Moonride 2012

Moonride 2012...  a long and muddy day at the office.

The lead up to this year’s Moonride was surprisingly smooth – thanks to Shane and Gav my bikes were ready to go well before we left, I had planned out the day leading up to the race and had nothing really left to do except ride.  We arrived in Rotorua on Thursday night and headed straight for the Redwoods to do a final shakedown/test of bikes, tyres and rider (the event venue was off limits until 4pm on race day).  Shane and Dean then headed out for a night ride, before indulging in my favourite pre-event meal – pizza!

The motel we were staying at has the heating on full time – cosy, but not great for a solid night’s sleep.  After a night of tossing, turning, not sleeping and worrying about not sleeping I wasn’t in a great state on Friday morning.  Added to the stress of being tired was the rising sense of panic that I wouldn’t manage another night without sleep... time for plan B, which was a short-acting sleeping pill.  I then forced down some breakfast and headed back to bed.  Four hours later I was rested, refreshed and feeling much better about life! I still had plenty of time to get myself organised at a relaxed pace.  I got the chance to catch up with the second member of my crew, the amazing Charlotte – awesome endurance cyclist and good friend.

Registration was interesting – and also where I made my first mistake of the race.  I saw who else had entered and realised that the race was mine to lose... not something that I’d really thought before.  This played on my mind a lot and probably distracted me from the things that I should have been focussing on, although I was still committed to enjoying the event.

I headed out for a lap of the course to see what I was in for – it was a little damp, but nothing that I thought would cause problems (ha – little did I know!) and a couple of fun sections.

As the start got closer, I followed my pre-race checklist, making sure that I had everything that I wanted or needed with me or on my bike, figuring out what clothing I needed for the start and might need as the temperature changed...  the routine is pretty familiar by now, but I still find it comforting to follow a list!  I’d missed the pre-race briefing, so just followed the flow of riders to where we were going to start.  I found a comfy spot towards the front but out of the way of the ‘racers’ and tried to ignore the backflipping butterflies in my belly.

“Go!” And we were off at a brisk pace around the start loop – until the first climb, anyway!  I think the climbs were still rideable on the first lap, but didn’t stay that way for long.  I was feeling fairly sleepy earlier than I was happy with, so tried to distract myself by singing.  Mid way through ’10 green bottles’ I had a close encounter with a tree – I suspect it jumped out in front of me to shut me up!  I got to grips with the slushy mud – point, shoot and pedal hard seemed to be the best method, although even this produced a fair number of horizontal rest stops J  I had a couple of chats to Jim during the night – we’d grizzle to each other about the mud...  which seems to happen every time we’re in an event together!

I had some low points during the night – I was riding less of the climbs, with the usual feelings of self-doubt creeping in alongside the fatigue that comes with spending a lot of time on foot!  My crew kept me going with hot food, hugs and a stand-up comedy routine that had me cracking up for most of a lap at one point!  I was enjoying some of the less slippy downhills, going “Wheeee!” on the way down... until I almost crashed into a rider at the bottom of the hill who was doing just that!

The melodic screeching of the magpies announced the imminent arrival of the sun.  Daylight tends to lift the spirits of any 24 hour rider, and I’m no exception to that rule.  Although it’s not even half way through, it’s nice to ditch the lights and see what’s going on around you... not so nice to see the damage to the course, though!  I had a quick stop for breakfast and coffee  - not quick enough to avoid the start of the 6 and 12 hour event, though!  I was only a few minutes in to the course when the faster riders began to stream past.  I got to say ‘hi’ to Ken, soloing on his CX bike... who had been hoping for a nice, muddy course!  I was also passed by the flying Kim... who gave the whole 12 hour field a demonstration of pure class endurance riding.

The track quickly deteriorated with the addition of several hundred riders, I was having a lot of trouble with traction on the climbs and the sheer effort needed to get up them time after time, along with the unaccustomed slog of pushing my bike up muddy hills.  I had to keep reminding myself that this was fun, that I chose to be out there – and that it was a privilege to be out, doing what I love, no matter how hard it seemed.  The laps seemed to blur together in a mixture of smiles, lollies, mud and unrepeatable humour from the pits!  Shane and Charlotte encouraged me to finish my bottles out on the track to reduce my lap times at one point. This woke me up a little and I started to work harder on my riding, attempting some of the 50/50 sections that I’d resigned myself to walking, pushing harder again.  The first lap with my lights on, I finally lost the mind game and began to focus on how absolutely exhausted I felt... wondering if I had the strength to go any further.  I’d planned to do one further lap, but when I called in to the pits for a break I started shaking and couldn’t face the thought of another lap.  I asked my crew for permission to quit, although I guess I’d already made the decision.  I was pretty sure I’d done enough to win... but was it the right call; could I have gotten going again with a short break and some food? Had I really left everything I could out on the track?  I’ll never know now, but that’s my aim for the next 24 hour – to leave no questions unanswered!

Huge thanks to my ever supportive, tolerant and patient husband Shane, mechanic extraordinaire Gav, the incredible Charlotte who managed to stay upbeat and unflappable (and make me laugh) the whole race despite having had a crazily busy and stressful week... and finally to my coach, the inspirational  Jess Douglas who has reignited my passion both for 24 hour racing and riding in general.

Photo Credit: Pete Marshall