Roger...
Most important thing that I forgot to mention was Wendy’s (Wim's wife) nice bacon and egg pie in Turangi and the school kids all coming out to greet us at Hunterville.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wellington to Auckland Challenge
This is a brief report on the journey (race!) which Wim and I participated in. Steve Holdsworth and Ed Wilson from Taupo also took part.
Radio Sport asked Stephen Cox why he organized this event and his reply was that having taken part in many Dulux 6 day races he thought it would be good to give ordinary cyclists the opportunity to take part in a staged race similar to that held in the early 1970’s. It was interesting that Blair Stockwell, Jack Swart and Stephen Carton who were place getters back then also took part in last week’s race. It was unfortunate that Blair Stockwell who was leading the 60-69 age group had a major crash and finished up in Wanganui hospital along with another leading vet John Black
The event was over 7 days starting at Upper Hutt and finishing at Pukekohe. There were 13 stages covering 740 kilometres .
Day one started with a hill cimb to the top of the Rimutakas followed by a second stage to Masterton. Wim sadly got a puncture before Martinborough which cost him about 20 minutes
Day two comprised Masterton to Pahiatua and like most days the route selected was away from the main state highways. Lunch then over the Pahiatua track to Palmerston North. This I enjoyed.
Day three took us from PN to Hunterville via Chelmsford and Stormy lookout . Lunch outside Hunterville School and then north west to Wanganui via encountering road works which caused the group to all stop while a few punctures were attended too. This section is the same as on the Masters Games tour.
Presentation that night was at Cooks Gardens velodrome where we observed track cyclists in action and Ron Cheatley to present the jerseys..
Every night at 5-30 there would be presentations for the yellow jerseys, king of the mountains and Sprint aces and for some reason we missed out getting a jersey. A special jersey titled Most Impressive Rider of the Day was given out and usually it was for the best hard luck story. For example one lady snapped her seat post off. The same lady bought a brand new bike in Hamilton to finish her last day.
Day 4 (probably the hardest) took us from Wanganui up the Paraparas to Kakahi where we had lunch (more road works) and then in the afternoon up Fields track to Karioi and Ohakune. We also had a compulsory neutral stop while they cleared 500 sheep off the road.
Day 5 on home ground put on the worst weather where it was almost sleeting near National Park . Ohakune to Turangi where we were greeted by welcome familiar faces. After shooting home with the intention of mowing the lawns (ah ah)at lunch time we headed away to Taupo. Poor Wim encountered some deep large gravel outside the airport turn off and lost a fraction of time.
Wim Stayed the night at the Suncourt Lodge while Marg and I motored onto Tokoroa where day 6 was to start ( yes we cheated and missed out a bit) Just as well as major road works were being carried out before Tokoroa.
The one stage from Tokoroa to Hamilton (97k)was my worst day as my special Hammer Nutrition diet programme did not seem to work. Breakfast comprised two pills and a Gel at the start, maybe was not sufficient. Meanwhile Wim after tucking into Bacon, Eggs etc at the suncourt went like a bomb.
Final day - after a luxurious night staying at the Kingsgate in Hamilton we departed for a nice ride to Glen Murray. Brief lunch then into the last stage to Pukekohe where Wim left me behind again.(again)
A final presentation was held at the Pukekohe Cossy club on Saturday afternoon then we all went our various ways.
It was very enjoyable,brilliantly organized, not really a fun ride while on the bike, little battles with other similar standard riders took place and being at around 80%down the field of 125 riders we were put into an early bird group which started around 20 to 30 minutes before the elite riders took off.
Our average speed over all stages was around 25.5 K/hr with leader averaging 32.2 K/hr and we were around 6 hours behind the leader in the final wash up with last rider 10 hours over the 23hours taken by the leader over the whole journey.
Maybe Turangi could field a team next year!
For those interested in more details look up dynamoevents.co.nz
Wim may have some additional thoughts to add. He got sick of hearing about my sore backside.
Happy cycling
Roger
Radio Sport asked Stephen Cox why he organized this event and his reply was that having taken part in many Dulux 6 day races he thought it would be good to give ordinary cyclists the opportunity to take part in a staged race similar to that held in the early 1970’s. It was interesting that Blair Stockwell, Jack Swart and Stephen Carton who were place getters back then also took part in last week’s race. It was unfortunate that Blair Stockwell who was leading the 60-69 age group had a major crash and finished up in Wanganui hospital along with another leading vet John Black
The event was over 7 days starting at Upper Hutt and finishing at Pukekohe. There were 13 stages covering 740 kilometres .
