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... :-)
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!
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