lisa morgan

Back to where it all started.  Yesterday was Karapoti Classsic version 6 for me and despite knowing I wasn't pushing for a PB or podium I was stoked to stand at the start with my feet in the (surprisingly warm) river waiting for the countdown, by the end of which I knew half of us would be half way across the river already - it's tradition!

Two goals for me this year - have fun and, given this was my first lap of the 'poti on the Felt 6 Ltd, clean the rock garden on a hardtail.  Being Karapoti and the rock garden, I was confident of both, but not certain.

Still working my way back to full fitness, but feeling better every week, I settled in to a steady rhythm for the whole 50km.  I missed out due to injury in 2009 and around half way up the Deadwood climb I suddenly realised just how much I'd missed it.  This is where I got the bug to really push myself on a bike, it's a hugely iconic event, and it's in my back yard.  I've always felt a special affinity for it and that really flooded back to me yesterday.

Conditions were pretty wet after a couple of nights of rain during the week (including Friday night) and it rained a bit during the event but temps stayed comfortable and I was carrying lube to deal to the horrible noises a drivetrain tends to make out there.

I had an unusually solo-ish ride for a lot of the time.  Crazy singlespeeders were passing me from a little way up Deadwood and along the ridge to the rock garden, and I saw Samara a few times until the Staircase (another growing tradition!) and occasionally saw another girl or 2 up ahead along the ridge. 

As I turned in to the rock garden I was feeling pretty fresh and looking forward to taking it on again.  I've ridden the whole descent a few times now and as I approached the first drop it looked like nothing, smooth and easy, in the bag.  The second drop was the biggest and as I approached it I did some fast calculations in my head and reminded myself I've done it plenty of times before so just went for it - my forks bottomed out with a bit of a ping but having cleared that I was on my way and just had to pick some good lines through a few more sections while maintaining good momentum.  I made a few passes as I bounced on down with a huge grin on my face and caught Sam once again near the bottom.  I wanted to go back up for another run while she just wanted to get the hell out of there.  Unfortunately for both of us out next obstacle was my nemesis, the Devil's Staircase.

As I got to the first big steps Sam cruised on past me (dejavu much!) and I proceeded to slowly and painfully plod my way through the steps and mud and bogs.  By 3/4 of the way up I wasn't having so much fun anymore.  Wow, I really had NO conditioning for this section this year.  What a shocker!  But after about a year I finally emerged at the top and applied a bit of lube to the chain before spying Alexa Peters reaching the top and jumping back on to stay ahead of her.

Big Ring Boulevard Get through the undulations then 'stick it in the dog'.  'Nuff said.  Few more places made up down here.  What a blast.  And then just Dopers to go.  A common climb for chain suck, cramp, total annihilation of spirit, etc.  I have to say it went on a little longer than I would have liked and for the last few minutes it seemed like they'd moved the summit (the price of being a bit slower than in the past I guess), but eventually I found it and got my grin on again for the looooong descent to the finish.

Goals achieved, way off my best time and a long way off my lifetime goal, but still full of drive to get there.

Congrats to Annika Smail who won the womens race and joined the sub-3 club.  The club remained elusive to all other women yet again this year (by a mere 15 seconds for Nic Leary).  364 days to go til we can have another crack at it

Blue sky, dry tracks, home crowd, and still one of the toughest courses I race.  Each year there have been a few modifications to the course I first raced on back in 2007 as an age-grader, and whilst it hasn't gotten any easier, it's got a bit more fun and technical stuff these days and it's definitely a worthy UCI course.

I had a lot of rest after last week in Rotorua and I was definitely feeling a bit better, even if only mentally now that I'd reminded myself what I was in for.  It's felt a bit like starting out in elite again and recognising just how killer the jump is, but the mind and body are starting to react a bit better.  I'm not yet back to where I was, but feeling better about progress.

Elite women had 4 laps of the Mt Vic course and if nothing else I was confident about finishing, which had two meanings - one being that I knew I wasn't going to get lapped again, and the other that I knew my body could go the distance this year.

I was at the back again shortly after the start but had riders in my sights for the entire race.  I made up a place early on during the first climb and closed in on Jeanette by the first descent.  I was on her wheel when she took an interesting line in to the ski slope and I overshot the hotline and was forced down on to the lowline, losing a place in the process.  Then I had some problems coming out of the slope and was having a right 'mare, but got things under control again and expected to be able to pick the others up on the technical climb back out.  Sure enough, they were walking and I was able to ride up to their wheels again and get through during the next lot of climbing.

From that point I maintained my position except for the inevitable attrition victims on a course like Mt Vic on a hot day.  Jeanette ended up lapping out on her second lap (things really didn't seem to be going well physically so hope to see her back again soon), Katy was in survival mode to lap out as well with what sounded like a pretty appalling dose of a nasty virus, and after my third lap I saw Michelle waiting at the line as well after breaking her chain.  In my last couple of laps I was chasing down Catherine Dunn and the difference was the time I lost at the ski slope in the first lap, but even though I closed it to 30, then 20, then 10 seconds I just didn't have the legs or the will to shut it right down.

I ended up in 12th from a field of 17 starters (including U23) but results aside, for me personally it was an improvement and that's what I'm aiming for at the moment.

Huge congratulations to Mikey for his win in elite men, and Nic for comfortably taking out the women's title this year.

Next week, Karapoti.  Probably  unlikely to be the year I'll snag that elusive sub-3 but it'll be another good one to put in the legs to keep the building going strong, and it's going to be great to be back after missing out last year.

Photo credit to Chris Rasmussen

The title says it all really.  Despite a great course full of tracks I've always enjoyed and perfect racing conditions (warm, but not to hot, and not humid at all), I wasn't able to bring anything to the race and in a field full of chicks who are going really fast right now I managed to get myself lapped - almost unheard of in NZ womens racing!  Not exactly the ideal return to elite racing.  You don't expect to come back in full force, but I hadn't quite expected this.

After ending up tail-ender except for an U19 rider in to the single track I had a couple of others in my sights for most of the first lap but after that I would see nothing but a couple of glimpses through uphill switchbacks.  To make things a little bit tougher, because I was so much further back than usual the boys started coming through that much earlier and it really does pay to get out of their way.  By lap 3 I was down to attempting to salvage some pride by riding the A-line at the drop in the first descent - something not usually done by the girls, and right at the end of my 4th lap Eloise Fry came past me on her way to picking up the win - after that the feed zone commissaire said he'd 'do me a favour' and call me lapped out and not send me out for a 5th lap (little did he know I'd done a lap for my warm up, so in a sense I did 5 - right?).  I thanked him rode back to the car with my head down.

I've got a week now to pick myself back up and see if I can't do at least a bit better on Mt Vic next weekend.

No one said it would be easy!

Many thanks to Helen for the pics and the cheers (whilst taking great photos!) on course.

It's currently the night before so I'm resting up at Thermal Holiday Park.  I had a training session on Mt Vic yesterday so drove up in the afternoon picking up KC enroute.  We got in a little later than expected, but still in time for a decent nights sleep, unlike Ricky and Jo who didn't get in til about 1am.

This morning Ricky and I headed out for a lap of the course (the only one we'll get pre-race), and while out there bumped in to Gav and Shane.  The 4 of us spent some time at the 'rock drop' trying to work out which lines were fastest and for me it was the first time I'd sucked it up and actually ridden the drop which is good because I have a feeling I'm going to need every extra bit of time I can gain when the course isn't climbing!

Despite the series handbook saying this year would be a return to the Rotorua course of old (a-la 2007) things have been changed around quite a bit.  It's still vegas, and the more technical stuff is still the same, and it's still a really cool course.  I was just caught out a bit expecting one thing and finding another.  I also discovered early on that 1 lap before the race is probably not idea as the smaller drops can definitely be ridden faster and smoother once you know them, but I can't quite remember that level of detail so it's a bit of 'point and relax!'.

No matter the outcome, it's really cool to be back at a race and especially in vegas.  The weather has really turned it on for us and if it's like today, things are going to be VERY hot by 2pm tomorrow.  But even with the sun out it'll be pretty damn dark in some sections of the forest so I've switched my dark lenses out for some nice bright yellows.  If that's no good, I'll have to remember where I throw them to go and pick them up later if I can't find a handy spectator or marshal to take care of them for me (done it before, more than once!).

