...with a sprint across the Akatarawa River...

Excellent!

The first ride went very well. I learned a vast amount about mountain biking, discovered I'm fitter than I thought, and enjoyed a ride that was just the right level of challenging-but-achievable. Best of all, however, how much friendly help and support I got from Scott, Gordie and Brains. What great guys! This is going to be fun.

The uphill climbs were easier than I'd feared. They were hard and I'm totally whacked now and staying up out of bed now only to tell you, dear reader, all about it. But as a place to start training from my fitness level was just fine. I've plenty of power going uphill due to the wonders of power:weight ratio and me being a skinny chap. And I've enough endurance for now, though I will need to work on that quite a bit between now and March.

The downhills were harder than I'd expected, but I learned a hell of a lot. At 4:30pm I knew nothing about mountain biking. The tracks are very narrow and overgrown with NZ bush, meaning there's a lot of ducking trees and branches while trying hard to keep your wheels in track, with a hill up steeply on one side and a steep drop on the other. Scott was absolutely marvelous - he followed me down giving advice (brake before the corners not on them, get your bum off your seat and stand on your pedals for the hard parts, take a wide line on the corners). I put my feet down a few times - which really does wreck everything as far as momentum goes. Then Scott gave more advice and led me down in slow demo-mode, and I tried to follow his line on the curves, which was also great.

Uphill is easier for the novice as you don't have to brake for the corners! It's very much a matter of picking a line around the curve for your front wheel and trusting to it. Just keep pedalling and don't stop, don't panic and suddenly leap up onto a pedal as it may skid, don't try to bail, just keep pedalling and trust to your line. And if your front wheel follows that line around the curve, assume the back wheel will sort itself out over any ruts, roots or rocks as long as you keep pedalling. Again Scott followed me up, feeding advice and coaching all the way.

When it works well, mountain-biking is very Zen - follow the line of the curve, spare no thought for what's ahead or behind, don't think but just do. I've now attained that for, oh, tens of metres at a time. It is awesomely good when it works.

There was much friendly encouragement from Brains, Gordie and Scott at the top and the bottom. What great guys! Oh, I said that already. But it's well worth repeating. What great guys!

Having gone down Salvation and then back up it, the final downhill was harder. It was steeper, with switchbacks all the way. Gordie followed me down the first half, Scott the second, and then again I followed Scott for a little trying to imitate what he did. It was steeper and faster and harder, and I rode the brakes quite a bit. I managed only 4 of the hairpins properly on a good line without sticking a foot down and/or nearly catapulting off the hill. But I'll celebrate those 4 because with the skill level I started the day with I'd have managed none of them.

A very good start.

The Classic starts Le Mans-style, bikes in hand...

I began training today.

Since my bike's in the shop I ran up the hill from work to the Kelburn gym (well, except for the twenty metres at the top of the steps, which was more a staggery shuffle), did 25 minutes of aerobic stuff and then some weights focussing on the legs - leg press, calf extensions, calf raise, and that funny one where you lie on your stomach and raise weights by bending your knees. It'll be becoming obvious to you, dear reader, that I'm fairly new to weights - I think this was my 7th gym trip to move big (and small) plates of metal around. Then I ran home. At every moment I was thinking "keep going, you need to get really fit really soon!" I try to exercise very hard when I exercise - and make up with intensity what my exercise usually lacks in regularity or time spent. But this was better. It's really odd how useful having the panic of the upcoming race is. And now - Fwaagh! I feel great! I'm not sure I want to stand up, but I feel great!

But the big news is that Scott has arranged a first training ride for Wednesday.

• Meeting at Patel's Superette in Aro St.
• Up Aro St.
• Up Wrights Hill (optional climb on the Scout's Hall track)
• Down Salvation
• Up Salvation
• Down Scout's Hall track
• Down to work

W., figure you'll be away from your desk 2 hours including shower. It's nothing too gnarly but has lots of climbing. I did the MTB tracks today and recommend long sleeves for Salvation, Spring has sprung and there is a bit of gorse poking out here and there.

I can think of no way of saying "You don't understand, I can't do that!" So I guess I'll do it. I'm hoping downhill through gorse is a good way to learn to do mountain biking. But really I'm hoping I make it up that hill, it'll be a bit embarrassing if they find out that I'm a pedestrian who owns a mountain bike, rather than a mountain biker per se.

Still I do wonder: what's a nice geek like me doing in a fitness craze like this?

The bike shop guy just stared

"I've enrolled for the Karapoti"

He just kind of stared at me. I shuffled my feet a bit. I smiled - a sane smile I hope.

"You've never really done any mountain biking" he said.

"We'll, I've been mountain biking twice" I explained. Neither time was in the last decade, but hey.

"And I'm fairly fit". Not really untrue. Half-true at least. I'm fit compared to lots of people.

I bike 4 km to work and home again. I run around on a sports field for an hour a couple of times a week, give or take the ten or fifteen minutes I spend subbed off each game taking a break. And I've recently started going to the gym once a week, which includes 30 mins of aerobic exercise.

But I'm not fit compared to people who go for a 60k bike ride, or run marathons. Or half marathons. Or quarter marathons (is there a word for that?). I've never been in a bike race. I don't go jogging. I'm not fit compared to people who do gruelling 4-hour mountain bike races, carrying their bikes up the slippery clay slopes when it gets too steep.

"There's more than just fitness, there's a certain skill level involved" he said, shaking his head in disapproval and taking my bike. There was a long pause as he examined it. "I can have it ready on Wednesday: you'll want to get some rides in." It seems my smile convinced him of my physical soundness, if not my sanity. Now I just have to convince myself.

The Karapoti. 50kms of punishing climbs and steep rocky descents, not to mention the river crossings and bog wading. It's possibly the southern hemisphere's most brutal mountain bike race. My workmates - Brains, Scott and Gordie - have all done races before, though not the brutal Karapoti. It's here, in Wellington, so the logistics of getting all three of them away to a race on a weekend -working around holidays, partners and kids - is manageable. But a team needs four riders. So Scott had a grand idea.


I think this is going to hurt. But now I have a blog - and you dear reader - to share this with so it will all be okay.