Day one started with a hill cimb to the top of the Rimutakas followed by a second stage to Masterton. Wim sadly got a puncture before Martinborough which cost him about 20 minutes
Day two comprised Masterton to Pahiatua and like most days the route selected was away from the main state highways. Lunch then over the Pahiatua track to Palmerston North. This I enjoyed.
Day three took us from PN to Hunterville via Chelmsford and Stormy lookout . Lunch outside Hunterville School and then north west to Wanganui via encountering road works which caused the group to all stop while a few punctures were attended too. This section is the same as on the Masters Games tour.
Presentation that night was at Cooks Gardens velodrome where we observed track cyclists in action and Ron Cheatley to present the jerseys..
Every night at 5-30 there would be presentations for the yellow jerseys, king of the mountains and Sprint aces and for some reason we missed out getting a jersey. A special jersey titled Most Impressive Rider of the Day was given out and usually it was for the best hard luck story. For example one lady snapped her seat post off. The same lady bought a brand new bike in Hamilton to finish her last day.
Day 4 (probably the hardest) took us from Wanganui up the Paraparas to Kakahi where we had lunch (more road works) and then in the afternoon up Fields track to Karioi and Ohakune. We also had a compulsory neutral stop while they cleared 500 sheep off the road.
Day 5 on home ground put on the worst weather where it was almost sleeting near National Park . Ohakune to Turangi where we were greeted by welcome familiar faces. After shooting home with the intention of mowing the lawns (ah ah)at lunch time we headed away to Taupo. Poor Wim encountered some deep large gravel outside the airport turn off and lost a fraction of time.
Wim Stayed the night at the Suncourt Lodge while Marg and I motored onto Tokoroa where day 6 was to start ( yes we cheated and missed out a bit) Just as well as major road works were being carried out before Tokoroa.
The one stage from Tokoroa to Hamilton (97k)was my worst day as my special Hammer Nutrition diet programme did not seem to work. Breakfast comprised two pills and a Gel at the start, maybe was not sufficient. Meanwhile Wim after tucking into Bacon, Eggs etc at the suncourt went like a bomb.
Final day - after a luxurious night staying at the Kingsgate in Hamilton we departed for a nice ride to Glen Murray. Brief lunch then into the last stage to Pukekohe where Wim left me behind again.(again)
A final presentation was held at the Pukekohe Cossy club on Saturday afternoon then we all went our various ways.
It was very enjoyable,brilliantly organized, not really a fun ride while on the bike, little battles with other similar standard riders took place and being at around 80%down the field of 125 riders we were put into an early bird group which started around 20 to 30 minutes before the elite riders took off.
Our average speed over all stages was around 25.5 K/hr with leader averaging 32.2 K/hr and we were around 6 hours behind the leader in the final wash up with last rider 10 hours over the 23hours taken by the leader over the whole journey.
Maybe Turangi could field a team next year!
For those interested in more details look up dynamoevents.co.nz
Wim may have some additional thoughts to add. He got sick of hearing about my sore backside.
Happy cycling
Roger
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Change of Meeting Place - 20th Feb
Due to it being the Around the Lake Relay day.
All riders coming out for the Kiko Road ride the meeting place has now change to - Motuoapa Tennis Courts (go into to village, turn left at top of road you wont miss them)
All riders coming out for the Kiko Road ride the meeting place has now change to - Motuoapa Tennis Courts (go into to village, turn left at top of road you wont miss them)
Annual General Meeting - BBQ
Don't forget to show up for the AGM and BBQ on
Feb 27th @ 6pm. Maurice's house.
Bring a plate, and your partner if you wish
Beer supplied.. leave your bike at home
(if its raining Darryl shed - will decided on the night, they are neighbours)
Feb 27th @ 6pm. Maurice's house.
Bring a plate, and your partner if you wish
Beer supplied.. leave your bike at home
(if its raining Darryl shed - will decided on the night, they are neighbours)
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Our Boys in the Lion Foundation Wellington to Auckland Ride
To keep track of how Wim and Roger are doing, check out the daily results of the Lion Foundation ride:
Lion Foundation Ride
Lion Foundation Ride
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