Motu Challenge
Winter Blast at the Motu Challenge
Richard Ussher / 16.10.2009
With China and my instant weight loss program thanks to food poisoning over a week behind us the next assignment in a busy month was the Motu Challenge in Opotiki.The night before hand it was looking doubtful the river section would be happening with torrential rain and freezing conditions making up for Elina and my lack of a NZ winter this year as we traipsed around in down jackets and wet weather gear packing our gear for the race.
Thankfully the day dawned reasonably clear all be it chilly and the river had risen to within 5cm of the cut off, but not over, so it was all on and a fast trip down the river was a certainty.
As we all took off from Opotiki on the opening MTB leg there was a definite chill in the wind and as we turned off the main road up towards Motu the full force of the bitter southerly hit the field head on. There was a large bunch of riders at the front including individuals and teams in the full Motu challenge and also riders in the Scott 160 bike ride which was a new addition to the program this year.
As we finally hit the first of the climbs the pace predictably went up and before long everyone was struggling to hold wheels. I was a bit far back and just missed the first bunch but slowly managed to drag myself back up to the lead group, only to gradually slip back off as the surging continued.
As I slowly drifted back with another rider we were joined by a small group and we lapped it out between the first couple of hills. As we hit the second hill team rider Ash Hough went to the front and blew all but 2 of us off the back and was getting close to doing the same to me as well.
Luckily I made it to the top of the second major climb and by the final climb the legs were starting to feel better and Ash and I took turns pushing the pace towards the finish. Nearing the top we passed a couple of the riders who'd been ahead of us as they'd hit the wall within sight of the Motu township. Heading down the final descent we were getting blasted by the icy southerly and by the time I reached transition and had to change into my running shoes I couldn't feel my hands or feet resulting in a rather long struggle to swap shoes.
Finally underway on the run and it felt like I had pieces of wood for feet and it wasn't until I was over 5km into the run that I finally felt some warmth returning to them. It was turning into one of those days where whichever direction we went it seemed to be into the freezing wind and most of the time uphill too!
The mid section of the run is through a great little track for about 6km but it certainly wasn't going to be a day for run records with the track totally saturated and soft muddy conditions underfoot making staying upright a major priority.See All Event Posts
