Contact Epic 19th April 2015 - 125km MTB event

The contact epic was a perfect day of calm and clear conditions after a night of heavy rain prior to the race. I have only competed in the Epic once last year and it was an alternative course of out and back on just one side of the lake as opposed to the 'proper' course of the loop around the whole lake.

My goal for this ride was to manage my energy input carefully knowing that I was carrying a bit of fatigue from the previous weekends race in the Naseby 12 hour. So setting off for the day I ensured a good supply of nutrition was in my bag and at hand to put into the body at regular intervals. The other goal was to not really stop and become complacent with tiredness. In the end I have three stops - 1- to help a rider in the shorter classic event that started ahead of us that had a chain jam all munched up which needed a hand to un-jam from between her cassette and spokes - good help and all part of the "see you out there" spirit, 2. for a stop to refuel the drink bladder and one later on to empty the bladder! I managed to break a spoke on my rear wheel with a herd hit into a rock on a zippy little descent with about 40km to go so had my fingers crossed in a hope that it would make it to the end with out 'tacoing' itself which it didn't. The wheel is now in with Willem and his workshop team at Racers Edge getting fixed up for it's future hammerings!! All up the ride was fantastic and I came in with a time of 7hr20min which I was happy with.

Naseby 12 hour MTB Solo 2015

A real ‪#‎seeyououtthere‬ ‪#‎torpedo7‬ day yesterday! The Naseby 12 Hour Solo MTB event certainly took all the energy out of my system over the course of the day. 13 laps completed in just over 11 hours and feeling pretty smashed, not quite enough time for a 14th. It was great to have the support of theTorpedo7 crew in the pits area throughout the day and the quality bike and gear making things that bit more comforatble on the bike. This pic is from prior to the start, I am feeling a little old and weathered today!

 — withTorpedo7.

Motatapu Xterra Tri March 2015

Body was feeling pretty trashed  after 6hours26min of swimming MTBing and running. A great race in the Motatapu XTerra Triathlon today. Some pretty wet, muddy and tough conditions - the tougher the conditions the more satisfying at the end. The bike and all the other gear were put through some great product testing today with a big thumbs up to the team at ‪#‎torpedo7‬‪#‎Seeyououtthere‬ Torpedo7  The 2015 Motatapu X terra tri which was a bit of a wet and mucky course due to the rainfall overnight and on the morning of the event. I had a good swim coming out of the water in the time I would expect and onto the MTB which was a pretty slow slog through, my MTB time was about an hour slower than previous races due to the sticky ground conditions (and one small stop to play good T7 guy to a bloke in distress with a jammed chain) but got through feeling fine and onto the run which was great as I have been doing quite a lot of hill work around the hills of Hawea so the legs are feeling strong and the run went well until we were stopped 2 km from the end due to the river levels rising so our times were taken from there clocking me in at 6hr26min and placing me 3rd in my age cat and half way through the overall field so pretty happy with this.

Challenge Wanaka - The Lake Wanaka Half

Well it dawned as a perfect day for the annual Challenge Wanaka and Lake Wanaka Half. I competed in the Lake Wanaka Half this yerar which consisted of the 1.9km Swim, 90km Cycle and a 21km run.
This was the fourth time I have races this event (as well as one crack at the full in 2012)...
More detail of the event and my story of it will be here soon....

Summer Missions and Sunshine!

The last month has been that of a crazy one with some big changes going on for our family. I have just scored myself a permanent job teaching at Mt Aspiring College in Wanaka. We have been flat out getting our house for sale, buying a house and getting ready for the big move in a couple of weeks. All amongst this I have been fitting in what training I can in preparation for a few up

coming races (after missing a few in the last month due to family business with all that has been going along with family time with our three little ones. I have however managed to get in at least a blast on the bike or a good tempo run most days to keep the body ticking along. Along with these i have had some good rides towing the tag along bike wiht my sons who take turns at coming for missions on this. Even managed some good single track with one of the little fellas hanging on tight! The next event in preparation for is the Lake Wanaka Half Ironman followed by the Motatapu Xterra Tri.
Another update or adventure posted soon.

See You Out There . . . . Torpedo 7!

