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Wow - it's been a while but a whole lot has happened. With the Fred Whitton in my sights I actually did some preparation, getting the road bike out for a sportive in the New Forest and a couple of social roadie spins I was able to complete the Fred in a better time than last year. Hard yep - type two fun - certainly. Do I need to do it again -No. will I? Maybe. I have also spent time on the MTB with a dabble at National XC in Open Class - strewth those guys are quickly - me not so much - but I did finish. I have also done an MTBO event - in the Surrey Hills and had a great time, getting in late but still finishing 6th in Category. Not bad for my first MTBO in more than 15 years. Social weekends in North Wales took in the newly improved Marin Trail, Penmachno, Llandegla and Coed-y-Brenin all with no rebound damping out back and all with the Irish lads MAD. What a weekend. I have also been to Afan for a weekend. Also good and with a repaired shock, Pushed fork and freshly bled brakes - lovely. Up next - a couple of weekends not pushing too hard and then at the beginning of June a Sportive in Belfast. Then Scott Marathon in Minehead, which should be nice. I guess this is just a quick check in really.

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Back to reality

Oh dear.

10 days into normal life and riding has hit the back burner.  Over my first week back at work riding just did not happen, part of this was to give the knee a chance to heal, the rest was about not being very bothered.  

Over the course of last weekend with high expectations I had previously entered the Brass Monkeys Rd 3 and had a most pleasant but slightly moist ride on Saturday with Gaz from Tunnel Hill to Swinley and back, mostly on fire roads owing to the state of the trails.  On Sunday, sitting eating breakfast looking at the rain the decision was made.  No riding for me today.  A good decision I think.  Apparently it was very wet and sandy.  Not pleasant.

Finally yesterday (Tuesday) I went on the ‘Hardnuts’ ride with the Mad gang.  Very wet, very challenging but great fun and I was actually riding well.

Planning to get out again on Thursday and then off to Milton Keynes for the Pearl Izumi Champion Team get together and spin.  Riding also planned for Sunday.

