Tora Christmas Race

On Sunday December 19th, a group of the PNP Club members drove to Martinborough for the opening of a new track in the Tora forest. The day involved a cruisy group ride around the track, then a one lap race followed by a dip in the pool and BBQ.

The race itself was a blast. It had some unexpected big climbs with tight switchbacks followed by fast flowy downhills with floating jumps and well constructed berms. I finished up 6th overall, 5min down on the winner Gavin McCarthy. Results can be found here http://www.pnp.org.nz/results/mtb/Tora2010/ 
Marco Renalli kindly mentioned me in the PNP Newletter stating "Rider of the day I’m nominating was Raewyn Morrison who rode very fast up and down & finished 6^th overall".

Uphill switch-backs. Photo from Shane Wetzel

I have also competed in a few local cycle races as a bit of fun. I had a nice surprise with how well I did considering road is not my forte.  I came 3rd overall in a 3 person time trail and was the first women in a hill climb up the Maungakotukutuku Hill.

 I am starting to see some HUGE gains from my training: I'm getting faster, stronger, and about 4-5kg lighter than last season.