Thursday, April 21, 2011

Inaugural local event

The classic (cycling) race on April 16th went well though it was quite a different experience for me to ride mostly on my own throughout most of the final relay leg of the 160km race around the Manawatu country roads.

Team Saddle Bags made a effort - we had a proper team meeting 2 weeks ago and everything... sorting out the logistics of getting ourselves and our bikes to the transition points at the right time. But there was a major flaw to our plan - we underestimated ourselves. And at the last minute, we had to scramble when we realised there was a hole in our plan. Or maybe someone just decided to do something else completely.

In any case, being the last rider, I got to my transition point 20minutes after the last rider had arrived, so the minute I got my bike off the car rack, I was off. Ten minutes into my ride, it started raining.... and it did not stop once throughout my entire ride.

We were clearly in the back of the pack. I passed 4 riders very early on just outside of Colyton, but was completely on my own until the finish. And so I arrived in town completely soaked, no other riders around me, and a few marshalls braving the rain awaiting the final stragglers. An appropriate end to a very lonely ride...

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