So the official results are finally out: I managed to do the first 80km in 3 1/2 hours and my team mate tracey did a storming job of the last 80 in just under 3 1/4 hours making our grand total of 6:45:28 a time of which we can be proud me thinks :)? This placed us 94th out of 210 female 2 person relay teams.?I'd woken up at 4.30am on the friday before the ride with a really really sore throat which didn't seem to want to go away despite various losenges etc being tried throughout the drive down to Taupo.? Luckily I'd read the back of the packed of the strepsils and noticed that the sugar free version might potentially have a laxitive effect, so I decided that switching to a different brand might be wise in light of the following day's activities ;)? We got down to Taupo in time to register and?see the elite criterian race which included 20 laps around the central streets of Taupo.? I only saw a few of the laps, but boy can those guys move.? And most of them were due to ride the next day too - madness!!!? Tom's family had rented a house and our friends Tammy & Greg were also staying there.? Maggie had cooked us a yummy meal for our last carbo loading on friday night and then it was off to an early bed time.? Luckily i managed to get a good night's sleep despite having to wake up to blow my nose a number of times during the night and to suck on more losenges.? We woke up at 5 in order to ensure that Tom and the others who were starting the solo ride earlier than us relay riders had their breakfast in plenty of time, and then I went back to bed for a while, really not feeling good, but I'd come here on a mission and so I decided that a sore throat and an inability to breathe through my nose was not going to stop me - after all that's what drugs are for right???? So dosed up Tammy and I got down to the start line and joined the masses who were waiting to go.? The weather was on the colder side and overcast but this was potentially the best riding conditions, I only hoped that the promised?rain would hold off.? The sea of riders gradually moved forward and Tammy decided 1 last loo stop was in order.??Tammy had a slight moment of?panic trying to find me again as I?was still looking after her bike moving up the queue...? I didn't think I'd be able to ride 2 bikes :) Then before we knew it we were off and before too long going up our first hill.? We started slowly as there was quite a lot of congestion with everyone else coming out of the start line - it really was amazing that this number of people thought that this had been a good idea!!? Everyone had their name and location on their race numbers which made it so much nicer to call out 'on your right Fred' or 'way to go Whangarei' etc as we passed. Gradually we managed to work our way up to a better pace and Tammy managed to latch on to Paul King from Red Beach, unknown to?him we managed to draft off him for a?while and that certainly helped to up?our average speed.? Later we passed him and thanked him for his help!! More?hills came and our hearts?sank as we rounded corners only?to see the sight of?a sea of?riders?backs rising?up ahead of us, but our mental toughness broke through and Tammy and I were pleased to find that we smoked numerous people up the hills and were passed by very few - so all those Whangarei hills must have done some good along?the way.?? Poor Tammy was?suffering with her legs and feet going numb so?we stopped a few times to have a drink, something to eat and to shake out the legs.? It was funny to see?a lot of those we'd just passed on the hill?whizz by us again, only?for?us to overtake them again?on the next hill!!? We reached the 40km?mark where some people were?swapping with thier next relay team member, but we knew we had another 40km to go before we could do that.? Some fresh legs were?coming out in front of us however and Tammy once again?managed to latch on to a?female rider from Lower Hutt?who seemed to be going at a?good pace and we had a good time drafting off her for quite a while - so thanks goes to her?as well...?? After 70km both?tammy and?my mental toughness was flagging somewhat.? It had begun drizzling some time ago and?we'd seen 4 ambulances with riders in?varying degrees of pain already and we didn't want to become part of that?statistic so we were careful not to?do anything too stupid on the down hills.? We knew we still had a few hills ahead of us?and so we just stuck our heads down and carried on.? THe event organisers?certainly have a sick sense of humour?as every now and again they'd have signs up around the hills saying things like 'oh yes, here?comes another?one' & 'you know you love the hills', and such like.. not?very amusing at that stage of the game...??Then we saw the magic sign that said only 500m until our relay change over point - this spurred both Tammy and I only, but with a slight sense of trepidation as neither of us could quite remember if there was another hill before that point or not!!? Luckily there wasn't and we rode in to be greeted by our team mates Tracey and Majorie.? WE'D DONE IT -??YEY. I had originally thought about?the possibilty of doing an additional 40km had I been feeling up to it, but this time round I was glad just to have made it through the 80km and?was suitably happy to leave it?there.? So?we racked our bikes ready to be taken back to town for us and jumped on a coach.? The journey back to?town seemed to go?on forever and then it suddenly dawned on me that we'd actually?ridden the same?route as we were going back - hey 80km is a LONG WAY!!!! Got back to town and met up with Tom &?co who'd of course finished?hours ago and then waited round to see Greg, John and Tracey and Majorie in all of whom had done stunning jobs. So we survived, and parts of it were almost fun (the down hill bits for instance!).? Although it must be confessed I haven't been on my bike since, I haven't been put off completely and who knows what next year might inspire me to do :)? Thanks for supporting me in this crazy endevour and I know that the museum are really grateful for everyone's donations to our cause. Ta muchly C :)
