Long time coming

Better late then never, but here’s my take on the last of the winter N Duro races in Rotovegas.

Cutting straight to race day (because I was too lazy to go for a ride on the Saturday):
The rain didn’t really let up come Sunday, so as I sprinted up the hill at the start and into the first track Genesis, I knew it wouldn’t be long until my brakes were gone.

The early part of the race involved much of the lower tracks in the Whaka forest, which made it relatively easy for the legs but not my head with the constant changing direction. After sitting behind Garth and Mike (both from Vegas) through the early tracks, it was very inviting to finally see some open 4wd road. Knowing this is the only spot for me to open up a gap on the locals, I had to push all the way to the highest point of the day, Billy-T.
With a lack of riders in the park it was nice to scoot down Billy T with no traffic. After a descent that involved some loose moments it was off to Hot X Buns for some really dodgy descending. I would blame my average at best descending skills but, HXB was a real challenge; every steep chute seemed intent on throwing me off the track!
After cleaning HXB it was off to the Chinese menu which was the same as always, apart from a few fresh river crossings to contend with. It was after this in Be Rude Not To that the real fun happened. For some reason whenever I’m caught in traffic I feel an urge to push harder on the descents, probably just from trying to pass the short course riders; with the surface a bit more muddy hanging it out in corners was in order, trying (but failing) to ride motocross styles.
Up Lion Trail, then to the top of Gunna Gotta, all of the climbing (which was a fair bit this race) was taken care of, leaving a fun cruise back to the finish. Apart from a bit of traffic and a tree across the track 1km from the finish, every thing went smoothly. Through the finish for the win and that was it.

Even I’m thinking as I write this that was pretty uneventful, but it sort of was. No crashing, no sudden explosions in my legs, everything went according to plan; strange, I’m not used to talking about a race in that sense?!

With my win in the final race I managed to take the series, YAY!!
It has been a while since I won the PNP series last year (which I will be defending over the next few months), so it’s pretty awesome to get the ball rolling with a win.

Big ups to Cabin for his hospitality again, no wonder he has so much respect in NZ MTB circles. Most of all my amazing smokescreen for taking me to all the races, putting up with my ‘racing moods’ and, still looking forward to when I get back covered in mud.

See you at the first PNP race next weekend.