Taupo Bike the Lake Race (First Taupo)
Posted by Trevor Barrett on
The day for my First Taupo ride was here, after a long day at work it was off to the Lake for some uncharted riding on the Round the Lake race.
As i have never had a ride anywhere near Taupo i was nervous but excited as it was going to be a challenge as i was to find out the first 80kms was full of undulation and hills.
After a good feed it was off to bed early for the next morning and to ensure i was pumped and ready. mmm wakey wakey 5am up we get off for some breaky yum, off to shower sweet and then onto the bike for a warm up ride to the start.
As we get to the gates i start to wonder if i had the right group being 1c mmmm but alas i was at the start ready to ride.
The countdown began and then off we go... wow these guys are fast as i get dropped in the first 2 km's as my heart is racing and legs burning as i climb the first hill. I find myself alone and open to the elements but see a few people up ahead and decided to dig deep to catch up. Hammering my Velocite as hard as ...... i finally catch up and decided to get into a rhythm and hope a big group can take us over these undulating hills.
During all the concentration to keep up 2 faster groups overtake us and makes me wonder if this will be a long day in the hurt house.... but wait here comes a group that overtakes and i can keep up with AWESOME :) The next 60km's were a pleasure to ride with the group some fast and some slow but the hills help us all keep on track.
Checking my GPS its shows 1000m of climbing and still 80km to go, the group slowly speeds up and i need to keep some energy as it is humid and warming up quickly. Boom the group rides off and left again on my own and time to re-think my strategy so i find the next group but its too slow and then a faster group mmm not too good. So back to my ride of 32km\h and stick to it till i find another group. After 50 minutes of climbing and flats i finally find a group of 4 who have a young lad riding with his Dad and wow this young lad holds on at a high pace and makes me look OLD lol.
Holding the pace for 40km flats we got through the slog then we had the final climb Hatepe Hill and boom the Dad & young lad go flying off up the hill and i was just hanging on to get to the top. Halfway up i was starting to get the rhythm and got the feeling of importance with all the people cheering you on up the hill with cars flying past you on the outside lane to get past (Scary)
Once at the top i got the feeling of wow that must be the last one but not sure if this was a flat ride back to Taupo, so grab another group which was slow and seeing the road slowly curve down towards the coast i decided to hit the JETPLANES of awesomeness sweetness to take me home, then into the aero position and pedal as hard as a hammer. Averaging 40 kmh and hanging onto the back of a group we smashed past lots of groups (Yes caught the Dad and Young Lad) which made me smile. Checking my GPS i knew i had to get to 32kmh average to be under 5 hours and kept on those pedals, coming into Taupo i got that feeling of i can do this.
Coming to the line we had a group of 6 and we all did the lets sprint to the finish and wow what a rush cheering and screaming crowd made it worth the effort and entering the Taupo race was exciting and one for the list of places to ride.
The Velocite Magnus being a taiwanese made bike was making my Merida look like a slow machine as i was breaking records i have not done before. These bikes are for the person who wants performance but does not want to pay huge $$$ for a performance big brand name. I have been riding this bike for 6 months and done K2, Taupo. The Tour De Ranges is next and might use the Keith Rotary to see if their is a difference but keen to keep you updated with smaller high quality brands.