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Reflections After leaving New Zealand we had a few days in San Francisco to visit some friends. During which we took the opportunity to visit Marin County in order to tick off a couple of those boxes. So we rode trails such as Eldridge Grade, Rock Springs and Hookooekoo, we also to the opportunity to stop in Fairfax and visit the MTB Hall of Fame and Mountain Bike Museum. All interesting stuff. Trails were a bit bland and double tracky though. Never ride your heroes. Now home, unpacked, and kind of rested and even back at work my reflections on New Zealand and the Pioneer are clear. Lets start with The Pioneer. The Great Stuff: Scenery - this was amazing and is backed up by some of the photos taken and since purchased from Sportograf. It is Epic and is the reason for going. Organisation - this was very professional, and details were well covered. Often in scary detail. The Could be Improved Stuff: The Course - it just felt a lot like numbers were being chased. 550km and 15000m of climbing. This often meant long flat sections, impossible climbs and descents where the focus was on getting down to start the next climb rather than fun. I did spend rather too much time walking up very steep hills for my liking. Portaloos - I just prefer porcelain, blue plastic non flushing holes are just not nice. Singletrack - personally I like a lot of it and there really wasn’t much. Web Pages and Communications - this was challenging, much was done by Facebook, which is fine but some of the detail just wasn’t accessible via the website, this is inexcusable. Sign on - this worked well aside for riders being check for more than they were told. We had a clear - this stuff will be checked, as it happened all mandatory kit was also checked, this took us and others by surprise. Endurance events - my feelings: OK - I will put it in writing - maybe endurance events are not for me. I prefer to have fun on my mountain bike. So, shorter stages, less walking and more single track are the order of the day for me. My sense of humour seems to decline when I am walking up silly steep mountains pushing my bicycle only be to be greeted by a silly steep fire road descent. Its not that I can’t its just that the reward is not there for me personally. What we could have done better: Ride more endurance stuff in the run up to the event. Unfortunately being an event in the middle of British Winter getting the riding in ahead of the event is a challenge. Recognise that endurance is not fun. Believed the people that said walking was going to happen. And by heck did we walk a lot. Kit wise we were pretty much spot on. Full suspension was very popular in the field and at no stage did I wish for a hard tail. Gearing - I was running an 11-40 cassette with a 45 tooth expander. My chainring was 32 teeth. My gearing was not even close to low enough, I did envy people with SRAM Eagle but I don’t believe this would have resolved the walking issue. Whilst it did not affect the race shortly after my RaceFace Next SL Cranks died (this is the second pair) and I now have some alloy turbines to keep me going while I seek a suitable alternative. Sleeping bag - I will be honest - my sleeping bag was great until we had the night at Snow Farm which saw me not sleeping but wearing tights, trousers, socks, t shirt, hoodie and down jacket in my sleeping bag and still being cold. I will also admit I am all over camping for the rest of the year. What I would love to see: I am confident in New Zealand as a great riding destination. I would love to see an event that moves around more, visits proper riding venues and focuses on fun trails and riding challenge rather than 15,000m of ascent and 550km of riding. This would be ace and I would be there really quickly. Would I do it again: No - don’t get me wrong, I am glad I did it, pleased I survived and just loved the scenery but the riding was not fun enough for me. Advice for Brits heading out for next years event: It is tough. You will be walking (probably quite a lot). The organisation is great. You will need cash for food vendors etc. Do it if you like endurance events in really epic countryside and are fit. It is a lot of saddle time. Make sure your sleeping bag is warm because there is likely one cold night. Take your own energy products. It is a good event. You need lower gears than you think. 2x11 does make good sense. Full suss is a good option but you will survive just fine on a hardtail. Take some time before and after to enjoy New Zealand. We flew out and back via the USA and took some time in both LA and San Francisco to enjoy some riding and sightseeing. If going direct avoid the USA customs is a challenge. Entry into NZ is strict and they like it if you can produce a clean (very clean with tyres scrubbed) bike and shoes etc. Be honest with the customs people and they will be good to you. Tyres - black round ones are best but generally it is going to be dry. Expect a lot of water crossings - you will have wet feet most days. Don’t expect to drive a long way in a short time. The roads in New Zealand are twisty and are not quick. Go riding in Rotorua. And as for the rest of the trip: As has previously been explained we flew to Auckland, then to Christchurch before the event which took us to Queenstown. From Queenstown we then took 8 days to get to Auckland for the flight home; we spent a lot of time driving up the west coast of the South Island much of which is rainforest and therefore very green and spectacular. Clearly being rain forest it is very wet. Our riding in the last 8 days was confined mainly to two areas Nelson and Rotorua. with a quick spin in Wellington. Riding as with any place is best researched beforehand, Nelson riding was helped by Gravity Nelson who pointed us in the right direction for some great trails up above the town and which involved very little driving, accessible from town. Rotorua was just magical and I would happily move there and ride there without ever being bored. It was great and there is no need for reflection really. My only regret is not having longer to explore more epic riding spots. There is always next time though.

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Wellington and Rotorua. Words fail me on just how amazing Rotorua is. Riding through the forest, birds and cicadas doing their noisy thing. Dirt giving grip despite recent rains, alight whiff of sulphur in the air, trails to die for, green so very green. Like riding through a jungle. Coffee stops, photos stops, stops to chat. Just nice technical, well marked, well made trails. Nothing to complain about. Aside for not enough time. So many thanks to Viv, our host and guide for too few days. Simply an amazing end to a phenomenal trip. And all to soon off to the chaos of airports, Auckland, LA then a cancellation of our flight to San Francisco and a divert to San Jose. All good in the end. Thanks NZ - I shall be back.

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Queenstown- and so after the finish we got to spend some time in Queenstown. Party and film show by The Pioneer team on Saturday evening then a day of fun on Sunday. Bungee Jump from the Kawarea Bridge (terrifying), lunch with some fellow competitors and then Luge racing! Great fun and quite competitive!! And then North.

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And for stage seven a descent from Snowfarm to Queenstown. 59km and somehow 1500m of ascent. Gosh what a cold night. Really cold. Anyway starting high made for a slow start, kinda struggling to breath but also taking it easier owing to injuries. My Achilles and John's accident damage meant we were on low power. We spent quite a lot of time near the top before descending through bogs, streams etc. Finally picking up a climb (didn't see that coming) and then the highlight (jet boat) rover crossing (obviously too deep to ride). Then cycle trail down to Queenstown. 69k instead of the advertised 59. Job done. Time to party.

