Yip, the K2 just doesn’t seem to
be my race. But apart from the punctures this is the best result I’ve
had around the loop… I didn’t start to get any cramp till I was in the last 30k
and by then I’d put all the hills behind me. So physically I had a good ride.
But having a flat so early in the ride (only 25k in) meant I lost my bunch (and
the next bunch), rode solo for a bit… then having another flat about at about
55k, was the same again..
Also when I flatted the second
time a nice person gave me a tube, as I was only carrying one.. so I agreed
that for in return for the tube I’ll help her ride the rest of the day.. (I had
given up on getting a good time at that stage) but it turned out she was actually
a lot slower than me, so she told me to leave her and carry on. It was only
about 30mins of riding with her but that probably cost me another 5mins as I
let a few quicker guys go in that time helping her along.
Once I got pass Whitiangi, the
K1 guys came along (with fresh legs) so I started to jump on their trains and
catch up some time.. getting some good drafts on the flats, letting them go up
the hills, then either catching them on the downhills or waiting for the next
bunch to come along.
By the time the last couple of
climbs (Manaia and Kereta) came along I was climbing as fast as everyone
around me and then hanging in on the flats, so that worked well and I didn’t
let any bunches faster than me go over the last 50kms (and didn’t get dropped).
So the big question is, did I
have a good ride and finish strong because I had the flat tyres etc and went
easier in the first half? Guess I’ll never know but the fact that I rode the
last 3 climbs faster than Carl, gives me an indication that I was going well.
My total time of 7.21 is ten
minutes better than my best time but of that 7.21, it was only 7.06 ride time..
probably about 12mins of fixing flats.
So again, trying to focus on the
positives, overall I’m happy with the ride but still want to bag that sub 7
time.. guess I’ll be back again next year ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment