Training in Rotorua and the Karapoti Classic

Having heard that in Rotorua there were loads of new xc trails, and an uplift at the downhill track 3 times a week, I decided to skip the race in Wellington and get a solid 10 days of riding done in Rotorua. I find that there is always so much hanging around at races, and on this trip I just want to ride!

It was a great decision as I got to ride loads. I had my new rear shock from Rockshox to test so I had all weekend to do runs, and play around with settings. I also had my timing watch and poles so I was able to do some timed runs on the track. It was great training, and after 16 runs over the weekend my body was aching!! I also rode nearly all of the new xc trails that have been built since I was last here. They have just added more great singletrack rides to the ones already there, making nearly 70km of wicked singletrack in the forest!! This week was also going to be great preparation for the race I had entered this weekend. It was not a planned event and I only decided when we arrived into NZ that I would do it! I picked up a copy of New Zealand MTB magazine and saw a calendar of events in it, and noticed that the Karapoti Classic was on a weekend that I had free!! Next thing I knew, I had emailed the organiser, and had an entry sorted.

The Karapoti Classic is a legendary mtb race. It’s the longest running mtb event to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, with 2008 being it’s 22nd year! It’s a true classic old-school mtb race. A 50km loop around the valleys just north of Wellington in the North Island. I had heard of it but never thought one day I would be doing it!

Having entered, I told a few people that I was doing it, and I got some very interesting responses…..everyone just telling me how hard it was and recounting various tales from their own experience or others’. I have to admit that when I was stood on the start line of the race at the banks of the river, I was a little apprehensive as I really was not sure what I had let myself in for. Apart from having not ridden 50km for a while apart from once last week on the road, I also had to cross a river to start, where I had already watched people in the earlier categories end up in the water up to their necks!! Feeling it was not a great way to start the day, I chose the longer but slightly less wet option; I only got wet up to my knees – still, wet feet right from the start is never nice!

I was competing in the 19-29yr category, and as we started with all the non-elite women and over-50 men, I really had no idea who I was racing against. Although I had told myself that it was just a challenge rather than a race, my competitiveness could not be dampened, and having started at the back of the grid due to a last-minute toilet stop I got really frustrated waiting for so many people to get through the river. I just had to be patient and slowly shuffle my way across the water with all the other people, and then once on the road I started my mission of trying to pick riders off one by one!!

The track started with a flat 10km up the Karapoti gorge before heading up the first of 3 horrendous climbs!

The first one, I think, was the worst as it had the most false summits I have ever experienced; one banner even said the top and then it seemed to just keep dipping down ever so slightly just to climb up another short stinker of a climb. It really was a brutal climb, and I tried to ride as much as I could, but some bits were really just too steep, and most of the time there were too many people to get a good run at sections. The descent however was pretty damn good, aptly named the rock garden, it really was just a river bed full of good rock slab roll offs and drops. Unfortunately some people weren’t even having fun going downhill; after all of their pushing up the hill, they were then pushing back down the other side and causing an even bigger challenge to me than just the track alone!! I quite enjoyed the extra obstacles, although at times I got frustrated as I really had strained my lungs getting up the damn hill and I wasn’t able to fully let loose on the descent!!

However the fun was soon over as the 2nd hill approached…this one is named Devil’s Staircase and it was pretty much like climbing a set of stairs. It’s a clay bank that was so steep there was no way you could ride it. There was only one line so everyone just formed an orderly queue and pushed or carried their bikes up one by one! It was a long and tough push and one that really got my calves burning. However the prize was a fantastic 8km descent down a flat-out fireroad! Such a nice relief for my body after what felt like a solid 2 hour climb!

The ‘big ring boulevard’ as it’s called even had a few berms developing on some of the corners, allowing you to carry just a bit more speed. No sooner had I just got into that, and really started to pick up some speed, the fun was over and it was back in the granny ring for another 30mins of gruelling climbing. This time though it was thankfully ride able, but only just!

I think knowing this was the last climb gave me some extra strength, and I managed to climb it all. I then really pushed hard to the finish line. I crossed the line in a time of 3.17hr and took the win in my category, very much to my surprise!! I was really happy with my time and how I felt.

I think another week in Rotorua and I’ll be feeling even stronger. I hope this is the case, as next Saturday I have to do a 72km xc race around the Coromandel, which is an event organised by Bike Barn the importers of Kona into NZ.

So, that’s it from me ‘til next week. Apologies for the lack of pics - I forgot to take the camera to the Karapoti!!