So, bike is prepped, I'm fed and just waiting for the sun to go down and if I'm in luck might be able to change the tv channel to feed my Idol addiction while I continue to rest up .

It's less than two weeks now until I'm going to take to a start line again for the 3rd round of the North Island Cup series in Rotorua.  I'm excited because there is a return this year to the course that was used in 2007 - a course I really enjoy where the climbs aren't too long or steep, and the trails are uniquely Rotorua, ie - awesome!

The best thing lately is that summer has finally arrived!  It was a long wait but it's been amazing getting out in some really hot weather - hot enough to average 29 and 30 degrees on some rides recently! 

Primarily the last few weeks have been a return to base/volume riding - much needed after so many injuries, and as a result I do notice where I'm at in my training when I get out on the dirt, but it's all part of a long term plan.   As I head towards some events I'm starting to see more dirt in my training and it's just awesome.  I still find the Felt a bit of a novelty and love the feel of carbon hardtail.  Hard to believe, but I'm a total convert.

It's still a few weeks before I can publicly announce the major plans I have for later this year but rest assured they are coming along very nicely.

In the meantime, there is still HEAPS of work to be done on the bike so that's my priority and I'll check in again closer to the Rotorua race.

The start of a new calendar year is a pretty standard time to take a step back and review the last 12 months, but as the clock ticked over and took us from 2009 to 2010 all I could say was 'thank god that's over'.

2009 was a tough year for me, causing me to visit all sorts of dark places I don't enjoy going.  Due to injury I spent a total of 7 months out of training, most of it literally off the bike or riding only 20-30 minutes a day.  And just as things were starting to come right and I was feeling fit and strong I was sent kicking and screaming back to the start again.  It was like a game of snakes and ladders where there were more snakes than ladders, and the ladders all seemed to have broken rungs.  I just couldn't get a break! (until the suspected fracture that put my right arm in a cast).

At the time I tried to ignore the big picture and just focus on each day, whether that meant taking it in stride that I needed time to heal my body on that particular day, or cramming in as much as my body could take to try and make up for lost time.  Neither is an ideal situation and at times I walked a fine line, finishing off the year by tipping over and having to withdraw in the 2nd stage of Tour de Femme after improving again on my hill climb time.  Despite being completely gutted, in some ways it seemed a fitting end to the year. 

Now, with another short break behind me and a review of the best strategies to achieve my goals for this year, I've had a chance to look back at the big picture and agree with all those people that said I'd been really unlucky.  2009, for all intents and purposes, became a year that wasn't - and one I hope never to repeat!

On the bright side I had free time to watch things like the Tour de France and learn a whole lot more about the pro-peleton to be able to appreciate that type of racing (I'm completely hooked as a spectator now), and I have a whole lot of extra career-skills in my bag of tricks having had time to devote to learning.  But all in all it wasn't a good year.  It wasn't my year.  And I hope I can now do what needs to be done and leave it in the past and focus on 2010.

The first thing I've done is withdraw from a couple of the earlier races to give myself more time for quality training building up to the national champs.  Trying to cram training in has led to a feeling of a shallow base in the past - and we all know what happens when your foundations are shakey.  So I'm limiting the racing this summer (summer?  5 sunny days in 20 does not a summer make!) and we'll see what comes out of that.  I'm planning some international racing and have shifted the focus to that, but you'll have to stay tuned for more info on that later :o)

So for now - cheers to 2010.  Still rollin' - still ridin' hard.

The weekend just been was the biggest in NZ cycling - on the last Saturday of November every year 10-12,000 people descend on the sleepy town of Taupo in the middle of the North Island to ride around New Zealand's biggest lake.  Except a few hundred who elect to slog it out in the forests and dirt roads since the organisers added an off-road option to the weekend - the Huka! 

First introduced in 2008, there are a few options for entry - some do it as the first leg of a 5 leg relay where the last 4 are the traditional 4 legs of the round the lake challenge.  Some add 22kms of mountain biking to their 160km road challenge.  Unlicenced/non-competitive riders enter the Huka Challenge (same course but separate start) and elite/licenced riders are the first to embark on the 80km race at 7am in the Huka XL. 

