holding onto the bead :(.

Conventional wisdom suggests that a tube failure of this nature occurs when the inner-tube is not correctly located within the tyre walls, and the explosion occurs from part of the tube being exploded outside the tyre wall or from pressure from the tyre bead. With some 1000km since my previous puncture, including events over the previous three weekends of 150km, 110km and 152km without incident it is hard to understand how this could have been.

[[I would have an impressive photo of the tyre to go here if I had remembered to collect it from SAG after the event]]

With no sign of the SAG Wagon or any mechanical support I pursued the futile endeavour of replacing the inner-tube and attempting to mount the tyre. Nope. I just proved it was broken like I already knew! About 40 minutes later the St John Ambulance came by. The had lots of bandages but no tyres and told me that the SAG Wagon was still a further 20 minutes behind. The SAG Wagon arrived 58 minutes after my tyre went BANG!. Unfortunately no spare tyres were on offer so I reluctantly loaded my bicycle into the van after a mere of 31km of riding. It seemed all over for me today.

Travelling in the SAG Wagon (well van actually) we followed and accounted for the last few riders in the event as we travelled up and down this section of the Desert Road a few times before following them into the first relay changeover point at Tukino. While I was shaking my head, musing about only riding 31km and quite possibly sulking in disappointment, I was offered the use of one of the relay riders bikes. The sizing didn’t look too good for me and I negotiated to borrow a tyre. Thankyou #359! The only condition was that I put it back on her bike afterwards :). After swapping the tyres over and getting my things back together I was soon back on the course, but being substantially behind last place I was now the new lanterne rouge. It would be a handicap race now and a matter of how many places I good make up.

Excited to back on the road after a two hour delay I was travelling well along the Desert Road as the dominant views moved from Mt Ruapehu to Mt Ngauruhoe considering the unavailability of any other riders to draft. Following the twists and turns through the Three Sisters I had to wait about five minutes for the oncoming traffic before I was able to make my way through the road works. Waiting with a rider here, once we were through I lost the title of lanterne rouge.

Soon through to Rangipo, it was time for what I believe is the worst climb of this route up past Ketetahi. It is not steep, but it does keep coming and the road surface is not particularly smooth with very large stones used in the chipseal here. I must have been doing okay as I picked up another 3 or  4 places on the way over this hill.

By the time I was on the set of hills that make the climb past Mangatapopo, I was certainly slowing. I think this was some combination of some over enthusiasm as I rejoined the event, not seeing any riders ahead of me to aim for and well, far enough ahead of the SAG Wagon now to not get caught slacking :>. In fact it wasn’t until about 9km to go that I picked up a further two places. I finished with another ride in sight sight that I was unable to reel in, even with a big sprint at the line. The event timing had my finishing time as 7h38m40s, which didn’t seem too bad with a two hour delay and a lot of riding by myself.

I had a lot of fun today. Certainly the day did not unfold how I expected, and paying for new parts is never fun. Beautiful weather and a scenic course. Back again next year for hopefully a less eventful ride.

The Ruapehu Classic takes place over a beautifully scenic course. I think that riding across the Desert Road, where many drivers often appear to think that speed limits do not apply puts many cyclists off entering this event. With a 7am start, and blowouts excepted leaving the Desert Road by 10am doesn’t make this as much of a problem as is perceived due the distance from here to the major cities.

A big thanks to the people in the SAG for rescuing me, sorry forgotten your names now, and to #359 for loaning me the tyre that enabled me to make it through to the finish. Hope you are enjoying the sunglasses that you won today.

2009 Kuaotunu 2 (K2): Ouch, I feel broken now

 

Last year I bent a chain-link on the first hill in this event. In 2009 I was sure I could do better and get that PB. I started strongly (for me) but couldn’t say so much for the rest of event :>. This is a very hard and torturous course with all ample climbing that brings awesome scenery with it. I rate this as the best organised and marshalled event that I have entered.

 

in a nutshell everything is perfect aside from the fact that I am no good at it. 

 

Broken me, was 8 seconds quicker than I was last year when I bent a link in my chain. Lets call it work in progress :). I think that even for slow climbing me, sub-8 hours is achievable. That said, I am still a long way from that! My average speeds are well down on my PB’s in most events at the moment and something I need to prioritise rectifying!