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What can I say, sitting here in Snow Farm following stage six. So back to stage 5 from Tekapo to Hawea(sp?). Anyway starting very early on a lovely climb, followed by another lovely climb with views over the lake everything was well with the world. A nice fast descent and then a bigger climb high into the mountains made us pay attention. Achieving a cut off with ease we headed further down before the final climb of the Queens Stage. OMG - that was long and generally unpleasant. When I say long we spent probably 2 hours feeling generally very sorry for ourselves with some cautious optimism that the descent would be more than just a plunge of boredom and terror (like some of the previous ones), we were in luck and after haemorrhaging places on the climb as a result of apathy and my inability/unwillingness to walk quickly. We headed over the edge and into some fantastic, steep, switchbacking ace Singletrack. We made time and places here. In the last run in we did ok. Finishing fine - and most importantly finishing. 120km and 3,500m of climbing made for a tough day 5. Day 6 to Snow Farm a barren landscape at the top of a hill. 2,200m of ascent in 64 km. The day started bright and warm and was going OK until checkpoint 1. At which point and after thoroughly enjoying the xc course of Deans Bank I realised that John (who last time I checked sometime before entering the Singletrack was going fine) was ominous by his absence. 1, 2, 5 minutes then a few more, still no sign. Cock - was my only thought. I really should pay more attention. Simon and Badger then turn up informing me that a bomb hole somewhere prior to Deans Bank had the better of John who was last seen being attended to by a medic. Oops again. Now checking with event staff apparently he is i and running and should turn u shortly. Which he did. Damage report is focused around shoulder and ribs. Later info it would appear nothing is out of place so painkillers and some Man Up for the finish. And we are back and running or be it at a substantially slower place, the majority of the remainder is up hill. Whoop dee do! We roll over the line after another long day. But roll over we do!! And that is the import bit. Still truckin to Queenstown!!

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Rocking the MAD kit today.

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Lake Oahu - Day 4 of 7 is always a hump day and today was no exception. Starting cold and on the flat with a. Masses start we smashed out the first few K's and then at a bog it all broke apart and we were kinda on our own. With warming temperatures we striped off the outer layers and got going. Our getting going was short lived as 3,4,5 of us passed a bush, John caught his bars and went down hard. We were joined by Simon and Badger and rode with them on and off for all the rest of the day. Following the second feed stop the meaning of Hump day dawned on us. Broadly we were face with an enormous climb (walking for the majority) followed by a significant drop and another climb (again with quite a lot of walking before a final plummet and 20k undulating into the finish. Our showing - I don't really want to know, it was not pretty. Typically then the thing I have learned is that I am better riding up hills than walking. I got overtaken a lot while walking. This really is a spectacular place but I do prefer races that have a little less walking, and ideally a little more Singletrack. With luck tomorrow will see more riding and fewer km's that are slightly too steep for me. Character building!!

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Little photo book from our first three days of racing The Pioneer in Very beautiful New Zealand. Day one kicked off in Christchurch Adventure Park. Two ascents of around 500m with some classic and New Singletrack saw us languishing in 24thin class. Day two - Geraldine to Fairlie - a long classic overland race in shorchio temperatures pushed us to the limit, dropping to 29th in class. 106km and a little over 2k of climbing. Hard but very rewarding. Day three Fairlie to Tekapo - we woke to rain and the announcement that owing to inclement weather we would be missing out the first climb. Another epic on the flat saw us picking up the back of the group ahead and then continuing to take further places, the sun came out and all was good with the world. We are not feeling the least bit cheated but are enjoying the afternoon by Lake Tekapo. All good to keep on truckin'

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Tired. New Zealand really is a very long way from home. After leaving work in Dublin at lunchtime I was grateful that the flight to Southampton was running to time, putting me home for 7pm with a home cooked dinner pretty much ready for me when I got in. Packing was completed and bed was eventually achieved. I am still not convinced I have everything I need for the race.

Saturday was us at Heathrow for our first flight LHR to Los Angeles, with a little over 48 hours in LA we had time to visit Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier and a quick wander down Hollywoods Walk of Fame. I like Santa Monica and was disappointed by Hollywood. It would appear there is a lot of homelessness which is disappointing but somehow inevitable and that the legalisation of marijuana is not the panacea you may think.

