The Hunua ranges, most commonly known for the large dams that supply a large chunk of Auckland's water supply, are also home to a large selection of single track, and is set to host a round of the national mtb series early next year. The trails are tight and technical, with many riders coming out of the race with mechanicals leading to DNF's. Taking care of your bike is just as important towards winning at Hunua as a high standard of fitness.
I've never been great at racing Hunua, and it was all turning to custard before the race had even started. Despite cutting out large sections of the course during my pre-ride, I made it back to the start line with about 2 minutes before race start... cue mad dashing to the car to dispose of my warm up gear and get ready to race. A mad panic ensued as I was constantly paranoid that the start whistle would blow before I even reached the line; luckily this did not happen. Sitting on the start line, I discovered my GPS/heart rate monitor would not start, which I later discovered was due to failing to charge it properly the night before. This was tech fail number 1.
I like seeing my heart rate whilst riding as it allows you to push a little harder when your body tells you otherwise. Nothing shatters the illusion of "I'm doing all out effort" like seeing your heart rate sitting at a puny 65%; it kicks you into reality very quickly and makes you push harder.
I also discovered around 30 seconds into the race that my wheel sensor driven computer, that also monitors my cadence, had decided to stop working too, despite having been recording perfectly well just minutes before. This was tech fail number 2. Cadence is another little geeky analysis tool I like using, especially on fire roads as it gives clear feedback on whether you are pushing too hard or soft a gear. As a rider I have a chronic problem of standing up in the saddle at necessary times, which wastes energy faster than an electric heater in a walk-in freezer. So, the nerd set out on his race without any of his toys working, and so began a long, hard race.
The first lap continued to go badly for me. Having tried to take a hot line through a rock garden another rider abruptly cut me off sending me flipping head over heels onto the rocks. Adding insult to injury, the stones in the stream crossing that followed made their best efforts to send me swimming, a fate narrowly avoided by some fancy footwork and a bit of sliding around. This quickly lost me sight of the lead pack of riders and I was left to fight it out on my own in the middle pack of the race.
The second lap wasn't much better. I had moved up a place due to an untimely tubeless failure from Kim, but the lead group had well and truly pulled away beyond any hope of catching them. Knowing Isaac was hot on my heels I kept pushing all the way to the finish, narrowly fending him off in the end by a mere 30 seconds.
On the plus side, I am back to my old habit of winning spot prizes. I do though, believe I need to take a little time off racing, not a lot, just a little, to let the body recover and get back to peak performance. After this race I have realised that although I am still fast, I am reaching that fine line where you can make it or break it by doing just the right amount of riding, or too much and burn out before the year is up. I will be back for round 3, with all guns firing, but until then, time to focus on the upcoming exams and the large volumes of study that entails (I am still a student after all...). In the words of one well known actor with a distinctive accent, "I'll be back..." The bike nerd will rise again.
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