Up at 4 A.M. to dress – no shower, need to keep the natural oils to prevent chafing – breakfast of oatmeal with tasty blueberries and a couple of boiled eggs. everything is loaded and we’re on the road in time to be set up at the bike stands by 5.15. From there, its a 3 k walk down to the start on the shore of the Tasman, waves crashing and rushing up the beach threatening to soak my feet as I reach down to touch the waters. We line up for a few announcements, and off we go.
I have chosen a smooth line up the steep bank, and am in 2nd position coming over the crest and onto the road. We’re setting a solid pace, about 3:40 / km which is quick for the start of a 240+ km race, but no one up front wants to miss the lead pack in the bike.
I am fortunate to have bib # 4 so my bike is easy to find near the start of the racks in the darkness and flashing red and white bulbs. I am quickly on board and away, riding quickly but waiting for the the others to catch up and so form the lead group. Volunteers will come through later to pick up the discarded running shoes.
The pack is at first large, but as we make our way up a couple of slight uphills and through the graceful curves of some downhills around 15-20 km into the ride, many fall off the back and the group is reduced to 12 riders. The gap grows quickly, and though the group is working well I sense that I am ending up at the front of the pack on some of the climbs, where the even flow of the line is interrupted by the terrain; so after a short shift facing the wind I relax the pace until someone else comes forward to share the load. The pace doesn’t feel especially fast, but apparently is fast enough as we come through in record time and about ten minutes ahead of the next bunch.
The crew is in place and works quickly to take my cycling gear, set me up with a pack and nutrition and send me off onto the run course. Where my quads immediately start locking up. I take a salt pill on the track to deception and a couple stops to stretch. not good; I can see the others pulling away. I managed to average 4:30 while I’m moving for the first couple of k’s over good terrain.
On the first river crossing, I have a very classy trip and stumble into the river for the cameras. A marked crossing takes us across a wide sweep to a shallow crossing that puts us on the right (rarely used) side of the river, so a long way to work back across to the smoother left bank. As we enter the rougher riverbed section I catch 2 runners in the lower deception, and flip-flop back and forth with a third for several kilometres as we try out our different route choices. Eventually i start getting my legs back, make a good route choice and surge ahead, bringing the heart rate back up to around 160, which keeps me running on the flats but powerwalking through some of the rougher steep climbs. Hydration, not energy, appears to be the limiting factor, so I start drinking with cupped hands from most stream crossings, which takes some practice as i am wearing a wrist brace and fingerless cycling gloves. After about 2 h 15 minuts I reach goat pass, thinking that I am about 10 min slower than I had been hoping for, but press on with no one in sight ahead on the treeless boardwalk stretches leading downwards or behind on the final stretch to the hut. Fresh footprints I see on the stones after each stream crossing turn out to be from some hikers i passed in the lower mingha. How did the others get so far ahead? Good route choice on the way back and in the flats brings me in in 3 h 40 minutes. I am greeted at Klondyke by Andrew wearing my helmet and sunglasses, which he passes off as I pass him gear on our way to the bike, so there is minimal ‘standing still time.’ Richard has the bike ready and we’re off. I have a hard time swinging my legs over the seat-mounted water bottle, but succeed on a less graceful second attempt. Looking forward to stuffing those legs in a kayak for 4+ hours.
A ripping fast tailwind forces me forward on any stretch that is remotely in its direction and flat. My tired legs have almost no power on the uphills, so the speed varies from 33 km/h to 66km/h. At the Mount White turnout, Nelvia grabs the bike helmet and shoes and passes them off to a helpful gent from another team who sets it up by the van while she runs with me to provide food and encouragement and information before dropping off at the top of the descent to the river. As I head down towards the bridge I can see a one-dayer just heading out onto the river.
At the bottom, Chris has my paddling gear ready, and 2 kiwis from another team hold the boat while i get in. We get the skirt on and hydration hoses velcroed to the front of the lifejacket, and I’m off — and quickly grounded on a gravel bar. I push off and press on.