Against common practice we actually walked pretty much everywhere which has to be good for us. It did mean we saw a lot more than we may otherwise have done.

Now in Christchurch after a flight to Auckland and another to Christchurch it is time to catch up on sleep, go riding and check our kit.

…..sometime later (Friday night) a couple of rides have been completed. The hills are steep and the sun fierce. Tan lines are coming on a bit too quick and we are now all registered and numbered, henceforth 288-1 is my number. We have smart Marmot duffle bags for our 7 days of kit, gps transponders and various free sample stuff. Riding has been with John (obviously), Leona who I knew from Gorrick races and now lives in Christchurch and also with Badger and Simon I met in BC back in 2015. The trails are great and in good condition, bike is working well and so are we; so we are almost all set for the off.

My feelings - relaxed and looking forward to a great race/ride and a lot of new and shared experiences along the way.

There is not much to hate about this place at the moment. More to come likely on Sunday after stage 1.

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Little pic from my most recent race back in December. Really looking forward to Summer starting for me next Wednesday.

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Not long until the off.

Oh dear - this is getting a little close for comfort now.  I really am very excited.

Packing has been started, but is far from finished.  I have too much stuff and simultaneously not quite enough.  My bike is all fettled and ready to be packed, it is the cleanest it has been since it was a pile of new bits in boxes on the kitchen table.  Camping essentials have been assembled for our six nights under canvas, inflatable roll matt, sleeping bag, liner, pillow and lantern.  Warm stuff for the evenings we do have one night at the top of a hill.

Assorted kit including some Pearl Izumi kit, a Mountain Bike Association of Dublin jersey, a Tunnel Hill Trolls jersey and various other much loved items of essential clothing.  Shoes for this event are trusted and soon to be very battered Sidi Dragon 3’s which I much prefer to the Enduro shoes I bought for the event and which will remain in the garage at home.

Final purchases have been made including a first aid kit, painkillers, baby wipes, hand sanitiser, ear plugs etc, to see me through a month of riding and touristing in the Summer.  For the bike some new tubes with slightly longer valve stems which should work well with my WTB carbon rims have been bought, as have some spare cables and of course some quick links.  All items I plan to carry and hope not to use.  I do have a spare mech hanger too which I bought at the same time as getting the frame.

We are fortunate enough to have a 2 bag baggage allowance on top of which we will add on the bikes.

The rough schedule for the New Zealand trip is that this coming Saturday 28th January we will be departing for Los Angeles where we have two days of chill and tourist time before a late night flight on the Monday to Auckland and then on to Christchurch arriving there on Wednesday afternoon having lost Tuesday to the International Date Line Thursday and Friday are ours to relax and potentially scout the course for Sunday’s prologue race in Christchurch’s Adventure Park, after which there are 6 further days or racing.  Further race details are here: http://www.thepioneer.co.nz

After racing we have another 8 days to drive up to Auckland taking in as many riding opportunities as we are fit for and a bungee jump already scheduled for 12th Feb. We are expecting to ride some of the Old Ghost Road, ride with a friend in  Rotorua soon to be host to 2017 Crankworx, catch up with another friend in Wellington and take in as many great opportunities as we can.  

Our return trip will see us taking some time out in San Francisco and hopefully riding Mt Tam and the Repack Trail before home and then eventually work on 27th February.

With regard to Pearl Izumi Champion Team - the launch day is set and involves new kit and riding - we have been sent the details and I am looking forward to meeting my new team mates on 11th March after my return.

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I am just not riding enough...

Oh dear - this is getting a little close for comfort now.  

We have had our - it’s less than 20 days away mail pointing out that we should have done some training, reminding us we can spend money on all sorts of things, reassuring us that there are mechanic services on the race, reminding us of the rules, informing us of the schedule (which after we start is entirely their problem aside for getting up on time); it won’t be right unless there is a large chap in a red blazer, shorts and a hat using a loud hailer and a squeaky chicken to wake us up.

The bike really is clean, last minute shopping (inner tubes with long valves) and some leg warmers have been ordered.  Bike carriage is now checked out.  ESTA is completed and passed.  So broadly we are in control.  I have a very long check list and packing will be completed this weekend as my schedule has me flying home from work in Dublin on Friday 27th (so getting home at 7pm) and being at Heathrow airport for 8am on the Saturday.