Under UCI rules a marathon mtb event must be at least 60kms, and they can range to over 100kms.  Last year the Huka was 70kms and this year it was increased to 80 (on paper - my speedo read 79.6 so allowing for the couple of minutes before I rememberd to hit the button they were pretty close to bang on).

Like last year, up until a couple of weeks out my participation in any of the Taupo events was up in the air but I've been putting in some decent miles and a couple of weeks ago asked Robyn what she thought about me doing the Huka instead of the Challenge because I'm just so in love with riding the Felt that 80kms sounded like the best idea ever!  To my delight she said yup, ok.  Worst case scenario was that it would become a long training ride where I would find out how I would last putting in effort hour after hour. 

As it turned out, for the most part the course suited me quite well but unfortunately I wasn't able to capitalise on that.  Something triggered a pretty severe asthmatic episode whilst training during the week and my lungs never really cleared up.  The first hour of the race involved the most consistent climbing (and one very cool, long descent) and I struggled my way through with legs that were oxygen starved and heavy as the Challenge riders came past like I was standing still (for the record - when you're passing people in a race it's bad form to expect them to take the rough and give you the smooth line - man up and ride the rough!).

But all was not lost and after an hour, and second long descent, things started to fall in to place and feel right again.  There was one climb that was in the race twice and I just felt like a completely different person from the first time to the second time and that gave me a lot more confidence for the rest of the day.  I think over half the course was in the Craters of the Moon forest area which included lots and lots and lots (and lots) of tight, twisty, sometimes rough, sometimes gnarly, sometimes spirit crushing, sometimes grin producing singletrack.  The concentration of quality track in what is really quite a small area is pretty impressive.  I'd ridden most of the tracks we did at least once, but over a period of years.  This time I was doing them all in one day.

After that first hour I started catching and passing people who had come past me earlier, and playing 'catch, drop and get caught again' with about 3 guys for a very long time.  We spent around 40kms hovering around each other - which is a long way when we don't even usually race that far!  A lot of that was in some of the windiest (as in corner-corner-corner, not gale force wind) singletrack many of us had ever ridden.  It was tough to maintain momentum in it and really rewarded good line choices and a bit of finesse on the bike.  I caught and passed the guys again through here and they each jumped on and took advantage of my lines, giving me a thanks for the guided tour when we finally popped out the other end after what felt like a pretty long time!

The legs were still feeling good though so I continued to guide them through the remaining singletrack in the forest and through some crazy, soft trails, dropping them occasionally only to hear them come back soon enough, as we headed back under the road to the Helicopter where the feed zone was.  I was staying with Taupo native Cam Wood and his family and his Mum was there with a bottle of coke for me at the 50k mark.  From that point there was a lot of fairly flat riding and a fair bit of gravel road as we headed out to Aratitia Dam before coming back up the other side of the river.

The guys were content to sit on my wheel and draft roadie styles - suited me - the race hadn't started well for me so it had become that long training ride after all.  I finally shook them for good where we had to dismount and run across the bridge at the dam - I ran, I guess they walked, and they didn't make it back up to me after that.

Surprisingly though, with about 20km to go MJ appeared on my back wheel - she'd started in the Challenge and come past me early on on a climb, before I got her back on a descent, before she got me again on the next climb, and then I had her in my sights for k after k until I lost her somewhere along the way.  We never worked out what had happened but together we caught a small group of riders.  They were descending alright but taking the climbs a bit easy, but the track was too narrow to get past them all and then suddenly the opened a gap!  It was weird - I was feeling strong and riding really well but couldn't get back to them - meanwhile MJ had let her own gap open.  So I finished off the last few kms on my own, still able to power out of the saddle on the climbs and just about getting taken out by a roadie bunch where the mtb course joined back on to the finishing chute.  People were lining the barriers and making heaps of noise which was really cool.

