The Galaxy Travel Winter Series, run by NDuro Events, consists of 3 races, ranging from 15 to 50km, in Rotorua's Redwood Forest. Last weekend was race two, and provided some great conditions - the tracks were riding perfectly, and we had nice mild temperatures out on the course.
There was a good turnout, with 3 course lengths being offered in this particular event; 15km, 30km, or 45km. There were 6 other girls entered in the open category for the 45km race, with almost an hour separating the first and last finisher.
The race started with a climb and was straight into a section of 'Genesis' that both Dad and I agreed was 'pretty munty' - almost everyone had to get off bikes and push here (too many people meant it got too messy to try and ride).
After Genesis was 'Rockhop' (which I had never done before), and then into 'The Dipper' (an old time favourite). The field had spread out by now, allowing a pretty quick through here and onto 'Rose Bank' and 'Tahi' (both of which were also new to me). The track was undulating in places, and this took a bit out of my legs. There was also a big puddle/creek that you had to get off your bike for through - apparently some people attempted to ride it, only to end up in the drink!
Back onto the familiar (very familiar) terrain of the 'Creek Track', before heading up Nursery Road to 'Mad If You Don't', 'Ball and Chain', 'Yellow Brick Road' and 'Sandy Skid Road' - some more self-explanatory than others. 'Pondy New' led onto the 'Chinese Menu' tracks (i.e. 'Chop Suey', 'Sweet and Sour', etc) before hitting the dreaded Direct Road.
Legs were getting tired now - there had been such a huge amount of single track already - so Direct Rd was harder than usual. Unfortunately, my back was starting to hurt quite badly, and I had to stand up on pedals every so often to try and stretch it out. I have had 'niggly' back pain a few times when cycling, but today was especially bad.
'Hot X Buns' was the light at the end of the Direct Rd tunnel of pain. It is a grade 4 track which started out with a couple of nasty climbs, but soon turned downhill and was SO MUCH FUN! It was the most technical track of the race by far, and with my body being pretty tired after the big climb up, I found I really needed to concentrate. A fair few people bailed on this track.
Still buzzing from the epic downhill, it was time to climb once again; back up through 'Lion Trail' and to the top of 'Tikorangi'. My back was now giving me real grief and I couldn't push hard up the hill as I usually would. Luckily, the end was in sight, and only a steady descent of 'Tikorangi' and 'Exit Trail' remained. I finished up in 4th place, behind some tough competition. Not a bad result considering the issues with my back, and the fact that a single track event of this length was all new to me. Oh, and I can't not mention that Dad took out the top spot in the 30km Mens Classic race. Nice work old fulla!
Overall, this was one of the most fun-filled races I have done; so much world class single track! But at the same time, having that much single track in a race also made it a super tough event.
If you aren't familiar with the Redwoods, and want to know what on earth all those track names refer to, check out the link below:
http://www.rotoruanz.com/experiences/mountain-bike-trails#mtb_map
Or, if you also want to have a go at the Winter Series events, head to:
http://www.n-duro.co.nz/winter/evdesc.php