Riding of late has been somewhat limited partially due to my manflu and also since my “being really scared of being injured just before going on the holiday of a lifetime’ has kicked in.  I should be OK once I am out there but between now and arriving in NZ my riding is going to continue to be a little bit rubbish.

In other news I was chuffed to receive an email from Pearl Izumi UK confirming arrangement for the PI Champion Team get together on 11th March with riding involved.  Should be fun and will be great to finally meet the Team for 2017.  This is a bit of a first for me.  Riding on a  team rather than a club, aside for a couple of times I’ve been drafted in to the Four4th Lights team for Mountain Mayhem.

I’ve also entered the ballot for the Fred Whitton - not that I am desperate to do it in an already busy year but that it is a great event and worth doing if I am lucky enough to get a place.

This coming weekend has a Saturday morning ride planned and potential for a spin on Sunday but preparation for NZ will be taking priority.  There just seems to be so much to organise and only relatively little time to achieve the ready status.

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Wet January Weekend

With a newly refreshed bike, drivetrain, suspension service, cables etc. I was eager to get out for a few hours of bedding in to ensure all was working well ahead of packing it all up and heading for New Zealand.

With a break in the weather scheduled for Saturday morning I met up with a riding buddy for an off road coffee ride from Farnborough to Swinley and back - whilst trails were damp it certainly was not a splashy ride, despite some light rain on the return trip.  25 off road miles at a steady pace worked well for me.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday saw some more significant rain coming in, and so with a long term riding engagement I headed out on the Fat Bike for a couple of hours riding with an old friend.  Despite being cold and wet by the end a good time was had and much catching up was done.  My race bike got cleaned to within an inch of its life - tyre scrubbing, under saddle, up steerer tubes etc.  It is now fit for NZ Customs as are my race shoes.

Monday saw the early alarm for the trip back to Dublin and a booking made for AJ Hackett bungee jumping.  If you’re going to the place where it all started then surely it has to be done.  This booking has given me something to worry about more than the racing.

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Preparation & Training - current concerns and positive stuff.

Preparation and Training: 2016 has provided me with a sensible foothold into the 2017 season and The Pioneer specifically.  Additional to BCBR for which I was as fit as I have ever been I have been lucky enough to spend a week prior to Christmas in Gran Canaria riding road bikes up hills, have had the advice and some counselling from Kate Potter a A Quick Release in terms of what to do and what to avoid doing to maximise my chances of success (we will define that shortly).  

One of the other things I am preparing is top table labels with the course profile on them for each stage.  They have been provided for BC Bike Race the last 2 years and have proved invaluable for that, just so with tired legs we know how much more climbing there is before the relieve of the finish.  I will also aim to mark on these the feed stations.

As to specific training, I have done some off the bike core work (not enough), quite a lot of riding but not many long rides recently and that is about it.  I have tried where possible to ride up hills as this is something that does seem to feature heavily in the course profile.

I have also been fortunate enough to have some good riding time with John my race partner sufficient at least to understand our collective weaknesses, the need for communication (we are supposed to ride together for the duration) so one of us storming up hills and leaving the other upended in a ditch with cramp is not appropriate.  

Success what is it? - John and I have discussed what we are looking to achieve, the words that come out are in no specific order are: to finish, to not finish last, to drink a few beers, to have energy to ride after the event, not to fight, to stop occasionally for photos, to hopefully look good and feel great while we are doing it.

So looking after ourselves and each other is high up the list.  In order to finish we need to not break each other or ourselves (something I have done in the past).

Pioneer MTB Race My Concerns: Those are long days. My legs hurt just looking at it. I still have a cold and haven’t ridden for a week. 3,000m in a day is a lot of climbing. I’ve never raced as a pair with John and John has never done pairs racing. Racing as a pair means you have someone else to let down. Working away from home does make my time to faff, pack and generally organise kit very limited and I am prone to have kit in the wrong location.

Positives: We have done the work (well most of it). We won’t be the slowest. We have both done some awesome riding in the past so should be fine. Racing as a pair means you have someone else to let down so MTFU and finish it. I’ve done BC Bike Race twice, finished well both times and enjoyed it.

