Sunday, October 30, 2011

Cycling Report

Double the fun in the king country was the order of the weekend for the rock n road cycling club.

Saturday the Taumarunui Multisport Club hosted the Dave logue Classic cycle race. The ride started in Taumarunui and went toward 8 mile junction then turned off the Ohura, this was leg one and was longer but easier than the return leg which took the riders from Ohura via the forgotten Highway back to Town, a shorter but harder ride.

There was a good turnout and wide cross section of cyclist from elite through to casual and the race started with a police escort through Tuamarunui with a neutralized race until out safely on the Highway. The ride soon broke into groups and the ride was , for me at least, fantastic and my first experience of a true race.

Once off the main road it was truly cycling bliss with great company, a good surface and interesting new scenery around every bend. My leg ended at Ohura so I only saw the pain on the faces of the riders as they climbed Tunnel hill. There were some great efforts put in and it was great to the equality of the sexes displayed explicitly with the just minutes between the overall winner Rachel Cashin female cyclist Vet (over 40) female rider Linda Tarrant. Local (Turangi) hero, Roger Bates, put in a blistering ride to secure his teams win in the vet mens division.

The rock n road entrants all picked up a division win with Wim and Roger getting first in Vet Men and myself winning the vet men first stage (by 42 mintues). We are pictured here with the overall winner (and local vet). Graeme Barret gave support in Rogers van and it was a great 10 hours of fun with the prize giving at the historic Taumaranui Club,

The organisers showed that a few people can run a great day and we look forward to joining them again and perhaps doing a joint event.

Sunday saw a group of 6 travel from Turangi to the Pureora Forest near Waimiha in the Heart of the King Country to ride a new section of the national cycle way and at the time of writing I hadn’t had feedback but I cant see anything but a fun day being had, that is the cyclist attitude, locally at least, if you are putting lots of effort into something then one makes sure one enjoys oneself. That pretty much encapsulates the philosophy of the sport I am lucky enough to have found.

The Weekend was fun and safe with no injuries , except maybe some sore legs, reported.

Safe Cycling
Wally

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Cycling Report

The Rock N road cycling group meets monthly at its new home, the TT sports foundation office.

While the mundane functional that every club must deal with are processed the meetings also provide a good forum to discuss future rides and happenings, particularly during these cooler months when riding is not always an options.

This month there was a special treat with John Ninnes, pictured, A Naturopath and sports nutrition expert gave the club the benefit of his many years of study and experience at endurance events and how to assist the body to get to the finish line in good shape.

His talk was very interesting and gave some (me) a lesson in the workings of the digestive system and possible problems with certain supplements. He also shared techniques to give the body of an endurance competitor the best cache to make it through the day and provide samples of mineral additives to improve the way in which the body can absorb energy .

The meeting ran later than usual and we made it home about 10 pm but all of us were pleased to have had a chance to learn a bit more about how our bodies react to certain situations and ways to reduce the risk of not being able to complete an event due to poor nutrition.

Coming up this week is our first ride through the recently cleared Pylon track (mountain Bike), the following weekend we venture into the king country twice, Saturday several local riders planning to ride in the Mike logue memorial Taumaranui to Ohura return And on the Sunday the club is heading to Pureora to ride a new section of track in the national cycleways project.

Much talk revolved around the new ride shorts the club has, matching in well with the vests. The Club is progressing well in a time when many are struggling. The beauty of cycling is the health benefits and the low running cost of partaking in the sport. Once a Bike is purchased excepting for occasional tyres they run virtually for free. A motorcycle may cost as much as $30 per week just to sit there and more when you use it so in the current financial environment cycling is a good option to keep the books balanced at home and great for families to enjoy leaving the wallet at home.


We look forward to improving weather and many more good local rides, with occasional trips away as well. Remember to be seen and safe on the roads.

Safe cycling

W van der AA

Cycling Report

The Rock N road cycling group meets monthly at its new home, the TT sports foundation office.

While the mundane functional that every club must deal with are processed the meetings also provide a good forum to discuss future rides and happenings, particularly during these cooler months when riding is not always an options.

This month there was a special treat with John Ninnes, pictured, A Naturopath and sports nutrition expert gave the club the benefit of his many years of study and experience at endurance events and how to assist the body to get to the finish line in good shape.

His talk was very interesting and gave some (me) a lesson in the workings of the digestive system and possible problems with certain supplements. He also shared techniques to give the body of an endurance competitor the best cache to make it through the day and provide samples of mineral additives to improve the way in which the body can absorb energy .

The meeting ran later than usual and we made it home about 10 pm but all of us were pleased to have had a chance to learn a bit more about how our bodies react to certain situations and ways to reduce the risk of not being able to complete an event due to poor nutrition.

Coming up this week is our first ride through the recently cleared Pylon track (mountain Bike), the following weekend we venture into the king country twice, Saturday several local riders planning to ride in the Mike logue memorial Taumaranui to Ohura return And on the Sunday the club is heading to Pureora to ride a new section of track in the national cycleways project.

Much talk revolved around the new ride shorts the club has, matching in well with the vests. The Club is progressing well in a time when many are struggling. The beauty of cycling is the health benefits and the low running cost of partaking in the sport. Once a Bike is purchased excepting for occasional tyres they run virtually for free. A motorcycle may cost as much as $30 per week just to sit there and more when you use it so in the current financial environment cycling is a good option to keep the books balanced at home and great for families to enjoy leaving the wallet at home.


We look forward to improving weather and many more good local rides, with occasional trips away as well. Remember to be seen and safe on the roads.

Safe cycling

W van der AA

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Cycle Event Training Ride

Cycle event training ride

Ideas.

The aim is to provide a ride that enables all riders the opportunity to participate and also to offer riders the chance to practice a distance they are training toward for a future event.

I drove the proposed course and suggest the follwing transition points.

Teams rides (approximate distances)

Tokaanu to summit of the Waituhi saddle , 37 km Climbing Hard

Waituhi saddle to Mahoe Motels, 25 km easy to moderate (mainly downhill)

Mahoe Motel to summit of Raurimu hill , 32km climbing hard

Raurimu hill to Whakapapaiti stream , 15 km mainly flat easy

Whakapapa iti stream to Tokaanu 40 km moderate to hard.

Teams of 3,4 or 5 can ride this course. The aim is to have every club member ride, it is a training event so participation should be a priority over finishing results.

Teams of 2 can change over at the owhango hotel.

Individuals can arrange with teams for supplies to be carried.

Each team to organize a vehicle (s) .

Alternatively break for lunch at owhango and restart from there after everyone has had lunch ?

Riders briefing 8 am Start at 8.30 am team transport to proceed to transition points ahead of riders.

Timing will be up to each team if desired and for safety a ‘tail end Charly’ motorcycle with (cycle event following ) sign .

After event a BBQ evening .

Your thoughts to me. In person or aalarms@xtra.co.nz


Wally