2008 PNP MTB Series - Rounds 1 & 2

OK. A bit of background: I entered the Recreation grade last year at the 2007 PNP MTB Series and was fortunate enough to win all four rounds that I'd entered. This season, I'm stepping up and racing in the Senior Women grade (which essentially is an "Open Women" grade as there is no Pro-Elite Women grade at the PNP series). So it's always going to be tough and a learning experience that's for sure!

Round 1: Makara Peak - August 31st.

So, not the best start to the season. I'd spent the weeks prior either sick with a cold, or sitting around on my arse listening to conference talks and eating yummy conference food! I didn't get any warm-up in (won't make that mistake again!) and I really felt it at the start, which was a gradual climb on 4wd towards some singletrack. Quads were dead and felt like bricks and was passed by a number of people heading up the 4wd. Into the singletrack (Big Tom's Wheelie, Sally Alley, Missing Link) and it was a bit better (and a lot more familiar since Makara Peak is less than a stones-throw away from our house!), then more 4wd climbing (where I passed one of the girls in my grade), more singletrack descent (Aratihi, Leaping Lizard, Nikau - where I was passed by the girl I'd passed earlier), and climbing (up Nikau, Missing Link), descending (Ridgeline Extension, SWIGG/Starfish), ascending (Lazy Fern - by this stage, my legs had finally warmed up so I was passing quite a few people on the climb!), Magic Carpet, then a descent down Livewires and to the finish line. Rolled on in around 5th place, with only a couple of minutes separating 3rd to 5th place in Senior Women (I was only 30 seconds back from 4th). OK. So it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.


Round 2: Wainuiomata - 21st September.

Wow. What a huge turnout! Over 170 riders I think, and about a dozen in the Senior Women grade - probably the biggest field I've ever had to ride with at a local MTBing event. I did manage to get a warm-up in this time. Phew. Although how much it really helped is to be debated because the first half hour or so was a climb up the "Crazyman rollercoaster" - essentially a 4wd climb up, up, and up, with little pinches thrown in that could perhaps be rideable but most chose to walk. I'd been passed by a few of the women in my grade already, but still had one very close and in my sights until I was caught out by that nasty thing: chain suck! Turns out that not touching your bike since a 6 hour race the weekend before is not a good thing when you forget to put chain lube on! Oops. Eventually she disappeared off into the distance as I got off and tried to push my bike up the pinch climbs. Sigh.

So eventually the climb ended, and there were some undulations at the top and down into some tight, twisty, gravelled singletrack (Labyrinth), where I took it rather quietly. Back up another 4wd climb, and then down into a slippery, muddy single-track known as 491 which links onto an older DH track, Spoon Hill. Both required lots of walking, running, and sliding from me - oh, and a bit of riding I suppose! I even got to practice my tripoding skills in places. Up some more singletrack (Jungle Gym), where I got talking to local trail-builder Don MacLeod, who was loving the singletrack and the way it was built! The Wainuiomata Trail Project guys have really done a great job in there. Jungle Gym pops out on the 4wd at the same place as Labyrinth, so it was back up the 4wd again, then back down into 491/Spoon Hill (more running and sliding, with a few pedal to calf clashes as my bike tried to push me forward). Then a short, fast road section back to the finish (I put it in the biggest gear possible and hammered it - may as well make up some time somewhere!).

So today's race went OK. For those that know me, I'm not a big fan of slippery, muddy conditions, so the descents were definitely a challenge. I also need to work on my climbing a bit more, but my competitive nature didn't really kick in today for some reason. I was happily having conversations on the climbs today, and that really says to me that I wasn't pushing myself enough. Perhaps I was still in 6 hour endurance mode from last weekend? Perhaps last night's broken sleep didn't help? (I've just woken up from a 3 hour post-race nap! That's how tired I was feeling!). Perhaps my head really wasn't in the game today? Who knows. In any case, the next round is at Mt Victoria, which I'm looking forward to. I spent a bit of time riding up there last year in preparation for the National XC Champs, so the course is mostly familiar and also shorter than the one I raced for the National Champs. Bring it on! :)