I finished feeling really good which surprised me, but I guess I've been underestimating myself post-injury and it's obviously time to raise the bar.  I was told I was 5th woman but the results disagree placing me in 6th.  None-the-less, I had heaps of fun (after the first hour) and was happy to come home just over the 5 hour mark.  There's a ton of room for improvement so I don't think that will be my last Huka.  It's going to be a tough decision in future - I still have unfinished business around the lake, can definitely go better on the dirt, and am keen to have a crack at the womens crit and road race one year - guess I'll be at this for some time to come!

Chatting to Robyn once I'd got back home she asked me if this was the longest mtb race I've done (excluding the Moonride 6hr earlier this year).  Thinking back and excluding the other solo's and teams races I did in my pre-competitive days I was pretty sure it must have been and suddenly realised my first Karapoti took 5:02, and this took 5:03.  Just with an extra 30kms and a significant amount of extra climbing!  I'm a way off my peak just now, but it's always cool to remember how far you've come - and even better to think how much further you've got to go!

All up - a huge thumbs up for the race, and it was cool to bump in to seldom-seen friends during the weekend and whilst heading down the road for gelato after the race

And I nearly forgot - the Makara Peak Rally is back on my calendar so I hope to see lots of you out there on Sunday - it'll be my first time on heaps of those tracks since last year's rally!!!

My first impression of the Tokoroa XC course for the Mid North Island Cup race yesterday was 'awesome - it doesn't start by going up an epic climb!'. It actually starts with an almost flat 1.5km section. If you think it sounds easy though, race it first...

Gav and I arrived in Tokoroa on Saturday morning and met up with Mikey Northcott for a guided tour of the course. Mikey has had a lot of input in to the course and he and Michelle have been pretty involved in a lot of the work that has gone in to it. Showing my 'racing age', I never raced on the old tracks in Tokoroa, so this was my first look at the terrain. The main reason for going to this particular race was to scope it out as it is the same course that will be used in the nationals round in February (with one or two very cool mods to come).

A persistant drizzle was falling all morning and the tracks were slightly greasy but the course was still just 100% rideable - a couple of dabs from the boys trying to push the bigger gears up the technical climbs - no such issues with my trusty Maxxis Crossmarks and granny ring.

The stand out features of the course for me are many:

• It's short - 6.5km including the grass loop for start/timing/feed etc. And short time-wise too - the winning time was 6 laps in just under 2 hours. 5 laps for open women on race day - I love multi-lap! Short courses are that much easier to get to know really well.
• It's 100% rideable but that's not to say it doesn't have some tricky, challenging sections, both climbing and descending - in fact one of my favourite sections is a technical single track climb that calls for fine bike handling skills and control under pressure. A bit of drizzle and it's less rideable - rain would be interesting!
• There is an abundance of singletrack but good opportunities for passing.
• Another favourite section is full of descents with sweeping corners punctuated with short power climbs.
• The final descent 'log drops' in to the grass loop will be a spectator fave - a quick chute in to a couple of flying drops before a pine-needle covered bumpy straight line in to another chute followed by a couple of sweet berms.

Thanks to the short course, we got a few laps in on Saturday and by half way around the first lap I was gushing all over it and loving it. We took a little walk up a bank and Mikey showed us his plans for a very cool section to be built before February and it is going to be fantastic - I can't wait to see it! It's awesome to have someone like Mikey have so much input in to a track - his skill on the bike, style of riding and experience racing overseas where you get thrown in to some pretty gnarly stuff have given him a very cool vision, and there is a great team of people helping make it a reality. Some of the guys were out on Saturday and they were really keen for feedback on the course - including suggestions for improvement. I think they have a track they can be very proud of as it is and I'm looking forward to seeing how it will look in February.

After an evening of feeling very out-numbered in a house of boys as Michelle was away we all headed to the race on Sunday morning. We'd all woken early in the morning to some heavy rain falling (my fault for not bringing my muds to a race - first time in nearly 3 years I've left them at home!) but Mikey assured us it would be pretty unaffected.