The best place instore and online for all your outdoor adventure needs!!
www.torpedo7.co.nz

Dunedin Mazda Adventure Challenge - 12 Hour Multi-Cross! 1st November 2014

First day out in the new branded Torpedo 7 Kit and it was given a good thrashing of sweat, salt water and sunshine and stood up fantastically! A great day ( but long!!) competing solo in the 12 hour individual section of this new event. Made up of a Kayak loop, MTB loop and a Run loop. Each lap was set to take around 30-40minutes and you could choose what you did and in what order. Each time you completed 3 different disciplines you earned a bonus point. It was a hot NW wind blowing and the wind really picked making for a bit of a rough ride on the water when the high tide started to turn as part of the paddle was down the river mouth channel so some good bumpy unpredictable currents made me work hard to have the trusty UFO Kayak slicing through the water well!.
I repeated Kayak, MTB, Run loops in tis order throughout the day apart from a shuffle of order in the last set and managed 15 laps in total picking up 5 bonus points along the way giving me placing of 10th in the solo 12 hour competitors. The winner completed his first lap as a run and then biked all day following this.
A good solid day out with 11hrs 35min of racing and 3 food stops in amongst this. Needless to say Sunday was a day of rest and lots of eating and re-fuelling!! The body is well accustomed to 12 hours of continuous exercise but it takes it's toll on energy the following day!

Huriawa Peninsula

A great weekend of training and 'hooning' around the Huriawa Peninsula on foot and a few laps on the bike on the MTB trails as well at Karitane in prep for next weekends 12 hour multicross race which I will be competing in as an individual. Needless to say the body will be pushed to it's limits throughout the day!

Karitane Multisport Race - 19th October

Had a great little local race today in Karitane put on by the Dunedin Tri Club, 5km Kayak, 25km MTB and 5km run, pushing hard at high intensity most the way in a small but solid group of athletes to come away with a 3rd

Moro Marathon Sep 2014....

Race pack for what would have been Marathon #11 didn't even get opened (apart form taking the Moro bar out of it to eat). Ill's chills and bugs still in my system combined with no sleep in our house with sick little people meant it was family first and getting our little Oscar and his skin sorted.. - there will be plenty more opportunity to thrash the body through the summer months ahead!

Lake Hawea Contact Epic MTB April 26th 2014 Report

A bit of a run down on how the day went below this video and amongst the pics...

Pre Race 6.30am fresh legs and ready to roll!

The Lake Hawea Epic is a race I had never done before. It had great appeal to me as the surrounds of Lake Hawea are simply stunning, but at the same time is a piece of country that can throw up any weather conditions on any given day. The event is a 125km loop around the lake. When I arrived to register I was informed of the rain that they had on the Thursday prior to the race and this had seen the Hunter River at the head of the lake flowing way to high to cross safely on our loop around the lake - so there was an alternative course in place which was to head up the Northern side of the lake to pretty much the Hunter River and return which was to be a slightly shorter course. With a couple of shorter course options called the classic and traverse there were around 700 riders in this event. On the start line for a 7am start there were 400 riders in the Epic, our first few Km were on a couple of sealed roads before making our way up the lake side. Almost every event that involves a mass start and bunch riding there is always someone (or more than1) person taken down in the bunch with a crash, This years Epic was no exception, about 2km into it I heard the sound of body and bike scrubbing across the ground to then see 3 riders nailed into the ground amongst the bunch - unfortunately their day was over already.

photo www.Studio5.co.nz

 I managed to stay safe and settled into what was to be a bit of a slow pace for the day, having still been battling with a lower back strain and relying on prescribed Muscle Relaxant drugs to and extensive physio to settle spinal muscle spasms (of which I had to stop taking prior to this event as they do give you a bit of a 'spaced out relaxed feel') Anyway the day was a stunned with clear skies and spectacular views, one of which was a perfect glimpse of Mt Aspiring across the lake and behind the ranges in front of us. It was a long slog out to the turn around with lots of rocky patches amongst many little pinches of up and down. The turn around point provided a good opportunity to fuel up and before making my way back.
On the return I came across a man who was worried his day was over as he had a broken rear derailleur and didn't have any ideas what to do to fix it. Myself being a little bit of a problem solver I managed to get him rolling again with a limited selection of gears but he was fine with that and very appreciative, so my good deed for the day.

Around the 90km mark at the Dingle Burn Station there was a welcomed aid station serving Scones wiht Jam and Cream along with Coffee - I made my donation to them and loaded up on scones and a mege coffee which had me rolling along happily again after this - I had perhaps been a little under fed during the race and was suffering a bit by now as a result. anyway a last slog of hills and it was into Lake Hawea to the finish. It was a tough 7hrs24min in the saddle for me but satisfying knowing that my back had held together and didn't give too much trouble and that my body had bounced back form the Naseby 12 hour 3 weeks earlier. All up a great day with some stunning scenery.! Bike rolling smooth and faultless thanks to the team at R&R Sport. The Trek Superfly FS 29er   was awesome on the terrain of this event and smoothed out many of the bumps nicely. I'll have to head back next year to do the whole loop of the lake!

All done!!

