Bright Enduro – Oct 2009

This was a fun race with a local describing the course as ‘mentally tough’. The single track on the whole was tight with a lot of short sharp dips and climbs though bomb holes. The 30 d plus heat and the constant short sharp burst required to ride the single track made for a challenging race. I finished 5th in the 40 to 49 group and one lap down on 1st and 2nd. So this was 9 laps, 107k at an average of 17.3 kph. Full results are on the Alpine Cycles Club site.

Getting it all wrong
I went out way too fast for the first 2 laps, blew in the 30 plus heat in the middle of the race, and the lap times went pear shaped from there. I then spent most of laps 5 & 6 trying not hurl or curl up in lactic ball at the side of the course. The pace and heart rate was way to high for the first couple of laps.

Next time follow a plan...
So if I'd gone slower and steadier at the start I think I could have managed a much better result. At least a 4th and perhaps even a 3rd. Dam it! Have a look at how steady 4th place road.
What I should be have aiming for was an average speed of 18.2 kph. At this speed I'd have been able to complete 9 laps in the 6 hours and then been able to get out for a tenth lap. I'm going to have to work a lot more on the head space side of things.

AY UP 24 - Rotorua - March 2010 - The basic plan

The plan would be fly out to Auckland (via Sydney) the week before the race, do the race, spend a week and Easters sight seeing, then return to Oz sometime in the following week. This gives 2.5 to 3 weeks in NZ.

So in a little more detail
Ideally we would need to head out to NZ the week before the race, perhaps flying out on 20th Saturday or 21th Sunday.
The return trip could be any time after race however, it would seem like a no brainer to use the 'free' paid holidays of Easter. So the suggested return would be anytime in the week commencing the 5th April. My suggestion would be planning to travel out as group or meet up in Auckland. Hire a car and travel to Rotorua together to race etc, then after the race split up do some traveling on your own.I'm thinking of returning on Saturday the 10th of April. But the flights can be more expensive on weekends, so it may be cheaper to fly on Monday or Fridays.

More on flights
Preference would be to flying into Wellington but the flight seem a little more complex then Auckland, i.e. there are more flights to Auckland.
Cost can be as low as $400 each way. But some care with hidden costs, i.e. bikes are generally free on Qantas but on discount carries like Virgin can often charge extra for bikes. Flights may be still cheaper if we fly on week day. I'd be budgeting on $500 each way.

Proposed itinerary
Saturday 20 March - Fly to Auckland
Sat / Sun 27/28 race Rotorua
3 to 5 April - Easter

Key dates
AY UP 24 / 12 Hour Rotorua
27/28 March 2010

Easter
3 April 2010 (Friday)
5 April 2010 (Monday)