Early morning Saturday 27 June, at a small country hall in rural Bay of Plenty, sees us take the start line with a couple of hundred other racers. Actually it doesn't. We were running a tad late, Clare had been appointed team captain by some reverse military coup, so she had raced straight across to the race briefing. The rest of us wandered across mere minutes before the start hooter went and realised Clare's race gear was now all locked in the truck in the car park. Over there. ------------------------------->
So we stood on the race line and watched everyone else race off into the distance.
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| We are not in this start line photo..... |
Never mind, we have great fortitude and resilience and a few minutes later set ourselves to the challenge of minimising the damage. We make it about a hundred and fifty metres before we realise that that 'sound' is the contents of Sally's pack emptying as she runs down the road, and we have to back track collecting glasses case and various food items.
For me, this race is a holiday. An experienced team and the chance to not have to be captain. The others know I'm actually a bit OCD and love to be captain even thought I get tired, so they enjoy winding me up about it. The night before, when all the important work is done on the navigation and course choices....
So, I had no maps, clues, map bags or information about what's happening. I was determined to not be a bossy britches and take over, so I had left my map board at home. This mostly worked pretty well for me, although I was at times sent off to pick up a checkpoint and meet the others in the far corner of the field. (I did make an exception for a lovely tricky checkpoint "175 degrees, 45metres" which I added the magnetic north variance to and completely owned. I know it's not nice to blow your own trumpet, but using a compass is a bit of an achievement for me, so I just did.)
I really can't remember much of the race! We had a hideous road climb on the bikes, then a lot of farm riding, which is really not my favourite use of a mountain bike. I sucked at beach golf but strokes weren't counted so I ran it like a hockey player. I discovered that a motocross track is quite tricky on a bike without a motor. We did end up descending a cliff face and I thought I was going to die, but my lasting impression is of a group of young girls in a team, with poor bike set up, in tears, who practically fell on some food I shared with them. I looked around my experienced, resilient team, and wouldn't have swapped them that day for the world. xx
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