Huka Challenge MTB 2012

Ever since I started racing, my aim has been to go faster and do better than before; to end up at the top of the podium, so high up that I can see the tops of everyone's heads. So, it seems counter intuitive to enter a race where my sole aim was NOT TO WIN. And that is exactly what I went out to do at the Huka Challenge 2012, an 85 km long MTB race. I would not be embarking on this adventure alone however; by my side were fellow JAFAKIDS Isaac Schuurman, Kim Wright, Tom Coombes and Jemma Manchester. Together, we were aiming to go out and have a fun day on the bikes, no matter how long it took us.

The first thing I noticed when we entered Taupo the day before the race was that the internet had lied to us; there were a surprising amount of motel vacancy signs showing for a town that was supposedly booked out for the weekend. Secondly, there were bikes EVERYWHERE. There was the course set out for the criterion later on in the evening, road and mountain bikes racked for the next day, and tents propped up everywhere like mushrooms in a field, selling anything from liquorice allsorts to bike repairs. The trials riding demo had locals and riders from out of town showing off their skills, drawing a pretty large crowd.

Having discovered the final section of the race course right next to where we were staying, Isaac and I spent the evening riding the last few kilometres over and over again. If these trail were anything to go by, I thought, this was going to be a hard but fun ride. Taupo didn't disappoint. Early the next morning we awoke bleary eyed to make the 7.00 am start, and met up with the rest of our team. The temperatures were already starting to rise at this point in the morning with a clear, sunny day predicted and little need for jackets or arm warmers. As we weren't aiming to win, we positioned ourselves in the third start wave and before long, we were off.

The first section of the course followed the river before rolling into spa park, hooking onto some of the course used in the recent Day/Night thriller, albeit backwards. Through much of this I was trying to film with my handheld point and shoot camera, hoping to put together a short film about our adventure on the Huka challenge. This was easier said than done on some of the downhill sections but the slower pace of the climbs made it possible to get some steady footage. Time to try and get hold of a helmet camera I think... The inevitable eventually happened on one of the roads and in a lapse of concentrating my bike clipped the curb and I was sent flying over the handlebars. Of all the places I could have crashed, the road was not where I was expecting. I had a couple of lucky escapes with this crash, with my indestructible camera not falling down a steam vent, bike remaining in one piece and only a few cuts and grazes on my elbows to show for it. And Isaac and Jemma were right there to see it all unfold. I later found out much to my dismay that I didn't catch any footage of flying over my handlebars, so it was all for nothing...

We stopped for a bite to eat outside The Hub Cafe where our support crew of parents were waiting with sandwiches and water bottle refills. I took this opportunity to get the cuts patched up at the ambulance, and learnt that I was one of only two mountain bike injuries so far. However, the other injury was a broken bone so my injury was nothing special. Refuelled  we rocketed off back into the bush for the next sections of trail, the Craters of the Moon. Having recently been forested much of craters of the moon was exposed to the sun, leading to dry, dusty but fun trails. The fine clouds of dust were the source of much amusement for many riders, with competitions of who could make the biggest cloud around the corners quickly forming. The trail started turning upwards soon enough in the form of Grinder, a steep series of switchbacks that, mercifully, were under tree cover. At the top of Grinder all riders who passed by were given a pink wrist band to show they hadn't taken any alternate routes around the hill, before sending riders down the other side of the hill. And back up it again. We took the summit of these climbs as a chance for a lunch break and to let any slow riders ahead of us gain a lead before hammering he awesome downhill tracks that we knew were to follow, made all the sweeter by having some energy again.

The lower trail seemed to take forever. They would climb, then descend, then climb again, and you could never quite tell how close you were to the crossroads. After being sent up Grinder a second time the trails started facing us back towards Taupo again, but all was not well in our little group. As we headed through the lower, exposed sections of Craters of the Moon, it became apparent that everyone bar Kim and I had run out of water, as Kim and I were the only riders out of our lot who had thought to bring Camlbaks. This was quickly taking it's toll in the hot midday sun as the team began to succumb to dehydration. We knew there was supposed to be a water station within the next 10 km or so, but even sharing water wasn't enough; the heat was taking it's toll and the pace dropped dramatically. But just as all hope was lost in the beads of sweat on our brows, we arrived back at the Hub Cafe/drink station with our support crew waiting. Never before has a cup of water looked so desirable  The parents had come into a league of their own on the catering front whilst we were gone, with cakes, bacon and egg pies, bananas and more waiting by the Schuurman's truck. Legs stretched and bottles filled we continued on our way through the final 10 km back to Taupo.

It was only after crossing the finish line that I realised how big an event the Huka actually is. Everywhere you looked there were just endless amounts of people. Despite stopping for picnics, not pushing ourselves as far as we could go and finishing in just under 6 hours, I later discovered that our group had in fact finished in the top half of the field. Tired, cramped, sun burnt but smiling, we had accomplished something truly epic. Would I do it again next year? Hell Yeah!

Did you have any adventures at Huka this year? feel free to leave a comment with your story below... :-)
  

Review: Magellan Switch Up GPS Sports Watch

Many riders at one point or another will find themselves using a cycle computer. The ability to see how fast you are going is a major ego booster, or major ego buster in some cases. Realising how slow you are going can provide the motivation to push that bit harder up that pinch climb which has troubled you for weeks on end. The same can be said for heart rate monitors. A simple glance can shatter any illusions of physical prowess, despite what the pounding in your ears and lack of breath might suggest. However, few devices successfully offer these two together, and that’s where the Magellan Switch Up GPS sports watch comes in to play. Speed, distance, time, Barometric altitude, temperature, cadence, heart rate, power… just waiting at your finger-tips thanks to ANT+ compatibility, all features supported by incredibly accurate GPS satellites hovering in space miles above your head. Hope you like being followed…

First impressions of the Switch Up had me excited. Looking at the small watch that appeared to be coloured by different shades of grey (not 50 I assure you) there was that feeling of nervous excitement knowing from here on out, I held the power to crush my mates Personal Bests, sprint long hills in a single effort and what’s more, have undeniable proof of my achievements. In this the Magellan Switch Up certainly excels.

First thing worth noting was the screen. At 32mm, many smart phone users would think it was designed for ants, but in practise this was not the case. The screen provided good definition and was easy to read in all conditions, even night time thanks to a built in back light. This light can be turned on and off while you ride, and the time it stays on for can be adjusted from 15 seconds to indefinitely. Bear in mind it does affect the battery life though. I liked how the Switch Up had 10 pre-set “profiles” for different activities, each that could be customised and tinkered with as you please. This is a great feature in my opinion as let’s be honest, there isn’t much use for hill gradient when swimming. For multi-sport Athletes I can see this feature being invaluable, along with the two different mounts on offer: wrist and bicycle. It’s worth noting you only get the different mounts, Thermometer and Barometer if you purchase the Switch Up model. The lower price Switch model is wrist mount only and does not contain those upgrades.     

Using the buttons on the device, all five of them, was pretty easy while out riding. Their solid feel was useful when wearing gloves, a feature that allows operation without looking such as when starting a race, and I believe that makes it superior to touch screen designs offered by other big name GPS companies. Many riders use their phones as GPS devices, however the Switch Up is significantly tougher than your average smart phone, with 50m water resistance to its name and no scratches on the screen despite a pine tree’s best efforts to do so.

The more I rode with the Switch Up the more I liked it. There were lots of clever features utilising the GPS function that I wouldn't have even thought of throughout the device. My favourite was activated when beginning a ride; if you had forgotten to start recording the device would beep and vibrate to remind you, just in case this was the start of your race and not a warm up. It would also vibrate and let me know when it lost signal in bad conditions and also when it reconnected to a satellite; at first I was slightly nervous each time it beeped thinking I had lost connection but soon learnt to recognise the various tones for their various functions. Again, this makes it easier to operate without looking.

However, the best features were yet to come. When you arrive home you are able to download your ride up to the Magellan Active website which gives enough graphs, facts and figures about your ride to keep the Geekiest grinders out there satisfied. If Magellan Active isn’t your cup of tea, then you are easily able to convert your ride to a .GPX or .FIT file and upload to Strava. This, I believe, is the real advantage of a GPS over a standard computer. Being able to see how fast you are compared to other riders over the same piece of track, set goals and see how you achieve them, then brag about it all over the internet makes your weekend training ride even more FUN! There is great satisfaction seeing your name sitting at King of The Mountain on a particularly hard hill.

So, if you are someone who wants to have something a bit more special than the run of the mill cycle computer, wants the added competition that GPS enables, and likes tinkering around to make a device that is set just for you, then The Magellan Switch Up is definitely a good option to get you there. 

(note: I had intended to publish this review a while ago but due to publishers constraints I have only been able to post now. Enjoy!)

Auckland Champs round 3: Slater Road

When it comes to bikes, the saying "That's how I roll" actually makes sense. In my case, it was because Christmas had come early to the Page family household in the form of a custom built Stans Crest 29'r wheelset on Stans 3.30 Ti hubs. I'm not sure if it counts as a Christmas present when you buy it yourself, but nonetheless just riding around the cul-de-sac on these wheels, set up tubeless with my Racing Ralph tyres, was enough to make me giggle a little inside. And aloud too for that matter. I have always intended to put a lightweight wheelset on my XTC 29'r, as I have always known that the one thing that needed improvement was the wheelset weighing in at just over 2kg... Swapped out for the 1500g crests, the bike was down to 10.4kg, with pedals and a cycle computer. So, car packed and bike suitably blinged,  I headed off to Slater road to race the final of the Auckland Champs.

Slater road is not a place the general public get to ride most of the time, which is a shame as they are a combination of fast, flowing, steep trails on the sandy Woodhill surface; fun to ride on all but the driest of days. The course featured around 290m climbing per lap; with laps being 9.2km long there was plenty of climbing and descending packed into this course. On the start line, I couldn't help but wonder how this race was going to play out. Option A, I had just dropped 600 grams of rotational mass from my 29'r, so I should be going faster. Option B however, was that on the pre-ride of the course the week before I had felt out of breathe and lacking speed. In a few seconds I was going to find out which way this race would play. Off the start line, I found myself in the lead group of about 10 riders, and not struggling at all. Looks like if you picked Option A you guessed right.

Unusual for a race, the first single track section was in fact Downhill, a polar opposite to past years where the start has been straight into a climb. I personally think all races should start with a small Downhill before they make you climb, as it makes the race more than just fitness when it comes to winning. Pain merchants were not left wanting however, as the course soon changed it's tune as we hit the climbing sections. These ranged from a long fire road to a steep, sandy slope that took a fair bit of frantic spinning to conquer. Around 3/5ths of the way through the lap I was overtaken by fellow U17 racer Tom Coombes, and found myself in second. It wasn't long before 3rd placed rider Arran caught a whiff of where I was up ahead, not hard considering I am a teenage boy grunting out the miles on a hot day, and so began a fast paced game of cat and mouse. One wrong move would see you getting a little too friendly with the foliage to the chorus of "carbon fiber in tree sider." Luckily this did not happen and I still held a few seconds lead going into the second/final lap. Those new wheels were great!

Hitting the gravel road about half way through the second lap it finally sunk in I wasn't going to be able to beat Arran through sheer pushing power alone. He was putting everything he had into trying to overtake me and sooner or later one of us was going to tire. So, knowing the risks, I let him slip past and pulled in behind him for a while, taking the opportunity to eat and drink before we hit the singletrack again.

I knew that before the finish line there were 2 sets of 4WD track about 500m long each, just enough to sprint past and take a lead if you had the guts. It was here I was planning to make my move, on fresh legs from sitting in behind Arran letting him take the wind up the hills (I've clearly been doing too much criterion, probably why I chose to adopt this strategy). But, with 2km to go, with a sprint finish looming, the unthinkable happened; a catastrophically jammed chain that somehow appeared to be strangling itself. But, for the first race in a long time, it didn't happen to me. It happened to Arran. On the climb before the second to last fire road of the race. I found out after the race that the chain had jammed so badly he pulled out of the race and carried his bike home. To be honest I feel almost as robbed as Arran must have; I was looking forward to a repeat of last years Auckland Champs final at Riverhead! A sprint finish across the line, winning by less than a second... Next time, Arran.

Results: The top 3 positions in U17 men were all filled by Jafas, curiously in the order they finished on the day. Tom in first, with a custom made trophy by yours truly to be distributed amongst future U17 winners, Myself in second, and Peter Bethell in third. In the women's race JAFAKIDS dominated too, with the top 3 positions being taken by JAFAKIDS, a lot like the men's podium. Jemma Manchester in first, Harriet Beavan in second, And Charlotte Rayner in third. Unfortunately for some of the younger riders, there was no U15 category. However, they still gave many riders a run (or ride) for their money with some great lap times showing through. Well done guys!

So, the recap from the Auckland champ series in general:
1) When I train, I race fast. Seems logical, but it is something that does not really sink in until you lose a race you should have won because you decided not to train in the week leading up.
2) Ice cream. It works. Regular readers will know what I mean.
3) Wheels. When investing in a race bike, invest in some light, stiff wheels. You will not regret it. I guess that's how I roll: with the help of a custom build of Stans Crests...