Napier, National Cup Series: Round 2

Round two of the Nationals series had valuable UCI points and prize money up for grabs. It attracted many of New Zealand's top athletes, having one of the toughest competitive fields I've ever race. 

Photo from Michelle Bellamy

It was another hot race with the temperature sitting around the 30 degree mark. I had been feeling run down all week on the verge of a cold, so I found I wasn't in a very good head space come race day. The track was very different to Tauranga's straight up and down, Napier was mainly flat with one steep climb in the middle. 

The race itself went well, no cramps and I felt reasonably good in the legs. I had a small crash in my 3rd lap where I lost my front wheel going around a corner and ended up face first into the dirt. No major injuries just a few scrapes, bruises, and a chip out of my bike frame :(. After the crash my lap times decreased about a minute, but didn't get any slower after that. I finished 7th in the elite women and was very happy to receive UCI points and prize money.

Back on the Kapiti Coast now and starting to prepare for the South Island trip in February, with races in Nelson, maybe Christchurch, and Dunedin.

Photo from Michelle Bellamy

Tauranga, National Cup Series: Round 1

Tauranga welcomed us with extremely hot days and clear blue skies. The race was so well organised at the new Cycle Obsession Mountain Bike Park, impressive virgin tracks, spectator friendly with coffee stands, even a big screen TV that showed off parts of the course. It made for a spectacular atmosphere.

Race day I felt good, very excited for the first race of the series to see where I was at.  Elite women had 5 laps of an approximately 20min course. The track started with a very steep, 150 metre, single track climb to the top of Summer Hill. It then dipped into a few of the summer hill tracks before descending down the old downhill track.

I had a great start. I gained a good position before the steep climb, this enabled me to be up with the leading girls and get a gap on the rest. I was feeling so good and strong with plenty of energy left in the tank. By the top I was in 4^th position and managed to slip into 3^rd just before the downhill, so I could get a clean run. The top section was steep with big sharp corners leading onto a few jumps. It was the old Tauranga downhill track so for a cross country race it was rated pretty technical. I love it.

In the hurt box. Photo courtesy of Debbie Retief

15 minutes into the race, on that first decent, I started having problems. My calf muscles became very painful and full of lactic acid, this continued to progress throughout the race. By the second lap I was reduced to my lowest gear, just trying to turn the pedals through intense pain and cramp up the hill. One by one the other girls started to overtake me as I continued my slow struggle to keep the bike moving. I gritted my teeth and rode onwards.

I had used new shoes (thanks Ash) for the race, but unfortunately I forgot to put my orthotics in beforehand. Also my seat had sloped backwards which meant my bike position was all messed up. I have since corrected my set up. Fingers crossed my poor calf muscles are able to get a break, and now my other leg muscles will come to the party and help out.

I finished 6^th which was very disappointing, but as Gavin pointed out a good result with all that happened.

Gav and I have are currently staying in a Napier holiday park getting ready for Round 2 this Sunday. 

Ski Jump

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.

Huka XL Challenge

The Huka challenge is an 80km off-road course designed to take the same time and equivalent difficulty as the 160km solo around the lake. There were 11,000 competitors doing the Cycle Challenge this year, with over 600 doing the Huka Challenge.

Race day! Saturday saw an early start of 5.30am. The race began with a controlled race start with all the licensed riders at the front. I
had my hardest and longest training week ever the week leading up to the race, so I knew I was going to be racing slightly fatigued. But despite this I still felt pretty good.
The majority of the race was in Craters of the Moon, which I rode mostly on my own. I was enjoying it, making the most of the smooth fast tracks. I knew this was going to be my strongest point of the race, so made the most of it and really started pushing myself.  I dropped a full drink bottle very early on, and in 27 degree heat I knew Id be in trouble. Luckily for me Dirk Peter's Dad and my Mum came to the rescue, and I was able to receive another drink bottle at 2 of the drink stations. 
The course went to the dam, and then up along side the Waikato River, past the Huka falls and into Spa Park. I just put my head down and pedalled as hard as I could with everything I had left for the next 30km. everything hurt, my arms, legs, back, throat, and my legs starting seriously cramping.  5km from the finish the woman behind me caught up, I panicked and was determined not to be beaten by her so I put in an attack and just rode in the big chain ring the rest of the way, engulfed with cramp.
Coming down the home straight towards the finish there were crowds of spectators packed all along the street, cheering me on and clapping. I had a massive grin on my face as I crossed the finish line in 6th place at a time of 4.49 hours for 80km. I am pleased about how well I did racing twice the distance I am used to. I was 7 minutes slower than last year, but last year I actually tapered for the event so am not worried about the slower time.  I'm very pleased with how I am feeling and very excited for the 2011 season coming up. 


HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to my Dad, who did TWICE around the lake for the first time!

Single Speed World Championships 2010

A race with only one gear, beer shortcuts, costumes, and tattoos for the winning gal and guy, this is a mountain bike race that stood out from the rest. A chaotic start saw 1050 people from over 30 countries awkwardly riding in a small circle, awaiting the unpredictable randomized start. 

The hooter blasted marking the start of the 2010 World Single Speed Championships in Rotorua. A small entrance was made in the circle, leading onto the open course. Unfortunately I had just passed the entrance so was made to do a full lap of the circle to get back around to the entrance with more than 900 people in front of me. A very unlucky start.

I started trying to pass people, but with everyone shoulder to shoulder walking their bikes up the first hill it proved quite difficult. I ended up grabbing my bike and running up the side of the track through blackberry bushes as far as I could. The frustrating thing was all the bottle necks where the track narrowed, literally coming to a dead stop waiting for the traffic to get moving again.  As soon as the track opened up, I was off to gaining as many places I could. By the top of the hill the congestion had stopped and we could actually get on our bikes and ride. On the down hill to prevent getting stuck behind everyone I took the "alternative" route through potholes, ruts, stairs, and a bit more bush bashing at the side of the track to gain further places without taking anybody out. 

During the race, riders had the opportunity to skull a can of beer which resulted in a shortcut on the course. There were 4 shortcut opportunities within the race, therefore 4 beer skulls for the keen riders. I missed the first shortcut as I was a little wary of how the beer would go down, I ended up losing so much time to those that took the beer shortcut that I did them from then onwards.  The second lap was much better, the field was spread out so I was able to ride fast.  I put my head down and pedalled my heart out, working my way up the field. One last beer skull and I was finished in 2.45 hrs putting me in 8th woman overall.  I am pleased with the result considering the unlucky start.  It is a day I will never forget, the atmosphere at the race was amazing, with half drunk riders in costumes from dinosaurs to super hero's to Animal (from the Muppet's) and numerous spectators cheering everyone on and having a good time. Definitely hope New Zealand will get to host again in the future!