Various attempts to add layers of foam to the seat (and even including sit bone cutouts) have not been entirely successful, as my legs start to go numb quickly, and I am frequently adjusting my seating position, sometimes compromising a bit of stability and with microimpacts on sustained speed.
Fairly good route choice takes me through the upper braided sections of the river, and after an hour and a half or so I am in the gorge. The winds are strong and gusty, and 5 km into the gorge (30km into the paddle), a strong gust from behind/to the side blows the boat over. Finding myself suddenly upside down, I remember to stay calm, set my knees against the hull, raise the blade above the water, and flick back up.
Hydration remains a priority so I drink a lot from the onboard 3L bag of “perpetuem”, and am thankful for a bilge pump that allows me to confirm that the drink is having the desired effect. Powerbar chunks that chris has adhered to the paddle shaft make for a tasty, if somewhat wet snack. My arm get very tired towards the end of the gorge, but after reaching the end it takes another hour to get down to the takeout.
Various attempts to add layers of foam to the seat (and even including sit bone cutouts) have not been entirely successful, as my legs start to go numb quickly, and I am frequently adjusting my seating position, sometimes compromising a bit of stability and with microimpacts on sustained speed.
Fairly good route choice takes me through the upper braided sections of the river, and after an hour and a half or so I am in the gorge. The winds are strong and gusty, and 5 km into the gorge (30km into the paddle), a strong gust from behind/to the side blows the boat over. Finding myself suddenly upside down, I remember to stay calm, set my knees against the hull, raise the blade above the water, and flick back up.
Hydration remains a priority so I drink a lot from the onboard 3L bag of “perpetuem”, and am thankful for a bilge pump that allows me to confirm that the drink is having the desired effect. Powerbar chunks that chris has adhered to the paddle shaft make for a tasty, if somewhat wet snack. My arm get very tired towards the end of the gorge, but after reaching the end it takes another hour to get down to the takeout.
Officials guide me in, and I throw the paddle ashore to nelvia. An official holds the boat and chris helps me up out of it. clockwork. officials move the boat out of the way while nel collects my paddling gear and chris guides me up the hill, handing off bike gear and food while we run before going ahead to grab the bike and bring it to the gate while i swap shoes for the last time.
The wind, treacherous in the gorge, becomes my ally on the final ride. Coming through the transition, I hear either 9th place, or 9 minutes back of the racer ahead. Not a huge gap, so I work as hard as my tired legs will bear – my heart, however, is cruising along at a zone 1 rate. Funny signs along the way bring a smile to my face. The traffic increases as we approach the town, and I peek up here and there around intersections to ensure traffic is obeying the wonderful cops doing traffic control for us. Gaz (who guided us down the river before the race) passes in a subaru about 7 km from the end and gives a cheer and some encouraging honks. on to sumner! soon I reach the corner, ride up onto the grass, hand off the bike and stagger towards the finish, somewhat surprised to see barb there with nel and chris and andrew and rich. gurney is waiting with a beer. tasty. Hugs to the crew all around! It turns out i made up 7 min 21 seconds on the bike ride, but finish 97 seconds short of 8th.
The race has been wonderful, with good weather, smooth transitions, and good responses to conditions. The difficulty of cycling and kayaking outdoors in the winter appears to come through as a limiting factor, as aside from 2 paddles before the race I have not been in a kayak since a short surfing session on new years day.
I am amazed at kiwi help and friendliness: a huge thank you to Mary and Richard for renting me a boat, Bryan for bringing it to and from christchurch, Gaz for getting it fixed and loaning me a bilge pump, Andrew for coming up from dunedin, bringing heaps of gear, and giving up your weekend to help us out (and Hani for lettting him, and then coming to visit yourself) paddlerzone for taking generally good care of us and helping Barb ship her boat back over here, Kevin and the gang at wheels rent a car for storing various gear at various times while we are gallivanting about, the folks at argyle on the park for loaning us their own pot to cook pasta in, Fleur at R&R for setting us up with our race nutrition stocks, and all those staff at random shops who at one mention of coast to coast tell us stories of their own or friends’ experience and help us hunt down obscure items.