I got a little bit caught out by having a mass start and being due on the start line straight after briefing since we do grade starts at home and frankly I'm out of practice! So I started at the back and for the most part stayed there - d'oh. There's plenty of passing on the course but it's not so easy off the line when you don't have a start in your arsenal yet - I'm still a little bit conscious of lack of race fitness and didn't want to blow up in the first lap! It was also pretty humid and I know what that can do to my asthma, so I kept it under control for the first few minutes. Unfortunately I then arrived at the first singletrack climb to see a hoard of riders off their bikes up ahead and being in the singletrack by then there was less room for passing, so I toddled along behind pedalling away while the masses walked up. After that the field spread out well and there were no more traffic jams so I settled down in to my job for the day.

My goals for this race were to bring some standing climbing in and give it everything to test race fitness. The first lap was a bit messy and I felt a bit sluggish but the next 3 laps went really well. Ocassionally I cursed my lack of training but at the same time I was recognising some real positives at this stage and because I loved the course I was having an awesome time. A couple of greasy sections on the technical climbs meant there were 2 or 3 runs every lap so by the time the 5th lap rolled around my legs were screaming at that but for the most part I felt like my fitness and focus were right up there for the duration. There is still a lot of work to be done but I continue to feel progress each week at this stage and although I sometimes look at the calendar and think 'that season is pretty close!' I can't add another month in there to get prepared so the best I can do is keep on with the work and make sure I do all the right things to get the best out of my training. Knowing what I do about the nationals courses certainly helps keep that motivation right up there.

So, another week and another race under the belt, and huge props to the Tokoroa guys for their work - an excellent course and a very smoothly run event. 5 days from now I'll be up north again, this time in Taupo, for a very different race - the Huka XL. From a 32.5km blat to an 80km hurtfest - yikes! What was that I said about lasting the distance? This one will be a challenge, but one I'm looking forward to. After that I'll be settling in to a block without racing (schedule to be updated) as I prepare for my 4th go at the Tour de Femme in Nelson.

And oh yeah: Happy Birthday Coach

Every minute in the hurt box during training is like putting a dollar in the bank.  If time on the bike is the principal, you can think of all the good stuff off the bike as the interest - things like following a good recovery plan, not deviating too much from your nutrition goals, having the right attitude, getting enough sleep, maintaining your bike!

Just like a real bank, earning interest isn't all that difficult - you've got to be a bit more committed to making it happen, but for the most part it's the stuff that happens while you've got your feet up in front of the telly.

Earning the principal tho, that's the hard part.  But thinking of it in terms of currency can make it a bit easier.  When you're hurting, as long as you follow up with the interest, you're increasing your balance.  The more you do this, the more you'll have available to withdraw when you come to making a big purchase, and if you've done everything right you'll discover there is always a rewards scheme attached ;o)

Despite the fact that it should be very difficult to think in full sentences when you're making your deposits, this stuff has been sitting in my head a bit recently as I've found myself securely locked inside the hurt box.  Even left to my own devices for the first 4 1/2 weeks of being back on the bikes I was able to find my way in, and now that my jet-setter coach has returned from her latest trip I've redirected my mail there. 

Training with a coach like Robyn, training what I like to call 'the Wong way', is a bit like having a share broker.  I've got all this time to go out and earn training dollars but she points me in the direction where I'll get the best returns - and if necessary, can help me bail out if the market starts to look a bit dodgy.  Lucky for me she's a former Olympian in my chosen discipline and a  trained accountant - convenient, no?

So, enough with the metaphore!  What have I actually been doing in terms of pedalling?

Sunday a week ago I headed over the hill to participate in the Martinborough Charity Fun Ride.  115kms for charity - yeah, charity, that's why.  Last time I completed this was 2 years ago and I remember chatting away in the bunches and having what was largely a fairly pleasant training ride.  I did start last year, but was suffering the wrong kind of hurt after a big day before and had to pull out - turned out I had a trapped vagus nerve - makes breathing a bit rough.  So this year with only 4 weeks on the bike behind me I knew I was in for a hard training ride.  With no climbing legs I struggled for a while to stay with a big bunch through the heavy undulations but ended up in no mans land eventually, which is when I opened up the lid of that box and climbed right in.  45minutes later my first ITT ended as a bunch swallowed me up on the biggest (only real) climb on the course.  I stayed with them for a good while but eventually it fell apart and I crawled back in to my box for another 40-odd minute ITT.  By the end of that I was in a world of hurt and in no doubt of my lack of race fitness.  I'd held a good effort to this point but was having some trouble with my right glute and hammy - the muscles just aren't trained for TT efforts yet so I was pretty pleased when another good sized bunch eventually caught me and dragged me home.  All money in the bank tho.  And plenty of good stuff came out like my leg speed and bunch confidence all still there.

During the week I made a few more deposits and finished the week off with the final PNP race at Makara yesterday.  In the first race, which feels like a million years ago, I only went out to show off my new bike.  In the 4th race I was there to hold a steady effort.  This time I was there to hurt as much as I could.  I'm still missing a good 3 or so gears in my fitness arsenal but there has been definite progress.  A 25-odd minute climb in the middle meant the course wasn't in my favour and I had to watch MJ power away after we hit the bottom together (Sam was already somewhere off in the distance), but this time instead of letting Rach pace me I was pacing her, and with more technical components I was able to pull away.  I made it a bigger day than necessary by spending an hour on the course before the start - and thanks to that extra effort I not only climbed in to the hurt box but by the time I was finished I felt like I'd fallen right through! 

Next weekend I'll be in Tokoroa to check out  the course which will be used for the national race in February, and after that is the big one - the Huka XL - 80km off road in Taupo, most of it singletrack.  No withdrawals yet - all investments and savings for now!

For those of you have been wondering about Felt bikes and want to see some in the 'flesh', if you're in Wellington they'll be in at Penny Farthing Cycles in the not too distant future.  Craig Anderson is a good man to talk to there.  You can also check out some of the great 2XU kit while you're there!

There's not much that makes you feel better as an athlete than seeing clear progress.  One of the positives of long periods of downtime is that you have a lot of room for improvement, and when that is the case you tend to make the quickest gains.  For some of us that's one of the very things that gets us hooked on things - the continual strive to break through ceilings and barriers and see where we can take ourselves.

I've been back on the bike for just a few weeks and mixing it up nicely between good saddle time on the road and heaps of fun on the dirt.  One of the first things I did was follow some good weather north to Rotorua so I could get some good hours in on both bikes without fear of drowning or being blown to the south island!  Shane and Jude were already up there and Charlotte and Tim travelled up at the same time I did.  Charlotte reduced me to a pile of whinge out on the roads and the next day I spent a brilliant few hours, despite the rain, in the forest riding heaps of my favourite trails in really slippery and muddy conditions!  The bonus was that a few hours in the sun meant my tan lines have started to come in nicely.

Over the last couple of weeks I've been continuing the solid roadie hours and have started riding with the Capitelle's on Monday evenings again - one of my favourite ways to kick off the riding week.

Yesterday was round 4 of the PNP series.  I did the pre-ride a week ago and enjoyed the course but was very much in two minds about racing.  It was this race last year where I over did the intensity for the first time in quick succession and I ended up suffering for weeks with a trapped vagus nerve, no way did I want to put myself back there!  I spent a good few hours on the road on Saturday with the expectation that I wouldn't be racing, but oddly enough when I woke up on Sunday with the sun streaming in I couldn't help myself and it ended up being a whole lot of fun.

Couple of pics from the pre-ride care of Davo Bushlove Aldred

After waiting for a bunch of the boys to pick themselves up out of the stream, showing the others how to stay upright ;o)

Couldn't have given the big cheesey grin and thumbsup to the camera if I'd ridden this one - beautiful scenery.

Contrary to what I'd expected with all the volume I've been doing, my legs didn't feel very fried, but I was able to find myself a great person to sit in behind to pace me for much of the race (thanks Rach).  On a couple of the climbs I went ahead of her but she always got me back, and had a bit of advantage getting over the closed fences being both taller and well experienced in doing so.  By the end of the last climb I was leading and still feeling good so I gave it some gas and ripped away to enjoy the awesome, technical singletrack descent.

Numbers were down and I came home in second which gave me an opportunity to say thanks to all of my fantastic sponsors, and more importantly I felt much better than expected and am simply loving riding a hardtail on all terrain types and in all conditions.

There's still a whole lot of work to do, but I'm feeling really positive about where I can get to from here.