Naseby 12hour MTB Enduro - Solo 2014

Well a tough day out on the trails at Naseby in the R&R Sport Naseby 12hour MTB Race. This year the course was very wet and muddy making it very taxing in the initial hours of the race. I worked away ticking off lap by lap and managing a few 'low on go' periods and ended up completing 11 laps = 129km which was a little down on KM from last year, but the whole course and lap times of everyone were reported to be the slowest in the 10 year history of the event. A great event put on my the team at MOuntain Biking Otago and the New Trek Superfly FS8 was fantastic on the trails and having the dual suspension made things just that bit more comfortable. Thanks to the Team at R&R Sport as always for great gear and support.

Lake Wanaka Half - Swim 1.9km, Cycle 90km, Run 21.1km

Ticked off another finish in the lake Wanaka half IM yesterday, a little down on what I had hoped, my ingestion of too much air through not having the best swim breathing technique in the world in the swim had some funky internal effects that slowed things down substantially on the bike and run, clicked in at 6hr30 all up a great blast in one of the best corners of the world, a great event to be a part of once again! A step down form the full IM last year but time for training wiht 3 children under 5 makes it a bit tough, perhaps the full Challenge come 2015 again!All made that bit more comfy with quality gear from the team at R&R Sport

Jan 17th 2014 - Lake Wanaka Half Tomorrow - the pre swim

Possibly the best swimming pool ever to train in!! Post swim this morning in the fantastic Lake Wanaka in final prep for tomorrows race in the Lake Wanaka Half. Challenge Wanaka All will be made that bit more comfortable with quality gear from R&R Sport -Cheers

Foot Injury ... Jandals and a Wet path December 24th 2013

Not the best footwear to have to wear for the next 2 weeks in main training build up for the Lake Wanaka Half in less than a month.... X-Rays shows no break, just lots of ligament and tissue damage. I reckon the road cycling shoe will give just as much support and rigidness as this silly shoe - so I'll be biking like a demon, and running like a person with a dodgy foot! Wet paths and slippery Jandals oops!

Eldorado MTB Race November 17th 2013

El Dorado 2013 - The Legend Begins. A fantastic 45 kmmMTB race today out on El Dorado Station - first time this event has been run and the organisers and volunteers did a great job, lots of good (brutally tough) grunty climbing for pretty much the first 90 min to push the heart rate off the scale and put the body into the hurt box!, the reward of this was the super fast down hill descents at full speed on the return leg!! Placed 22nd. All held together and made more comfortable with quality gear from R&R Sport, cheers team!

Dunedin Marathon 8th September 2013 - Marathon number 9 (10 if you count IM)

Great run this morning in the Dunedin Marathon in a smidge over 4hours, Marathon Number 9 (10 if you count Marathon at end of IM) Feeling pretty good - They aren't getting any faster, in fact today was my slowest, training priorities sit below quality family time with Cherie Sloan Oscar and Charlie. Our two little characters that don't give us complete sleeps may factor into a small amount of fatigue also! Anyway a great little corner of the world we live in running in around the bays from Tairoa Heads is stunning. All made a little more comfortable with quality gear from R&R Sport, the Icebreaker socks keep the feet in perfect condition the whole way!

Dunedin Mazda Adventure Challenge - 6hr 31st August 2013

A great blast out in the hills. This race was on parts of the terrain covered by us in the 12hour previously held in the area. Although this was familiar terrain it didn't make any of the terrain - especially the hills any easier! We were on the MTB for the first 3 hours before getting onto a run for the remaining part of the course with a zip line in the middle of the run course.All up a great location and great event put on by Josh Harris and Dunedin City Mazda. We finished up 5th and completed the course in 4hours and 55min.

Winter Night Riding - July 2013

The winter months this year have been pretty busy with young family and work, however in an effort to keep things ticking along I have kept up the running as well as having some fun night ride missions on the MTB. After investing in a new night light it has made the riding a whole lot brighter!! I picked up the "Glo Worm X2" and it is one awesome light!!! Coming up is the Dunedin Mazda 6hour Adventure Challenge and the following weekend the Dunedin Marathon... more on that here soon. And back into a summer of events and adventure!

Naseby 12hour MTB April

There has been a little void in updating some o my recent missions... The Naseby 12 hour in April was a good day out. Having raced in this previously in teams I thought it was time to put myself out there and ride Solo!! I set myself some goals to keep me focused and motivated by positive thought. I completed 165km in hte 12 hours and had a great day. The most challenging would have been lap 14 when I ran out of battery and rode the last 10min of the lap pretty much bumping along in the complete dark. Lap 15 was saved when Gavin lent me his light he wasn't needing. All in all a great day and a bit of a sore lower back and legs for a few days after this one!