Blasting the 6 hour barrier

Donning my favourite pair of gummies I set off through the mornings drizzle to Mcleans Island for the Blue Dog Events 6 hour blast. Thankfully the weather gods had gotten out of the right side of bed as whilst wet under foot the rain had stopped although damp clouds were blanketed across the sky.

As I started gearing up it dawned on me the potential enormity of what I had chosen to do on this particular morning - to ride my mountain bike for 6 hours – non stop. Some would say I’m from the school of ‘throw yourself in the deep end’ – others perhaps just that I’m a bit loco – whatever the reason at 10am on that slightly grey day I found myself at the start line surrounded by 100’s of other keen mountain bikers.

Considering the rain we’d had over the recent wet week conditions were ok. It was a slow start with the mass of bikes crawling along the paddock, choking at the sides and spilling out riders left and right. The route itself was a great mix of 4WD, single track and a bit of the ‘new’ section which could only be described (to the uninformed such as myself) as a mini BMX track – with lots of rollovers. There were of course a couple of climbs up stops banks thrown in for good measure – just in case your legs were actually starting to recover after flying fast on sections of slick single track.

First lap - 34 minutes and reminding myself to not get caught up in the flurry and to pace myself (no easy task), laps 2 – 5 actually very pleasant and I could feel my confidence building in that I would achieve my objective of remaining on the bike for the whole 6 hours. Laps 6 – 7 feeling a bit tired now but continue with momentum knowing I am only getting closer to the point I no longer have to turn these pedals around. Lap 8 – its getting dark now – no hang on that’s just me almost passing out! Lol well perhaps not that bad but by this time some 5 hours into it I am in a whole world of hurt and having many conversations with myself about the meaning of life, endurance and convincing myself I need to push on through the physical and mental barriers. Lap 9 – pure magic, a fist full of Sharkies later, energy reserves I didn’t know exsisted and even overtaking people again – determined to make this last lap count. Finish – smiling – unbelievable ache in my legs – not sure if I want to sit, stand or perhaps just cry!

Awesome event, will back next year (but perhaps with some training under my belt). This weekend Frostbuster out in Methven – here’s hoping the hail stays away this year.

Pic below on the Waimak Sunday morning - days like this makes it all worth while!

Keep ya posted