Rotorua To Ohope.

It’s been a couple of months now since my last race back at the world champs in September. So today was a good chance to get the legs turning in anger and back into the swing of things with a busy race calendar over the next few months.




I don’t often give the roadie a run but the annual Cycling Rotorua Inc club race to Ohope beach is a lot of fun and I thought I’d better dust the cobwebs off and get into it. Mind you it’s a great route for a bike race so it wasn’t a hard decision. A couple of small climbs to test the legs and nice views as you pass by several lakes, a fast drop down the Rotomas, through Texas (Te Teko), a bit of side wind to keep things interesting near Awakeri and into Whakatane and finally the climb up over the hill and down to the finish on the beach at Ohope.

I had a good day in the saddle although my arse wouldn’t agree, I am definitely not in great condition for several hours riding in the seat on the road bike and would much prefer the constant changing of positions that comes with mountain biking. My second place finish wasn’t too bad. And in the end this was what the rest of us were left to fight for after Clinton decided he wanted to be a motor bike and soloed to the win dropping us on the twisty descent down the Rotomas. I love the last climb to Ohope from Whakatane it makes for an interesting finish as it is long enough to launch an attack and split the race up preventing the normally inevitable bunch sprint.

Next week is the second round of the Mid North Island MTB Series in Taupo which I am really looking forward to. It’s not until you have a good break from racing that you realise how much fun it is. It will also be a good chance to have a practice on some of the tracks to be used in the Huka XL the following week.

Until next time.