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And so The Pioneer, kit, bike and packing.

It is now mid January and we are getting nervous and excited, by 28th January when we board the plane for LA we will be more of each.

Vast quantities of information seems to be floating by drip feed into our inboxes and Facebook accounts.  It is not always the information we want but it is information and should be lapped up and appropriately actioned.

TO summarise the race: it takes place over 7 days, starting on 5th February in Christchurch and finishing 7 days later in Queenstown.  During the course of this event we will do a couple of laps of the new Christchurch Adventure Park and then cross the Southern Alpes riding a total of 549km and 15,000m of climbing.  So this is not an insignificant challenge. There is a day with over 3,000m of climbing and more than 100km of distance.

To date we have: Booked flights, these provide us with a round trip following the route: Heathrow, Los Angeles, Auckland, Christchurch (where the race starts). Returning from Auckland, via San Francisco to Heathrow.

Booked Hirers for a few days in Christchurch prior to the race and from Queenstown with a drop off at Auckland Airport to cover us for a whistlestop tour of NZ before heading back. Booked Accommodation for LA, Christchurch and Queenstown. Got the bike services. Done some training. Made sure my Vodafone tariff has World Traveller switched on. Looked at the course profile and recognised we are in for some very long days. Booked the Pioneer Massage Package and Laundry Package. We expect to be away from home for 4 weeks in total.

Kit and Packing: Having done a couple of stage races I have some idea what to take but this doesn’t make packing any less stressful, the highlights are: riding kit for 7 days, bike (I am riding a Pivot 429sl and John will be on a Giant Anthem Advanced so it is all about xc full suspension for us), day bag tool kit, spares, first aid kit, space blanket, waterproof jacket, waterproof shorts, helmet etc.  Additional to the kit you need for racing there is obviously suncream, lip balm, chamois cream, sleeping bag for 6 nights under canvas, mattress, pillow etc. and civvies.  We will be provided with a bag in which all the kit we need for the 7 days racing should be stored, this will be carried from stage to stage for us with main bags just going direct to the end of the race.

I may try and pull together a more comprehensive list nearer the time.

My Bike: Last week my bike spent some time being appropriately serviced and so has new drive train,  tyres, suspension seals, cables etc.  This work was carried out by Andy at PurpleBikeShed in Farnborough.

For this event I will be riding my Pivot 429sl I bough this bike back in May 2016 for BC Bike Race, it has 120mm fox FIT 4 forks with 100mm of travel at the back.  I do run a dropper seatpost, single ring and for the most part the build is Shimano XTR with xc kit dominating throughout.  In terms of weight it comes in around 25lbs give or take but is stiff, reliable and comfortable.

Specific decisions I have made regarding the bike and kit are: Gearing - I will be running a wolf tooth sprocket to give me a 45 tooth bottom gear at the back, this is alongside an XTR cassette and an Absolute Black oval 32 tooth ring.  I also have a 30 tooth ring available should if feel like I need it. Tyres - I have been running WTB Trail Boss and  Nine Line for months now and like them, they were good in Canada and I don’t have too many issues with them providing I treat them with respect so I will be keeping with those. Dropper Post - I could save some weight by leaving it at home and fitting something made from carbon.  I won’t because I have become dropper dependent and cannot be bothered to change it. Shoes - people say you may need to walk and that shoes you can walk in are a good idea.  Personally I don’t really like the Giro enduro shoes I bought so I will be wearing my very comfortable Sidi Dragon 3’s and hoping they make it through to the end of the event in one piece. Camelbak - I don’t like them, I don’t like wearing them and get backache more quickly when I wear them.  I will be using a USWE pack which keeps the weight high but will be aiming to keep the weight as minimal as possible by utilising my jersey pockets and a small seatpack.  Not relevant for this event but in some single track marathon events I find I don’t drink enough if I don’t have a camelbak of some description because I cannot drink from a bottle and ride great trails at the same time.

I keeps seeing stuff I need to buy, remember to take etc. so seem to have a continuous delivery stream from Chain Reaction Cycles at the moment. Latest order was some valve extenders just incase my inner tubes have shorter valve stems than are necessary for my WTB Carbon rims, a Stan’s valve core remover and some spare quick links.  I do have a couple of spare mech hangers.