 

Ride Data:
Distance:	185.01km	8,919 Calories
Time:	9:37:32* (New PB by 8 seconds)	19.2 km/h
Elevation:	Ascent: 2,559m	Descent: 2558m
Ride Data:	Garmin Connect Player	MapMyRide
Location:	Whitianga, NZ	31 October 2009

With the annual town rotation in this well organised event, the 2009 edition started from Whitianga.  Undoubtedly the hardest quarter of the event with three categorised hills over this 43km on the way to Coromandel Town:

• Kuaotuna (150m, category 2)
• Myundermans (145m, category 1)
• Whangapoua (380m, Hors Categorie)

There was a nasty looking crash that was being cleaned up by St John on the descent of the category 2 Kuaotuna Hill. It is never to nice to see riders off their bikes and spread over the terrain - especially this early in an event.

 

Even with all this climbing I did manage to find myself riding mostly with riders in the group that started just ahead of me. I was very happy to be passing through Coromandel Town in about 1:52. Some 28 minutes ahead of the time this section took me last year and I was elated to be well on track to finish under my stated goal of under eight hours.

 

When thinking of the Coromandel – Thames section there may be a tendency to think of the flattish, long coastal section around to Thames. However, the first 20km of this section begins with what I must describe as the “forgotten hills” of this event. The innocuous hills of

• Manaia (141m, category 3)
• Kereta (228m, category 4)

can be felt in your legs following the hills of the previous 43km.  This collection of hills certainly could not be described as “gently rolling”.

 

Unfortunately I  must have leaned too far or done something weird on the ascent of Kereta. I have never ever been so sore on my bicycle before. I pinched something in my back, just above my right hip and was barely able to move. Still not sure how I managed this. I couldn’t help but think how I climb an equivalent hill on the way home from work every night!! Many brief pauses were in order as I struggled on. As Lance Armstrong said:

Pain is temporary
Quitting is forever

And this was to be motto rolling through my head for the next several hours as I still had 120km or so to ride on. In agony, I found myself isolated from bunches and while very scenic it did seem like the headwind the whole way back to Whitianga from here.

 

As I look to improve my time in future events this is the section that I am sure I can improve on. Get in a bunch, and knocking off 30-50 minutes from this section should not be too difficult!

 

Estimated section differences to 2008:	2009	2008	Difference
Whitianga to Coromandel Town (43km):	1:52:19	2:21:01	-28:42
Coromandel Town to Thames (53km):	2:51:41	2:44:48	+7:04
Thames to Tairua (53km):	2:36:30	2:30:00	+6:30
Whitianga to Coromandel Town (43km):	2:17:01	2:02:02	+14:59

 

Now my sore back was not in quite so much agony, a further 30km of flatish riding down the road at Thames. The small bump of Kopu – Hikuai ahead of me to ascend before dropping into Tairua.

• Kopu – Hikuai (425m, category 5)

Although sore, this bump seemed far easier to ascend than last year. I put this down to a 425m hill when you have already 160 kilometres is going to feel harder than when you have only ridden 100! I certainly had a heavy head wind on the descent, with my maximum speed only getting  to about 70km/h. A good 30km/h down on last years rapid descent :(.

 

Feeling tired, the area known as Broken Hills sure were breaking me. This is a section of innocuously tiny hills that are easily forgotten about as you dream of a fast descent straight into Tairua, but no it is about another 30km/h from the bottom of Kopu - Hukuai into Tairua.

 

Heading into Tairua I start swapping places with a rider from Auckland. Once we were over our final major bump

• Pumpkin Hill (240m, category 3)

we tried to give each other some drafting as we rode like crippled old men I am sure it didn’t look too classy. Thanks to the volunteers at the water stop with the jellybeans at the top of Pumpkin, and for stopping with some more as you drove back to Whitanga :). Much appreciated!!

 

I am not sure what was the most depressing as I struggled to the finish line:

• Feeling sore, broken and slow?
• Watching all the cars with bicycles on roof, or towbar already heading home?

But then, the number of cars I saw travelling from the finish with empty bicycle racks made me question if anyone behind me was still going to make the finish. The fear of being the Lanterne Rouge kept me going.

 

In hindsight, a ride as hard as this it could be worth adding a Lanterne Rouge award for this event in the future.

 

Will have to be a full year of training before taking this on again next year!